Green Eyed Monster
by sphinxs-legend
Summary: Audrey Potter hates the technicalities that constantly drag her into trouble with her twin brother, Harry. But when she finally starts to prove herself by crawling from behind her brother's overbearing shadow, she begins realizing that it may have been better to just stay hidden...eventual Draco/OC, otherwise cannon. Starts in GOF, now uploading DH.
1. Prologue

Harry James Potter had never been anything but trouble.

Harry, with all his Gryffindor glory, was probably the most honourable person that you could ever meet. He was kind, even with his overactive temper. He was considerate within his personal moral reasoning - it was nice to have around but, to be honest, a killer to try and put up with. Do you know what could possibly be worse than all that?

Being his twin sister.

I know you most likely haven't heard of me, to be honest I'm not really surprised. It's probably for the best considering what you would have heard of me never ends up being very flattering. I do not have the sterling reputation my older sibling hogs.

'_You Potter's are always so malleable. A good mind - wise, observant. Your talent to read people is impressive...but you must be sly to do this...and oh, my dear, such bitterness! Fascinating. Just look at all that passion...you've a silent kind of courage, not quite so bold as he...for twins you're very diverse. You use your passions well, for good purposes and to great expense. You are a talent, my dear. So where do you belong? I can see you thriving in SLYTHERIN_!'

That was all it took for a hat to ruin my life. I liked Slytherin, don't get me wrong. They have pretty colours and a lot of perks for miscrience like mine, but I have a distinct problem with handling myself and bowing to authority. Constantly being a general kiss-ass has never been a talent of mine, either.

I guess it's possible you heard some whispers of me in our first year at Hogwarts, when I was sorted into Slytherin, a feat that startled the entire school. It was some storybook cliché that started me off with a bad reputation before I had done anything to deserve it. You wouldn't have gotten to hear that _I_ was the one who calmed down Fluffy and helped them get through the trap door in the third floor corridor, or that I grew quite close with the giant pups. You wouldn't have gotten to hear how I went down to Hagrid's hut _everyday _to go take care of Norbert, who I took a particular liking to. You wouldn't have even heard about me being down there when my brother found the Philosophers stone...oh, right. That's because I wasn't involved in that last, all adventures stayed away from my understanding unless they needed me as a distraction.

You probably didn't hear about how in second year I was put through the ringer all because everyone suspected it was _me _who was Slytherin's heir. Well, they all suspected up until I was petrified with the lot of the 'enemies of the heir'. Of course you would have heard that Harry speaks Parseltongue and paired with my paralysis, it knocked me out of the running for villain of the year. I sadly _can't _speak to snakes, but I tend to metaphorically understand animals...with all the regular language barriers. I can just comfort them and they seem to be drawn to me. At the end of the day it seemed like the Slytherin's were too afraid to hate me and they were too against my brother to worship me; it's one of the things I ranted about when I had a brief hold of Tom Riddle's diary. I'd had it just before my brother had, though it was stolen from me by Ginny around the time I was petrified by that damned basalisk. It had given her the perfect opportunity to get it back.

You _definitely _wouldn't have heard of me in third year, when the dementors came to town. You wouldn't know that we found out I'm actually a pretty decent Seer thanks to Trelawny's overwhelming analysis of my daydreams and migranes, or that the dementors have gotten some good bites out of me because I retrospectively had no happy thoughts. I do not remember my mother and father talking to me, I do not hear my Mum's voice when I black out, and I cannot produce a patronus at all - but the dementors and I did gain a rather one-sided, parasidic love affair when it comes to the consumation of my soul. I also do not know the details on the infamous Sirius Black's escape other than that Hermione had done some kind of impressive magic that let them be in two places at once. I love my godfather unconditionally and were it up to me, I would give him Wormtail in a silver dog dish. Sirius and I talk as often as we can, though I only met him when he was in the shrieking shack and while we were running away from Lupin. He promises to make up for the lost time and not to stretch fact, but I'd wager he's nicer to me than most others who judge me thanks to my relations.

What you probably _have _heard about me is that I'm Harry Potter's far less impressive twin sister. He is the-boy-who-lived and I was the-girl-they-didn't-have-time-to-get-to. I survived by chance, not a display of power - I was even scarred too, but not so epic a design. You've probably seen pictures of it, it's harder to hide than Harry's - I have a jagged scar in the shape of an 'X' over the left side of my throat. Apparently You-Know-Who tried to cut it in a way that would leave a message when I bled out - but I showed him, now didn't I?

I do have talents of my own, though they are not anything that has helped me save the wizarding world. My talents are ones that I can keep to myself without Harry's reputation smothering them. Yes, I have premonitions - not commonly useful ones, but it's something I can say I can do. No, my wand ettiquette still sucks and I am a joke in Defense and dueling, but I realized that I was pretty good with the intricate things. Like wordless spells and sometimes, if I'm really lucky even a wandless conjuring charm. It took forever for me to learn how to do it at will and yes, half the time my wand doesn't even work properly. Obviously you would think to get a new one, but a wand is a wand. You usually only have one in your life and it _did _choose me. And I _can _perform magic...it's just kind of sporadic; like an energy blast or some strange 'coincidence' I didn't mean to happen. My wand can just randomly go off, or at times something happens that I thought of but didn't prepare for - who knows whether or not it was me? Otherwise, I was basically a duelling punching bag.

Harry said it was probably best for people not to understand what I was, or was not, doing when we learned duelling and it was one of the few times I took his advice. My friends found out thanks to spending so much time around the strange 'coincidences' but it's not often brought up in conversation. It's nice to know they can at least be embarrassed enough to be seen with a freak that they'll keep my secrets. I guess it's just written in the Slytherin criteria while the Gryffindors are too loyal to sell me out.

Now, before you go spreading rumours let me straighten you out: I love my brother, no matter how much of a git he can be. He's been there for me through everything and I'm now a stronger person. He drives me absolutely insane and I tire of always having to save his arse, but Harry is one of the only true things that I have left. I'm not going to leave him behind, though I wouldn't doubt if he ended up leaving me...but I would stick by him to the end. I _will _stick by him to the end; through thick and thin, blood and pride, loyalty and ambition. He is everything and he is the only real family that I have left. Slytherin or not, I would even wager I'd die to save the lard.

But family never dies.


	2. The World Cup

**Hello everyone, this is my first Harry Potter story on this site. The idea and title has been taken from **_deepdecember_**'s Green Eyed Monster from when she and I wrote it on a different site long ago. Now, instead of being her Beta for it like the amazing **_Angel of the Night Watchers_** has for me.**** I have decided I want to entirely change what's happening and do it for myself - so meet our new Heroine, Harry Potter's sister in the overdone way we all know and love...hopefully I do it a justice that most people throw away with the opportunity. For more notes, go to the bottom of the page, I hope you enjoy what's in between!**

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><p>"Dad, where are we going?" Ron yawned from behind me, still complaining quietly to Harry about how early he'd had to wake up. I looked over my shoulder to see the two boys lagging behind the group and couldn't help thinking about how Hermione had practically begged me to leave them alone and let her wake them up. I maintain that the twins and I should have been the ones to deal with the two, but I understood her fear that they may not make the Quidditch World Cup at <em>all <em>if we had.

"Haven't the foggiest," Mr Weasley smiled back at them as he trudged on through the dimly lit wooded area. I sent a look of concern over my shoulder to Ginny and Hermione, who returned it eagerly. At least I wasn't the only one nervous for our sakes, though I was distracted while I smiled up at the twins.

"So you two, how is that little _project _of yours doing?"

"It will be a lot better after this match," George smiled brightly, nudging me in the ribs. I smiled as Fred entwined our arms, George following his lead and wrapping around my other.

"Thanks for it, by the way. Now that we know how the match will turn up, we'll bet on it - when we win we should have enough money to start the shop." Fred gave a cheer that made Mr Weasley look back curiously, instead he began scratching the back of his head, pretending he had not done a thing.

"Not a problem," I shrugged off Fred's thanks, laughing quietly before I let the smile die off. "I still don't understand the last part, it looked l-"

"Bright flashes? Celebration," Fred mused.

"We'll be doing a lot of that ourselves." George smiled, elbowing his brother. The feeling was lost to me.

"I don't think so," I whined quietly, remembering back to the dread that had filled my gut four days before when I'd had the vision of what was to happen at the Cup tonight. There had been shouts and bellows, even a scream that had been blood curdling and worrysome.

"Then they were the losers, stop worrying about it. There's tons of security at these things - I even heard there will be security trolls! They have to have _graduated _Seers looking out for some sort of tragedy anyway. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Exactly." Fred finalized with a smile to George's guarentee, both nudging me with a smile as they mocked my lack of use as a decent Seer. I rarely saw anything of value, which was probably why I jumped on the opportunity to help them so quickly. I nodded, trying to convince myself to find comfort through their certainty.

"Circe!" I called loudly, happy by how quickly my pet kneazle weaved between my legs - thank Merlin she did this so often that I didn't trip up. She purred up at me and I smiled back before we continued walking. It had been a long walk and even though I had only woken up an extra hour before Harry so that the Weasley twins and I could finalize the plan for their gamble, but I could feel myself getting tired.

"Arthur!" A booming voice yelled from in front of us. Circe eyed him a moment before she continued walking in a straight line, which let me know that this man was most likely a friend. He was shorter, slightly plump, with glasses and a hat covering most of his peppered hair. He seemed the happy sort and like most wizards he was dressed in a poor immitation of muggle's clothing. "About time, son."

"Sorry, Amos." Arthur smiled, embracing him shortly. "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start. This is Amos Diggory, everyone. He works with me at the ministry."

With hardly a shout for warning, a boy fell and landed gracefully on his feet from the tree branch right above them - a very, _very _handsome boy. Even more handsome than the twins if I had to wager, which said a lot for me as I always argued that the twins were perfect 'personality men' on top of it all. This boy had sandy blonde hair, beautiful grey-blue eyes and flushed cheeks from his climb. He was tall and broad shouldered, also about as attractive as the sun in winter.

"And this strapping young lad must be Cedric, am I right?"

"Yes, sir." His voice was low and I raised an eyebrow when I looked at the twins.

"And Cedric Diggory is _whom_?"

"Hufflepuff seventh year." Fred answered with a frown. "Bit full of himself, so I wouldn't-"

"Excuse me," I winked at him, falling back in stride so that I could walk alongside the other girls. Ginny was whispering animatedly - probably about our newest find - when I fell in toe with the two of them. Both looked at me and sounded like they were about to say something when I cut them off. "Dibs."

"Dibs?" Ginny asked, completely aghast.

"Yes, dibs. Dibs on Diggory. _Mine_."

"You can't have dibs on a person!" She argued, noticeably disappointed.

"Yes you can. You have dibs on Harry, I have dibs on Diggory."

"Only because you can't have dibs on your own brother!" I looked at her pointedly, trying to show that no matter how I was connected to Harry I would _never _want dibs on him in the same way that she did. "Alright, I get it, point proven."

I smiled as we kept walking, proud of the blush that was creeping it's way over her features and even more glad that I was victorious, third year or not I knew that Ginny Weasley was quite the sight and nerd or not, Hermione was beautiful _and _a genius. She could probably out-wit any seventh year in whatever possé he probably lead. I watched as Mr Diggory shook my brother's hand and grew nervous when he was quick to slow his stride to meet with mine. I looked to Hermione for help as he reached me, before putting on one of my infamous false smiles for him.

"Hello, sir."

"So you're _the _Audrey Potter, then?" He smiled, holding out his hand. "I've heard so much about you!"

I found that hard to believe. "All good things, I hope."

"I never accept less," he smiled. I found myself smiling back because he looked so genuine. When the group of us were finally near the top of the hill, I could hear people explaining to Harry and Ron what was happening.

"What is it we're doing?" I asked, trying not to show how annoyed I was by being left out on the muggle-raised-disclaimers that Harry always got from the Weasleys. Really, it was as if they forgot I grew up in the same household as him and tended to enjoy the same explanations.

"It's a Portkey, you have to take hold of it and grab on tight - it will take us to the tournament. Sometimes I forget how _Muggle _you two are." She giggled. I smirked back.

"You magic-folk and your junk-like important devices," Hermione laughed at my joke and we walked foward, grabbing hold of an old boot that actually even _smelled. _I didn't mask the fact I didn't enjoy how all-out the wizards had gone and I found myself taking time out of my busy schedule to plan washing my hands a few dozen times when we got to the World Cup. I could only assume this level of discomfort came from the boot probably stemmed from me living in a hallway closet with smelly winter boots and mouldy jackets for so many years.

"Time to go. Ready?" Amos shouted, trying to get everyone's hand on the boot. Harry was still looking at the boot, completely dumbfounded and I rolled my eyes at him. It amazed me that he could totally get the concept of flying on brooms or having a spell to tickle someone, but he could not grasp the concept of a boot being a teleportation device. Ridiculous.

"After three, one...two..."

Panicking when I saw Harry's hand was still not on the boot, I took one of my hands off so that I could forcefully pull his onto it. Soon, it felt like we were being flung around through the air, it was almost like flying - but with a feeling of a themepark ride that had you spinning too fast to control. Overall it was less exhillarating and more nauseating while I tried hanging on for dear life with my right hand, as I was left handed, and holding on to my brother's hand just in case he decided he should let go too early.

"Let go, kids! Let go!" Arthur Weasley shouted.

No, I would not just _let go_. But it was as if Mr Weasley had signaled something that made the wind pick up and the spinning worsen, it was so strong that even though I fought I was flung right off. There was a moment where I thought I would probably die, if not I would be crippled. As I divvied up who would get what in the will that I had never made, I felt my fingers slip from the wilted leather of the boot. I felt some sort of connection break and let out a scream of terror right as I crashed into someone. This crash, evidently landed me right onto Cedric Diggory, who caught me quickly and had the time to smile at me since he was gracefully flying down. Git.

"Sorry..." I groaned, my cheeks burning pink as I immediately pulled myself away from him.

"It's no problem." He laughed. "New to Portkeys, then?"

"However could you tell?" I asked sarcastically, he sent me a dashing smile and I felt myself shiver.

"Are you alright?" He asked politely, checking me over. I convinced myself that it wasn't out of interest and out of concern - particularly because it was realistic - but I felt my cheeks burn as if he _were_.

"Fine, thanks to you."

"Come on then, Potter." Fred grumbled coming up from behind me. He was quick to grab a hold of my arm before he started to drag me in the opposite direction of where the pretty boy was headed. "You're coming to _our _tent."

"Bye, Cedric!" I called out. He waved in turn and I watched Fred as he gave me a might frown, he really did not look pleased, but I gave him a frown of my own. "You were rude."

"No, I was in a rush," he corrected. "Want to get to the tournament."

"It won't be held up on my account, I assure you."

"You need to be there for the amazing amount of money we're going to rake in. Come on, the tent isn't far away. Rip yourself off of the stud for two minutes, can you?" he asked with a roll of his eyes. I sighed dramatically towards him, feigning weakness.

"You're lucky you're here or I'd go into withdrawl."

"You're just saying that," he blushed. I grinned at him wolfishly.

"You are _absolutely _right." We stuck our tongues out to each other as we walked through the campsite. It was strange seeing so many people that I recognized cozying up with their families. It had a feeling of unity and fun in the air that you didn't even see at the school...or I didn't, anyway, thanks to house rivalries. I couldn't wait to see what would happen when the tournament actually began.

I have never been a big fan of Quidditch. I liked the idea of flying, not that I ever did it, and I liked the idea of the game itself - but I never rooted for teams. It was hard when my house was enemies with my twins' house, who just _happened _to be the teams' star player. When I went to matches I never knew who to cheer for, so most of the time I just didn't go - as much as the twins and _my _twin disliked it. There was always more fun to do in the hallways during those games anyway, it was always interesting to see what people thought was worth missing a Quidditch House game for.

But this was different: these were two teams who had no impact on my daily life. Especially since I had gotten a vision of the outcome. I had been excited to tell Fred and George, knowing how great they were at being Entrepeneurs. They needed money so that they could start work on their jokeshop merchandise and I was more than happy to start them on their way.

When we got to our tent, I looked at Fred with a skeptically raised eyebrow. The tent was hardly large enough for he, his brother and I to fit in, nevertheless the entire Weasley family, Hermione, Harry and myself. He laughed at me and pushed me forward where I fumbled into the tent while I was cursing - but I stopped my swear to let out a different one.

"Shite," I muttered quietly.

The tent was huge. It had a whole mass of different sections and rooms, more decorative than the burrow with it's different bunk beds and couches. It even had a kitchen! Holy Helga, it was heaven in an air-conditioned, outdoor community!

"I love magic," Harry whispered, coming up to my side. I elbowed him jokingly and we smiled to one another before he nodded that he was headed towards Ron and I was pointed to where Hermione and Ginny had headed off to. While he left, I turned to say a quick farewell to the tall twin in front of me.

"If we have to share beds, you know you'll be sharing mine, right Drea?"

"Fred," I gushed mockingly. "Do you want to _cuddle _with me?"

"Would it be manly to say yes?" He asked with an innocent expression on his face. I taunted him by taking a long time to deliberate, then shook my head.

"Not at all."

"Then no...woman." He added, puffing out his chest and frowning broodishly. I rolled my eyes as I went to pick a bed, there were more than enough. I went to the girls area, a bunk bed and a cot were decorating this room which was in a deep lavender, I rushed and crashed into the bottom bunk in the very corner.

"Dibs!"

"Do you dibs everything?" Hermione asked with a sigh.

"Honestly, you can't dibs a bunk _and _a hunk." Ginny scorned with a smile.

"I like corners...I think it's a psychological thing."

"Huh?" Ginny asked, confused by the word. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Psychological. Like...mental. I think it's a mental pattern that has to do with me feeling safe, or something." I waved my hand to dismiss the rather embarrassing analysis but Hermione had already raised her eyebrows, she was clearly surprised by my observation.

"Wow...I'm impressed. That's very..._astute _of you, Audrey."

"Alright, alright," I muttered, "don't act too shocked, will you?"

By the time we had eaten, changed, and Fred and George somehow found time to place bets with my less-than-legal prophecies for the outcome of the game, we all started to go out to the Quidditch stadium. I was upset to find out how high up we were and that we would have to walk, but at the same time, it would be interesting to get a birds eye view.

"It will be kind of like flying," I said to Harry with false enthusiasm as we past the height of the goal posts and I heard him sigh.

"I just hope we're not so high we can't see them." He murmered.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I may have to borrow your glasses..."

"Get your own!" He frowned, pulling away from me slightly. I naturally touched my temple as if I had glasses to protect from his glare.

"I _had _them, Dudley broke them five years ago, recall?"

"Get new ones," he suggested lamelly, I rolled my eyes.

"Tell me when we find time to do that, will you?" I asked sarcastically, he shrugged his shoulders as if he were taking ths seriously.

"Maybe I will."

"Fine." I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Fine." He grumbled back, following my mannerism. I didn't actually expect him to give me his glasses, which he knew. I needed glasses, but not nearly so badly as he did. I just ignored it and though things would be blurry, I never actually miss anything. Hermione laughed.

"Sometimes I forget who's older, you can both be such children." Harry and I glared at her.

"That is not what I want to hear," we both said in unison, before we looked to one another and began to laugh. Ron, who hated when either set of twins did that, groaned to his father.

"Blimey Dad, how far up are we? We need to split these two up!"

"Well, let's put it this way," the voice that answered was not that of Arthur Weasley, but the low and familiar drawl of a _snake_. When I looked down, I clearly saw that Lucius Malfoy and his son glaring up at the group of us, dressed up in their finest robes. "If it rains, you'll be the first to know."

"I was really hoping I wouldn't run into you until school, Malfoy." I sneered, looking at the youngest reincarnation of evil. I would have called him one of my cruel nicknames - I was very good with cruel nicknames, a larger talent than even my uncanny nature with animals - but his father was there and I didn't want him to somehow screw Mr Weasley over while at work because of some smartass remark I came up with.

"Father and I are in the Minister's box," the teen smirked, raising a taunting eyebrow towards me. He was stupid, for all he knew I hated Quidditch because I rarely ever went to our games. I don't know who he was trying to impress. "By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge _himself._"

"Don't boast, Draco." Lucius shoved his creepy snake-headed cane straight into his son's gut and I narrowed my eyes at the display, git or not a father should not act like that around his son. It was wrong. "There's no need with these people."

Lucius Malfoy and I met eyes and I gared at him openly, there was no hiding that I hated him even more than his son and he and I were on terrible terms thanks to my big mouth and aforementioned talent with descriptive nicknames. Loopy-Lucius and Malignant-Malfoy were apparently not among his preferred terms of endearment.

"Do enjoy yourself, won't you?" He looked between Harry and I. "While you can."

The two began to walk away, but my terrible habit of needing the last word itchede at me, so as the Weasley's walked forward - Hermione and Harry yanking on my arms - I was sure to call over my shouder, "I love what you've done to your hair, Dorko! The Jerry-curl _really _works on white men in the 90's!"

"_Audrey_!" Hermione gasped as she pulled me roughly. I smirked when I saw Malfoy glare back at me. I was pleased enough to keep walking with them. I even walked happily while Hermione lectured me the rest of the 42 flights of stairs to our place. A good insult always warmed the cockles of my heart.

By the time we got to our spot, the game was already starting to begin. Fred tugged on my arm and pointed to where a group in the same green as Slytherin robes flew. He jumped up and down excitedly, just because he knew they would win. "It's the Irish!"

"Here come the Bulgarians!" George continued, grabbing my other arm. Harry looked to me and laughed, I apparently looked like a rag doll being pulled between two young girls. They stopped when one flyer from the red and black bulgarian team started to do spectacular tricks that I'd never seen any other flyer do. He was amazing as he flew past us, up and around everyone else, he looked severe even as he tried to look charming for his fans.

"Krum!" The Weasley's shouted excitedly. I looked to Hermione with a look of surprise, she was the only one who was like me and didn't really care about the game, but more the experience...but this was almost cult-like behaviour.

I wasn't really watching the game as intently as I could have, it was pretty pointless to me. I'd had a dream of it days ago and though it was another thing to have it in real life and be able to feel the atmosphere, but I was really there for my friends, who seemed really involved with what was going on. I was sure to point things out and cheer when applicable and Harry looked over to me and smiled at me sympathetically.

The Irish were on fire and literally conquering the field. Half the time I couldn't even see Krum who was whizzing around the field as if he was constantly able to see the snitch, he was on a wild hunt for it. I almost felt bad for the Bulgarian keeper who was trying as hard as he could, but the Irish were far too good for him to stand a chance.

Hours past and Krum hadn't seemed to have tired out. The Bulgarian chasers had put up a good fight but were showing intense exhaustion and the Irish chasers looked like they were lazily winning the game now. Unless the Bulgarians got some serious goals _and _caught the snitch, there was no way they would win.

Suddenly, Harry yelled out and pointed to where Krum and Whatshisname the Irish seeker were madly chasing the snitch. It took me a few moments, but soon enough I could see it once it was mentioned - just a flicker of gold inches away from Krum's fingers.

Finally he caught it and the crowd went wild, lots because the infamous Krum had done it again - but the Irish fans were cheering because their team had still won, I couldn't make out the score because we were so high up and the crowds were so loud and boistrous.

By the time we had gotten back to the tent, even Hermione and I were dancing along with everyone. Fred was getting ready to go out to collect the twins winnings and George was staying to ease suspicion as we celebrated. It wasn't long before Fred came back with a heavy bag of gold, the twins were quick to hoist people up and sing. People all around us seemed to be screaming in excitement as well, it only encouraged us.

"There's no one like Krum!" Ron exclaimed dramatically. "It's like a bird the way he rides the wind. He's not an athlete - he's an artist."

"I think you're in love, Ron." Ginny laughed, I joined in.

"Viktor, I love you! Viktor, I do!" The twins sang. We all raised our glasses of butterbeer to join in the familiar melody. "When we're apart my heart beats only for you!"

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on!" Fred smiled at the sound of the excitement outside. I took the time that he and George were distracted to climb on a chair and jump on George's back when he least expected it. He nearly fell forward but caught his balance on the chair opposite of where I had climbed.

"I think we have more pride than them, let's prove them wrong!"

"Aye!" He and Fred cheered, George pushing me up on his back as he started to prance around. I was giggling wildly as he did this, but we were stopped short and he even dropped me when Mr Weasley came in with a wild look.

"Stop it!" That would be when I was dropped. "Stop it! It's not the Irish."

He pushed us out of the tent, leaving all our stuff behind.

"Circe!" I called, and immediately my pet Kneazle came down to rub against my leg. I hoisted her up into my arms and hugged her as I looked at the chaos around us. Tents were on fire, smoke billowed into the air and made it harder to breathe. The sky was lit with curses and screams almost deafened me the further from the tent I stood to gawk.

"Get to the portkey everyone, and stick together! Fred, George, Ginny is _your _responsibility." He ordered. Fred grabbed one of Ginny's arms and George the other before they turned to me.

"Keep up, will you?"

"Got it." I nodded, walking foward with them. "Harry!" I screamed when I saw that he wasn't following, he nodded and ran to catch up with me as we bustled through the crowd. People were hysterical and pushing, not caring if they were trampling others or running past injured people.

Behind us marched tall wizards in black, cult-like attire with KKK worthy cloaks with very similar hoods, they seemed to be chanting and shooting curses at the crowd, disturbingly skeletal masks hiding who they were from their audience. One particular spell ended up sending the crowd in the opposite direction and one wizard wasn't a good enough to be near me according to Circe, because she jumped out of my arms and ran to attack him.

"Circe, get back here!" I screeched, not even considering what would happen if I went with her - which I did. I chased after my pet, hearing someone yell out my name but ignoring them. I needed my Kneazle...she'd saved my life more than once and I'm pretty sure if she was chasing something, it was something worth saving me from which probably meant I may need to save _her. _

"_Drea!_"

"I have to get Circe!" I screamed to them. "Circe, Circe please come back!"

I ran through people like running over grass, I was propelled forward by my worry and could only see glimpses of my leopard-printed, white cat. I called out to her until my voice was almost raw and finally, when the crowd had thinned out and disappeared, I was able to catch up to my hissing pet and grab her.

"Circe, never do that to me again! Never!" I scolded in a whisper. "Look what you've done...we've lost everyone."

I looked around through the dark and at the smouldering ashes that remained of all the tents that had once been a happy place of unity. It was all ruined like the spirit and the memory of what tonight had been, it was disturbing how quickly destruction could happen. I backed up into the small patch of trees that supplied a little woodland area, they were scattered around the campground and suddenly they seemed the safest place left. Now, it was literally burnt to the ground.

"Come on, scamper, we need to find help. I have no idea how to get back to the Burrow."

"Help always comes from the least likely of places, doesn't it?" A familiar voice drawled. I whipped around, Circe letting out a surprised mew before we fixed our eyes on the speaker. The tall, lean figure of Draco Malfoy was leaning up against a tree maybe ten feet away. I looked at him for a long time, trying to understand how I could get myself out of this situation.

"What are you doing here?"

"I have certainly not been chasing after a Kneazle. Aren't those supposed to keep you _away _from dark wizards, not to a throng of them?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pocket as he smirked. I looked down to Circe, who still had a firm gaze hooked on the boy in front of us.

"Do you know who they are?" I whispered, not even trying to hide my curiosity. He looked away for a minute, over past the other side of the forest where the trees thinned.

"Of course I do," his eyes hit mine again harshly. "They're Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters?" I asked, taking a few steps forward. "Is that like...Fire Eaters, but-"

"Fire eater?" He asked skeptically. "No. They're the Dark Lord's followers."

"The Dark Lord?" I asked a little bit more deeply, I heard the discrepency in the name. "I thought only his followers called him that."

"Really, then what do _you _call him?"

"Voldemort, Tom Riddle, Tommy-Boy, or when I'm feeling really angry I have a variety of curse words that I will insert between syllables." There was a moment where he looked completely shocked at my nerve, then a moment where it almost looked like the shock was being torn through by humour. It died quickly, as most things did when in his presence.

"You're think you're so _brave_, Potter." He sneered, taking a few steps closer to me, I raised an eyebrow, holding Circe close.

"Well, as long as it doesn't get me killed, I figure it's not a bad characteristic." I shrugged. "Why are you stalking in the woods, Dragon-boy?"

"Hiding from the Death Eaters, obviously." He walked past me and looked out from the trees. "They seemed to have passed."

"And just what would happen were they to find our little rendevous spot?"

"Me, they may hex. You, they'd probably torture." I made a face. "Which is why you should shut your big mouth."

"I don't have a-"

"I said, shut it." He hissed at me. I pouted. "Don't let that rat go again."

"She is a _kneazle._" I corrected, irritably. "And I'm surprised she hasn't tried to claw your eyes out: you _are _the resident villain."

Before I could pay attention to his reaction my body froze...I could hear Draco giving a rebuttle, but I wasn't able to actually bring myself to pay attention to it because I felt like I was being drowned by cold water. It was a familiar sensation - the sensation of a premonition - and I prepared myself for the shock of falling out of linear time and into the tangled web of consequence.

Time is conseqence. It is not linear, it is not a line, it is not a bunch of lines - it is completely consequential. It all has to do with the decisions that you make and how each decision changes it. If you are headed somewhere and decided to run a red light, it would have a different future than had you waited. You could get hit by a car, you could get to your destination sooner - but it would be different and I had learned quickly that the future was no different than a series of decisions that dictated what life would bring.

My vision, as always, came in snapshots that didn't make sense and were too quick to catch all of them. Some, the ones that would come sooner rather than later, were bright and vivid while the ones farther away seemed more drained of colour. I first saw what could only have been three seconds of having Hermione hovering over my face, then another second of water all around me where I was screaming soundlessly, I saw my brother crying, I saw Harry on a broom, I saw myself close to Malfoy as he smirked, I saw a man advancing on my brother under a harsh green haze...

"What the Hell is wrong with you, Potter?"

I startled myself out of my premonition, looking at him in shock as I tried to comprehend and remember everything I had just seen. I blinked a few times. "Malfoy?"

"Yes, are we exchanging nameplay now? What's wrong with you?"

"I just...I had a premonition..." I whispered, looking around. The last scene I had seen, the one of a man going close to Harry under a green haze...that would happen soon. Dreadfully soon, and if I could remember properly, the man was not a happy one.

"A premonition? No you didn't. You didn't speak at all." He growled, stepping closer to me.

"No, have you really ignored _all _our divination course work? That's a _prophecy_. They're different - a prophecy is indefinite. Long-term. About something very, very specific. A premonition is a series of things that have happened because of something that _someone _has done to change the course of the future around me. I've never given a prophecy, I have premonitions." I corrected as I noticed quickly that I wasn't holding Circe anymore. I looked around for a moment before I saw her rubbing up against Malfoy's leg - he didn't seem to mind. I did, so I called her back to me.

"So, you have premonitions, eh? Like you weren't freaky enough. Well, at least you can do _some _sort of magic, your disabilities can be shameful to the House."

"Piss off," I hissed. "I need to find Harry - something's about to happen and I don't want him to get in any trouble because I'm not there to save the lard."

"You go find boy-wonder, I'll stay here and wait for everything to blow over."

I rolled my eyes. "Typical. You're such a coward, Malfoy - sometimes it shocks even me."

"I'm not a coward," he hissed, his cheeks tinting pink.

"Oh, you are a coward," I assured. "You can come with me if you want. You may get brownie points."

"Brownie...?" He didn't finish his question as he shook his head. "No, I think I'll leave boy-wonder to save _your _arse. After all, he's the one who saves and survives anything, but if it makes you feel better to feel included in his glory-"

"Just because I don't have a lightning bolt scar-"

"And you aren't famous-" he mocked.

"And I'm not the best at classes-"

"And you're a _Slytherin_ of all things-"

"And I'm forced to spend so much time with _you_," I continued with a sneer, "does not mean that he saves my arse. We don't want the same things out of life and if it makes you feel better, you can pretend to be related to my brother instead - share his fame, I don't really care - but know that even then I would still be better than _you._"

I began to walk out of the trees and heard him let out a loud groan. "Will you get back in here?"

"The wood is hardly a romantic location, Dragon-Dick."

"Romantic location? In your dreams, Pot-head. You can't just go out wherever you want when the Death Eaters are out, they'll curse you into oblivion." He argued while he walked beside me. He was very nervous, turning his head constantly to see every direction around us - I rolled my eyes at him, watching as his cool gray eyes tried to give off their own warning.

"If you're really going to walk with your tail between your legs, go back and hide. I don't want you slowing me down." I hissed, making my walk a little more brisk. I really had no idea where I was going, but I knew that if I walked soon enough I would either find Harry before, or find the green light that had been reflecting on him in my vision. The man, with a shadowed face had looked very angry - I wasn't overreacting was I?

"Did you have any premonitions of me dying, by chance?" He asked with a glance towards me, it took me a moment to tell if he was serious. I felt both bad for him and amused when I decided that I thought he was, the poor little rich kid was terrified. His eyes somehow looked more pale, followed by a more ashy skin tone. To lighten the mood, I pretended to think about it for a moment.

"No, but I do fantasize about killing you on a daily basis."

"I can accept that." he mumbled, rolling his eyes a bit. I could have sworn it gave him a tad bit more colour of red to his cheeks. He turned towards me with a glare, probably just to hide how nervous he actually was. "Bitch."

"Ass."

"Bint."

"Git."

"Mudbl-"

"_Harry!_" I gasped when I saw a green jet of life fly into the sky over Malfoy's shoulder. He widened his eyes briefly.

"Huh." He gritted his teeth thoughtfully, as if it was an insult in our little game.

"No, I mean - I have to go! Circe!" I gasped, taking off at a sprint towards what was now twisting towards the sky. It was a ghastly cloud - bright green and lumenating. It was forming into a disturbing, broken jawed scull that had a snake spilling from it's teeth, the snake writhed in the sky as it looked down on everyone below it.

"Potter, don't go there, idiot! It's the Dark Mark!"

But I kept running and Malfoy did not follow. I could see Circe streaking past me, then falling behind to make sure that she didn't lose me. I knew I was going in the right direction because of how fast she was running - Circe had always had an uncanny knowledge of things like this.

By the time I got closer to the horrendous skull I saw Mr Weasley running, from the opposite direction of me, towards a group of wizards. The wizards were surrounding Harry, Ron and Hermione who looked like they had been through quite a rough time since I'd been gone. I quickly jumped between two people - who looked terrified - and wrapped my arms around Harry.

"Harry," I gasped. "I was so frightened!"

"Never disappear on me like that again! Circe will always find _you_." He hissed at me, but I only smiled at him as I dug my head back into his shoulder.

"I found her," I ammended as I pulled away. "What's going on here?"

"Which one of you conjured this?" One man asked with his wand pointed to Harry and I. I took a step back as I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Pardon me?"

"Do not lie! You have been discovered at the scene of the crime." The man with the bowler hat and a wand pointed to our throats demanded again. I raised my eyebrows, already displeased by his method of questioning.

"Actually," I began to argue, but Mr Weasley shot me a look that silenced me quickly.

"Crime?" Harry asked.

"Barty, they're just kids." Mr Weasley breathed. I looked at Harry, now fully interested in 'Barty' and whatever was going on in that brain of his.

"What crime?" Harry and I asked together. He looked between us quickly, lifting up Harry's hair to see his scar. He looked quickly as if he would be able to see my scar, but my t-shirt covered the large portion of it.

"That's his mark," Hermione whispered with certain emphasis. I raised my eyebrows.

"Voldemort?" I asked, everyone around us flinched.

"Those people in the masks, they were his too, weren't they? His followers?" Harry spat. I nodded, remembering what Dorko had said to me and I shivered. Suddenly, now that I wasn't playing tough or rude to the prick, this was actually a really scary scenario.

"Death Eaters," I whispered to him. He looked at me momentarily before he nodded ever so slightly to let me know he had processed the information. I mimicked him to let him know 'yes, we will talk about this later'.

"There was a man before, there." He pointed to a spot in front of him and everyone's head turned to look at the ground that had been indicated.

"This way!" 'Barty' shouted, getting the rest of the men to follow him. Mr Weasley leaned in to Harry as they left.

"Harry, who?"

"I dunno. I didn't see his face." I looked at Harry for a moment, ready to speak up over the fact that I _had _seen some of the characteristics from the man's face - dark hair, sunken eyes and waxy skin with high cheekbones - but I held my tongue. There was this tug in my stomach that told me not to speak, that this information was something important that shouldn't be shared with just anyone, even Mr Weasley. Maybe Harry was thinking the same thing...either way, I was going to keep my mouth shut.

At least until I figured out what the feeling meant.

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? You got a little insight into Audrey's mind and saw a bit of her character - is this a typical 'Harry Potter has a twin sister' story, or do you think it has a chance? Please let me know by giving me a review or PM, thank you all for reading!<strong>

**-Egypt**


	3. The Triwizard Tournament

**Wow, I got reviews on my first post of this - what a good sign! Thank you so much for your reviews and for the many story alerts, favourite stories, and favourite authors that I recieved - I'm seriously honoured. The feedback has been very positive and I adore writing this story. I've been told by my fantastic Beta **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**that this chapter had her rolling in laughter so I hope you enjoy it as much as she did.**

**Responses to reviews are, as always, at the bottom :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"So my Slytherin informants," I announced loudly as I entered the compartment where my best friends sat, awkwardly talking to each other. "What's the Dark Mark mean?"<p>

I almost feltsorry for making my two friends sit in the same compartment, Slytherins or not, not all of us got along just because of blood status and money. Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass were complete opposites. Theodore being on the verge of too shy and open-minded to be comfortable around Daphne, who was very into her pureblood beliefs and keeping mainstream with the best of the Slytherins. I was known to bring out both the best and the worst in the duo - particularly with my bold conversations. Everyone knew that I hated tagging along with the mainstream Slytherins, like Theo, but they also knew that I hated submitting to whatever insults people tried to throw at me, like Daphne.

We were quite a volcanic triad.

"And to think," Daphne sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I was just saying how I wanted a quiet year that didn't involve your brother getting into trouble."

"You said nothing about her getting into trouble," Theodore pointed out. I crossed my arms as I wormed my way to sit in the corner of the compartment beside Daphne and looked pointedly to both of them, not letting Circe distract me as she jumped on me and rested her head on my knees.

"Just answer the question." I growled, rolling my eyes dramatically. I watched as Daphne and Theodore looked at each other nervously, as if they were conspiring against something that wasn't supposed to be spoken of. They even leaned forward as if they needed to be more quiet.

"Well, the Dark Mark being cast, like at the Cup, well...it normally means someone's dead." Theodore whispered quietly. "It's how they let people know."

"So why was it cast at the Cup? No one turned up dead." I thought suspiciously, all funny pretenses and jokes had dropped by now and the three of us were very serious.

"I dont know," he shrugged, leaning back in his seat and rubbing his hands against his knees.

"Maybe it was to live up old times? Ignite the flame?" Daphne offered.

I sat back and thought through as many of the little flashes I had seen - had there been any danger? I remember the most vivid - the man going towards Harry. I hadn't told him I'd had a vision, and I _certainly _haven't told him that I saw a vague description of the man who had somehow been so threatening without having said a word. I remembered that Harry was on a broom and I remembered Malfoy smirking at me...but I couldn't think of anything else I had seen. It was the thing that sucked most about my premonitions - it was just as rare to remember them as they were to have in the first place.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling."

"Don't say that!" Daphne gasped, reaching over and touching my arm. I shrank away from her instantly - she should have known that I hate being touched by now. "Everytime you say that something goes terribly wrong."

"No it doesn't," I snorted. "Don't be so dramatic."

"It kind of does, Drea." Theo winced. "Don't mean to be down or anything, but we've yet to have a calm year and you _always _say you have a bad feeling."

"Maybe I just always have bad feelings," I offered with a shrug, scootching to the edge of my seat so that I could rest my feet across the aisle and next to him. Theodore rolled his eyes but did not shove them away.

"You _could _just be turning into Trelawny." Daphne muttered. I widened my eyes at her and balled up a piece of parchment from my pocket to throw it at her.

"That's an even _worse _feeling!" She laughed and threw it back at me - poor Theodore just sat and waited for it to be over...until I dragged him into it, of course, creating a battle of flying parchment and stunning areodynamics. By the time the poor trolley lady came around, she saw a torn apart compartment with three kids in Slytherin robes, unable to breathe through their laughter.

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><p>"So, what do you think the idea is behind the carriage and the ship?" Daphne asked us as we were let up from the trance of the sorting. It wasn't like we weren't allowed to talk to each other. It was frowned upon, but the ceremony was so long and dull that people seemed to fall into a meditative state when watching it. Now that it was over, with eight new additions to our table, we were free to roam on our questions.<p>

Most of the conversations were about the giant carriage that had showed up - pulled by flying horses, no less - as well as a large pirate ship that had literally popped up out of the Black Lake. We had not seen whatever creatures had been in them, other than that the ship and carriage were ushered near the rear of the school and that Hagrid had been walking that way, as he was meant to greet them.

"Did you see the Pegasuses pulling the carriage? They were amazing!" Jackie Gorns sighed dreamily from beside Nott. I rolled my eyes at her.

"First of all it's not Pegaususes, it's just Pegasus. And second, they weren't Pegasus. They were Abraxan, a very specific breed of winged horse. Pegasus are crosses between winged horses and unicorns." After a pointed and meaningful look from Jackie and another from Daphne, who was trying to remind me to play nice, I added a smile and a sweet. "I guess you just missed that day of class."

"Some of us don't hang off of that giant's every word," Jackie grumbled back. I didn't actually hate the girl, even if she was far too excitable and gossipy, but I was very proud of my relationship with animals. Besides, that was a juvenile mistake...okay, maybe not _actually_, but I couldn't sit around and leave it unmentioned_._

"It's my best class," I shrugged back to her. "I'm the only one who beats Granger for points in it. When you all can do that in a class, let me know and I will be glad to step down to you."

Some Slytherins forced out laughs just to lighten the mood and people quickly changed the subject, probably because no one could deny it. I started putting food on my plate when I heard an obnoxious voice making yet another obvious and stupid statement.

"What the hell was with the hat's song?" Millicent Bullstrode asked as the food appeared on the table. She was sitting beside Daphne, who was across from me. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at one of her better observations, she had never been subtle or an intellect to be reckoned with. "It's never changed before."

"It still said the same thing, didn't it?" I asked lowly, picking at my food. She glared at me from across the table and I felt Theodore kick my shin from beside me. He looked at me meaningfully from the corner of his eye and I tried to tell him with my glare that our agreement for me to _try _and be nicer this year should not have to include being nice to idiots. Idiots weren't people.

As if to prove my point, Crabbe then spilt his pumpkin juice over Goyle's trousers.

"Crabbe!" Goyle yelled, taking his napkin and dabbing at his leg.

"I didn't mean to!" Crabbe yelped back, but I was too busy to laugh because I was watching in amazement as Goyle lifted the napkin back to his mouth and licked it - probably just to wet it, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass.

"Goyle, are you really that hungry?" I asked loudly, pulling attention towards the large, bumbling boy. "There's an entire hall full of food!"

"Wha'?" He blinked, looking at the table of food. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I had confused him with the insult, it was hard to be surprised by these dolts.

"Ow!" I looked away from the two gorillas who were both busy trying to fix the mess Crabbe had made. I looked down to see who had yelped in pain to see Daphne across from me with a fork dangling from her dark blonde curls, her brown eyes were wide with distress. "What the hell just happened?"

I looked at her with my eyebrws furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"My hair - someone put a fork in my hair and pulled!" She whined, slamming her hands down beside her plate. I heard someone laugh from behind me and turned around to find no one there. Strange. I was sure I heard someone giggle, but how could no one be there?

"Oh my, what a nice skirt." I heard the giggler whisper as Daphne let out a very explicit threat to whomever had charmed her fork to mistreat her and put her weight on her hands. I put my hand out.

"Daphne don't stand up!" I yelled, making her stop with wide eyes.

"Why not?" I didn't say anything, in fact I didn't even move while I concentrated on the giggling that swirled around us again. Ah, I'm understanding now. "Audrey, why not?"

"Peeves, stop harrassing my friend!" I yelled, not really sure where he had ended up since I knew he was floating around us - poor Crabbe probably hadn't done anything at all. He'd been hit by Goyle and put through some humiliation for nothing - not that the oaf didn't deserve it. Those thugs deserved much worse than some laughter at their expense, let me tell you. I heard another round of giggling.

"Oh, lookie, little Potty went and caught me!" Peeves giggled more as he rolled over in the air above us, falling onto his back as he held his stomach. "What will you do, Potty? Sick a hippogriff on me like the blonde chap?"

"What about a hippogriff?" Malfoy asked, tensing up as if the memory of his little 'attack' last year had been traumatic enough to scar him. I rolled my eyes.

"Nothing about a hippogriff, Dragon-breath. And you can't prove I did that, Peeves!" I yelled to the ghost, who only laughed a little bit more before floating down, closer to my level.

"You can't ruin _all _my fun, Potty - I'll get your little friend's skirt when she get's up to go to sleep!"

"And _I'll _call the Bloody Baron faster than you died." I said quickly.

Peeves finally stopped giggling as his eyes bulged from his sockets. He leaned down towards me. "You wouldn't."

"I'd even get Fred and George to call on him." I said with a smirk, crossing my arms over my chest. He seemed to weigh his options for a second before he frowned dramatically and floated until he was standing up straight and proud - then he blew me a raspberry.

"_Stupid Potty ruins my fun, just because she's got no mum! Call the Baron cause I'm not fond - well wait 'til she sees what I do with her wand!_" His song was followed by a round of cackling before he repeated the riff.

"You best stay away from my wand, Peeves!" I yelled at him, even though he was already floating from the hall and singing the song so that the whole of the upper years could hear on his way out. I looked back at Daphne who had pried the fork from her hair and was fixing herself up.

"Thanks, Audrey." She mumbled. "That song was very rude."

"It's actually one of his better rhymes," I acknowledged lightly with a shrug, not letting it show that the rhyme about my Mum was a little more than hurtful.

I started to dig back into my food and couldn't help but let out some groans of pleasure. The Weasleys always had great food, but nothing ever seemed to compare to the food that just magically appeared in front of me in the Great Hall. Maybe it was that I didn't like seeing the chickens before I ate them. Maybe it was that I was so exhausted from the hard work we did around the house that I never got to taste the food and appreciate it as much, but Hogwarts food was the best food. Hopefully I'd get back to a healthy weight in a month or two - it always took longer to gain it back than it did to loose it thanks to the Dursleys.

"So Potter," I looked to the voice who addressed me and saw Blaise Zabini smirking at me from a few seats down the table. He eyed the speed I was eating my large leg of meat with displeasure. "What kind of trouble will you get us in this year? Choking on that roast beast?"

"I'd rather something that will win us some bloody points," I grumbled, setting down my leg like the pristine pureblood women had taught me was polite, even though I couldn't help but sneer when I thought about how Gryffindor had won the past three years thanks to Harry and his heroics. A few Slytherins let out a dull cheer, but Zabini laughed.

"With you sorted here, we were guarenteed to _never _win the House Cup." He informed me with a roll of his eyes. I saw Pansy Parkinson, my mortal enemy, beside Malfoy as she shot me a glare. We all knew that her opinion was that if I died Slytherin would probably recieve all the points there were to be given.

"Maybe if I follow Harry to trouble I'll get some points for surviving!" I cheered sarcastically, to which Zabini rolled his eyes. He did this because everyone knew that's the only reason Harry ever got points - because he didn't die when he was most likely supposed to. And for some reason all those events happen right at the end of the year when the House Cup is about to be given. Were he to be elimated from the race, Gryffindor wouldn't stand a chance to our kiss-assed nature.

"That's a horrible idea," Parkinson spoke. I snapped my eyes over to where she sat some seats away, hooked onto Malfoy's arm as she usually was. She had always been disturbingly clingy to the arse and he had always been uninterested, but she never game up on him. I had to give her some credit for it, determination could actually get her out of the Fast Food Chain future she was destined, but I hated her far too much to admire it. "It wouldn't be because you survived, after all we'd get more if you _were _to just die - I'm sure they'd give it to us as thanks for getting rid of you."

"I'd use the terms 'when pigs fly', but I happen to remember your fat ass sitting on a broom."

"_Audrey_..." Daphne groaned, upset that I was so quickly ruining the promise that I was going to try and be nice to the pureblood folk who held her future in their hands. Honestly, I don't know why she wanted to suck up to them so badly, she could actually do magic - it seemed that made her more pureblooded than the rest of them, even if she didn't have as much money. Why try to wriggle your way into a society that's actually below your social standing?

Pansy was growing red and I really enjoyed it, despite Daphne's warnings that I should be more polite to my 'superiors'. It was like a high, or a word vomit. As soon as the first bit was out - there was no stopping the flow.

"So clearly there's nothing can be done to save the world. One day I'll die, Pansy-"

"Not soon enough, you bint!" She hissed. I did not stop my rant.

"-But I can assure you that it will be before Douchebag Malfoy over there ever says he loves you." I clucked my tongue in fake pity and the table went silent. It was one of those things that everyone knew but no one ever dared to say out loud...well, I was never one to listen for disclaimers anyway. Daphne let out a groan while she droopped her head so she could hide behind her curtain of curls and I looked to Theodore who was looking at me in slight annoyance. I was drawing too much attention to us for his liking.

"I think that's a brilliant way to start the year," I announced to him with a smile.

"Audrey, you're being unnecessarily vulgar." He grumbled quietly, hoping that no one would be able to hear what he said - he would never be one for public speaking. In fact, last year for divination he had failed three seperate assignments because he refused to stand up in front of the class to explain what he saw. Poor bloke.

"Fine, I'm sorry Theodore. I didn't mean to foil the attempt so soon."

"Maybe you should be apologizing to her?" He asked with a shake of his head.

"Apologize to _her_?" I repeated, pointing a finger at Parkinson - who was so red that I was fairly certain she would blow up some sort of red candy treat she'd gorged herself on earlier. "But she's so-"

"I'm going to kill you, Potter!" She hissed at me. I rolled my eyes, not even bother to look at her.

"Oh, get in line. You're about eight-hundredth on the list."

"No, _I'm _going to be the one to kill you, if it's the last thing I do!" Pansy screeched, finally tearing herself from the neon-beacon that was Malfoy. I fought back another laugh and looked at Theodore with a preemptive apologetic look.

"Best stay in school then, Parkinson." I said with a tut. "Just keep in mind that _far _more talented magical beings than you have tried and failed."

"You sl-" but before Parkinson could finish her words that were obviously full of love and care, I was distracted by Professor Dumbledore standing up at the podium and raising his hands to get everyone's attention.

It never ceased to amaze me how one man could rule over such an impressionable crowd. He never yelled, he was never angry - you rarely saw him as any emotion other than amused. But Dumbledore held an authority that not even Professor Snape could compete against and it was one of those powers over people that didn't come with experience - this was bred. Dumbledore wasn't just a powerful wizard, he was a powerful presence. Powerful enough to calm down the entire school in mere seconds, anyway.

"Now that we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement." It was about time - everyone wanted to know who was in the ship and the carriage. "This year, Hogwarts will not only be _your _home, but also home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a _legendary _event."

My ears perked up and I looked around the room to see everyone seemed to be reacting in the same way as I did.

"The _Tri-Wizard tournament_." Everyone seemed to begin to whisper, the Slytherins seemed to know what that meant - they were from older families so I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually something 'legendary', but Dumbledore didn't seem to mind the interruption. Instead, he waited for us to stop so that he could continue. "Now for those of you who do not know, the Tri-Wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete."

"I'm trying," Malfoy said immediately with a courage that I knew from experience he did not have.

"Oh Merlin, please do." I snorted at him, only to get a glare in return.

"Now let me be clear, if chosen - you stand alone. And trust me when I say that these contests are not for the faint hearted-"

"Rules you out, bleach-boy." I whispered to him. He sneered at me.

"-Please help me to welcome the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Accademy of Magic and their headmistress Madame Maxime."

The doors to the Great Hall opened noiselessly and on the other side stood a horde of women who were so beautiful it almost hurt my eyes to look at them all in such a concentrated group. The horde ran forward, some dancing more elegantly than Goyle could chew messily, others did acrobatics better than Harry could fly. There was no way to deny that it was down-right depressing.

Clearly I would be boyfriend-less yet again this year.

By the time the acrobatics were done, the ladies released butterflies into the air and all the girls gasped and giggled, reaching for any that came close to the tables. Not surprisingly, near half a dozen decided to land by me. I smiled, not paying attention to the large woman who walked down the aisle while I ushered the butterflies onto my arm.

"Hello, you pretty things. Why, aren't you just spectacular? Why aren't you flying outside - you must need to migrate soon..."

"Stop talking to animals, they can't _hear _you." Daphne hissed, clearly embarrassed for herself through my actions. My eyes turned to Theodore who made a slight face quickly so that I would know I was in the clear. Daphne, as always, was just being self-absorbed.

"And now, meet the proud sons of Durmstrang!"

The doors opened again and this time an army of some of the most attractive men I have ever seen started walking towards us. I lied. I would _definitely _wrangle myself a boyfriend this year. Especially considering I'm pretty sure I fancied every one of the boys, no - every one of the _men_ who walked through those doors.

Instead of an acrobatic display of beauty, they had a flashy display of masculinity. They hammered their staffs on the ground and even did some breakdancing, which surprisingly never looked so broodish. By the time they were done - equipt with a phoenix of fire - two extra men walked through the door. One of the men looked vaguly familiar.

"Merlin's maladie, that's Viktor Krum!" Millicent gasped.

"I know my conquest of the year," Daphne fawned over him, as I assumed she would for the rest of the year. Everyone seemed to be. I would mark him off my list, I already had a Quidditch player in the family.

"I'm entering the tournament." Malfoy announced, only to let the other Slytherins return to fawning over him, but I was happy to see that most of the girls eyes still kept flickering over to the new fame up front.

Now, to be clear, I should say that there were two people that was completely exempt from my list of people who I should try to play civil with: the first being Pansy Parkinson, just because she was such a barmpot. But there was one person on that list who would forever have a place etched in stone and that person was Draco Malfoy. Malfoy and I had hated each other through the years thanks to both his hatred for my brother and the crush he had had on me during second year. It was obvious how that one ended - a swift kick to the testacles - but it was now to the point that a few minutes with him could possibly lead to someone's death.

Clearly our hatred for each other was actually for society's safety.

"Are you sure you can enter with that tumor growing off your arm?"

"It's not like you could enter, Potter. Your brother will snag _that _away from you too." My eye twitched but I immediately saw the flaw in his argument.

"Then how on earth are _you _going to enter? A fourth contestant from the school of idiocy?"

"Watch your tongue, Potter-" Malfoy hissed, leaning towards me as if to intimidate me. I let out a laugh that I didn't even try to hold away from myself. At least he was attempting to make something of himself instead of fawning all over me - I was glad there would be no repeats of legalities like sexual harrassment.

"I'm sorry Malfoy, am I spitting venom again? Hopefully it doesn't stain that pretty blonde head of hair of yours." But instead of getting angry, he suddenly looked very, very pleased with himself. I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"I knew you liked my hair."

I gaped, hardly able to make a coherent sentence. "You-I-my Salazar, you are insufferable!"

"With pretty hair," he pointed out with a smirk. He turned around pretended as if he didn't see me writhing. Just like at the Quidditch World Cup, I could not bring myself to let the fool have the last word.

"You'd best watch your back," I hissed across the table. "That hair of yours might not be pretty for long, otherwise."

I was glad that I could dig into dessert after our little tiff, which in my mind, I had lost. To such a little condescending comment, too. I wasn't used to losing, nevertheless to Malfoy. And losing so _badly._ It was a blow to my ego and my talents.

Clearly, this is something I will have to rectify.

"Your attention, please." Professor Dumbledore did not need to yell, yet again, to get our attention and suddenly all three schools had their eyes fixed properly on him. "I would like to say a few words: Eternal Glory - that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard tournament. But to do this, you have to complete three extremely dangerous tasks. For this reason, the Ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain this, we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation: Mister Bartimus Crouch t-"

But before Mr Crouch could come up to the podium, the sky of the Great Hall lit up like fireworks. There was a moment where I was about to shout at Peeves that the prank was not appreciated right now, but I realized that instead of fireworks it was actually lightning raining down from the enchanted sky that nearly touched some of the candle sticks. I couldn't imagine what taller kids like Fred and George must have thought of it. Though I am ashamed to admit it, I jumped about a foot out of my seat at the loud crash of thunder that followed and ended up weilding my fork like a weapon.

But as the lightning struck for a third time, a wand lit the corner of the room and flashed up towards the ceiling. I was shocked by how quickly it calmed the weather so that it again mimicked the outdoor twilight. Red flags exploded from every crack in my gray-matter when I looked outside and saw the weather had stayed calm through the entire panic in the ceiling...nothing like that had ever happened in Hogwarts. Ever.

The man who saved all the tall kids had walked out from the shadows by now and I was shocked by his appearance. He was a tall, rounded man who walked with a bad limp and staff. He dressed in casual wizard-wear which matched the clumsiness of his thinning hair and patch which fit around what looked like a false eye that spun eerily in his head.

"Who the bloody hell is that?" Daphne whispered from in front of me, I looked to her and shook my head.

"I have no idea..."

"That's Mad-Eye Moody. He's a dodger now, used to be an Auror for the ministry. A good one too - before he went batty as Trelawny." Mafalda Prewett, a third year down the table said notably. She was the biggest know-it-all gossip queen in the House.

"They'd be quite the cute couple," Millicent giggled with her. I literally bit my tongue to keep from commenting. Instead, I watched Moody and Dumbledore exchange words and a handshake coming to the conclusion that this man would be the new DADA professor. The man who all but accused us of being Voldemort's followers at the Quidditch World Cup stepped forward to a podium. Now that I thought about it, I do recall his name being 'Barty'.

"After much deliberation, the Ministry has concluded that for their own safety that no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the Tri-Wizard tournament-" but before he was even finished, the crowd was in uproar.

"THAT'S RUBBISH!" My favourite pair of twins shouted from across the room. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

I turned to Theodore and widened my eyes dramatically.

"Those twins will tear this school apart until they're allowed to enter, won't they?" Nott asked with a grimmace. I couldn't help the dreamy, excited smile that played across my face as I imagined it.

"Oh, they will. It will be marvelous."

"The Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore's voice cut the riot down to silence once again. "Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly," he emphasized, his eyes skimming the crowd as the thick goblet flamed a cool blue. "If chosen there is no turning back. As from this moment, the Tri-Wizard tourament has begun."

"Well, I'm ecstatic." Daphne said as we walked out of the Great Hall. "I hope that the Hogwarts Champion is from Slytherin."

"I doubt it," I laughed, falling in step between she and Theodore. "As much green-pride as I have, we're a little bit too cowardly to risk our lives, don't you think?"

"Well you and that twin of yours have done it basically every year, haven't you?" Blaise asked lowly with a raised eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Not by choice, Zabini. Not - by - choice."

"Think you'll be out of the spotlight this year?" Theodore asked mockingly. "Please just say yes, even if it's a lie. Just say it for my sanity."

"She can't possibly be in the limelight with this tournament! Thank Salazar you aren't seventeen - if you entered and were picked, I could just imagine the uproar. Or if your brother-"

"We're not entering and I wouldn't even if I were old enough." I interrupted immediately. "Eternal Glory? I can find Eternal Glory in my packet of Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans faster than I would if I were in that tournament. I'm a lost cause for anything but shadow-fame."

"But you're the best shadow of fame ever!" Daphne put on puppy dog eyes. "I mean, you even save your brothers arse - shadows aren't commonly that considerate."

"Consider me a Saint," I smiled.

"Compared to what, a demon?" Theo snorted.

"I'm not _that _bad," I argued with a pout.

"Yes you are. You're the most evil and loyal Slytherin hybrid that has ever existed." Daphne laughed loudly, drawing some eyes toward the three of us. It wasn't often that we displayed our conversations in public thanks to how bashful Theodore was. I rolled my head over my shoulders, trying to loosen my muscles.

"I'm certainly not heavenly, Mr Nott," I frowned melodramatically. "But I will be an angel to one of those boys this year."

"Audrey!" Daphne laughed.

"Angel," Theodore snorted to himself. I rolled my eyes at the two while they laughed at the images popping into their head. Were I not so proud, I probably would have joined them, but instead I stood up and straightened my clothes to leave the Great Hall.

"Your lack of faith in me is just plain rude." They only laughed harder.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what did you guys think? As you can see I am following both the books and the movies - but from an entirely different point of view. You always see what happens with the Golden Trio, but never with who the trio's actions affect which is exactly why I used the idea of a bitter sister. <strong>

**To my reviewers:**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: You could still hate it and be a Beta, so I'm just going to assume that it will have a good chance and good things will come of it...or at least that's what I'm hoping for! Thank you for your amazingness and have a great month! I may release more when you're gone, but don't worry you'll always be my Beta in spirit :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you so much for reviewing the first update! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I hope you like the rest!**

_ireallyamtellingthetruth_**: I hope you liked this chapter as much, if not more, than the last. Thank you for reviewing on my first update, it's really appreciated :)**

**Wow guys, thank you so much for such positive response. Let me know what you're thinking of the story. Have any guesses as to what will happen? Anything you like or dislike about the character? Thanks for reading and please **_review_**!**

**-Egypt**


	4. Unforgivable

**Hello my wonderful, amazing, fantastic readers! I can't tell you how happy I am that you're liking this story. I know that a Harry-Potter-Twin storyline can be a flop, but I'm glad that you're at least giving it a chance. This is my favourite story to write, closely followed by Forgetting Franki, so I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.**

**Special thanks go to my spectacular Beta **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for correcting my oeruse of commas and run-on sentences :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"I'm on-time!" I announced factually, if not a little loudly, while I ran and slammed myself into the seat next to Nott, knocking into him in the process. I didn't quite move before he pushed me off of him and brushed off his sleeve as if I had somehow transferred dirt to his robes.<p>

"No, but the teacher's more late than you are so I think you're safe." Nott smirked. At least Nott was his normal self, and was considerate enough to remember that I liked sitting near my brother in the few classes we shared and sat behind him for this one. I smiled at him.

"Did you miss breakfast?" Harry asked as he turned around to talk to me. I shrugged.

"Meaningless meal, isn't it?" He rolled his eyes, Ron gaped at me.

"Meaningless? There's no way that any meal is meaningless!"

"You're a glutton, Ron." I snorted. "But I agree with you...unless I'm running late."

"You missed it then, the Bulgarians have taken to eating with the Slytherins, and the French are with the Ravenclaws." Harry informed. I looked to Theodore who shrugged his shoulders nonchallantly. Thank Merlin that my friend wasn't obsessed with Quiddich and, most importantly, he wasn't obsessed with appearances.

"Feeling left out, my loyal lion?" I asked sarcastically, my brother rolled his eyes.

"Not at all, though Ron seems upset he hasn't gotten his autograph."

"It won't mean as much if everyone gets one." Ron argued, as he frowned.

"You're such a girl-"

But I couldn't laugh at my brother's best friend for any longer because at that moment, our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor just so happened to walk right past my seat. I felt a shiver go down my spine and a strange feeling pass over me. I don't know how I could tell, but that eye was watching me through the back of his head. But why would he be watching me?

"I don't think I'll like this professor." I thought aloud to Theodore, not really taking into account that said professor could probably hear me, but I didn't really care. Theodore just sighed deeply. He knew from each of my experiences that not liking someone means he should feel sorry for the bloke. Theodore, like me, seemed to be compassionate enough to hope that his punishment for being strange wouldn't be too mean on my prank-scale.

By the time he had limped up to the front, the chalk was magically writing his name on the board in twisted and messy cursive. I hoped I'd be able to take notes from his writing, it was difficult to read.

"Alastor Moody," he announced with a thick Irish lilt. I was surprised, I had mostly expected to hear a Scottish grunting, just because he was so brutish and all. "Ex-auror, Ministry malcontent, and your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I am here because Dumbledore asked me: end of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?"

The class sat silently. I think we were all afraid that if we spoke, he'd be rid of us like he had the lightning the night before.

"When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach. I believe in constant vigilance! Now, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?" I raised my eyebrows. This guy was insane. I was positive that this was not in our curriculum, so why was it necessary to talk about? I'm no goody-two-shoes, but I do have common sense.

"Three, sir." Hermione spoke up from the table beside mine, not that her answering was predictable or anything.

"And they are so named?"

"Because they are unforgivable," Hermione explained, I turned to Theodore and blinked slowly.

"How bloody typical, aye?" I asked quietly. He snorted and lowered his eyes to try and pretend like he hadn't reacted at all. Shy little bugger.

"The use of any one of them will-"

"Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban, correct. Now the ministry says that you're too young to see what these curses do: I say different."

"I lied. I like him," I said immediately. Harry looked over his shoulder and shot me a look that showed I should clearly be more judgemental, so I gave him a look that clearly said 'step off'. Learning about something like the Unforgivable Curses meant that it was against curriculum, but _seeing them? _Not only was that something we weren't supposed to do, it was something that would radically change our lives. My curiosity was almost burning through me.

"You need to know what you're up against," Moody continued. "You need to be prepared. You need to find somewhere else to put your chewing gum other than the other side of your desk, Mr Finnigan!" My jaw dropped as I heard Seamus mutter something bitterly. "_And _hear across classrooms!"

"I lied." I stated bluntly. "I love him."

"You're a twit."

"So, which curse shall we see first?" Moody smiled, his magical eye whizzing around the room. "Weasley!"

"Yes!" Ron shot up almost a foot off his seat when Moody addressed him and I couldn't help but giggle quietly, looking behind me to Daphne who was reacting in the same way, but not quite so subtly.

"Give us a curse."

"Well..." he looked behind to Hermione, then myself for some sort of support. I widened my eyes and shrugged my shoulders. I'd never paid attention enough to know what they were. "My Dad did tell me about one. The _Imperius _curse?"

"Ah, yes. Your father would know all about that - gave the ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps _this _will show you why."

I widened my eyes as I looked over to Hermione, who looked flustered. "He's actually going to do it..."

But he was already cooing a large, daddy-long-legged spider as he placed the curse on it. I watched in shocked, disgusted fascination as he sent the spider around the class. He held his wand confidently. I could tell that he had used the curses many times before, he liked scaring people. I couldn't even laugh when he put the spider on Malfoy's face, the bastard had been so smug and fascinated, but I was too busy assessing my Professor. While he smiled at the terror he caused the brainwashed spider, his magical eye seemed to be focused on me. So, he was interested that I was observant, was he? Good. I narrowed my eyes.

He should keep in mind that I would be watching _just _as closely.

"What should I have her do next?" He asked loudly, the smile falling from his face. "Make her jump out the window?"

The spider hit the glass with a painful slap that made even Ron wince in sympathy. But there was no other sound from the students, who were still all shaken. "Drown herself?"

I clenched my jaw. I didn't particularily adore spiders, but they were still creatures and if I had to choose between creatures and humans, the creatures would always win. Possibly even in a fight with Harry, Theo, or Daphne - they could at least defend themselves. I looked away from the spider as it landed back in his hand.

"Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the Imperius curse. But here's the rub: how do we sort out the liars?" His magical eye was still trained between Harry and I as he looked around the room with his real eye. "Another, another...Come on, come on."

He turned to the table that was directly beside Theodore and motioned for Neville Longbottom to stand. To me, Neville Longbottom was the bees knees...for teasing. Not that I ever teased him, I had a lot of respect for the kid, so long as we weren't talking about magic, but I had a terrible feeling that whatever would happen would be like a bee after it stings: lethal.

"Longbottom is it? Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology." Which was the only subject he was good in - not that I was really one to talk, this was possibly my worst.

"Yes, sir." Neville muttered gravely. "There's the...um..._Crutiatus _curse."

"Correct, correct! Particularily nasty one: the torture curse." Moody set the spider down on my desk, directly in front of me, the magical eye shifted between Harry, myself, and Neville. I shifted towards it instinctually, knowing that the animal was about to be hurt.

"_Crucio!_" Professor Moody cast the spell directly in front of me and I watched the spider writhe in pain in front of me. I could hear it's terrified screams and feel the room collapsing around me from all the dread that everyone, including myself, felt.

"Stop it, can't you see it's bothering him?" Hermione hissed to the professor from behind me. I nodded my head, not even looking at Neville, I could sense his pain like one could sense the time of day.

"Stop it." I agreed loudly.

Moody lifted the curse without complaint and walked towards Hermione, leaving the spider on my desk. I petted it's torso lightly, trying not to scare it. I cooed it a little bit as Harry turned around and spoke in panicked tones.

"Take your hand off it."

"No, Harry - she's going to die at this rate, look at her!" I hissed back desperately.

"Audrey." Harry got my attention, "something tells me she won't be suffering much longer."

Moody turned his wand back to the spider and I turned my eyes to him, his good eye watched me and his fake eye was trained on Harry. I stared him down for a moment, a long moment where he did not cast a curse. It let me know the reality of it. That there was nothing I could possibly do.

I took my hand away from the injured arachnid.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

A green jet of life shot from Professor Moody's wand and the spider keeled over not two feet in front of me. I backed up in my seat instinctually, clutching at the sides and breathing heavily against the constriction in my chest. I felt my eyes water defiantly as I tried to glare at my professor. There was no need to take it's life. I took back all my thoughts - we could have learned by theory. We _should _have learned by theory. This was one thing that we never needed to be shown.

"The killing curse," Moody announced after clearing his throat and having both eyes look away from me and towards Harry. "Only one person is known to have survived it...and he's sitting in this room."

Everyone's eyes turned to Harry and I saw Harry fight hard not to turn red and sink in his seat. Because I felt bad for him and because I felt even worse for the spider, I placed the corpse in my hand and let the sadness drench me. As everyone started packing up their bags in a hurry to leave, I allowed myself to begin the walk up to the professor's desk. He watched me the entire way, he did not stop me or ask me what I was doing. I think that's probably why the class diverted their attention to the gutsy Slytherin who they thought would probably chew the teacher out. I walked forward a few steps, just enough to get to his desk before I turned and placed the corpse right on top of his papers.

I turned around - ignoring the rest of the class who were _supposed _to have been walking out during my act of compassion - and glared at the doors in front of me, refusing to meet eyes with Moody. I said nothing to anyone and kept my gaze cold as I delicately stormed out of the class, hoping once I'd already left that Nott would remember to grab my satchel for me.

I hadn't left for two minutes before the rest of the class seemed to dismiss themselves, apparently they were told such a disturbing lesson was to be left alone after that and we were given time to 'recoupe'. Harry, Ron, and Hermione caught up to me first and luckily, Harry had my bag.

"Nott said he'd meet you in Care of Magical Creatures."

"Thank you," I muttered, grabbing my bag from him and slinging it over my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked, walking close to me and putting his hand on my shoulder. "You shouldn't have walked out like that - you'll be the talk of the school."

"No more than those bloody curses should be," I hissed. "He killed that spider for no reason!"

"_I _wasn't that upset..." Ron whispered to himself. I glared.

"Not the point. He shouldn't kill in front of students. Animals or arachnids or in visual at all." I spit. Hermione wrapped her arm around mine and nodded.

"I completely agree, it was so irresponsible and so...so..."

"Inhumane?" I offered. She nodded.

"Exactly. I think we should have a talk with Professor Dumbledore-" Hermione went on but I shook my head and withdrew my arm.

"As much as I'm against it and as much as I look _dashing _in these green robes of mine," I smirked. "I'm not a snitch. I will handle this situation maturely and without help, because I can do that. Then, one day when his back is turned, he'll find just as pretty a present on _his _desk-"

"Audrey!" Hermione scolded. I rolled my eyes.

"Would it comfort you were I to say I was considering the assistance of Fred and George?" I asked. She thought about it for a moment, blinking, before she shook her head.

"No! That does not comfort me at all, it's a terrible idea!"

"Fred and George it is!" I laughed, placing my hand over Harry's that still rested on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He gave me a stern look and I shook my head. "I'm fine, Harry."

"We're going to stay in the entryway by the Goblet of Fire after supper, will you join us?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Will you leave me to go to my class in peace and not be a worry-wart if I say yes?"

"I will leave you to go to class," he negotiated. I sighed.

"I'll see you at seven."

"Love you," he chuckled, walking in front of me. I laughed quietly to myself.

"No public displays of affection, Potter!" I shouted after him, but quietly muttered a quick "love you too" before I turned to the right and went to my next class. As much as I loved Theodore and Daphne, I found that I couldn't be more excited for seven.

Professor Alastor Moody had shaken me, not that I liked to admit it.

I liked watching people. I was good at watching people because they never realized how brilliant I was when it came to everyone else. They never knew that my eyes were trained on every move they made...but for once, someone elses eye had been trained on me. Not Harry. For once, I wasn't invisible. Not even translucent. He not only knew I was there, he seemed to know exactly who I was, especially with the act of putting the spider on my desk. I didn't like he knew my weaknesses, knew what I hated, usually I didn't dignify anyone with that knowledge - because even the people who disgusted me didn't know what could make me feel this terrible. Maybe a part of me had liked being invisible more than I appreciated. Maybe I had finally realized for once that all I wished for was that I wasn't seen at all.

I was glad to walk down towards Hagrid's hut, as expected Circe caught up to me about half way down. I didn't really draw attention to it. I didn't find it necessary - she loved joining me for outdoor classes or transfiguration. Either way, having her weave between my feet helped make me feel more at ease.

The September air was not crisp yet, but it still sent a shiver through me because of how sensitive to the cold I was. It had only gotten worse after the dementor attacks last year - the cold now frightened me a little because I was always worried what was causing it. I would probably be just on time for class - but I knew that it wouldn't matter if I came when half the class was over, Hagrid loved me too much.

"Do we need to tell Hagrid that you'll be late, Potter?" A girlish, nasal voice asked from behind me. "You've had quite the emotional day."

I didn't stop walking or turn my head to look at Parkinson, who was obviously the only person who had such a disgusting voice. Instead, I looked at my watch, hoping that I _would _be late so that she would get a nice talking to by the professor.

"Still in shock, or is your voicebox still off from that scar on your neck?"

That one made my eyes narrow and made me turn to look at her. She was smirking, having known that the last insult had hit home and her little girl possé seemed pretty proud of themselves as well. I raised an eyebrow.

"I'd much rather have this _thing _on my neck than that _thing _called your _face_." I sneered, walking a little faster so that I wouldn't break my cool. Parkinson jogged to keep up to me - I was surprised her knees didn't buckle under that stuffed bra of hers.

"Are your little blood-traitor boyfriends going to put their name in the Goblet, then?" She asked, referring to Fred and George - the Slytherins had never been too fond of my relationship with them. "I hope so, lots of people die in the Tri-wizard Tournament, you know. It'd be the funniest thing they've ever done."

I rounded on her. I accepted taunting but death had never been a funny joke or acceptable threat for me. I took it too seriously; my brother and I _had _almost been murdered as babies and who can count how many times since.

"Parkinson, I suggest you shut up, before I shut you up. Hagrid doesn't need another disgusting animal like yourself to have us dissect. I'd hate to waste anatomic abnormalities such as you." I could finally see Hagrid's hut just yards away and waved to Daphne, who tried to get me to speed up.

"Abnormality?" Pansy screeched, whipping out her wand and running in front of me to stop me from walking. I rolled my eyes, not even quick to grab my wand as I looked down at my feet where Circe was circling.

"Circe, go to Theodore, please." I said sweetly. My kneazle looked between me and Pansy, the latter of which looked about ready to slaughter, before she traipsed off towards the class who had all turned to watch our tiff. "Don't make me grab my wand, Parkinson."

"It's not like you're any good with it anyway, Potter." She laughed. "I may have slow reaction skills, but at least I can do the spells they require!"

"Oh come off it," I scoffed. "I can do magic better than you, and I don't have to be a pureblood to do it. If you _really _want to test it, I would be more than happy to appease you."

"Like you could!" She hissed, straightening out her wand hand. "Impedi-"

"Expelliarmus!"

Now, because I really _was_ such shite with a wand, even though I was rather good at duelling, my spell did not go as planned. It was the sad reality of being a bad wand-handler. My wand was pretty much pointless, and while my spell did not disarm my opponent as it should, it did make her fly backwards from the force. Luckily, I packed a hard punch because of how much magic I had, problem was there was no way to direct it and make it do what I wanted.

You win some, you lose some, I guess.

"You-" Pansy got up quickly, red faced and angry. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't try it again for your own good, you're getting dreadfully close to the trees..."

"Audrey, Parkinson!" Hagrid's booming voice yelled from behind Pansy. I lowered my wand to show that I was paying attention. "Are y' fightin' durin' my class?"

"Merely defending myself, Hagrid." I said with a shrug. "She started it-"

"I did not!"

"Didn't mean to disrupt." I pocketed my wand and walked forward towards the class, taking a firm place between Daphne and Theodore. Theodore quickly nudged me in the ribs and Daphne took a few steps away from me, I tried not to appear hurt by it. I knew that she was friends with Pansy, but she had always said I came first. I hoped one day she'd show it.

"It's a good thin' you brough' Circe, Audrey. Today class, we'll be learnin' 'bout Kneazles."

"Fantastic," I smirked, eyeing Circe who was again right at my feet before turning my eyes to Theo, who was snickering. Because I had a kneazle, this would be yet another class where I did all the work within a few minutes and we got to laze around for the rest of the period. With that announcement, Daphne took a quick step back towards me just to solidify her place in my group if we ended up being divvied up.

"Can I show Circe off ter th' class, Audrey?" Hagrid asked, taking a step towards me. I bent down, holding out my arms and Circe was glad to jump back into them. She had never really gotten past the kitten stage when it came to cuddling. I held her out to Hagrid, who moved slowly.

"Of course you may."

"Thank yer," he smiled, holding his arms out for Circe. She took a moment, her nose wrinkling as she studied who he was. She looked from him, back to me and I gave a nod before she crawled from my arms into his. He gave me a nod of appreciation before taking Circe to the front of the class.

My pet seemed to be loving the attention of the students eyes. She looked regally over us all as Hagrid announced that my beautiful cat, Circe, who they always saw trailing at my heels, was actually a Kneazle that was four years old. She had really grown into herself in those four years. When I had gotten her, she had just been a white puff ball with big amber eyes and a few spots. Hagrid had gotten her because she and Hedwig matched colourings. She had now grown to have pure white fur with cheetah like black and gray spots.

"Perfect specimen, too." Hagrid explained. "Kneazles 'ave spotted fur, big ears, and lion tails, nice amber eyes too-" he pointed each of these features out as he said them. "They're us'ly a little bigger than normal cats, this one seems to be a tad small - but she's purebred with rare purebred colourin'."

"I never thought I'd hear something is purebred when it comes to a Potter," Malfoy laughed from behind me. The Slytherins and Ravenclaws who took the class with us either chuckled or glared. I settled with pretending like I hadn't heard the old insult.

"Alrigh' Malfoy," Hagrid grumbled, obviously upset by his comment. "Can y' tell me what a Kneazle is?"

"It's that thing in your hands," Malfoy laughed. "You just told us that."

"And why're they import'nt?"

"I'm sure it's considered important because _Potter _has one," Malfoy's eyes rolled. "Why else?"

"They're important because of how intelligent they are," I fumed, turning around and glaring at him. "But I doubt you would understand what that means."

The Ravenclaws laughed and I raised an eyebrow when I saw his cheeks flush angrily. Malfoy would never change. He was as predictable and vivacious as drying paint.

"Aren't Kneazles sensitive to dark wizards?" One Ravenclaw, Padma Patil, asked.

"Not jus' dark wizards, but enemies o' their owners," Hagrid smiled and gave her five points. "They can't be 'roud natural enemies t' their owners 'cause they imprint on their owners like an'mals imprint on th'r babies, they're very protective of 'em."

"So what you're saying," Terry Boot elaborated. "Is that anyone that Audrey hates or doesn't like her wouldn't be able to go near the cat?"

"Kneazle," I corrected under my breath, "Come on, Terry, Ravenclaws are supposed to be smart."

"Exactly, Terry." Hagrid beamed, glad that the class was starting to understand. "_And _if they posed any sorta threat t' Audrey, Circe here won't let 'em close to her, either."

"That's why I sent her away, Parkinson." I said as I turned to Pansy. "She knew to attack you since I hate you so much and I didn't want to embarrass you by having you beaten up by a cat. Even _I _am too kind."

People laughed at that - either about Pansy being beaten up or about me being kind. I felt pretty smug, right up until Pansy walked towards Hagrid and stood right in front of him, glaring daggers through my cat.

"Let me see her, then."

"Pardon me?" Hagrid repeated, blinking his eyes.

"Oh God, are you trying to be like Malfoy last year? You really want to get yourself hurt?" I sighed, putting my hands on my hips. "I guess I'm in for a show."

"I'm an enemy. I want to see if this cat hates me, or if this is all hobswallow."

"Pansy, don't!" Daphne gasped. "Hagrid wouldn't lie about that, even if Audrey would."

"Give me the cat," Pansy hissed, looking at Hagrid with a glare. Hagrid shook his head, and looked to me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Go on, then." I encouraged.

"Tha's my answer," he sighed. "If Audrey _wants _yer to get Circe, Circe'll hurt yeh."

"Ruin our fun," Theodore sighed quietly. I snorted loudly. The quiet comments that came from Theodore commonly made my day better.

"Let me _see _it!" Pansy growled, reaching her hand up towards Circe. Circe met Pansy's eyes quickly and in a split second knew that Pansy and I were not commrades. Because she made this connection, Circe showed off her sharp claws by taking a swing at Pansy's hand.

Pansy let out a screech, holding her bleeding hand to stop the blood flow. I was surprised by the fact I didn't actually want to laugh by the display, but I did want to roll my eyes. She was being melodramatic. Though Circe's claws were sharp, they weren't daggers. They did not go deep and they tended to just make more blood show than pain.

"I'll have that cat's paw as a luck-charm!" Pansy howled. _That _was when I laughed.

"Pansy! I'll take you to the hospital wing," Daphne offered immediately, trying to mend a long burnt bridge. Hagrid nodded and gave them permission to go before he handed Circe over to me again. I cooed her to 'calm' her down, but really I was rewarding her.

What? She'd done her job. And rather well, I'd say.

"Anyone else dare to see who I like?" I asked with a smirk.

Terry Boot and Padma Patil, the brave souls, walked forward first. They came towards the cat and dared to put out their hands to see if she would maim them. Not surprisingly, Circe let them pet her. Not that I really liked Padma, but I didn't dislike her. She was nice, when she wasn't gossiping.

Theodore didn't line up, but put his hand out and quickly pet her, as he had done so many times, just so that he could show that he could. Most of the Slytherins didn't dare come near except for Tracey Davis - one of the girls in my dorm room who was rather amusing but not a close friend, as well as Blaise Zabini - who I liked though I hated his mates. He was pretty funny and rather mischevious, so I found him a good conversation when I was in a terrible mood.

Surprisingly after Boot, Patil, Davis, Zabini, Goldstein, Corner, and Turpin had pet Circe - I saw a pale hand reach out, rather slowly and pet her. The gawdy Slytherin ring that adorned his hand made it obvious who it was and when I looked up, I was not surprised to see the cold, gray eyes of Malfoy - my brother's worst schoolyard nemisis.

"Bullocks," I groaned, looking at Circe with a frown. "Are you broken?"

"She's not broken, Potter." Malfoy smirked, very pleased with the turn of events. "She just thinks that you _like _me."

"Or it could be that you're such a lousy wizard that she knows you aren't a threat to me," I offered. He didn't stop smirking, knowing that the evidence of him still petting my cat was much more firm than any insult I could bite at him.

"Mind if I hold her?" He asked, milking it for all it's worth. I pulled her roughly away from his hand, glaring at him as if I could kill him with my eyes.

"You may not." I said simply. He smirked at me, shrugging his eyebrows twice in a suggestive manner before turning back and falling in line with Crabbe and Goyle. I looked to Hagrid lividly, ordering him with my eyes to start talking and distract everyone else.

"Alrigh' class, I want yeh to write a nine-inch essay on what y' saw from Circe when it came t' who she did 'n didn't like and why. Keep it educat'nal, not just gossip 'bout who Miss Pottar does and don't like. Due next class." Hagrid told. I nodded my head, trying to remember that I had a nine inch essay on my own pet that I would do an hour before I came down to this hut again.

As everyone else started heading back to the castle, Hagrid came up to me. "S'rry to put yeh through that. Kinda embarassin'." He admitted.

"It's no problem, Hagrid. All for a good class - you could take away my essay?"

"Y'know I can't do that," he smiled. "But should be easy, yeh just write 'bout yerself."

"Very true. Sorry for sending another student to the hospital wing on your watch - I even cut off our duel and everything. Never thought it'd be my kitty having a tantrum that finished that argument." I laughed, Hagrid sighed.

"It's alrigh', but yeh should try a li'l harder not to get detention so quick into th' year." I laughed again. "Mind if I b'rrow Circe fer th' rest o' th' week? Jus' afternoons. Wanna show 'er off ter the school."

I looked at Circe apprehensively, I didn't like the idea of not having her around when I needed her. She really saved my hide last year with Peter Pettigrew, the year before that she had been petrified before me when she was making sure the coast was clear, and the year before that she had distracted the creepy creature in the forest that was feeding off the unicorn. This kneazle was my lifeline, but most importantly she was the most constant thing I had ever had to a friend, even more so than Theodore and definitely more so than Daphne.

"You'll bring her at dinner?" I asked. Hagrid nodded.

"I like seein' yeh so attached, Audrey. Promise yeh, I'll take good care o' her." I took a deep breath and forced and smile onto my face.

"You're the only one I'd trust with her, Hagrid." I smiled, handing her over to Hagrid. She gave a little meow, knowing that this was a more permanent cuddle than the last one. "I'll even let you give her a treat of your choice to make sure she still loves you when you keep her away from me. Bribes work, usually."

"Thank yeh. An'one I shouldn' let 'er near?" He asked, I snorted.

"Listen, if she likes Malfoy then there really isn't anything I can tell you. The world is topsy-turvy! But, I'd keep her away from most Slytherins, self-richeous arses, particularly Montague or Flint. If you need to calm her down in the sixth year class - she loves Fred and George."

"Will do," he smiled. "I'll brin' 'er at dinner."

"Thanks Hagrid! Be good, Circe." I smiled, turning to see that Theodore had waited for me with my bag. I smiled and took my bag from him, giving him a small thank you. Theo walked with me quietly for a while.

"So...Circe likes Malfoy, hey?"

"It's horrible," I agreed. "I don't know what's wrong with her."

"Could it be what's wrong with _you_?" He asked, but he didn't sound like he was making fun of me. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You're kidding, aren't you?"

"Not at all, I'm just saying that if you do have a thing for Malfoy that I would help y-"

"I do not fancy Malfoy!" I all but screamed. I cringed with discomfort and did a strange dance so that I didn't have to feel like my skin was dirtied by the comment.

"Alright, alright, live in denial." He whispered, but didn't say anything else as we went and sat through what could have possibly been the most boring double class of History of Magic with Hufflepuffs that I have ever sat through.

By the time seven o'clock rolled in, I was still in the Great Hall having just started my dinner. So finally, around seven-thirty I ran into the entrance hall.

"I'm here!" I gasped, falling on the seat next to Hermione who looked up from her book only momentarily. She snorted at me thickly.

"You're late."

"I'm _always _late," I sighed. "Blame Hagrid. I wasn't leaving until he brought me Circe."

Harry and Ron sat down beside me, Ron looking concerned as he leaned over Harry and watched Circe carefully as she jumped on my lap. "What's wrong with Circe?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong." I assured. "It's just that Hagrid is teaching about Kneazles and mine is the closest around." Which could have been a lie, because we had found out that Crookshanks may have been a mixed bred Kneazle, but it had never been proven.

"Is he teaching our year?"

"He's teaching all years, I think. 'Cause they're rare, he can get her from me, and because she's unlikely to hurt anybody," I snorted to myself. "Except for Parkinson, it would seem..."

"No, Parkinson was completely at fault."

"Aren't you afraid that Parkinson's parents will do what the Malfoys did last year?" Harry asked, giving Circe a pet, which made her start to purr. I kissed the top of her head.

"Not at all. The Parkinsons don't have that much sway, not like the Malfoys do and it _literally _was her fault. Hagrid warned her. I told her that Circe would hate her because she was an enemy and she said she didn't care and tried to grab her from Hagrid's arms. Circe was just being the perfect Kneazle." I cooed, kissing her again. Ron laughed.

"Please tell me Circe got at her face and gave her some _dimension _to the flat-arse thing?"

"Sadly no, just her hand. But you may have thought that she took out her eye had you been there. She just _howled_!" We laughed and Hermione tutted us, but I was glad to be near people who openly appreciated the situation like I did.

"Alright, folks - who all has put their name in this Goblet?" I asked, turning my attention to the brilliant blue flame that was flickering above the goblet on the pedistol.

"A bunch of randoms," Harry shrugged, but his tone was quickly mocking me. "Your lovely _Diggory _put his name in earlier..."

"And I missed it?" I groaned, horrified. "I bet he looked so gutsy-"

"Speaking of gutsy," Ron snickered. "Here they come."

"Here who comes?" I asked, but I didn't need to wait to hear an answer because the roaring voices of the Weasley twins came in with a group of excited students behind them. I let out a laugh when I realized they were here to enter their names into the tournament.

"Thank you, thank you!" George yelled over the cheers. "Well lads we've done it!"

"Cooked it up just this morning." Fred added with a smile, showing off a vial of pearly liquid which I immediately recognized as Aging potion. I laughed aloud, making the twins shoot me a wink before they turned to the goblet.

"It's not going to work," Hermione scowled.

"Oh yeah? And why's that, Granger?" the twins asked. Fred looked over to me, trying to hold in his laughter. I gave him a broad smile, showing him that I was all for the idea of them trying.

"You see this? It's an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

I winced. Ah, that would definitely complicate things, even for their caliber of genius.

"So?" Fred scoffed arrogantly.

"So, a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dimwitted as an aging potion." Hermione scorned, closing her book for emphasis.

"But that's why it's so brilliant," George smiled.

"Because it's so pathetically dimwitted." Fred agreed.

I laughed again and the cheering from everyone else encouraged them to jump up.

"Ready Fred?"

"Ready George."

"Bottoms up!" They both shouted, before swigging back their potion.

Like the rest of the student population, we waited with baited breath to see some sign of their aging as the vials left their mouths. But, of course, they hadn't concentrated the flobberworm bile enough to have any noticeable effects. They each let out an identical victory cry before they jumped over the line.

I expected some sort of forcefield, maybe some sort of teleportation so that they just went somewhere else, but none of that happened. They gave each other high-fives and walked towards the pedistal where the Goblet illuminated the room in an eerie blue glow - it made nice mood lighting. I clapped for them as they reached up and put two slips, one with each of their names, into the Goblet of Fire.

Another sound of approval and right as they began to strut back to Hermione, who still did not look convinced, the Goblet started firing angry blue whips around the inner age line, where Fred and George just so happened to be standing with faces of horror before one of the whips came and slashed acrossed their chests, sending them flying back the way that had came.

I gasped, rushing towards the two as I tried to hold back my laughter - which turned into horror when they sat upright. Instead of their vibrant heads of red hair that they shared with all their siblings, Fred and George Weasley were now sporting long white hair with matching beards and right after the realized, they were on the ground fighting one another.

"Oh, come on boys, stop it!" I moaned, going towards them and trying to pry them apart. When I obviously couldn't do it, Harry came to help me - the twins seperating the twins. Of course, even Harry couldn't stop the tall boys from brawling.

"Oi! Fred and George Weasley, if you do not calm down-" I grabbed one of them by their beard which made him pull back enough for me to grab the other one's mane of stringy white hair. "I will never bunk with you again!"

Knowing that when we skipped classes was the time spent coming up with our most creative plots, Fred and George stopped hitting each other hesitantly. By the time they realized what one another looked like, all four of us burst into laughter.

Harry gave me a smile goodbye, as he knew what would be asked of me next, before he went off to Ron and Hermione, who were watching some of the Durmstrang men enter their names into the Goblet. Fred - or it could have been George, these beards made it impossible to tell - looked up at me with a hopeful sparkle to his eyes.

"Audrey, you wonderful woman of grace and elegance and beauty an-"

"And yes," I rolled my eyes. "I would love to brew you the antidote."

"You are the Potion Princess," George - or was it Fred? - laughed at me. "You wouldn't want us to get caught by the teachers, now would you?"

"Actually-"

"Come on, now. We'll treat you to a box of Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans as a special treat."

"The way to a woman's heart...food." I sighed happily, linking arms with the two geezers and skipping out of the Entryway as if I were Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Personally, I thought I was much closer related to the Wicked Witch. It was moments like these that really defined my Hogwarts adventures and I was happy even to be doing up an antidote for the morons and ignore the blue tinted room - which I never went into again.

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><p><strong>Hmmm, what could that last part have possibly meant? Any thoughts? <strong>

**I need to send out my thanks to my wonderful reviewers:**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I love writing her snarky remarks. Writing Franki's potty-mouth bluntness is fun, but I love the more sophisticated and subtle insults Audrey snaps out. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_.alwaysxlove._**: I'm glad you enjoyed it. It will take a while for some of the relationships, considering how much time I have to cover, but I promise it will be worth it in the end! Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked this one as well.**

_ireallyamtellingthetruth_**: Ha, why thank you, I'm glad you're liking the writing. I hope that you're liking the characters and finding it different from other Harry Potter stories, since I know this storyline is kind of overdone. I can't tell you if it will be Harry and Audrey, just Harry, or just Audrey but I can tell you that you don't have long before you find out! Thanks for your review :)**

**You guys are fantastic, I love reading your reviews. I would love it if all you other people started reviewing - it only takes a few seconds and you don't need to log in! I love you all nd I hope you loved this chapter :) **_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**- Egypt**


	5. Technicalities

**Wow, you guys are amazing. I was not expecting so many reviews for this story, nevertheless so early in the process! I'm so excited about this, you don't even understand. This is the big chapter when you find out what is happening to the Potter Twins in lew of the tournament. Is Audrey entered? Is Harry entered? Are they both entered? Well, you can find out as soon as I say my giant thank you to my editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**and thank you all again for your fabulous reviews - responses at the bottom as always!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p><span>Chapter Four - Technicalities<span>

By the time Thursday night had rolled around, I was almost surprised to see the Goblet of Fire at the front of the room. I had been far too distracted to go down and see the spectacle that students made when they had decided to enter. Instead I had kept to fixing the damage Fred and George had done for the rest of Monday night. Tuesday evening I had gotten in trouble for being with Fred and George as we threw firecrackers before my Astronomy lesson. Wednesday the three of us pulled a prank on Parkinson as their thanks to me for keeping them seven months short of seventeen. Today had been a lesson in Divination, so it had been a hard day indeed. Divination was _always _difficult thanks to the old bat's classroom. There was something about the herbs, or maybe it was the room, or the boredom, or possibly even my mid-class naps which always seemed to make my visions go a little bit haywire.

Today had been no exception, of course. Today we had been working on planetary movements during the day of our birth with the Hufflepuffs, one of which had been so excited she'd knocked over Professor Trelawny's planetary model of the solar system, and woke me up when I was in a rather unfortunate state...

"Lighten up, Potter." Zabini smirked when he saw me moping at the dinner table. "Class wasn't _too _bad today."

Nope, not at all - for _him._ Today's performance in class had included shouting out in a slew of French...which was funny as I don't speak French, nor could I really remember much other than water. I'd never been able to swim, so it was a fear I'd had ever since the pipes would burst when I got angry.

"Of course not, Blaise." I agreed sarcastically. "My nap was just as long as every other class."

Zabini showed off his strange half-smirk, half-smile where you couldn't tell whether or not he was mocking you, before he turned his attention to the professors up at the front of the room. They were whispering amongst themselves excitedly. I caught eyes with Professor Snape briefly and as soon as I did, I felt like one of my housemates had come up and poured a glass of cold water over my head...it was painfully cold, _suffocatingly _cold.

It was because this was no normal cold. This was another premonition. As always, flickers of the future came to the forefront of my vision - each making as little sense as the next.

I saw Cedric Diggory getting closer as I ran towards him - a foreboding feeling in my gut, I saw a glass with ghostly images of gaunt faces, I saw Fred looking at me from across the tables with a scowl, I saw a flicker of Seamus looking hurt - then Fred - then Hermione and Ginny, I saw Ron glaring at Harry with so much malice that it made even me feel bitter, I saw Daphne screaming in anger, I saw myself looking like a drowned rat as I glared at my brother who was being embraced by his friends while I was left alone.

I gasped out from water that surrounded the future and climbed back into the present. I drew only a few curious glances but ignored them all as I shook my head of the image. Theo looked at me worriedly, leaning in close. "That's two in one day."

"I know," I whispered, flickering my eyes back up to the Professors at the table, Snape was no longer looking at me, but whispering to Professor Dumbledore. "I don't know what it means."

"Did you understand any of it?"

"Yeah," I whispered, thinking back on the flashes and trying to recall as many as I could. "Everyone's about to be really, really mad."

"What do y-"

"If everyone would please, take their seats." Dumbledore's voice rang across the Hall. Everyone skittered to their seats exitedly, trying to take as little time as they could manage. "And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the Champions selection!"

Dumbledore took the few steps it took, so that he could place his hand on the Goblet of Fire. The lights around the hall dimmed, and I was again bathed in the blue glow of the flames as my breath hitched excitedly. The Goblet sat dormant for a long moment before, very suddenly, the flames began to burn an abnormal neon red and seemed to explode in some strange chemical reaction. It took me a moment to realize that the reaction had been from the parchment it seemed to have coughed out before it faded back into the gentle blue fire.

"The Durmstrang Champion is...Viktor Krum!"

The entire school seemed to cheer to the point that I felt like I was deafened. I cheered as well, though I couldn't see how his Quidditch skills would save him through three tasks which were all mentally, physically, and emotionally crippling. Viktor Krum stood up and walked down the tables getting pat on the back the entire way down to the Professors. They smiled at him, whispered some words and Krum disappeared into a room off the side of the staff table.

By this point, the Goblet was already glowing the eerie cheery red and it exploded again, spewing out a new piece of parchment that Dumbledore grabbed with surprisngly quick reflexes. He glanced at it briefly before smiling.

"The Champion from Beauxbatons...Fleur Delacour!"

The Beauxbatons girls let out girlish screams of excitement as the most beautiful girl of the group - the girl with silvery hair and a particular swing to her hips - stood up and smiled pleasantly at her classmates before nimbly walking to the Professors. They whispered a few more words to her before she disappeared as well, but I didn't see, I was distracted by the cherry red flames. By the time I looked again, the Goblet had again exploded and a final piece of parchment shot out from the flames, landing in Dumbledore's grasp.

"The Hogwarts Champion...Cedric Diggory!"

I let out a particularily excited and girlish scream as soon as his name was said. I felt a rush of excitement for him and couldn't help the rapid speed and _obvious _display that I showed over that very excitement. I couldn't even think about the consequences of the tournament. I just knew this meant that I would get to watch him without being thought a creeper at least three times this year. It seemed a bonus to me.

He got up in all his tall, well-built glory and walked past the Hufflepuffs, who were high fiving him or grabbing his shoulder as best they could, since the crowd was so thick. By the time he got up to the Professors, he got the same whispered words and and disappeared beind the door that Krum and Delacour had vanished before him.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore clapped. "We now have our three Champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only _one _will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory - the Tri-wizard Cup!"

As the Cup was brought forward, shining a cooler blue than the flames of the goblet people realized that suddenly, the flames of the Goblet weren't blue anymore at all - but a disturbing, cherry red. Dumbledore took a shocked step forward and the noise in the hall died down out of shock before the Goblet exploded one last time.

Dumbledore used his quick reflexes to grab the piece of parchment that had flown outside of the Goblet and gazed at it a moment before he whispered a name, too quietly for me to hear all the way near the back. All I saw was a lot of people suddenly look back at me with narrowed eyes.

"What?" I asked, looking at Theo nervously, but he didn't answer - he couldn't. His jaw was so close to touching the table that he wouldn't have been able to form coherent words.

"_POTTER!_" Dumbledore yelled so that everyone could hear. I looked up in shock, ignoring the eyes of my classmates before they looked over to the Gryffindor table, where Harry seemed to be doing the same.

Oh my God, what had he done?

I watched as my brother was pushed from the table by Hermione Granger, he shakily got up and looked at Dumbledore nervously. I looked at him, watching as he walked - oh my God, my brother would _die _in this tournament. That's what everyone was saying, wasn't it? People died in this tournament. And my brother was a people!

I had just had a vision and I hadn't seen something like this? _Really_?

But as I watched Harry, completely terrified by what I had just heard, I was surprised and devastated when he stopped walking and looked directly at me. I looked at him levelly, trying to show the fear for him in my eyes - but he directed my gaze up to the front table.

Professor Dumbledore subtly ushered me forward.

"No." I said aloud, but I don't think that many people heard it. Instead of remembering how to move my legs, I acted as stiff as my brother while Blaise literally shoved me from my seat and into the aisle between our row and the Ravenclaws. I looked around myself like a deer in the headlights, shuffling forward only because people were pushing me. I don't know how long it took me to stand beside my brother in front of Dumbledore, but I felt like I would be sick at any moment. The Professor took the parchment and held it out to us before I snatched it and examined the parchment, written in much neater script than my own.

_Potter_

That's all it said. That's all it needed to say.

Professor Dumbledore motioned to the side and Harry grabbed my arm to drag me with him to the door where the other three _real _Champions had disappeared. Soon, the two of us were following after them.

"What the Hell have you gotten me into, _Boy-Who's-Attention-Deprived_?" I whispered as soon as we were in the door, I barely paid any attention to the other three people in the room, still many feet away while I pulled away from his hold as harshly as I could.

"_Me_? What about you, _Demon-Spawn_? Why would you do this?" I raised my eyebrows at the lousy nickname and the accusation.

"Oh, don't you go pulling that on me, Harry Potter! You know I'd _never _want this, but you - you just _need _more fame, don't you?" I hissed. "Well you could have had the decency not to pull _me _into it!"

"I didn't put that parchment into the Goblet, I never would have gotten over the ageline! But what about you? You always have those damned tricks up your sleeve." He said with a step towards me, I scoffed.

"Just because I'm smarter than you doesn't mean that I could pull it off. If Fred and George couldn't do it, than I had no chance - you know I'm shite with a wand." I added grudgingly, but my brother just narrowed his eyes.

"Maybe you didn't _need _a wand_, _Audrey." Harry hissed suggestively. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, amazed that this could have actually just been said. So now he was accusing me because every now and then I could do a little extra something without a wand? Was this jealousy, or just misplaced accusation over something _he _must have done? I placed my hands on Harry's shoulders and pushed as hard as I could.

"You wanker! Are you bloody kidding me? You've _never _decided to drag me into your little adventures, now you want to drag me into the most dangerous one yet? You think that I want to do things _specifically _designed to try and kill me? I'm a _Slytherin_, not a _Saint _like you." I hissed, reverting back to Malfoy's words so that I would be able to hurt him.

"Audrey!" I was about to yell at Harry again when I heard Professor Dumbledore's voice as he, and many other teachers, stormed through the door and came to be in front of us. "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No! Why the bloody hell do you think it was me? _I'm _not the attention craving di-"

"I didn't do it, Professor!" Harry yelled out. I saw Dumbledore's eyes look from me to Harry and soften a little on him. He knew that Harry hated fame and he probably knew that I had always been a little jealous of it all...so I turned my just-as-innocent eyes to my last hope.

"Professor," I plead, looking at Snape with my genuine concern. "Please you have to believe me - I would never enter myself in this tournament. I was making a potion on Monday and you tried to get me in trouble on Tuesday before Astronomy and-and Wednesday I pranked Pansy and today I've felt awful. Come on, Harry - argue it." I challenged.

"It's true, Professor. She's been in trouble all week." Harry sighed, knowing that if I hadn't done it and he hadn't done it...then we were in trouble.

"Professor," I said, looking at Snape and feeling my eyes prickle in frustration. "I - would - never - do - this."

"I believe her, Professor - even Potter here isn't looking for that much trouble," he said quickly to Dumbledore. Even though he had given me a small insult, I felt like hugging the man...Dumbledore could look out for Harry all he wanted. I mean, Harry needed it; that whole all-powerful wizard to save his hide. I would stick with Snape looking out for me. He did it well, he was always intimidating, and for some reason he never doubted me. Usually it was because I tended to only tell him the truth - we had a strange student-teacher friendship.

"Did either of you get an older student to do it for you?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes once again soft on us. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

"No sir," Harry insisted. I couldn't help myself - I sat my arse on the ground rather ungracefully, crossing my arms a cross my chest like a small child.

"You're absolutely sure?" Dumbledore asked again with an expression more grave than I had ever seen him look, even though he was obviously trying to mask it from the other teachers. What exactly did he expect out of this that caused so much dread? I couldn't bring myself to understand what the big deal was, so long as he believed that we hadn't done this all he had to do was work his magic - you know, the kind of stuff that brings a phoenix into a maze, or puts a sword into a hat? - and then we'd be wiped off the list as champions.

"Well of course he is lying!" The tallest woman I'd ever seen, the woman from Beauxbatons, strode forward. She was followed by the tall man, whom she dwarfed, from Durmstrang.

"The hell they are!" Mad-Eye Moody hissed darkly. "The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object, only an exceptional powerful conjurer coud have hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year."

"I'm not even good at magic," I added in, trying to make myself look more innocent. As soon as these strangers learned of my extensive bad records here in Hogwarts, they would be sure to blame me for this. I may as well use whatever persuasion I had within me.

"Whoever put your name in seems to think that y'do, Potter." Moody said to me with a spin of his eye. "So don't say that, because if you don't you won't survive, aye?"

"Survive?" I choked, feeling queasy. What did he mean _'won't survive'?_

"You seemed to have given this a lot of thought, Mad-Eye." The Bulgarian man sneered, getting up in his face. I would have been intimidated enough to be indignant, but it looked like Moody had dealt with this before from people far more empowered than this man.

"It was once my job to think as dark wizards do, Karkaroff. Perhaps you remember?" The inflection was not lost on me and I snapped my eyes to witness the reaction Karkaroff would have - it was guarded and hardly present. I saw Professor Snape watch me from the corner of his eye and snapped my green eyes back to him. He held himself masked showing me that I should probably be less conspicuous in my analysis and do the same.

"That doesn't help, Alastor." Dumbledore grumbled, walking over to Crouch, the man from the Ministry who specialized in Games and Sporting events - I think. "We leave this to you, Barty."

Barty watched the two of us worriedly, his mind flickering with thought. That Harry didn't have to do it - though I was still furious with the bugger - or that I didn't have to do it. Especially me. Harry could at least wield a wand. I couldn't properly disarm someone - never the less my oh-so-talented brother and three seventh years. But I saw the grave apology in his eyes as he looked away from us.

"The rules are absolute, the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. The Potters have no choice, they are as of tonight...Tri-Wizard Champions."

"_Whoa_," I said loudly, waving my arms to make everyone look at me. "That doesn't make sense. Why do we _both _have to be champions? What kind of magical contract can _force _us to compete? I refuse." I stuck my haughty nose into the air, but it didn't seem to win the apologies and agreement that I had been aiming for.

"In joining the contest, you have signed a contract that forces you to compete, Miss Potter-"

"But I _didn't _enter the tournament! Besides, all that slip said was 'Potter'. You can't tell me that our last name is enough to doom us _both_?" I argued, Harry came up to me and grabbed my arm, trying to calm me down. He knew that it was one thing for him to be entered and another thing for me to be, at least he was good with magic once he had actually learned it. Me? Not so much. I was better when I _hadn't _learned whatever it was people wanted me to do.

"Because you are both 'Potter', both of you have been entered - whether or not you approve of it. The Goblet of Fire is unbiased and indefinite." I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm sorry," though I definitely was not. "Are you saying that this magical object - which is _so _advanced - can only make a binding contract between a tournament and _people _because of a last name?" No one answered, waiting for my point. "And if the name had been Johnson, or-or Smith? Or, by Godric, what if it said _Weasley_?"

"Well - I - we'd need to-"

"Are you seriously saying that this is because of a damned cup, or is this because we just so _happen _to be the Potter twins and he just _happens _to be the Boy-Who-Lived? Because I swear if he ends up being the Boy-Who-_Died _becau-"

But I didn't get to finish as Harry literally slammed his hand over my mouth and tried to make it so that I couldn't continue. Though it was successful, I did not stop glaring dangerously at the man from the Ministry who had _clearly _come with the intention to kill my twin and I.

"You're sure that there's nothing we can do, sir?" Harry asked nervously, flickering his eyes to me. I looked away to see Snape glaring at the floor - so he was upset too? Good. At least _someone _seemed to realize how dangerous this all was!

"I'm sorry, Mr Potter. You and your sister are Champions now - whether you like it or not." He added pointedly towards me, I glared at him the entire time he mumbled his goodbyes and I even managed to hold it through his entire departure from the room. Possibly even the castle, people were in such shock no one moved for quite some time. I waited until he was gone, then until we were allowed to leave - getting away from the glares of the other Triwizard - now Quinwizard - champions. It was unnerving, knowing that we were up against three very efficient wizards and a witch.

"Mister and Miss Potter, if you would please go back to your dormitories. I would like to escort you, if I may?" Dumbledore asked us, we both nodded in unison. He let us walk slightly ahead of him and he hummed a very topsy-turvy tune under his breath to give us the illusion of privacy. It was sweet of him to leave us without worry over what we said to each other. We naturally walked to the dungeons first. The dungeons were not only closest, but I knew that Harry wanted to talk to Dumbledore and as much as I would have loved some of the guidance my brother constantly got from the man, I really couldn't imagine what to say right now that would have been at all productive.

"Someone's trying to kill us, you know." I looked to Harry grimly. "And by us, I mean _you_."

"I know," he sighed. "I just don't understand why they're doing it this way."

I looked to him worriedly. "I don't know..."

"You haven't _seen _anything, have you?" Harry asked, I looked behind me to see Dumbledore's eyes twinkling, though he was conveniently waving to one of the portraits hanging on the wall. As he passed it he continued to hum pleasantly to himself.

"I'm not sure...I didn't see this, that's for sure." I sighed irritably. What was the point of having these premonitions when I never saw anything useful...besides the man that I refuse to admit I saw? "I've been seeing a lot of anger. Ron was mad and Daphne was screaming and Hermione was really concentrated, I saw you in some new robes and flying about but-" I sighed. "No. Nothing to really tell me what it all means."

"Does that worry you?"

"Not as much as it worries me that you don't seem to understand how serious this is. Someone is trying to kill you..._again_!" I emphasized, he let out a breath of understanding.

"When isn't someone trying to kill me?" He asked boredly. "We can do this, Drea."

"_You _can. I can barely wave my wand to make something levitate without it spontaneously combusting." I pouted. "I'm not ready to die."

"I will not let you die-"

"Well it's not up to you, now is it?" I spat, looking to Dumbledore as we made it down to the entrance to the Slytherin common room. "Please take him back to Gryffindor tower, sir. Make sure someone doesn't try to kill him before the tournament even _begins._"

"It would be a pleasure, Miss Potter. Do be safe yourself. I have the impression that you have some very anxious classmates in your common room." He advised before bowing his head and walking away. Harry gave him a look and we both realized that Dumbledore was going to give us an _actual_ moment alone.

I hugged Harry tightly, anger gone and now replaced with fear.

"We can do this," he assured quietly as he squeezed me even more tightly.

"We'll figure this out." I agreed. With another extra tight squeeze, we broke away from each other and it was as if we had never hugged at all. Harry sped up to reach Dumbledore and I watched the two mournfully before sighing and muttering the password, 'Lineage', to get into the common room.

The common room was as lovely as always - old fashioned chairs and stiff looking couches lined the room of high ceilings that were made out of glass. This glass brightened the room in a green hue as above it was the Black Lake, which cast a frosty chill through me as I had the regular moment of fear that the glass would break and I would drown.

Ugh, I hate water.

In the common room, however, I noticed that all the stiff-backed chairs and antique style couches were being used by students from each year, all of which had now turned to look at me since I was in the room. It was unnerving, seeing all of them watching me. I looked around briefly, trying to tell if they were angry or shocked or bitter...but I was so anxious I couldn't tell.

"You're a _genius_!" One third year boy, I had no idea his name, spoke suddenly. "How did you do it? Confundus charm?"

"Er...no." I muttered, looking from him to all the other faces that seemed to be getting more curious and coming much closer. "What do you _want_?"

"We want to know how you did it, Potter. Was this some sort of surprise organized by the staff? Publicity, perhaps?" A sixth year, named Montague asked. I raised my eyebrow at him - Montague had flirted with me once when I was eleven and he was thirteen...he'd kind of freaked me out ever since.

"This wasn't planned - not by us, anyway." I added nervously as my eyes scanned the room around me. "Where are Daphne and Theodore?"

"Up in his dorm waiting for you," Blaise sighed. "People here are going mad to know how you did it."

"Well, I can't tell them." I sighed, looking at all the hopeful faces and feeling my face start to burn the colour of my hair. "Piss off, you lot! You're supposed to gossip behind people's _backs,_ not ask them for facts about it."

"This is what you wanted, isn't it, Potter?" I looked in front of me, right where I was headed to the boys dormitories, and I saw my least favourite blonde Slytherin sneering down at me - when had he gotten so tall? "You always get what you want, don't you?"

"Is that the real problem, Malfoy?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Or is it that _you _wanted it?"

"To be entered in that tournament?" He scoffed, trying to look as if he weren't effected by the truth. "Why would I want to be entered in such a pointless thing?"

"I guess your word _does _count for mud." I raised an eyebrow. "Just because you're jealous that I got some fame from my name doesn't mean you need to feel down. You have enough to yours - hell, it bought our team the _second _best broom on the market."

His face went red. "The Nimbus 2001 is the-"

"Most beautiful broom, yes." I agreed, he blinked a moment as if in surprise that I admitted it. "Much prettier than the Firebolt, but you _still _aren't as fast as Harry. Or..." I gasped, mockingly. "Maybe it's just that you're so bad, it doesn't even matter?"

"You wait, Potter. This year is going to be your worst yet and you will _hate _having me as an enemy." Malfoy sneered as I walked towards the boys entrance, a hallway that looked like I was headed straight into the water. I laughed as I passed him and he swivelled around to glare at me as I passed him.

"I _love _having you as an enemy," I smiled. His glare faded into confusion. "If you weren't my enemy, I'd be afraid that we'd be somewhat civil in our general sense of apathy."

With that, I walked further towards the dormitories, jumping a little as a group of fish eagerly swam to the glass above my head and watched me move...this was a regular occurance when I went to either the girls or boys dormitories, but it never sat well with me. Don't ask me why, I just didn't like thinking of myself as the girl tempting fate by not drowning each day. I was supposed to be the girl who couldn't have a normal school year...both were just too much to handle.

I walked down to the forth year dormitories and opened the door widely to see Theodore's room. Luckily, the other occupants of the room were not there - those being Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. I felt sorry for the bloke, but he could just come and hang out in the girls dormitory anyway. I couldn't imagine being in Gryffindor Tower - they didn't let boys go into the girl's dormitories, apparently Salazar didn't mind the thought of sexual encounters in his dormitories. But seriously, how on earth would I get up every morning if Theodore didn't come and rip my blankets off?

"What did you _do_?" Theo automatically asked, making me pause at the door. His face was red and he looked more angry than I think I had ever seen him, it was a little bit terrifying to be honest. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Not at all," I plopped myself down and laid horizontally on the bed beside them. I was kind enough to ruffle the sheets when I realized that the musky scent coming off of them belonged to Malfoy. "But someone else is."

"You swear you didn't do it?" Daphne asked slowly. "Why does everyone think you did?"

"Because people want a rebel," I sighed. "I don't want to do it."

"Then don't," Nott said automatically. "With your wand ettiquite, you'll die."

"You think I haven't thought of that?" I snapped, picking up my head to glare. "Apparently there's a binding contract that won't be broken. Both Harry and I are being forced to compete."

"_Both _of you? Why is that necessary?"

"Because the slip only said 'Potter', which apparently means that anyone who has the name 'Potter' is obligated...which is ridiculous. What if it had been Weasley? What if it would have been Greengrass - would they have made you _and _Astoria compete?" I was slightly hysterical as I pictured Daphne's first year sister trying to survive in the tournament. "Ridiculous."

"So what do you plan to do then?" Daphne asked quietly, the worry starting to set in. I guess that the image of she and her little sister entering the tournament had let her realize how dangerous the situation actually was.

"Panic?" I suggested. "It's the only option I seem to have right now."

"I don't see how dangerous it could be." Daphne admitted. "You're Audrey Potter, there's nothing that you can't do."

"I wish I had your confidence." I sighed, wondering if Harry was getting the same treatment from his mates. Probably not - they were probably actually worried, whereas Daphne seemed fretful, but ultimately elated. Probably glad that I had gone up a few ranks...until I died, of course. That would probably shoot me back down again.

"Will you get to know ahead of time what the tasks are?" Theodore asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Why?"

"Just because you're bad with a wand doesn't mean you're a bad witch," he reminded me with a sympathetic look. "You're good with potions and good with knowledge...it's just the practical that you're shite with."

"Thank you," I muttered sarcastically. "It's as if I didn't even know..."

"You can do this," Daphne agreed, nodding her blonde curls energentically. "You'll just have to try a little harder."

"A _little_," I repeated skeptically.

"A little." Theodore agreed. "And we'll be here the entire way."

"Thank you," I smiled, sitting up on the bed. "You wouldn't mind if I leave this until tomorrow? I'd like to get a good nights sleep."

"It's hardly 8:30!" Daphne gasped, disturbed by the thought of an anti-social night. I doubt she'd had one of those even when she was in the hospital wing for a week after being improperly hexed by Crabbe, who had been aiming for a first year in the corridor.

"I figure if I start now, I may get to sleep by two." I confessed, pretending to yawn and stretch - ruffling Malfoy's sheets even more. "See you in the morning."

I was quick to jump up before they could hold me down to make me talk some more. Theo realized how uncomfortable I was, and gave me a nod, Daphne stood and gave me a hug which was awkward for both of us since we both tended to hate touching people. As I left the dorm room, I saw Malfoy walking towards it and smirked.

"Comfortable bed, blondie, though I still don't see the appeal for Parkinson." I could have sworn that I saw his eye twitch.

"Parkinson isn't the only one who's had the pleasure," he smirked, crossing his arms arrogantly across his chest. I repressed a shiver at the thought. "I'd say you're welcome anytime, but..."

I scoffed as he trailed off suggestively. "I have my own bed that has much more appeal than yours. After all, something mildly attractive sleeps in it every night-"

"I'm sorry you're only _mildly _attractive," he raised an eyebrow as he passed me, twisting my meaning for his own benefit as always. "One day maybe you'll have a make-up trial worthy of the decency scale so you can get to sleep with someone with _pretty hair _like mine."

As I did on rare occasion, only when I am very disinterested and distracted I let him win. I didn't want to take the energy to think about a comeback, but just so he knew I wasn't agreeing with him I flipped him my favourite finger and walked off briskly...I was not in the mood for hatred to fill me up tonight. Hatred was far too close to fear.

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><p><strong>Well, what do you think? I know it's a big risk putting her into the tournament, but as I already have some of it written out I think it's presented well. Did you like how I made it a kind of...mistake? Or, more importantly, was it even a mistake at all?<strong>

**I need to thank my fantastic reviewers in order of appearance:**

_Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967_**: Can I just say that I love your constant reviews? Honestly, always seeing your name come up is a pleasure and I enjoy them every time. Thank you so much!**

_Bronze Star_**: I'm glad you're liking it so far, hopefully I haven't turned you away with this little twist and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm glad you're liking her. I find her even more of a spitfire than Franki...even if Franki is a little more blunt about it. And the tournament is actually all thought out. I think it will be really clever - hopefully I can write the idea justice!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you for your compliments, I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope you keep enjoying those yet to come!**

_indigofrisbee_**: I'm glad that you like it and thanks for all the flattery! I hope I updated quickly enough and also that it was living up to your expectations :) **

_paysonalison42_**: Kneazles are mentioned in the books very briefly, but I thought I would bring them into light because Circe will end up being a very important character. I'm glad that you are liking it and thank you so much for your review, I appreciate it more than you know!**

_HoratiosGirl101_**: I usually don't put people as characters in my stories, other than my friends because I naturally use them as visuals, but if you would like one you could send me some inormation about them and I may work them in. Sadly enough I wouldn't add them as a very important character just because I have all of the books mapped out already - sorry! - but I will try and add a character in every now and then if it fits :)**

**Wow guys, please keep up the good work and **review**! What did you think of the fact shes in the tournament? Good or bad? What do you think is going to happen? Let me know your thoughts, I love hearing them! **

**-Egypt**


	6. To Compare

**You know, I can't express to you how much I love writing this story. I always thought that Franki was my favourite character but the more I get to delve into Audrey's mind, the more fun I feel I can have with her. It could be the limitation of poor Franki not knowing who she is, but she and I get along well. Because of this, you guys will be getting lots of updates from this story - so I hope you're enjoying it! **

**Thank you as always to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for her hard work in slaying the DocX beast and finding a way to get this chapter back to me. We should also thank Ms Rowling, without her, I would not have a soul or this story. They go hand in hand.**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>"You're up earlier than normal," Daphne nearly gasped when she saw me sat down at breakfast - it had surprised her that I had shown up, nevertheless that I was there before her and already eating.<p>

"Couldn't sleep," I admitted sleepily. "I'll be moody all day."

"Thanks for the warning," she mumbled, slipping her rucksack off her shoulder and sitting beside me. She pulled some scrambled eggs onto her plate and slathered them in salt. She had always been an overkill with salt.

"I don't want to be like this, I just feel like I'm missing something really important." I muttered, thinking about how I had sat up all night trying to figure out what I could have possibly missed and what had happened in my visions that could have given me a clue. I had come up dry all night and early this morning, giving me very little sleep and an even worse hair-day. I looked even more like Harry than normal today thanks to the odd angles it had sculpted itself into. "Wherever is our darling Theodore?"

Daphne let out a sigh that caught my attention immediately. "I don't know."

"What was that?" I asked suspiciously. She did not meet my eyes.

"What was what?" She asked innocently.

"_That_," I pointed out, narrowing my eyes. "That sound."

"That was a sigh." Daphne pointed out snottily. I rolled my eyes, if she was going to play stubborn with me she clearly didn't remember whom she was speaking to.

"What was the sigh meant to insinuate?" I asked.

"Irritation." She snapped, even more pissy than I. "Excuse me, I need to talk to Millicent about something."

And just like that she wrote me out for the hour, talking to Pansy and Millicent as if I hadn't been to breakfast at all. Great. Spectacular. Instead of walking over to Harry or trying to look desperate, I dove back into my own worries and started picking at my food, too upset to even be in my habit of stress eating. I felt far too nauseous. I was even early to Potions, where I chose one of the back tables.

By the time everyone had come in, Snape came up to me, asking for the homework. I won't deny, I was surprised by his reaction to me having forgotten about it.

"You've got to be joking!" I exclaimed, gaping at Professor Snape. Snape was never mean to me and he never picked on me, particularly in front of others. Insulting Harry? Sure. But he had always been fond of _me_.

"That's a two hour detention then, Potter." He drawled, looking at me levelly. "Care to make it three?"

"Professor, I was up all night trying to figure out how I'm going to stay alive...you cannot chastise me for forgetting about my homework." I demanded. "I could make you the potion right now with my eyes closed!"

"I did not ask you to make it nor ask you how you could accomplish it, I asked you to write me an essay on how to concentrate it." He said pointedly. "Meet me at six-thirty, Potter. That should be enough time to have your dinner and your interview."

"Interview?" I asked nervously. He raised his eyebrow and went on with the class, determined to make my life a living hell. Huh. Jokes on him. He's was trying as if it weren't already.

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><p>"We'll be having interviews after we speak to the judges," Harry informed me in a whisper as we walked into a smart-looking room, bright with sunlight and dreary from the judgment of the Triwizard judges. Professor Dumbledore, Barty Crouch, Igor Karkaroff, Olympe Maxime, and I was surprised to see Mr Ollivander of Ollivander's Wand Shop sitting beside the quartet.<p>

"You don't think that Mr Ollivander is a judge?" asked, obviously a little more loudly than I had meant to because Dumbledore smiled politely.

"Sadly no, Miss Potter." He said simply, not explaining any more until the other contestants were sitting close to Harry and I - though noticeably farther away. Harry and I looked at each other sadly, knowing that they still blamed us for our entry, which normally would have made me angry were it not so bloody tragic.

"May I introduce Mr Ollivander?" Dumbledore smiled, motioning to the whispy man smiling before us all. I smiled at him and he gave a tight one back to us all - he and I didn't have much of a history, so I wasn't surprised by his lack of enthusiasm. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the Tournament."

I winced just thinking about the thin stick in my pocket - it certainly wasn't in what you could call perfect condition.

"Mademoiselle Delacour," his soft and raspy voice almost shocked me, making me wonder how old he was. "Could we have you forward first, please?"

Fleur swept forward as confidently as if she were trying to impress younger men and handed over her wand. It was a nice wand, rod straight and simple without design carved or moulded from the blushed wood - perfectly beautiful for a beautiful woman. I had always thought that wands probably emulated their owners, but this really helped prove a point.

Ollivander twirled the wand through his fingers and as he examined it gold and pink sparks shot from the tip. His eyes sparkled delightfully as he hummed to himself.

"Yes," he mused quietly. "Nine and a half inches...inflexible...rosewood...and containing - dear me..."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela." She said quite proudly. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

"Well, that explains a lot," I whispered over to Harry, who nodded his head slowly. There was part of me that wondered if Harry really knew what a Veela was by his nonchalant reaction - but I realized he was probably just entranced by the woman, since I remembered his reaction to the Veela that had been at the Quidditch World Cup this year.

"Yes, yes, I've never used Veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands...however, to each his own, and if it suits you..." he looked at the wand again before holding it, very differently from what I had seen Fleur do, as he cast a spell. "_Orchideous_!"

I was pleased by the orchids that sprouted from the tip of the rosewood wand, but tried not to look too happy. I had a particular weakness for flowers, though I had never received any, nor had I ever voiced it. I liked the colours and the fact that no two were the same - much like people, with the brightness of their personalities.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order." He took the flowers from the tip and handed them to Fleur, I frowned to myself as he handed her wand over as well. She looked very pleased with herself as she took it. "Mr Diggory, you next."

I watched closely as Cedric walked up in all his god-like glory. I was amazed by how beautiful the man was, it was almost humiliating. I would have to try and find a way to get on his good side now that he thought my brother and I were complete shams. As he walked up, Ollivander noticeably perked up.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Cedric handed over his wand with a small smile and I moved a little in my chair to get a good look past his broad shoulders which were consciously trying to make the moment more private. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn...must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail."

Cedric gave a chuckle which made me smile. So, the guy wasn't all serious - crush intensified.

"Twelve and a quarter inches...Ash...pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition...you treat it regularly?" Ollivander asked him as if he were impressed.

"Polished it just last night." Cedric acknowledged proudly. I looked over and caught Harry doing exactly what I did: checking his wand to notice the difference between them. I didn't even take mine out - Harry's looked even more well-kept than mine and his was certainly worse for wear.

Smoke rings floated across the room from Ollivander's test on Cedric's wand. He announced that he was satisfied with the wand, though it was clear he was much more proud than that, before he smiled at the last _real _Champion. "Mr Krum, if you please."

As Cedric walked back, not even looking at me, Viktor got up and walked forward. His walk was noticeably stronger and more brutish than Cedric's, somehow with a fair amount of the grace that Fleur didn't need to try showing off. I was shocked by the force with which he shoved his wand at the wand maker and stood back with a frown.

"Hmm...this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken?" Ollivander began pensively. "A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never _quite _what I...however...yes, hornbeam and dragon heartstring?"

Krum nodded, looking rather proud of himself as well. I felt like my wand was burning a hole in my pocket - the blasted thing _knew _that I wasn't proud of it. The thing didn't work half the bloody time, so why was this even necessary? Maybe he'd say my wand was malfunctioning, get me a new one and I could have a chance. Or, better, they'd just pull me from the tournament all together!

I sighed, knowing that there was no reason to get too excited.

"Rather thicker than one usually sees...quite rigid...ten and a quarter inches..._Avis_!" The hornbeam wand let off a loud blast before a string of birds appeared from the end, flying through the open window and out into the rusty sunlight. "Good."

His eyes turned to Harry and I then, looking at us both levelly as he wondered which of us should go next. I purposely avoided eye contact, wondering if I could dash to the lavatory while Harry was getting his wand checked so that I could polish mine. I was happy when I heard Mr Ollivander ask for 'Mr Potter'. Harry glared at me and I winked at him lightly while he went up.

"Aaaah yes," Ollivander breathed as Harry handed him his dull, tanned wand. "Yes, yes, yes, how well I remember."

I fought rolling my eyes, trying not to be annoyed with how everyone just felt the need to gawk at _everything _Harry did. So what, his wand had the same core as Voldemort's? It wasn't that big a deal since he had killed Voldemort - three separate times now - and he was a powerful dark wizard whereas Harry was just a student.

"Not treating it the best, have we, Mr Potter?" Ollivander asked with a raised eyebrow. I tried not to snort as Harry blushed. "Eleven inches...Holly...phoenix feather core. Very strong core, phoenix feather." He said with meaning. "Fiery wand, very good for Defence and dueling."

Mr Ollivander didn't say anything past that, but he did examine it - much longer than the others. It seemed like he was reliving the memory of the two wands, wondrous as it was supposed to be. It made me sneer - it wasn't that great, _not anymore_. It had no relevance now that the twin was gone. I sighed, watching the 'magic' as Ollivander coddled my brother.

"_Relashio_," Ollivander muttered, looking surprised by the massive amount of red sparks that came from the tip of Harry's wand. Even my eyebrows shot up - that was an unnecessary display of power. No wonder magic was so easy for him if his wand were that apt to obey. "Very good, Mr Potter. To your seat."

Harry smiled in relief, taking his wand back from Ollivander much more carefully than he normally would have shown his wand. I widened my eyes, having completely forgotten my plan to run away with Harry as distraction.

"Miss Potter, if you would."

I got up hesitantly, Harry passing me with a small nod of encouragement. I found I could barely look at him, but found that Cedric was giving me a small smile which gave me a tad bit more confidence. I walked towards Ollivander, pulling out my suddenly-heavy wand.

"Yes, yes I do remember yours." Ollivander muttered as I handed him my wand. It was a pale wooded wand with a large _X_ carved into the wood of the grip. I had always been a little put off by it, considering the same symbol had been carved into my _neck _when I was an infant. But last year in the middle of class, I decided that the _X_ was probably resembling the Ancient Rune meaning 'gift', or at least that's what I resigned it to. Ollivander took my wand from me and moved his hands across the wood. I was upset by how it had lost it's gloss as well as all of the general dents and scuffs that adorned it.

"Nine and three-quarter inches...Ash...augurey feather, I believe?" He asked, I tried not to blush as I saw the foreign judges look at me with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, sir."

"Still fascinating...a very temperamental wand, I recall, just like the augurey. Tried to rip me with it's talons when I got too close to it's nest." He recalled vaguely, frowning as he turned it over into his wand hand. "_Wingardium Leviosa_."

The simple swish-and-flick which normally caused an object to levitate would not be so simple with my wand. Since he pointed at the vase on the table where the judges sat, I was not surprised to see the table tremble and lift slightly above the judges ankles before slamming back down onto the ground - tipping the vase over and spilling the water inside.

I winced and blushed as Dumbledore righted the mess and looked to Ollivander who was examining the wand again with a raised eyebrow.

"It tends to do that..."

"Augurey feathers," Ollivander muttered before handing me back my wand. "Very good, that will be all."

I gaped at him, had he not seen that little display at all? I didn't get pretty birds, a shower of sparks, or some flowers! No, I got to nearly take out the judges toes. "You don't think it's even a little odd that my wand is a ticking time bomb?"

"Ticking time bomb?" He scoffed. "I hardly think that the case."

"Did you not just see the random blast of energy that was completely misdirected? This thing," I hissed, looking down darkly at my wand. "Is a menace!"

"As I recall, so is the augurey." He said pensively. "A very mournful bird - controlling water and rain, a supposed death omen. The exact opposite of your brothers, in fact..."

"Yes, I realized that years ago." I growled, shoving it in my pocket so that the judges would perhaps stop staring at me so incredulously. "That doesn't quite help me survive a death-trap like this."

"As I recall, the Augurey are very loyal to their nest, Miss Potter." He said meaningfully. "I should think you remember that next time you wield your wand, perhaps you will understand why it doesn't function for just anyone at just any time."

And just like that, the annoying little man left me. I still had no idea what that meant about my wand, other than that it wouldn't work for other people either, and I still had no way to make it work for me during this tournament. I fumed as I stormed over to the group who was lining up for a picture...Cedric nodded to the spot beside him and as ecstatic as I was that I got to stand so close to him, I was still seething by the time I stood between he and my twin.

"What a charismatic quintet!" There was a bright flash and I winced away from it, crossing my arms back over my chest when it was done. The woman in lime green robes with her bright red glasses was smiling at us all, but I was already calculating her. Her perfectly manicured appearance and swaggering stride made her confidence look ruthless and the lazy droop to her eyes made her look somewhat bored.

I didn't like her.

"Hello! I'm Rita Skeeter, I write for the _Daily Prophet_...but of course, you know that don't you?" She shook our hands one by one, when she got to mine I was upset by how cool her hands were. She gave me bad vibes. Harry seemed to have the same reaction when she shook his hand after mine. "It's you we don't know, you're the news."

Aren't we always? I thought moodily. I didn't like how she was circling us like a shark, waiting for us to move so she could strike. My eyes followed her warily, I knew her game. I lived in the feeding tank and I hadn't been killed yet.

I felt like she was trying to dip poison in my ear...wasn't that some sort of Shakespearian play? Yes, it was. Macbeth, or maybe Hamlet, I believe. Either way, the bloke died.

"So, who's feeling up to sharing? Hm?" She sang. She was quick to grab Harry's arm and I instinctively flinched towards him, but backed up when she spoke again. "Shall we start with the youngest?"

"Audrey's younger than me," Harry said quickly. I rolled my eyes.

"By _four minutes_!" I hissed in exasperation before I quickly realized that he was trying to get me alone with the woman. "You're the famous one, clearly people want to hear about you-"

"Lovely." Rita Skeeter agreed, pulling him out of the room. I made sure to smile sinisterly when he looked back at me...but I wasn't so smug for long. In fact, I felt ultimately awkward as the real Tri-Wizard Champions looked at me.

"For the record," I said with a wince. "I had no part in this decision. At all."

"'Ow do you explain you name in ze goblet zen?" Fleur Delcour spoke. It was the first time she had actually spoken to me, even angry it was light and silvery - like her appearance - through the language barrier and high levels of frustration. I held my hands up.

"Listen, I'm no good with magic. Actually, I'm terrible. I don't have a death wish, I assure you." I said honestly. "I plan on forfeiting every challenge. Eternal glory is great, but I think it's probably overrated if you don't last for the _eternal _part."

Cedric gave a wry smile. "I'm sorry you got brought into this."

"Did 'Arry do eet?" Fleur demanded at once. Krum, the ever-silent type, nodded that he also wanted to know the answer.

"No," I said defensively. "Harry did not do it. Neither of us did."

"Zen 'oo did?" She asked, her cheeks pink in irritation. I tried to calm myself.

"We don't know."

"Could it have been a joke?" Cedric asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. I shook my head, knowing who the jokesters were that he was referring to.

"Not them and I doubt it was anyone else. Even if it was, no one would come forward after the reaction to it."

"And there's no way you can get out of it?" Cedric asked doubtfully. I was about to answer him, but instead the door burst open and Harry came back into the room, Rita Skeeter hot on his heels.

"Don't let her write any of her nonsense," he hissed to me. "She's mad."

"Now, now, Mr Potter." The reporter chastised, "she can make her own opinions of me when I take her to interview right this second. Come with me, won't you?"

Though I'm sure I could have made up some colourful reason not to - how Snape's detention was starting soon, how I had my period...there were many options I could have used to get out of this interview. But something told me that it was time someone put her in her place. I thought that I was just as equipped as any other.

"I'll handle this," I said, giving my twin a meaningful glare that he had seen and understood too many times before. He gave a small nod that I returned before turning back to the woman in the venomous green robes. I placed on one of my most in genuine smiles. "Shall we?"

She returned the smile, motioning for me to follow her swaying hips out as she led us to...a broom cupboard. I looked at her suspiciously as she closed the door.

"You're joking."

"You should be even more comfortable with your brother is. Much better than a kitchen _sink_," she observed. I couldn't stop the shock and grimace that accompanied the words - the memory of being locked under the kitchen sink when I was bad always plagued me. I had been so much smaller than Harry and at the time when the 'funny business' began, I'd been put in there to face some of my darkest fears - small spaces and water caused by the bursting pipes...

"How did you know about that?" I hissed, my eyes flashing dangerously. She was obviously excited that she had struck a chord as a quill that matched the colour of her robes floated behind her.

"Don't mind if I use a _Quick-Quotes _quill? Of course not." She smiled, not leaving me with time to give my answer. "So, Audrey Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived's _sister_. Are you upset that your brother is following in your path for making trouble? Or, is it you that has always had to drag behind him to ensure his safety?"

"Causing trouble is a talent that I hold alone. Harry just happens to find it." I watched the quill warily as it wrote frantically. "What did you say that upset my brother so much?"

"Was he upset? Ah, I was worried that my words on your parents may depress him-" she looked meaningfully at the pad that the quill wrote on. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"He wasn't depressed, he was livid. Could it be because of that quill that writes whatever it wants?" She raised an eyebrow in interest. "I know my fair share of tricks, Ms Skeeter."

"Are you the one who entered the name in the Goblet then? No one would blame you for finally wanting to get out of your brother's overbearingly dark shadow." Her voice was so condescending. She wasn't speaking to a six year old and I would let her know it.

"Overbearing, yes he is. But neither of us entered, we don't like danger-"

"Is it because you're not the best with wand-wielding? I have sources that you are quite the little Care of Magical Creatures lass and Potions mistress. Would this have anything to do with a balancing act between your brothers knack to speak Parselmouth and his inability to make a decent potion?"

"In that context it's called parsel_tongue_," I corrected bitterly. "Who told you that he could speak it? And who said my brother couldn't do potions? They're wrong."

"It's on a need-to-know basis when you're a writer, darling!" She smiled. "That quote itself I have heard from your Professor, Severus Snape, who seems to have taken a fond liking to you. I was never very fond of the man, but he was _very _defensive over your position in all this-"

"That's because Professor Snape is one of the best professors that has ever worked in this school," I hissed defensively. "I don't know how you get your information, or why you insist on writing nonsense but I hold by my brother like you hold by your quill. And listen, I am not the best wandwoman, but I can do things that would make your nightmares run _scared_, lady. So don't you dare try to toss my brother off the broom so that you can get more readers. My brother didn't put our name in and I didn't put our name in, but whoever did is going to feel my wrath when I find them - you hear that you false-quill? Write _that _in your bloody article."

I shuffled over towards the door and pushed it open, glad when the spill of light flooded my eyes. I turned around to glare at the snide woman, bleached by the daylight.

"You know, even the less honourable Slytherins consider your articles a joke." I informed with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should interview some of our enemies while you're at it? I'm sure they'll be just as credible. I mean, since you're as big a joke as your writing."

* * *

><p>"That's not good, Drea!" Daphne said as soon as I reiterated what I had said to Rita Skeeter. "She has the biggest gossip column in the <em>Daily Prophet <em>- if you upset her, the whole wizarding world will hear of it."

"Good," I muttered irritably. "Considering I said nothing bad about anyone other than her, I can't wait to see what the prat comes up with."

"Daphne's right," Theo sighed. "This isn't the end of it - that article won't be either."

Daphne seemed to light up with the acknowledgment and she nodded quickly before searching the ceiling above us as an owl came and landed on my empty dinner plate.

"Thank Merlin food hasn't been brought in yet," I sighed, looking at the owl who was very cute. I took some of the bread that was constantly left on the tables and fed her some. "Here you go...may I take my letter?"

"It astounds me that you can be such a git to someone like Rita Skeeter and then so polite to an _owl_." Daphne frowned, watching as I gave the owl more bread and took the letter from her.

"Piss off, Greengrass." Daphne huffed and looked over to Millicent who sat at her other side before she started a conversation that she seemed to have not wanted to stop from breakfast. I looked back over at the owl and told it that it could leave, so it hooted pleasantly before flying in a circle...and landing with Harry. I watched the exchange for a moment, noticing how I was much nicer and because of that, the owl nipped at his finger. I tried not to laugh as I turned back to my own letter.

"Who's it from?" Theo asked, leaning over. I shrugged, but with a second look at the writing I recognized who it was from even before I tore it open.

"_Sirius_," I whispered to him, he leaned forward to look over my shoulder. Theodore had always been very supportive of my relationship with my Godfather...Daphne? Not as much. Daphne still firmly believed that her father, who worked for the Ministry, would never make up a lie about something as serious as a convicted killer.

_Audrey,_

He wrote in surprisingly neat printing.

_Do some reflection on Sunday night at 6:00. I suggest being in your room for privacy. Be nice to the bird, she's had a hard journey - though I expect no less of you._

_Snuffles_

"What does that mean?" Theodore asked when he was finished reading. I folded the note back up and shoved it into the deepest pocket of my robes with a sharp look.

"Something about being in my room on Sunday evening...probably because he knows people will still be at dinner." I sighed. "Doesn't matter, mate. Got to go to detention."

"Hopefully Snape takes it easy on you." Nott smirked. "You are his favourite."

"Malfoy is his favourite," I corrected as I stood, "I'm his most promising."

He laughed as I was slinging the strap of my rucksack over my shoulder. I winced as it hit my hip painfully. When would I start gaining the weight back that I'd lost over the summer where I was starved with the Dursleys? It was an annual tradition, underfed at the beginning of the year and by Christmas, I looked close to healthy again.

With a slight wave to Theo, I all but stormed out of the hall - already putting on my moodiest expression for my unearned detention. I was already regretting the fact that I hadn't skipped dinner to go up and change into some muggle clothes, whether the Slytherins found them acceptable or not. They were at least more comfortable than a skirt and I swear there was a conspiracy that made all the Slytherin skirts shorter than any other house skirt. It was ridiculous.

As I approached the dungeons, I slowed my pace. No matter how upset I was with Snape, I didn't want to take out all my frustration on him - not that I understood why it was so necessary to have a detention in the dungeons for a lack of homework due the night after I found out I may die. No, that clearly was not reason enough to forget about the concentration of Murtlap Essence and what it does.

By the time I had gotten myself worked up again, I was standing in front of Snape's door. I didn't even need to knock before he called me in, to which I sluggishly entered the quiet room. He didn't look up from his scribbling when I came in, but I distinctly noticed that he was giving grades. I could tell because he scoffed and gave someone something that scratched the parchment twice, before he flipped the page and hummed to himself before scribbling something with three lines. Yes, back to giving _T_'s and _A_'s. He was clearly in a mood as well.

"Miss Potter, nice of you to be on time...for once." He added in an undertone, I fought off a smirk as I plopped down in the desk at the front of the class.

"I've always enjoyed our time together, sir. I would not want to miss a moment of it."

"Cheeky today, I see." He sighed at the papers. "You wouldn't happen to have your homework with you, would you?"

"No, not today. I wanted all my attention on you - just in case you try to quiz me on how and what happens when you concentrate Murtlap essence." I was proud of myself when I saw him smirk slightly to himself. He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What does happen when you concentrate Murtlap essence?"

I smiled. _Oh_, I was so ready for his little tests! This is why I happened to love detention with him. If I got it right, I even knew what my 'punishment' would be...

"You concentrate Murtlap essence by boiling the water and adding a teaspoon of salt for every quarter litre of liquid. The longer you boil, the more intense the concoction becomes. But if it starts to turn from a liquid to a solid, then it will turn into more of an acid base and hurt you rather than heal you." I was proud of my answer and though he didn't sound it, I could tell he was too.

"And how long does that take?"

"It takes about four minutes after it begins to boil." I was glad potions was an exact science that I had nailed just as well, if not better, than Hermione. She had to hound her potion and books to keep it right, but I was told early on that I had a natural knack to it. I could apparently just know when it was right and wrong - it was a seventh sense, just behind that of my third eye.

"And what are the consequences of the Murtlap essence turning into a solid?"

"Murt_sap_," I said pointedly, not even able to hide my pride. "Is a strong substance with a PH balance of 4 that cannot be healed by Murtlap essence and it will only make it worse. It can only be cured by Wartlap Powder."

One hundred marks to Audrey Potter, thank you _very _much.

"Thorough," he said with a masked face. This was one of those moments where I was sure he was proud of me, even if I had never gotten proof of it. "Thorough enough to help me grade the fourth year papers. Take that stack there...I _will _look over them for fairness."

I scoffed. By fairness, he meant that the students who got good marks were either students who absolutely deserved it or Slytherins. And by people who deserved it, he meant no higher than _A_'s. Professor Snape only handed three people _O_'s per class assignment and those were usually reserved for Hermione, Malfoy, and myself.

"Yes, sir." I smiled, taking the thick stacks of parchment and the quill provided as I began to correct and grade the essays. It was always amusing to do this and was actually one of my favourite parts of the detention. Snape and I would just sit quietly, marking and not speaking, unless I would ask what mark I should give even though they flunked it and were Slytherins or they were not Slytherins and they aced it.

I was always surprised by what people wrote, who was smart and who was not. Poor Neville Longbottom never seemed to understand what he was doing, which I felt terrible about and so I never gave him lower than a _P_, though that was sometimes being too kind. I was never allowed to mark Harry, Ron, Hermione, or Daphne's papers because he knew that I would be unfair. I was allowed to mark Theo's because he could actually pull off a good grade, but Daphne was lost when it came to potions and 'deserved' higher than I would have given. I assume that Ron and Harry would have gotten lower than I would have marked, as for Hermione...well, I'm not really sure why I wasn't allowed to mark hers since it was almost always perfect. I assume he had some sort of discriminating reason.

I snorted as I read through Parkinson's paper, she had called the essence Murtsap instead of Murtlap throughout the _entire _essay and she had completely forgotten to talk about how it became a solid because of the salt that was added. I looked to Snape.

"Please," I said slowly, pointing down to her paper. "It _deserves _a _D_."

He took a moment to glance at the paper before he went to his own, which was currently Parvati Patil's. He shook his head. "Write her a warning and give her an _A_."

"But that's two whole grades higher!" I groaned, looking down at the dreadful paper that hadn't gotten any of the facts straight.

"An _A_, Potter."

I sighed, scratching the _A_ almost through the thick parchment. "Fine, but you have no control over what warning I write."

_Next time you could at least try plagiarism, or maybe even plagiarism from other plagiarism - at least they will have known the facts. Get it straight, Parkinson._

Snape looked at my comment but did not say anything about it as he bent over another paper. I did the same, looking at the paper behind hers. Bullstrode had basically the same concept, but she had at least gotten the terms 'Murtlap' and 'Murtsap' straight. I gave her an _A_ too, but left her without as colourful a warning.

Behind her work was the surprisingly neat cursive of the blonde-brat. I'd watch his cursive throughout the years and surprisingly his was one of the few that had not changed throughout them. He'd had elegant script for as long as I had been marking - I was told by Daphne that his mother probably taught him calligraphy at a young age. The wealthier families did it. I was upset by the fact that his cursive was more neat than mine, though I was even _more _upset by the fact that he had done nothing wrong in the essay. I raked my eyes over it again, looking for something out of place.

Ah, _there_. He didn't use the term Murtsap constantly. Those cost some serious marks, Malfoy.

_A_, I wrote in big green writing. Snape looked over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Malfoy's work normally warrants an_ E _or an _O_." I shrugged the comment off, pushing the paper into the stack I had of marked work so that he couldn't dispute it.

"He forgot some terms, I thought you'd like to give fewer _O_'s this assignment. No need to start the year off kindly." I said with a wry smile before pulling out the next paper - ah, poor Neville. I felt bad seeing the continuous scratched out mistakes he had made on his own paper. I knew from experience that this did not bode well for his overall mark.

I heard a grunt halfway through Neville's excruciating paper and looked up to see Snape glaring down at a paper that he was giving a large _D_ to. I glared at him when I read the name, knowing that it was not worthy of it. After all, Harry was my brother, _I _had told him the difference between Murtlap and Murtsap and I know Hermione wouldn't let any other mistakes fly when she evidently edited his paper.

"He didn't do it you know," I said quietly, guessing on his most current reason to hate him. "Put our names in the Goblet, I mean."

"Didn't he?" Snape asked bitterly, not looking at me as he went to Ron's paper beneath Hermione's. Hers seemed to deserve a _E_. No _O_'s at all this assignment, I guess.

"No, he didn't." I said strongly, suddenly very sure that my brother had no involvement in it.

"Did you?" He asked, looking up at me with a slight glare. I was immediately insulted.

"I thought you believed me, sir." I growled. "You can't honestly think that I would have the guts to enter a tournament where you think on your feet? I'm not a witchy-witch, I'm a...a _theory _witch. Yeah, theory."

"Hm, I suspected as much considering you and your brother, though vastly incapable of regular adolescent behaviours, never seem to go without admitting your discrepancies." he muttered to himself, moving onto another paper.

I looked down at Michael Corner's paper, but couldn't seem to properly read it. I was far too distracted to understand the English language while I looked back up to the Professor, who seemed to have expected me to start talking now that the ice had cracked.

"Why is Professor Dumbledore letting us do this - I mean, doesn't he want Harry alive? Isn't that the whole point of everything that's happened the past three years?" I leaned back in the chair, letting only two legs support me. "I hope he doesn't honestly think that I'll take the brunt of it all just because of who I am. I may be a theory-witch but I am not a coward. Alright...maybe a little bit of a coward...but I am not inept!" I admitted with a frown.

Snape let out a sigh before setting down his quill, ready to face me with facts - which was nice. Dumbledore's riddles were always fascinating and if you had them time to sit and figure them out, usually it had a lot more insight and fact, but right now all I wanted was logic. Cold, hard logic that I could argue against my emotions with.

"Witch-witch or theory-witch," he said with a small sneer. "The problem is more the fact that someone entered your common name, Potter. A name that also puts _you _on the chopping block, in case you failed to realize."

I opened my mouth for a moment of uncertainty. "What are you saying?"

"Potter, is it really so hard to grasp the fact that you are in just as much danger as your brother is because it _was _such a neutral name? The term is obviously used for both you and he, it could be more than just a fluke that you have been dragged into this ridiculous situation, yourself." He sneered, shuffling the papers on his desk and righting them in a fashion that showed me he didn't want to make his words sound as important as they were.

"Why would anyone be after _me_?" I asked quietly. "Harry's the one who killed the Riddler, he's the powerful one with that whole 'magic of love' thing. I'm not even close to being dangerous."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Snape mumbled, more to himself than to me. "Your talents are intriguing. It's not something that people just glance over, Potter, and I'm sure the culprit behind all this has the same ideas."

I shivered, setting the front legs of the chair back on the ground as I looked at him levelly.

"Well, professor, you are have officially terrified me."

"Good," he mumbled, turning back to his marking. "I have done my work properly, then. You're free to leave, early even."

"What, no more words of comfort?" I asked sarcastically as I stood. He shot me a piercing look which made me sigh as I walked to the door. "Understood. Goodnight professor...and thank you."

I looked back to him when I said this, only to see him looking at me with a heavily furrowed brow - not that you could tell easily under all his greasy hair. He didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. I decided to be kind and elaborate.

"For talking to me honestly. People don't seem to do it anymore." I smiled meaningfully at him and he immediately looked back down to his papers, he didn't like people smiling.

"Then you should also know that you are still getting a _T _for not handing in your homework," he drawled with a snicker. I rolled my eyes.

"Back to that, then? Fantastic. Goodnight professor."

* * *

><p><strong>I can't even hide it, my love for Snape shines through. Even if I wrote a character who hated him, it would be hard to make it convincing, to me he is fantastic. I'm sorry if you don't agree - but you will by the time Audrey is done with you! <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and to my wonderful reviewers who sent me reviews for the last, let me just give you your props:**

**indigofrisbee:** Had the paper said Weasley, it would be disasterous! THEN they would have pulled the tournament, for sure. I can tell you that Audrey being in this tournament is not going to be a picnic and she's going to wish she _wasn't _the famous one, but I'm glad you liked it (especially enough to review, then go read my other stories, and later private message me? You're a gem!) and I hope you liked this chapter as well!

**xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: **I'm glad you liked the last chapter - hopefully this one was interesting as well. Thank you so much for reviewing!

**.alwaysxlove.:** I'm glad you like the twist I was really worried about how it would be recieved. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for giving your two cents :)

**Angel of the Night Watchers: **You're fantastic, you edit and review. Your fiancé is a lucky man! I'm sorry that it took so long between getting the chapters to each other - DocX and I seem to be on bad terms lately. Again, I really liked our conversations as we tried to concur the problem, I think we should continue those. Would you like me to just start emailing you the chapters, or do you think we should give it another go now that we've tamed the wild beast?

**Anyway, my wonderful readers thank you so much for reading. I'd really like to know what you think about her being in the tournament and maybe her relationship. Do you have any requests? I can try to squeeze them in there. Leave me a review and let me know! I'll be talking to you soon, **_**especially **_**if you review ;)**

**-Egypt**


	7. Reflections

**I am so sorry for the wait! I will never, ever, ever make you wait this long again. Ever. I have my reasons that are doctor related and if you want a more detailed excuse you can read it at the beginning of **_**Forgetting Franki**_** but for now I just want to give you this chapter. I'm so sorry and I hope you enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Six - Reflections<span>

Instead of attending dinner on Sunday night, I quickly ducked into my dorm. Though I had doubted that any of my dorm mates would be back as it was only six, I had still hired Theodore to help distract Daphne from coming into the room or coming to find me. I had locked the door so that I would at least hear if Daphne, Tracey, Lillian, or Alya decided to come back in.

I am never on-time; and though I was a little worried over the fact that I had been on time for not only my detention, what should have been dinner, and this potential meeting with Sirius, I knew it wasn't a waste of my one punctual weekend of the year because as soon as I was coming through the door I was hearing him whisper my name.

"What if I had been Alya? She's your cousin somehow, I'm sure - you purebloods are all related." I whispered, closing the door behind me. "Where are you?"

"The mirror," he whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Ah, that would make sense from the whole 'reflection' thing." I said, climbing over Lillian Moon's bed to reach the mirror in between she and Daphne's. Sirius was standing in the mirror, full length and smiling, though his dark gray eyes remained troubled. "And just how have you managed this one?"

"You didn't honestly believe that James and I would have prevented ourselves from visiting our girlfriends in their dorm rooms?" He laughed. I wrinkled my nose at the excessive amount of information of my father. "This can hook up to all the girls mirrors, the boys don't have them."

"You have to write a list of all those kinds of tricks you have. I don't believe Fred or George even know this one," I smirked sarcastically before sitting on the bed closest to the mirror, he seemed to lean against the frame. I took him in. "You look well."

"I have been much better, I spoke to Harry early this morning - he's terrified."

"So am I, but you can't tell him that." I said quickly, pointing to him accusingly. He raised his hands, though his eyebrow had also raised somewhat sceptically. I knew that glint, I knew what he was thinking even before he mentioned it. "I didn't put in the parchment, Sirius."

"Harry assured me you didn't," he said slowly. "I don't believe you could lie to him."

"You take his word over mine, I notice." I mumbled, noting the small and bitter difference between 'I believe you' and 'I believe that Harry wouldn't lie'.

"Those observations of yours really make those green robes glitter," Sirius joked. I scoffed at him, waving my hand royally between us.

"You should know that I like credit for my work," I acknowledged, crossing my arms. "But I don't like being treated the hero. I liked being the bitter one - I'm not used to being the one fawned over."

"Harry's been having a hard time, Gryffindor aren't appreciating this new feat as much as ones in the past." Sirius muttered. "Not even Ron - Harry hid that we were speaking from him."

I thought back to my vision, it brought back the cold sensation even as I thought on it - Ron looking so bitter where I felt the urge to nearly choke on my own distaste for my brother. It was a familiar sensation that I sometimes got, but it was hard to imagine those feelings emanating from his best friend.

"I saw it in my vision - maybe I'll go talk to him before curfew." I offered, though I knew I wouldn't. "Snape has been filling my head with some terrifying thoughts, I didn't sleep at all last night thanks to them."

"Speaking of _Snivellus_," Sirius sneered, reaching out of sight to something behind him. He pulled out a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. "Have you read this yet?"

He waved the article in front of me and I was upset to see that the picture moved to show me going from smiling Audrey to angry Audrey who crossed her arms and looked like she was ready to snap someone's neck - I didn't like moving photos. They made it so much more difficult to be somewhat photogenic.

"Can't say I have, or that I want to." I said clipped, Sirius raised an eyebrow but raked his eyes over the article anyway.

"'_Harry Potter, aged 12, suspect entrant in the Tri-Wizard tournament. Here seen his eyes swimming with the ghosts of his past as he worries over the dangerous path he has once again taken after his parents so bravely tried to change his course. 'I suppose I get my strength from my parents,' he explains in his first and only interview. 'I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now...yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I know nothing will hurt my sister or I during the tournament, because they're watching over us.' Though he shows some pathological desire to prove his worth to the wizarding world now that his fame no longer can rest only in You-Know-Who, the young second year_-'"

"Enough of this rubbish," I hissed, steaming from the magnitude her lies and even more upset that Harry's article was _again _making him the hero. "What's the point of reading it to me?"

"Oh, I've barely gotten to the best part." Sirius said with a dark look towards me. Oh no, I thought, I knew what that look meant. And I should have realized that Harry probably hadn't been the only one to get a section to himself in this article. Sirius straightened the paper and began again.

"_'Harry Potter's quizzically less famous twin sister, Audrey Potter, is also being entered into the tournament under a technicality that she is not proud of. It's seen that she has been turning her questions to her mentor, potions master Severus Snape; Snape seems a father figure to the lonely soul after she has only recently discovered that her uncle is mass murder, Sirius Black-' _I particularly like this part, _'who would never be able to look past the girl that will be forever plagued by her brother's shadow. The small, defenceless girl, who has admitted to being no more magical than a Squib_-_'_"

"She said _what_?" I screamed, he immediately hushed me. I gasped as I thought about it, my vision turning to a blood-lusting red. "She _didn't_..."

"She did. What did you say to her?" He asked, looking almost as amused as he was concerned.

"I said that I wasn't good with a wand, but I would bring my wrath on whoever did it-"

"Yes, it goes onto say after the squi-"

"Sh!" I hissed. "_That _comment, I get it."

"_'-she will still find a way to take her wrath out on those who try to hurt her twin brother, she told me with red eyes'_-"

"Yes, red as in _livid_!" I hissed.

"_'-she stormed off being too emotional to tell more to the _Daily Prophet_, but we expect to see interesting results from the two Potter twins who will need to help each other through their severe psychological and magical disabilities to survive this vicious tournament.'_"

I sucked on my teeth, thinking bitterly back to the article before I let out a barking laugh. Sirius looked at me worriedly. "That bint is brilliant."

"Pardon me?" Sirius asked sceptically. I hissed out another laugh.

"She's brilliant. She got a point, what she doesn't know is that I'm going to retaliate. _Oh_,will I retaliate! I can't _believe _she thought to call m-"

"Audrey!" Sirius whispered urgently. "Focus."

"I _am _focusing," I said defensively. "What else were we talking about besides the fact that I didn't put in the parchment and that article?"

"The fact it's true - you can _hardly _use a wand," Sirius said lowly. I quieted down quickly. His comment was biting but it did it's job in sobering me up. "It's something that needs to be dealt with before the first task."

"I _can _use a wand," I muttered to myself. "I just can't direct it...or focus it...or something. I bet Dumbledore could explain it to you, you know, since he won't explain it to _me_."

"Dumbledore is doing all he can to figure out who is trying to get rid of you, so I wouldn't give him any trouble were I you." Sirius sighed. "_Snivellus _on the other hand..."

I raised my eyebrows. "What about him?"

"As soon as I heard the news I started reading up on the rules. You, my little potions mistress, are allowed to consume potions as soon as the competition starts so long as it is checked by the judges. The problem is making it last long enough until it's your turn..."

I thought about it for a while. Who knew how long the bloody task would end up lasting? It could have been anywhere from an hour to a day. Possibly more - you could never tell with these ridiculous wizarding competitions.

"I'll ask Snape about it. I think I read something in the sixth year potions book that taught you how to make the effect of certain potions last longer..." I thought, screwing up my face as I tried to remember. I think there was something about banshee sweat and oak ash...

"Well, then at least _he _could assist you with the tasks - I would, of course, but-"

"Sirius," I gasped by how easily I could identify his bitter tone. "Are you _jealous_?"

"Of Snivellus?" He snorted. "Not at all, I just...wish I was able to do more."

I frowned, sitting up straighter and uncrossing my arms to place them against the bed. "Sirius, we don't blame you. You've done more for us than you know."

"Still," he sighed. "I won't deny I was a tad bit..._upset_ when I saw that you considered him a father figure."

"It's not that he's a father figure. He's hardly warm and caring or anything," I explained with a sigh. "It's more that he says it straight. He's not cryptic or homicidal and he takes all my bull. I'm horrible to the man, really."

"You _should _be, it's not _you _he would like to get on the good side of." Sirius growled lowly, but he didn't give me a second to think about the meaning behind it before he continued. "Igor Karkaroff was a Death Eater and Barty Crouch, his son was a Death Eater who he sent to rot and die in Azkaban, he's heartless. These tasks are designed to kill someone and someone jumped on that possibility. You can't trust anyone here, Audrey. You and Harry are alone in this tournament - so stay _together_."

The emphasis was powerful and I heaved a long sigh, nodding my head.

"I wish you were really here, Sirius."

"I won't be far away. If you ever need to talk to me, you can send me an owl and I can get in touch with you through here." He assured. "I should go before any of your dorm mates come in, that or the house elves to clean up this sty."

"They should considering none of us will," I smiled wryly. "Goodnight. Please tell me I can see you over Christmas? I'll bring you a box of rats."

"The Tri-Wizard tournament continues over Christmas," he said as he shook his head and tried to hide his smile. "But I'll see what I can do. Goodnight." And suddenly, with a flash of the glass, Sirius was gone.

As soon as I had given myself a moment to breathe, I was out my dormitory door again. Speaking to Sirius had been comforting, but at the same time I was more than distraught now that he was gone. I needed something to comfort me and I knew exactly where I would find it.

Knowing that I couldn't go to find Theodore after the little distraction that he must have been running, I decided to head to the library. I would most likely find Hermione there and hopefully Harry. Knowing now that Ron was so mad at Harry that they were not speaking, I also had a chance of running into Ron with Hermione there, but I figured that I could put him straight were I to see him. Either way, I needed someone to talk to and for once a Slytherin wasn't going to cut it - I wanted to talk about _my _problems, not summarize them and leave time for working out someone else's.

By the time I made it to the library I was almost frantic. The jeers from some students about me being a Squib were ringing in my ears, though they weren't as bad as they would be tomorrow when everyone got their post - post doesn't come on Sundays, so I had no idea how some people had already gotten editions of the paper. My eyes were skimming over anyone who had green in their robes, looking for busy hair or even red hair - Ginny would make good conversation right now as well. It only got stronger the more time we got together but she was a little more rebellious and realistic, which was refreshing in comparison to Hermione or Daphne.

"Audrey? Why are you in the library?"

The voice made me turn around and I rushed towards the bushy hair in the corner of the library, not noticing whether or not anyone was beside her. I almost went to hug her before I remembered that I hated touching people - a sad consequence of the Dursley's neglect - but I still sat down directly beside her.

"I need to talk." I announced. "You're the only one I could think of."

"Great," a bitter voice said from my right. I looked to see flaming red hair and an angry expression on a face that I rarely saw it. We both rolled our eyes at each other. "Need to ask how to get over a gender line, this time? Why don't you just go ask your new _father figure_? Though I doubt you need bother, clearly age lines aren't a problem for you."

"Oh, get off it, Ron." I hissed, stung by the fact he was quoting the article in the Prophet. "I had a vision of you being this bitter _weeks _ago, but I always thought you'd be smart enough to do it over something true. Even the _Slytherins _are being more supportive than you are."

He glared. "Had you just _told _me that you were entering-"

"We _didn't _enter. As Harry's best friend you should _know _he hates this attention and even if you were only an _acquaintance_ to me you should know that I don't have the ability to survive the first disaster of a task. Don't act so bloody noble, you're just jealous. If you want it, I would be more than happy to make you some polyjuice potion and _you _can walk to your death. For now stop being a prat and remember where your loyalties lie, because glory doesn't become of gits."

He narrowed his eyes before sliding his books into his hands and getting up from the table, not caring to give so much as another look in Hermione or my direction. I heard her sigh beside me and I turned around with pink cheeks, embarrassed by my outburst.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to rush him away. It's just hard to believe that as a _Gryffindor _he wouldn't trust his friend and try to listen-"

"I agree with you, so don't worry." Hermione sighed, putting a bookmark in her Charms textbook so that she could give me her full attention. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I'm worried." I whispered, stopping when a group of Hufflepuff fifth years walked past and made an obvious joke to their friends about me. I winced at the hit to my ego. "I've just had a conversation with Snuffles and it's unnerved me."

"More than that wretched article?" Hermione asked doubtfully. "She really loathes you. Whatever did you say to her?"

"Certainly not that I was a _squib_," I hissed. "It doesn't matter anymore. Sirius said that he spoke to Harry this morning, did you get the chance to talk with him about it?"

Hermione immediately looked guilty. "Er...no, actually. I've been spending a lot of time with Ron, he's very torn up about this whole situation-"

"Oh yes, he looks distraught." I rolled my eyes. "What about Harry? He needs someone to talk to and I'm not able to be there as often as I'd like to be. If he's freaking out half as much as I am, then he'll need you around."

"You're freaking out?" Hermione asked with raised eyebrows, looking at me sceptically. I needed to stop admitting this to people - it could ruin my image.

"Not if anyone else were ever to come up to ask me and if you repeat it, I'll deny it." I informed with a raised eyebrow. "I wanted to talk to you about this, but I think that Harry should be the more important person here-"

"Don't you start being noble now," she teased.

"Just do it, Granger." I smirked, pushing myself up as I thought about how I would keep tabs on him if Hermione wasn't going to. I thought about it for a while, my brothers knack for trouble ringing as true in my mind as my conscience did, before I nodded to myself. "Tell him that I want to do a swap of materials, I want the cloak and I'll pass him the map. Tell him I'd like to get it sooner rather than later and to expect some sibling-bonding time when I get it, if you would?"

"My pleasure." Hermione smiled, watching as I went to turn around. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about you?"

I looked into space for a second before shaking my head. "No, I actually admitted that I was scared - I think that's all the psychological release I need for the month."

"Well, you know where I am if you decide differently." She smiled to me but leaned in close to whisper, "and stay safe, will you?"

"You say that as if _I _fight werewolves or go looking for basilisks or-"

"Yes, yes, off with you." She mumbled, opening her book back up. Pleased with my work, I left to go back to my dorm room, still to be empty but surely having an alienation that I actually looked forward to.

"Luckily I've already done my business with the cloak," Harry said to me as I walked from Charms three days later. I wasn't upset that it had taken him so long to get back to me - we were both busy in our own current drama. It was one of the reasons that I was walking alone today, not wanting to have to put Daphne or Theodore through the humiliation that came following Rita Skeeter's article. While I wanted to hide under my hood, I made sure to try and walk with some semblance of pride - ready to show anyone who upset me how I could still perform a good hex as a 'squib'. My main ideas were to avoid Parkinson or Malfoy considering if I _did _meet them, I could assure that I _would _hex them and I would be more than happy to get expelled to avoid the upcoming first task.

"Well that doesn't make sense," I tried to smile. "It's the most useful since you're so clumsy."

"Are you kidding?" He asked sceptically. "I'm not the one who sounds like a troll in the morning."

"Are _you _kidding?" I asked with a laugh. "At least I don't look like a troll all times of day!"

"I'm really sorry about that article," Harry said quietly, falling in step with me as I slowed. "I know you were probably just sticking up for me."

"Don't worry about it," I shrugged. "These people will know _exactly _what I am if they push me much farther."

"Don't get yourself expelled just because you don't want to be in the tournament. We will still need an anarchist to fight for our rights of no homework when it's all over." Harry smiled, knowing exactly what was going on in my head. I smiled and elbowed him back.

"That would have been a _wonderful _campaign had Snape not called my bluff," I sighed, remembering the fact he had dropped homework for a week before giving us the cruellest test that anyone at Hogwarts had ever seen, Hermione had gotten an _Acceptable_. And it was a fair marking - just to put things in perspective. As we walked past a classroom, I heard someone gasp and say something that involved the word 'Squib'. I held my head higher, but Harry looked livid.

"How badly are they dragging you through the ringer?"

"They're Slytherins." I stated plainly. Harry nodded his head in understanding.

"That bad?"

"Worse." I acknowledged lightly, before I raised my voice. "Nothing a _witch _like me can't handle."

"I need to talk to you about-" Harry began but he was cut off quickly.

"Oi, Potter!" Both Harry and I turned our heads, but as soon as we saw who was walking towards us, Harry let out a huff - for me. For once, someone was trying to get my attention and not his - not that either of us would have wanted it. "Heard the bad news."

"What do you want, Montague?" I hissed, looking at the sixth year bitterly. He smirked at me, raising his perfectly plucked eyebrow. Montague was a strange specimen of wizard - not too bad with magic and coming from a fairly affluent family, he was always well groomed and manicured. He was tall, dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin - he was a very well bred Pure Italian wizard. Problem was that he was also a purebred arse.

"No need to be harsh, Potter. I came to offer words of comfort."

"How could you possibly comfort me?" I groaned, looking at Harry for help, Harry was distracted, however, by looking outside into the courtyard before he threw me an apologetic look and left out the exit to the outdoors. I turned back to the arse in front of me.

"I just wanted to show my support for your cause, Potter. Notice that I am not wearing a badge? And I am going to get right on making some badges just for you." He winked, I took an instinctual step backwards as I felt bile rise in my throat.

"What badges?" I asked, looking at him in disgust.

"Oh, you haven't seen them?" he feigned shock. "I would have thought someone told you."

"Told me _what_? You know," I amended, watching as Harry was talking to Cedric. Well perfect, two birds with one stone. "I don't care. I have places to be."

"Places to be?" he repeated irritably, looking at me with a sneer. I did not reply to him as I turned on my heel and followed in my brother's footsteps. I heard Montague let out a huff before he moved back down the hallway as he had come...it made the weather brighten even more.

Outside, the courtyard was catching the last few rays of warm sunlight that we would see this season. The leaves had not started to change, but I was excited for when they would, though I was glad that the crispness in the air wasn't as cold as it would soon become.

Now that I was outside, Cedric had already gone back to his friends and Harry was approaching Ron. I won't deny I was upset that I had lost my opportunity to talk to Diggory, but I was also surprised that Harry had traipsed right up to Ron and seemed to be yelling at him, but as their conversation seemed to be drawing to a close a yell from behind me made me jump about a metre in the air.

"Oi! Why so tense Potter?" Malfoy shouted from behind me. I whipped around to see him chuckling at my reaction and I narrowed my eyes, upset I had actually shown how jumpy I have naturally been feeling this year. He smirked.

"What do you want, Dragon-dick?" I hissed, crossing my arms as I glared.

"My father and I have a bet, you see." He said, his eyes snapping behind me where Harry was approaching. He stopped when he was standing directly beside me, where we stood with identical postures. "I don't think you'll last ten minutes in this tournament."

"Oh, don't you?" I mumbled. Malfoy jumped out of the tree to walk up to me, trying to intimidate me with his height - it sucked being me. Anyone looked intimidating if they were standing near me because of how small I was.

"No, but he disagrees." He raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't think you'll last ten between the both of you_._"

"Clever," I sighed with a roll of my eyes. But Harry wasn't as used to hearing his little jabs as I was - for Malfoy and I this was a bi-hourly insult, thanks to our close quarters. For Harry, this was a bi-daily sighting of the cricket.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy." Harry pushed past him and I widened my eyes, watching the blonde's eyes widened angrily. "He's vile and cruel. You're just pathetic. Come on, Audrey."

Harry grabbed my arm and started to drag me away but I had a flash where the world went bright - too bright. It was vivid and angry, like the contrast had been turned up and the world was burning in colour. I turned around, sensing the danger to see Malfoy's wand pointed at my brother. I gasped and jumped to the side, trying to drag him with me.

"Pathetic? I'll show _you _pathetic!"

"And I'll show you not to cast a spell when someone's back is turned!" Another voice with a thick Irish lilt yelled back. I saw the white spell hit Malfoy before he even had an opportunity to change the word of his spell to block it and suddenly the blonde boy was gone...

Replaced with a blonde ferret.

"Oh my Merlin!" I gasped, looking at who must have been the tall Slytherin but was now a cowering ferret. He was a little longer than normal ferrets, as well as a pale blonde that I had never naturally seen on one - not even an albino would be that colour. I looked over to the caster, seeing that Mad-Eye Moody was happily raising his wand at the now-ferret boy.

As I turned my eyes back to the animal, who I suddenly was much more concerned about now that he wasn't an arrogant human being with no end to his loud mouth complaints, Moody started to make the ferret bounce against the ground and back up a few feet into the air. I tried to laugh with everyone else, but I was worried about the poor animal - though I was much less worried when Harry whispered or me to try and imagine that it was the full grown Draco Malfoy.

I split into a grin, but that was the most I could do.

"Professor Moody! What are you doing?" The shrill voice of professor McGonagall interrupted the scene and while everyone turned to look at her, I quickly grabbed the ferret from Moody's levitation charm which was much stronger than I had expected it to be.

There was a part in my mind that said I was insane, looking after Malfoy when Moody was giving him no more than he deserved. But then there was the part of me that said that now that Malfoy was vulnerable and of all people it was _Moody _who was hurting him, that there was something I could do to get him out of the line of fire.

"I'm teaching. Miss Potter, if you would?" Moody asked, eyeing me as I held the disgusting little rodent closer to me.

"I don't think that's necessary."

"Is that a...Miss Potter is that a student?" McGonagall gasped, looking at the ferret in my hands. I nodded my head.

"It's Malfoy," I informed flatly, she gasped as she pointed accusingly at Moody.

"Technically, it's a ferret." He said somewhat defensively.

"Alastor!" I could almost hear her as if she was reprimanding him when he was back as a student. "It is never okay to use Transfiguration against a student! Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

Moody frowned prominently and looked down to the ground, his magical eye swivelling to Malfoy who was still in my hands. "He might have mentioned it..."

"Then you would do well to remember it." She exclaimed, before looking at all the gathered students and shooing them off with a stern look. Moody ushered Harry to go with him and Harry gave me a small glare for cutting short his abusive form of fun before he left to follow the creepy fellow. At this point, McGonagall turned back to me. "Miss Potter, would you be so kind as to walk Malfoy up to the infirmary?"

"Can't you just do it, Professor?" I asked nervously, looking down to the greasy blonde boy in my hands. "You _are _the transfigurations teacher."

"Be that as it may, human transfiguration is a nasty business. One who is being transformed into an animal has to be in the mindset of a human before they can transform back into one - whether or not done by the caster. You will be excused from classes until you can walk him back to his dormitory when Poppy is through with him."

"But Professor," I whined. "I'm not in a state to be missing classes!"

I was of course referring to the idea that the first Tri-Wizard task was fast approaching and not only did I have any idea what to be ready for, but I also was no good with a wand so I had to come up with some kind of potion or non-wand ability that I would be able to use when the time came. The professor raised her hand against my complaint.

"Since you are in _my _class, Miss Potter, I can tell you that we will be studying turning our pets into an ink bottle. I assume you'll be able to find that cat of yours?"

"Kneazle," I corrected bitterly. "Yes. I'm sure I'll find time to practice as I prepare for this tournament now that I have to escort the biggest pra-"

"Language, Miss Potter. Off to the Hospital wing, I expect Mr Malfoy to give me a good report on your treatment of him when he comes back to human mindset, agreed?" I huffed and let go of Malfoy with one hand to rearrange my books and shove the ones I had been holding back into my rucksack with the invisibility cloak.

"Of course, Professor."

I began to walk to the infirmary with Malfoy in my hands. He was writhing a little, but it was easy to control him because of how small he was. There was one point in the travels, of course, when he let out a whine.

I turned the little creature to look at me, feeling bad for it until I remembered who it was. But of course, my love for all things non-human completely won over my hatred for Malfoy. It was nearly pathetic.

"Oi, you listen here, Malfoy." I explained, my voice not nearly as harsh as it normally was. "Just because you're now a small woodland creature does not mean I do not think you got what was coming to you - you should never use your wand when someone's back is turned. It makes you even lower on the food chain than you are in this state. So...er...man up. As for me taking you to the hospital wing, I'm only doing this because no one else would and I'm so against cruelty to animals - which you are...so, er, turn human soon so I can hate you more easily. Thank you."

I nodded my head slightly, letting him know that my little rant was finished. Normally, I did not feel awkward talking to animals, I guess it was just because this animal happened to be one of my worst enemies. I thought about letting him find his own way back to the hospital wing, but I had not done much reading on wand-to-human transfiguration, so I didn't know how 'in touch with the animal mind' one really was. I didn't want to leave him to wander the castle alone when he didn't remember they layout of it - it was over seven stories high and the hospital wing was quite a jaunt.

He was still wriggling and trying to get away from me when I entered the hospital wing with him in my hands. Normally I would cradle a creature this scared, calm it down...Malfoy didn't deserve it. And to think of cradling the git? Well, I couldn't even imagine his mother having done it when he was small.

The infirmary wasn't that full today, which was sad because it meant that Malfoy wouldn't get the good dose of embarrassment he deserved until after. There were two Gryffindors on two beds and they were lying down facing each other because their hands had been stuck to one of the golden plates from the Great Hall. I assumed Fred and George wanted to play a trick on them - it seemed their handiwork...literally. They were making small talk and not really paying attention to me coming in.

Another Ravenclaw girl was laying in bed looking rather queasy, her dark hair was pulled up and away from her face as she looked worriedly into a bucket on her lap. Again, I wondered if she was here under Fred and George's care.

"What's happened to you, Miss Potter?" Madam Pomphrey asked as she came bustled up to me. I shook my head immediately - she and I knew each other well.

"Nothing's happened to me, it's Malfoy here - an unwanted trip down Transfigured Ave." I sighed. She gave a little gasp and ushered me over to a bed, where I was told to put him down. She looked at him quickly.

"Did you do this?"

"Of course not," I scoffed. Even had I wanted to, I would never have been able to pull it off. "This was Professor Moody's signature, I'm afraid. Though don't be fooled - he deserved it."

"No student ever deserves that kind of magic being used on them," she tutted. She walked over to the large medicine cabinet by her office door and went through it briefly before picking up a pink vial of liquid and setting it down in front of him in a dixie cup. "Get him to drink all of this. It should clear up his mind long enough for him to be transfigured back."

"Thank you, I'll do that."

She was quick to hobble off towards the two Gryffindors with their hands on the plate, inspecting their progress and tutting again when she saw each of them could only move their thumbs away. I turned back to the ferret in front of me.

"Alright, Malfoy. Drink away." But the ferret didn't seem to want to drink the potion. I looked at him bitterly. "I said, drink up. I don't want to be here all day."

The little rat tried to scamper off the bed. I grabbed him before he did any damage to himself and dragged him back over towards the cup. Putting him on the back and in the crevasse of my arm, I tried to force feed the damn cup to him as he wriggled.

"Oh just stop it, the longer you stay a ferret the longer it will take for the teasing to die down!" I hissed to him, but apparently he didn't understand or didn't want to because he still refused to swallow the potion. I guess it made sense if he was no longer in a Malfoy mindset not an 'I need to survive' mindset, but I was still aggravated.

"I won't be nice to you just because you're a soft woodland creature!" I told myself more than him, usually I would do fine with convincing animals to take their medicines or to calm down - but it was against all my moral ambiguity to be nice to a ferret who just so happened to be a Malfoy.

"Audrey?" The voice was a low baritone and it took me a second to recognize it before I turned to see the stunning profile of Cedric Diggory as he looked at me warily from his place by the nauseous girl across the room. "Is that Draco Malfoy?"

"It is. The lard won't drink the potion," I explained, feeling my face heat up. I looked at the ferret and glared, upset that he had embarrassed me in front of such a pretty man.

"So he won't understand what I tell you?" He clarified, looking down in my arms again at the blonde ferret, who was not struggling anymore but looking between me, his captor, and the loud voice not fifteen feet from him.

"Er...I doubt it, why?" I asked nervously.

"One minute, Cho." He whispered soothingly, she nodded her head and looked back to her puke bucket before he sauntered over to me slowly, looking as if he were a little lost for words. I won't deny, I felt my pride sting a little bit when I saw that he was with the Ravenclaw Seeker...I never liked the girl, there was something off about her. In genuine. So of course she would go for a genuine guy like Cedric.

I guess she didn't hear it when I called dibs.

"I just wanted to thank you and your brother about the tip-off. I thanked Harry, but not you." I blinked up at him for a second, thinking about what Harry and I had told him that he wouldn't have been around us at the same time for...nothing came to mind

"Beg your pardon?" I asked, furrowing my brow. He looked almost surprised.

"About...about the first task?" I raised my eyebrows. He leaned in, lowering his voice confusedly. "About the dragons?"

"What are you on about?" I asked quietly, looking from him to Malfoy. "I haven't heard anything about dragons...Merlin, is the first task something to do with dragons?"

I gasped, squeezing the dixie cup a little too tightly and having some of it splash onto the ferret in my arms. I apologized to it instinctually, petting it's head and trying to dry it off a tad. I looked back up to Cedric, who looked a little frustrated.

"Did he lie to me?"

"Did who lie to you, what are you saying?" I asked, shaking my head out of the image of dragons ripping apart my bloodied carcass. He looked over his shoulder at Cho to ensure that she wasn't paying attention before leaning in closer to me.

"Just this afternoon your brother told me that we had to fight a dragon in the first task. Tell me Potter, was he lying to me?" His voice was intense and slightly hypnotic, so it took me a moment to understand what he said. But when I did, I don't think it was what he thought would happen.

My nostrils flared the more I thought about it - Harry had told Cedric about the first task, but Harry had not told me. In fact, Harry had been speaking to me, alone, just minutes before he had pulled Cedric aside and still, he hadn't thought to mention such a large scribble in my linear life line? He may as well slashed a dagger across my palm!

"That git didn't tell me!" I hissed. Cedric widened his eyes, looking at me nervously.

"He could have just-"

"Harry doesn't lie to anyone," I cut him off lowly. "But he doesn't ever tell me shite. Oh, Harry James Potter is going to _rue _the day he decided not to let his sister in on something so vital! I swear to Merlin that-"

"Has he taken the potion, Miss Potter?" Madam Pomphrey's voice interrupted what would have been a very elaborate villain's speech, so I held out the ferret to her. I explained he had gotten some of it down just moments ago, so hopefully it should work.

She set the ferret down on the bed and without an incantation, but just a flick of her rather long wand, the ferret began to distort. First it started off as a little rumble that shook it, before it's legs started to stretch and it's torso thicken. It's snout started to squeeze back into his face and the hair started to recede and change colour to look like smart and crisp Slytherin robes.

By the time the awkward transition had been there for three minutes, Draco Malfoy was back in the flesh and blinking around as if he were in pain. His clothes were mussed, but not nearly so much as his hair which was messy and even in it's dishevelment, it looked more natural than I think I had ever seen it. I looked at him with a sneer before turning back to talk to Cedric, who was already back at Chang's bedside.

I felt my nostrils flare as it added fuel to the fire.

"Alright there, Malfoy?" I asked through gritted teeth. He looked up at me a moment, as if he hadn't understood what I said to him before nodding.

"You must f-feel so proud of y'self." Malfoy slurred, human language still being downloaded into his brain. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't smart...but I was angry.

So this is what he was getting at? Now that he was entered in the tournament, he was playing to win. Did he think I was some sort of competition now that it was something to do with dragons, because I am so good with animals? Well let me tell you, even if I was good with the one dragon I've ever met, that was because he was a baby. I was not good with dragons and I couldn't see any weaknesses on them to fight against...

"Mister Malfoy," Madam Pomphery sighed in relief when she saw him sitting awkwardly on the bed. "Wonderful. How do you feel?"

"Livid. Can I go?" He drawled, looking at her expectantly.

"No, not yet. Just want to have a quick check to make sure everything's working as it should be. Human transfiguration on a student," she scoffed to herself morbidly as she left again. Malfoy let out a loud groan and pounded his hand on the bed.

I stood up instantly, the shock of the vibrations reminding me that I had been sitting on his bed - which I had never done with him _in _it, even if I did commonly muss up his sheets when visiting Theodore in the dorms. He smirked at me.

"Were you comfortable there, Potter?"

"I was when you were in your true form," I sneered. His smirk fell.

"I don't need to hear that from you, potions wench. I saw the mark you gave me on that paper - I deserved no less than an _Outstanding_."

"It seems that Professor Snape agreed you deserved an _Acceptable _considering he double checks all the marks I give," I feigned shock. "I'm sorry that your paper didn't work out well. Perhaps you should learn the difference between Murtlap and Murtsap?"

"Not all of us can be potions ponces." He sneered, I rolled my eyes.

"Tell me when you come up with a better one, will you?" I sighed. "I've heard that one far too many times to even give it a piece of mind."

"Well I guess it's good a squib like you knows something about _anything_ in our world, isn't it, Potter?" He hissed. I felt my jaw drop...it's not like I hadn't been expecting reference to that article from him, nevertheless was I expecting it to be a painful one. I was just expecting that I would have been ready for it.

"Better," I acknowledged, trying not to show my distaste for the insult. Now my eyes didn't get watery or anything like that, but I did look away from him for the briefest moments...when my eyes landed on Diggory across the room. He was talking to Cho quietly, smoothing back her hair as she shook her head to something he was saying. My flaming gaze turned back to Malfoy and I gave him a sneer that even his father wouldn't be able to duplicate.

I would show him. I would show them all.

"I'll survive this," I looked at him viciously and saw his eyebrow raise. "And I will have you eating those words, Malfoy. Just you wait."

"I don't need to wait long, isn't the first task next week?" He asked mockingly.

"It is," I acknowledged lightly. "But haven't you ever heard the advice not to poke the sleeping dragon?"

"It's the school motto, Potter. Of course I have."

"Then I'm going to show you how to _really _play with fire. You may want to keep that hairspray out of your Jerry-curl that day, this style looks much better anyway." I said as innocently as I could before waltzing out of the hospital wing, a large smile on my face.

With this inside knowledge and my ability to problem solve, I may just survive this contest yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, not the most exciting but it is certainly setting it up for some interesting. <strong>**The next chapter for this will be out next week****! Thank you to my reviewers:**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you love Snape, he is possibly my favourite older Harry Potter character - so noble in his own way. I also love Sirius though, hence why I added him the chapter after. I'll give you a hint, Audrey and Malfoy argue at the dance, but all those extra little treats are my secret to keep! Daphne is a silly character. I based her off of someone I know, which means she will be very hot and cold, you'll never really know until the end. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, thank you for reviewing!**

_indigofrisbee_**: Hello! My, I have a long message for you. First of all, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Hopefully you liked this one even though it was mostly filler. I won't deny I am a huge Snape-supporter, so hopefully you'll at least like my take on him or else this story may get frustrating for you. If you have requests you are most certainly allowed to PM them to me and I will see what I can do and what fits in to these stories. As for the PM that you already left me, it was beautiful and actually made me cry. Yes. You heard me. Thank you so much, it was so moving. I hate to say that **_**Sickening **_**will be difficult to write because it hits a little closer to home than I would like right now, but I will try to keep posting on it for you. I also have another story I want to start but am afraid of how it will be recieved. Would you honour me by listening to my ideas and telling me what you think? Thank you so much for your support!**

_Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hope you liked this one! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Again I'm sorry I didn't run this by you, this one definitely has more mistakes, but I wanted to rush it out. Hope to talk to you soon :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: I'm so glad you like it! And yes, Snape-Supporters rule :) Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading and I will send you a special thank you if you **_REVIEW!_

**-Egypt**


	8. The Smoking Sack

**I told you I wouldn't make you wait very long! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it was amazing how much support I'm getting. This is a cliff-hanger ending, but I hope that you appreciate everything that's about to happen! Next chapter will be up in just a few days :)**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Seven - The Smoking Sack

In first year, I had made acquaintance with a rather rabid character that was known as a dragon. It was the only of it's kind I have ever gotten the chance to meet and I guess it doesn't actually work to base all of my judgements off of one specimen - but Norbert was a dragon and after my short time to study him, I had learned a few things.

Dragons have very sensitive eyes, for example. It is virtually impossible to penetrate their scales and they get cranky without food. Dragons are territorial and tend to have a bad sense of smell soon after they have breathed fire - not for a long period of time, but possibly long enough for me to get the battle done. But the most important thing I had learned about dragons?

Even _those_ creatures liked me.

I had never really questioned my strange allure when it came to animals, they all seemed to trust me and I had never complained because I was just as fond of them. I've never met a creature I haven't liked - or at least one that wasn't somewhat human - and I've never met a creature that didn't start off curious and then cuddly with me in return; so I was hoping that may give me a small advantage.

Even the little dragon specimen who I'm basing all my facts off of had liked me. He was like a toddler having a temper tantrum most of the time, but he had been much more gentle with me than he had been with Ron, even when he had sent the red head to the hospital wing and I'd had to calm him down. So maybe the initial curiosity that creatures started out with would give me a few seconds head start to get away.

But it didn't matter, I knew that I was allowed a wand in the tournament and anything - such as a potion - that I brought would be allowed so long as I was the one to make it and I didn't take it until the tournament began - I had been sure to ask to make sure Sirius had his facts straight. So my next question hadn't been so much _what _I could make, it was more a question of _how can I make sure it lasts as long as I need it to?_

Theo had been there for me as I had made the potion, slipping ingredients to me from his own potions kit, stealing a few ingredients from some of the older Slytherins who used them in their own. It had been a complicated potion that had taken a lot of time and a lot of planning.

I had run across this potion back in second year around the time the basilisk had been stalking the corridors. It had seemed a good one to keep bookmarked at the time, in case it started coming after Slytherins, but I had never had time to use it - which was lucky because I probably would have gotten it wrong and it wouldn't have saved me from looking directly at the basilisk anyway. It required ingredients that were more difficult to get than stealing from seventh years - that's for sure. Hopefully Snape didn't mind and the mysterious letter of apology on his desk would let him know that it was for a good cause.

Diricawl feathers had been stolen from a sixth year boy that Theo had kept distracted so that the Weasley twins could go in for the kill - it was sweet of them to be so helpful, even after they assured me that I would owe them for it later. A Tibo tooth had been taken from professor Snape's storage, along with some other ingredients I didn't currently have on my person but were not quite so valuable. The last one I had worried would be an issue - Demiguise hair. After a long night slaving over books, however, it had been nice to know that my dear, sweet brother had unintentionally given me some of the hair earlier on. You know, before I stopped speaking to the prick.

Though it didn't really matter that Harry and I weren't speaking; we didn't really have time to. When it came to him constantly getting his back up about Ron, while working with Hermione to master whatever it was _he _was doing to ward off the dragons, he was a busy-boggart.

My potion took seven days to make, so I had no time to lose. It was done in the early morning the day before the first task and I was more than happy when I had watched it work - at least on my Guinea Pig...er, Circe. She wasn't happy with the effects and let me know by weaving through my legs and tripping me multiple times until the effects wore off three hours later.

"What will happen because you let it sit for so long?" Daphne implored worriedly on the dreaded afternoon of November 24th. It was only an hour before I had to go partake in the first task, though I had skipped breakfast and my morning classes. I didn't think that Divination was something I should attend before I did a death-defying feat such as this, I wasn't looking forward to the bad news.

As I sat there, decorated in specially fitted dark green robes with 'POTTER' flashing in silver across the back, I could think of nothing but how flammable these robes might be. They were fairly spiffy to be honest, and under any other circumstances I probably would have admired them more, but now I was feeling far too nauseous as I fiddled with the capped vial sitting on my bare plate.

"The potion is fine to sit dormant for five days, Daphne." I replied in a monotone. The question had been answered around a dozen times by this point. "Please don't worry me over the one thing I don't _actually _need to worry about."

"What if you're wrong?" Daphne prodded more, hardly eating anything herself as she put down her fork. I was somewhat flattered, considering Daphne was always very sure to eat her well balanced meals of 300 calories per plate to keep her figure. Her little act of rebellion with her fork was one of the most compassionate things the woman had probably ever done.

"Then I die."

"She's never wrong when it comes to potions," Theo said firmly, throwing her a glare that he seemed to not want me to see. I stared at the clear liquid and nodded my head firmly. Theodore was right, this would work. This would work because if I could do anything right, it was potions. And if it wasn't right? Well, let's just hope I can run quickly today.

"Getting nervous, are we, Potter?" The obnoxious and pompous drawl of Malfoy floated towards me as he sat down a few seats away from me. "You've barely touched your food. You need to eat, after all you already look like a dead woman walking."

I didn't really mind the weight jokes, I had gotten them a lot in my earlier years thanks to malnutrition in the summer. It took a few months for me to gain the weight back and as it was still only November, I was still very wiry even if I was looking much better as the weeks passed.

"No need to be concerned for me, Malfoy." I muttered down with a glare, the only thing he had received since I had abandoned him in the hospital wing. "I can just make _you _my distraction for this task, if you're so worried."

"Ten minutes won't give you enough time to do something like that, Potter." Malfoy smirked with a raised eyebrow. "And if my father is right-"

"No, your father is twisted towards the _left, _actually." I hissed, touching the vial on my plate to reassure myself of my statement. "_You're _right, I'll not last ten minutes - I won't need to. I'll be done in eight."

"Care to put a wager on that?" He asked with a smirk. "Or do you not have the money to do so?"

"I don't gamble with nitwits," I rolled my eyes, but remembered what Fred and George had insisted they wanted to bet to get some galleons after Ludo Bagman took their Quidditch Cup winnings - even though they had tried to cancel the idea when my name came out of the goblet. "But I'm sure Fred and George are taking bets, as promised. They'll be sure to cut you a deal."

"They wouldn't have the money to back up _my _kind of bet."

My eyes flashed to him and a sneer that could only resemble an animal formed on my lips. "Well then lucky for you I can back them, isn't it?"

"Ha, I'll send you an owl with the amount and we'll see who wins, shall we?"

"I'll see that the best competitor wins," I agreed with a nod. "And to think, you'll just hand it all over to _blood traitors! _But at least it will be _earned _money. Even if it's mine at least it will be my own - not my Daddy's."

"Well, there's a reason for that, isn't there?" He asked lowly. We looked at each other bitterly, trying not to explode at our own house table where so many people would see and we would surely get in trouble - but I almost wanted to thank the prat. He was giving me a good distraction from the tournament that was only mere minutes away and as terrible and insulting a distraction it was, it was calming down my nerves and would help me keep a level head for later.

"I'm headed to the pitch early." I announced, standing up from the table. Theo and Daphne widened their eyes and pushed their plates away but I shook my head. "You guys stay and get good seats for later on - to be honest, I just want a few minutes to breathe."

"Since you won't be doing it long?" Parkinson laughed behind Malfoy. I rolled my eyes, the insult was so classless that even _he _hadn't laughed, his mouth just folded into a firm line.

"Since your stench is making me sick," I corrected as I waved my hand under my nose. "Is that your _natural _odour?"

She turned her head away from me, looking to Daphne who didn't even pay her any mind, she was looking so jumpy. I nodded my head to her, taking her hand a moment to calm her when it hit me, a brightening of everything around me and a glass of cold water being struck over my head as it slithered it's way down my senses. Everything clouded until it went into nothingness and I was pulled from the linear moment of the day into the wreck of consequence.

The first image I saw was unclear at first, bright and colourful meaning that it was soon approaching as I saw a familiar scene, Harry riding on his broom in matching robes to mine, though they were in a deep crimson. He was cradling something that sparkled under his arm as he flew quickly through the air. It took me a moment to realize that this was so familiar because I had already had a vision of it - way back at the World Cup. So even then, in consequences opinion, we had been doomed to this fate.

The second image I saw was just as vivid and colourful, but it was of Cedric, carried on a stretcher with two mediwitches addressing him while he moaned and held his arms uselessly in front of him - burnt to a crisp. Though he was groaning and burnt in his rather dashing mustard robes, he had a goofy grin on his face and the scene around him was loud with cheers.

The third scene was Krum watching aghast as the ground trembled below him, shaking the earth and making people in the stands scream. In front of him, a once majestic beast, was convulsing dangerously as if it were choking and unable to breathe. Krum watched in horror before running forward and I tried not to wince and cry as the scene changed from the terrifying spectacle.

The next was of Fleur, the gorgeous woman screaming as she patted herself off, something gaudy and gold in her hand as it contrasted with the scorched silver material that ran across her body. She seemed pleased with herself, though absolutely disgusted by her messy appearance.

The fifth scene was not so much seen as emoted while I looked down on familiar hands - they were pale and rather nice, considering how the fingernails were gnarled; but you couldn't see that. Instead, all I could see was blood covering them as they turned back and forth, before I looked at the audience around me. I looked to Hermione, the first person I could spot in the audience as the feeling of dread and fear swept through me like a parasite. Something was terribly wrong.

But as soon as that scene came, it had faded leaving me with a quick succession of snap shots with individual people yelling out in fear - Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Daphne, Theo, Blaise, Malfoy, Fleur, Cedric, Cho, Lillian, Tracey, Snape, Trelawney...

And then, with a heat wave of normalcy I was back. Back in the Great Hall with all the excited whispering, back leaning across the Slytherin table as I held Daphne's hand, which I guiltily released as soon as I was fully aware of what had happened.

"What did you see?" Theodore asked nervously. I looked to him, calculating his worry and what the chances were that he would do something stupid or ridiculous if I told him what I had seen, if I had explained that dread to him...

And I realized that I would not be able to tell him at all.

"Just everyone's different techniques." I assured softly. "Not a big deal."

"You're sure?" Daphne asked, neither of them believing me, and for good reason. I put on the best smirk that I could, knowing that it must look more twisted than normal as I waved my hand dismissively.

"Not a problem," I repeated. "Air would be nice before it's all combustible. Excuse me."

I was quick to stride out of the hall, only taking the deep breath I needed when I was far enough from any surrounding voices so that I felt alone. There were still people all around me, it was the problem with having the other schools here visiting: privacy became rare. The extra abundance of students, even in a castle this size, made me feel very closed in - which was a problem. I'd always been somewhat claustrophobic.

I was happy when I walked outside to see two of my favourite redheads organizing boxes full of wizarding money as they counted out their floats for all the bets they were going to take.

"I'll have three galleons that Potter dies," I said in a fake, manly voice as I came up behind them.

The boys jumped and spun around and when they saw me their eyes rolled, though as Fred laughed at me he was sure to try and hide the money as if it weren't there.

"Harry's not going to die."

"You might," George added with a smirk.

"But Harry _definitely _won't."

"You pricks are cruel!" I pouted, sitting on a rock next to their floats. I took out a little pouch of galleons that I brought out particularly for the two of them. "I have bets, my Gingerhead men."

"Oh?" I took out a galleon as Fred looked at me curiously.

"Harry will use his broom and survive," I threw a galleon into Fred's container. "Cedric is going to get burnt, but he will be fine and he will survive."

"'Course he will," Fred muttered lowly as I tossed another galleon into George's container.

"Krum will almost kill his dragon, Fleur will catch fire." I threw one galleon into each of their containers yet again. "And as for me, something terrible will happen and I will probably die."

I threw the rest of my galleons in each so that their money was even, but my little statement was not ignored - which I won't deny I was happy for.

"Your potion is foolproof," Fred argued quickly, sitting beside me. "Don't be a wart."

"I had a vision," I argued lightly, not feeling the need to say any more.

"You had a vision of dying?" George asked, completely aghast. "Audrey, withdraw!"

"It wasn't a vision of dying...per se..."

"Withdraw anyway," Fred said quickly. "Honestly, it's completely unnecessary. Harry can do it all on his own, we all know that-"

I felt my face heat up. "He shouldn't _have _to. I can do this without him. I could do it just as well."

"You just told us you had a vision of 'not dying per se'." George pushed, Fred nodded enthusiastically. I sighed, feeling as if the potion all of us had slaved over was burning through my pocket and weighing down my side.

"It was just a feeling of dread. And a little blood," I added as an afterthought. "Doesn't matter. I need to finish in eight minutes or less."

"Eight minutes?" Fred choked. "That's ridiculous, you don't even know what you're being asked to do."

"Nothing that will take over eight minutes. Malfoy is sure to come up to you and place a bet that if I do happen to survive, it will take me over ten minutes. I don't care how much he bets, you take it. And if I _do _die or anything happens, I'll pay you back in full. You're getting the money for the shop."

"Not on your life we aren't!" The twins said in unison, it made me snort.

"Listen guys, I'll survive. If I don't, I'll come back as a ghost and even make _Peeves _afraid of the trouble we'll cause. Got it?"

They looked very uncertain, so to save them the worry that I knew they were feeling I stood up from the rock next to Fred and patted off the dust that probably wasn't even there. I looked at my emerald robes - knowing that they weren't ever going to be so pretty again - and frowned to myself, but smiled outwardly.

"Drea-"

"Oh, don't you 'Drea' me, boys. If I don't see you screaming out-" my playful scorning stopped for a moment as I pictured the last few images of all the people screaming during the tournament, it was so bright. So soon. I knew that it had something to do with this task and to remember the horror on the twins faces haunted me. "-in encouragement," I added nervously. "There will be an arse kicking. Got that?"

"Yes, sir, Potter, sir!" George said with a salute. I looked to Fred, who looked much more worried than his brother and I elbowed him lightly.

"Please smile for me?" I asked innocently.

Fred did not stop frowning. "If you get hurt-"

"Oh, I'm bound to get hurt." I said quickly, having always known that was an inevitability.

"If you get more hurt than you usually do on a yearly basis," he amended. "I'm going to be furious with you."

"Charlie's doing fine, isn't he?" I asked lightly. "If he can wrestle dragons, so can I."

"Charlie's much more tough than you are, girly." George sighed, standing up and looking down at me. "I'll be outright furious with you if you die. I'll ignore your ghost for weeks."

"Just so long as you still ruin my funeral," I compromised, even though I was worried that this would all be happening sooner than I'd like. I think I was subconsciously reminding him of everything I wanted done when I could no longer do it for myself.

"Done." He agreed. "Get going and get yourself ready for the thing. You _can _do this. No little premonition is going to convince me otherwise. You may not be _the _Harry Potter, but you're Audrey bloody Potter! You can do anything Miss Wandless."

"Shhh." I said quickly, looking around worriedly to ensure that no one had heard of my little mutant ability. "And it's Petunia. Audrey _Petunia _Potter."

"Terrible middle name, mate. Off with you, then. We'll be sure to rob Malfoy out of house and home." George smiled as I started strutting away. I tried to appear confident even when I heard them whispering behind me - I tried not to pay attention even when I heard a distinct, '_shut it_' followed by a resounding '_ow_'.

The way to the task was marked by new gravel set down, even though the gravel had been laid nicely before since the task was down where the Quidditch pitch was. Though Quidditch had been cancelled this year, not that I much minded, the scene looked very different. The golden hoops were missing and there were always people flying around there - day, night, class time, or at times like this. But now it was barren, it even looked much bigger and far more daunting now that the risers had been risen to accommodate all the new guests and hide whatever it was that was inside.

I waited outside of the pitch, too frightened to actually go in. Up by the castle I could see the horde of people beginning to file towards me, wanting good seats for the show. Fred and George were walking up and yelling at some of them, taking bets and making money - which I was glad for. When they made their joke shop, the Weasley's would have a much easier life. And if anyone could pull off success, it would be those two. They were two peas in a pod - much closer than my own twin and I.

Speaking of him, I could see him making his way now. His face resembled the colour of my robes, though his robes contrasted because they were in a deep maroon. The lettering which identified him was in a strong gold and I got one of those rare feelings of pride for being a Slytherin. Red and gold was pretty, but green and silver where much more elegant. Hermione was right at his side, Ron following close behind - trying not to be noticed.

I don't know why the Weasley's ever tried to be subtle, their hair always gave them away.

I headed around the side of the pitch, noticing a large tent and knowing that it was where I was to head. I didn't want to run into Harry yet and I hoped that maybe if I got into the tent there would be some sort of reason that I would not have to speak to him when he joined me. Perhaps he would have the nerve to stay outside of it with his friends for longer and then we wouldn't be allowed to talk as we mulled over the fact that we would be dying in less than forty minutes...

The tent was made of a canvas-type material, the outside just as large as the inside. It was held up by wooden poles that had not been used - I knew this because there were no dents or carvings into them. The ground was still grassy, there were a few chairs and most importantly there were different areas for each champion. Harry and I got to share a corner. I didn't mind as I planned to pace around the tent and wrack my brains until I thought of a better plan as my potion made it so no one would bother me.

Would I tell anyone that I was panicking as to why I would soon feel that nauseating dread?

Not at all. No one would know because they wouldn't _need _to. Fred and George were right about one thing - I may not be any Harry Potter when it came to magical abilities, but I was Audrey Potter: schemer extraordinaire! I could think myself out of any situation, I could think circles around anyone, I could calculate any setting before I even knew what the setting was. I was put into Slytherin because I was too clever to be put anywhere else - I could analyze life like other people analyzed books, or helped someone, or did a brave deed.

I was the street smarts, the brains, the person who could wriggle my way through any loophole or any muddy knoll. I could bathe with leeches and come out looking decent enough for Sunday brunch because that was what I did.

Screw Harry and having humility.

I was Audrey Potter, and I was _relentless._

Harry came in next and went to his corner, he looked too nauseous to actually try to talk to me. I was fine with that, I didn't want his company. I was trying to force myself into some form of positive thinking and ignore the fact that every other person in the tent was better at magic than I. But I could trump them all with potions. So hoefully that would be enough to get me through the next however-many hours.

I fingered at the vial in my hand, it's clear liquid looking both daunting and comforting at the same time. What did the feeling of dread mean? I was the best potions mistress I could think of - you couldn't give me a potion I couldn't complete...so what had gone wrong?

I swallowed thickly when I realized it's not something that _had _gone wrong, it's something that would _go _wrong. I still had to feel that drop in my stomach, I still had to live in that fear.

I was distracted from my potions vial when I heard Dumbledore speaking to the crowd outside - advising them to stay in their seats, saying that the task had no expected time frame, then warning them of the danger. People were surprisingly silent as they listened to him...then again, it never crossed my mind to ignore the man. He had one of those presences that was hard to avoid.

During the quiet outside and Dumbledore's voice booming instructions, I was surprised to see a familiar owl fly through the opening of the tent. Like most animals, it's head cocked towards me and I smiled to him, he was a very pretty thing. He looked very majestic for an owl, more lean in shape and more regal with it's dark feathers. I was surprised when his bright eyes fell on me and he turned to fly to me, I had assumed such an impressive owl would probably belong to someone like Viktor or Fleur. As it came closer to me I felt my confusion be replaced with annoyance.

Other than Dumbledore, there _was _another presence I found it hard to avoid.

The owl dropped a letter in my hand and landed on the back of my chair. I tried not to pay him attention as I opened the letter and scanned the neat cursive.

_100 Galleons for 10 minutes or being saved by the professors. I hope you can back your raggety-annes, Potter._

_Good luck, hope you do me right._

_ Draco Malfoy_

"Typical," I scoffed, thinking of the excessive amount of money he had placed against my survival. I looked at the owl who hooted in annoyance that I had not paid him any mind. I had gotten one letter from him in second year, but otherwise I hadn't met him. He was pretty and I had paid him a lot of attention back at that time, he must be expecting the same now. I was sure to pet him and coo as nicely as I could make myself - since now I remembered that this was the owl that regularly brought Malfoy treats from his mother. The treats the owl brought him and the owl were much sweeter than Malfoy himself.

A bright flash caught my eye and made my glare shoot over towards Harry's side of the tent where he was embracing Hermione in a death grip. I looked at the reporter, again in acid green robes, as she cooed over them.

"Young love!" She gasped, walking towards them. I looked over at the owl, who was an eagle-owl I noticed, before frowning to him.

"Sorry, but I have to go save the enemy. Though which one I'll choose to save, I'm not sure." I muttered to the owl, hearing him hoot as I stood. He flew over my shoulder and out the tent as I walked towards Rita Skeeter...oh, I had a bone to pick with this one.

"This tent is for champions and friends." Krum said with a frown almost as heavy as his accent. I felt my fists bunch up and heard the crumple of parchment as she turned to me.

"Sorry, this tent is only for people who actually _have _a life to live for." I hissed to her, agreeing with Viktor.

"My writing _is _my life dear," she smiled, her eyes flickering down to my fists. I hope she understood the anger that they conveyed.

"I'm sorry that your life is so lousy then," I said seriously. "You should leave before you depress yourself."

"No matter," she said haughtily, holding her head up to seem more dignified. "We've got what we wanted."

She flicked her quill across Viktor's jaw bone before strutting out - she was too pleased with herself which made me even more worried. I glared at her back as she walked away only to see Harry and Hermione turn to me with irritated expressions as well.

"Thanks," Harry breathed, his eyes flickering back to the woman who was now gone from the tent. In her stead were the judges who were making their way towards the five of us, looking determined and almost giddy.

"I didn't do it for _you_." I hissed to Harry before walking around the judges the long way to be sure that I was not standing next to my twin brother. I stood beside Fleur who looked at me and for the first time, she didn't seem so arrogant. In fact, fear looked good on her as it was the first time she looked more human than Veela - an angry would could cause quite a fright.

"Good day, champions." Dumbledore greeted enthusiastically. It did nothing for my comfort. "Gather round, please. Now you've waited, you've wondered, and at last the moment has arrived - a moment only the five of you can fully appreciate."

Hermione took a step backwards, realizing how out of place she was. Dumbledore raised his eyebrow knowingly - the old man knew everything anyway - towards her. "What are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

"Sorry," she said immediately, going tomato red. "I'll just...go...good luck." She added in a whisper before she dashed out of the tent. I closed my eyes and tried to focus as Dumbledore let Mr Crouch take over.

"Champions, in a circle around me-" which was redundant to say considering we were already circled around Dumbledore who had stepped back to let the man take over. I understood more what he meant as he organized us in a different way - which appeared to be oldest to youngest. In other words, my attempt to stand further away from Harry was fruitless, I was put beside him anyway.

"Now, Miss Delacour, if you will?" Mr Crouch held out a leather bag, very expensive and well made. It had a draw string and appeared to have smoke leaking from the top and through where the stitches had begun to come loose in the seam...it did not bode well.

Fleur stepped forward and gently put her hand into the bag, pulling it out once or twice when she was hurt from whatever was inside of it. By the time she was finally able to take her hand out, she held in it a living creature that looked very angry - it was a green dragon with a large number **TWO **written on it.

"The Welsh Green!" Crouch smiled enthusiastically, as if he were telling her she had made a good choice. She shared a nervous look with Madame Maxime as he moved on to the next eldest competitor. "Mr Krum?"

Viktor Krum was not as delicate when he put his hand in the bag and though he tried to play tough, I could tell that he was being burnt as he fished around for a dragon in the mix. I felt bad for the bloke, keeping up such an image must have been exhausting.

When he pulled his hand out, I could immediately tell by the shape of the body and whiskers what kind of dragon his represented. On the red and yellow dragon was a dark number **THREE**. "The Chinese Fireball!"

Crouch seemed happy again, but I couldn't really tell why. These dragons were notorious for being dangerous - why couldn't we have been given easier ones like the Vipertooth or Longhorn? Those were recorded to be the most docile...and the smallest.

Cedric was already putting his hand into the bag for his dragon. He was showing the pain, unlike Krum, but he was still trying to play it tough and get it done with. I couldn't help but admire him for his strength - if anyone deserved to win this tournament, it was him. Sure, I was biased, but he was too beautiful to lose _anything._ When he pulled his hand away from the smoking sack, I saw that his dragon was silvery blue and had a large **ONE **written on it's side. Cedric would be going first. "The Swedish Short-Snout...ooh!"

I was not impressed by his false humour. He turned to Harry, second youngest in the group and held the bag out for him. Harry sucked in a breath, muttering something about not getting the horntail and I felt my blood freeze. Surely a Hungarian horntail - the most hostile of all dragon species - was not an option?

But as Harry winced and pulled out his dragon I knew that I was wrong, for in his hand was a black and bronze horned dragon that looked terrifying, even in miniature, and about ready to try and take Harry out even in this form. His dragon had a large **FIVE **written on it's side.

"The Hungarian Horntail," Crouch seemed to admire before turning to me with a grin. "And that leaves..."

I put my hand in the bag for the final dragon that would be found in there and found myself pulling back when I was bitten. I got a bit of a head rush before I dipped my hand back in and yanked it back out, sure that if I got it into the open I would know what I was dealing with. The dragon was terrifying in it's own right - looking very much like Harry's Hungarian horntail, my dragon also was black scaled with bronze horns and a black **FOUR **written across it. My dragon, however, did not have a spiked tail but disturbing black ridges along it's spine and it was baring particularly vicious spiked teeth. The familiarity of the dragon in itself terrified me.

"The Norwegian Ridgeback."

"You've got to be joking," I breathed, closing my eyes and shooting an annoyed glare to my brother who looked at me nervously. Was my luck really that ridiculous?

"These represent a group of very real dragons...each of which has been given a golden egg to protect. Your objective is simple: collect the egg," Crouch explained as if it were the most simple thing in the world. "This you _must _do for each egg contains a clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task."

I'm done for.

I looked to professor Dumbledore, who was already watching me as if he knew I had something to say. It took a minute for me to catch my breath enough to ask my question.

"And if we made potions for the task?"

"How would you have known what potion to make?" Crouch laughed humourlessly as if I was stupid for having even tried. I ignored him, watching my professor and trying not to show my nerves.

"Professor Snape, Theodore Nott, Daphne Greengrass, and both Fred and George Weasley were there when I was brewing it. I brewed it entirely on my own, any one of them will attest to it." I said formally. Dumbledore nodded, I was surprised he believed me, but the glint in his eye let me know that I wouldn't be denied my plan A.

"Zen you need to take eet now and 'ope zat eet lasts t'rough until ze t'ree in front of you 'ave gone and eet ees your turn." Madam Maxime said with a slight sneer, I looked at her bitterly, explaining with my eyes that this was none of her business.

"I'm afraid Madam Maxime is right," Dumbledore said evenly. "Take it now, dear."

I sighed, closing my eyes as I popped the lid off of my vial and downed the sour ingredients of my potion. I was sure to dab a bit onto my robes as well, just to ensure that it affected all it could. I was glad that I had added in more demiguise hair than I would have ever let Harry know, maybe it would help with how long it would last.

The feeling that spread through my body was strange, it wasn't like I had expected it to be either. It wasn't cold like my visions or warm like when you drink tea early in the morning - but it did have that feeling of expanding through my chest and working it's way through my system. Instead, it almost felt like pins and needles, like when your leg falls asleep while you sit on it awkwardly. But it went all over my skin until I knew it had worked.

"Audrey, that's brilliant!" Harry beamed, still not understanding I was mad with him. "I can't see you at all!"

Then my modified potion had worked! Thank goodness, getting the demiguise's hair from Harry's invisibility cloak had been worth every moment I'd be hearing shite from him later if it worked out for the best and the concoction worked as long as it should have.

"Still can't see me?" I asked as I held my middle finger up to Harry's face, but he looked right through it - eyes darting to see if there was any trace of my hair or robes.

"Not a bit." He said simply, I smirked.

"Good." I muttered. "I'm going to sit in my area now."

"Can I have a word?" Harry asked nervously, looking to Dumbledore and Crouch who were giving Cedric instructions as to what he was about to do. I saw Cedric nodding, looking brave even though he was noticeably shaking. I had the urge to go up and wrap my arms around him, but shook my head. I hated people touching me and some silly crush wasn't going to make me do something as ridiculous as throwing away my boundaries just to get his attention.

"Why would you need one?"

"I don't understand why you're so upset with me," Harry said as if it were obvious. "I don't think this is the time to be mad with each other."

"Just go to your corner and practice out your course of action - you've had long enough to figure it out, haven't you?" I sneered. Harry rolled his head back exasperatedly.

"That's what this is about? Me not telling you about the dragons sooner?"

"Sooner?" I scoffed. "You didn't tell me at all. _Cedric _did. You are so bloody arro- no, you know what? Never mind. I have nothing more to say to you."

"Audrey..." Harry started as I was walking away. He must have known I had walked off because his voice raised a little bit. "I'm sorry!"

"Piss off." I hissed back, firmly sitting myself in the emerald area of the tent. This was my spot and Harry wouldn't be allowed in it. I needed to work out a course of action now that I actually knew what I was supposed to do as pertaining to the dragons - oh and how I would survive it. That may be important too.

I looked at Cedric as he passed me, not looking at me because I was invisible. I would accept that reason and not take it personally as I sighed. "Good luck Cedric, you're going to do wonderfully."

He looked around, almost spooked by the phantom voice before he smiled to himself. "You too, Potter. Clever plan."

I took the admiration much more closely to heart than the fact that he had first forgotten I was there. I was smiling to myself as he went outside of the tent and Dumbledore began commentating his plight. It was a terrifying experience as I listened to Dumbledore explain everything that Cedric was doing - the professor seemed to think that he was doing well, but I was much more worried when I heard the audiences gasps than when I heard Dumbledore's praises.

The Swedish short-snout. The silvery-blue dragon would be one of the larger species to be brought to the arena and it was characterized from it's blue flame. It was quick to anger and had pearl coloured eggs which were commonly hidden close to muggle communities in Sweden. Lots of people died because of these mountain dwellers.

Cedric really only had to worry about this dragon's flame. Blue flame, as commonly known, is much hotter than red or orange flames. That's what the Swedish dragon was infamous for. Cedric took under fifteen minutes to use a distraction, having transfigured a boulder into a laborador dog while making a dash for the egg.

"It looks like Mr Diggory has been burnt by his dragon!" Dumbledore announced. "But he seems quite alright, very well done Mr Diggory!"

I closed my eyes against the wave of nausea that hit me at the announcement. I was so glad that Cedric was okay, I almost cheered aloud, but it told me two very crucial things: Number one, that my vision of Cedric's fate was accurate - which lead me to assume that all my other ones were as well. And number two, that if we really had that rocky terrain, then my vision of _my _fate was literally set in stone.

Cedric did not come back to the tent as Fleur was ushered to the entrance. The people outside of the tent were chanting her name up until the dragon started making more noise than the cheering fans.

Fleur had the Welsh green dragon to worry about, which made me want to switch places with her. It was well known that the common Welsh green was much more docile than the others - those ones didn't even eat humans! Their orange flames tended to be in very small but powerful jets that were pretty easy to dodge - it was obviously the easiest dragon.

Dumbledore explained her plan to the audience and I listened to the words numbly, but was shocked when her idea to put the dragon into a trance didn't work. Apparently those jets of fire that were easy to dodge still got onto Fleur's robes and she was lit up...I felt terrible for her, but figured that if she couldn't dodge that it was good she wasn't playing with the big kids who had much more dangerous dragons. She took a total of twenty-something minutes to get her golden egg.

Fleur did not come into the tent either, which made me start to think that whether you were injured or not, you would end up going somewhere else. I was not at all comforted by that, even though it was nice to hear that she was alright.

Krum strode up much more confidently than both Cedric and Fleur had been able to, but even he looked pale. His fan section was much more vocal than the fanfare before and he seemed much faster to act. The Chinese Fireball was a long dragon, but not thick even though it's flame mushroomed to be three times it's width. If a fireball was trying to burn you, there was hardly any chance that it would miss. These dragons also tended to love the taste of humans and were very fast...these were the big leagues now.

Then the most terrifying sound I have ever heard filled my ears - a coughing. A violent cough that would never have come from a human. It sounded like something was trying to take it's last living breath and the earth was shaking from it. I felt my heart freeze as I began to fear for the dragon - Dumbledore was announcing that Krum was losing points and that he needed to take the hex off the dragon before it ruined any of it's eggs.

So, there was more than one egg - it sounded like it had it's own eggs. Great. That made me at least feel better because I knew that a golden egg would be easy to spot around all the black ones of a Norwegian Ridgeback. Krum took another ten or so minutes before he got the egg and fixed the mess up with his dragon.

As if I weren't nervous enough, Filch ushered me forward blindly, still unable to see me.

"Your turn to go, Miss Potter." I sneered at him though he couldn't see it: I had already hated him, now I loathed him. "You're number four. No worries though, you just have to find the golden egg."

"Find the golden egg?" I repeated sceptically as I slid past him. "Golden eggs usually insinuate something to do with hens, not dragons."

"Good thing I can't see you, Potter. But there's no need to complain of that lip of yours," Filch said with a smirk. "Might get it ripped off soon..."

I tried to ignore the jibe, looking at the opening of the tent in front of me, listening as Dumbledore bellowed my name. I heard all the sounds vividly - I couldn't tell if they were cheers or boos, but they were loud.

"You can do this, Audrey." Harry's voice rang from behind me. "Love you."

"Stick with your technique Harry - it works. I've...er, seen it before." I sighed, looking back at my brother. Filch didn't seem to understand which made me feel a little bit better about it. "Love you too, git."

"Off you go, Potter." Filch muttered, shooing me off towards the door and not realizing that he almost hit me with the movement. I didn't really mind, I was far too nervous.

I stepped into the afternoon sun, hoping that it wasn't the last time I ever got the chance.

**Cruel ending, I know, but I promise it will be worth it! The entire next chapter is dedicated just to her performance in the task. What did you think of her strategy? What do you think of her vision? Here are some messages for my wonderful reviewers from the last chapter:**

_indigofrisbee_**: I'm glad you enjoy Snape and YES it made me cry! How could it not? It was very touching. I was thinking of maybe sending you some of my ideas within the next few weeks, once I have time to organize them. That is, of course, if you still want to read them. I hope that you liked this chapter too and thank you, as always, for being wonderful!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I was very excited to get to incorporate him. I can guarantee you that when we finally see Snape and Sirius together in OotP it will be very comical. I'll get back into sending the chapters to you for my next update - if that is alright with you :) Thanks for reviewing and sticking with me!**

_Innocent-Monster_**: I'm glad you liked the last one, hopefully this one interested you just as much!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked them and I hope the pattern continues! I quite like Draco/Audrey and just to be frank, wait until you see their moment in accordance to the ball! Thank you for reviewing :)**

**: To the one with literally no name, thank you so much. I'm glad that Audrey isn't seeming like every other character and I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you!**

_Shiningheart of ThunerClan_**: He is a git, I think that's why he fascinates me so much. He's such a jerk but in the end he's actually just very misguided and spoiled - I know a lot of people with the same condition. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

**Anyway, tell me what you think. A lot of little, but I think interesting, things happened in this chapter. Let me hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading and **_**REVIEW!**_

-**Egypt**


	9. Venomous

**Thank you for the reviews for last chapter. I know what I left you with was cruel, but I wanted to make it into seperate chapters so that this one would be totally focused on the task itself, not the lead up towards it. **

**Thank you goes out to the wonderful **_Angel of the Night Watchers_** who editted this and made it something worth reading, as well as to my **_You-Know-Who_** that gives me inspiration to keep writing through everything bad that tries to stop me :) 3**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 - Venomous<strong>

This was not the Quidditch pitch. The Quidditch pitch had been oblong with neat, gemstone grass and tall, golden hoops that towered over the stands and made you squint your eyes to see the players whizzing between them.

This was hell.

Outside, away from the safe haven of the tent, was the exact opposite of the old pitch. The students that were seated high in the stands overlooked my prison; made of tall and jagged black terrain. The pitch seemed to have been magically expanded, as well as the stands lifted higher for the safety of everyone who _wasn't_ me. I could immediately see that they had simulated Norway's mountain tops for the comfort of my dragon, even if it meant putting me under the knife.

"Prior to the competition, Miss Potter took a dose of a modified invisibility potion for purposes of the task." Dumbledore's voice, which was slightly tinny, rumbled from above me. I jumped from the volume of it - but was happy when I remembered that no one could see it from how far away they were. "She will be facing the Norwegian Ridgeback: the second largest dragon, with many more self defenses than some of the other species we have yet seen."

"Such as poisonous fangs?" I offered sarcastically. This would be just splendid. I should have left some sort of will, giving Harry all my money but making a bet with the twins so that they could get it when I died. I should have probably told Seamus that I still didn't forgive him for kissing that fifth year Ravenclaw, Marietta, while he had been 'dating' me two years back and I should have told Fred that yes, I also found him attractive. But then George would think I liked him too.

Focus, Audrey, if you pull this off none of these cliché self-realizations are going to matter.

I started walking forward, looking in every direction I could swivel my head to see everything around me. The pitch had been mutated to be so large that I could not see my dragon, nor could I see where the golden egg was hidden. Considering everything I had been able to hear from the tent, however, I could assume that if I found _all_ of the eggs then golden one would be with them.

Which meant the dragon would not be far off.

The rocks around me would have been difficult to climb, but I could see a large peak of stone hanging high above me just past the center of the arena. On it, I could not see any eggs, but I knew that it's where they would be - it was one of those feelings that often got me into trouble because my curiosity always won over any sense of logic I owned, along with the fact these feelings were always _right_.

Up ahead of me, on the way toward the wonderful new scenery, were two large rocks jutting out at awkward angles. As I got closer to them I was forced to press my back against the one to my left so that I could shuffle through them - but that would be around the time disaster struck.

In the crease between the rocks, the only available space for my foot, was right where some loose stones and rubble seemed to have wanted to balance themselves like some bloody circus act. As I attempted to pass over them, my ever graceful feet slammed into them and sent them scattering.

It was only around that moment that I realized how silent the arena was; how silent my friends and enemies had become in the stands above me, how quiet a dragon could be as it waited for sign of an intruder. I was surprised by how much boom the pebbles had to their skidding and how loud my heart could pound. It was so loud that I could have sworn every soul in the stands could hear it.

I closed my eyes, hearing a painful crunching of rock as the dragon decided to rear his ugly head - it was huge. Much bigger than I'd seen in books and much larger than the model I'd pulled from the leather bag had lead me to imagine. It had brassy brown scales mixed with black tints and spikes. I could tell it was a woman because of her eyes, which were large and yellow, instead of the amber of a male. Those reptilian eyes were more menacing than any nightmare while she glared around for sign of me angrily. And oh my Merlin her teeth! They were sharp and pointed, and glistened with an extra glint of green that I knew to be dangerous.

This dragon was armed with its sharp spine and a poisonous bite that had the ability to paralyze humans after three minute exposure and kill them in six. Not even I, as the potions mistress of the castle and illegal potion-making genius, had gotten to work with the toxin. Most potions only used it with the intent to cause death. That particular area didn't interest me.

But suddenly I wished I would have studied it more. Even as the one who knew all about animals and their particular needs and characteristics, I didn't actually know much about the venom. It was paralyzing and fatal, it was the green on the teeth. Was it a topical poison or did it have to get into my blood stream? Were Norwegian Ridgebacks known for their sense of sight like the Chinese Fireball or their sense of hearing like the Horntail? Surely they weren't known for their sense of smell, like the short-snout because of their flame and how often it was used. My dragon tended to be a little bit of a pyromaniac psychopath.

Wonderful.

My dragon looked around for me, her eyes narrowing on the skidded stones that lay only nine feet away from me. They had splayed off in every direction, but she seemed to understand that I had not moved since I'd disturbed them. Climbing over the imposing rock face that I had been trying to edge myself through, the Ridgeback inhaled deeply as if trying to catch my scent - no dice. I could tell by the fact she had only done it once and her eyes still darted every which way. Her scent glands were too blocked from an excessive use of flame, wonderful. Just proves my theory that she has another fancy way with which she'd favour slaughtering me.

At this point, most people would have probably made a dash for the eggs to finish the job and get it over with, or at least to get to the larger area in which they'd have more room to hide and run away from her. I considered doing this for a brief moment until I realized I was far too much of a coward.

I was a proud Slytherin when it came to my lust for life.

It was as I quietly began to turn my body away from the dragon and turn my back on the larger mountainous rocks that I felt a strange sensation. It blinded me as everything around my flashed like an an ultra violet light had been flashed on the world and all the colours magnified themselves. The black rock had turned into a sharp gray, the dragons yellow eyes looked a disturbing orange and her brown and black scales suddenly looked like dried blood. Everything began to contrast as the world around me burnt with lethal colouring before I turned my head away from the scene to sheild my eyes from the pulsating viciousness of the picture.

That was my intuition warning me not to go that way.

When the world burned around me like that, I always knew it was time to run away from the proverbial fire. It was a benefit to my strange little premonitions, even if I never knew exactly what it meant. I looked back up to the dragon, still searching for me as it edged closer towards the ground where I stood and felt myself tense up worriedly. She was much closer now that I had resurfaced from my premonition and even that bad nose of hers would be able to pick up my scent - clearly I would have to walk around the long way.

I should have forfeited this blasted match and given Cedric all my points - I didn't want to be a champion. But _no_, I'd had to show up Harry, the stupid little cheat, using Granger as his own personal spell book. I just want to beat my brother, I don't need some blasted trophy. You had to be _alive_ to appreciate the accomplishment anyway.

Gripping my wand ever more tightly, I slid my foot as quietly as I could towards the dragon's nest, away from where I knew intuitively was not safe even if it looked like the safest place on the field. She didn't seem to hear me even as she slid farther down the black slab towards the pebbles I'd kicked, I looked behind me nervously to where I had been advised by my visions not to go.

There had to be some sort of distraction.

But what kind of distraction? I was more used to human distractions to get Fred and George out of detention or so that I could make a teacher avoid the fact that I was copying some Ravenclaw's homework which I had forgotten to complete. I didn't really know how to distract a dragon other than to show him someth-

Oh. Well, that could work.

Holding my wand out to the side as best I could without seeing it, I concentrated on the cool ash wood between my fingers and closed my eyes as I put all my hope into the idea that my wand would find this as appropriate a time as ever to decide to work for me. I could do speechless spells - wandless spells were still few and far between, but speechless spells I could work with.

_Incendio!_ I thought as strongly as I could, content when a small flame appeared from my wand and shot where I had aimed. The dragon's eyes left the rubble and followed the jet line of red light that landed forty feet away from where I currently stood crouched. The dragon turned it's body to watch as the flame danced against one of the rock faces.

I took a few steps to the left, at least so that I would be out of the wedge I had been in between the two walls of rock. Now, when I took a brief inventory of everything around me I could see more of a black-rocked wasteland filled with rough edges and dangerous drops for someone invisible who could not see her own feet.

I looked back at the dragon when I felt the earth shake - she was on to me. Apparently my little diversion of something shiny had not been enough to distract her, I assumed it was because she was used to fire. She had been curious over how it had gotten there, but not curious enough to forget that there was an intruder near her babies. Who knew I would ever be considered a threat, after all?

Aiming my wand again, I thought of the first spell to make its way out of my head.

_Confringo! _I thought viciously imagining in my mind's eye that the rock to the right of the dragon would burst and have some of the rubble bounce off the curved spikes. But of course, I'm Audrey Potter - the one with the faulty wand - so that's clearly not how it went. Instead of the rock bursting, the entire crevasse of stone I had just walked through exploded high into the air, raining down on the dragon.

Well, I guess it was still part of the distraction I needed.

I turned to bolt towards the far side of the stadium, but the rock that had burst suddenly blocked my way as the dragon tossed it's head from side to side – spikes raking the air between me and my escape. Against my previous instinct, I made the split-second decision to run the fast way towards the ridge, madly scanning left and right for any sign of the dragon eggs. Behind me, I could hear the Ridgeback shriek in anger when the shower of rock had ceased and it realized what I had done. I could hear her lumbering footsteps behind me. By Merlin, I was going to die.

As I thought it, a quick flash out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and made me collapse to avoid being hit with the stunning yellow jet of the Ridgeback's flame. I ducked and covered my head, already imagining my shoulder length hair being singed thanks to my slow reaction but as I fell down there was another sharp flash of yellow - only this one was more of a twinkle.

Over to my right-hand side the flame that had almost just hit me was reflecting and bouncing back off of the golden egg, which was rested atop a gigantic pile of black eggs the size of my face. I couldn't help but smile despite the fact my hair may or may not have been ruined. I was almost in the clear.

No sooner had I thought it than I felt the dragon making his way towards me again, probably trying to understand whether or not she had burnt me and singed me enough to be medium-well for her dinner. No luck there, mate. I started to make a run for the twinkling egg to my right, the black eggs only making it look more heavenly in comparison. I was almost there - as soon as I lifted it so everyone would know where I was, the professors would incapacitate the dragon and I could hug it and coo to it later when it wasn't trying to murder me.

But as I've said time and time again, I am Audrey Potter; life is never so simple.

The dragon heard me, or used motherly clairvoyance, or more likely could feel my heart thundering in my chest and somehow, even invisible, she found out my location. Knowing that I was headed towards her nest, the dragon spread her magnificent, translucent wings and took off in mid-air. She only needed to flap her wings twice to get the two hundred feet I had run from her and land directly in front of her eggs.

I gasped as she landed, skidding to a halt and almost crying out in the sickening moment when I was sure she had landed on those eggs. I wish I could say that realistically I was worried she'd injured my golden egg, but all I could think about were those damn baby dragons that would live their lives as shards in their mothers' talons if she weren't too careful. I'd been spending far too much time with my sappy big brother.

The dragon spun to look at me, now I was sure that she knew precisely where I was and I was willing to wager it was thanks to my inaudible little gasp. Were I not invisible I'm sure the beast would have been making eye contact with me, but as it was she seemed to be looking just at my chin - which was all the proof she needed before she lunged.

It was a simple lunge, full of force and fury as she bore her teeth at me - ready to strike me with the weight of her venomous jaw. I rolled in towards its tail, feeling my right arm impaled with one of the Norwegian Ridgebacks' infamous vertebrae. I closed my eyes against the pain, but the pain only got worse as I realized that I had not been fast enough.

As I had recoiled my arms into my body, swerving to the left and impaling my bicep on one of the Ridgeback's ridges, my right arm had grazed the closing mouth of the dragon and felt the brunt of one of her fangs. Her poisonous, six-minutes-to-die venom worked fast.

I immediately felt nauseous. I was exactly where she wanted me now, in three minutes I would be paralyzed for her pleasure and in six my heart would paralyze and I would die. This was it. This was the end of Audrey Potter and Murphy's law thought it would be ironic and make it at the fangs of the creatures I had loved so much...

Not - bloody - likely.

Pulling my arms in to myself, I grabbed my wand and tightened my hold on it. It was my only hope now that my vision would start to fade. I gripped it with all the resentment I could feel - somehow I just _knew_ this was Harry's fault. I needed to live past this so that I could give him a good sock in the head for being a bad brother who got me into such unfortunate situations for who knows what reasons!

Suddenly, my wand all but exploded in my hand - a huge power wave shot from the tip of my pale wand and hit the dragon in the nose. Though a hit in the nose normally wouldn't phase a dragon, this hit seemed to as its head was blown back. By this point I looked at my wand in shock, dropping it to the ground underneath me when I realized...I was looking at my wand.

My body was once again showing, I could see my green robes torn and singed and my wounds from both the ridges and fangs were pulsating infectiously. My hands were pale and bloodied, shaking with the working of the venom that I could only assume had wiped out the potion in my veins to make way for it's devastating effect on my immune system. This was my vision from the morning, the dread and the realization that there was no way for me to have this happen. I fell to one knee, a moment of trying to get my wand as quickly as I could before I realized that it also may have been over the fact I didn't know if I could stand anymore.

I was a goner. I had just pissed off the dragon, the dragon had already poisoned me, and best of all, my wand was not with me. I watched as the dragon's head slowly came closer and closer to me - watching me with its disturbing eyes that were the same size as my bloody head. Well, was she going to eat me now? Light me up first? Would she just wait and watch me die?

"Go on, then!" I bellowed, my voice much more weak than I wanted it to be. "Do whatever it is you plan on doing, but I'll have you know that I never wanted to hurt your babies. I love dragons."

The creature stared at me, completely immobile other than when she blinked, her reptilian eyelids closed into a vertical slit instead of the human horizontal. She took a deep breath and blew hot air into my face.

"That egg," I assured, raising my impaled left arm to shakily point behind her to the glaring golden oval. It focused and unfocused itself in my vision, a warning to me that I was running out of time. "That isn't yours. That is not one of your offspring. That is man-made. It could hurt your babies."

Probably not true, but I had to go with what I had. I looked to the dragon, weighing my options. The first option was to grab my wand and try doing my awesome power blast thingy again, but the likelihood of me doing it twice in one day was thin and the chances that I had enough energy for it were slim to none.

So I went with option two. Using what little strength I had, I took my impaled left arm and raised it so that I could touch the leg of the dragon crouched in front of me. Her eyes seemed to narrow at my nerve, which made the eye contact that much more static. I had to at least try – to attempt to pass on some feeling of truthfulness to her before I couldn't do anything at all. Her scales were cool and hard underneath my hand, scraping my palm as I started to lose function of my arm and it slipped from where I was supporting myself on her.

"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt your eggs. I want to get that thing away from your eggs - that is mine like those are yours. Look at it, it's different. That is not an egg, nevertheless your egg. Look at it, go on."

To my surprise, the dragons head slowly turned as she scrutinized the eggs around the nest, looking at each one as if she could actually understand me. I couldn't help but guffaw - unbelievable. I was talking to a dragon...and the dragon was actually responding to my words. I had done it, surely the dragon would realize that egg was not hers. Even though dragons were colour blind, the fact that it was a bright gold in comparison to its own black shells would signal to her that what was in her nest was man-made. But it was too late.

My body fell backwards, the full effect of the three minute paralysis kicking in as I sank into the rock as if I were sinking into an ocean. An ocean - Merlin, I was so afraid of water and I felt like I was drowning in it...ah, yes. That was because I was crying – how embarrassing. But how could I not? I was crying because no one was helping me, no one was realizing that I was dying. I could remember the looks of horror on the faces of the people from my vision - even Malfoy had been shocked. Fred and George's faces glimmered in such a painful way that I couldn't get it out of my head.

Why was no one helping me?

I bet they would help Harry, I thought bitterly. They would never make Harry go through all this. I could hear the people in the rafters gasping as they watched me deplete into nothing, I could hear someone's voice magnified above the whispering of the crowd, I felt as my body began to shut down under the acidic poison pumping through my veins. To think that everything I had survived up until this point, no thanks to my brother, was brought to an end and my brother survived what was obviously meant to do _him_ in. I really _was_ a terrible witch.

What would Sirius think? What would Snape think? Would Dumbledore console them or would they forever be at war thanks to Rita Skeeter's despicable article?

Oh Lord, people would die thinking I'm a squib! It was a hit so low that it actually lit a bit of fire back into me. Harry was going to survive being the spitting image of our father on the spectacular firebolt that Sirius had bought for him and I would die in the first bloody task! He would be remembered for how fantastic he was and I would be remembered for dying a mortal, non-magical death that could have been prevented were I any good with my wand.

_No._

That was not how I was going out. I don't care if my body didn't work. I don't care if my eyes could no longer see properly because I was crying and I was laid out on the rocky terrain. I was not dying when my brother was living. It was I who needed to save his ass from all the trouble he got us into, it was I who had something to prove. It was I that had something to fight for - for Fred and George's money, for Sirius' sanity, for Snape's pride.._.For my honour._ I was not going to die being the weak one. That is not my role.

Taking what little strength I had I felt my body quivering with effort as I pushed my hands against the rocks. I could not feel how much pressure I put on them because my body was entirely numb. I couldn't feel anything but the pain as I pushed my torso into an upright position. My ears were ringing with effort and with my second wind, as suffocating as it may be, I pushed myself up until I stood.

I swayed. There was a moment where I thought I would fall right back down again, a moment where I was sure that I'd fall back down and that would be the end of it. Instead I looked at my dragon, who was currently staring at me in what probably was shock. She hadn't expected me to get up anymore than anyone else in the stands had. I looked at the dragon, the golden egg glinting between her teeth - perhaps she was trying to crush it?

"Give me...my egg." I hissed to him. The dragon did not respond for a few seconds, precious seconds that had each pump of my heart leading me closer to death. It looked at me with the egg still balancing between her canines before she took one intimidating lunge towards me. I didn't move. I knew that if I moved a centimeter it would be the end of it - I would fall and I would _never_ get back up.

"That is not your egg." I said again, trying to make it stronger than I knew it sounded. "Give it to me."

And just like that, the Norwegian Ridgeback blinked once and dropped the egg like a dog dropping a bone. And as the egg fell to my feet, I fell to the ground: finished.

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><p><strong>A bit of a cliff-hanger there, but I promise you that I didn't kill her...I have much worse fates in store for her in the future to just go and kill her off now! So to respond to my FANTASTIC reviewers:<strong>

_Innocent-Monster_**: I'm sorry the ending was so dramatic - especially since this chapter was nothing if **not **dramatic - but I hope you liked it anyway :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: _**I'm glad you're enjoying the story, I hope you keep liking where I go with it. Thank you for your review!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan: _**Her name IS disgusting, but I'll tie in later about how Lily is so kind, naming her after her sister who hates her whereas Petunia is just a royal witch - who wasn't lucky enough to be given the powers to perfect the performance. Thanks for your thoughts on everything and I'm glad you liked the last chapter but hope you liked this one even more!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers: _**Thank you so much for getting this back out to me. I'm working on the _Forgetting Franki_ chapter now, it's just not turning out like I want it to. I'm trying to get to a certain point by the end of the chapter (the BIG climax, in fact) but it's just not flowing properly. I'll have it done for you as soon as possible, the next _Monster_ chapter is almost ready. As for your soon-to-be-Hubby, he sounds like a good guy. I approve of him ;)**

_KITTY LOVES MATTXMELLO: _**I hope this was fast enough to satisfy your nerves! Thanks so much for reviewing :)**

**Well, my fantastic reviewers, I hope you liked what happened. What do you think will happen next? Do you think she'll take her time like Harry does to figure out the egg, do you think she'll even figure it out? I don't know if you guys remember, but her greatest fear is water...hmm...please feel free to tell me your thoughts in a **_REVIEW!_

**-Egypt**


	10. The Hospital Wing

**I am so sorry that I uploaded my _Forgetting Franki _chapter where this should be! As soon as I got the message from** _xXMizz Alec_ VolturiXx** I came to change it! Sorry for those who were confused**. **Here is how it was originally meant to be:**

** I love the response to this story, guys. I'm glad that you're all liking what you're reading – it warms my heart because the connection I have with this story is palpable. Besides the appreciation you can see for you, my readers, at the bottom I need to send out special thanks to my Beta **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**who made sure this chapter was good enough for you to read. Sorry it's a filler , the next chapter will be out in a few days!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Nine - The Hospital Wing<span>

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><p>"Ugh," I groaned at my terrible attempt to form words. I was cotton-mouthed which was only, however, possible if my mouth was still attached to my skull. This seemed impossible considering the maddening throb that consumed me so I took a few moments to try again. "Please Merlin, tell me that I'm dead. If I'm not dead than kill me because whatever I am feeling is much, much more painful."<p>

I moaned at my ill attempt, not even daring to open my eyes knowing that I was about to be ridiculed for my statement which had hardly sounded like one from the English language. My mouth felt like sandpaper now that I had tried to swallow and I was surprised to hear my own voice filter into my ears. The amount of pain I was in suggested that I had survived my trauma - though I was having a little bit of difficulty remembering exactly of what the trauma consisted.

"Oh thank Godric!"

"Thank _Salazar_!"

"Audrey's alive! Everyone, everyone she's awake!"

"Chipper as ever, mate?"

"Can I hug her?"

"No you can't hug her, idiot."

"When has she died that she can know what she's feeling is worse than death?"

"It's assumed." I grumbled, now not able to keep my eyes closed. Around me was a haze of red, then splotches of other colours - browns. Something told me that this was not simply because I should have been wearing the glasses Dudley had snapped, but also because my body was not working properly. The figures hovering over me gave me time to blink and focus my eyes until I could understand who was looking down on me.

The haze of reds were obviously the Weasley's - Ginny, Ron, and the twins. Hermione and Theo were the spots of brown and Daphne stood out as the wheat blonde at the side. I felt instantly claustrophobic and nauseous when I saw the crowd and closed my eyes. "Everyone take two steps back."

"I told you that you couldn't hug her," Ron mumbled to Ginny while everyone did as I asked. I took a few moments to feel like I could breathe again and worshipped it by taking such big breaths that I became lightheaded. Looking at each of them I saw the anxiousness behind their expressions - I rolled my eyes.

"Go on, then. Yell at me."

"What were you _thinking_?" Hermione began, ready as ever to jump in with her opinion. "You had a premonition about something going wrong and you continued through anyway?"

"Hermione-" George began, but any more complaint had been overpowered by another voice.

"You knew at breakfast, didn't you? That was the vision you had, you selfish prat-"

"Daphne," Theodore moaned. "Just because Audrey was a complete and utter moron-"

"Shut up, Nott!" Ginny glowered. "She was being brave."

"She wasn't being brave," Fred frowned. "She was being spiteful."

"So what? I pulled through, clearly." I interrupted the ranting, my head falling back onto the pillows, exhaustion already kicking in again. Just as clearly as having pulled through, I obviously was not yet healed.

"Barely!" Hermione squeaked. "You hardly finished the task on your own - the teachers were running to your aid when the dragon pulled that...that _stunt_."

"What stunt?" I asked, blinking. Everyone blinked back at me.

"You don't remember what happened?" Fred and George asked in sync. I blinked again, looking out to the window and wincing from the bright glare of the cloudy day.

"No...wait, did I actually get the egg?" I gasped. "Merlin! Did I place?"

"You placed in third. Krum was nearly disqualified for killing his dragon's eggs-" Fred began.

"Two Galleons from you," George took over. "And Fleur Delacour singed the egg, so she got fourth."

"Another two Galleons," Fred continued again. "Then, of course, you got the egg in the fastest time, but you did a lot of damage to yourself, so you lost a lot of points."

"Wait - I was fastest?" I perked up, remembering my bet with Malfoy and the twins. "What was my time?"

"We can talk about it later," George whispered quietly. I shook my head.

"Time?" I demanded.

"Just over nine minutes. Definitely under ten."

"That means-" my jaw dropped. "I won!"

"Won what?" Daphne asked. I looked over to her, but the twins answered for me.

"Oh, a little bet. Not a big deal - is it, Potter?"

"No, not at all." I caught on fast. "Tell me about the other champions."

My deflection worked well because Hermione perked up with information. "Harry got second place of course, he took just a bit longer than Fleur but not as long as Krum and the judges said that they had never seen something as creative as a summoning charm that wasn't directed to the object itself-"

"Wait - how is Harry? Where is he?"

"Beside you," his voice came from my left and I looked to see Harry on the bed beside me, blocked by the two Slytherins in attendance. "Crashed the broom."

"Typical." I snorted, looking at him with a laugh. "You always need to make such a spectacle of yourself. Harry, I need to be honest, the amount of time you are in this hospital wing frightens me."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Drea, you're in the bed beside me." I looked down at myself, skinny lump in the bed and frowned down at myself.

"Yes, that's usually the case, isn't it?" The entire group hummed their approval and I rolled my eyes again, looking at my own green eyes in my brother's body. "Well, at least there's _some _form of consistency or normalcy in our lives."

"Normalcy, as if you Potters ever get that luxury." A new voice jabbed just as the finest healer in the whole wizarding world bustled into view, carrying a tray of bottles and cups. She was the finest healer in my opinion because of all the times she had managed to save my life, or Harry's. She elbowed my friends out of the way so that she could get to me.

"Do you not enjoy my company, Madam Pomfrey?"

"I do not enjoy treating Ridgeback venom, Miss Potter. Whatever will you manage next time?" She asked, banging the tray on the table between Harry and my bed, measuring out some foul smelling medicine.

"Harry's already got Basilisk covered, clearly I'll have to smell a Nundu." Everyone around the bed looked at me with wide eyes, thinking of the most poisonous creature known to wizard kind. "That was a joke, people."

"Not a funny one, knowing your record, Potter." Madam Pomfrey said sternly, shoving a glass of pink liquid into my hands. "Drink it up quick, you'll be taking this little treasure for a while."

"A while?" I asked, looking at it disdainfully. "How long is a while?"

"At minimum another three days in here, I'd say." She said despite me automatically objecting loudly along with Daphne and the twins. "Don't you argue! You put your body through quite a torture."

"A little coma never hurt anyone," I mumbled with a frown. "You can't honestly expect me to stay in here that long. I have classes, clues to sort out..."

"I'll hear none of that. Your teachers saw the extent of your injuries and I am sure they will not hesitate in releasing you for recovery." She tutted. "On that note, visiting hours are over children. Let Miss Potter have her rest. Perhaps I'll let her out an hour or two earlier if you do."

With moans and protests everyone bid me a quick farewell, while I tried to stomach the medicine which tasted like rotten eggs and car oil. After the pink liquid, I was handed a blood replenishing potion to try fighting and diffusing the toxins, then a clouded navy potion that she told me was to help with sleep.

"Your face was ridiculous," Harry informed me after Madam Pomfery had also left us with the tray of medicine.

"Like yours always is?" I countered, he rolled his eyes.

"What were you thinking, not withdrawing when you were bitten?" Harry grumbled after a while. "I didn't think you wanted to even be considered in the running, nevertheless risking your life for it."

"First, I was not bitten, I was scratched with by tooth." I glared at him, remembering how he wanted to be champion from his hard work. He had placed before me, and I had received third. It was not something I was going to be able to let go so simply. But as mad as I was, I couldn't stifle the yawn that the sleeping draught caused. "Second, as I recall, you didn't withdraw either. In fact, you got second."

"Second place thanks to Hermione, she taught me the charm-"

"I don't care who taught what. You were the one who performed." I said, trying to keep my voice firm as I felt the drowsiness of the sleep draught beginning to work. "And on top of that, you had a really nice tip off about the dragons-"

"You're still mad about that; even after being beaten up by a dragon?" He asked, but I couldn't respond with the tirade of disrespect I had been hoping for because the sleeping draught was hitting full force.

"You're a ruddy git, 'Arry James Podder." I grumbled, closing my eyes and turning my head away from him. "And you jus' made this a compe'ition I'll win."

I don't really know if Harry answered me because I let Madam Pomfery's concoctions take over my system and let me fall out cold. I didn't dream, which was lucky because I probably would have just felt more exhausted when I woke back up. By the time I did reach the world of the living, Harry had already been released. I needn't wait long before I got a visitor.

"Theodore!" I smiled, sitting up as best I could. Madam Pomfery had explained to me that my muscles had been 'engraved' with the poison, so I would need regular blood replenishing potions and the potion to break down the toxins before I could be as limber as I was prior to being poisoned.

"Hey, Drea." He smiled wryly. I was surprised that he had dared to venture here alone, considering Theodore had always had a problem visiting me in the hospital wing. I never blamed him as it was thanks to his childhood memories of his mother's long battle with dragon pox that eventually took her life. He had been there until the end of it all and had never been comfortable near healers since.

"I'm so glad you visited, but you didn't have to."

"I did, actually." He sat down on the chair by my bed. He was the first visitor I'd had since my friends had scorned me two days ago. "Someone wouldn't stop bugging me unless I was headed in this direction."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Who?"

Nott looked over his shoulder, watching something that I couldn't see before a weight jumped onto my bed and I squealed happily, reaching forward to touch warm fur. "Circe!"

My white, peppered Kneazle came right up to me and purred as she rubbed against my hand. It throbbed a bit at the contact, just like my back and legs did as I lay on the bed, but it was nice to know she was here with me. She licked at my hand a moment, as if she knew that I was in pain, before she curled up against my stomach.

"Thanks, Theo." I smiled at him, looking at how uncomfortable he was. Theodore and I got along particularly because of his fears of something like hospitals. Not that I was afraid of mediwitches and wizards as he was, but my fear of water was just as crippling and commonly intimidating - also, he was the only one in the whole bloody house to understand what it was like to be without a proper family. Sure, his father was there, but from what I'd heard Nott's father had never been a proper one.

"I brought you something else, too." He smiled, rifling through his satchel before he pulled out something that took me a moment to identify. It was large, oval, and glinted gold. I gasped.

"My egg! I completely forgot about it." I gasped, wincing as I reached too quickly to go and grab it. He placed it on my lap so that I wouldn't have to extend my arms again.

"Don't open it - it screams at you. Nonsensical things, too." He sneered. I raised my eyebrows at him, accusing him of trying to listen to my clue first. "Draco and Pansy got excited."

"Wonderful." I sneered, contemplating whether or not I should clean the egg before I touched it now that I knew Parkinson's cooties could be passed onto me via gold oxidation.

I took the egg in my hands to examine it for the first time, after all I hadn't had time when I had been dying on the field. It was golden with intricate designs, close to ruins, carved into the sides. On the top was a clasp that I knew needed to be undone before I could receive the clue. It was heavy, indicating that it wasn't hollow, and I got a harsh feeling just by touching it. I blinked away the wave of nausea and the burning colours that overthrew me.

In the back of my mind, I could see myself looking at my bare feet as I stood on the side of what looked to be a pool, feeling the dread as I determined whether or not to go in. It skipped quickly to a brighter vision, the colours perfectly crisp as I saw professors Snape and Dumbledore talking over top of me - though I seemed to be turned around and sleeping. Then the gut wrenching only got worse as I felt the cool and whipping wind, colours drained and pastilled, as I looked out over the black lake, watching the choppy water that made my skin crawl...

When I came back from my vision I took a deep breath, feeling as if I had drowned in it. I looked at Circe, whose amber eyes were scrutinizing me carefully, before I turned to Theodore. It seemed like very little time had passed, but he had caught on to what had happened.

"Don't not tell me if it is important, I mean that completely worked out in your favour the last time." He acknowledged sarcastically. I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes.

"I saw...well, first it looked like I was getting ready to jump into a pool. Only, I would never do that - jump into water? Never. Next I saw Snape and Dumbledore talking over me while I was asleep - it must be really soon as I hope to be out of here in two more days and the colours were perfect..." I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering if I should just not sleep for the first part of tonight and tomorrow to ensure that whatever was being said I would be awake for.

"Is that all?"

"No," I sighed. "I had a vision of looking out over the black lake. I was really scared."

"And two of them had to do with you facing your greatest fear?" He grimaced, folding his arms. "Not good. How recent were they all?"

"The Snape and Dumbledore one will be in the next few days, I'd assume that the pool one is next as it had some colour, but the lake one had softer tints." I took a deep breath and looked back to the cold egg in my hands. It took a few seconds for the suspicion to hit me. I turned the egg over in my hand once, then twice.

"Nott," I asked to grab his attention from his own thoughts. He hummed. "Have you ever touched or been near something and known it was - oh, I don't know - a bad egg?"

"Not to the extent you have," he said slowly. "Why?"

"What if," I began just as slowly, "the reason I just had the visions of the water was because I touched this egg? What do we know about it before you brought it?"

"That it's a hint to the next task," Nott said slowly, his face dawning horror.

"Ballocks," I whispered, taking my hands away from the egg and letting it fall onto my lap where Circe turned to hiss and swipe at it.

"Water?" Theodore summarized, looking at me and mirroring the fear that I'm pretty sure was rolling off me. "Are you joking?"

"It makes sense doesn't it?" I asked. "I need to hear this clue."

"No," Theo said quickly, grabbing the egg from my lap but holding it noticeably further away from him than he had when he gave it to me the first time. I tried to reach for it but hissed in pain at the same moment Circe hissed for me not to hurt myself – or possibly warning me not to disturb where she was sitting. Theodore held it farther away as I glared. "Not now."

"Why not now?" I asked. "Give me my egg, arse."

"Not until you're better. I don't want you to freak out or anything - especially if you actually figure out what it means and that it _does _have to do with water. Get better first, then we'll figure this out. Together."

"Theodore-" I began, but he had already nodded to himself and started to walk away. His walk out of the hospital wing was even faster than it normally was and suddenly, the room was colder than normal as well.

"Brilliant." I whispered to myself, closing my eyes and hoping for sleep to bring either relief or a mad amount of healing.

"No!" A voice hissed above me. I jumped a bit at the noise, having been woken from a dream of picking worms for detention. I had not taken the sleeping potion that I had been advised to take thanks to my vision, so my sleep was light and disturbed easily in the crinkly sheets of the infirmary. It took me a moment to remember why I was woken in the first place, but as I remembered my reasoning I tried not to move when I recognized the cool and familiar tones of Professor Snape who continued speaking. "She almost died in the last task, clearly this is more dangerous than we feared."

"As I recall, it was your idea to lure the culprit into the open by allowing the Potters to compete." That voice was also familiar, wispy and wise. As I started to become alert and pay attention I was suddenly made aware that this was the vision I had had just this afternoon, the one of Dumbledore and Snape talking over me as I slept.

"Only because I thought we would have made some progress by now, before I realized just how much danger they are in-"

"Audrey is fine, Severus." Dumbledore assured soothingly. "Madame Pomfrey assures me that her wounds are healing well and that the venom will be out of her system in two days time."

"The venom shouldn't have been in there in the first place - Audrey is a wonderful witch, Headmaster, but her types of talents are not best used in impulsive or competitive form." I was both flattered and insulted by this comment but tried not to let it show in my posture, as I was still supposed to be sleeping.

"From what I understand, Miss Potter has already figured out a part of her egg - she will be more prepared for the next task." He assured him. I tried not to furrow my eyebrows like habit forced me to - how had Dumbledore known what Theodore and I had found out hours earlier? No one had been in the hospital room near us.

"Albus...how can they be helped?" Snape asked in a voice of desperation I had never heard. It took a long time for Dumbledore to answer him.

"We have to have faith in them, Severus." Dumbledore said confidently. "They will make the right decisions."

"And if they don't?" Snape sneered skeptically.

"Then they will mould the wrong decisions into the right ones." After that the silence stretched on, even as interested as I was in the conversation with so much silence and the pounding in my body I still found myself lulled to sleep before I could so much as fight off the exhaustion.

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><p><strong>Well, there it is. Not the most exciting chapter, but I hope that you all enjoyed it as much as you could. The next chapter begins talk of the Yule Ball, so stay tuned! <strong>

**To my wonderful reviewers: **

_Kimberly._**: It's true, the amount of times this poor girl will be facing death is almost comical – particularly because she usually gets into it by accident. I'm glad you appreciate her Slytherin personality, I'm trying to keep her very true to the Slytherin characteristics. It always upsets me how some people put a Gryffindor –like character to change the Slytherins. It's not how it works or else that person would have been placed in Slytherin. I put in the prologue that Audrey does not speak parseltongue, she just has a crazy connection to animals – you will see why all this happens MUCH later in the story. Thank you so much for your review!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Wow! I didn't think the story was that good, but I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! Thank you so much and I promise that you'll get about two (possibly even three) chapters on this holiday :)**

_JrOeKnEeRe_**: I'm sorry you think that the romance with Draco moves slowly, but I have to keep it going throughout the fourth through to the seventh book, so I don't want to start too quickly. If it helps, you're about to see some sparks now that the Yule Ball is drawing near – I would never let Draco not have his moment at such an important and elaborate event! Thanks for your review**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Well, luckily this one wasn't a cliff hanger ending, but I hope that you aren't mad at me for it anyway. I promise that the next chapter won't be filler so much as a little bit of plot and it will be out in just a few days. And of course Draco would be upset! There are a few little moments between them already, they just don't realize they're totally in love yet :) thank you very much for your review**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: You are just too wonderful. I even can't describe it. Thank you so much for doing all of this, and I love your idea for Nightfall! That will definitely be used and of course the idea will be credited to you. Fantastic! :D**

_KITTY LOVES MATTXMELLO_**: I'm trying to make it noticeable just how bitter and jealous she is – she'll end up loving him on and off and she will of course be loyal to him as he is the only family she likes having around. I hope that it doesn't turn you off the story. Thank you for your thoughts!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you! Hopefully you liked this chapter as well – please look out for the next one!**

**Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It wasn't the best, but I would really appreciate reviews. I'd really like to know what you think will happen at the Yule Ball – who will she go with? Who will she have to share the Champion's Dance with? I could tell you the answers, but I'd love to hear what you think her character will get up to...but I'll give you a hint – Audrey does **_**not **_**want to go to this ball. At all.**

**Thank you all and remember: **_**REVIEWS**_** are inspiration! **

**-Egypt**


	11. Plotting

**I was going to wait longer before I put this out, but I felt bad after messing up which chapter I put out and on top of that, the last chapter wasn't that exciting, so I thought I may as well give you another holiday treat! Hope you like this little chapter in time for "Family Day". Special thank you goes to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**who as always fixes all my mistakes and makes this chapter worth your time!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Ten - Plotting<span>

"There's a ball!" Daphne all but pounced on me as I walked into the Slytherin common room, still bandaged and slung up by the arm that the dragons tooth had skinned. Possibly even a little dizzy, still from all the potions in my system to ward off any effects from the Ridgeback's venom. Madam Pomfery had advised that I stay another night, but she could not make me as technically I was alright enough to leave.

"What are you on about?" I asked, a little upset that she wasn't more excited to see me and even more upset that she seemed to have forgotten I was sick at all. Forget, of course, that she and Nott had been told to specifically handle me 'with care'. It's not like I would have let them, but the effort would have been nice.

"A ball - a Yuletide ball over Christmas break! Fancy dress robes, dates, dancing, the works. It's a tradition of the tournament." She smiled, letting go of me so that she could do a happy dance that made me step back in revulsion.

"Where did you hear this?" I had only been gone for a grand total of six days - three class days, included. It was now November 30th, just before dinner and I was coming back to get better clothes - why Daphne had decided to bring my school robes for earlier that day when she knew I wasn't coming to classes was beyond me, but I had never been so excited to have oversized boys clothes to change into that wouldn't rub against my skin.

"Millicent heard it from Pansy, who heard it from Draco, who overheard it from one of the Patil twins, who heard it from McGonagall - then, just a few minutes ago, we got this notice on the board!" She shoved a piece of parchment at my face that I took tentatively so that I wouldn't end up getting hit in the face by her polished silver nails.

'_A notice to all Slytherins,_

_It is our pleasure to announce the celebration of the Triwizard tournament in form of a formal ball on Christmas Night to be shared with all those in __**fourth year and above**__. Formal dress robes are required, chaperones are needed, and wands that are drawn will be confiscated._

_We hope for the merriest of celebrations in favour of our wonderful champions and their bravery. We will see you at the Yule Ball!_

_Barty Crouch, Department of International Magical Cooperation'_

"Great." I smiled stiffly, handing the sheet of paper back to her as she nodded enthusiastically. "I'm not going."

"What?" She asked, aghast but I was already walking away as quick as my weak legs could carry me. I was sure to be in for some sort of beating for wanting to leave her alone on an event like this.

"I'm not going," I said again with a sneer. "I have no interest - or means - to go to a _ball. _In case you haven't been able to tell these past four years, I'm a simple girl who wants nothing more than to survive a year of her schooling with as few trips to the hospital wing as possible."

"What does that have to do with the ball?"

"It has to do with the ball because I will find, or make, any excuse that keeps me out of large groups of people who somehow trample me or help me make a fool of myself in some form of robe malfunction."

"But-but Audrey, you're a champion! This ball is in dedication to _you_." She argued, following me as I made my way down to the boys dormitories, ready to get my golden egg from Theodore.

"No, this is ball is in dedication to the _Tri_wizard champions. You know, the original three." I explained, suppressing a shiver as I saw a long fingered, green Grindylow swim past the window - reminding me how deep under water I was.

"It doesn't matter who are original champions or not, this ball is to celebrate you all." She said pointedly, stomping a bit as she followed behind me. I rolled my eyes.

"Since when were you a stickler for details?"

"Since they benefit me." She said simply. "Theodore will agree with me, as well."

"You could get an army of people to agree with you, Daphne," I looked over my shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "I'm still not going to that ball."

We rounded the corner to the sixth year dormitories and I was pleased to see Theodore at his dark mahogany desk writing on a large roll of parchment. He looked up when we entered - he probably heard Daphne's elephant steps - before widening his eyes.

"What's happened?" He asked looking at Daphne as if she had multiple foreheads.

"Audrey refuses to go to the ball!" Daphne screeched. "Theodore, tell her how ridiculous she's being. This is one of the only times in our entire Hogwarts education that we will ever be able to have some kind of formal function where we can look somewhat classy and dance and be...be..."

"Hormonal teenagers?" I offered. "Sorry, I think I'll pass. I have tons of other more important and non-hormonal things to do to occupy my time."

"You're insufferable," Daphne hissed. "Tell her, Nott."

"Why don't you want to go to the ball?" He asked rationally, turning in his seat to give me his undivided attention. Daphne made a loud scoffing sound as she plopped onto Nott's bed, completely put out.

"I'm not going because I don't want to go. I'm not the kind of girl who enjoys going to pick out dress robes, honestly I don't think I've ever seen any that haven't been in your pictures or wardrobe, Daphne. I am also not one to grovel for invitations and I will certainly not take the time to struggle through finding my own date only to be forced to pretend I'm having a jolly good time when all I want to do is run away. I don't like crowds and I don't like having to try to be pretty. In fact, I think it's pretty obvious I'm not a pretty person. I'm awkward and this hair clashes with everything I wear. My skin is too pale. I'm too skinny. I look sickly. I get rashes from makeup. I can think of a million reasons but most importantly, I am not spending my time trying to impress anyone: girl, boy, Slytherin, or _date _alike."

Theodore lowly whistled as he looked away, knowing that my decision was made.

"So it's the _date _you're worried about!" Daphne gasped quickly. "I could find you a date easily, then would you go?"

"Did you miss my entire monologue? No, the date is only a fraction of the problem." I grumbled, already annoyed with this conversation. I had come into Theodore's room for an actual reason, an important one at that, and then I had hoped to somehow try to get Sirius on the mirror so that I could talk to him about everything that had happened - including the strange desperation in his enemies voice when it came to talking about Harry and I participating in the next task.

"Well what if I could get someone to ask you who you wouldn't have to impress? There's always Montague, or that damned twin who can never keep his eyes off you-"

"Fred?" I asked with a frown. "I wouldn't go to the ball with Fred."

"Well why not? Everyone knows you two fancy one another." Theodore smirked, turning away again so he could hide from my glare.

"I do not _fancy _Fred! Fred is one of my best friends. I like to be around him because he encourages my wild side and also keeps me upbeat, unlike _some._" I glared at Daphne. "I would not give the boy ideas just because _you _want me to go to a formal function neither of us would be comfortable with."

"Well what about Seamus? The arse would be pleased to have you back for a night. You could dress in muggle clothing and he would just be happy to have you on his arm." Daphne encouraged, I frowned thinking of my past relationship with Seamus and how badly I did not want to have another night of it.

"Not in a million years." I sneered, though with the thoughts of wearing muggle clothing I found the idea much more bearable. At least if I wore muggle clothing I wouldn't make as much of a fool of myself because people would know that I wasn't trying to look attractive at all. I was trying to turn some heads and start some fights.

"You're still friends, aren't you?" Theodore asked.

"As much of friends as a Slytherin and a Gryffindor ex-couple can be, I guess." I shrugged, but shook my head from all the thoughts of actually going. "It doesn't matter. I'm not getting dressed up, I'm not going. Maybe I'll do something to get detention with Snape that night...we all know that _he _won't attend."

In fact, that sounded like the perfect idea. I was sure that I could somehow find something that would get me in enough trouble to get me into detention for that night. I'm sure that I had a ton of tricks up my sleeve that I could use just so that the punishment would fit the crime - getting out of the ball not only excited me, but the reason I would be kicked out would be much more creative.

"But who will I dance with?" Daphne pouted.

"Your date." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, have you ever seen me walk? Clearly I would fall on my face if I tried dancing with anyone - I never have and I never will. Not even if some unlucky bastard marries me someday."

"I wish we purebloods had that choice," Theodore sighed. "I hate dancing."

"You hate dancing?" Daphne gasped. "How is that even possible, were you not taught?"

"Of course," he countered. I had been told once that all purebloods were taught multiple styles of dance at a young age. It was what prompted me to put Malfoy in pointe shoes that wouldn't stop dancing until Snape removed them last year. "Doesn't mean I enjoy it."

"We should start a club," I offered. He rolled his eyes.

"What don't you like about it?" Daphne demanded.

"I don't like leading people - I feel like I'm pushing them around and if I muck it up, I'm bound to hurt the poor woman." He shrugged. Daphne just continued to pout over the idea that neither of us were as excited over this as she was, but I held my hands together as I let out a strangled sound.

"Aw, Theodore, you're compassionate!" I cooed.

"Shut up, Potter."

"No, I'm really impressed with your progress." I said as seriously as I could. "Speaking of progress - where's my egg?"

"What egg?" Daphne asked as if she had completely forgotten about just under a week ago when I had almost died trying to retrieve it. Both Theodore and I glared lightly before he dug under his desk, handing me the sterling golden egg. I hesitated.

"Draco tried to open it and hear the clue _again_the other night - woke up the entire dormitory, the git. He's hoping that you have to fight some banshees. He also hopes you lose, of course." I glared at him as if he were Malfoy before grabbing it in my hands. I was relieved when I didn't have the same sensation of drowning like the last time.

"How did it wake up the dormitory?" Daphne asked, sitting back up on the bed so that she could more easily see us. Because I was still feeling light headed and I was already nervous about having to open this blasted thing, I sat on the bed too. She quickly shuffled so she was resting her chin on my shoulder. "Why does it have hinges?"

"I'm sorry, was it you in the infirmary, or me? Why don't you know anything about what's going on, do you just leave poor Nott on his lonesome while I'm gone?" I snapped, looking at her darkly, she had been rude enough to me for one day so I didn't really feel bad until she completely withdrew and stood at the end of the bed.

"I've been busy with other things," she said quietly, her eyes looking at the foot of the bed. "Open the blasted thing, then."

"Right." I took a deep breath, willing myself to hear a banshee. I turned the knob at the top of the egg and let the hinges fall open. I now understood why some people thought it was a banshee, but it was something different. I'd been given a banshee howler in second year from Parkinson and this didn't sound anything like that. Instead, it sounded like some animal shrieking as it was being put down, like it was clawing it's way to freedom.

I could only take a few seconds of it before I closed the egg back up. Looking at Daphne and Theodore, both with their hands over their ears, I took a deep breath and scrutinized the egg. "Well, what does it mean?"

"It sounds like the sound you'll be making if you die next time - what kind of clue _is _that?" Daphne gasped. "It's ghastly!"

"It has something to do with water," I explained to her. "I just don't understand how that sound has anything to do with..."

I trailed off, my mind going on a mad haywire of every creature I had ever heard, seen, or studied, not only in care of magical creatures but on my own time. I had never heard a creature scream like that. It certainly wasn't human, it certainly wasn't an animal I had ever heard and I had already had a vision of water while I touched this.

"What is it, Drea?"

"Could it - could it be the sound of an animal in the lake?" I asked quietly, looking through the doorway of the dormitories where I could see the green tint of water illuminating it. "Could it be what I have to battle in the water?"

"Audrey, you're petrified of water." Daphne said seriously. "This could just be your mind jumping to conclusions."

"No, it makes sense." Theodore agreed. "I mean, it's nothing any of us have ever heard - when was the last time you heard an aquacious animal screaming?"

"Not recently," Daphne agreed with a frown. "Can't you ask your brother?"

"I don't need to ask my brother anything - I'm sure he's probably procrastinating anyway." I walked over to Nott and grabbed his rucksack that was laying beside his desk - he didn't object at all, as always. "I'm going to go do some thinking by the lake."

"Don't get too close," Daphne warned. Nott actually snorted.

"I don't think you'll have to be worried about that. Just don't be out there too late and don't get swarmed by boys trying to ask you to heal their pets or go to the ball."

"Hardy-har-har, you're a classic comedian." I grumbled, rolling my eyes as I left the boys dormitories, quick to get out of the common room before Nott's theories proved correct and someone did have the nerve to ask me on a date.

By the time I got out to the courtyard, I realized that it was too late. Hogwarts was a madhouse. Everyone was talking about the ball and everywhere you looked there were pairs of eyes judging everyone that walked by: were they good enough to be dates? Should they have to worry that that person is competition? Did you hear who that person is going to the ball with? It was as if everyone had gone to a time before they knew how to hold intelligent conversation.

My saving grace was a girl being glared at by multiple other girls as she sat on a rock, close to the water, reading. I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw her.

"Granger!"

"What?" She snapped as if she had been called many times today, she gasped when she realized it was me who had tried to get her attention. "Oh, Audrey! I'm sorry, I didn't even realize you were released from the hospital wing. How are you feeling?"

I smiled. "Ah, there's the warm welcome I've been expecting. Everyone seems to have forgotten I was even in there, so luckily I'm not receiving too much pity."

"Glad to hear it. What can I do for you?" She looked at the awkward bulge in Theodore's rucksack. "Is that your egg?"

"Indeed it is. It was my first day being able to actually try and figure out the clue in it, so I thought I'd bring it around for my brainstorming."

"Good for you - you're doing much better than Harry. I don't think he's even touched the thing since he heard it. Does yours...?" I tried not to let my eyes narrow at her words. Was she purposefully not going to tell me that Harry's made that sound unless mine did as well? So, she was trying to hold out on me too, though that shouldn't have surprised me much as she hadn't ended up warning me about the dragons in the first task, either. Suddenly, I didn't want to be near Hermione anymore.

"Scream? Yes, it does." I replied pointedly. She nodded thoughtfully, putting a bookmark in her book so that she could give me her full attention. I looked at her analytically as well, she seemed upset. Her eyes were slightly red around the rim and I could see that she was tired. "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine." She sighed, opening up to me quickly - apparently she didn't notice how narrowed my eyes were. "This Yule ball business is driving me insane. People are acting completely barbaric."

"Agreed, I only heard about it today and I'm afraid to be around people. I'm really glad that the evil eye was put to rest in 1752 or else I'd be worried it would actually be used by some of these girls..."

"Audrey, I'm...shocked." She said with wide eyes. "You actually listened in History of Magic?"

"I'll _be_a History of Magic if some of these girls have their way. They're so competitive."

Hermione laughed lightly, looking out over the water. "I was asked by someone today - I accepted. It seemed best to get it over with and avoid the troubles."

"Was it Ron?" I asked knowingly. I saw her face redden. "It was, wasn't it?"

"No." She firmly. "He's still trying to get up the nerve to ask one of the Beauxbatons girls. I was asked by someone else - I'd prefer not to say."

"Well, is he attractive and worthy of you?" I asked, sitting beside her. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, I took that as a yes. "Then that's all I really need to know of it. Besides, I'm sure the rumours will begin any time now."

"I'm sure they will." She agreed sourly. "Have you been asked on the way down here? Everyone seems to be staying in the open to get good views of who is and is not in the running - it's ridiculous."

"I haven't been asked, not that it would matter." I shrugged. "I'm not going."

"What do you mean, you're not going?" Hermione gasped. "Audrey, this is a really important part of the tournament - there has never been a Triwizard tournament that didn't have a Yule ball. You need to be there and you need to go with a date because there is a specific dance dedicated to the champions."

"Even more reason not to go!" I smiled at her expression, warming up a little more now that it seemed like she had dropped the subject of the clue hanging over my shoulder. "Listen, Hermione I'm sorry to leave you out there alone and all, but I can't do it. I'm not a girly-girl. I don't get pretty robes or do my hair - it's not who I am."

"I don't know if you'll be allowed out of it, though." She said, biting her lip. "When I was reading about the tournament, it really made it seem like this is an important event."

"Oh, I can think of tons of ways to get out of it. A little help from Fred and George and I won't be going anywhere for a long while." I smiled, hoping that she would get some enjoyment from my statement but she instead frowned more deeply.

"Fred and George are probably the worst people to ask. Don't you think Fred will be upset if you don't go?" I blinked my eyes in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Fred - I'm sure you've realized how you two flirt. What if Fred was willing to ask you?" She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, just like Daphne and Theodore had. Was everyone seeing something I wasn't? Was Fred going around posting up pictures of he and I ringed with hearts that I hadn't been made aware of? I mean, how else would everyone know about our non-business?

"I'd say to him what I will be saying to everyone: I'm not going." I announced with finality. "Why does everyone think that there is something going on between Fred and me?"

"Isn't there?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure he's thought about asking you already. Probably waiting to do it at a good moment."

I frowned, not liking the idea of abandoning him like that. "Well, he should ask Angelina. She likes him, doesn't she? She'd be a better date even if I _did _go."

"If you insist," she sighed, picking up her book and effectively ending the conversation. I got up from my place on the rock and moved the egg to my other shoulder since it was starting to get heavier. She looked up at me. "If you figure out that egg, let us know, okay?"

I frowned a bit, looking at her as if she were my brother. "Let the lard _try _to figure it out on his own, will you? It's not fair if you give him all the answers like that - conjuring spell, or clue."

We frowned at each other, the friendly moment between us having gone before I made my way out to the water to try the first of my many times trying to figure out what the egg was saying in a language I didn't understand.

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><p>"I hate study hall," I groaned as I sat down beside George. "It's my least favourite period."<p>

"You've already missed half of it," Fred laughed from his other side. "How could you hate it?"

"Easily," I frowned only to feel a cool presence behind me. I raised my eyebrows as I turned to look into Professor Snape's gaze. This was the first time I had made eye contact with him since I had overheard him talking about me in the hospital wing, which was unnerving and really difficult to do for so many days considering I'd had two double potions classes and seen him numerous times in the corridors.

"Miss Potter," he said slowly. "You're late."

"I'm always late," I clarified. "I don't know why it's taken so long for you to always expect it."

"Not for when _I _am running study hall," he said simply. "Don't do it again."

With that and a characteristic swoosh of his cloak, he walked away from us going over and glaring at Harry, Ron, and Hermione who sat only three feet to the right of us. I got out my notebook and after finding out that we were supposed to be writing six inches worth of information on Antidotes. Snape had been hinting that he wanted to poison a student over Christmas break, so everyone was taking this research as seriously as possible.

"So, what's the news on the ball?" George asked me suddenly, elbowing me in the ribs with a wink. "Any hot dates?"

"Nope." I said simply, taking a deep breath. "But I guess that's pretty clear why."

"And why is that?"

"I'm not going." I said simply. I heard something drop against the table before looking up and seeing Seamus, sitting across from me, and Fred frowning. George just looked stunned. I blinked a moment as the scene sank through my vision, realizing that I had seen this before. Briefly, only now it was much more vibrant with colour and right now I knew it was really happening. I'd had this vision just before the Goblet of Fire had decided to ruin my brother and my adolescent lives.

"Not going?" Fred repeated, breaking me from my trance. "I don't think that's an option."

"You're not going to _drag _me there, Weasley," I forced a laugh. "So no, I won't be going. I don't want to go to a ball - I'm more of a dinner and a movie girl."

"Movie?" George asked. I shook my head, not really in the mood to explain it to them.

"Either way, I'm going to sit up by the fire with a book - maybe continue working on my egg, maybe I'll make a date to write and chat with some people," I gave the twins a meaningful glance so they would know that I meant Sirius. "It will be a nice night alone. You don't really get those in a castle filled with people."

"You're daft," Fred argued with a bark. "Why wouldn't you want to get a date, get some nice robes, and go dancing?"

"Because I don't want a date, I don't want to go shopping, and I don't dance. I think it's pretty simple to understand." I shrugged. "Besides, I'm not really in the race for dates, am I?"

"I know what you mean," Ron whispered across the table, keeping his voice low as Snape walked past. "I don't want to go through getting a date, either."

"I'm not going at all." I clarified.

"Why can't I do that?" Ron gasped. "Harry, I want to do that!"

"I'm getting myself at least a month's worth of detention, _with Snape_, to do it - your choice." Ron frowned, the battle was given up it seemed. George laughed to himself and scrawled on a corner of the parchment he had not started writing on and shoved it over to Fred. Fred snorted bitterly a moment before he crumpled the note into a ball and launched the paper ball into Ron's eye.

"Well, who are you going with then?" Ron glared after he had read it. Fred looked shocked a moment, looking at me. I put on my best face of 'what now?' to challenge him before he looked away and grabbed his piece of blank parchment and launched it over to the other direction, hitting Angelina Johnston in the shoulder.

"What?" She glared, clearly not in the mood for any of the twins antics.

Fred mimed out a ridiculous proposal to go to the ball with him that even had my eyes rolling - it was cheesy, unromantic, and completely embarrassing...which may have been why I ended up so surprised when the pretty Quidditch captain tried to hide behind her hair, smiled and nodded her head before looking away to gossip with Katie Bell beside her.

"I knew she had a crush on him!" I whispered with a dropped jaw. "No one would accept such a ridiculous proposal otherwise."

"You seem to have a little green monster on your shoulder there, Potter. Anything you want to talk about?" George asked with a smirk.

"Haven't you heard? Apparently I _am _the little green monster." I joked bitterly. "Don't talk to me - I'm going to try and get on Snape's good side before I completely destroy my relationship with him to get out of this damned ball."

I dipped my quill into the ink and scribbled the most intelligent answer I could come up with; I may as well give the bloke something to look back on and appreciate before I decided to blow up his potions storage, after all...

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><p><strong>Oh Audrey, why must you always go getting yourself into trouble? It will find you, I promise. You really don't need to rush it... To my wonderful reviewers:<strong>

_naynay87__**, **__ViVi LaRue_**, and **_CaseyGrey_**: Thanks for telling me that I had updated the wrong story - I fixed it as soon as I realized but even then it took an extra half hour to correct itself on the browser. I'm sorry for the mixup!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Oh don't worry, she'll have multiple moments of romance - I still have this book, Order of the Phoenix, Halfblood Prince, and the Deathly Hallows to do - so this is only the beginning for everything. I won't make each of the books 35 chapters like Rowling does, but I refuse to lose the plot just to speed up the lust ;) Believe it or not, I was first fumbling with the idea of whether or not I could do something to involve Circe in the task - but I found something that will better the plot later on. Don't worry, I promise it will turn out and be interesting! Thank you so much for the review, I love longer ones where I hear everything you're thinking!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Dying of boredom? Well hopefully this spiced up the last few hours of the weekend. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter even though it was filler and not as witty as others. Hopefully this one was getting it back on track for you. Thanks so much for your review!**

_KITTY LOVES MATTXMELLO_**: Yes, you will see that Snape does care for Audrey all through this story. It will definitely be a different persona, one that I think we would have seen if this character really had existed in the real novels. The ball comes before the second task, I think two chapters from now - so very, very soon! I'm already doing touch ups for it. Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for taking the time to review!**

_Laurafxox_**: I'm glad you like it, especially Audrey. She's definitely up there on my favourite characters that I've created. I'm glad that you think this is different from most HP-twin stories and I promise that the fluff will start mounting up. You saw some in this chapter but the next few chapters you're going to see even more of it. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Novella Vialli_**: hope this was fast enough! Thanks :)**

_PrincessK16_**: I plan to keep very true to the books so Harry will be doing the same things for the tasks - but Audrey is going to end up doing things that will mess up his ranks. Like she just got third place instead of Krum getting third - so it will eventually take it's toll. I'm glad that you enjoy it - thank you so much for your thoughts!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, it is definitely a hard task for her - I'm having trouble even writing it because it's so dramatic. Theo is a great character. I remember reading about him in the books, seeing how he was so segregated from the Slytherin's because he was more quiet and such and I thought "I need to write a story that includes him"...so here he is :) I plan to bring up the money later, never fret! Thanks for the review and telling me that I had messed up!**

**Anyway, what did you all think of this chpater? The Yule Ball is just chapters away and yet, it seems like Audrey is already wiggling her way out of it - champion or not. What did you think about it? What do you think is going to happen in the next few chapters? Please let me know your thoughts by leaving me a **REVIEW**! **

**-Egypt**


	12. Wretched

**Here's the newest chapter of Green Eyed Monster! Well guys, the Yule Ball is coming up in two chapters - very exciting. Honestly, I've got the next few chapters planned out and it is going to be so exciting. There will barely be any filler chapters or long pauses...it's actually so exciting! Anyway, I'll stop gushing and let you read that chapter after a shout out to the amazing **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for editting this chapter for everyone who wishes to read!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Eleven - Wretched<span>

"Weasley asked out Fleur Delacour!" Daphne laughed as she came into the common room with Theodore weeks later. "He asked and she said no!"

"Of course she said no," Malfoy voiced from the other side of the room where he was emerging from the boys dormitories. "Why would _anyone _accept that offer? Didn't you see the dress robes his mammoth sent him?"

"You mean his mother," I corrected pointedly, putting down my quill and blowing on the wet ink of my Transfigurations essay before I sent him a proper glare.

"No, I mean his mammoth." He smirked. "Is that who you're taking to the ball, Potter?"

I rolled my eyes, turning back to my parchment. "Of course not. I assume you're taking Parkinson?"

"Of course, she says her robes are made of Venetian unicorn hair." He said as if there was something to be proud of within that sentence. I couldn't imagine which part of the sentence it was - that he had gotten a date, that his date happened to be Puginson, or that some Unicorn had been maimed. I couldn't bear to imagine a poor unicorn getting their tail or mane cut just for the sake of Parkinson's robes that she would later ruin just by appearing in them.

"Well, I hope that the curse of Unicorns blood being consumed is the same as their mane being ravaged. Hopefully it's not an oral virus." I said raising my eyebrows and glaring at him before I went back to my parchment.

"Who _are _you going with, Potter?" Malfoy asked, unable to leave without disturbing my peace. "Let me guess - Longbottom?"

"No," I said with a scowl. "His date is with Ginny Weasley. A right sight better than you and your unicorn arse will be."

"Then who are you going to be going with? Someone who will be able to avoid you stepping on their feet, I'd hope." He laughed, making Daphne let out a giggle that insulted me to the point that I snapped the quill in my hand.

"I am not going with anyone, because I'm not setting foot in that bloody ball." I hissed, surprising him to the point he looked confused. "I have much more important things to be doing."

"You're a champion. It's _necessary _for you to attend." He said as if the thought of me not going was confusing. In fact, he almost looked insulted by the idea of it. It was a good, though unnerving look on him.

"After what I'm about to do, I'm sure that_ Harry Potter _himself wouldn't be allowed to go to the ball. Not even if the entire staff of _the Prophet _came to narrate." I smiled, jumping up from the couch in a mood swing of happiness. "Now, if you would excuse me, I have a potion to make and an invitation to blow - in both metaphorical and literal senses."

"What are you about to do?" Theodore asked nervously. "Can't you just pretend to be sick for the ball? I mean, if you _really _are that desperate not to go..."

"Not my style." I smiled. "Beside's, Snape would never let that happen. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll hear _all _about it. If you don't hear _it_, itself."

"Audrey..." Daphne groaned, as if this again was somehow effecting her more than anyone else who had heard that I was about to do something drastic.

"Toodles, Greengrass. Keep Nott out of my business so you can still steal a dance with him that night, won't you?" I laughed. She shook her head and bent over her essay again, which made me laugh more - such a strange little witch. I started to waltz out, excited because I'd never have to waltz again, when Malfoy grabbed my arm.

"You're not doing anything stupid, are you?"

"Define 'stupid'..."

"Anything that would lose us points is stupid. Anything that those twins would consider smart is _certainly_ stupid," he hissed. "Just go to the damn ball and give this wild streak of yours a rest."

I looked at his hand on my elbow then back up to him, not impressed by the pressure he had applied. He loosened his grip a bit when he followed my glare but held me still because he knew I was just waiting for the moment to make my escape. He looked at me icily, his sneer raising slightly as if I smelt and he didn't want to breathe through his dainty nose. "Just do it, Potter."

"And you're going to be there?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to hold me all close and tender as you are now?"

As I had hoped, Malfoy let go of me as if I were on fire. As he wiped his hand off on his robe, I rubbed at my arm, unimpressed by the tightness of his grip. I scowled at him deeply before bowing to the slight audience that we had conjured up.

"I'm off to spread misery and madness. See you later friends, so long as I won't be seeing you in dress robes." I was sure to smile brightly before I skipped out of the portrait hole, happy when I was out from the watery ceiling. I always felt safer when I was in the dungeons, no matter how dark and dank. At least there I couldn't see that I was under the Black Lake. And at least detentions weren't spent in the lake, even if I did sometimes have to meander into the forest.

By the time I reached Snape's storage cupboards I was starting to feel slightly guilty. I normally avoided playing pranks on the potions master unless he had been a particular git, but I could not bring myself to disassociate from this task. I mean, the man was worried sick over my well-being, how much nicer could he be under his cover of heavy exhaustion and darkness? He was being sweet in his own way of caring, twisted as it may be, and just to reward him I was going to blow up half of his potions supplies and possibly cut off classes for the rest of the week.

But in comparison to a ball...?

Nope. I would rather disappoint the potions master. Wouldn't be the first time.

"Sorry Snape, your wrath is nothing in comparison to dancing." I whispered to myself as I took out a vial of gorish pink liquid from my rucksack. I opened the door to the storage, vial in hand, and looked up at the shelves upon shelves of material. It really was such a waste, so much would be destroyed in this little explosion and who knew how much of it Severus would be able to salvage?

I took two steps away from the door so that when I reached out to close it I would be able to swing it closed, as with my right hand I began to shake my pink concoction. When I saw that it had begun to glow a vibrant, toxic yellow I knew it was time.

"For freedom!" I cried triumphantly, whipping the vial with all my might towards the storage cupboards and taking the necessary steps back. As I reached out for the door, closing my eyes to listen to the vial shatter, I suddenly felt very off-balance. It was like I was stiff and my muscles weren't...oh my Merlin, my muscles aren't moving!

It took me mere seconds to realize what was happening as my body locked itself awkwardly, my hand reached out too far and knocking me off balance as I began to crash to the floor. But out of my peripheral vision I could see the neon yellow explosive come whizzing back out from where it came and toward my face.

I fell and the vial shattered against the wall behind me almost simultaneously. It made a sound much like a cannon going off next to my ear and I let out a yelp as I felt my eardrum vibrate in displeasure. My face smacked itself against the stone flooring, I am almost positive that I broke my nose from the fall as all I could taste was blood and all I could see was the leftover rubble from the explosion that took out a few centimeters from the brick of the back wall. I tried to blink and wash my eyes out of all the dust, but even those were immobilized and I realized what had happened - someone had put me under a damn body-bind!

"Good day, Miss Potter." A familiar, cold drawl said from above me. I could barely hear what he said, my ears must have taken a worse beating from the blast than I thought. I groaned at the back of my throat, it was the only sound I could make, as I began to cough against the blood that made its way down my esophagus.

Snape released my body-bind, giving me a moment to turn my head to the side and cough up the blood that had dripped down my throat and stained my taste buds. I looked at him with a glare, trying to show my displeasure in how unorthodox his solution was. When I saw that Draco bloody Malfoy was beside him, I couldn't tell if I was seeing red from my head having been hurt as well, or if I really could hate someone so much.

"Detention." He said simply, I winced at the tone his voice took, as if he were dunked underwater, and rubbed my ear.

"What?" I shouted. "I can't..."

"So like your father, though even he wouldn't have been caught." Snape pursed his lips. "Mr Malfoy tells me you did this to get out of the ball? Well, your detention will just have to be cleaning up after it. That is, of course, _after _you attend. Dress robes and all."

"No," I groaned, feeling my muscles slacken in disappointment. Snape sneered.

"Yes. Why, you're miraculously cured. Because of course you could hear that, couldn't you?"

"But of course," I sighed, picking myself up without another word to make my way up to the hospital wing on my own.

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><p>"I don't even have dress robes," I sneered, I made sure to pet Circe to sooth myself as we watched Daphne dance around with her slender white dress robes. She danced with them as if they were her partner and I could tell she wasn't paying attention as she made sure that her skin didn't look too pale for her dress.<p>

"I only have the one pair here, I doubt Mummy would send them if she heard who they were for - no offence." Tracey Davis shrugged as she placed her deep plum robes back on the hanger in her enlarged wardrobe.

"None taken. I wouldn't want to borrow your robes anyway. I'd be afraid that they'd weigh me down for their weight in gold and such," I joked shooting a look over to Alya's robes that lay on her bed where she had recently been. They were gold coloured and apparently made out of pure gold fibres. Her robes clearly cost the most of anyone in the dorm and when she had heard the relayed information on Parkinson's robes she had run to compare and judge.

"Well, mine are casual and still stylish. You can borrow some of mine," Lilian offered from in the bathroom adjoined. She was practicing makeup for the big day tomorrow. Tonight was Christmas Eve, it was after dinner and the girls were starting to panic. I, of course, was panicking the most. Now that I was being ordered to go to this bloody ball, I had nothing to wear for it. Because of late planning and ineffective pranking - though that was in no way my fault - I was completely unprepared for the ball the next night.

"Could you transfigure something?" Daphne asked. "Or get Granger to do it for you?"

"Who would want to wear something made by _Granger_?" Lillian asked from the bathroom, she was very high up with Alya in the pureblood community and it had taken me everything to convince her not to use the term 'mudblood' in my presence. Not that I hadn't used it under extreme stress, I just didn't like it used for my friends.

"Wand wielding is not Leila's cup of tea and not even Granger could transfigure something and keep it transfigured long enough to last the ball. Long-lasting transfiguration like that is sixth year stuff."

"Maybe I could make myself deathly ill - even Snape would be impressed enough to let that one slide..."

"Audrey, get over yourself. You're going to the ball whether you like to or not." Daphne said firmly. "Maybe you should have just accepted it earlier so you'd actually have something to wear."

"Shove it up your...robe," I grumbled to her, taking a deep breath to calm myself when Circe made a point to kneed at my arm. She was lucky that I listened to her.

"I'm just saying that you're fourteen, not the prettiest girl-" I gave Daphne a very dark look. "But a girl nonetheless, you and your brother are famous! Now think about it: we're having a ball in _your _honour, you don't have a date, you don't have dress robes, you have to stay the entire ball so you can clean after - is this sinking in?"

"If you mean the gravity of my bottomless doom then yes, it has sunk in. Thank you." I responded bitterly. "I'll figure something out."

"Whenever you say 'I'll figure something out', something ridiculous happens." Lillian laughed as she came back into the room, her face still flushed from being washed so that we couldn't see a hint of what she would look like the following evening.

"If by ridiculous you mean miraculous, then yes. You're right." I laughed, hoping that she hadn't just jinxed my luck. "So, who are all the hot dates, then?"

"Do you mean our hot dates, or hot dates we need to look out for?" Tracey snorted. "I'm going with Blaise - he will certainly look dashing, won't he? Lil, aren't you going with Bole?"

"I most certainly am! He's even chosen to match my robes. Alya's going with her boyfriend - if they even make it to the ball. She and Adrian may just stay up in the dorm..." Lillian laughed.

"But Daphne is going with Terrence Higgs! He was Seeker before he lost that finger the year Draco started." Tracey fawned. "The only better choice would be Malfoy _himself_."

"I was quite thinking you'd go with Nott, to be honest." I said, watching closely for Daphne's reaction. I was pleased when I saw her stop dancing with herself to glare at me through the mirror.

"Well, I would like to dance. Personally, I thought that he...that he wasn't the best choice for me. He's going with some shy little Ravenclaw anyway."

"Marietta Edgecomb," I corrected immediately with a dark look. I don't know why he would do that to me after what had happened between she and Seamus - I had yet to seek proper revenge for my tarnished reputation and ruined relationship. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Fantastic, you'll be able to spend all your time with Diggory then." She grumbled, I reeled.

"Pardon me?" I may or may not have been slightly too enthusiastic.

"Diggory is going with Chang, you know, Edgecomb's best friend?" I felt my heart beat quicken.

"Who would want to go with Chang? She's such a hussy." Tracey sneered. "Thinks she's all high and mighty, just because she's on the Quidditch team."

"Not that she's any good on the Quidditch team, as shown by their ranking." Lillian giggled, talking about how Ravenclaw were last in game points last year.

"Diggory is...breathtaking." I sighed, feeling like the thought of him had taken away my voice.

"But still not the best choice for a ball. There would be no passion - I don't believe the boy feels it. And who would want to be treated like a lady without something hot and steamy afterward?" Daphne said pointedly, going back to dancing with her dress, though her nose was lifted far higher in the air than before.

"Again, Malfoy is the best choice. What I would give to be on his arm..." Lillian sighed.

"I feel sorry for him, Parkinson's going with Malfoy in some impressive unicorn hair silk, I've heard." Tracey offered, giving a little sneer in reference to the vulgar woman.

"Silk doesn't flatter anyone and no matter how pretty the mane, you can't dress a cow to look like a unicorn." I sneered in return, making everyone but Daphne laugh. "I can only hope that Malfoy will match."

"Whatever Malfoy wears will look great on him. He'd look better if he didn't bother dressing up at all," Daphne winked to the other girls as she hung up her own robes very carefully. "He is quite the looker."

"Ew, Daphne, no!" I gasped, making terrible gagging noises to back up my statement.

"Oh hush, even you can't deny the boy is attractive." Daphne scorned. "And he has the money so he can only buy the best."

"I do not find him attractive. At all." I gagged.

"Oh don't lie to yourself," Lillian fawned. "You and he are at it like rabbits."

"Do you mean that we're at it as in trying to tear out each other's jugulars? Then yes. You're absolutely right. I guess he has an impressive jugular and great skin tone to be bloodied."

"Oh, quit it! Were it not for Potter being your brother and also his nemesis, you two would be all over each other." Lillian explained, only making Tracey giggle.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that isn't your inspiration to be all over each other - it'd drive your brother nutters."

"You're all disgusting." I sneered, yanking a little too hard on Circe's fur. She hissed at me in return and apparently that was exactly what the girls had wanted to hear, they all laughed at each other as if me injuring my cat was proof of my guilt.

"No matter what you say we all know it's true: Draco Malfoy is gorgeous. It astounds even me he's taking a hog like Parkinson to the ball."

"I agree with you on that last point," I smiled sinisterly. "They will be a great couple. He's can act like such a pig and she is one."

"We all know that Malfoy isn't Potter's type anyway," Tracey smirked. "She likes the gingers."

"Oi! Come now, let's play fair, shall we?" I asked as the girls all started cackling, shouting out sexual innuendos in their girliest of voices that did not sound at all like me.

"Oh, Weasley, show me what to do with that fake wand!"

"Oh, whichever twin you are, show me the way to tell you two apart!"

"Oh Fred, demonstrate how you'd like to pound that bludger!"

"You three are pathetic," I mumbled, as I tried to keep all the images from playing through my head and even worse as I began trying my hardest not to laugh with them.

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><p><strong>Of course I wouldn't let her miss the ball! You guys are crazy if you thought I would pass up the only ball that Hogwarts students get the opportunity to appreciate, but I couldn't let her go without a fight. To my reviewers...<strong>

_KITTY LOVES MATTXMELLO_**: Ha, I doubt that Snape would ever let **_**anyone **_**get away with something like that. I don't want to make things romantic with Theodore, I have other plans for him... anyway, I'm glad you liked it and thank you for your review!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Of course I'm going to do the other books! I have the most intricate plans for her, I just didn't want to start all the way back at first year. Maybe one day I will do a prequel if people ask or maybe do a few one shots of particular moments, but man the plans I have for this story are more intricate and (if I may say so) clever than any story I've **_**ever **_**written. **

**Don't worry, the whole reason I made sure it didn't happen was because I recalled that Dobby needed to help Harry out with the task. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and thank you for your thoughts! **

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I am going to try and post about two chapters of this a week. I won't deny I'm actually a few chapters ahead and I just fly through this one. It's much more natural than any of my other stories. She'll barely dance, I can promise you that. But I also promise you lots of drama to make up for it! She isn't actually going to have a dance lesson with Snape - it is assumed that Slytherins were taught already (or that's where my mind went) so they don't need to be taught. But, there will be lots of other funny moments in between. Promise! Thank you!**

_PrincessK16_**: I'm so glad that you're liking it and enjoy reading it. Fred does like Audrey, it will become more noticeable as the story goes on. But don't worry, it's stated as a Draco/OC for a reason :)**

_nameless_**: I hope I updated quickly enough. I'm glad that you like her character. I quite enjoy her snarky remarks myself. Also thank you, I don't really read twin-Harry stories anymore but I did when I was much, much younger (before the last book even came out) and I was always a little disappointed. Hopefully you aren't disappointed!**

_Novella Vialli_**: I hope you liked it!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: It was good that you doubted that, because I'm not letting her skip out on something that has so many possibilities! Good call on your part :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: It hurt me to reject him, it really did! I adore Fred, I won't deny I'm slowly pairing her with my personal favourite characters, but don't worry. Fred will have his time. Well, Audrey isn't changing her mind about going to the ball - but as for the idea of who her date will be, you'll just have to keep reading :) Thanks for your thoughts!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I can promise you that you will never be short for GEM chapters, because I'm ahead in these and I'm ready to send them to you basically at any point in time. I'm glad you like it, hopefully you liked this one. Thanks for getting this done again, you're too good to me :)**

**Anyway, what did you all think? I hope you liked it. The Yule Ball is coming up soon, what are your predictions? What do you want to happen? What do you think will happen even though you don't want it to? Let me know through _REVIEW_!  
><strong>


	13. The Unmarked Gift

**Hello everyone, another chapter for you! I won't give a lot of information here besides the fact that **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**is a saint and edited this for your benefit, I promise. She's wonderful and I could not do this without her wonderful conversation and support.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Twelve - The Unmarked Gift<span>

It took a long time after I woke up to realize that it was Christmas morning. The only person who was awake was Alya and she was already out of her bed, leaving her covers in dissaray. She didn't seem to be in the shower and she didn't have a pile of presents at the end of her bed as she normally did, so I assumed she was already out with her boyfriend, sixth year Adrian Pucey, the famed Slytherin Chaser. The only time she was ever separated from his face was when she was bragging about it.

I looked at the end of my bed and sighed at the lack of presents. I was only upset because I was comparing to what I knew was at the end of Harry's, but it was a humble sweetness that gave me a small smile anyway. I had five gifts, less than a third of everyone elses piles around me, so I got to opening them quickly - the only thing worse than not getting many presents was _hearing _how you didn't get many presents.

I opened Harry's present first with high expectations thanks to the rare Horntail dragonhide Quidditch gloves I'd bought by catalogue for him so he could get a firmer grip on the snitch when he went against Slytherin. I knew he'd love them and their irony. Also, to be honest, so long as I was in a good enough mood after this I planned to see him to gloat about how wonderful my gift picking talents were.

His present was tauntingly wrapped in bright gold paper with a crimson bow and I snorted, remembering how I'd had the same idea and put his in Slytherin styled wrappings. It wasn't a big gift, which made me wonder even more what it could be and when I opened it I frowned. I picked up the thick parchment that had a seal I was allowed to design myself - that was nice. There was a quill there too that was a violent red colour with a small tag hanging off.

'_Approquill, the quill of aggitation and alleviation. When frustrated, write with this quill and it will correct and edit any comments it deems inappropriate in accordance to whether it be a letter, paper, diary entry, or document_.'

"Fantastic," I laughed quietly. My brother seemed to know me a little too well and something told me that I would use this quill more than the beautiful - and indestructible - phoenix feather quill Theodore had gotten me the Christmas prior.

On that note I put my parchment away so that I could move on to Theodore's present, which as always was unwrapped. He hated wrapping things, I didn't know if it was because he couldn't be bothered or because he was incapable of doing a good job, but I was happy to see a giant bow covering the title of a thick, blue book. Peeling off the white ribbon, I almost shrieked in glee. It was a copy of _'Why I didn't Die When the Augurey Cried' _by Gullivery Pokeby. I was very curious about these Irish Phoenix's that were so rare; particularly because I was interested in their horrid, misunderstood reputation that mimicked mine and the other part of me wondered if that reputation had anything to do with the reason it was an Augurey feather in my ash wooded wand.

"Brilliant, Theodore." I smiled to myself. I couldn't help but hope he enjoyed the charmed reading light I had gotten him that turned off when his eyes had been closed for a minute or more. I'd picked one up for Hermione on whim as well, knowing that it was perfect for her just as I had gotten Ron a beautiful pearl and onyx wizards chess set.

Ron and Hermione hadn't actually gotten me anything this year, it seemed, which I didn't really mind besides the fact it hurt they hadn't thought of me. The material possessions I recieved never really meant anything to me, I was just constantly interested who would find me worth buying something for.

Hagrid apparently had. He'd gotten me a Hagrid-sized jar of Berty Botts every flavour beans, my favourite candy that made me feel brave just eating them, but he also got Circe a beautiful collar that wouldn't be seen around her neck other than the beautiful sky blue jewel that hung off of it. I smiled and looked over to my cat, sleeping soundly on my pillow, and sighed happily. Usually I was much more pig headed about my presents, but I was surprisingly pleased and appreciative of this gift for my prized possession.

"Come here, beautiful." I cooed, waking Circe from her sleep so she could blink at me sluggishly. I wrapped my hands around her middle and dragged her into my lap, even though she was too big for it as I was so small, and I put the collar around her throat. "A beautiful jewel for _my _beautiful jewel."

"How cheesey." I heard a voice yawn from beside me. I looked over, holding Circe tightly from being startled, too see that Daphne was awake and watching me. She looked over the presents I had opened and frowned. "You haven't opened mine."

"Well, you haven't opened mine." I shot back. She rolled her eyes.

"I just woke up." She yawned as she crawled forward and picked up my midnight wrapped gift. She opened it hastily, suddenly looking much more awake before she looked at it in confusion. "A mirror?"

"Look into it properly." I ordered, annoyed that she didn't think my gift was enough as it was. I had gone all out for her present, it was a beautiful, sterling silver mirror that had an impossibly clear reflection and was charmed to be able to be hung anywhere. I saw her re-angle the glass and smiled at the voice that filled the room.

"_What beautiful blonde hair you have. Woven gold, much like Rapunzel_." The mirror cooed. She looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"Will it always say nice things?"

"It says especially nice things when you _actually _look good. Right now your hair looks horrid, actually." I laughed. "Your curls are bunching everywhere."

"On that note, open my gift, whore." She hissed, more hurt than she should have been by my jibe. I was used to the moodswings so I wasn't really insulted while I leaned forward, minding my kneazle, to grab the awkwardly wrapped parcel. Shredding the paper, I looked at the present.

"Is this one of those 'make your hair prettier' brushes?" I asked, looking at the thick bristles of the light oak wood. She nodded at me, shrugging slightly.

"It straighten's your hair. You may have your mother's looks and colouring, but you got your father's horrible hair." Daphne's nose wrinkled and I found myself glaring at her. My hair was not _horrible_, it just didn't like to sit as it should. I liked that it was the one thing I knew I shared with my Dad - I ran my fingers through my hair self consciously.

"Er - thanks, I think." I offered lamely. She had dived into her pile of twenty or so gifts and I was glad that I didn't have to pause and pretend to appreciate the insult to my family. With only two presents left, I decided to go along the lines of opening my friends presents first and went to the large gift given to me by Fred and George. As soon as I opened the box, I jumped by the bang it made and was assaulted by a sweet scent.

Looking at the box, there was a boquet of beautiful flowers I had never seen. They were lilies, my favourite flower, but they were much more stunning than any I had ever seen. My favourite lilies had been wild star lilies, the ones that were red and yellow and looked like fire. These lilies had been charmed so that they glowed in different blues and purples, especially the same light sky blue that Hagrid had gotten for Circe's charm.

"Oh, boys!" I gushed, pulling out the flowers and shoving my nose in the bushel to smell the perfume from them. I could see that at the bottom of the box were baked goods from Mrs Weasley, but I was too preoccupied with the flowers.

"Those are gorgeous!" Daphne gasped. "Who are they from?"

"The twins, of course." I blushed, my face going bright red. "I've never gotten flowers before..."

"But you love flowers," Daphne frowned. "Even _I _can tell you that you love flowers. How couldn't you have gotten them?"

"Who would have given me flowers?" I asked with a scoff.

"Clearly Fred...oh that's so sweet! I told you that he liked you!"

"Fred is two years older than me, he wouldn't like a little forth year who constantly gets herself into trouble." I argued, touching the bright petals as if the colour would rub of. I was surprised by how soft they were.

"Audrey, half the time those boys _make _the trouble. You two would be adorable and blood traitor or not, he's better than dating some stupid halfblood like Finnegan." She sneered. I closed my eyes and breathed in the flower to calm my nerves.

"Daphne, _I'm_ a Halfblood."

"All the more reason to purify that line of yours." She said snootily, digging into another one of your presents. I opened my mouth to shoot off something about how my bloodline was basically dead and I _still _had more money than her, but decided that I would see how mad I was after I opened my _pureblood _Godfather's present first.

Sirius' present was small and delicately wrapped up in purple paper, something I knew he did specially for me as he usually wrapped Harry's gifts in gold for Gryffindor. When I tore open the wrapping there was a horrifying moment where I felt like I had travelled two years in the past, finding a small leather bound book in my possession that ended up leading to me being petrified so I could get it back. That diary, however, now had a gaping hole from the Basalisk's fang that had stabbed through it's center and I believe it was in Dobby's possession. Dobby, who had given me fuzzy blue socks just the night before, would not have surrendered this book for Sirius to mend and give to me.

I opened to the first page, hoping for some sort of answer and was pleased to see Sirius' comforting writing decorating the page.

_'Dearest Audrey,_

_The diary in your hands is called a visionary. A diary for both dreams and visions that allows you to record your dreams, or even just the snipits you can remember, and tries to translate them into whatever literal terms it can be made into or so you can keep track of your visions to see when you had them and what happened during them. This particular diary is specifically made for people with the Sight._

_You are a Seer, Red, it's time you learn to open your eyes._

_Happiest Christmas, please be safe._

_Snuffles'_

Biting my lip against the gravity of what this diary not only meant, but could do for my nerves in the future, I tucked it under my pillow. I didn't want any commentary from Daphne about how I shouldn't be accepting gifts from my criminal Godfather and more I didn't want to explain to her why such a little gift could mean so much to me. It was sweet that he knew I was scared and it was even more sweet that unlike most he was actually trying to help me cope with it.

I cooed to Circe for a minute, feeling bad as I moved to go shower and have her glare at me. I gave her a few cat treats and told her to stay where she was until I was out. I took one of the plush towels that I had gotten for easter two years before from Mrs Weasley, who had heard how much I appreciated bubble baths, before goign and taking a searing hot shower that left my entire body flushed as if the water had burnt it. By the time I got out and wrapped myself in a fluffy red towel, I could tell that today was going to be a good day.

One of those feelings, you know?

Hopefully it was one of my Seer intuitions, because having today go well would be wonderful.

"I guess I should have gotten you something to wear to the ball," Daphne said as soon as I entered the dorm room again, bombarding me with how terrible this day was still going to be, good feeling or not.

"Daphne, I was in my zen! You ruined it."

"I'm just explaining the truth of the scenario." She muttered, toying with the wrapping paper left over from all her expensive, unwrapped gifts. "You're going to look poor."

"I'm _not _poor," I said pointedly. "And I don't need dashing robes for people to know it."

Daphne pouted her lip dramatically, looking down at her fiddling hands. She didn't speak to me as I grabbed a pair of muggle jeans, a navy sweater, and a neon orange tank top as well as my underwear and closed the curtains of my bed to change. Normally at this time she would be reprimanding me for my clothing choice, but she was either too angry or too hurt. Personally, I was hoping she was hurt by my comment as I was by her constant, unnecessary ones.

After I had changed, I threw back the curtain with the arm that wasn't holding Circe to find her getting ready for her own shower. I rolled my eyes when she turned her back to me, as if I hadn't seen the snub.

"I'm going down to breakfast with Theodore-"

"Of _course _you are." She muttered bitterly. I rolled my eyes.

"Feel free to join us when you've grown up, will you?"

"With pleasure." She grumbled, grabbing her towel quite violently and being sure to slam the door. The sound reverberated in the little room and I heard Lillian and Tracey stir and groan in their sleep so I made it fast to leave before they thought the sound was from me. Being a halfblood was bad enough in this dorm, being the one to wake them when they can sleep in is punishable by death.

The walk to the boys common room was longer than normal because so many couples had joined in the common room to open presents. I felt like I was weaving through a mind field of terrifying purebloods who, as I have mentioned before, I'm sure had the ability to bite my head off. By the time I got to the dormitory, I knocked on the closed door for safety and announced that I was coming in, only to get grumbles in response.

When I went in, I could see that Crabbe and Goyle's curtains were drawn, but the other three boys were all sitting on their beds opening gifts. None of which with shirts. It took me a moment to comprehend what I was seeing before I dropped Circe to sheild my eyes.

"I'm blind!"

"Come off it Potter, you're a big girl now." Zabini snorted, throwing some of his tissue paper at my head. I intuitively dodged and tried to look again only to find that Malfoy was now facing me, still shirtless and...

"Merlin, Malfoy you're in your boxers! Oh my Godric, by the power of Salazar I _demand _you put on proper attire while in my presence...or get out of my line of sight. The latter is preffered."

"Shocked you've never seen such perfection, Potter?" He laughed - it was a strange sound. Malicious and taunting mixed with some foul kind of joy.

"I actually do think I'm blind." I told, daring to peek again but looking away from him dramatically. "I can't tell if the sight was that traumatic or if it was the light glaring off your skin. You're more pale than I am."

"It's the purity," Blaise mocked, only to get a pillow thrown at him a second later. I walked over to Theodore, who I had seen shirtless plenty a time, and sat on the bed beside him.

"Have a good Christmas morning?" He asked with a smile, I smiled back.

"It will get better once I get food, but I did. Thank you for the book, I've been dying to read it for ages. The day Madame Pince starts getting on students backs for late books is the day pigs fly."

"They probably could, you know." He chuckled quietly. I rolled my eyes.

"The point, like the point with that crazed woman, is that they don't do it anyway."

"Ah. Well, I'm glad you liked the gift. Your reading lamp will be marvellous. Did you know that no one else who is trying to sleep will see it? It just luminates whatever I'm doing."

"I didn't, but it makes me that much more pleased I bought it." I smiled. I heard a grunt from beside me and glared towards Malfoy, who was glaring at me poitnedly.

"I'm not pleased for _your _sake, I'm pleased you won't start hexing him if he annoys you. Git."

"I told Daphne not to get you that hairbrush, that it was rude." He mumbled looking at me. "But it actually seems to be doing a fairly nice job."

"It's staying straight?" I asked in shock, petting my hair only to find that it was laying down flat. I looked at him shocked. "I don't think I like it."

"You haven't even seen it."

"But it's a part of who I am! Like a trademark or an image. Harry has the scar and I have that wild, wind-blown, sex hair that makes me feel so loved." Blaise snorted. "Which part of that was laughable?"

"The entire thing, really." He told, looking to Malfoy who was also smirking to himself though he was hiding it by opening another of his dozens of gifts.

"What all have you gotten?" I asked him, looking over his presents to see more sweets than anything, I was glad I bought him something that he actually liked - Theodore barely enjoyed sugar.

"That reminds me, I have something for you." He exclaimed suddenly, as if it was a shock to his system, before he bent over the length of the bed to grab another gift. It was rectangular and in dark red wrappings. "It's for you."

"Aw, Theo, you already got me that book-" I told, guilt flooding me. He shook his head.

"It's not from me." He handed it to me, I tested the weight which was still fairly light. "I don't know why it was in my pile."

"Who's it from?" I asked cautiously, looking for a tag, all it read was 'AUDREY' in letters too perfect to have been someone's handwriting. It was from no one I recognized, which eliminated half the students in the school and most of the teachers and pen pals, thanks to having to mark papers so often in detention.

"It was just here when I woke up, I had nothing to do with it." He shrugged. "Open it, I'm just as curious as you are."

I looked up to him with furrowed eyebrows and saw that both Malfoy and Blaise were leaning toward me to get a glimpse of what it was as well, clearly they had been eavesdropping on our not-so-quiet conversation. I took a deep breath, mumbling my tangent about anthrax: the silent killer, before I began to tear at the paper.

When I opened it I saw a white cardboard box with gold lettering that read_ 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'_. I looked up and at Theodore with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

"Who did it?"

"I don't know!" He said again. "I swear it wasn't me. It must have come while I was sleeping."

"Did one of you do this?" I looked to Malfoy and Blaise - lack of shirt forgotten - almost in fear of whatever it was that was in this box. Both of them rolled their eyes in a chorused consensus of 'no' before they went back to their own gifts - though they were eyeing the box curiously.

"Just open it. We'll see how bad it is then."

"Alright," I told, taking a deep breath only to smile a bit when Circe came up to me and rubbed her ace against the arm holding the robes. She smelt at them and continued to use me as a scratching post - no poison, then.

Gathering up my courage, I ripped the top of the box off and peeked into the contents, gasping much more loudly than I should have.

Inside was a pair of sparkling, strappy silver heels with what looked like crystal accents. Beside it was crystal jewelry that dangled and was shining, even in the box. Beneath it was a dark, charcoal coloured fabric that was soft against my finger tips and thick.

"Dress robes," I whispered despite myself. I picked one of the shoes out of the box and gasped when I felt it start to shift in my hand. Why was a shoe moving? I looked on the side of the box intuitively and saw the line which read _'self adjusting measurements' _and just to be sure I looked at the bottom of the shoe, which now read one number right where SAM had just been anogramed...it was my shoe size. Whoever had purchased these had thought of it all. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself. "Who would do this?"

"I have no idea...but self adjusting robes? Those are..."

"Expensive." I finished with a gulp. "Why would someone not want their credit for this?"

"Anominity?" Blaise interrupted, wincing when he realized that he had joined a conversation he wasn't originally part of. It didn't phase me in the slightest, I was far too amazed.

"It's beautiful," I cooed, touching the carcole fabric again and letting out a muffled sound when the fabric shimmered to a light silver and back to a midnight black in my hands.

"It won't clash with your hair." Theodore mocked, having remembered that it was one of the reasons I refused to get dress robes for the ball.

"Let's see it then," Malfoy said loudly. I was ripped back from my dazedness to look at all the boys, curiosity dripping from their eyes as tears would were they sad. I looked back to the box in my hands and put the lid back on.

"No way."

"What?" Blaise asked, aghast. "You have to go in them anyway! We'll tell you whether or not they're a prank."

"No. I'll...I'm going to go put them in my dorm and not look upon them until I have a _woman's _opinion." I looked to Theodore and nodded robotically, still unnerved by the unmarked gift. "See you downstairs at breakfast?"

"I have to shower but-"

"See you there." I nodded to myself and flew out of the dorm without another word, Circe hissing at me lightly for leaving without her. I weaved through the couples again and threw the box into my closet. I threw Lillian a quick wave as she was waiting for Tracey to get out of the shower and Daphne was still getting changed, oggling herself in the mirror I'd given her. The dress robes hid themselves under my clothes nicely, not that I was really worried - Madam Malkin's robes were known to have your name stitched into them and had terrible things happen if you stole them.

By the time I was rushing down to breakfast, I couldn't begin to comprehend who would have given me the robes. Tons of people could have logically, I guess, because all it took was an owl to bring them, but who would spend that type of money on me?

No one, is the proper answer. Not even Harry.

No one worth sitting with was at the Slytherin table, which meant that it was the prime place for me to sit. I hated having to be shunned by my best friend or to have to hold an awkward conversation with Theodore when he hated speaking around others in general. This was usually the best time for me to sit and be at peace with my meal, instead, I walked to the opposite side of the room, ignoring the whispers that always started when I sat at the Gryffindor table.

The lot of the Weasley's were up, along with both Harry and Hermione. It was a pleasure to see them all and I was more than happy when I was accepted with open arms by Fred and George.

"Your flowers were stunning." I cooed, kissing George on the cheek. "How did you know I liked them? I've never voiced my opinion on gardening."

"Some of us pay attention," Fred smirked, clearly proud with himself. "On that note, I was paying attention to the kiss you gave my twin - as you _clearly _thought him me - but have not, in fact, given one to the real me."

I furrowed my eyebrows, keeping my face as neutral as possible. "But haven't you heard? George and I are having a passionate love affair and this summer we are going on a cruise to the Bermuda Triangle to consumate our love."

"Obviously." George shrugged nonchallantly, as if he had heard this all months before.

"Betrayed by my own flesh and blood!" Fred said, accepting the good humour. For that manly display, I was sure to kiss him on the cheek too, not as pleased when I saw the goofy smile and tomato colouring on his cheeks.

"Please, stop kissing people! I may lose my vision or vomit." So clearly my brother, Harry groaned looking away as I had in the Slytherin dorms.

"Did Snape really break your nose?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food. "Heard it from Romilda Vane, she was in the hospital wing when you went in."

"Good news tavels fast." I said sarcastically. "Yes, my plan was foiled by our favourite white ferret and now I'm being forced to attend _and _pick up after the dance."

"But you haven't gotten dress robes," Ginny said quickly. "Isn't that necessary?"

"Part of the miracle, I recieved some for Christmas! Any of you know who may have spent that type of money on me?" A chorus of grunts and no's followed my question before Hermione reached out and touched my hand. I winced from the contact and slowly dragged my hand away.

"Audrey, I'm so sorry I didn't think to buy you anything! Your gift was so fantastic and I completely neglected you in my shopping." Hermione said quickly, filled with a guilt that I did not understand. Sometimes these Gryffindors confused me with their intense emotions and a type of compassion that I both did not understand and did not see whilst in the Slytherin dorms.

"Don't worry about it, 'Mione." I said slowly, looking at someone to help me. "You can make it up on my birthday."

"Don't think I won't!" She smiled, pleased with herself and moved to her plate of food again.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't get you anything, mate. Just put whatever Fred and George got you as from me, too." Ron yawned. See, that display I understood much more than the guilt.

"Does that mean I have to give you a kiss on the cheek too?" I asked mockingly.

"Don't even think about it." Harry said quickly, pointing between the two of us threateningly. I gave a quick giggle, pleased with the squabble I began within my first two minutes of sitting at the table before I looked at Hermione and Ginny. I had heard that Ginny was going to the ball with Neville and Hermione was going, though who with I had no clue. Maybe she was alone and would pretend to go with me? There were only two things worse than going to this ball alone it seemed and that was if you went with someone of your own gender, or if you went with a mudblood. Might as well go big or go home.

As I was thinking about the two girl's dates I realized instantly that I had seen this moment. I had seen Hermione in perriwinkle attire and Ginny in tarnished gold. It hadn't made sense when she had seen it - how long ago had she had that vision? The Quidditch World Cup?

"Hermione, Ginny, would you mind if I got ready with you? There's no point in thinking about it, apparently I had a vision about it so I've been going this whole bloody time." I crossed my arms in aggrivation and slid down into my seat more. "My bloody plan wouldn't have worked the whole ruddy time I planned it."

"You are a beam of sunshine this morning," Ginny said sarcastically.

"We'd love to help you prepare. I'd love to see these mystery robes." Hermione cut in quickly. "How long will you need to get ready?"

"Er..." I looked to my brother at a side glance, showing him my discomfort. He just snorted into his pumpkin juice - apparently he liked my pain. "I don't really know. I was hoping I wouldn't need makeup or special hair product or...whatever..."

"Oh no!" Ginny said aghast. "That's not at all how it works!"

"Ginny's right, you're already resigning to dress up, you may as well do it properly." Hermione agreed, before they leaned in and started scheming like Fred, George, and I would when we were in a good mood. I looked at everyone, anyone for help but they all looked pretty damn smug with themselves.

"I would have been better off with Daphne," I groaned to the clouded ceiling. "At least she'd allow me to go looking like a hobo because she's angry."

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><p><strong>To those so fantastic they decided to review...<strong>

_PrincessK16_**: I'm glad you're sensing the chemistry...I can guarantee that you'll get to see it at the ball as well ;) Hope you enjoyed!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Oh yes, I promise tons of mischief from this woman. PROMISE. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I know! I wanted to have her do it, I really, really did, but I couldn't let her blow up the storage - particularly before Harry gets help with the second task. He just wants her at the ball, even if it is somewhat subconscious. I hope you liked this chapter, please tell me what you think will happen next chapter - your reviews are always so great :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Well, I answered that she got robes, but where she got them from will be answered eventually. I still haven't decided if I should let it out next chapter or not. I'll give you a hint and say that McLaggen is not her date - but that's all I will say! I hope that you liked this chapter, thank you for your review...as a side note, I love your screen name. Dustfinger is awesome.**

_Novella Vialli_**: Oh, there will definitely be some Draco/Audrey moments, but I can't tell you what they are...you'll just have to wait for next chapter to find out! **

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thanks for working on these and getting them out so quickly. You're absolutely fantastic, I really don't know how I can thank you enough!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Of course Audrey would find a dress, I couldn't have her looking terrible during one of the very few times she gets to dress up! I'm so glad that you're enjoying what I have to offer for this story, thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: Thank you very much! I'm glad that you are enjoying it thus far. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as well. **

**I hope you all liked the little twist of robes - I promise that the next chapter will be full of twists, turns, romance, and drama! What do you think will happen? Give me your thoughts and please **_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**


	14. The Yule Ball

**Man, in the past nine days I have released six chapters, two of which are both well over 10,000 words...I'm surprised my fingers aren't on fire! ****Thank you to my wonderful editor, **_Angel of the Night Watchers_** for editing this monster of a chapter. I won't really distract from all the drama you're about to read except for announcing this:**

**The following is 10,175 words of angst, fluff, and stubbornness :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Thirteen – The Yule Ball<span>

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><p>"Ow, ruddy, <em>ow<em>!"

"Audrey, please! Would you stop complaining and just – hold – still?" Ginny huffed, battling against me as she went for her target again, a huge pout plastered on her face, as it had been for the past twenty minutes of agony.

"Then stop pulling – _ow, that was on purpose!_ – on my hair!" I yelled out, slapping her hand away from my hair again. Clearly Daphne's Christmas brush to flatten my hair was not a twenty-four hour charm. It seemed more like a six hour one, to be honest. It was enough to surge through my classes but not enough to do anything that a good messy bun wouldn't accomplish near the beginning of the morning.

"That's because I'm styling it – 'Mione, will you immobilize her?"

"I didn't bring my wand," Hermione actually sounded disappointed in her choice. I gave her a glare for her blasphemy which caused her to laugh mockingly before Ginny pinned down one of my hands – under her _knee, _for pities sake – and finished poking my head with bobby pins.

"Perfect!" she cheered, jumping up as she circled me, admiring her work. I massaged the hand she'd had pinned under her knee, but I stopped when her eyes narrowed and focused on something above my eye level. She bit her lip before pulling out her wand and pointed it to my head – I held my hands up.

"Don't do anything stupid, Ginger."

"I'm keeping it still, Red." She muttered, very concentrated on my up-do. "_Immobulus_."

"Isn't that just to stop moving, living things?"

"Usually, but your hair is demonic and has a life of its own." She grumbled, frowning at her work as she pocketed her wand into her creamy dress robes. "That should about do it."

"That was far too much effort, my friend." I sighed, standing up touching the hair only to have her make a sound of warning. I lowered my hands – I didn't trust this woman, she could hex better than a sixth year. Hermione laughed at us while smoothing out her periwinkle blue robes, the two Gryffindors had already been ready when I had come down. They'd immediately panicked when I had come with only half an hour to spare before the ball with absolutely nothing done. I had planned it this way so that it would be better. Now they didn't have time to do anything too drastic, even though Hermione had been happy to slather me in lip gloss, eye shadow, _and _mascara while Ginny had tugged and slaughtered my scalp. I guess now the last torture was getting into my robes.

Hermione had been cautious enough to try out some protection charms to see if it had been cursed and only after half a dozen incantations when she saw that they were _completely_safe, had she ogled them. She'd then handed them to Ginny who had spun around and danced much liked Daphne had the night before. There were some habits to girl fashion I'd never understand. As she was dancing with them, I was examining my makeup and fiddling with my hair, which did not budge an inch. A smoky eye had been done as well as some clear lip gloss with thick mascara that made my eyelashes look disturbing long, even if they did look too dark. Redheads like me with such light eyelashes should not have put on black mascara, even if it went with an outfit. It looked awkward.

My hair, which had taken a ridiculously long time and had put me through a ridiculous amount of pain, was pinned up in a messy mix of braids and twists that actually looked quite good; Ginny could have been a professional. Who would have thought that while growing up with boys she would have time to learn how to be so feminine?

"Time to put on your robes, we're going to be late." Hermione rushed, shooing me like a dog as she snatched my dress robes from Ginny and passed them to me. "Into the stall and be quick about it."

"She's just excited to meet her date," Ginny snickered. "Don't take it personally."

"Neville has been practicing his dancing all week, I'm sure you'll have a fun time." Hermione said defensively. I tried not to show them how much I wanted to scoff and frown at the same time by dashing into the stall to change.

Now that I knew that I had to go to this blasted event, I wouldn't deny I was nervous to be going without a date. I wouldn't be surprised were someone to tell me I was the only one attending without someone on their arm and now I felt thick for thinking I could escape ever escape this.

At least it would get me out of the champions' dance.

As I slipped the robes over my shoulders I felt them start to shrink against my body, fitting as they should be thanks to the self adjusting measurements. It was a strange feeling, the fabric sliding against my skin this way, but I was pleased with the end result. They weren't as I had imagined they would look, they were floor-length and quite slim fitting, showing off what on other girls would have been curves and on me was the difference between bone, and the skin covering it. It flared out a bit at the bottom so that I could walk more easily, and it had a loose fitting, layered scooped neck with some nearly-off-the-shoulder straps. These robes were quite beautiful. It was sad that they were to be shown off on me. These were supposed to be on someone who could fill them out and at least appreciate them. All I wanted to do was get out of them so I wouldn't disgrace them.

I slipped on my shoes and groaned as soon as I stood straight. The shoes were great...I just wouldn't be able to walk in them. I'd never worn heels in my life, I guess I should have practiced at some point today. Hindsight is always 20/20.

"I'm coming out now," I called, closing my eyes and opening the stall door.

Ginny clapped in excitement when I walked out, Hermione even beamed as she looked at me and let out a giggle when I stumbled in my shoes. Oh Merlin, I would end up breaking my ankle. I did a small spin, letting them see the full effect before wincing at how quiet the bathroom was.

"Well? What's the damage?"

"I have to say, I had my doubts." Ginny laughed. "But you will be burning up that dance floor."

"Who said I would be on the dance floor?" I blanched just at the thought.

"You have to be, Audrey. There is a dance specifically for the champions so you, Harry, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur all have to dance in front of all three schools!" Hermione said, a little flushed.

"Maybe she could dance with Cedric, wouldn't that be a dream come true?" Ginny gushed a bit, nudging me in the ribs. I couldn't help but smile at the thought, I may have even blushed. That _would _be a dream come true.

"I'm going solo tonight, ladies," I shook my head. "Just so I can refuse any bloke who thinks he has a chance – even if he's as pretty as Diggory."

The three of us laughed, loving the imagery that popped into our heads before we all went on our merry way down to the Great Hall. We were going to be late, I could tell, but I was glad for it. Hermione tried to usher us forward faster, but as we were going we ran into Neville – who was Ginny's date, they looked adorable – and Seamus with his date Lavender. Lavender made a very big show of how they were going together, which made me roll my eyes.

_I _had broken things off with _him_. What part of that didn't these people understand?

Hermione rushed away, I was excited to see which strapping lad she had decided to go with who could get her so excited for a dance. I'd have to pay him or something, his ability to get the worm out of her books for the night was miraculous.

I won't deny that it was embarrassing as I walked into the hall, completely alone. I made sure to raise my chin so I could try and look somewhat confident even though all I could do was scan the room for a place to sit and stay immobile for the rest of the night – but I was distracted by the room in front of me.

For the three years before now I was used to the warmth of Christmas celebration in the Great Hall. I loved the twelve Christmas trees, each decorated in different colours and themes; I loved that the armour would sing carols when people started entering and the dry snow that floated from the ceiling, which was always enchanted to look unseasonably clear.

This year, for reasons of the Yule Ball, the twelve Christmas trees were covered in thick layers of frost and snow so that they looked pale and frost-bitten. The walls looked like ice had crawled up them and settled into silver frost. From the ceiling, which was still enchanted to be clear let dry snow fall, there also hung long garlands of mistletoe and ivy, all frosted white. It was breathtaking.

"Run," I heard a voice whisper from behind. I turned to see my brother, looking quite handsome in well-fit bottle green robes, I didn't quite understand what he meant before I realized that he was moving past me to make his own escape. "Oh no-"

"Potter! Good, now that both you and your brother are here the dance can begin!" McGonagall looked as if she was very relieved to be able to tell the two of us this but I just shook my head. Parvati looked nice in her shockingly pink robes beside him, but even she looked just as nervous at the idea of dancing in front of all these people with _the _Harry Potter.

"Sorry Professor, no-can-do." I announced, holding my hands up defensively. "I've no one to dance with, so I guess I'll have to sit this out."

"Impossible, Potter." She said immediately. "This dance is specifically for the champions, so you'll have to find yourself a date and dance with him in the next two minutes."

She began walking further into the hall and I followed her with a glare. "Professor, everyone else has a partner. There's no way I'll find anyone willing to dance with me, so please just let me out of this one. I went to such extremes so I wouldn't have to be here – now I'm here. I'm not even a real champion!"

"Your name came out of the Goblet, you are a champion." McGonagall folded her lips into a firm line, turning around and holding a hand up to hush me. She likely kept her eyes closed so that she wouldn't have to see me try to argue. "Now find a partner before I am forced to do it for you."

"I'm not going to find anyone here who decided to come without a date – it's social suicide!"

"And yet you've still found time to complain," she growled. "The dance is beginning in moments, Potter. If you are not on the dance floor with a partner in the next thirty seconds I will deduct thirty points from Slytherin."

"_Thirty_!" I gasped, knowing that were I in Gryffindor, this never would have been threatened.

"Make it fifty."

"Professor, that's ridiculous you can't-" but she was already ignoring me and walking into the crowd of excited teenagers, all ready to dance and do whatever it is that one is supposed to do at a ball.

I looked around at all the happy couples and wanted scream when I realized the problem. Couples. They were all _couples. _I would not doubt for a moment that I was the only one who had waited too long and now had no one to call my date. I would lose my house _fifty _points if I didn't find a date in the next few seconds and what's worse, I had to actually dance with them – something that I knew I would not be able to pull off. I was not graceful and I was not a good enough actor to pretend to be enjoying myself.

I caught sight of Snape, dressed in his trademark billowing black robes – but these ones seemed to be made of a slightly nicer material. I gave him a look of pure dread – a look that warned of how I now planned to do myself in thanks to the situation he'd gotten me into. There was a moment he almost looked bad about what he'd done, but it didn't last long before he smirked at me, reveling in my punishment.

Wonderful.

"Come now, Potter. Give us a dance." I felt a hand on my shoulder and recoiled immediately, when would people learn not to touch me? Whipping around I looked into the brown eyes of a very smug Montague, whose perfectly manicured hand was held out to me. I raised my eyebrows at his gall.

"You're joking, aren't you?"

But I could already hear the verses being played by classical music floating from the small stage where the head table was usually placed. I opened my mouth to protest right around the time the slimy git grabbed the hand that felt ready to slap him and put his arm on my waist.

I'll give Montague one thing, the arse knew what he was doing – which was, in its own way, a godsend. He spun me around in ways that I did not remember learning in the 'mandatory' dance class that I had skipped when we were five minutes into and honestly, I was surprised my feet could move so quickly. It could have been because of the slime I felt like I was covered in just because Montague had a tight grip on my waist, I almost felt his hand dare to graze a little lower. I'd need to remember to get him back for that later.

The dance was not romantic by any means, and I won't deny, I was kind of hoping my first dance at a ball would be. It was most likely because it was with Montague, who only liked me because of my last name and who it was attached to. I'm pretty sure where it deemed appropriate in pureblood society, Adam Montague would actually be attracted to my twin brother.

As the dance came to a close I found myself glaring straight at Adam, as if he hadn't just saved my arse, and curtsying like I saw all the other ladies doing. I nearly tripped when my ankle gave out from my high heels, but I made it work at the last moment.

Montague moved me toward him, his slimy hand still on the small of my back. He dared to send me a smug smile. "You weren't half bad."

"You were," I bit back, I couldn't bring myself to be kind and tell him I may or may not be glad he'd danced with me but now he should leave and go back to his date. I couldn't say it simply because with all that said, disturbingly I _was_glad that he was around me – even though I would forever argue that was a complete and utter lie.

"Oh, you could be a little more thankful. I didn't want to lose fifty points, did you?"

"I think I just lost fifty _years_, being so close to you." I sneered, rubbing my arms as if I could wash the experience off of me. The comment took him back a step, but he shot back as determined as ever.

"Well, don't I get a little 'thank you'?" He asked with a smirk. I raised an eyebrow.

"I curtsied. That's as much thank you as the Queen would get."

"Well," he drew the word out while he took hold of my shoulders, ignoring my wince, and dragged me a little to the side. He looked right up above us and smiled a moment before looking back down at me with a smile that didn't look quite so innocent. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What?"

He only responded by looking back up, so I followed his lead as _apparently _the answer was written on the ceili-_oh my Merlin_, he was looking at Mistletoe. Mistletoe that was right above us! I gaped, looking back at him and turning beet red.

"What are you playing at?"

"I'm not playing at anything," he smiled, inching a little closer to me. I backed away slightly, arching my back but refusing to move my feet – somehow he took my defiance as a sign of weakness.

"Shove off, Montague." I warned with a sneer.

"Audrey, Audrey, Audrey," he tutted, while leaning a little closer to me. "You should really call me Adam."

He was much closer to me now. I could smell whatever shampoo he had used that morning, I could also smell his cologne, which he had too much of. It burnt my nose. But even though the smell of him was choking me and even though this was _Montague _we were talking about, I couldn't help but feel a little giddy.

Was he about to kiss me?

I'd never really thought about my first kiss. I'd missed the boat with Seamus, which I was now thankful over because who knew what diseases Edgecomb may have contracted. To be honest, I'd kind of just assumed that my first kiss would be with Fred, just because we always flirted like that. But now seemed just as good as any opportunity I would probably ever get, even if it _was _with scum. I mean, he must know how to romance a girl because he had no other admirable personality traits. He was slightly attractive, and this was every girls dream.

Who didn't want to be Cinderella, dressed in some beautiful borrowed costume at a beautiful ball with a man who wanted only to kiss her? Pathetically enough, I know I did.

Montague leaned closer, I could only smell his breath and cologne now and it was starting to make me choke a bit. He had closed his eyes by now, sensing that I was giving in, and squeezed my shoulders encouragingly. That was when I froze and blinked the rose-tinted world out wildly.

_Bloody Hell_, there's something wrong with me!

"Er...Montague?" I said suddenly, making Montague stop moving closer but not open his eyes. His voice was lower than normal and his hands suddenly felt hot and sweaty against my skin – gross. I shook my head, shrinking away from him with a sneer as I blinked obliviously again.

"Adam," he corrected.

"_Adam_-"

"Yes?" he answered with a sly smile.

"What are you doing?"

"Seducing you."

"Well you're doing it _wrong_." I informed him before I fully pulled myself out of his grip and slapped his hand when it reached out for me again.

This may be the fairytale background, but this set of bollocks was _not_my prince charming.

"Thank you for the dance, now get out of my way before I dance with your kidneys."

I saw Montague become mad right before my eyes. It wasn't the 'Potter just insulted me in the corridor' mad, this was a 'Potter just humiliated me in front of three schools at a public event' mad – which somehow seemed much more dangerous.

"I'm sorry, do you only like your men in _pairs_?" He hissed, shooting a look over my shoulder where I could only imagine at least one of the twins were dancing with their partners. I clenched my jaw, doing my best not to punch him right then and there. I looked over to see that Professor Snape was watching me wearily, as if he knew I was about to hurt the little prick. To confirm my unspoken thought, the professor gave a minute shake of his head.

What Snape says goes – for now.

"No, I like my men as _men._Tell me when you finally learn to grow up, you pretentious pig." I gritted out, it was the most polite thing I could think to fire back. I was actually quite proud of myself. Then, with a twist of my robes that I must have subconsciously picked up from Snape, I trotted away from him with a confidence I'm not sure I actually had.

Going over to the refreshment table I grabbed a bottle of butterbeer, ignoring the frosted glasses that were offered, and turned it up to the ceiling as I downed one all at once. How I wish I could get drunk off of this beverage, but sadly there was so little alcohol that only house-elves could.

Perhaps I could convince the house-elves to get me something stronger? They did see quite a bit of me last year and even though I had never had hard liquor, I was sure that tonight was one of the best nights to attempt it.

Just as I was grabbing my second bottle of butterbeer, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, I can honestly say that the breath was knocked out of me by the sight of Cedric Diggory – dashing in his dark sapphire robes. I blushed as I tried to put the large bottle of butterbeer behind me.

"Hey-o, Cedric!" ugh, why was I always so giddy around this beautiful man?

"Hello Potter, you look ravishing. I'd heard you wouldn't be coming tonight." I almost found the nerve to blush against my better instincts again, but instead I let out a light laugh, my eyes darting nervously for some sort of support system so I wouldn't make a fool of myself in these blasted shoes.

"Didn't you hear? My plan to blow up Snape's storage cupboard was foiled by a particularly foul white ferret – I'm afraid you're stuck with me for the night." _Idiot!_I chastised myself silently. Clearly he wasn't stuck with me at all, he had come with Cho I'm-so-wonderful Chang and I was alone like a right moron.

"He's always getting in the way, isn't he?" he asked with a chuckle. "It was a good try."

"It was, Madam Pomfery was even impressed by my explosive potion. It ripped a hole right in my eardrum." I bit my lip for a moment as I realized that I was rambling and he probably thought I was making a fool of myself. I had to focus. Focus and speak like the normal, witty, down to earth girl that I knew I was. "Where's your date?"

Well that backfired.

"Oh, she just went to the loo. I think Mandy Brocklehurst caught Ernie MacMillan kissing Susan Bones, Mandy and Ernie came together, of course."

"Ah," I responded, switching the weight to my other ankle even though it too felt like it would soon crack in these damn shoes. "Well, if she leaves you for too long you can come find me. I'll be floating around, showing those who are – or will be – single after tonight how not to brood."

"Fantastic," he laughed. "Perhaps I'll even ask you to dance."

"I doubt Cho would like that," which was even _more _reason to want to do it, but I was trying to save face with the Adonis and I didn't want to seem quite as bitchy as I regularly was. I tried to have the grace to look bashful, but he only laughed again.

"One dance couldn't hurt," his eyes sparkled as he gazed at me mischievously. "Unless you're Adam Montague, of course. I was sure that you were going to give the bloke a black eye."

"You saw that?" I gasped. He'd seen me at one of my worst moments of the night – which was even more embarrassing than most other nights because I was currently dressed like a performing animal. I raised the butterbeer that had been hidden behind my face up to my lips, I mean, what was the point of pretending that I was sweet now?

"I thought it was good of you. He deserved a good talking to, thinking he could move in on you like that." He assured me, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow. Call me a little too observant, but that almost sounded like he was flirting...

"Oh did he?"

He let a grin stretch over his face, though he refused to dazzle me with a full smile, which was probably good. At least I could think more comfortably this way – pretty men should know better to disarm women with their smiles like he can.

"He certainly did. Well, I was originally sent on a mission for refreshments, so I'd better get on. I'll see you in a few songs for that dance, yeah?" I smiled widely at him – even more widely, somehow, when he returned it – before I nodded.

"That would be lovely. I hope you don't mind that I'm a poor dancer."

"It will just keep it interesting," he smiled. "And keep me on my toes. Or, perhaps more appropriately, you'd be on mine." I bit back a comment of other – more rude – responses to what else I would like to be on in accordance to him before I waved him goodbye and he left to find the table I'd just vacated.

I shivered in happiness once he'd disappeared from sight. I was going to get to dance with Cedric Diggory after all! I'd have to tell Ginny, she'd be beside herself when she heard. I took another congratulatory swig from my bottle of butterbeer as I started waltzing my way through the crowd again. I was now in a much better mood and something told me that I should start working on my dancing footwork now.

As I was trying to simulate some sort of spin – that was entirely wrong – I spun straight into the path of my twin brother. We looked at each other and shook our heads.

"What a night!" we chorused at the same time, making Ron groan from beside us. He should have been used to synced speech by now from either us or his own twin brothers, but I was glad it always bothered him. It immediately lightened the mood to any situation.

"I was looking for you," Harry said meaningfully, leaning towards me as if to whisper. I frowned at him, but my curiosity wouldn't let me walk away like I knew I should. I was much too curious to have a brother who got into trouble so often, but to counter that I was in much too good a mood to be bothered by the drama he'd found tonight. Still, I only moved closer to his hushed tones.

"What have I missed then, not-so-big brother?"

Harry frowned at my little insult, but shook his head to be okay with it. "Do you know what the Dark Mark is?"

"I'm not stupid," I scoffed to him. "It was cast at the World Cup, it's the Dark Lord's and it means someone died – I'm a Slytherin, Har-"

"Don't call him the 'Dark Lord'," Ron snapped at me. Someone sure was chipper. "That's only what his _followers _call him."

"Please bear in mind that I happen to room with the children of those followers, Ron. But yes, I understand and I'm oh so sorry for the habit." I rolled my eyes.

"_Voldemort_," Harry said pointedly, ignoring when Ron winced. "Didn't only get his Death Eaters to cast that in the sky, he also used it to make people aware of who his Death Eaters were."

"I'm not following."

"He had it branded on their arm." Ron explained, slapping his left forearm that was covered by frilled robes. They were quite dreadful, to be frank, but I didn't want to upset Harry by insulting them. Besides, Theodore taught me that if I can't say anything nice, I shouldn't say anything at all...hm. Perhaps I should become a mute?

"Alright. Dark mark on their arm means Death Eater. And this information is relevant, how?"

Harry and Ron both leaned a little bit closer to me, even though Ron seemed to barely pay attention. I was fine with this as I was still a bit sore over how he had treated my brother and me after we'd been entered in the tournament. Also, I knew that Harry was probably better for the information than he was.

"Well, earlier on we accidentally walked in on a pretty private conversation between two of the adults – both of them were sporting that mark." My mouth dropped.

"Who?"

"Karkaroff and-" Ron began, but Harry sent him a look that stopped him from speaking. I looked between the two suspiciously.

"Karkaroff and...?" Harry let out a deep breath, looking at me seriously.

"Snape," I furrowed my eyebrows. That sentence did not make sense. "Karkaroff and Snape."

"I don't believe that for a moment." I said immediately, backing up from our slumped circle to sit up straight. No. Just because Harry had this ridiculous age-old vendetta against Snape did not make him the bad guy. Snape had proven time and time again that he was just an arse, not that he was someone who would ever do anything with the power of arseness that he possessed. In fact, was it not in first year he saved _Harry's _arse? In second year he, professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey were the ones to unpetrify Hermione and I and in _third _year he came to the rescue when he thought Sirius was out to murder us! Snape was closer to a guardian angel than a villain, even if it was a twisted picture of it.

"I thought you were over this pettiness," I hissed, my anger flaring as I stood up to leave. I didn't want to be involved as he spread more rumours about my favourite professor, like he had in first year, but as I went to walk away he grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. I almost hissed at him.

"Audrey, he has the Dark Mark. He's not one of the good guys. He's not one of us." He said pointedly. My eyes narrowed at him and I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Harry, how do you _really _know you're one of the good guys?"

Harry floundered for a second, not really sure what to say, and in that moment I decided to leave and ran to get a third bottle of butterbeer. I wished at that moment I were a house elf so that I could get drunk off of the drink, but settled with downing it angrily and taking another when I'd finished the first. Harry had completely ruined the happiness that Cedric's dance offer had given me, now I needed to find a distraction until I could be waltzed around on the dance floor with the seventh year.

"I think we're in the danger zone," the voice of a Weasley twin rang from behind me. "She looks about ready to blow her top."

"I wish she _would _blow her top – it's very nice fabric. I'd like to keep it." Lee Jordan laughed from behind me as well. I rolled my eyes at their antics – these boys were so predictable.

"How are you, boys?" I turned around to face them, ready to take another large swig from my bottle but I saw something very wrong with the picture in front of me. Lee was wearing powder blue dress robes that reminded me of horrid 80s prom pictures while George was wearing oddly stylish burnt auburn robes...but...where was Fred?

"Er – aren't you two normally in a trio?"

"Normally the four of us are in a quartet, actually." George sighed, casting his eyes over to the side. "But _some _people are a little too stubborn tonight."

Following his gaze I spotted Fred and Angelina Johnson dancing together and laughing as if he had told that one joke about the boggart and the blast ended skrewt. They looked...happy, though I should have expected that because only Harry, Ron, and I seemed to be unhappy. But other than happy they looked...good together. I'd never really expected that, to be honest. I'd never really thought about how Fred would look with a girl on his arm, to be honest it looked awkward because it just didn't look _right_, but it looked good anyway.

Then why did I not feel good for him?

"Alright there, Potter?" Lee asked loudly, pulling on a dangling piece of hair. I looked over to him and away from the happy couple – it was a nice distraction.

"Not at all, this ball was a lousy idea." I muttered lowly, turning around without another word to grab yet another butterbeer. I was sure that I was going to be drinking like a fish tonight in a lame attempt to try and get a buzz to avoid my sorrows, and though I had never tried Firewhiskey – much to the twins' dismay – I suddenly had an urge for its burn.

"Fred's just being an arse, he was upset you weren't coming-" George said quickly, he was always fast to catch onto whatever was wrong.

"No, no, no, George. Fred isn't upset, he looks content...in fact, he looks _more _than content." I corrected, sending a glare to Angelina in her shiny bronze robes. I don't know what upset me most about the situation: that Fred had asked Angelina out because I had told him she would say yes, or that he seemed to be ignoring me for the date I had set him up with.

"Drea," George whined noisily. He seemed to get ready to say something else but I heard them whispering from behind me and saw Hermione standing beside me. She really did look radiant in her periwinkle robes, her hair was almost tamed and her smile lit up her face more than any of the makeup she had on could manage to do.

"Audrey," she said, trying to be serious even though she was genuinely having a good time. Git.

"Hermione," I greeted lowly.

"So..." she said slowly, trying to create some sort of conversation. "Montague."

Please don't make me vomit. "So, Krum?"

I saw Hermione's face redden. "He's actually quite the gentleman. Very shy and burly, but he's actually very sweet."

"He's also a good dancer," I noted, seeing as he and she had been dancing the entire time I had been sitting with my brother and the moper.

"I never expected that, to be honest, but I am having a wonderful time. Why are you so sullen?"

That's a very good question. Was this jealousy? Normally it was really easy for me to identify jealousy. It was that warm, acidic feeling I often got in my stomach and it ate away at me until my jaw would tighten and my fists would clench. This felt like something else...it was a possessiveness, that was for certain; but I couldn't tell where it was coming from – it didn't taste as bitter as regular jealousy...

"Is it Fred?" She asked further. I took a deep breath, frowning at my butterbeer before setting it, half full, back on the table. I wiped my mouth, sneering a bit at the stickiness of my lip gloss.

"How could it be? My irritation is standing in these shoes and Fred Weasley is all the way over _there,_" I pointed viciously to where I had seen him dancing before. I couldn't bring myself to look and see if he was still there in case I thought of any more violent thoughts for Johnson. "By the way, best stop dancing in eyesight of Ron. He may lose his vision if he keeps trying to see every infinitesimal movement Krum makes on you."

"Wha-" she stuttered, blinking in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"Ron," I clarified glad that the subject had switched Weasley brothers. "He's jealous."

"Jealous?" She guffawed. "He didn't even have the intelligence to ask me as a friend – he barely sees me as a girl, how could he be jealous of something he doesn't see?"

"Well Hermione, if he didn't see you then-" I picked at her robes and she pulled away from me nervously, it made me smirk. "He certainly does now. Have a good night, Granger."

I'm sure that I left her with a lot to think about and I couldn't help being smug, perhaps I would be the starting point to a relationship between those two stubborn Gryffindorks. And maybe, if we were lucky, it would make them able to go a whole day without arguing.

As I walked out of the Great Hall I felt as if something were trying to slip me in my giant heels. Looking down and ready to kick whatever it was in my way, I noticed that Circe was looking up at me expectantly. She gave a small mew, I immediately picked her up to coo her. I had not seen her all day and I didn't want her to think I was neglecting her. She seemed happy in my arms, she also calmed me from my horrid experience with Montague and frustration from my brother and this stupid dance – or at least until Cedric would dance with me – so I decided to waste the time between my dances to take a walk in the yards with her.

The courtyard was cold, I knew I couldn't be out here long considering that these robes were short sleeved and I didn't want frostbite from an event I didn't even want to attend. While I was bending awkwardly to put Circe back down on the ground, she went to run after a large beetle. I felt the urge to stop her considering usually let her only go after rats, but I stopped myself. After last year, I never minded her getting rats – just in case it _was _Pettigrew. Quite suddenly I heard something loud bang around one of the pillars of the castle. I jumped a little, reaching for the wand that was tucked away in my robe pocket – I held it up toward where I heard the commotion.

Now, the question was would I be stupid and walk toward it blindly, or call it out from its hiding spot? I thought of it a moment. This _was _a castle with great security – then again, that security hadn't saved me from this damn tournament. No need to be brave, I guess.

"Who's there?" I shouted, keeping my wand trained where the noise had come from. "What are you doing?"

From behind the pillar a dark shape slithered and it took me a moment to look from the dark, obscuring robes before I realized the pale, pointed features were that of my favourite professor. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him, letting out a sigh and tucking my wand away.

"What were you doing, my wand could have misfired at you!" He was the only one who knew how true that statement was. He did not, however, chuckle or show any emotion other than the frown that had already been plastered on his face. "Professor?"

"It's a cold night, Potter. Why are you outside?" His voice was low and I could tell he was frustrated, but luckily not with me. I leaned over to the side and took several steps to see shreds of bushes and a few broken cement blocks of the castle path. I looked back at him dumbfounded.

"Professor...are you...blowing up the rose bushes?"

"This is nothing that should leave this conversation, Miss Potter." Snape responded thickly. I took that as a yes and looked at him sadly.

"So, you're as frustrated as I am, then?"

"I am beyond frustrated. Why aren't you inside enjoying the ball?"

"With what date?" I scoffed. "I'm not really the talk of the school at the moment, you know. More people are scared of me rather than like me now and I'm not one to sit around when everyone is rubbing their good times in my face."

"Your stunt with the dragon _was _intimidating," he said quietly. "Do you know yet how you managed it?"

I had been asked this question multiple times by students but no teacher had yet to ask me. I was kind of glad that he was the first instead of Dumbledore, because Snape wouldn't look at me like he understood something that I didn't. I shrugged.

"I told it that the egg didn't belong with her eggs. That it could hurt them. I said give it to me – then she did. I didn't really do anything special."

"You don't think that is special?" He asked doubtfully. "You coerced a _dragon._"

"I know it's a big deal," I said quickly. "But I didn't actually _do _anything. It just sort of happened."

He nodded lowly. "I think you've just convinced whomever put your name in that goblet that you are a force to be reckoned with."

I sighed. "Which is precisely what we didn't want."

"Precisely," he agreed lowly. I took a step towards him, I could tell that something else was bothering him but it was not my business to ask what it was. I wanted to question him, but I knew that he would just be a gnarly jerk as he usually was – but I had to know if he was okay.

"Professor," I began slowly. "Are you alright?"

He took a moment to look at me, or maybe he was looking _through _me, seeing something that I somehow knew I would never be able to. He turned his eyes down and picked himself up, somehow standing much taller, it was clear that he had just closed himself off to me.

"Fine. You should be inside enjoying the ball before you freeze. The ball _is _dedicated for the champions." He said pointedly. I took a deep breath.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to be nice for once." I muttered, he looked at me sharply.

"_Pardon me_?" It didn't seem as angry as it did surprised and I shrugged as I started walking in the opposite direction.

"I know, I know, I'll see you at the beginning of my detention tonight after I'm here the whole time in these painful shoes and these glamorous not-at-all my – wait," I turned around looking at him for a moment. I could almost guarantee that I was looking at him as deeply as he had at me before I frowned. "You did it, didn't you?"

"Did what?"

"The robes," I turned my eyes away from him when he did the same, not needing an answer. I shouldn't be surprised, who else actually gave a shite about me besides him? Dumbledore was only concerned for Harry and my brother was too concerned about finding something bad about _Snape _to think about me. "Thank you, you didn't have to."

"Whoever _did _give you those robes knew you didn't have to be in the tournament."

"I had to make you proud somehow," I sighed dramatically. He furrowed his eyebrows, as if he weren't sure what I meant by it or whether I was serious. To be honest, I couldn't even tell whether I was serious. I avoided his eyes by bending down and picking up my kneazle, who had come back from chasing the bug she'd seen. It looked like she hadn't caught it either...too bad for her. "Come on sweetheart, let's go inside. Maybe there will be more boys and you can save me from them."

As I walked back into the castle I was surprised by the warm air hitting me – the outdoors were much colder than I had realized it was and the warmth on my skin caused me to break out in goose bumps. I let out a slight shiver before feeling Circe move, I adjusted her, whispering my apologies for shivering and making her uncomfortable before she shifted again. Looking down and paying attention, Circe was more than restless...Circe was on the hunt. Was it the beetle again?

I put her down softly but she did not give me a second glance before dashing up the staircase and out of sight. I sighed, hoping that she would find her own way into my dormitory that night and wondering how on earth the beetle could have gotten away that quickly.

"Leave me alone when I need you," I grumbled towards the corner she'd disappeared behind. I turned around with a sigh, ready to go back into the great hall but I was abruptly stopped by a black velveted chest right inside the doorway. The air around him made me not even need to look up, I knew precisely who gave off those vibes. "Ah, my night has just become _more _wonderful!"

"As I expected it to," Malfoy smirked, looking down his high velvet collar at me.

"I see you've gone back to the hair gel. I'm telling you, the Jerry-curl could be a real fashion statement with your complexion. You'd be the first, I could guarantee that."

"And for once you actually try to take some pride in yourself. You may even hit the decency scale, Potter. I won't deny I'm almost impressed." I blinked and smirked myself. That was most certainly a compliment in the mind of Malfoy, and I planned to forever remember it so I could hold it against him when appropriate.

"Fine, if we're being civil," I started slowly, with narrowed eyes. "You don't look all..._that _bad. Though I can't deny, your hair was prettier when it was more in your face."

Then, for the most remarkable moment, it looked like he was fighting back a laugh. He didn't smile – he was _far_too high and mighty for such frivolity – but his mouth just closed tight and he tried to hide the shake of his shoulders as his eyebrow raised. He gained his composure quickly.

"I'm sorry to have disappointed you then," he said cockily. "I'll be sure to ask you next time I decide to do my hair differently – just to be sure you approve."

"Make sure you do," I said with a smirk. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Where's your date and her oh-so-beautiful robes? They aren't the unicorn hair-silk that I heard rumour of."

Surprisingly he sneered, distorting the attractive plains that his face had taken just moments before. "Yes, that's what I'd heard too. Had I known she would choose frilled, _salmon_robes I may have accepted someone else's invitation."

"Salmon? Malfoy, those are pink," I laughed before I shook my head and registered the rest of what he had said. "Wait, _you_didn't ask _her_?"

"Of course not," he scoffed. "Why would I ask her? She was _supposed _to look nicer than the other candidates, however, I clearly was mistaken."

"Ouch," I winced. I didn't even like Parkinson, but I could only imagine the pain it would cause had she heard that. "You really are as shallow as a puddle."

"Apparently I am," he smirked again. "Or else I wouldn't be standing here talking with you."

"Mm," I hummed, sighing deeply. "Was that another compliment? I'm beginning to think you're about to ask me for something – there's too much flattery in the undertone of this conversation."

"In fact, I do have something to ask of you." He raised an eyebrow, but it wasn't quizzical, it was cocky. I rolled my eyes – I knew I should have expected this.

"Of course you do."

"Mm," he hummed as I had before taking a step closer. I leaned back a bit, disturbed by the close proximity. This had only happened once or twice in my four years here and every time someone had gotten hurt. "Dance with me."

I actually took a breath in, looking at him for a long moment. "That wasn't a question."

"Stop looking like a bint and do it," he rolled his eyes. I shook my head, blinking again and taking a step back as he moved forward.

"I'm-I'm waiting for the catch."

"The catch is you actually have to touch me, which means getting close to me." He smirked, extending his hand towards me to take while he raised a mocking eyebrow. "I'll even let you touch the pretty hair if you're _really_nice."

"We hate each other," I stated slowly, turning my head and looking to see if anyone was watching. And a few were, a few from our year who could appreciate the immortal rivalry between the Potter twins and the Malfoy family. It was reputation, it was common knowledge – and Malfoy was all about reputation, so there was something very suspicious about all this. "Why are you doing this? Are you about to pull a _Carrie _on me? Are you connected enough to get your hands on a bucket of pig blood?"

"I want to dance with you, I know it's surprising but are you honestly that stupid to not understand what it means?" He asked with a sneer. I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if he knew exactly how much of a challenge that sounded. I squared my jaw and narrowed my eyes at once – looking for any sign of too _much _joy in case I was about to be put through some horrific and embarrassing prank.

Instead, when I only saw smugness, I placed my hand in his. It was a strange feeling, his hands were cold, even cooler than mine which was crazy because I had just come in from outside. As soon as I had taken his hand, the smirk on his face stretched into a taunting smile and he put his other hand on the small of my back – tugging me harshly towards him until I actually rammed up against him.

"Watch it," I warned. "I can't wait to take you down a peg and step on your feet."

"You say that as if I'll let you. _Some_of us know how to dance, Potter."

"Too bad those people didn't ask me," I sighed dramatically, only to let out a squeak as he began to spin us. His feet did seem to know what they were doing and it seemed almost knowingly he would stick the toe of his shoe under my own shoe so that he could kick my foot when it was time to move. "You've done this before?"

"Danced with people who can't dance? Yes. Not usually someone quite so terrible at it as you, of course..." He acknowledged looking down on me with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not _that _bad," I was lying through my teeth but for some reason he didn't call me on it. Instead he spun me the other way, earning another nervous gasp.

I couldn't help looking over my shoulder – I would never be tall enough to see over his – to see if anyone was watching. Again, people were. More people, lots of people. I could even see Montague to the side, his face set in a firm sneer while he watched us dancing. I took a deep breath when I noticed that he had that same look in his eye, dangerous and angry and vengeful.

"Oh stop your worrying, Potter," Malfoy sighed. "It's just a dance."

"We should stop this," I muttered, "people are watching."

"I seem to recall you accusing _me _of being the only one who care of what people think." He said thoughtfully, but all the same he pulled me a little closer to him and spun one last time before we ended our dance even while the song played on. I looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you doing this? What's in this for you?" I asked him. I couldn't understand his angle for this dance of ours and when I saw him pause and furrow his brow, it made me believe that he didn't quite understand it either.

"You're insufferable, you know that Potter?"

"And you're arrogant," I accused with the same tone. "Yet, we're dancing."

"We _were _dancing, you ruined it with your questions." He said pointedly. "And I did it so _someone _would dance with you tonight."

"I already had someone dance with me and I didn't _want _to dance tonight." I countered, he actually chuckled mockingly at me.

"If you didn't want to dance, you wouldn't have danced with me. I did you a favour."

"And yet I still don't understand _why_." I insisted, letting my face fall into a sneer. "You could have danced with anyone, somehow you have all these sad little sods wrapped around your finger."

"But I danced with you." He smirked, his eyes a liquid silver like I'd never seen before. It was strange, being this close to him – it always was, during the few times it had ever happened. Malfoy was a totally different person when he was ignoring others and speaking only to me. His eyes held something much more meaningful which turned them not only into a different colour, but a different origin. It was like he wasn't a Malfoy at all.

His cologne – which smelt of rich, musk spice – was what alerted me to what was happening next, that he had come so much closer again. I could have sworn that I was seeing more intention and softness in his eyes at that moment than I had ever seen of his personality in the four years I'd done schooling with him. He was leaning much closer than I could comprehend. It was as if the mixture of his cologne and his closeness and his eyes had taken over my senses and now I was completely defenceless over what was happening...

What _was _happening?

As I surveyed his eyes and watched as they began to shift close, I realized what this reminded me of. It reminded of how only an hour or so ago – had it really only been that long? – I had been fending off Montague's attempt at kissing me and how allured I had been by the thought of it even if it _was _by Montague.

This felt so _different _though – Malfoy coming toward me looking actually quite vulnerable now that his eyes were closed and he was leaning towards me knowing that at any point I could reject him...it almost made me want to kiss him back. In fact, a disturbingly large part of me _did _want to kiss him back...

But was that only because I'd never been kissed before? I mean, I hated Montague with a passion and I'd contemplated kissing him just to have my first kiss now. I mean, I was at a ball in a dress in a fairytale – it was the perfect time to get it over with.

But this was Draco Malfoy. In first year he had tried to sacrifice me to the hooded figure, second year his father had tried to kill one of my best friends, last year he had willingly tried to get the hippogriff killed just because I had annoyed him and he knew how attached I was to it. Malfoys and Potters were enemies – not friends.

And most certainly not first kisses.

"You hate me," my voice rang, breaking the moment between us. He let out something that sounded quite close to a groan – or perhaps it was a growl. Either way he seemed annoyed by my interruption as his eyes opened and he looked at me. They were no longer the colour of mercury, instead they were the colour they normally were: a harsh, icy gray that made you shiver just looking at how desolate and angry they could be.

"Says who?"

"Well, I hate _you_." I reminded him, only to have him frown.

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do." I hissed.

"No, _Harry _does. You're just annoyed by me." Well that much was certainly true. "You and I are much more alike than you care to admit and because of your stupid attempts at being loyal to someone you _actually _hate, you're about to pull away from me like some stupid sod instead of enjoying a dance that was never supposed to happen anyway."

"I _do _hate you," I hissed, stepping away from him like he had burnt me. I hated when he constantly showed how much he could read the distaste for my own brother – it was humiliating, that I could be so sensitive about it and so against someone who was the only flesh and blood I had left to rely on. I couldn't tell which was worse – that Malfoy knew my weaknesses or that my weakness was Harry: the only thing that kept me going. "And you," I hissed again, even more enraged. "You clearly hate everything I am."

"I hate your _allegiances_." He corrected. "Your muggle-loving brother, for instance, yes I loathe him. And don't you think that I've forgotten how you can hate what he is just as much as I do. I remember that you hate what he does and that people think that you _can't_." I felt my cheeks flush because he was hitting the nail on the head. This was an unfair psychological analysis that was hitting every sore point he could think of. "At least you made good choices, Potter. Getting into Slytherin proved that there's something _better_in you and your friends prove that you're worthy of good company. If it weren't for those damn blood traitor twins you're so fond of, I'd say you were one of us."

I felt my blood start boil. I turned my head to the side where Fred had been dancing at the beginning of the night, but he was nowhere in sight. It was a good thing because if he had seen me dancing with him and then not doing anything now that I was being brutalized in such a way, he would be disgusted with me. I didn't want him to be disappointed with me. My face must have been the shade of my hair because he let out a deep sigh and took a step back.

"Goodbye to civility it would seem." He muttered to himself, rolling his head back on his neck.

"_Civility_?" I screeched. "You think that insulting my friends is _civil_? Let me tell you something you Pureblooded prat, you will _never_be better than the Weasley's and I can tell you that for a fact. You will never know the meaning of something deeper than appearance! Do you even know that there is something under that skin you're so proud of, or the colours that you flaunt around? Or is that the problem, that there _isn't_anything under that skin of yours? Maybe you're compensating for the fact _you're _the freak, _you're _the disgrace! The Weasley's are just as pureblooded as you are but I can tell you that they will _always _be better because at least they know they have something inside of them. Something _worth _calling pure."

Without another word, I turned on my heel and stalked out of the Great Hall. I didn't want to take one last parting glance at the beautiful decorations that would be gone tomorrow, that would erase this night from my blasted memories – this night was something that _should _go away.

Before I could disappear down to the dungeons, Snape appeared in front of me and looked at me lowly when I didn't say a word to him. It may have been my bright red face, or the angry tears that had gathered in my eyes, maybe it my white-knuckled fists...but something told him that I was very, very upset.

"To bed, then, Potter. You can make this up some other time."

Instead of hugging him like I felt the urge to, I turned a quick glare back at all of my wasted time and saw Malfoy in the doorway, watching me with a stoic face. I let out a sort of huff and growl before looking at Snape and nodding to him.

"Really?" I was horrified when my voice nearly cracked, wavering from the frustration and tears that were piling over my eyes – I could not tell what made me want to cry over everything that had happened. So much had happened in this night but for some reason there was such a feeling of-of...disappointment? It was almost like I was disappointed in Malfoy's actions and there was this horrible pain in my abdomen at the thought that I had almost kissed someone who hated everything I stood for and understood it just as well. "Thank you, professor."

"Of course," Snape responded, but he was not looking at me for this. Though I would never ask him, I could have sworn that as he said a quiet 'goodnight' his eyes were narrowed right where Malfoy had been standing mere moments before.

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><p><strong>SO MUCH DRAMA! Montague, Fred, Cedric, Snape, and then <strong>**finally**** some fluff with Draco? Whatever will Audrey do with all these little snapshots of love, lust, and life? **

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Good guesses on who sent the robes, I'm sorry for the wait I didn't mean to take this long with it! The next chapter will be exciting as well, don't you worry. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: I'm sorry it took longer than I thought, but I hope the epic length of it makes up for the little wait :)**

_Laurafxox_**: Of course it was Snape! Her relationship with Fred will flicker in and out of the story line, but should you be so worried about him when he's the one who is trying to make her jealous? ;) Oh the drama I create! I'm cruel. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked it!**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: I'm glad you're enjoying it and hope that this chapter hasn't changed that. Thank you for your comments and I hope you liked this chapter :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Yes, I put almost too much thought into those robes to make them stunning, but then again since she danced with Malfoy, she had to look the part ;) I'm sorry he didn't quite ditch Pansy like you thought, but I hope him insulting her and dancing with Audrey made up for it! Thanks for the review!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: I don't blame you for not signing in, sometimes I get so frustrated saying "I'm on here so often, how do you not have me MEMORIZED yet laptop?" but I digress. I'm sorry she didn't end up dancing with Fred OR George, but I promise that they will be showing up a lot in later chapters. Hopefully you liked this update as well, thank you for your review!**

_Aria-chan_**: I hope you liked the answer to who gave her the robes and on that note, I hope you liked the entire chapter as well :) Thanks for your review!**

_Cloudiest Fungus_**: Thank you very much, I'm so glad you like it!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: (First to answer your questions:) She used 'Godric' when she was in the boys dorms because it's an exclamation, kind of like Merlin or Salazar have been used. I imagine that in the wizarding world exclamations like that are used and alternated, kind of like here - also, she doesn't ****hate**** Gryffindors like most other Slytherins. She just is bitter over her brother :) As for why Daphne and she are still friends, she sees different qualities in people than Harry would see in Ron and Hermione like we are used to - I really wanted to drive that point home. To do that, I modelled Daphne after one of my own, more selfish, friends. Yes. These people really do exist. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for your thoughts and questions!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I also felt nervous over the part with Montague, but I need to start bringing things with him to a head considering what I have in store for that character and our heroine. I'm glad you liked it and don't worry on the pause, I told you that you could take your time - though I won't deny I was so excited over this chapter I checked back around three times a day to see if it had come back yet. I'm a bit of a nerd. And yes, I can't believe they lost the Oscar! But then again, I am fairly biased so...**

**Anyway, dear readers, I hope you liked the chapter and the extreme length of it. PLEASE leave me your thoughts or comments - the next chapter will hopefully be out shortly. I foresee a lot of flirting in it - but whoever would it be with? Guess you'll have to wait and see! **

**_Reviews are inspiring_ :)**

**- Egypt**


	15. Hear Say

**Hello readers! Sorry that you had to wait a little longer for this chapter, I just wanted a little time to get ahead and leave the Yule Ball to dance around in your heads. This chapter is a little different, not a lot of action but it is very important. I wanted to get this out fast so I didn't send it to my editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**who usually catches my mistakes and errors, so I'm really sorry if you catch any.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Fourteen – Hear Say<span>

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><p>"It's never been done before now," Daphne was still in awe. "It is January 6th and you <em>still <em>haven't been given a detention for nearly blowing up Snape's storage cupboards! It's unheard of."

"I'm a snake charmer," I joked, looking over at Theodore and secretly rolling my eyes towards him again. She had been saying this all day after Snape had said nothing in potions about a make-up detention after I had gotten out of cleaning the Great Hall after the Yule Ball. As we walked down to dinner, I checked nervously to see if _he _was already sat down – which he was. Obviously, as we were disturbingly late thanks to Daphne's vivid recounting of her latest date with Terrence.

"Oi, Potter," Malfoy said with a smirk. "Hear about your big-arsed friend?"

Now normally I would just shoot him my favourite fingers, but I was still angry and – though I would never admit it _embarrassed_ – for near kissed experience. I knew that whatever insult I threw at him would not be able to fully enunciate my hatred for him at this time without making me go cherry red. So instead, as I couldn't help the tight jaw that wanted to snap at him, I thought of my next greatest enemy. I got some potatoes on my plate as I responded with a tsk. "Oh, Malfoy, I would hardly call Pansy my friend."

"Hey!" She hissed, hearing the insult immediately. The arrogant ass didn't even try to defend her, of course. His shimmering silver eyes proved that he was on some sort of mission.

"Oh no, I was talking about your _giant _arsed friend." At the roll of my eyes, he continued. "I'd assume you _didn't _hear about how that oaf Hagrid has been found out to be a half-giant? Straight from the savages mouth!"

My eyes flickered to him dangerously, unable to stop from glaring. I had heard of the article and took the time to burn it in the Slytherin common room this morning when Daphne had read it aloud and then handed to me for further inspection. I should have known that it wouldn't escape his attention for too long, but there had been a part of me that had hoped he may not have really cared to try learning how to read.

Alya had told me how bad being part giant was. She had explained how frowned upon it was as well as how violent and dangerous giants were considered – it was worse prejudice than I had even read about. I couldn't help but glance up to the staff's table, but of course Hagrid was nowhere in sight. Poor man, I'd have to drag Theodore to come visit him with me today. I couldn't help but sneer at Malfoy's obvious excitement.

"He'll be sacked for sure," he beamed when I had looked back at him.

"If he is sacked, I'll be sure to sack you right where Pansy pretends to shine," I hissed, pretending to look down at his groin. "I know this is your fault. That quote on the Hippogriff was ridiculous."

"Oh, so you _have _read it?"

"I didn't dignify it with my time. It was read aloud as we got ready this morning, I couldn't help but overhear." I admitted with a look towards Lillian down the table as she started to eat carefully. She didn't want anyone to be angry with her and it was wise to avoid mine and the serpent's gaze.

"That hippogriff was dangerous, just like the blast-ended screwts he created – against wizarding law! You need a permit to cross-breed, you know." He informed.

"Do you? How did your parents go about getting one then, did it take the whole nine months?"

His face reddened. "He'll be run off all the way to the mountains with the rest of the beasts. Then you won't be so high and mighty."

"But all I've done is taken a lesson or two from you. Sorry if I set the bar too high," I smiled. Finishing my potatoes, I couldn't make myself feel any hungrier and looked at Theo for a moment before I patted my rucksack and the hard egg that was awkwardly cradled within it. "I'm off to journey about. I have some research to do."

"It had better be _golden _research," he informed lowly. "You have little over a month."

"Yes, I'm aware, thanks. I'll find Circe then get right on that." I assured with a sigh, getting up from the table and not looking back as I tread off toward the grounds. To be honest, I was starting to get concerned – I hadn't seen Circe all day. She hadn't been there when I woke up, which was strange as she usually slept right at my feet. Now it was dinner and there was still no sign of her. That was why I had decided to wander and see Hagrid about her, ask if she was there. I was hoping maybe she had strayed down with him since they had been spending so much quality time with one another.

I walked outside into the bitter winter breeze and shivered. I probably should have thought to bring some sort of jumper, but then again I hadn't thought I'd be going on a giant adventure anytime soon...oh, my puns can be cruel.

As I walked out of the East end of the castle I looked at my surroundings – the forbidden forest, where at the bottom of the hill I would find Hagrid; to my right was the whomping willow, looking just as intimidating as it always did – moving or not; and to the extreme right, partially hidden by the castle was the black lake – my least favourite feature of the school.

It was amazing how debilitating my fear of water could be, even having just touched the egg the first time and having that feeling – the feeling of drowning...it made it so that I didn't _want _to know what the next task was. Then again, without knowing what this stupid tournament had in store for me would definitely push me towards my end more violently.

Making a split-second decision, and realizing that Hagrid probably wasn't in the mood for company after the article anyway, I spun on my heel and walked quickly toward the water. Though it was not at all where I wanted to be, I had a sense that it was precisely where I _needed _to be. Because all of my visions to do with this egg involve water, it seemed like it was the most likely place to find my answers.

The edges of the lake were thinly iced over and the only cracks had been made from where the Giant Squid's tentacles were sprawled above the surface, looking for its next meal. Making sure to go to the farthest tip of the lake from the creature, I sat down on the cool grass and pulled together a few handfuls of weeds. Concentrating intensely I pointed my wand to the bundle and let out a quiet "_incendio_".

Of course, luck be on my side, my wand did ignite. But, having my _bad _luck, it ended up attached to the tip and refusing to move as if it were the end of a lighter. Clearly there would be no warm fire for me today.

"_Incendio_," a voice broke the silence from behind me, I jumped when my bundle of sticks ignited as they should. Looking up I saw my knight in shining armour, his foggy-blue eyes looking almost concerned. "That wand still isn't working as it should?"

"Never has," I admitted with a frown. "What are you doing here, Diggory?"

"I wanted to apologize for the ball," he said pointing to the grass at my side. I moved my robes closer to my body, both for warmth and so he knew he was safe to sit next to me. I tried to hide my grin when he took the opportunity. "Cho was feeling a little threatened."

"Of a fourth year death-magnet? Too right," I scoffed, making him chuckle lightly. We sat there quietly for a moment, enjoying the peace of the winter. When I finally got the nerve to look at him, I realized that he was eyeing my rucksack, noting my egg inside of it before looking away innocently to gaze out over the lake. I decided to rid him of his guilt by giving a little explanation. "I'm here to try and figure this burden out. Why are you here? It's freezing."

"I saw you walking on my way from taking care of my thestral – Hagrid's project for the seventh years." He shrugged, his cheeks lightly going red from some sort of embarrassment, though I couldn't imagine what over. Instead, remembering what he'd just explained, I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows.

"Oh...er – can you see it?" I asked bluntly, before feeling embarrassed. "You know, cause it'd be really difficult to take care of-"

"I can see them." He laughed gingerly, it was a very nice laugh. "It's alright, it was no one I knew. When I was ten, my Dad took me to the Falmouth Falcons game where Curtis Kenmore died from a bludger to his temple."

"Ah, yes, Quidditch. Malfoy's favourite team _because _they're known to be so violent." I laughed with him, even though both of our voices sounded forced.

"Can you – you know, see them?"

I nodded my head softly. "Yeah. I don't remember seeing anyone die, though, so I'm at a loss for why I can. Harry can't see them so it wouldn't be from the whole Moldyshorts experience."

"Maybe that's a good thing," he encouraged with a comforting smile. I smiled back at him before I went back to looking out over the water. I had never really thought to question why I couldn't remember it. Last year Remus had said that it was probably something I had seen as a baby or as a toddler that I didn't remember but I had a sneaking suspicion it was something more impressionable than that.

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence I noticed that we still were in the same position and that he was fidgeting slightly. He chuckled at his own nerves.

"So, a Slytherin and Hufflepuff were sitting by a lake..." I joked to break the ice.

"Would it be terrible of me if I admitted that I wanted to ask you about that annoying thing?" He asked sheepishly, pointing to the egg glittering from the open corner of my rucksack. I looked at it distastefully, before I shook my head at him.

"I haven't figured it out yet, if that's what you're asking."

"Nor have I." He said quickly. "I didn't want to cheat off of you or anything, I just thought maybe – if we put our heads together – two minds might be better than one."

Now this is when I would normally try to hex someone or give off such a biting comment that they would high-tail it out of my general vicinity...but this is Cedric gorgeous-boy Diggory! How could I use any of my cruelty against him when I had been waiting for this moment since he dropped out of that tree in the summer? It was almost as if my dreams were coming true. I tried to hide my blush.

"Why haven't you asked Chang to help you? Harry's got Hermione's help, sure, but you have your own Ravenclaw you could have on it." Okay, probably not the most subtle of my prying, but gorgeous men tended to render me a little fogged in my talents.

"Cho? She doesn't really like talking about the tournament. She doesn't like seeing me in danger, she says." He shrugged. I could not stop myself from snorting.

"So she's going to leave you to deal with the danger on your own," no matter how beautiful the man, there was no stopping my sarcasm. He frowned.

"That's not it," he mumbled, but he didn't say anything else. I realized that I may have insulted him and his pretty little bint thanks to my mouth, so to rectify the mistake I didn't say anything either. Instead of sitting in silence for too long, he turned to look at my egg. "Does it shriek?"

"Yeah," I looked at him with narrowed eyes. I needed to try and remember that no matter how sweet, adorable, charming, talented, or attractive he was – and oh, he was – he was still my competition. And even though I wouldn't be able to figure this out on my own, I had no reason to trust him to help me...not if it involved something dangerous like water as I thought it might.

I could _use _him. Pretty people get used all the time, don't they? Besides, it would be doing both of us a favour if I gave him the little bit of intel I had so he could figure out some water-tactic, save us both, and then maybe I'd also find some time alone with him in the process. Time when we're _not _chatting over Chang and her 'holier than thou' ways, or when we're not surrounded by 'Potter Stinks' badges.

"You want to figure it out together then?" I asked him lowly, my mind skipping back and forth over how much I could trust him and how much I would enjoy the time that he may potentially be screwing me over. He was competition. He was also a Hufflepuff – who knew what those misfits were capable of? They were supposed to be hardworking and true, both suited Cedric well, but who really knew what the characteristics of that damned house were? There was so much room for movement that you never knew what kind of character would be in there, I mean, look at the difference between Susan Bones and that git, Zacharias Smith.

"We could make a united front. Get your brother involved and-"

"No. No Harry." I suppose I could have been nicer about it, but the bitterness lacing my tone was obvious. "He has Granger, he'll be fine."

"Okay," he said slowly. I could almost _see _his gears turning and warning him to rethink what he had just offered. It probably didn't look good, a twin sister refusing to let her twin brother in on such a life changing event – but I wanted to prove that I could do this without Harry, just because no one else thought I could.

"We can tell him when we figure it out," I compromised, trying not to show him how I didn't want to tell him at all. "I just...would it make any sense if I told you I have something to prove?"

I almost felt embarrassed when I said it out loud and was horrified when I could feel my face heating to the colour of my hair. Surprisingly, Cedric didn't seem to blame me for it. Instead, he burst into laughter. I looked at him oddly, which only made his chuckling even less controllable.

"You have something to prove? Audrey, you coerced a _dragon_!" He laughed harder. "Intelligence and skill are some of the last things you need to prove to anyone."

My face grew even more warm, but I couldn't stop the smile from growing on my face. He thought I was intelligent and skilled? Usually the adjectives that describe me are much more colourful and in a general sense far more negative...but if he wanted to butter me up with flattery, he was certainly getting his point across.

"Alright," I said quickly. "We can help each other, give Harry a gentle push in the right direction if we figure it out, and come out reigning victors of this ridiculous competition."

I held my hand out in the space between our bodies, embarrassed by the chipped silver nail polish still left on my fingernails from the ball. He looked at my hand for a moment, the smile fading from his face as he looked up at me, looking for some answer to a question that I didn't know at the time.

"You have yourself a deal, Potter." He grasped my hand and we shook firmly – as I tried to ignore how Malfoy used to always say 'firm handshakes make for _real _men in the bedroom' even though trying not to think of it made it even more embarrassing for me. It seemed being around this boy made me a redhead from follicle to chin.

"Alright then, partner," I pulled my hand away quickly. "I already have a little bit of a head start."

"Head start?" Cedric seemed startled, but I dismissed it with a wave. Now that I wasn't touching him and he wasn't complimenting me, I felt much more like myself.

"Well, simply put, I know that this task has something to do with water..."

He raised his eyebrows. "Water?"

"Are you stuck on repeat?" I asked worriedly. He shook his head a little before catching my eyes once more.

"How do you know that?"

"I have a little talent for finding out random facts. Theodore helped me do it," that was much easier than explaining my terrifying premonition when I touched this little golden burden. "Now I just need to realize whatever it is that's actually being hinted by the screaming."

"And you're sure it has something to do with water?"

"Positive. Theodore and I were wondering if something in the lake sounded like that, you know, when they try to make sound underwater."

"Smart, Potter. I never would have thought of it." Oh, this man has a gorgeous smile! _Pay attention, Audrey_. "Well, you're the Care of Magical Creatures genius – is there something that screams like that?"

"Well, I haven't exactly stuck my head in a lake to listen before," I laughed. It was lost on him, his face had fallen as if I was completely idiotic. "I mean, that would be ridiculous. Especially with my disgusting fear of water, I can't – bloody hell, it wasn't _that _stupid, don't look at me like that!"

"No, no, it's not that." Cedric said quickly, his eyes darting to my bag. "Have you ever tried putting it in water?"

"Putting it-" I shook my head. "Well no, that would have made sense." I added sarcastically. He was looking and inspecting the glinting treasure in my bag very intently.

"Willing to give it a try?" I looked over to the water, swallowing the fear that mounted just from looking at it. I turned to him and gave him a wavering smile.

"Let's do this."

I took the egg from my rucksack, happy that I wasn't drowned in another premonition but ignoring the shiver that went down my spine when I remembered what I was about to do. I took the time egg myself forward by silently insulting myself, trying to do it out of spite as much as for glory. Cedric was right beside me, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"You really are afraid of water, aren't you?"

"No point to lie about it," I mumbled. "Yes. Water terrifies me."

"Aren't the Slytherin dorms under the lake?"

"It's on the top of my many reasons not to venture there." He smiled that gorgeous smile at me, so brightly that I couldn't stop from smiling back. We were now standing about three feet from the surface of the water. Cedric took out his wand and pointed it to the icy rim of the lake.

"_Incendio_," he said simply, melting the ice so that we could get to the water from the shore. I shivered even more as we watched the black water still under our stares. He seemed to notice my hesitation. "How about I just dip it in?"

"Fantastic," I breathed, shoving the egg toward him. He gave me a sympathetic glance before taking the one step needed between where he stood and where the water met the shore and bent down. He placed the egg under the water, waiting a few seconds before sighing.

"Well, that was anti-climactic."

"Maybe we still need to open it on our own," I offered from behind him, looking around his shoulders to make sure I wasn't being ripped off. He turned toward me, egg just as golden as it had been, though now it was dripping water over the frozen ground. We both held our breath while he placed his hands at the seam and pried it apart.

The same piercing wail echoed around the grounds as the egg fell open. I had just slapped my hands to my ears when Cedric's seeker reflexes had closed the egg back up. I waited for my ears to stop ringing before I took my hands away and sighed.

"Well, whole lot of difference that made."

Could my visions have been wrong? I had been so overwhelmed by the feeling of water in my lungs, maybe I had muddled up what the message actually meant. Maybe it was something less literal than water, maybe it was some sort of metaphor that I hadn't taken into consideration because I'd been so petrified of the possibility of swimming.

"It's more piercing every time I hear it," Cedric groaned. "I've never heard something so terrible."

"It's bad." I agreed. "Almost as bad as Pansy singing in the shower."

Both of us laughed – I'm so glad the entire Hogwarts population seemed to share a mutual hatred for the pug – when I stopped laughing as my mind spiraled. Pansy singing in the shower _was _most certainly the worst sound I had ever heard. She sang all the worst charm-list songs, sliding in Malfoy's name when applicable and adding high notes that don't exist in the songs _or _in musical terms...

But you'd only ever hear her sing in the shower.

"Put it in back in the water!" I shouted at him, pointing to the Black Lake as if I were accusing it of hiding the answers all along. "Put it back in and open it while it's in there."

"Okay," he shrugged, obviously not having caught up with my method of thinking as he spun on his heel and leaned back down. Placing the egg in the water, I watched his shoulders tense up and his face scrunch up – ready for the terrible wailing of the egg...

But it never came.

Nothing came. I looked at him and he looked back at me, I shrugged my shoulders and widened my eyes. Did I break it? It was waterproof, wasn't it?

"Wait," he said suddenly, scrunching his face. "I think...oh!"

Before I could tell him the 101 reasons on why what he was about to do was wrong, Cedric dunked his entire face into the water of the Black Lake. I stared, open mouthed at the scene in front of me and tried not to panic. What was he doing? Was he trying to drown himself before the next task? Because that was brilliant. I should have thought more on offing myself but I had always deemed it a little bit desperate. What was he up to, asking the Giant Squid? Oh dear Merlin, what if the Giant Squid had dragged him in and I hadn't noticed?

"Got it!" He gasped as he came up from the water. "I've got it!"

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you? You do realize there is a giant squid in there that is constantly looking for things on the surface to eat-" that wasn't even a lie or an exaggeration. I'd seen it eat Shaula Fawcett's cat, Whiskers, back in second year.

"The egg – it makes sense when you listen to it underwater. I can't believe you were right!" He started laughing and honestly, I was lost for words. He was so handsome and now his hair was wet and his eyes were twinkling and his smile was so wide it almost looked like he was in some shower ad...

Wait, did he say I was right?

"What did it sound like?" I asked, daring to take a small step forward.

"It was a song – something about an hour. I need to listen to it again before I can tell you."

"Wait-" I looked nervously at the water before I took a shuttering breath. "I want to listen, too."

I mean, I needed to make sure that he wasn't lying to me, didn't I? And I couldn't go without hearing it. Even _if _he wasn't lying to me, what if it was charmed to sound differently to each competitor? I needed to hear it for myself...which would mean that I needed to hold my breath and take the plunge – both literally and figuratively.

"I wouldn't lie to you," he said almost sadly. "Are you sure?"

"You can be too bloody kind, Diggory," I mumbled, rubbing my hands on my cloak to distract from their shaking. "It's just water."

Cold, wet, takes-under-four-minutes-to-kill-you water.

"Audrey – are you okay?" Cedric looked very nervous, pity was shining in his eyes. I must have been staring off at the water for quite some time, considering just how worried he looked. I tried to smile at him but I'm sure it came out as a grimace.

"Of course, not a problem." I tried to assure him. He did not look convinced, smart boy. Either way I forced myself to take a deep breath and walk forward, pushing myself so that I could kneel down. I took a deep breath and smiled at Cedric as he kneeled beside me.

"Ready?"

"Ready." I smiled gratefully at him before he took a deep breath, keeping eye contact to make sure I did the same, before we plunged beneath the surface.

I couldn't force myself to close my eyes. All I could picture were bursting pipes, hearing myself screaming as I pounded against the cabinet doors...until I heard a real sound. Something that ripped through my memory and almost made me choke myself in surprise.

"_Come seek us where our voices sound,_  
><em>We cannot sing above the ground,<em>  
><em>And while you're searching ponder this<em>_  
><em>_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_  
><em>An hour long you'll have to look,<em>  
><em>And to recover what we took,<em>  
><em>But past an hour, the prospect's black,<em>  
><em>Too late it's gone, it won't come back."<em>

After an extra few seconds to make sure that there was no more to the melody, I gasped back onto ground. Gripping the ground and coughing thanks to the cool air hitting what had felt like red hot lungs. Cedric rubbed my back comfortingly, I thanked him quietly before we fell back onto the ground for a moment.

I looked at him, taking a moment before he looked at me and suddenly, what we had just done was hilarious, and the two of us burst into raucous laughter. It seemed to last forever, something almost hysterical to the sound as we realized we had finally figured out what the next task was, that we had finally discovered the newest way the judges were trying to kill us off. By the time I had finished laughing, he was trying to calm the leftover chuckles escaping his lips and we sat silently, looking up at the sky, which threatened snow at any moment.

"What do you think it means?"

"No clue." I breathed. "Something about having an hour to find something."

"Since you can only hear it in the water, I assume that whatever we're looking for is in the water." He admitted quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Fantastic."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Cedric had turned to look at me. I turned to look back at him and he gave me a sympathetic look. I couldn't help frowning at him – suddenly remembering that _this _was why I was in Slytherin. I couldn't stand when people gave me that look...the same look that I always got when Harry got in trouble, or when I got in trouble because _Harry _got in trouble. It was that look that said 'poor girl' or even worse 'I wish I could help you'. I didn't know how to further explain that I didn't need anyone's charity. Thank Merlin the people in my House were too power-hungry to give away all the money that they collected and stored in vaults to never be opened. Thank Merlin they didn't want to give it to the charities they attended galas for or pretended to care about...if they weren't so greedy, I'm pretty sure I'd be such a sad case I'd end up richer than they were.

"You'll be able to pull it off, you know. You're pretty smart, Potter. That invisibility potion you brewed last task was spectacular."

"I modified it, actually," I couldn't help bragging. "It wasn't difficult to begin with."

"This will be a breeze for you then." He said simply. "The best of luck."

"And to you." I said, sitting up and pulling my cloak around me more. Our tiny fire had dwindled over time and since my hair was still wet I was slowly beginning to freeze to the bone.

"So, you'll tell Harry then?" Cedric urged. "We did shake on it."

"You know what," I sighed, trying hard not to roll my eyes at his nobility. "You tell him. Then you can count yourself even for his tip-off about the dragons and then I don't feel like I'm feeding my brother to the sharks – possibly literally."

"Are you sure? You figured it out, not me. I owe _you_, now."

"Are you kidding? I'm fairly certain you were nicer to me today than my entire House has been to me in the past four years. You don't owe me anything – so long as you make sure my brother isn't left in the dark."

"You're sure?" He asked again. I thought about it.

"Actually..."

"Audrey," he warned seriously.

"Alright, yes, still tell him. Just – you know, to make it even – don't tell him straight out. Give him a hint. I'm so sick of him getting out of doing all the work. And if I have to get over my fear to figure this out, he has to bust his buns for some results too."

"Deal." He smiled, looking at me with a respect that I was not used to seeing when people knew my name and my relations. "I'll be sure to see you around, Audrey."

"Bye," I said back, watching him as he jogged back up to the castle entrance closest to Hufflepuff tower. I took my time to look back at the lake, wondering just how I could get into the lake without actually having to get into the lake, before I ran as fast as I could back to the dungeons. I wanted to get to Theodore while I could still hear the song in my head. Theodore would surely have some sort of sly trick to help me figure this out and if he didn't, he'd help me find Fred and George and the four of us would figure out something that would hopefully prevent me from touching the water at all.

Maybe I should just skip right to Fred and George. As I was making decisions on where to look for my friends – library, common room, or corridors? – I ran into, and straight through, Peeves the poltergeist.

"One Potter, two Potter! I saw you both within a whole minute!" he gasped, pointing his finger accusingly as I spluttered from the strange change in density from normal air to possessed air. "I don't like that you can be in two places at once, you're enough trouble in one! Trouble, trouble, trouble!"

"Peeves, I just came in from outside." I announced, rubbing my eyes just in case some of that strange possessed 'I have a ghost in me' air had done anything to my vision. He cackled a little bit, flying around me in dizzying circles.

"I know you did – seconds ago!" He cackled again, "ugly faces, ugly faces!" I sighed.

"Peeves are you saying that Harry just came in? I look nothing like him." Save the fact that we both have the same eyes. Otherwise we didn't look that similar. I was glad I looked just like our Mum – it made it a lot easier to hide in public, ugly scar or not.

"No, no, no! You look the same!" He cackled. "_Potty, Potty, oh so naughty! You two are always getting caughty. Always in two different places, just to rear your ugly faces_!"

He swooped away, throwing a dung-bomb down one of the corridors I had been planning to head down. I sighed irritably, annoyed that he had made my decision for me to ignore the library and also because I now had to go the long way to the dungeons. He swooped around the hallway again, just to throw another dung-bomb, all the while cackling that dumb song. He really was terrible at making them and his rhymes were nothing to be desired – but after another moment of hearing Peeves' song echoed through the halls I broke into a full sprint.

"Theo!" I screamed as I entered the common room. Theodore was reading a book by the fireside and looked up at me with raised eyebrows.

"You look like you ran into Peeves." He smirked, motioning to my wet hair. I shook my head.

"No – I mean, yes, I did – but that's not why I'm soaked." I shook my head to try and get myself back on track. "I figured it out!"

"The egg?" He perked up, closing and setting his book aside. "What was it?"

"A poem." I shoved the cool metal egg into his hands. "It's a poem that you can only hear underwater. I have an hour to be able to find something underwater."

"Merlin's Beard, Audrey...you hate water." He said nervously. I shook my head.

"No – no, I've got it figured out, though. Peeves, he figured it out!"

"Audrey, you aren't making any sense." He shook his head, looking at me as if I was stricken with dragon pox. I grabbed the egg back from him and threw it up in the air, catching it and cradling it as if it were a really delicate child – figuring out this thing was going to help my chances and amazingly, that poltergeist was going to save my life.

"Peeves! He made up this stupid song and I figured it out!"

"Figured what out? Audrey, are you really about to take advice from Peeves the Poltergeist?" I took a moment to catch my breath, even though it took longer because I was in hysterics because I had just wiggled my way out of my task – yet again.

"Theodore, my dear, dear Theodore...what do you know about body-doubling magic?"

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><p><strong>So, Audrey has figured out her egg and is already figuring out her plan – who would have known Peeves could be so helpful? <strong>**Please look at the note at the bottom**** after my review responses!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm so glad you liked the Yule Ball scene, hopefully you liked her little moment with Cedric just as much. I also love Snape so I had to put in a good relationship between those two, I'm glad that you enjoy it, thank you! :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: She didn't get her dance with Cedric, but that's why I put that scene right in here. He even apologized! Don't worry, Malfoy isn't about to tell her that he's in love with her or anything, I just wanted to make it that moment where it **was **the perfect moment to have kissed her so he tried to jump on it - luckily both of them are too stubborn to rush that plot line! **

**As for the idea on a one-shot, I've also thought about writing a couple one shots for this story - but I'm wondering if maybe I should just write a side story/prequel to this story a little bit later so that you get to see all of those wonderful moments instead of just a few highlights. I put a lot of different references to different years here, as you can see. I'm still not sure which way I'll take it. Anywho, thank you for reviewing!**

_Ella710_**: Well, I will spoil you with as much of Audrey's teen angst and drama as you would like; so don't feel too comfortable yet** – **I still have a lot to offer you. I'm glad you caught that it was Snape who gave her the robes, I was going to drag that out for a bit more, maybe for a few books, but I thought it fit in well with the rosebush scene. Montague will end up playing a much bigger part in a few more chapters and Cedric is...well, Cedric...so clearly there is more to come from him. Anyway, thank you for the mounds of compliments, you're really too good to me, I hope you liked this chapter!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Hello dearie! So I didn't send this to you because I know it's the end of March and I know you're probably busy as a bee with your oncoming nuptials. If I could only have you do a few chapters with your limited time, I'd want them to be the last of Franki's dramatic time (which aren't far from finished), so I didn't want to bother you and take up your time with this one when FF is much more important to be looked over in the final installments. As for keeping or getting rid of chapters, you can delete them all if you would like considering most of them are updated. If there are any I sent you (maybe like the original prefaces or prologues) could you keep those or send them to me? It'd be nice to have them on hand. Just so you know, I did a timeline for the rest of the GOF section of this story and it won't be too long before part one wraps up and we go into OOTP...I'm so excited! Anyway, hope all is well! :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Oh I promise he will be doing more than considering her Yuletide outburst, not that you'll hear about it for a while. Montague's revenge will be bad** – **but I promise Audrey's will be worse...it'll be a nice ongoing battle. The Weasley's didn't hear her praise them, but I kept it that way for a reason, just because Audrey **isn't **that nice a person so these little moments that she has are either because she REALLY means them or she's playing at something. It would almost be like she were playing at something if she did it so they heard** – **I thought it kept it more real and true with it being an outburst. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and thank you for reviewing!**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: I am sorry that she didn't get to dance with the twins, I really wanted to incorporate more with them they just didn't fit in to where I saw the night ending. Anyway thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad you liked it so much, but I will warn you, Draco is not happy about his actions now that he has had time to think them over. But don't worry, this won't be the last almost-kiss they share and it's not even close to the amount of fluff and passion I have planned! Thank you for reviewing!**

_BlueRose22_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it!**

_Aria-chan_**: Yes! Thank you for understanding that was what I was trying to do. I didn't want to just put it out there so openly, but it's nice to know that people are catching on to the parallel. Draco and Harry have other things to qualm about before they talk about Audrey, so we have a little while before we see that triangle of hate get much deeper than it already is. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: I know, I was kind of upset with Fred too but then again, how dare you deny your feelings for him, Audrey! Clearly you're interest in each other, you said you always thought he'd be your first kiss, why must you make it so difficult? Love. So complicated. And don't worry, in this GOF section of the story, I assure you that you will be seeing a few of Draco's walls break down for her...not for long, as I still need to spread this over another three books, but long enough that we know it's inevitable ;) Thanks for the review!**

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><p><strong>Anyway friends, I hope you liked this chapter. I have a very important question for you: WHO DO YOU WANT TO SEE KISS AUDREY? Audrey will be having her first kiss in this section (the Goblet of Fire) section of the story and it is the one detail I just can't decide. In the running we have:<strong>

**Fred Weasley** – **the loveable ginger who we all know and love, but can't take a relationship seriously enough to just ask her out.**

**Cedric Diggory** – **the beautiful boy who we all know comes to an ill-fated end, should she grab him now while he has the chance, or will she forever live in the 'what if?**

**Theodore Nott** – **the best friend who helps her night and day. Should she show her appreciation in the form of a kiss that she later regrets thanks to Daphne's over analysis?**

**Adam Montague** – **should she kiss the git to try and save herself from the wrath she's egged on thanks to her dismissal at the ball, or should she shove him aside like the arse he is?**

**Please note ****Draco Malfoy is not an option****, even though he IS the main love interest, eventually. I have my reasons, I promise you. **

**Please **_REVIEW_** and let me know what you think! **

**-Egypt**


	16. Not All Is Gold

**Merlin, you guys gave me over twenty reviews! You are all fantastic, honestly, I wasn't going to put this up until later when I updated Forgetting Franki so I could wait for the wonderful **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**to edit, but I was so excited and pleased I wanted to prove what reviewing does and update sooner! Thank you so much for all the feedback, please see the bottom for review responses and other notes :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Fifteen - Not All Is Gold<span>

* * *

><p>"I found it!" George announced excitedly as he ran to the table we were occupying, hitting my arm harshly on the way. Fred, Theodore and I rushed over to him, crowding over the large, dusty library book he had set in front of us. I tried not to sneeze from the particles still floating around our heads as I took in deep breaths - was this it? Was this my answer? Fred put a hand on my shoulder encouragingly when he saw me fighting back what he probably thought was a yawn and I smiled at him - it was the first moment since the ball I felt relieved he was close.<p>

We had been in the library all weekend since I had found out the egg's song. Daphne refused to be in the presence of my 'blood traitor pets' but Theodore was much more willing to put such stupid qualms aside so we could save my life and all. I had been inspired the day after my run-in with Peeves the poltergeist to look for books on creating body doubles. The books we had found so far are all saying how the magic was illegal in many countries, including Great Britain, and now we were looking for alternatives - if this idea pulls through, I'll be sure to brew Peeves all the dung bombs he will ever need.

"Look, right here: _Astral projection is the ability for a witch or wizard to separate their mind from body and create an intelligent, living creature-copy of themselves with which to send on spiritual journeys._" George read aloud. Fred high-fived him and I let out a deep breath, that was most definitely a start.

"But this isn't a _spiritual _journey," Theodore said quickly. "She needs to be able to refrain from breathing and still do magic."

"It says an 'intelligent, living creature-copy' and it's separating mind from body - is magic something from the mind or from the body?" Everyone looked at each other cluelessly before I sighed, knowing where the answer would be.

"Oi, Granger!" I yelled, half the library turning to look at me, still there was only one bushy head that looked much more annoyed than the others - I walked towards it quickly. "I have a question as related to what is probably in Hogwarts: A History."

Hermione smiled her new smile, thanks to Malfoy expanding her teeth and her genius to let Madam Pomfrey shrink them until they were as she liked them. "Then I can help you, though next time please don't yell in the library. I hate to think what would have happened had I been concentrated..."

"By that, you mean you wouldn't have heard me and I would have kept yelling?"

"Precisely." She nodded, giving me a stern look.

"Well, it's just one question and then I'll leave you be. In any of the many books you've read, did you ever learn the difference between mind and body magic? Where does our magic actually come from?"

She looked a little shocked. "Well, it's never really been proven as either, to be honest. If it were something in our body, then that would mean it would be hereditary - but then the scholars presume there wouldn't be muggleborns or squibs. On the other hand, it's been argued that it can't be from the mind because of things that happen in hospitals: magic happening to those in a coma or those who are brain dead. Sometimes they see that graves have flowers growing years after the person has died, but the body is gone at that point."

"Creepy," I thought of my own grave stone and for the first time I did not get excited over the ideas of having flowers. "So, what do _you _think?"

"Neither, I believe magic is life. I believe that our magic is an essence all its own - closely linked with the soul." I raised my eyebrows, it was only a year or so ago that I had been forced to believe in something as ridiculous as a 'soul' and that was only because the Dementors were trying to kiss mine out of me.

"You think magic comes from our souls?" I couldn't manage to leave the condescention from my tone. Hermione looked a little flustered as her face readied and she nodded.

"Yes, the soul. But if I must say between body and mind, then I'd have to say I believe it to be something from the mind. We are only in classes to hone our abilities and before any of us came here we were showing signs of magical talents without our wands. It seems as if it's only related to our bodies because our bodies are what holds the magic in, but no, I don't think that's where it comes from."

"Perfect!" I smiled, looking down at her potions essay quickly. "You spelt Koiraan with only one 'a', just so you know."

"Oh thank you," she gasped, going to correct it instantly. I smiled at her before I jogged back to my table over in the corner. As I got there I realized that Madam Pince was waiting behind the book shelf for me, her beady eyes looking less than pleased.

"Miss Potter, I would appreciate if you would stop yelling in my library." Her voice was nasal and it actually made my nostrils flare as if that would be getting rid of the awkward vibration for her. I looked at how serious and pinched her features were before nodding almost sheepishly. "And if you would like to bring back _Arctic Creatures and the magical abilities needed to Survive_, it is severely overdue."

"I told you in second year, Parkinson stole it to get me in trouble!" This woman's memory was amazing unless you were reminding her you had a reason for not having handed in her book.

"Then I suggest you ask _her _for it. Quiet in the library, Potter." She muttered before she disappeared behind the heavy book racks again. I gaped at her.

"Ask Pansy for a book," I thought aloud. "I think the only reason I would do that were if I got to hit her over the head with it."

"Or if it was the monster book of monsters," Fred said with a smile. I smiled back at the images that literally began to scream through my mind.

"Focus," Theodore said strongly, both of us snapped out of it, hitting each other's shoulders playfully before we bent over the book again. "It says that it takes a lot of concentration and practice - only you don't have a lot of time _to _practice."

"True," I sighed. "That may present a problem."

"Will you be able to concentrate-"

"-with all three schools around you?" Fred finished for his brother.

"Yeah, won't you be a little-"

"-petrified?" Fred finished again. I shook my head.

"That's the least of my problems. I can bring Circe to calm me down or something - maybe the whole school will be farther away so that I wouldn't be able to hear them. The problem is that I only have just over a month and I've never tried doing mind-magic or splitting-magic or anything. Something not involving a wand."

"You have to hold your wand between both hands, but otherwise this is complete splitting. You're separating your soul from your being."

"Whoa, wait, so it _is _my soul?" I gasped, remembering Hermione's theories. "I thought it was my mind from my body!"

Theodore rolled his eyes and pointed down the page. "No, look: _The soul, some believe, is the manifestation of our true selves. It is a form of your soul that is used in Astral projection and to do this you must be sure of your identity and cause - some have problems facing their identity and accepting all aspects of the soul they possess to be able to fully complete the projection (see Partial Projections on page 287)._"

I looked at the book for a long moment, sighing as I took it into my hands and doggy-eared the page. I just hoped that neither Granger nor Pince ended up seeing it, I wasn't sure who would toss off the crueler hex. I went to her, told her I was taking out the book - with which she tapped her wand so it briefly glowed green before she told me that _this _one had best come back - and let me walk back to the boys.

"Why don't you guys go down to lunch before it ends? I'm going to talk to Snape."

"You haven't been eating at all," Theodore argued immediately - I'd been forgetting to do it a few times this weekend which always tended to worry him. I ignored him.

"Well why not go to McGonagall?" George asked.

"Isn't that what human Transfiguration is as well? She is an animagus." Fred suggested, I shook my head, adjusting the heavy book.

"No way, I'm going to Snape for this one. If anyone can teach me how to learn something fast, it's him. He's the only teacher willing to do what needs to be done." I smiled at them. "I'll see you down there, I'm just running it by him. I doubt we'll start today."

"If you're sure." Theodore muttered, putting his hand on my arm as he passed, both of my twins doing the same before bending down and each kissing one of my cheeks in sync. I snorted as they both left me with a wink and I ended up sending a dirty look to the handful of Hufflepuff's staring at me incredulously. I glared.

"Off to your responsibilities, you little warts!"

They scurried back to their tables and I was sure to walk out quickly so that I could avoid getting a detention for yelling in Madam Pince's library for the fourth time that day. I walked down to the dungeons as quickly as I could, knowing that Snape would be there as we had handed in a foot long essay on where to find bezoars and how they were created just Friday. When I knocked on his door I heard him let me in, so naturally I waltzed in automatically, not surprised to find that he had a student in for detention.

I _was _surprised to see that it was Malfoy. Perfect.

Walking past him as if I didn't see him I watched Snape's eyebrow raise suspiciously. I walked straight forward toward him and slammed the book on his desk, minding his papers and quill.

"What is this?" He asked, his tone bored.

"This is the book that's about to get me through the next task." I explained to him. He smirked, a sense of something in his eyes that I tried not to think as pride.

"You figured out your egg, then?"

"That you doubted I would is insulting." I frowned. "This is the book I needed and _you're _the man I need to teach me."

"'_Advanced and Alternative Methodology'_?" He asked skeptically. I opened the large book to the page that we had been reading minutes before in the library and pointed down to it - brushing off some left over dust in the process. He looked at it briefly before turning back to his papers.

"Impossible."

"What?" I gasped. "What do you mean 'impossible'?"

"That cannot be taught to a _responsible_ pupilin a month, nevertheless a fourth year student who disregards all criticism and authority. It requires _years _of commitment and practice. You have little over thirty days." He explained to me. "I, nor any other professor here, could teach you this in time."

"You're the only professor I'd trust to _try_," I explained to him with a hint of desperation in my voice. "Come on, all you have to do is teach me the basics. Three days of that and if you don't see any promise in the idea of it I'll pretend to find something else while I just keep practicing on my own."

Rightly, he seemed to believe my explanation because he put down Goyle's paper - slashed through with red ink and corrections - before he looked at me carefully, as if probing my mind to find it I were really serious and if he really thought I would have a chance at learning magic like this.

"Astral projection is a form of magic many cannot learn, Potter. It requires complete concentration and _confidence, _something that I'm not sure you have when it comes to your talents."

"Or lack thereof," I heard Malfoy - who I had completely forgotten was behind me - scoff. I glared over my shoulder at him and he looked back just as bitterly.

"Another night's detention, Mr. Malfoy. Get to your common room and I will see you here at seven o'clock tomorrow." Snape said loudly, making me look at him with a surprised grin. He did not acknowledge it, but kept his eyes level on Malfoy.

"But sir, tomorrow is _Sunday!_" Malfoy groaned. Snape's expression remained darkly impassive.

"Then I should make it seven _a.m. _so as not to disrupt what I'm sure you have planned for a productive day. Do not be late." And with that he turned his gaze from Malfoy and it was very clear that their conversation was over. I tried _very _hard to keep my smile hidden but I couldn't help smirking at Malfoy as he trudged out of the classroom. Snape's posture seemed to relax slightly.

"What did he do to get detention?" I asked curiously. His eyes hardened slightly as he turned back to Crabbe's paper, giving it an undeserved 'E' before even reading it.

"He behaved inappropriately at the ball, Potter." There was something in his voice that I knew I should have understood, but he continued on quickly. "Astral Projection will be hard and it will take a lot of energy and magic from you - you will find yourself physically and mentally drained. I will give you one _week _of practicing before I _will _tell you to find an alternative plan. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. When should we start?" I asked with a smile on my face.

"Not today," he said quickly. "Tomorrow after lunch, I'd say. Get a good night's sleep, you'll need it for tomorrow. We won't work late, as you have classes the morning after."

"Perfect," I smiled, turning on my heel. I heard him call me and turned around at the door.

"You know this will be harder than you understand, that the chances you can do this are slim to none? The exhaustion and strain you will put on yourself will be for nothing." He explained, I frowned at him and nodded my head.

"Your concern is sweet, Snape...but I have to try. I don't really have many other options."

"There are always other options," he said quickly before frowning at himself. He sat there a moment, lost in his own thoughts before he looked up at me. He almost looked surprised, perhaps he had expected me to leave, so I turned on my heel and walked away from him - closing the door shut behind me. I would leave the book there, he would need to look it over so he could teach me everything the rubbish on the page meant tomorrow.

I walked to the Slytherin common room, knowing that lunch was over by now and expecting Nott to be mad at me for skipping meals again. He was always very touchy about my eating habits - he once said that it was because of how many meals I tended to skip, but I think it was because of how skinny I was each time I came here from the Dursley's, he probably thinks I'm anorexic.

The Slytherin common room wasn't full of people, but there were a few spotted around the fire or in corners gossiping. It only made sense most were going to stay out on a Saturday afternoon, winter or not, but Theodore was sitting in the chair nearest the fire waiting for me. Of course, Malfoy was with Daphne and Montague on the couch. It was strange seeing Daphne and Montague together, I wondered if there was a more vicious intention behind her trying to show him off - something that was supposed to be bitterly directed to me. She would be sorely disappointed when she realized that I was just glad he was laying off for a few weeks.

"Snape didn't let you be an idiot then," Malfoy said loudly as I walked towards Theodore. I turned around to look at him, only to see all the people dotted on the plush green carpeting were looking at me curiously.

"Pardon me?"

He gave me a roll of his eyes, though the look he was giving me was intense. It almost reminded me of his eyes the night of the ball, just before he had tried to kiss me - it made a shiver dance down my spine at the mere thought. Of course, the two of us had made off the cuff comments about how mistletoe and practical jokes were involved and how we were both glad the other didn't fall for it...but I had a horrid feeling that we were only saying those things to make ourselves feel better.

It was disturbing to think that Malfoy had almost tricked me into kissing him, much more realistically than Montague had, and it disturbed me that we were making up such terrible excuses - it was almost as if it really _had _been spontaneous and warranted at the time.

Then again, his eyes now betrayed none of his malcontent with me - which was not only what I was used to but what comforted me. To be honest, Malfoy was kind of a rock in this competition for me - our constant bickering was just the distraction I needed to keep from pulling my hair out or giving up and curling in a corner.

"_Astral Projection_, Potter? It's harder than apparating. People don't even try it anymore as it's a dead art." He sneered. "Then again, you are a little dead girl."

I sneered at the old nickname, not even bothering to acknowledge that he was proving everything I'd just thought of the bastard true. He'd made the nickname up for me in first year when we had made enemies, before I had gotten the full power of my sharp tongue. He loved calling me that, reminding me that I was supposed to have bled to death from Voldemort's cruel curse across my neck. I tried not to show him how much that particular nickname irked me as I turned to face him.

"Actually, we begin tomorrow." I said with a hiss. "And I will be able to do it by the next task."

"A month to learn Cantated magic? Bollocks. You can barely do magic with an _in_cantation, Potter, you're not going to master ancient magic with Snape as your teacher and everyone putting pressure on you."

"Dare to make another bet on that, Malfoy? I mean, are you still broke from losing the last one?" I hissed, my eyes narrowing on him as I raised an eyebrow. He had I usually danced around the topic of him owing the Weasley twins the money from the bet, even though he refused to pay up, but I wasn't going to let him get away with it so easily. It seemed like the entire common room was looking at us now, particularly looking at him now that I had hit where everyone knew was so close to his pride.

"I have all the money I could ever want to bet, Potter. Money is boring to bet, there's no strain in it for me at all. My parents work hard for it, you know...I don't want to trod on the fact you don't have that luxury." I felt Theodore stand behind me and could feel the anger coming off him in waves, even though I knew he would bite his tongue and let me handle it. Nott didn't like confrontation, which was why he and I were the perfect duo - he kept me safe with his levelheadedness and I kept him motivated with my gall. I couldn't help my eyes snapping to Daphne who was looking from Malfoy, to Montague and then back to Nott and I worriedly before she looked back to Malfoy.

"Draco, her parents-"

"The Mudblood and the traitor are dead? Yes, I'm aware. The _world _is aware of the Potter-twins dreadful lives thanks to Rita Skeeter's little article. Wasn't there something about you in there somewhere?" He asked me mockingly. "Ah yes there was, _squib._"

"Malfoy," I hissed, raising my wand to him. "If you want to test out how much a squib I am, I suggest you raise your wand."

"It's illegal to cast magic in front of muggles though, isn't it?" I felt my anger flare, he had gone from making fun of my deformity, to me being an orphan, to my resemblance to a squib and now I'm a _muggle_?

"Why are you so mad, Malfoy? Because I cut your detention short for the night, or because I continued it for tomorrow? Because I'm sure that Snape will forgive you missing it if I put you in the hospital wing before morning." I hissed, taking a step forward, looking at my wand with more respect than I often felt for it. I felt more contempt than I was used to as I walked up to him lowering myself to be at his eye level. "And I will do it while I show you how much a muggle can do when I rip your tongue out with my bare hands. I don't need a wand to win a fight with you, ferret."

I watched his anger flare and felt a wonderful satisfaction from it. I raised an eyebrow.

"Are we making a bet or not?"

"Oh we can bet." He hissed. "I just don't know what you're willing to lose."

"I'm willing to _gain _anything that takes away whatever shred of dignity you think you can 'own'." I hissed, looking him over with a sneer. I felt Theodore's arm on my shoulder, pulling me back a bit.

"Don't do this, it's not worth it."

"Listen to your boyfriend, Potter. You have nothing worth offering me." Malfoy smirked, knowing that he would win by his taunting. I wasn't one to disappoint.

"Theodore," I said quietly and was glad to feel his hand fall from my shoulder. "What's your bet?"

"I _know _you won't be able to do the projection and then you'll have to do the task with only your wand - then you'll lose, but that's just common knowledge." He smirked.

"So your real bet is that I can't do the projection?" I asked, when he nodded I smiled. "I bet that I will be able to do it and I will do it so well that I will flip you the finger and do a jig if that's what it takes to convince you."

"Fine, I think you can't and you think you can. What's the actual wager?" He asked with a venomous smirk. I smiled, looking at him thoughtfully - if we weren't betting money I needed to bet something else that was just as useful or made as much of a statement as the money that he had handed over the Weasley twins for the first task. And then it hit me like a white shock of lightning.

"I want your hair." He looked startled, reaching his hand up and almost touching his hair before narrowing his eyes.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. _When _I do my projection, I get to decide what happens to your hair. I'm thinking you'd look like a good skinhead. You hold similar morals." I smirked, crossing my arms in front of me. He would either back out or give me the biggest thrill of my life.

"Fine," he said in a clipped voice. I couldn't hide my eyebrows shooting up in surprise. I had expected him to take longer while he considered it. He really didn't have a lot of faith in me at all, it seemed. "Only because my price is much more steep."

"Oh?" I asked, in complete disinterest. Unless he told me to shave my head as well, I couldn't see anything worse than what I would end up doing to him. He nodded, very smug.

"I want your cat."

"W-What?" The air had been knocked out of me as soon as it registered in my mind. I could not judge him for looking so smug considering what he was bartering. It didn't even make sense. "You don't even like Circe!"

"But she seems to like me, if I recall correctly." He faked a large sigh. "Such a hassle, getting a second pet. I'm sure I'm up to the responsibility. Kneazles will eat owl bits, won't they?"

I felt a shiver run through me, something that I couldn't even try to hide. What kind of monster was he, trying to take my Circe away from me? Who would even think of something like that? I sneered at him, a hatred worse than I have ever felt for him burning in the pit of my stomach as I took a step backwards so we were far enough away and, swallowing thickly, I held my hand out for him.

"Drea, no! You love Circe!" Daphne gasped, even Montague looked a little shocked. I didn't dare look to see what Theo was thinking. I looked at my best friend with a glare that I had given Malfoy earlier.

"That's why I'm taking the bet. Circe will love his hair as a play-thing." I said with a sick smile as I took his hand and shook it, both of us squeezing until it hurt too much. I refused to pull away first as we glared at each other, fire and daggers shooting from eye to eye. As soon as he had broken the grip between us I turned my eyes away, trying not to let him see what must have been a furious blush and the fact that my hand felt bruised.

"You don't mind if she sleeps outside do you?" He asked. "I hate mutts in the room."

I flared my nostrils. Ready to call his bluff in a moment.

"You don't mind if I dye your hair red and gold before I chop it off, do you? It would look so beautiful with your skin-tone. Maybe instead of Gryffindor red it should be _Weasley _red...hmm..." I mocked thought as I walked up to my dormitory, not even bothering to say goodnight to Theodore or Daphne, but happy when the latter didn't follow me up here.

Circe was on my bed, waiting for me expectantly. I went up to her and kissed her head, she took her paw and pulled my arm down as if telling me to cuddle with her. I kissed her again and frowned. "One minute, sweetie. I have to write a letter."

Going to my bedside table I got out some parchment and quickly scribbled a note to Harry, asking him to use Hedwig to send a letter to Snuffles, before I took out another piece and began something a little less pushy.

_Snuffles,_

_The tournament is getting more difficult, I've gone to the lengths of private lessons with Snape. I think it's my only option to survive this year. Have you ever heard of Astral projection? Snape says I won't be able to do it, but I am going to prove him wrong. I may or may not have made a bet with Malfoy over my training for it that either makes me lose Circe, or gain full property of his hair..._

_I'm getting nervous, Snuffles. I haven't had a premonition in weeks, not even in Divination. My headaches are getting worse and I have a terrible feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Something is going to happen. Soon. I plan on talking to Snape about it tomorrow, considering Dumbledore's time is limited to me for my twins sake._

_Please answer back soon. My projection lessons start tomorrow and I'm sure a letter would be much more uplifting than all the threats of exhaustion and failure..._

_Drea_

I couldn't believe how true everything I had written was, even though I hadn't really thought to put it in context before. Considering everything that I'd written, it was probably best that I didn't leave my full name just in case someone caught on to who 'snuffles' really was. I made sure to use a magical Hogwarts seal that Hermione had given me in second year so that he would know if it were read beforehand and frowned at the envelope. My writing was so terrible, I really should have taken lessons. Maybe I could get Theodore to teach me - he'd had to learn like all the other purebloods. I looked at it jealously, thinking back to all the papers I had graded, even Parkinson's was neat and tidy - but not so nice as Malfoy's. Malfoy had quite nice script, to be honest.

On that note, I tucked the envelope into my robes and headed for the owlery. I wanted to send this off before it got into the wrong hands. It was a cool trek, I should have worn better robes to be venturing outside the castle, but I wanted to hurry so that I could get to my dinner somewhat early. Malfoy's little bet did everything if not encourage me to learn as quickly as possible.

As I walked I couldn't help but think over what I had written to Sirius - it was true about my visions, not that I really minded not having them as often. It was nice to have a break from the future and live in the present, something which was increasingly difficult to do when all you have visions of are inevitable pain and suffering. Not only were my visions - or lack thereof - a problem, but the feeling of dread wasn't as it should have felt. I guess I'd never thought that the feeling of dread could have been for more than just my fear of the water-task that was fast approaching, but the dread was more than just a phobia. It almost felt like a supernatural dread, like the dread inflicted by Dementors when they come too close.

When I finally reached the owlery, I made Circe stay outside as she made the owls nervous, she seemed upset with me which made me feel even more guilty about the bet I had just made. I went into the building, looking between all my picks before I found the _exact _bird I wanted, I took the letter I had written to Harry and tore it into pieces, throwing it into the bin nearby. In front of where I stood, a rather handsome black eagle-owl stared at me knowingly, as if he knew that I was about to abuse my power over animals to make him go against typical owl rule.

"Hello Heracles," I cooed. "Would you mind sending a letter for me?"

The owl just blinked at me, but I could tell that he wasn't as happy as some of the other owls would have been for the offer. "Malfoy won't mind - it's not a long flight. You'll be able to still get him his treats on Monday, I'm sure."

The owl blinked again as if he could sense I was lying. "Alright, perhaps you'll be late, but if you come back with a response, I promise to have some special treats waiting for you."

The owl gave me an excited squawk as a reply and several other owls jealously shrieked and flapped as if offering their assistance over his. But I quite liked that Malfoy's eagle-owl would be out of commission for a day or two. He had no right threatening my kneazle.

After I had strapped the letter to Heracles' leg and sent him off with a few owl treats in his belly, I went right back out to and onto the grounds, Circe falling into step with me quickly. She was probably still annoyed that I hadn't let her go after the owls, but at least she wasn't holding it against me considering I was starting to feel anxiety over the bet I'd made.

The grounds were starting to darken and cool down so I ran as quickly as I could back into the Great Hall. It was early for dinner, a lot of people weren't there, but like always everyone who _was _ended up being very intent over the fact a Slytherin was headed to sit at the Gryffindor table.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't there yet, but at least Ginny was. Sadly, sitting beside her boyfriend, Ravenclaw Michael Corner - on her other side was Seamus. His eyes lit up as soon as I sat down next to Ginny and across from him.

"Well hey-o, Audrey. How are you?"

"I was absolutely fantastic - oh, save my little run-in with some blonde-headed Ravenclaw bimbo. Fifth year. Would you happen to know her name, Seamus?" I asked sarcastically, watching as his cheeks went pink and he went back to his stew. I turned to Ginny, who was trying hard to restrain her smile.

"You seem the cheerful type tonight," she observed. "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, this and that." I smirked, looking over at the Slytherin table when I heard Malfoy yelling at someone or other. I caught his eyes after a moment and we stared at each other, both smirking as we thought of our horrendous, diabolical bet.

"Uh, Audrey?"

And suddenly, the moment was broken and very awkward. It was almost like we had been smiling at each other - I mean, Malfoy never smiled and I never smiled at someone like _him _but it was like we were caught red handed doing something we shouldn't have been and both of us nervously looked away.

"Yeah, what?"

"Were you just..." she looked between Malfoy and I but shook her head, mumbling something about how impossible a moment like that was. I was relieved - I had no idea how to go about bullshitting my way out of something like that.

"Do you know if Harry is coming down for dinner?"

"I'm sure he'll be here eventually," Ginny waved off. I smiled at her and looked to Michael briefly, eyeing him to let her know what I was talking about.

"So...how's everything been?"

"Fantastic," she seemed enthusiastic about it. "He can be quite entertaining."

I wrinkled my nose. "Ginny, some things need to stay to yourself."

She shrugged as she kept eating. I found it easy to feel comfortable at this table, even though I could feel someone staring at me. I ignored it and dug into the food. My weight was lower than it normally was around this time of year, but it was probably from all the stress. I should really start listening to Theo and start eating regularly timed meals.

"Drea!" I smiled as the Weasley twins came and sat on either side of me.

"How'd it go-"

"-y'know with Snape?" George finished. I smiled at him and shrugged.

"Starting tomorrow." I grinned, hitting them in the shoulder. "Also Malfoy and I got into it tonight."

"Oh?" Fred asked interestedly. "Still upset about owing us?"

"Owing you?" Ginny piped in. "What does Malfoy owe you?"

"Nothing," all three of us stated quickly, looking at her with wide eyes. Her eyes narrowed at our response as she shook her head and turned away. I looked at both brothers nervously - she would be on our cases and trying to figure out what was going on until she found out.

"Audrey, what are you doing here?" Oh thank God, at least Ginny would be distracted by Harry's arrival - even if she denied that she still fancied him, it was obvious to everyone except him.

"Hello brother-dearest. What have you been up to on this fine January 16th?"

"Er..." Harry stuttered, looking at my chipperness as a bad sign. "Actually, it's been quite the interesting weekend..."

"Oh?" I asked, genuinely intrigued. "Tell me about it."

"Well, after we got back from Hogsmeade yesterday-"

"Sorry about that, by the way. Did you still have time to get there?" I asked Fred and George nervously. They'd been helping me all morning and I didn't feel rude at all cutting my brother off - he was my twin. He could get over it.

"Even if we wouldn't have, we still would have gone," Fred winked.

"Don't worry about it." George agreed with a smile.

"Sorry. You were saying?" I smiled at Harry who looked between the three of us nervously.

"What were you three doing today?"

"Something we probably shouldn't have been," I lied vaguely. After his experience with our weekend itineraries, he took that to be truth.

"Alright...well, after being harassed by Skeeter at the Three Broomsticks - she said to say hi, by the way - we were coming back and we saw Krum diving into the Black Lake. Who would want to dive into the lake in freezing temperatures?"

"He was diving into the lake?" I asked mechanically, almost able to feel my skin pale and my stomach decide it was sick of eating. I felt Fred put his hand on the small of my back, knowing my nerves were flying around like pixies. I took a deep breath, trying to be comforted by it.

"Yeah, why?"

Why? Because if Krum was diving into the lake, he'd figured out what Cedric and I already had. If he was already practicing his own methods it means that I was falling behind and I was already trying particularly difficult magic. Harry and Fleur would realize any time now what the egg meant, then I would be at even more of a disadvantage than I already was.

"Nothing. Continue on." I choked out. Hermione gave me a suspicious glare, but she didn't say anything.

"Well, then today we stopped off at Hagrid's to try and convince him to come back as Care of Magical Creatures professor - he is still really torn up about the article. Thinks we won't take him seriously."

"Oh, please tell me it worked!" Professor Grubbly-Plank had only been doing lessons for the past week, but it was torture. She had no idea of spontaneity and on top of that she had gotten two separate facts about unicorn's wrong during the lesson I had with her. _Two _facts - on _unicorns_, nonetheless! How daft can you be?

"It did. He said he would talk to Dumbledore when he came for dinner - he just wanted to go feed the unicorns first."

"Wonderful. It really is his calling." I smiled, looking up at the staff table to see if he was there. He wasn't yet, but Dumbledore was smiling at us almost as if he knew what we were speaking of. I turned back to Harry.

"Sounds like quite the weekend."

"That's not the last bit," Harry leaned forward as if he wanted to keep this part of the conversation private, even though Ron and Hermione leaned in with him. "Have you talked to Cedric at all?"

"Cedric? As in Diggory?" I asked, looking away to try and appear innocent. He scoffed.

"Don't play daft, you fancy the bloke, everyone knows it." I glared at him and suddenly, the hand I had forgotten was on my lower back disappeared. I looked over to Fred only to see that he seemed to be in deep conversation with Katie Bell.

"I speak to him every now and again," I corrected. "Why, what'd he say?" But Harry didn't need to tell me. I had made Cedric promise to tell him a hint on how to solve it because I knew he would tell Hermione and I knew that Hermione would help him figure it out.

"He told me the password to the prefects bathroom and told me to mull over the clue there. Does that make any sense? I think the man is daft." I looked at him and frowned. After all that work, making Cedric promise to give him the hint and making sure that I was far more kind than Harry had been to me - he was going to completely discredit it. I frowned at my plate and stood up.

"Oh my dear Merlin, Harry!" I sighed dramatically, hitting my hands against the table as I stood. "I think _you're _daft. I have an exhausting day tomorrow. Goodnight, Gryffindors...and Michael."

I didn't really wait for any responses as I left, but Fred looked very upset that I was. I don't know what had gotten over him - it was almost as if he were jealous of my interactions with Cedric. But that was ridiculous. Fred was a sixth year! Not only was he a sixth year, he was one of the _Weasley twins. _He was my best friend and he'd always had a thing for Angelina - why would he be interested in me in comparison? She had curves, she was older, she was prettier and hell her kindness and sincerity probably looked saintly in comparison to my bucket list of faults.

The walk to the dungeons was faster than normal, but it could have been because I was so lost in my thoughts about whatever it was that Fred had shoved up his arse. Just as I was getting into the common room I heard my name being called.

"What?" I spun around only to groan and keep walking. "Haven't I already dealt with you today, Malfoy?"

"Leaving us to go hang out with one of your boyfriends?" He sneered, coming up towards me. He actually looked angry, which surprised me. I hadn't actually insulted him and given him something to be angry about in this part of today's argument, usually I had to come up with some cruel nickname first.

"Oh Merlin, what did Pansy do to get your wand in a knot?" I paused as I thought about it. "Or, more realistically, what _didn't _she do?"

"Don't make _me _out to be the whore here, Potter."

I actually laughed. "I'm sorry, did you just call me a whore?"

"Oh, I saw you with that blood traitors hands all over you - no wonder you were so protective over them at the ball. You've been shagging one! Or have you been shagging both of them - are they _really _identical?"

My jaw dropped. "You're such a tosser!"

"And you're a whore." He said pointedly. "A whore and a squib and someone who makes stupid bets-"

"Bugger off, Malfoy!" I hissed, moving to go towards my dormitory. I really didn't want to handle this right now - I was going to read more about astral projection and get the sleep Snape advised. There was no reason that he would have exaggerated his points - if he said that I would need my rest, I had no doubt that I would need my rest.

"Why, do you have Diggory waiting in your bed?" He asked viciously. "Or is the problem that you need your sleep because for once no one's in it at all?"

"If you're trying to hint you want in my bed, Malfoy, you could just ask me to come to yours." I spun back. "Until then, stop calling me a whore just because you're not one of the people who I would sleep with. Ever."

"You'll want to get in my bed when your cat is sleeping on the end of it," he glared. I rolled my eyes as I walked away from him. I'd just end up stealing her back...besides, I knew I would be able to go to sleep with a smile on my face.

He wouldn't get my pet...but I'd already taken the liberty of using his.

* * *

><p><strong>So there has been pretty much a tie on this kiss-vote between <strong>_Fred Weasley _**and **_Cedric Diggory_**. I think I have it worked out but more response would be wonderful - a lot of you put 'either Fred or Cedric' which still makes me wonder. There is a tiny note at the very bottom after the review responses, if you want more hints and tid-bits :) **

**I am still blown away by the response to the last chapter, so here are the responses from myself to you...  
><strong>

_Laurafxox_: **I'm glad you like the idea, it was a mix of watching Insidious (the horror movie, if you've seen it) and an idea that I need to happen later in the story, so I figured it would be good to start it now. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing and your kiss-vote!**

_Ella710_**: Haha, Montague sadly isn't gay which we will find out in a few chapters in detail, but I agree that he's a slimy little git who should never get to touch Audrey. I'm glad that you've liked what you've read and don't worry - I'd never not write these tasks! I'm a few chapters ahead and have already written the first half of it already ;) Thanks for the review and kiss-vote!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I have taken note of your Cedric kiss-vote, thanks. As for Draco doing the task for her, it should be obvious he won't do that with the bet they made. Besides, Audrey is way too stubborn to let anybody do her dirty work for her, she has something to prove. I will be honest and give you a bit of a spoiler - the SUPER Draco romance is in their fifth year, but to be clear that's only about eight chapters away :) Exploring Astral projection is next chapter! **

_Invincible Shadow_**: I'm so glad you liked it, do you like the idea of Astral projection as well? It was really complicated to figure out how she was a ghost like being but could still do magic - I sat around for days trying to figure out the details. Don't worry about Montague kissing her, literally no one voted for him so he is far out of the running. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and leaving a kiss-vote!**

_PrincessK16_**: Ha, sometimes I yell at my computer or television too. I write my own things sometimes and talk to the characters as if they can hear me saying "why did I let you do that?" anyway, thank you for the review!**

_Tamari-95_**: I'm glad you like it, thank you so much! Your kiss-vote has been counted :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Thanks for the vote, it's nice when someone just chooses one. It's been very confusing as people have been choosing 'between _ and _'. She and Ron get a little bit closer next year when she isn't fighting for her life so much :) I think once I'm done with the GOF part of this story I'm going to go through what I've written and take note of every time I say something like "when this happened in second year" etc, so that I can put everything I have in order and see what I have to work with. There is some Draco/Audrey past in the next chapter though! I agree with seeing her kick him where it counts ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Hope you enjoyed it :)**

_britstar4_**: Thank you for enjoying it, reviewing and giving a kiss-vote. I agree that Theo being kissed would complicate things, I pretty much just put him in there to have another option, but I'm really glad that the masses didn't want to ruin their dynamic. Thanks again!**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: This one wasn't the most exciting chapter again, I'm sorry, but the next one has some good things in it - magical history, snarky remarks, Astral practice, tons of Snape, Moody, some memories, and a little bit of relationship angst. Thank you for reading, voting and reviewing!**

_The Dark side of the Mind_**: Your kiss-vote has been counted, I agree, I think he's adorable. And it's not just because I also write Twilight fanfiction, I just think that Cedric himself is a gem. I'm glad you think that Audrey is more realistic than other characters (or as realistic as a witch that goes to magic school can be). Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

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_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I hope you're having a good time in Texas, I will have Forgetting Franki to you by then. Hopefully two chapters, to be honest, just so that I can get out of your hair during all your preparations. How excited must you be? I'm excited for you and we've never even met! I agree that Fred and she have a lot of chemistry, but I think it could be a lot more touching if it's Cedric and then he dies and then Fred comes in and then Draco comes in and then Harry gets with Cho who we already know Audrey dislikes - I don't know. It's why I came to the readers. Speaking of which, can you see all the reviews? Clearly I have to start incorporating the readers more, the response was so flattering I rushed the chapter; I just couldn't help myself. Anyway, hope everything is great out there!**

**: I'll keep that in mind, thank you :)**

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><p><strong>Wow, guys these were <strong>so **impressive. As I said to the editor, I clearly need to get you guys more involved. I love that you guys are thinking about what you want to see happen or how you think Audrey would react - literally this chapter was going to be released a week from now but I couldn't go without thanking you for all your feedback. Please note that I'm still between **Cedric **and **Fred**, so if you feel you want one more than the other, **_REVIEW_** and let me know! **

**-Egypt**


	17. Body and Mind

**I can't explain to you all how much I enjoy writing this story. I just finished the first draft of the second task the other day and I can promise you it will be a page-turner...or scroller, since we are in the modern muggle world. First draft was over 10,000 words as well, so I wasn't skimping out. But on to this chapter, I hope you all enjoy it like I enjoy all your fantastic feedback - keep it up!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Sixteen - Body and Mind<span>

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><p>"You're early."<p>

"I'm excited." I corrected, looking at Snape who, as always, was sat behind his desk and marking up papers with unfair scores. From what I could see, it looked like he was working on some higher level potions students. I gauged this by how long the parchment was and how difficult all the instructions seemed to be - I felt the urge to take a peak at it, though decided against it. I was here on official Triwizard business. "Did you read the passages I showed you?"

"I did not need to. I am quite familiar with this method of magic."

My jaw dropped. "Can you do cantated magic, professor?"

"Certainly not this kind," he told me, his eyes shamelessly glaring at me. "Which is why you shouldn't get your hopes up."

"But professor, we know that I already seem to catch on quickly to cantated magic. Speechless spells are a breeze for me and sometimes I can even do wandless conjuring." I reminded him. "No need to be such a Negative-Neville."

"Speechless spells are not cantated magic, Potter," his shook his head to make the point clear. "But you are right about having a bit of advantage with your wandless pursuits. Be that as it may, you cannot direct or fully control what little cantated magic you have managed. Not many can - that is why we learn incantations." He explained. "And I am not being negative, you are being pig-headed and arrogant."

"I am not!" I argued quickly. "I just know that if there is any type of magic I can learn in under a month it is going to be this one. Besides, it's the only option I have."

"And why is that?"

I felt my face grow hot. "I'm afraid of water, sir."

"You're afraid of water?" His voice was not only patronizing but had a touch of disbelief thrown into it. His mimic of my words were slow and deliberately rude which made me flush in embarrassment and stumble over my response.

"The task, the second task, you need to be able to survive underwater for an hour and go searching for something. I'm terrified of water, I can't-" I shook my head. "Professor, I will not actually be able to bring myself to jump into that water. This is the only way I can think that I don't have to. Besides...I can't swim."

"Hm," he grumbled, looking far more serious about putting what I said into consideration. "And all that you just said is true?"

"Yes, sir. When I was younger, I used to make the pipes burst when I was scared - they started putting me under the kitchen sink so that I'd stop. But I'd just burst those as well...I almost drowned."

He looked away from me for a moment, a hard expression passing over his face. Though he would never admit it to me, I knew he was imagining the scenario and also what he would do to my guardians had he been there to stop the torture. I welcomed his protective side - he and Theodore seemed to be the only people in the school who felt the need to care for me.

"Before we begin, you should remember that this is unlikely to work. More powerful witches and wizards have tried and failed." I nodded. "Even I have not dabbled this deeply into this form of cantated magic. It will not be a pretty experience."

"All I'm asking you to do is show me the ropes - I'll try to do the rest on my own." I assured, he smirked at me slightly, putting away his grading so he was able to stand up.

"Astral projection or Astral travel is the manifestation of an Astral body, separate from the physical body that you currently possess. It is the separation of the physical consciousness from magical ability, so while your physical body will stay centered and grounded, your Astral body will be free to journey where it pleases."

"Yes, sir." I nodded, I was sure to listen closely to his words even though I had already read two books on the subject. I knew the basic methodology behind it, the history of how it was brought down from the Mayan civilization and later perfected by the Egyptians, I even knew what I was to expect and how I would know once I had acquired access to that state. The problem is that no one knew how to write down how to get to it, because everyone had to go about it in such different ways. Of course, there were all the cultural, religious, magical ingredients that could be added into the process as well.

"How much reading have you done on the subject?"

"Enough," I assured him. He looked at me carefully, trying to see if I was being honest or if I were just being lazy. He seemed to trust my instincts.

"Then you know that there is no set way on how to reach a state of Astral journey?"

"I do, sir." I nodded. "But to be honest, I am still confusing my abilities while _in _the journey itself."

"You will be able to do what needs to be done," he nodded, coming around the desk to stand closer to me. It made me wonder if he knew what the task was or if he was speaking generally. "Because the separation is physical and magical, you will be able to use magic whilst in your Astral state. The problem being, because you do not have your wand with you as it must stay with your physical body to complete the separation, you will need to be able to do simple magic without the assistance of your wand."

"Wonderful!" I smiled. "That will actually make everything much easier."

"You match my thoughts," Snape nodded. "It will not, however, be as simple as it is to cast a speechless spell or wandless spell. Astral projection is all dependant on energy. If you happen to run out of energy while in your Astral state, it could be disastrous."

"Right. Energy is necessary, got it."

"Now, the most difficult point for you is the most important - you need to clear your mind. Within all forms of cantated magic one must be able to repel and focus at any necessary time. For occlumens one must repel others attacks, for magnusomes one is repelling physical limitations, but for Astral projection you need to be able to repel distraction."

"No distractions, roger that." I nodded, then stopped suddenly. "Er - what are _occlumens _and _magnusomes_?"

"I can tell that your focus will be that of which will leave a severe impression on our deadline…"

"Oh, don't be so crabby, I'm allowed to ask questions." I frowned. "Just remind me to ask after. As for clearing your mind, how would I go about doing something like that? It sounds painful. I won't have to destroy any brain cells will I?"

"Of course not - cantated magic relies on not only intelligence, but wisdom and obedience - this is why you will not thrive in it."

"Professor, you are speaking to me as if I am some sort of a delinquent."

"You are." He narrowed his eyes and I could almost see the whole 'blowing up his storage cupboards' playing through his mind.

"I am not a delinquent, I am very bored. And on top of that, I have a lot of enemies. it's hard being a halfblood in Slytherin, did you know?" He gave me a sour look that held some meaning which intimidated me. "A halfblood Slytherin with a famous brother who makes it very public his opinions on equality and-and general false morality." I explained, watching as Snape's frown deepened. He nodded slowly.

"Yes, you are not in the most reliable of situations, but that does not mean you should go looking for trouble. That's something that your father did."

I frowned. Every time that he talked about me being like my father, I knew that he was insulting me. That or he was disappointed - which was much, much worse coming from him. I knew that the two of them had hated each other and even though he never compared me to my mother, I know that when he didn't say anything to me was when he was the most proud.

I cleared my throat, trying not to show him how much the comparison hurt. "And how do I clear my mind?"

"You need to clear your mind of thought and emotion, forget all your insignificant and petty teenage angst." He seemed content that he had gotten me back on track, so I nodded slightly.

"Is that all? Easy."

"Mm," he hummed, raising an eyebrow. "If you're so sure, try it now. We may as well."

"Alright," I said determinedly. I looked around the room. "Can I sit or lay or something? I feel like that would be easier."

"Sit," he told me, pointing to the top of the nearest potions counter. "On the table, it will be more stable. You cannot lay because you need to hold you wand in between your hands."

I did as he said, climbing up on the table. I was surprised that he would let me do this, just because it seemed like he would rather hex a student than let them put their butt on the top of his lab bench. I drew my wand as I sat cross-legged on top of the bench looking at him nervously as I twiddled my wand around.

"Er - how do I hold it?"

"Put the hilt of your wand against your left hand," he instructed. I did as he said. "Now place the tip of your wand in the center of your right palm. Hold it like that."

I held it tightly, feeling as both ends dug into my skin. It was a distraction in itself, fearing that if I let my grip slacken at all my wand would fall and everything I did would be for nothing. If you took your wand from between your hands, the connection between body and magic was broken - meaning that it all went back into it's respected places and you were whole once again.

"Now, clear your mind. Forget about the room, the desk. Forget about me, your insignificant relationships, your dwindling grades-"

"Must you? There is no reason to set me up for failure." I snapped at him, but I kept my eyes closed. "Could you play some nature sounds or something?"

"I'm not a performing monkey. Do it the old fashioned way. You're going to have to find a way to focus with stands full of people around you."

Well, that didn't help at all. I couldn't help as my mind started wandering to silly, insignificant questions. Like, what would I hear with everyone out on the stands? Would people be booing at me or cheering? Would people be calling me an idiot and laugh at me?

"You're not focussing."

"Yes I am." I gritted my teeth together irritably.

"If you were truly focussing, you wouldn't be able to hear me." he seemed to be rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry, you've reached my answering machine, I am not able to talk at the present moment. Please leave your name and ignore all stray insults and, or fingers…"

"Potter, you're being ridiculous-" I was annoyed with his interruptions.

"_Beeeeeeep_."

"Do you _want _to drown, Potter?" he snarled and I actually swallowed a lump that formed in my throat. I didn't open my eyes, but shut them more tightly.

"I would have an easier time concentrating if you weren't _telling _me how to concentrate on not concentrating, thank you." I muttered. "You can be so frustrating."

"The feeling is mutual. Now, I will give you three minutes of silence before I find out just how concentrated you are. If by some slight of chance you happen to reach an Astral state - I want you to write on the chalk board. I will coach you from there."

"And I'll be able to hear you?"

"You'll be in a spiritual body, Potter, not an eternal sleep." I couldn't help but think if something happened and I was lost in that strange transition between my real body and Astral body that he would be more than happy to feed me some Draught of Living Death just to put me to sleep so he wouldn't have to deal with me anymore.

Alright, I'm supposed to be clearing my mind of thought and emotion - which includes the worry that Snape is going to try and off me in my relaxed state. Then again, I think he's probably the least of my worries, knowing that someone else is actually trying to do Harry and I in. And Snape is so worried over the fact someone may be after me - but why would anyone be after me? it's not like I'm anything special or like I was ever a threat.

Then again, I probably put up a better fight than I should have against the Ridgeback. It probably didn't help the 'I'm so defenceless' stance that I'm taking against this whole tournament. As much as I loved to admit that I couldn't do magic, there was definitely something in me that couldn't be ignored - pretty sure it's the only reason I've survived thus far in this blasted school. I mean, coercing a dragon? Even I can't deny it's impressive.

Of course, Harry can do better. Harry can actually hold casual conversations with snakes. Next thing we'll see is a picture of him on _the Prophet _when he's hosting a tea party for some of them. What a ruddy bastard, he'd love the fame too. He just 'hates' attention he says, and yet he's so sure to get himself in trouble and make it the biggest trouble he can get into. Finding the Philosophers stone, saving Ginny - not that I begrudged him too much for my friends life, and of course saving Sirius. I'm surprised he didn't go rogue with it, announcing it to the bloody Quibbler. Were Sirius' life not on the line, he probably would do that, too.

I could just imagine Skeeter's face if Harry went public with that story for the Quibbler and not for her - what a prat, digging up all those fake stories. And to accuse Hagrid like that? Sure, the story was true, but what business is it of hers? I had made my stance on her very clear, but clearly I wasn't harsh enough with my terms and she-

I couldn't finish my thought properly, because I felt some sort of shuffling in my mind. It was almost painful just because it was so humiliating, I could feel something searching to see whatever it was it wanted to see - it picked out the thought process I had been on and rode with the memory of it...

_"It's on a need-to-know basis when you're a writer, darling!" _Rita Skeeter was smiling at me threateningly. I remembered this. I remembered being so furious, that she was spouting lies like this. How dare she have gotten Harry so riled up talking about our parents? My father, my mother? She had no right to bring them up when they had risked their lives for a cause more noble than her own relationship with her bloody quill. _"That quote itself I have heard from your Professor, Severus Snape, who seems to have taken a fond liking to you. I was never very fond of the man, but he was very defensive over your position in all this-"_

_"That's because Professor Snape is one of the best professors that has ever worked in this school,"_ I hissed defensively, it was taking me everything within me not to stop right on over and have a temper tantrum, even though at the exact same time all I wanted to do was punch her in her little lecherous smile for even speaking of the only two men that I could count on. _"I don't know how you get your information, or why you insist on writing nonsense but I hold by my brother like you hold by your quill. And listen, I am not the best wandwoman, but I can do things that would make your nightmares run scared, lady. So don't you dare try to toss my brother off the broom so that you can get more readers. My brother didn't put our name in and I didn't put our name in, but whoever did is going to feel my wrath when I find them - you hear that you false-quill? Write _that _in your bloody article." _

I remember moving as closely to the door as I could before slamming it open, only wishing that it would splinter and tear out her beetle-bug eyes. I turned around to glare at the snide woman, bleached by the daylight and looking even more pathetic than I already thought of her.

_"You know, even the less honourable Slytherins consider your articles a joke." _It took everything within me not to smile sadistically_. "Maybe you should interview some of our enemies while you're at it? I'm sure they'll be just as credible. I mean, since you're as big a joke as your writing." _

I resurfaced, almost like I would have from a vision and took a deep gasp for the dank dungeon air. My head hurt, like someone had forcefully taken that memory and pulled it with a hook to the surface of my brain. My wand almost propelled itself out of my hands while I went to cradle my skull. I held my head between my hands for a moment, drinking in the cool air before I turned back to Snape somehow knowing that he was the culprit for my pain.

"What the bloody hell did you just do?"

"Legilimency, Potter. Have you heard of it?" I tried to think about whether or not I had, but I was distracted by the stabbing pain that he had left me with. "It is the ability to delve into another's consciousness and read their mind. I gave you a two minute window to try and clear your mind - it seems that you were unsuccessful."

"You saw that?" I blanched, thinking about the memory he had just seen. I mean, it could have been worse. He could have seen the humiliation that was the Seamus and Marietta fiasco, or he could have seen darker memories that I didn't want to see his reaction to. To distract myself from his gaze, I picked up my wand and looked at it darkly. That was not fair.

"Yes, Potter, each of your _many _emotions and memories are easily accessed when you aren't in the state needed for meditation. It is going to be the way I know whether or not you have reached that point - if you have, I won't be able to read your thoughts and then I will begin to explain how to use your Astral body."

"What happened to 'write on the chalk board'?" I growled, now feeling slightly abused thanks to his assault on my mind. He nearly rolled his eyes.

"That was if you had a talent equivalent to that of a master, which you obviously do not. Since you don't have a natural ability to get into the state needed to journey I need to ensure that you don't get lost in the transition." He explained with a frown. "And if you become lost in the transition, you won't be knowledgeable to fully separate enough to manipulate the chalk, nevertheless will you likely understand how to get back to your body."

"Fine," I grumbled, climbing back onto my perch. "Just be a little more kind, will you? What have I ever done to deserve this."

"You tried to blow up my potions storage just three weeks ago," he reminded me. I sneered.

"That was _one time_! And _you_ gave me detention because I was preoccupied with my life instead of my homework. I would have called us even considering I never actually got to blow up the storage." I hissed. I put my wand between my hands again - hilt against the left, tip against the right - before I closed my eyes. "And give me an extra minute since my head is pounding."

"It shouldn't have affected you that badly, I hardly rifled through." Snape drawled. I made my sneer something he couldn't go without seeing.

"Then consider me a sensitive little girl, as you so kindly put it."

Alright, now I really have to focus. I need to forget about my memories and emotion and this dratted pain in my skull. How could he do that to me? I thought that he and I saw eye-to-eye, but apparently he was too preoccupied with hurting me. God, sometimes he was like Malfoy - I swear.

Focus, Audrey.

But seriously, between Snape and Malfoy, I'm surprised that I'm not bruised and in some psychological support group half of the time - which is kind of funny considering one is my mentor and the other is my enemy. What does that say about me?

Bats balls, my brain hurts.

Don't focus on it, Audrey.

I wonder if I could get anything out of this, like Malfoy always does? Half the time he doesn't even have an injury and he can take full advantage of it. It's so unfair, it's not even like he's that much better than anyone else. I'm the one who always gets to grade his work during detentions and he's the one always trying to steal my marks from me-

I had not worked on clearing my mind hard enough or fast enough because again I felt my mind being shuffled through and the closest memory to the top of my mind all but assaulted by Snape while the two of us watched it be replayed in my mind's eye.

It was the day we were headed back from seeing Hagrid who had just gotten word that he had lost the case to keep Buckbeak and planned to execute him. I was nearly in tears while I cradled Circe close to me, I couldn't imagine losing something so beloved, so I was going to bring her down tomorrow and let her stay with Hagrid until this was all over - but even that made me nervous. I didn't necessarily trust the giant with something so important to me and since the Ministry was so apt to have everything he touched be considered dangerous, I didn't want to put my kneazle in danger. I was very close to pulling back my offer, but I was trying to be sweet like Ron and Hermione were - not that I was speaking to Ron. He was being a right arse to Hermione and I since he believed one of our pets had eaten his rat. That stupid rat - if Circe finally ate him, I'd be impressed. She'd hated him ever since we sat together on the train in first year.

When we were almost back in the doors I distinctly heard someone snickering, a very familiar snicker that I would know without rhyme or reason as Malfoy's voice.

_"Look at him blubber!" _The three Slytherin stooges were standing just inside the castle doors, watching as Hagrid cried, petting Buckbeak morosely. My eyes narrowed and I heard a hiss as I squeezed Circe a little too tightly upon hearing_, "have you ever seen anything as pathetic? And he's supposed to be our teacher!" _

Harry and Ron went to move forward to go and give him a piece of their mind but to my surprise, Hermione went up to him first and brought her fist back as if she were a pro - smacking Malfoy right in the nose. The crack was as beautiful now as it had been then, even if I was no longer shocked by it.

_"Hermione," _Ron said weakly as she was to raise her hand again. I dropped Circe right onto the ground to receive one of her hisses and managed to grab Hermione's fist while she went to rear her arm back again.

_"Lay off, Ron. Audrey, let me go!" _Hermione pulled out her wand with her other hand and tried stepping forward again. Malfoy stepped backward as I tried to hold her back, Crabbe and Goyle looked at me helplessly, as if they wanted me to save their master for them. How ridiculous - it's not like I _wanted _to save the prat.

_"Go on, Hermione, before he has a chance to rat to Snape. Go before your Bogart turns from marks being lost to your dormitory being packed." _I hissed, looking at her powerfully. She looked at me angrily, but lowered her wand.

_"Stop protecting him,"_ she had whispered with a sharp hiss to me. It was with a venom that I still didn't really understand. Ignoring me past that she was fast to grab Ron's arm and dragged him away. I kept eye contact with my twin for a moment, I could tell he was trying to see my angle, but I shook my head and pointed after his two amigos. He nodded and mouthed for me to be careful, I scoffed. I had no need to fear for myself when I was around Malfoy - he'd never _actually _hurt me. I looked to Circe, who watched me and followed after my brother.

I rounded back on the three idiots, close to seeing red.

_"This is all your fault,"_ I seethed._ "You are the one with the blood on your hands so I wouldn't be making fun of someone who wouldn't need to have a guilty conscience were it not for you. Go find something better to do, you oafs." _

Crabbe and Goyle instinctively knew that I was speaking to them before they bumbled off. I watched them with a glare, hating the way they lumbered and limped because of their own weight. Everything about those two frustrated me. Malfoy, of course, did not move - but I think we both knew that I hadn't wanted him to. I had wanted to ream him out appropriately when I could say what I wanted to say unhindered. For a moment I thought he had the decency to look bashful, but it was only a flush and smear of blood stemming from his nose which Hermione had caused.

_"You know, I always knew you were ridiculous and you crave attention even more than my brother does-" _he tried to interrupt but I stopped him with a shake of my head. Looking back, I can't believe how intense my glare was. I don't remember feeling as menacing as I was when I watched myself look upon him. With my red hair and my green eyes I looked like some sort of mythical fire creature. _"You're a right arsehole. But...surprisingly...I expected more of you." _

The scene moulded from a look of shock and anger between the two of us before it fell to a familiar facial expression just under a year later - but the two of us looked very different. We'd grown up a lot in that time and with all the makeup Hermione and Ginny had forced me to wear, even with my hair done and the beautiful robes that Snape hadn't needed to give me - I looked so much more sophisticated. I had thought I looked like a child playing dress-up. Surprisingly, I could almost see myself being called somewhat pretty. I don't remember seeing that earlier on. Malfoy looked just as dashing as I recall seeing him the night of the ball - though his collar was too high and he seemed too uptight. But I could tell he looked like he had a poker up his arse because I was currently spitting venom at him.

"_Civility_?" I screeched. "_You think that insulting my friends is civil? Let me tell you something you Pureblooded prat, you will never be better than the Weasley's and I can tell you that for a fact. You will never know the meaning of something deeper than appearance! Do you even know that there is something under that skin you're so proud of, or the colours that you flaunt around? Or is that the problem, that there isn't anything under that skin of yours? Maybe you're compensating for the fact you're the freak, you're the disgrace! The Weasley's are just as pureblooded as you are but I can tell you that they will always be better because at least they know they have something inside of them. Something _worth _calling pure_."

Now that I was out of the heat of the moment, I couldn't believe how angry I had been and how shocked he actually looked by the outburst. It was almost like he had never expected me to yell at him, nevertheless insult him and compare him to being the dirt under the Weasleys shoes. I didn't like that I was psychoanalysing Malfoy of all people and was glad when Snape pulled away.

"That's enough of that, not that I'm not interested in your lovers spat," he drawled sarcastically. I held my head as I gaped at him.

"You just saw some of the moments I was most hated that bloke and you think that we're a _couple_? Are you insane?" I groaned.

"It is precisely that coy argument that informs everyone in Slytherin House of your relationship." I shook my head and rolled my eyes, only to wince from the pain it caused. I looked at him and shook my head, trying to clear the pain.

"Again," I ordered him. He looked at me a moment before shaking his head.

"No. You've done enough for the day. Now that you know what to expect, you should begin trying to clear your mind before bed - it's the easiest time as you end up falling asleep. Come back tomorrow and we shall try again."

"But professor, I can do th-"

"Tomorrow."

I frowned, looking back at him bitterly as I walked toward his dungeon door. He looked at me expectantly, he was used to my dramatic last-words. "I'm not a porcelain doll. Stop pretending I'm so bloody delicate - I can do it, so let me."

As soon as I left I noticed that Circe was not outside the door where I had told her to stay. I was not worried that she wasn't with me, though I couldn't help but worry about how little she had been around the past few weeks. I couldn't blame her for leaving me alone when I was so scatterbrained and busy trying to keep myself alive, however, even if it usually was her trying to do the protecting.

I'm almost certain that I was dead on my feet, I was swaying this way and that but somehow staying upright as I walked like an inferi back to my dormitory. Were I to have any more energy I would stop off at the kitchens to grab myself some form of sustenance, but I knew that if I went up the extra floor I would end up falling back down the stairs to get to the exact point I'd just passed.

Rounding a corner, only about two hundred steps away from the Slytherin portrait hole, I nearly rammed head first into a professor, but in my dead state I couldn't dodge the full effect as I cracked my shin against a walking stick. I let out a curse and covered my mouth.

"Sorry, professor," I groaned, knowing that I wouldn't have the energy to be rude to him.

Professor Moody and I had fallen in our pace, for starting out on such a good note. I was still not pleased with him after he had killed the spider and as much as he spiked my interest, I had a general sense of morbidity around him. Something about him and his 'constant vigilance' lead me to believe he was more of a loose canon with magic than Hagrid is with secrets when a dragon egg is involved.

In my many days of imprisonment in the infirmary, I had ended up missing the few lessons he'd gotten away with while he used the imperius curse on students. I'd heard of the many ridiculous things he'd made the students do and of course the way that Harry had been able to fight it off, but I had missed the classes before someone snitched to McGonagall. In a way I was upset about it - I wanted to see whether or not I would have the self control to know that someone was forcing me to do something I wouldn't normally do. But, on the other hand, I wasn't ready to embarrass myself in case I wasn't able to accomplish that level of control.

Moody looked at me with both his real and magical eye, a frown forming on his face.

"What happened to you, Potter?" his Irish lilt lead me to wonder how drunk he was. I knew that he probably was always a little pissed considering he was constantly swigging from that flask on his belt.

"Lessons with Snape," I grumbled, waving my hand dismissively. I couldn't believe the amount of energy needed for just under ten minutes in Astral form...I hadn't even been able to _reach _Astral form! Would Snape be digging through my mind the day of the task? Would the other judges? If this was the energy needed to maintain Astral form, how would I ever learn to survive an entire hour?

"Snape, eh?" his magical eye swivelled the way I'd just tread walked. "But I heard you were a straight shot at potions."

"I am, sir. This is for the tournament." his one disturbingly magical eye joined the darker one by clashing against mine again.

"The tournament?" he repeated, almost seemed surprised. "Yeh figured out your egg, then?"

"Last week," I affirmed, even though I frowned at what there was to admit. "I've begun working on my strategy and...am making very little leeway."

"Well that potion ye made last task was pretty sly - what potion was it?" he asked, leaning forward slightly as if it was some sort of secret. I was flattered by his intrigue.

"Actually, it was sort of my own concoction. You didn't hear wrong when you heard that I was a crack with potions. All I did was adjust a few different invisibility potions and add a few essential ingredients to mix them into one, longer-lasting concoction. I wish this task were as simple," I sighed, not even hiding my exhaustion as I leaned up against the cool stone wall to my side. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"So, you're having Snape help you with a potion, then?"

"No, he'd never let me - he likes seeing that I can do things on my own. Which I can." I added firmly. "No, he's actually coaching me with cantated magic," I sighed. "It's really exhausting, but I made a bet with someone that I'm not willing to lose, so it's do or die."

"And who was that bet with?" He asked. The flattery I had initially felt with his interest was beginning to disappear. There was something I was missing, an instinct that was telling me not to tell him the things I had to say. It was as if I was feeding information to an enemy and his intrigue was actually something more dangerous than it was kind. "Are those Weasley twins taking bets on who will live, again? I specifically told 'em th-"

"No, no, this is with a fellow Slytherin," the discomfort I felt intensified when I realized I may have just gotten my friends into trouble. I was quick to try and divert attention away from Fred and George's much needed money-grab. "Malfoy, actually."

"Ah yes, Draco Malfoy - father's a traitorous piece of scum, he is. But, you two seem to be together quite a lot…" he began suggestively. I felt my eyes roll and the need to instantly defend myself. Were he to even ask me about my alliance and crush on Cedric I would not boast about it now, my instincts were telling me to run.

"Yes, he tends to follow me around. We bicker."

"I would have thought you two were together, actually. You seem to take his side when he argues with your brother," I felt my face heat up. I couldn't tell which part of that statement was more embarrassing: that I wasn't loyal like my cookie-cut of Gryffindor brother and didn't take his side in arguments, or that I didn't take his side even when he was fighting against Malfoy.

"Why does everyone think we're together?" I asked quietly, my face as red as my hair. "No, he's a right foul git."

"Has your brother figured out the clue yet? he was trying to stay subtle, but I could detect a nervousness to him. It was something I couldn't place, but as I watched his actions I couldn't help the bitterness overtake my instinct.

"What, are you worried about having to give him more helpful hints?" I sneered. His eyebrows shot up. "I doubt the prat has figured it out yet, even with the hint I told Diggory to give him. And even if he hasn't, I don't really care. He should learn how to do things himself for a change even though he's never going to figure out his own way to accomplish it unless Hermione does all the dirty work for him."

"Hm. You _are _quite different from your brother, ain't yeh, Potter?" Moody asked, his good eye narrowing with some emotion I couldn't read. My green eyes glared dangerously at him, wondering what exactly he meant to be insinuating. Did he think that made me bad, like everyone else in the world? Was I too bitter and realistic for his taste, or was he like all the other desensitized pricks who thought that since my brother was a hero I had to be a devoted fan?

"I'm the other side of the sickle, sir." I assured him lowly. "Now, if you'll let me, I need to go back to the Slytherin areas to be that _other _Potter who actually does her own dirty work. Not all of us famous prats get the luxury of having lap dogs, excuse me."

I sneered as I began walking away from him. I heard him hum to himself, he sounded intrigued by my answers and to be honest, I hope I gave him something good to think about. But I could no longer ignore my instincts which were screaming that I had done something wrong. I mean, it's not like I didn't know that even the teachers were Pro-Potter, and when I say that I really mean backing the boy-who-lived, but it always dug under my skin to see them so obviously supportive for the Gryffindor.

I mean, what was actually so bad about Slytherin? Sure, we were a little more selfish and we could play dirty at times, but really there was not a division between Gryffindors and Slytherins. Gryffindors just stood up for what they believed in by being ridiculously stupid and reckless, leaving their bodies to fend off their problems. We Slytherins were more subtle then that; instead of barricading our friends from our problems, we would pull them out of the way - or, an even better example, we would be watching for all these troubles in the first place and always know when to step out before it became a problem at all.

That didn't make us as selfish as everyone thought, it gave us foresight. It's not my fault that I'm more observant and sly about my methods - call me crazy, but I'd much rather do something like that then constantly have to be in a place where I'm risking _my _hide for someone I could have kept out of the way in the first place. Really, in the end, Gryffindors were just as selfish for getting people in dangerous situations like that.

We Slytherins were much better off.

As I entered the Slytherin common room, I was unsurprised to see that Malfoy was there followed by his regular group of mindless followers. He looked up at my entrance and his eyebrows shot up when he took in what was probably the worst he'd seen me besides the last task.

"Did it not go as well as you thought, Potter?" he asked me, closing his book. Parkinson, Bullstrode, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini all reacted in their own ways - I took note that Zabini was sympathetic and reminded myself to steal him some of the sweets Malfoy consistently got from his mother.

"It went fine, thanks. I doubt you'd even be able to comprehend all the goings-on during the lesson," I told him tightly, trying to lift my nose in the air and look haughty. It was hard, but I think I succeeded, even though my eyes were drooping and almost closed. I started to move, despite the argument just beginning, when I felt myself swaying.

"You look like you've reverted back to my favourite little dead girl. Will you be able to make it back to the dorm, or should I carry you to bed?" For some reason, Snape and Moody's words on the contemptuous relationship between Malfoy and I sprung their way into my thoughts. Was this bickering really something that they could think was a sign of affection? I couldn't see how, we were far too different and we were far too hostile to be anything but enemies even if we did have common annoyances like limelight-whores. I wanted to scoff at the words bustling around in the forefront of my mind but at the same time, my face grew red.

"Not all of us want you near our beds so sod off," I growled, surprising them by not saying anything more biting as I made my way out. None of them came after me, so I couldn't help but wonder what Malfoy said to ward the girls off attacking me in my sleep - as he must have, for I was unmarred the next morning - though at the time I didn't really want to give it the brain power I so desperately needed to make it all the way to my bed.

When I finally got there I put my wand on my bedside table and slid out of my blue jeans, climbing into bed still dressed in my sweater and underwear - it was the most I could do. Drawing the curtains around me I lay against my pillows, I never realized just how much I could fall into them - they were quite nice. Fluffy. Even nicer than the Gryffindor pillows, if I recalled correctly. Or maybe it was this level of exhaustion making everything seem so much nicer than sitting on a potions bench and fending off mental attacks.

Speaking of which, I was supposed to be clearing my mind. It was the only practice that I would be able to get besides my lessons and before I had to see Snape the next day, but just as I was thinking about how I had to start focusing and pay attention - I felt myself slide into sleep. Even though it was against everything Snape had taught me, I couldn't help but welcome the haze of indistinct dreams that followed.

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><p><strong>Yay, Audrey's trying her hand at cantated magic - not that it's easy, but hopefully it will be her solution! Guess you won't know until I update again which will be faster and faster the more reviews I get. I'm already on chapter twenty-one (actual twenty-one, not with the mixed up numbers from the prologue) in rough drafts, so the more you review the faster I will update. Promise. To my lovely reviewers:<strong>

_Furionknight_**: Thank you for reviewing!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: I understand wanting to see Audrey do something crazy, but I promise that she's not going to stay as tame as she is now. Drea's gunna go a little crazy in the weeks ahead of her and do some silly things. Including participate in the task. I've already written what happens with their bet and I promise you that you'll react to it, but I can't tell you how or else it will blow who wins! And your kiss-vote has been counted, thank you :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Thank you for your vote and the time it took to review!**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: I know, it looks like Audrey and Malfoy have a bit of a gambling problem - funny how it's always together though, isn't it? I'll pass on the luck and thank you for voting :)**

_Tessie_**: I can see a lot more happening as well. To be honest, the chapter it's going to happen I'm going to tally up the votes and just let my fingers roam the keys, so hopefully it all works out! But you do make some very, very good points to keep in mind. Thank you for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Insidious wasn't bad, sadly I could tell what was coming from a mile away plot-wise. It was done well, though. And Drea is a virgin, she hasn't even been kissed - oh, the drama I can play with! And even if Malfoy had a skinhead, I don't think it would last for long. This is the wizarding world, he'd figure out how to grow it back. Thanks for the review and vote :)**

_emerly_**: Thank you and I appreciate and take your thoughts into account :)**

_ally0212_**: I think that the volatile relationship between Malfoy and a female Potter is why everyone reads Potter-twin stories, though, because they love the transformation from enemies to lovers. I love it when it's primal passion - half the reason I write Twilight fanfictions, thanks to the imprinting - because that's what I personally like in a relationship. The way I can see Draco and Audrey's budding relationship is much along those lines. I did understand what you said, so no need to worry! Yes, there will be a definite strain as the romance turns on in OoTP and then Draco becomes a hermit with the cupboard in HBP - but I promise that Audrey will make it a lot more interesting. I'm also excited to write a Slytherin's perspective on the changes Malfoy goes through that year, as he's so preoccupied with the mission - to be honest, and not to sound arrogant, but everything about this story enthralls me! Thank you for reviewing!**

_SallyTheSlytherinSeal_**: Your vote has been taken into account, thank you :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you for everything, inclding having Franki done for me so soon. I am working on it as I type this out to give my mind a little break from the drama that is the final two chapters. I'm trying to get them done for you so that you can do them before things get too hectic as the days approach! How exciting it must be, how is everything going?**

_Izlye_**: Thank you for voting and I'm glad you like the arguments. I love having character who can be as biting as him :)**

_Miz Kaitlyn_**: I'm glad you're liking it, thank you for reviewing!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Malfoy is getting jealous, and it's not the last of it. Trust me, it starts getting worse. I'm trying to keep him mean because in the books, he is really terrible - as in really, really terrible - and if there's anything I dislike, it's someone changing Draco Malfoy's character; he's one of the most complex in the series. As you can see from this chapter, I'm starting to place the thought of she and Draco in Audrey's mind, so don't worry - it won't be as slow as you think. Believe it or not, the fifth book is right around the corner, and that's when everything starts boiling :) Thank you for reviewing**

_Azura Soul Reaver_**: He definitely can be. Boys! Thank you for your thoughts!**

_DarkSoulz_**: But if Malfoy wins the bet, what will happen to Circe - and more importantly, what will happen to poor Audrey during the task? She isn't the best with her wand. I think I am going to give myself **_**one **_**person I can save in this series - only one - because realistically Audrey being in it would drastically change the effects and outcomes. To be clear, that may also mean I have to kill someone else for her involvement...we will see. I'm glad that you like the story and thank you for honouring me by reading his as your first!**

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><p><strong>Well, time is ticking for poor Audrey but I promise that she'll survive. I'm just not going to guarantee that it's going to be nice, easy, or drama-free, however. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and please, please <strong>REVIEW**! **

**-Egypt**


	18. Testing the Waters

**Hello, readers! Sorry for the pause in updating. I was working on finishing up **_Forgetting Franki _**which was a disturbingly upsetting affair, and now I can focus on this. Let me tell you the next chapter is EXCITING as it is the second task and it is over 10,000 words. Hopefully you like this chapter, it has a little bit of fluff and set-up for what needs to happen soon, so I hope you all enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Seventeen - Testing the Waters<span>

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><p>"What is that man thinking?" I seethed as I stomped down the hall, Theodore and Daphne were speed-walking to try and keep up with my hissy fit, but they barely had the energy to follow so blindly as we walked to the dungeons for our second class of the day. We were already exhausted - which was half of my annoyance.<p>

"I think it's interesting," Daphne shrugged quietly. I didn't even need to comment as Theo rolled his eyes at her.

"Also completely illegal. I can't imagine what the Wizengamot would think were they to hear that Mad-Eye put some of us under the imperius curse last week. Now that he's putting us through an essay-" he began, only to be cut off by Daphne.

"Yes, thanks to Audrey!"

"I wasn't about to let him put me into a vulnerable state where he could try and convince me to do anything." Or, more importantly, I wasn't about to show that I may fall under the spell while my brother could fight it off. I had argued for fifteen minutes before he ordered that we would just write an essay instead - Granger had almost wet herself with joy.

"Well, my parents think it's educational. I'm sure your father would agree, Nott." Both Theodore and I stopped walking to glare at her, only to have her turn up her nose and keep walking. We strayed behind, throwing a glance at each other before shaking our heads in frustration.

Theodore's father was not someone that you spoke of. As far as Theo was concerned, Adrian Nott did not exist when he was within the walls of Hogwarts and when he was forced outside of these walls, his father was more of an authority figure and no more of a father than Flitwick would be.

With another sigh of the frustration that only Daphne could bestow, he and I walked forward to get to potions before we were flogged for being late. I would have been fine with the punishment, to be honest, because it would just result in another night with the potions master - which I'd been victim of for the past week. We kept practicing, over and over, but we couldn't get anything out of it. I had yet to reach an Astral form and was getting so sick of seeing the bloody potions room that I felt exhausted the closer I came to it, as if my body was storing away energy for the practice I'd eventually be put through.

As soon as I had slumped into the potions room I felt myself being dragged to the back corner of it. Looking confusedly towards Theodore, who looked back at me with the same facial expression, I turned to look at my abductor to find my favourite blonde haired ferret.

Things between him and I were as awkward now as they had been since Christmas - for obvious reasons that embodied something about both his account of mistletoe and mine of his, admittedly, pretty hair. But as he dragged me to the corner of the classroom and held me up against the wall, I couldn't deny the familiarity of being this close to him. It was the strange sensation of nerves - fight or flight - mixed with a strange urge to shut my eyes and wait for whatever would happen...it was quite a confusing emotion.

"You did it, didn't you?" he hissed, his eyes narrowing to me quickly. The glare made me instantly want to choose my fight response.

"I've done quite a few things to make you this upset, you'll have to be more specific." I sighed dramatically, looking away to try and appear somewhat innocent.

"Heracles hasn't come back for a week, Potter. I was supposed to get a letter from my mother four days ago - you're the only one who could have convinced him to ignore his patterns."

"Why, I thought that it was you who was great with _my _pet, Malfoy. How would I ever be able to convince yours not to be loyal to your needs?" I dared to flutter my eyelashes at him. He shook his head for a moment, as if he couldn't think around my response to him before he hissed at me.

"Get my damn bird back, Pothead. Now."

"He is a very proud eagle-owl, piss-head. I'm sure he would not appreciate you regarding him like that." I crossed my arms. "And since you're so keen to take my kneazle from me for good I figured we could just share all of our prized possessions and as you commonly announce you just happen to have _so _many..."

"I have important messages to send, so get him back here."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Malfoy. You see, he's running an errand for me and won't be back until he's finished it. I'm sure he won't be too much longer, but for now there's really nothing I can do." I shrugged my shoulders animatedly, only to have them squeezed dangerously before I was again pushed against the wall. My shoulder blades ached.

"You should really get over your problem of meddling in my things, Potter."

"And you should really get over your issue of being so close and intimate with me, Malfoy." I hissed back. I held his gaze, both of us radiating defiance and anger as he held me against the wall and I held against his gaze. Neither of us moved as we glared, trying to outlast the other.

"Is there a problem, Mr Malfoy?"

Snape's voice cut through our reverie and Malfoy jumped away from me as if I had spit acid on him. We looked up to the front, Snape's eyes were dark as he witnessed the scene - I tried not to rub my sore shoulders; I could deal with Malfoy on my own.

"Not at all, professor." Malfoy responded mechanically. Snape's eyes found mine, a dangerous and angry flash to them which I recognized as disbelief and insult for my well-being.

"Miss Potter?" I briefly considered getting Malfoy in trouble in some other way before I shook my head.

"I was just explaining that monkshood and wolfsbane were the same plant," it was a terrible excuse, but it was one of the first things that came to mind besides screaming 'rape' or 'murder'. Malfoy took a moment to roll his eyes at me before Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Mm. Thank you for enlightening the other students, Miss Potter, but you were asked to take your seats." I nodded instantly, headed toward where he pointed up front. It was the last seat and before I could realize what that meant, Malfoy was placing his bag down before sitting himself beside me.

"I guess we're partners today," Malfoy grumbled, taking out his potions text. I let out a loud groan.

"Bloody hell...fine, but don't you dare ruin our assignment." I warned, not even bothering to get the text out. I had paid attention last class and already knew that today we would be brewing a hiccupping solution, then the antidote next class. We would test them when both were done.

As Snape was explaining the assignment I was already organizing my potions kit and taking out the ingredients we already had. When the professor finally told us that we could go to the storage cupboard I looked expectantly to Malfoy.

"Let's get this over with as little speaking as possible. I'll do the potion, you'll hand me the ingredients as I ask for them, then we'll pass the assignment and return to ignoring one another." I explained to him as he stood up. "I think you just need to get the rat tails, frog diaphragm and the fluxweed."

"Fine," he drawled, clearly annoyed.

"Wait. Remember to pick up the fluxweed picked on the new moon, not the jar picked under the full moon." I saw Millicent whisper to Pansy two seats back, clearly taking note of that information. "The new moon fluxweed is the only one that will work in this potion. They have completely opposite effects-" Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Are you listening? Frog diaphram, rat tails, and _new moon_ fluxweed. I'll start milking the sneezewort."

"Do you have this bloody potion _memorized_, Potter?" Malfoy asked with a dumbfounded look on his face. I snorted.

"Hiccupping solution? Of course not. But I did use it on Parkinson in first year." He looked like he was about to retort - probably to argue that I couldn't have made a fourth year potion in first year - before he shook his head and walked up to the storage cupboard at the front of the class.

While he was busying himself by getting the other ingredients, I pulled out the sneezewort from my potions kit and began bunching up the leaves, six of them, and crushing them with my silver potions dagger. Because that only took all of a minute before I had enough liquid for the potion to put in a ready-vial, I took the time to also dig out the peppermint and loveage from my kit as well, trying to remember if the loveage was supposed to be cut up into one or two millimetre slices.

"You're such a plonker - you have everything ready already?" Malfoy's voice broke me out of my reverie when he set down everything. I took a look at the fluxweed and nodded.

"Well done, who knew Mangy-Malfoy could follow directions?" I asked as I went back to my book. I threw him the lovage. "Chop this up into one millimetre slices. I need thirty...no," I stopped, imagining the potion in my head. True, the textbook called for thirty slices, but the last time I had made it I remembered that it had needed to sit for twenty minutes - if I were to double the amount of loveage, it would reach a boiling point twice as quickly. Then again, I'd also have to add extra peppermint.

Easy.

"Cut sixty slices of loveage." I told him. He frowned.

"The textbook calls for half that."

"I call for double it," I raised an eyebrow. "I know what I'm doing."

"Well what you handed me will hardly create sixty millimetre slices," he huffed stubbornly. I rolled my eyes, pointing to his own potions kit.

"Then use some of yours," I couldn't keep the condescension from my voice. He glared at me for a moment, a moment that I didn't move either, before he scoffed and turned away - his cheeks turning pink. I smirked at him before I lit the fire under the cauldron - Malfoy snorted when he noticed I refused to do so with my wand - and began boiling the water.

As the water began to bubble, I busied myself with glancing over to Malfoy's work - he was doing upsettingly well, though I was sure he was trying more now than he normally did. He must have wanted to prove to me that he was better than that _A _I'd given him at the beginning of the year. I put in the frog diaphragm, watching as the water boiled around it - I took the sneezewort and dumped the vial over the potion, watching as the rusted liquid seemed to attack and disintegrate the frog diaphragm that sat at the bottom of the cauldron. It was attacking it rather quickly, which lead me to put in two fluxweed leaves.

"You need to put in three." Malfoy stated. I rolled my eyes.

"I will," I said distractedly, taking the time to cut up two rat tails into inch-long chunks.

"No, all at once - you should have lowered the flame, as well. Are you trying to get us a _T_?"

"I've never gotten a _Troll_ in potions and I don't plan to start now," I fibbed. I'd gotten a _T _already this year, however that was for incomplete homework, which was far different than potion brewing. "Are you done with that loveage?"

"Yes," he frowned, pointing to his cutting board where it looked about the right amount of chopped up herb. I took the cutting board on the whole - I didn't want to miss a piece by taking it into my hands - and placed the original five leaves of peppermint and the additional five leaves needed for my alterations onto the board before dumping them in all at once.

"Potter, you're insane!" Malfoy hissed. "You can't just deviate like that! The loveage is supposed to go in ten minutes before the peppermint and you put far too much of _both _in!"

"Hold onto your knickers, prat," I sighed. "I told you I know what I was doing. We'll be done this potion in another five minutes now. The added loveage will speed up the process of the frog diaphragm's disintegration whereas the peppermint will keep the sneezewart from coagulating. I didn't lower the temperature because after the rat tails I'm about to add in that third leaf of fluxweed that you were so nervous about. Since I'm adding that in last we won't have to worry about all of it separating from the concoction and rising to sit on top of the potion."

As I was saying this I was finishing up my chopping of the rat tails. When I finished and looked up, Malfoy was still gawking at me. I rolled my eyes, feeling almost embarrassed by telling him how everything worked, and busied myself by looking at everyone around us. Since they weren't using my little technique they were still waiting to add in their three fluxweed leaves. Admittedly, my little short cut would give us much more potion than the others, but it would be much more stable without the worry of coagulated sneezewart and would be finished in a third of the time as all the other students.

"How do you know those things?" Malfoy broke the silence as I dumped in the chopped up rat tails. "You were raised by _muggles_."

"I just understand how everything mixes together," I shrugged. "Really it's not as difficult as everyone makes it seem. Instead of reading through the instructions step by step I read the ingredients and see how everything meshes. It's just a different way of thinking."

Both Malfoy and I waited with baited breath as the potion went to a deep purple. Malfoy scoffed, about to make some snarky comment before I slid in the last full leaf of fluxweed. As the textbook said it should, the potion went a perfect shade of lavendar. I looked to him and smiled cheekily.

"All in a days work," I announced as I lowered the temperature to let it simmer. "Now as we let this cook for eight minutes, we can simply wait for our _O _while the others slave away."

We did just that, taking our time to watch as people got stressed over what was supposed to be a fun potion. It was to make people hiccup, I don't understand why someone should feel so much anxiety over it - Hermione, however, made it clear that working with Neville was a reason to pull her hair out. I sighed, I should probably try partnering up with him next week if we really were making antidotes.

"How is your astral projection going?" Malfoy asked lowly. I looked at him and blinked, amidst Hermione's frustrations I had almost forgotten that he was there. I frowned at the question.

"Fine."

"Ah, so not well," he smirked, a little more of his usual self dancing behind his eyes. His ability to be insensitive was a gift, at best. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Listen, it's a gruelling process, but I've been doing quite well." I stuck my nose in the air. "I'm going to be able to do it."

"I don't think you'll survive it." He said simply, fiddling with the silver dagger he'd used to chop the loveage.

"Yes, you said that about the last task too - which you still need to pay up for." I sent him one of my finer glares, one reserved only for someone as low as him. "I thought we had a bet?"

"We did have a bet," he agreed, pointedly avoiding my eyes by looking at the failure that was Pansy and Millicent's potion. "Weasleys and I, however, did not."

"I won the bet, you have to pay up." My face went red. "I promised them-"

"That you'd get them money so they could pay for their pitiful existence?" He sneered. "Not even all _my _money could make right of that."

"You festering little toad," I hissed, our eyes catching. "I hate you more than words can say, Malfoy, and if you don't get them the money you owe them I will go darker than Morgan Le Fay and _end you_."

"What's so great about them anyway, Potter?" Malfoy hissed, turning his whole body toward mine. "What is so fantastic about those bloody twins that you feel the need to be a nobody with them rather than a somebody with any of _us_? You think it's because they're 'noble'? Oh Potter, how little you know..."

"What are you on about?"

"You think that rank family of redheads really cares about you? You're a Slytherin, Potter! No one in that family cares about _you_, the only reason they keep you around is because of _him._" Malfoy took the time to look toward Harry, who was just putting in his first fluxweed leaves. I watched him for a moment, unable to stop myself from visualizing all the closeness between Harry and the Weasleys, the worry they have over him, the pride of Ron and he being- _no_!

"Get out of my head, ferret." I hissed. "That family loves me more than you love your own damned reflection."

"You're nothing to them Potter, the only reason they like you is for your money and your fame." he took the time to dip a vial into our potion, which now had a sparkling effect over the lavender as it should. His eyes turned to me again. "Your money and fame, remember that."

As Malfoy walked up to hand in the vial and Snape walked around to criticize the Gryffindor potions, I took the time to pack up my kit and walk out of the classroom. I could deal with the consequences later when he gave me a detention that would be spent as all my others were: trying to get to an Astral state.

With my classmates still in their seats and the hallway stretching before me, the idea of going to another meeting after the rest of my classes made me stop from pre-emptive physical exhaustion. I needed some sleep and some peace of mind, or else I would never have a chance of concentrating enough to get into an Astral state and I would lose Circe to that blonde brat.

Cringing at the idea and forcing myself upright, I walked right past where my Defense Against the Dark Arts class should have been and straight to the hospital wing - I could deal with Moody later, as well. Now, all I cared about was a visit with Madame Pomfery where she had comfortable beds and pepper-up potions on hand.

* * *

><p>"Miss Potter, you are not concentrating!" Snape sneered as I was pulled out of a memory from being denied dinners after Harry had done some accidental ten-year-old magic at the Dursleys. I pulled away from it before it ended so he wouldn't have to see the humiliation of me being shoved under the sink - I needn't ever find out how he would react to that.<p>

"I _am_ concentrating, just not on what I should be." I hissed. Looking at him pointedly. "Just give me an extra minute - that's all I'm asking. An extra minute to the three you usually give me. I can get this, I know it."

"This is pointless, Potter. You don't have those extra minutes in the tournament," Snape argued. I glared.

"I have an hour to look. I don't need to worry about the actual chore of swimming, I can use an extra _six _minutes, I'm sure. So give me a break...just let me _get _to that point." I begged. "I need to do this, professor. Please don't give up on me yet."

"Concentrate. You have five minutes to focus." I revelled in the _two _minutes he would give me before the assault on my mind would happen again - no, stop thinking about what would happen if you fail. Don't even think about what would happen if you win.

Visualize something. Visualize something plain...like...a television. A plain television that is so large it's all I can see, like at the cinema. I can do that. I haven't seen many movies in my life, but I had snuck into one with Harry once when we were kids - it was one of my finer memories.

Now add static onto the screen. White static, white noise - nothing is showing past my own thoughts on that television. Look at it until you zone out - phase out - do nothing. Let you rmind relax and droop like you're about to fall asleep. Just don't fall asleep.

I tried to ride the tide of sleep as it began to wash over me; I was so exhausted from all Snape's little work shops and I was so done with all of this failure, I just wanted to sleep and forget it all. But right as I felt my body begin to shut down, I felt shivers come over my body as I felt myself be dunked into a pool of freezing water that slithered it's way over my senses.

This was not the feeling of a trance, but rather the familiar feeling of a vision as it tugged against my senses, trying to take over the crayon coloured lines my life and show me the tangled webs of the future.

I blinked, though I know I didn't _really _blink, against the onslaught of colours that filled my vision. I saw Daphne screaming at me again, only this time it was more defined and brighter colours; she looked livid, her cheeks were pink and her dark eyes had tears of fury pooling in them - the vain in her neck pulsated dangerously. Had I ever been so observant during my visions?

Another toss of colour as the vision changed again, showing a dull maze of vines and hedges, moving and growing in a way that made it look alive. In the distance there I heard a blood curdling scream - a scream that stretched on forever, a breath that seemed endless. My eyes caught a firework of red sparks over the center of the maze - billowing out to cover the entirety of the sky as the scream fell silent to the wind.

I felt another cold shiver slide itself between my vertebrae before the scene in front of me changed. I saw myself, I looked absolutely terrible; my face was stained with tears and I seemed to have rolled around in grime but disturbingly, I didn't seem upset. In fact, I was dreadfully calm with a look in my eyes I don't think I'd ever seen before, it was cold and indifferent. Though the colours in this vision were drained and farther away, the look in my somehow _vibrantly _emerald eyes looked more cruel than Malfoy in his worst mood and as dangerous as the flash of green light that they resembled.

I saw myself speaking to Snape, the colours just tints away from black and white as I looked at him, my green eyes vulnerable in that way that I absolutely despised as I raked my hands threw my hair and shook my head, letting out a weak "I can't see anything!" that left the vision silent.

When I resurfaced from my vision, I tried to keep myself calm so that Snape wouldn't see that I was breathing deeply, though I was sure to suck in a breath. I was surprised that it was not cool considering we were in the dankness of the dungeons - but then I realized it was not cool because I could not feel the air entering and filling my lungs at all. In fact, everything tingled in a way that I knew not to be normal.

Looking down at myself I saw myself as I loved myself most - my red hair was as long as it had been before aunt Petunia had cut it in spite, I was as thick as I had ever been after my bought of malnutrition, and oddly enough my skin was glowing as if I was caught under a full moon. But that was not the most surprising part - I could see _through _my glowing skin, as if it was just a piece of dyed cellophane and the moment I thought of moving - I moved.

I was Astral.

I tried to keep focus on the feeling that I was caught in - the pulses of magic, though it felt like electricity running through my fingertips - the feeling of nothingness and being part of everything all at once.

Snape was watching me with a stoic expression. He was toying with his wand, his narrowed eyes flickering between the clock over my shoulder and my face as he timed out how long before he could attack me again. I needed to act fast or else he might knock me out of this state and I who knew if I could ever do it again.

I rushed over to the blackboard and tried to pick up the chalk he had laid out for me - only to have my hand pass right through it. I frowned and concentrated more - but it did not help. How was I supposed to give him a message if I could not relay it in any way?

Alright, he had said that it was a physical and magical difference, so maybe it was not a physical movement I needed to do. I felt awkward as I bit my lip and held my hand right above the chalk, index finger jabbed at it accusingly.

_Wingardium Leviosa,_ I thought desperately...I don't know why I was so shocked when it worked - but I was more shocked by the reaction it had on me. My body, my _astral _body suddenly felt weighed down. It literally sank me in my floating position as the weight bore down on my subconscious and yet, I managed to write the only thing I could think was appropriate:

_Told you so._

Snape nearly jumped at the sound of the chalk scraping against the board in front of him. By the time I dropped the chalk even my arms felt heavy, as if they were attached to sacks of sand. He looked at the writing and smirked.

"I must say, I'm impressed Potter. I was sure it would take you longer."

I couldn't help myself as I repeated the charm and wrote again:

_You knew I could?_

"Knew? Of course not. But I had assumed. I just didn't want you to become pig headed, like your brother would have."

_Why is it getting harder? So heavy._

"Ah - you did not have a lot of energy from the past few nights of trial, did you? I told you that an astral state was all about energy. If you do not possess the energy needed to carry out your mission, you will be sucked back to your body and your body will take it's time to repair itself - that is to say, you will render yourself unconscious."

_Great. What now?_

"We practice charms. Tell me when your eyes are drooping." He informed. "Now, try for me a summoning charm - you know that, don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him before I positioned myself behind his head, raising my hands and feeling the warm sparks of magic flow from them.

_Accio chalk!_ I thought, watching with a smirk as the chalk whizzed from it's place on the chalk board and right over Snape's head - he was lucky he'd had time to duck. He did not seem pleased.

"Clever. Try some other ones then, I'll stay out of your way. Detention if you try to harm or maim me in any way."

So I tried charm after charm - it was as if magic was suddenly a breeze. I could do every charm and spell I had ever been taught, even the ones my wand had never been able to conquer. And yet, each one I did noticeably weighed me down until I was almost spinning on the spot, my eyes drooped so badly I wasn't sure that I could lift the chalk. Snape, somehow, knew what the silence meant.

"You are exhausted. I want you to go to your human body - take your time. When you're so exhausted you begin to feel a magical pulsation through your fingertips, I want you to place your hands over your human body's hands and pulse the magic through your real fingers. That should connect your magic and body once more." I did as he said, it took a lot of time to get back to my body but as soon as I pushed the pulse through my fingers, pushing my stomach as if I were preparing myself to vomit, I smacked back into my human body. It was painful and I ended up on the ground after it.

"Potter, I must say, I'm impressed."

"Ugh," I groaned, the pain almost too much to endure. but I had no energy to complain about it. Snape went to his personal stocks and grabbed me a potion in a ready-made vial.

"Pepper-up potion. This should help you make your way to the dorms." The potion, which tasted like peppermint, did give me a small boost of energy though it left my head still spinning.

"I did it," I whispered, my voice hoarse. He nearly smiled.

"You did. Now you need to get some rest and come prove that you can do it again after classes tomorrow."

I couldn't even make myself respond without fear of crying in frustration. I left the room and, miraculously, made it far enough to fall face first into my pillow.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Potter!"<p>

The bellow from so far away had made both Theodore and Daphne jump, but I was so exhausted that I couldn't even make my body react. A part of me wanted to yell at the person so I could tell him to shut the hell up, but my voice caught in my throat when I noticed my favourite beautiful triwizard champion headed toward me.

"Hi there, Ced-" I cut myself off with a yawn. "Alright?"

"Yeah, you?" He stopped right in front of me, in front of Daph and Theo who he waved to. Daphne gave a giggly one in response before grabbing Theodore's arm and yanking him violently away from the conversation. I'd have to remember to thank her later.

"I'm exhausted," I told him honestly. "Been doing a lot of - er, practicing."

I didn't want to tell him exactly what I had been practicing, but I was completely prepared to have him confide his strategies with me. I wasn't about to reverse and try his, but I was more than ready to see if there was anything that would have been easier.

"Have you been practicing in the lake?" He asked, eyebrows raised. It seemed he remembered the debilitation of my phobia, so the surprise was not unheard of.

"No, I've just been practicing my technique." I frowned. "I haven't gone near water at all, to be honest with you."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Not the best idea for a technique," he muttered. He looked at me worriedly. "What have you been doing that makes you this tired?"

"Difficult bloody magic," I sighed. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, er, just checking in. I was writing to my Dad about you today and realized it's been a while since we've spoken." He seemed almost sheepish about it, which only made it worse.

"Oh," I couldn't imagine the colour of my face at that moment. "That's nice of you - I think. Hopefully you weren't bad mouthing me to your dad."

He laughed a little nervously. "No, of course not. Just the opposite." He was nearly as red as I felt. "You should start trying the lake - get used to your technique and reactions."

"By reactions do you mean paralysis?"

"Precisely." He frowned. "I could help if you'd like."

I knew I should take him up on that offer but I couldn't bring myself to give up my technique, not because I thought that he would copy it - Snape had made it very clear that he didn't think that anyone could do it nevertheless copy it - but because a part of me wanted to impress him and I knew I had no chance of that if he saw me quivering in front of a bathtub.

"No, er - I should try on my own," I blushed. "But thank you."

"Well, maybe you should try in the prefect bath first," he suggested. "It's much larger, almost like a pool. Would that interest you?"

The fact that I was not a prefect probably should have crossed my brain, but it didn't even make me hesitate. I could just imagine how luxurious it must be. "What's the password?"

"No password so long as you go up to the portrait of the mermaid on the fifth floor and ask permission, say I sent you." I felt myself blush just at the thought of how well this mermaid must know him if he were on such good terms with the portrait and what that meant - my mind was bringing up terrible and wonderful images. I nodded my head and shrugged slightly.

"I'll see if I can fit it in to my schedule," I couldn't help but be nervous as soon as it started flitting around my mind - how on earth was I supposed to get myself to be able to face my fear of water when my strategy was specifically chosen so that I wouldn't have to face my fear of water? It seemed like it was just mocking all the hard work I had done...but what if my Astral body froze up too, could that even happen? I mean, what if I wouldn't be able to float around and be all transcendent because I was paralyzed with fear - consciously and subconsciously?

Was magic affected by fear? I mean, wasn't the spell to get rid of boggarts and the patronus charm something that was ruled by emotion? If that was the case, then maybe magic - which is still debated to be from the body or mind - could be controlled by my phobia too.

"You should try it," Cedric smiled. "I'm sure whatever you're doing will be brilliant, but if you can't move you can't pull it off."

"Stop reading my mind," I mumbled, nodding my head as I decided that I may as well give it a try. I smirked at him to lighten the mood. "You're not going to be spying on my methods or anything, are you Diggory?"

His face turned red. "I won't spy on you in the baths, Potter."

"And who said chivalry was dead?" I laughed nervously, walking away with a bit of a swing to my hips that I couldn't deny myself the pleasure of.

Greengrass and Nott didn't really ask where I was going as I trotted past them, not wasting any time in going toward the prefects bath. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have told them. Protective Mr Nott would be sure to rattle off some sort of advice that would make me more anxious and Miss Priss would either demand to come with me and see the progress I'd made, or she would berate me for being so scared that I needed the practice. I didn't need either one to throw off the first part of my game.

Right as I was turning a corner, the colours around me flashed - nervous of what my instincts were telling me, I stopped dead in my tracks not moving in case it was something _I _was about to do to screw something in the future over. Instead of that, two very different people were rounding the corner talking in hushed voices. It made my eyebrows shoot up.

"Fred, professor…" I gave both of them a nod of acknowledgement, my eyes flickering to Fred in confusion. Beside him stood Mad-Eye Moody, both of them whispering something that I could only assume was their general dislike for either the potions professor or the culprit of most of the Weasley twins problems this year: Ludo Bagman.

"Talking about our stolen funds," Fred explained quickly, at least I knew I was spot on with the Ludo Bagman guess. "Mo-_professor _Moody here was just explaining that he's done this loads of times."

"He's a slimy little toad, he is." Professor Moody nodded in agreement. I still felt rather uncomfortable around the professor - other than the whole 'imperius curse' and 'unlawful murder of a spider' the man had done nothing wrong to me. I actually rather enjoyed his straight forward lectures, even if I didn't like how he liked to put students up front to test them which usually backfired for me. But there was something about the man that still set me on edge; even being around him made me want to be in my dorm, far away, petting Circe - who again, had managed to disappear for the day.

"Where are you off to?" Fred asked, noticing the suspicious glances I kept throwing at the professor who obviously wanted to listen in on any conversation I wanted to have with my friend. To be honest, part of me was glad the man was here. Fred and I had not been alone since the ball and every time we were, he tended to bring up my disappearance before he had seen me there. Which was funny, as I had seen him all over Angelina, who he seemed to be getting closer and closer with as weeks went on.

Even the thought made my blood boil. It had been my bloody idea and since when had he _ever _listened to my bloody ideas?

"Prefect baths," I said honestly. There was no reason to think that Moody would tell any of the other professors. He seemed to keep quiet about the goings on in Hogwarts - possibly because his students kept reasonably quiet about his less-than-legal lessons.

"You got the password? Bloody hell, how?" Fred's eyes lit up. "I've had plans for the past year to go in there and switch out their soaps for shrinking potions!"

"Er," and this was where the conversation would begin it's downward spiral. "Cedric gave it to me, actually. For the tournament."

"Diggory gave you the password to a private bath. For the _tournament_?" he repeated, his eyes losing the twinkle I was so used to. I shrugged, nearly feeling embarrassed over what I had said and yet feeling defiant. He was with Angelina, what should it matter if I spoke to Cedric after dinner?

"Yes, he's trying to help me over my fear of water."

"In return for Astral lessons, no doubt." Fred murmured. Moody raised his eyebrows at me, his magical eye examining me fully, likely taking in the bags under my eyes and slight pallor.

"Astral, aye?" he mumbled to himself, he seemed like he was thinking very hard about my tactic, as if there was something he wanted to say about it though he didn't speak. I rolled my eyes.

"Diggory doesn't _know _about my technique, just my fear of water, thank you." I stuck my nose higher in the air, like Daphne did all those times she wanted to prove that the conversation was finished. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make sure you win some money in the next few weeks - I thank you for your cooperation."

Fred's face was starting to go red as I walked away, just as mine felt it was as well. I didn't really want to bother him and upset him, but I was insulted by how he kept insulting Cedric. He knew I had a crush on the chap, so why did he have to keep being such a bludger over it? The only thing Diggory had ever done wrong was completely demolish the Gryffindor team last year - which was more Harry's fault than it was Cedric's victory, anyway. There was no need to drudge up such harsh feelings over him not being affected by dementors and having an earlier birthday than Fred, himself.

I found myself going the long way to the fifth floor mermaid portrait - letting the moving staircases kick me out of the way of my target, but unwilling to go straight to the large tubs that I'd heard were the size of muggle swimming pools. I wasn't going to chicken out - but just because I had to go didn't mean I couldn't take my own sweet time doing it. At least then I could do _something _the way I wanted it done.

When I finally found myself face to face with the mermaid in the portrait to the bathrooms, I found myself clearing my throat. She was very pretty, but nothing at all like the merpeople who actually lived. This was just a well painted portrait of a woman with a fish tale - she was like a siren, just not as impressive.

"You have no badge," she observed, looking at my robes suspiciously. "I assume you have no password?"

"I don't, but I'm a friend of Cedric Diggory's - he said I could use this for - er, myself." Not the normal confidence I held within myself, but I guess that was just some of Cedric's rather impressive charm over me.

"Ah, Audrey Potter, is it? Yes, he and Myrtle talked about you for quite some time." She did not seem nearly as pleased by this as I was while she revealed the doorway for me, waving her arm dismissively. "Enjoy your bath."

I stepped into the prefects bathroom and almost gasped. Were I someone who could stand water, I'm pretty sure that this would be my favourite place to be. It was quiet and even though it was large enough to house a party, it was barricaded for one at a time. The bath itself _was _the size of a swimming pool and yet as I swallowed my fear and turned on the water - the bath soap and warm water were almost relaxing enough to make me forget that it would be enough to drown me. I was impressed by my own fascination to be honest - making prefect would be something I'd take interest in were all the perks this impressive.

I was glad that I didn't seem to notice any sign of Moaning Myrtle, though I'm sure if she bothered Cedric she would be along shortly. I couldn't bare to take off my clothes and treat it like a real bath, so I stripped down to my bra and pants, leaving the robe, shirt, and trousers I'd donned for the day off to the side. I wiggled my toes over the side of the pool, now brimming with wonderfully scented water and bubbles that even made me giddy were it not for the death trap which lurked beneath it all.

The moment my toes were wiggling and clinging to the edge of the pool a cool sense of deja vu travelled down the back of my neck when I realized that I had had a vision of this all the way back in the hospital wing after the first task - I hated knowing I was destined for something that was causing me dread as it happened. it was like there was no way to avoid everything rubbish I'd been involved in.

I took a deep breath taking a long moment to picture Circe in my head, let the song and it's taunting message filter through my ears, trying desperately to push the memory of the bursting waterpipes from the forefront of my mind. I couldn't back out now, I had to do this.

I had to do it for Circe, I didn't know what I would do if I lost her.

I had to do it for Fred and George, they needed the money.

I had to do it for Snape, who didn't believe I would be able to do what I'd already done.

I had to do it for Malfoy, that prat needed to be put in his place.

But mostly, I had to do this for me. This was the one time I would ever get to prove how great I could be, how worthy of that eternal glory I was. Just because I didn't survive the killing curse didn't mean that I wasn't powerful, or special, or something that deserved remembering. I deserved just as much as Harry did and this, this conquering of everything I couldn't do, was a testament to that fact.

I took a deep breath as I held my foot over the water, letting my toes sink into the water with a sickening lurch of my stomach. I wouldn't let it get to me. Not for something that I could fight - I wasn't locked under the sink anymore - all I had to do was prove I could control my emotions in the water and then my body didn't have to touch it again. I could stay calm and hence stay out of the water. I could do that. I _would _do that for Circe, Fred, George, Snape, Malfoy, and for eternal glory - or at least the opportunity to take it away from Harry.

Yes, that's exactly what I was going to do. Confidence back where it should be - right in the coolness of my glare, I sank into the pool up to my knees, ignoring as they buckled and threatened to pull me under in fear.

Let the training commence.

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><p><strong>The next chapter is a long chapter and it is also the second task! Who's excited? I know I am, you won't believe what Audrey has in store for her. To my wonderful reviewers:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes the bet will definitely come into play next chapter, but I promise you that no matter who wins it won't be as simple as winning or losing with those consequences. I'm glad that you're noticing that Malfoy and Audrey are building with chemistry...particularly because there is about to be a big blow out between the two of them within the next five chapters - but you'll have to wait and see why! Thanks for reviewing!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: The question of whether or not it's a widespread belief that Malfoy and Audrey are a couple will be answered in a few more chapters with detail. I like that you're asking questions and they are all very good ones, problem being it would ruin the surprise if I answered even one of them. I can answer that Snape probably wouldn't know the full status of whether or not they were together, if he were to know that would mean that Audrey was admitting to herself any possible feelings for the ferret or Draco was admitting any feelings for the hellion and neither one of them are ready for that yet. I think he just assumes because of the way they act, much like Ron and Hermione only with a little more viciousness.**

**The verdict on the kiss-vote has been tallied and you'll have to wait and see, but I think whether people voted on it or not they will be happy because it will come with drama (as all things Audrey does seems to). **

**I agree that at the dance he was so frustrated with her overanalysis because he just wanted to be with her, though I can't tell you whether or not he knows why he wanted to be with her yet. I am going to leave that up to Draco to make his move when he feels it's appropriate - or closer to when I feel it's appropriate, but to be honest I was going to hold out until the middle of OotP and I haven't been able to stop the escalation of chemistry, they're just so compatible and they don't know it! Besides, Malfoy is helping her in his own way though she always takes it as bad news, like with his words on the Weasleys. Is he trying to warn her and prepare her, or is he trying to create a divide for his own selfish desires? ;) Thanks for your thoughts!**

_XOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: Luckily she can now do Astral projection, but her fear of water is going to be a factor that she needs to get over. I guess you're going to have to wait until the next update to see how she does with it! Thanks for the review :)**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Thanks, I'm glad you've been enjoying it. Also, I was really excited to put in that some people can see right through their hatred - it's a fine line between hatred and love isn't it? I am going cannon for the most part, except for where Audrey will have a part. So yes, Moody will be Crouch...but I can't tell you how Audrey will play a part in all of that ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Azura Soul Reaver_**: You are both right. She said that not every girl wants Draco, but that doesn't mean that Audrey's one of those few that don't...**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad that I'm breaking fanfic tradition with the Astral Projection and hope that I did it some justice for you. You will have to wait and see what Audrey does with it! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Erugalatha Fael-ionath_**: I'm glad that you enjoy Audrey's sass and bitterness, I'm trying to make her as realistic as possible. We all have those people who we love to their faces but are just waiting for them to do poorly at something to feel better about ourselves - she just happens to feel that way about her brother. I'm glad it's coming through, thank you for your review!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I am so excited for you to come back onto the site and fill me in. Did you go on honeymoon? Where, what was it like, how was it? As I said, I want to live vicariously through your experiences. I'm sure you and he time will be really nice after all the hustle and bustle of wedding planning :)**

_beforedawn21_**: It's great to hear from new readers, thank you so much for reviewing! I hope that you like what you read and stick with the story and hopefully Audrey won't rub you the wrong way like she seems to rub all the other characters :)**

_Fujitard_**: Oh yeah, Draco and Circe would be buddy-buddy if Audrey let them, I'm sure. I also thought about the fact that Cedric is going to die soon, it was honestly my main reason to want to ship it. I'm so glad that you're hooked on Audrey and her perceptions, thank you for reviewing!**

_sPaRkzZz_**: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this review and your review was much appreciated :)**

_thenameles221_**: Thank you so much, it's great to hear that you like my writing. Honestly, I grow with every story I write, so keep writing and you will definitely get better. I go back and read past stories and can't believe it's my own writing, so I promise that practice may not make perfect but it makes it a hell of a lot better :) Thank you for the review and the kiss-vote, it was taken into consideration!**

_eViLIsabelle_**: I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hear from new readers, to hear that you like it and you spent the time to go through it all is humbling. I'm glad you like Audrey and the development between Draco and herself, thank you very much for taking the time to review :)**

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><p><strong>Wow, I love getting reviews and these were just spectacular. Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave me with their two (or for the long ones, sometimes ten) cents. The next chapter is going to be action packed and long to boot, so the more you <strong>_REVIEW_**the faster I will update - it will be out no later than next week. Promise!**

**What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Do you think she'll be able to become Astral? Do you think she's going to freeze up in fear? Do you think she'll be able to retrieve her hostage - who is her hostage?**

**Let me know your thoughts!**

**-Egypt**


	19. The Second Task

**Whew, this one is a long chapter that is jammed with action, fluff, and all things Audrey! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it was heart warming to have so many to read. Hopefully you like this chapter as much as I loved writing it!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Eighteen – The Second Task<span>

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><p>The grounds were still quiet as I walked around the lake, keeping my distance but also watching the water wearily. I was trying to picture myself inside of it, trying to visualize swimming through the water like Snape had told me to last night before he'd sent me off early to try and sleep.<p>

Of course, I hadn't been able to sleep. I'd gotten an hour of sleep that night that was haunted by a blurry dream of some creature grabbing at my ankle to yank me down deeper into the black water as I tried to scream for help. I woke up just as I felt I would give in and try to breathe anyway.

In my hand – for I could not give myself reason to put it in my pocket – was the modified calming draught that I had made two nights before. I was half tempted to pop the cap off and take some now, but I knew I had to save it for when I needed it most and the fear I had when I was walking thirty feet around the edge of the lake would be nothing compared to when I would finally have to dip my toes in it.

That was Snape's idea, of course. I would never offer up sitting that close to the water, but he had said it may help me visualize leaving my body and falling into the water – it could also keep my magic slightly more in tune with my Astral state or something like that. To be honest, half the things Snape had said to me last night had flown over my head; the nerves had set in very early.

While I was imagining myself in the water – though I tried to avoid imagining myself thrashing around and screaming for help – I realized that people were slowly starting to wake and go about the castle. I had been up since before four in the morning and had surrendered to walking and visualizing just after six. I'd tried to eat something I'd snagged from the kitchens, but my body had just expelled it after a very graphic image of the giant squid realizing that I had invaded its personal space.

Right as I was about to turn and head the far way from the castle to be at peace with my fear, I heard someone shout my name. Looking around my shoulder I could see Cedric coming out of the castle. As much as his presence normally made me swoon, today was not a day I wanted him to see me before he had to – I could only imagine the horror I looked thanks to lack of sleep and lack of guts. As always, he was handsome; dressed in regular clothes, a thick coat trying to hide what I could see of the tournament swimming gear we'd received on our beds yesterday morning. His yellow shorts were sticking out in the space between his shirt and trousers. My emerald green one piece was hidden under multiple layers of clothes – the Dementors last year had left me nearly defenseless against the chill of winter.

"Hey," Cedric smiled tightly, not even out of breath from running the whole way to greet me.

I gave a tight smile in return, not quite able to trust myself not to give away how terrified I was.

"You look horrible," he examined. Ah, exactly as I'd feared – how sweet of him to notice. "I knew you wouldn't be taking this well."

"Then apparently I can be a tad predictable," I mumbled, hearing a different voice come out than I was used to. This task was really humbling me and the waver in the higher tone of my words was not only obvious, but slightly pathetic. "You look upset yourself."

It was true. Now that he was closer I could see that Cedric had shadows under his light eyes and his hair was slightly disheveled. His eyes didn't look haunted like I was sure my own did, but they did look somewhat upset about something I couldn't think to name.

"Well, I haven't had the best support for the day," he frowned, kicking a rock near his foot so that it flew into the water. I raised my eyebrows from the distance he'd made it skid across the stones and the ripples it had created when it touched the water.

"Meaning?"

"Well," he mumbled, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Cho has disappeared."

"Disappeared?" I repeated, unable to keep the condescension from my voice. It would do the entire world a favour if Cho Chang and her backstabbing little friend Marietta just 'disappeared'.

"Well, I haven't been able to find her and her friends say that professor Flitwick asked to speak to her last night but she never came back. I'm a little worried. I checked the hospital wing, but no one seems to have seen her."

"You'll still have a cheering section," I assured him, unable to stop myself from rolling my eyes so I went to turn away from him. It's not that I didn't enjoy Cedric's company and it's not like I didn't understand what I was saying. But bloody hell, I was obviously freaking out. I was in no mood to help him sort out issues with his pompous, priss of a girlfriend.

"I guess," he mumbled. "How are your friends taking everything?"

"Last night they were wrecks," I shrugged. "I woke up too early to talk to them this morning. I didn't want to see them or have them see me. I can't stand it when people wish me luck, all the while they have this look of pity in their eyes as if they will cheer for me when I win and pretend to mourn for me when I die. Either way they expect the worst but will still say 'I knew you could do it' when it's all ended. I wasn't in the mood to encourage them."

"I have noticed that you hate pity," he nods, keeping up pace with me as I began walking away from the castle for the eighth time that morning. "You know that it's not bad to accept help though, don't you?"

"I'd say that you're a regular psychiatrist and that it doesn't matter, you obviously are helping me without me having to ask." He chuckled at this, stuffing his hands into his robe pockets and watching his feet.

"Well, as long as I'm doing you some good."

"You always seem to," I blushed, looking down to my own feet when I realized that it wasn't as subtle as I'd hoped it would be. I had meant to say it for my benefit and to sound kind to him, but the inflection in my voice had made it pretty clear how I really meant it.

"You don't need to be scared you know, the judges won't let you drown." He said quietly, luckily ignoring what I had said to him and continuing on with something else – not that I liked this conversation any more.

"I still can't swim."

"Why didn't you say anything? I just thought you were afraid of the water," he gasped. "I didn't realize you couldn't swim. I would have taught you..."

"If it all works out like it's supposed to, it's not going to matter." I shrugged, leaving us quiet again for a long time. He looked at me closely; I could feel his eyes wandering for a moment before he spoke.

"What are you doing today, if you don't mind?" I looked at him suspiciously, still not liking that my competition was asking for my strategy, which he seemed to understand. Apparently my Slytherin qualms weren't anything new to this yellow armoured knight. "It's not going to matter either way – I've already decided what I'm doing and I'm not brave enough to try something new and have it fail on me at the last minute. Here, to prove it: I'm doing the bubble-head charm."

He did have a point. If he was going to do something so stupid, I shouldn't really have to consider him competition, he was more like squid-food if he decided to change to my strategy just for the flash of it all. I looked at him warily again, this time trying to gage his reaction to my response, but his eyes were supportive and sweet – a warm grey, like a clouded summers day instead of the cold gray steel I always linked to someone like Malfoy.

"Hopefully I'll be doing Astral projection," I said quietly.

"What?" The expression on his face was difficult to read. It was either that I had been too quiet for him to hear me so he thought I'd said something I didn't, or possibly that what I had said to him really did sound as outrageous as his face suggested it did. I had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.

"Astral projection – it's the ability for one's body to separate the-"

"I know what Astral projection is, Audrey." He shook his head. "And you can do it?"

"I _have _done it, I'm not sure if 'can do it' would be the proper term..." I mumbled. "Either way, it's all I have."

"And you didn't want to consider anything easy like the bubble-head charm?" He asked me skeptically, bringing his hands out of his pockets so that he could rub them against each other; it seemed he was beginning to feel the cold as much as I was.

"That still requires me getting into the water," I explained. "I took your idea of practicing in the pool, and I can stand getting in a pool now – but the idea of being surrounded by a lake that has no side to grab onto and is who knows how deep? I can't explain to you how–I, well, you see, it's..."

"Hey," he said quietly, noticing that I was getting myself worked up just at the thought of it. He made my eyes turn back to him before he spoke again. "Astral projection is a _really _good idea, Audrey. It's very impressive. If you can do it, I think that it's brilliant. You'll get full points."

"I hope I can do it," I corrected. "Just because I've done it twice doesn't mean that I can do it again – it takes so much energy and concentration. I just hope I'll be able to pull through."

"I'm sure you can," he smiled. "If it helps when Dad was teaching me Occlumency, that's the ability to block your mind, I was told to picture a piece of parchment tacked up to block my vision. I would visualize the tacks just at the edge of where I was able to look and picture parchment so close in front of my face it was all I could see – that's how I ended up being able to clear my mind. When he would start rooting around for memories, I used to almost..." he paused as he thought about his words. "I would imagine that I was drawing the scene I wanted him to see instead of the scene that he wanted to see. I could change it at will."

"Wow," I blinked. "Cedric, that's brilliant."

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Hopefully it will help you. From what I've read on Astral projection it's all about concentration or maybe imagination, isn't it?"

"Visualization," I corrected. "But yes, concentration needs to be reached so that you only visualize what you want to happen instead of something that could make everything go wrong."

"If something goes wrong," he told her. "You need to pull out of the competition. I'm not saying that as your opponent, I'm saying it as your friend."

"We're friends?" I couldn't help the sly grin that was creeping its way onto my lips as my face reddened. He smiled at me.

"I certainly hope so," he said with a chuckle. I smiled, it was the brightest smile I'd been able to pull all week, before I shook my head at him.

"I can't just give up, it's in my nature but it's not in my pride." I explained.

"But if it's going to get you seriously hurt-"

"Would it make any sense," I interrupted, "if I told you that I have something to prove?"

He nodded his head for a second, sticking his hands back in his pocket before he looked at me. "Would it happen to be against your brother?"

"Against everyone who pins me against my brother," I corrected. "But yes."

"Then yes," he nodded slowly, though he was now taking the time to look at me and examine me thoroughly. "But for the record – people don't see you how _you _think they see you."

"What?" I asked dumbly. He smiled slightly.

"You're much more sweet, intelligent and most importantly much more approachable than you think you are. People don't just think of you as the Boy-Who-Lived's sister, they think of you as Audrey Potter: the girl who lived, as well."

"That's not at all what I've heard." I mumbled. "And I'm fine with that, so long as they are fine with it to the point they stop expecting me to live up to the standards they put for _him_."

"If you need it, only if you need it and not that I think you will," he smiled at me lightly. "The incantation for the bubble-head charm that I'm using is _Subunda Capitis_. Circe your wand around your head and you should be fine."

"Knowing me I'll decapitate myself," I joked…though not really. "But thank you."

"No need to thank me, but Audrey I-" as if fate had decided to be even more cruel to me than putting me in this tournament to begin with, whatever he was about to say was cut off by a loud toll, the familiar clock tower reading nine o'clock. We had half an hour until the tournament began. I immediately felt like the given one piece bathing suit was restricting my breathing as he checked his watch and looked back at me. Apparently whatever he saw on my face worried him.

"I'm not quite courageous," I admitted. "In fact, I'm actually quite the coward."

"Not being courageous does not make you a coward," he said softly, the pity chilling me as if it were cold water – the dread was pouring over my head and blurring my eyes. "Fear doesn't make you a coward, running away does. And, no matter what your motives are," he gave a small, mocking smile. "You aren't running away. You've decided to compete. And for someone who is so afraid," I grimaced at the admission. "I think that makes you quite brave."

Leaning forward slightly, he turned his head to the side and kissed the top of my right cheekbone. It almost burned where he touched, a kiss on the cheek with some emotion I had never had and a chill down my spine that I knew was not caused from the winter chill, though it felt like icy water being poured down my spine.

Honestly, by the time he pulled away I was in so much shock that I may have resembled a deer in the headlights. He chuckled at me lightly before he nodded.

"See you down there, Potter. Good luck."

Somehow I managed to croak out a "likewise," before he jogged off to be on his own for the tournament. His kiss was still burning my cheek in a way that was far too distracting; I hadn't realized how cold I was from the many hours I'd stayed here this morning. I had forced Circe to go inside hours ago when even she, in her thick winter coat, had begun to shiver. I guess I had never thought that the shock and worry over the tournament were distracting me from the numbing freeze of late February.

I know logically I should have gone right after Cedric toward the competitors' entrance to the platform by the lake, but I couldn't make myself go yet. I could see students flocking toward the stands that had been built overnight and even though I was determined to complete this task, I was not as driven to get any closer to the water and what could be imminent failure.

Then I saw the last person I wanted to speak to, and yet the only person I could tell was feeling any of the pain I was fearing, as he stumbled nervously toward the lake's platform. Raising my hand up instinctively, I screamed his name.

My brother turned around a few different directions before his eyes seemed to land on me. He was too nervous to go about running toward me, so we met in the middle as he left the group of people he had been trying to hide himself in the middle of. He looked around nervously when he got to me before frowning.

"Have you seen Ron or Hermione?"

"I haven't been paying attention to be honest," I looked at the throng that was starting to dwindle as most students had come early for better seats.

Harry cursed under his breath before he raised his hand and opened his palm for me. "Can you recognize this, then?"

What he held toward me looked like a knot that had been cut out of Medusa's tendrils, though I knew better as I had borrowed some only two nights before. It was slimy and somehow wriggling like wet snakes, though I could tell it was not a living creature.

"It's gillyweed," I noted. "Did Snape give that to you?"

"Sort of," he grimaced, lowering his hand a bit as he looked around again. I took that to mean that he wasn't supposed to have it but it did, in fact, come from what I knew was Snape's personal stores. "Do you know what it does?"

"Gives the consumer gills," I shrugged. "Commonly a single tendril of it is used in a strong calming draught to restrict and regulate breathing or the draught of living death to keep them from having to breathe at all." He smiled at me while I began to list off everything I remembered, almost verbatim, from the sixth year potions book I'd snagged off of Montague just so I could get ahead and ruin his grades in the process. "If you get a concentrated amount of it – which you have, considering that you have multiple tendrils all knotted together – you should get some other aquatic transfigurments happening to you as well, though it will only last as long as it will stay in the stomach. Once it is eaten by the stomach acids, the effects wear off."

His smile fell for a moment, pensively, before he smiled again. "It's great having you as a walking, talking encyclopedia when Hermione isn't here."

"Don't tell anyone," I threatened lamely before a chiming came to the clock again. It was quarter past – Harry and I instinctively began to walk toward the stands and the next task. Whether it was instinctive or subconscious he switched sides with me so that he was closest to the water.

"Don't tell Snape," he frowned. "Dobby took it from his personals. I didn't even know this plant existed."

"Weed," I corrected. "Gillyweed is a weed. I won't rat you out to Snape, I have bigger fish to fry."

He laughed a little too loudly at my pun, though we both knew it was nerves that made it sound so fake. He looked at me worriedly. "And you? What are you doing to survive?"

I looked down at the pale wand sticking out of the pocket, the jagged _X_ in the hilt making me feel another ounce of dread on top of what I already feared. I shrugged my shoulders lightly. "Whatever magic will work for me, I guess. Perhaps the bubblehead charm."

I couldn't tell you why I didn't want to brag about the Astral projection. Perhaps it was because I wasn't sure I would be able to pull it off, or more likely I was looking for a dramatic entrance into the limelight for once, but the fact that I didn't tell Harry stuck in my brain as we walked through the stands towards our post. People were holding signs and had painted faces – they were showing their support for their favourites.

There was a sea of red and black for Krum, all hard faced Romanians and drooling fans. There weren't nearly as much silver and gold, Fleur Delacour's signature colours that mostly were there to compliment her appearance. There was, however, a shocking amount of yellow banners to support Cedric Diggory, many faces were painted yellow with black bumble-bee slashes. There were a fair number of red and gold as well, Harry's never ending fan-base would have never disappointed. My fan base was much more slim, there were red and green banners to support the infamous Potter twins, but I could see no green faces or signs of support.

We followed the path followed by so many that the ground had muddied itself all the way up to the platform, where the judges had sat themselves at a table. There were a few helpers awaiting us as they took us to our places, they were faceless to me thanks to the distracting hammering in my chest. I could tell that they stripped me as well, but I was completely oblivious to it until a particularly icy gust of wind decided to lick at my bare skin.

"I'm here," Harry panted a bit, he seemed out of breath as well – not that we had run. We were late, but we were too nervous to function properly.

"Where have you been?" Percy Weasley hissed between us. I had managed to avoid the arse since he'd decided to show up and replace Mr Crouch during his disappearances, but no amount of distance could make the urge to hit him disappear like his boss had. "The task's about to start!"

"We're here, aren't we?" I sneered, making his eyes narrow accusingly. "I didn't know we had to be here fifteen minutes before we were going to be tossed into the lake for an hour. Silly me, I forgot how long it takes one to sink – would you mind counting for me?"

I took a step toward him and he flinched back – the lard had been afraid of me for years since I had pranked him in second year when Ron, Fred and George had come to retrieve Harry and I with the enchanted car.

"Now, now, Percy! Let him catch his breath!" Ah, the voice of Ludo Bagman – another on my hit list. He, however, would have to stay alive until the twins had gotten what they needed from him. He owed them a lot of money and paying them with leprechaun gold had only increased the cruelty of the revenge. "Alright Potter? Know what you're going to do?"

I couldn't tell which of us he was talking to, so I promptly ignored him. He would see soon enough what I'd do and I was determined to do something cruel to him when he couldn't see the Astral me...no one would ever be able to prove a thing.

Once Harry had affirmed he had some sort of action plan – not that it was actually _his_ plan – I was pretty sure that Bagman turned to me, but I promptly looked at the water. When I realized that was only making things worse, I closed my eyes and toyed with the vial still clenched in my fist, it would be the only thing to save me now.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle," Bagman's voice was magnified, clearer than a speaker and much more defined than Fudge at the world cup. I winced a bit from the shock of it so close to my ear. "They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On my count of three, then. One...two...three!"

I couldn't tell which came first, the whistle or the thundering splash that the three champions made as they chopped the water and began to swim where I could no longer see them. There were cheers from the stands, I watched as Harry shoved the gillyweed in his mouth and lowered himself, slowly, into the freezing water.

I took my time to uncork my calming draught, raising it up a little bit to make sure it still looked as it should – and saying a little prayer to the gods of dry land – before I chugged it back. It was warmer than I had expected it to be. I had expected the peppermint to keep the potion cool, but I guess the syrup of hellebore overrode those effects. I waited as I felt its effects slide over me – it was a lethargic change, one that prompted me to take a long breath and close my eyes to feel the tingling in my toes. I took my time to sit down on the dock, curling myself into a ball before ordering myself to unravel and dip my toes in the water.

The water was freezing. It was so cold that it burnt my feet as they fell in – I didn't realize the dock was so low, but the water came up to my ankles. The others were gone now. I could hear Bagman questioning if I was forfeiting the tournament – it seemed like he was privy to my fear of water, because I could have sworn he mentioned it.

Just having my feet in the water was starting to clash against the calming draught I'd ingested. I could feel the slippery death of the water lapping against my ankles, but at the same time I could feel the potion fighting to keep my heartbeat steady. I was going to have a heart attack if they kept pushing against one another like this. I took my wand and put it between my hands, digging the tip into my palm to steady myself, to remind myself of what I was supposed to be doing. I heard a hush fall over the judges table – they must have realized what I was planning on doing and they must have been intrigued enough to see if I'd succeed.

How was I supposed to empty my thoughts with all this noise around me? The silence from the judges table was loud in its own way, while I could hear distinct laughter and jeering in the stands – people who had figured out what I was doing and thought I was either a loon mixed with all the people who didn't know what I was doing thought I was pathetic.

I needed to do this faster than I normally did – I wouldn't have the energy to go so far away from my body and still be energized enough to bring whatever I was bringing back. I hoped it was the size of a quaffle, like the egg, at least then it would be easier to levitate back. It wouldn't drain me of energy.

Something happened in the water that made it rise up my legs, hitting mid shin. The feeling made me physically jolt and start to quiver, both from the cold and from the fear. I could feel the nausea eating away at my insides, I could sense the memories from the Dursley's rolling around in my subconscious, trying to drown me from the inside.

"_Burst them again, I dare you!"_

I could feel the shower of water from leaking pipes rain down on me as if I were back there, as if I were locked under the sink again, ready to drown and be forgotten about. I could feel my body shaking as my memories screamed at me. Screamed at me to run away, screamed at me to flee and give up this tournament. It's not like anyone here would have been surprised. No one would blame you. Everyone saw it coming.

_Concentrate, Potter. Ignore the crowd. Imagine you're back in the potion's office._

Snape's voice carried through my mind in a way that disturbed me. Was he really speaking to me through legilimency, or had I created full delusions thanks to my anxiety over the tournament? Neither would really surprise me. The man had no concept of privacy.

But even after his initial comment – whether it be imagined or implanted – I could hear his voice in my head. All of the corrections, the advice, the praise and the hard-assed encouragement when I had finally been able to reach the Astral state. I could hear him in my mind as he explained that it _'is the manifestation of an Astral body, separate from the physical body that you currently possess. It is the separation of the physical consciousness from magical ability, so while your physical body will stay centered and grounded, your Astral body will be free to journey where it pleases'_.

He was right, of course. But how did I know where I needed to go, where I wanted to go? The other competitors were so far ahead of me I wouldn't be able to trail them and who knew what I would be able to do once I got there. Sure, I would not need to breathe as I was not a living body that required circulation – but would I still need to swim to displace lake water?

Some sort of bell chimed – another magnified voice that sounded like Percy explained that this was the ten minute marker which would sound every ten minutes. After the sixth chime, we competitors would be late.

I was still trying to concentrate during the second chime.

I was tossed out of what I could have sworn was a focused, near-Astral state by the third.

_Potter, I can tell that you aren't doing anything. Are you just going to give up?_

No, I wanted to sneer back to the voice. I wanted to sneer back that he should stay out of my head because he was distracting me. I wanted to inform him that I had been doing just fine and dandy until his rude remarks had invaded my mind and left me even more exhausted than I had been seconds before. I needed more sleep last night – I'd never reach an Astral state when I was so bogged down and foggy minded.

_Quit making excuses, you're giving up. You are so like your father._

No I wasn't, I wanted to argue back. I wanted to tell him that my father would have reveled in the attention of this tournament. I wanted to tell him that he shouldn't be allowed to insult me with my parents personas when I had never gotten to meet them and that I was stronger than they were. I had fought death and won, multiple times, and now I was going to win this too. I had reached an Astral state before and I could reach it now. I just needed to concentrate – but I was not giving up.

_Good._

He almost sounded proud.

I needed to think of things to calm me; perhaps thinking of Circe – but that only made me more anxious when I realized that Malfoy was up in the stands watching, probably holding my kneazle hostage for when I failed.

I'd think of Fred – but that just frustrated me, the bloke was probably sitting next to Angelina. He was probably holding her hand and praying that I would get him his galleons so that he and George could go live a life without me, where they were free of all that being friends with a Potter gave them.

I thought of potions class – to which I could have sworn I heard Snape's voice scoff.

It wasn't my fault some classes calmed me.

I thought of Cedric – he was calming. Well, perhaps calming is not the proper word. He was light. There was nothing negative about him, he just filled me up with optimism from his relaxed smile to his gray, careless eyes. He was calming because he was so calm, himself. He was smart, with his technique. Maybe I should give up and try the bubble-head charm he had told me – it was only at risk of decapitation and I'm sure Madam Pomfery could fix that.

_No, she can't._

Well, thank you professor, that certainly made my decision easy for me. He had told me that I could use it if all else failed – and thus far, all else was failing epically. What else had he told me? He had told me that I was approachable, he had told me that I was sweet – he had kissed me on the cheek. I could almost feel the cheek burn at the thought of it.

_Focus, Audrey._

I couldn't tell if that reprimand was my inner voice or Snape's.

What else had Cedric told me? Something about Occlumency – he had learned Occlumency from his father. What had his tactic been? It had been brilliant. I remember telling him it had been brilliant.

The fog of nerves was covered by the calming draught, even as it began to wear away and I could pull the memory of it back. Or maybe it was Snape doing it for me – it was an unnatural pull that I realized was probably helped along by my dark guardian angel. Cedric had told me that he pictured parchment tacked up in his vision – right in front of his eyes so that it was all he could see.

The parchment I pictured was smeared with dark ink stains – it was because I was ambidextrous. I always smeared my parchment when I wrote left-handed, which was why all my essays were written with my right – though my left hand was much faster. My parchment was a little bit darker too – like the lights it was reflecting were very dim – torch-light, perhaps. I couldn't tell.

As I stared at it, I couldn't help but wonder how this was going to help. I was still thinking about everything the parchment represented – school, work, classes, assignments, research, that damned library book Pansy Parkinson had stolen from me – when I felt cold water shiver down my spine.

The parchment in front of me seemed to mould itself away from present time and into the future as it replaced itself into Harry's hands. I could see him in front of me, though he was not speaking to me – thank Merlin, I never wanted to be seen in this ridiculous bathing suit again. On the parchment between us, he was pointing to a name walking near Snape's storage on the map: 'Barty Crouch'.

The scene switched, molding itself into something much more dark. The colours were only tints here, it was farther away. All around me I could see hedges – tall hedges that went twenty feet into the air and did not sway in the breeze that passed between the rows of them. I felt dread as I seemed to hit a wall of it.

I felt the weight of the image shift before I felt a weight being thrown onto me as I looked at Daphne, colours drained not only from time but from some situation I did not yet know, as she looked over to me and nodded. It was a show of thanks I did not yet understand.

Then, the worst feeling of all. I came hurtling back to the present. It was such a powerful jolt that I felt myself tumble back into myself and – with complete and utter horror – watched as I was flung into the still waters of the black lake.

But I did not cause a stir.

In fact, the water remained still.

I looked up from the water I was not treading – apparently I did _need_ to tread the water – to see that I was watching myself. The real me was bleached of colour and my eyebrows were furrowed as I concentrated on my wand between each palm. It was strange to see myself. Snape was watching me closely, tugging on my mind softly to see if I was concentrating – I could see his own signs of concentration as he did it. He seemed to get what he wanted and withdrew. Disturbingly, Mad-Eye Moody – not sitting far from the docks, had his magical eye trained on where my Astral form floated. It seemed almost as if Dumbledore could see me too, a small smile on his face – but of course, I knew better than that.

Turning away from an audience – that I luckily had not noticed were still jeering – I turned into the water and took a deep breath. which was a strange sensation because I knew I didn't need to breathe. Pushing my head through the surface of the water I began to swim like I had seen in all of Dudley's television programming. They kicked their legs and shoved the water out of their way like they were shoving people – I knew from experience that I was quite apt to do that.

But no matter how much I kept pretending to swim, the fear still got to me. I could not feel the lake touch my body, I could not feel the icy sting of the winter water clawing anywhere but my ankles which were _truly _submersed in the sea of troubles, but fear still mounted. It was like I was pushing myself through my fears themselves, instead of water, which was a much more terrifying feeling. I drew in a deep breath and in it, drew in comfort; though I had breathed under water and in real life, I could only taste the salty sea air thanks to my real body not being submersed.

There is no way I can drown, I told myself. You have too much to lose to be so scared now that you've done what's needed.

I began swimming deeper, feeling some resistance against my 'body' but knowing that it was not water – it was resistance of my Astral body floating so far away from my Actual body. Strangely, it did feel like cutting through waves.

There were more fish here than I usually saw from the windows in the common room. Silver ones, mostly, though I could see some brightly coloured fish that I couldn't recognize. I rarely looked up fish considering the only fish I cared to be near were used in potions – the others I never really dared to venture near. I couldn't see the squid, but something told me I was still too close to the edge be found near him.

It was easy gliding through the water so long as I ignored the tug between bodies – it was adding more strain that I would have thought and I knew that I needed to surge through and keep going or else I would run out of energy before I got anything accomplished. And energy was ticking away – I could feel it as if I were waiting in bed for my eyes to droop. Exhaustion: it was inevitable and it was coming fast.

Then, faintly, I could hear something. Something familiar that I had to strain to listen to: it was the mersong from the egg. Something told me that I needed to swim a lot farther, because whatever they had stolen was wherever those merpeople were. I twisted around in the water, listening for which direction to go, before it happened – before something green whipped toward me...and through me.

"Oi!" I shouted at it, only to have the creature turn around. It's cat-like eyes unnerved me as it tried to focus. "Can you see me?"

Not that it could have answered but it made its point by rushing toward me again, passing straight through my non-existent body. I was almost amused. These little buggers made a game of scaring me when we were in the dungeons – now look who was stupid.

"Don't make me use magic on you," I threatened. "You're not worth the energy."

But still it charged at me again. And again. And again. Eventually I was starting to get annoyed because it was blocking the sound of the song.

"Go that way," I said instinctively, shoving my finger a tad to the left of where I heard the song being sung. "There are people you can _actually _attack there."

Almost as if it understood me, he fixed his unnerving eyes toward me again before swimming away. I breathed a sigh of relief – caught off guard again when the cool, icy air that was not surrounding me filled my lungs. It was almost too easy to forget that I was not really here.

Surging forward yet again, I was met with a lightening of my surroundings – the underwater world was more alive than the common room had lead me to believe. There was a lot of architecture down here and to be honest, though I didn't quite know how there was concrete in wet conditions, it seemed that rock, concrete and coral made up the merpeople's world. Merpeople were swimming around too, not that I hadn't seen them before. They still possessed the same seaweeded hair, grey and scaly skin, as well as silver fish tails that were far too long for their squat, pebbled bodies. I was thrown off of my admiration for the culture when I heard a muffled scream to my left.

I looked around, cocking my head to the side. It took me a while to realize that I was witnessing a Grindylow attack – the victim being far too pale and frail skinned to be a merperson. Around their mouth was a silver bubble, pale legs kicking out from around the water demon's brittle green fingers. I watched in horror for a moment as the victim was pulled down towards lower water and ganged on by three more Grindylow – it was the profile that allowed my fear to ease.

It seemed Cedric was not the only one to use the bubblehead charm, for Fleur Delacour was the one I saw who the creatures were trying to drown. I watched in fascination and torn guilt. I could help the poor girl – she was a fellow competitor and no one deserved to be dragged to the depths of the sea...

But it was Fleur Delacour. She was competition, another school, a part-Veela who never did any work because she thought she was so pretty she could get away with murder. In fact, I'm sure she probably could get away with murder. She thought she was so great, saying no to Ron and humiliating him before the ball – not that Ron didn't deserve it for being such an arse in the earlier months of the competition. Besides, she had a wand to save herself and I only had a limited amount of energy to take back whatever had been stolen from me. It wasn't my fault she was too stupid to use magic. Beside's the teachers would save her were she not capable of saving herself – they didn't _actually _want people to die down here. And if Fleur love-me-I'm-beautiful Delacour didn't have the smarts to enter this competition, she shouldn't have put her little frilly piece of parchment in. And really, who was she to me? She was no one. She was not important. She was trying to steal the only chance I had to prove myself worthy of my surname.

Turning my head, I swam forward. I tried to ignore the nagging voice in my head, the nagging voice that luckily did not sound like Snape, but like my brother. It was saying that _he _would have saved her. That _he _was more noble.

I didn't need nobility. I needed to win.

As I entered the city, I passed by all the merpeople – they could see me as well, it seemed. Each was pointing a long, spindly finger toward what looked to be the center of the city – closer to the mersong. I followed their directions blindly – I had no time to waste. The competition was well past half way through and none of these creatures could harm me anyway.

I swam up to a line of merpeople – all singing their haunting song – to find some sort of trail that they had laid out of their own bodies straight to a crude statue. The statue was of a merperson, this one cut out of rock face and decorated in coral and anemones. Tied haphazardly to the statue were five floating bodies – each dosed with sleep and emmitting slow bubbles. They had been given the draught of living death – it was the only thing that could have let them sleep without the need to breathe – and they were the prizes of the task.

From here I could see Ron's red hair – clashing dangerously with the green of the water, he was floating in between Hermione and Crude Cho Chang. To Cho's other side was a girl with disturbing similarities to Fleur – were there not nearly ten years age difference, I'd accuse them of being twins. To the other side of Hermione, however, I knew to be my prize.

It was Theodore.

Nott looked paler than he normally did under the green light from the water in the common room – then again, he was never in the water when I saw him. He looked almost sick as he swayed there, not at all like he was sleeping and I rushed toward him. The draught of living death would last for well over a month, but I didn't want to take any chances in case some moron hadn't let a professional brew it.

As I rushed forward, I saw another person – Harry, only with gills and webbed appendages. I swam beside him, but he paid no attention to me for he could not see me. I was in a spiritual, ethereal form that his daft little mind could not comprehend. He looked like he was panicking, looking from tied person to tied person, I almost wanted to roll my eyes as he tried speaking and signing to the merpeople who were watching him angrily.

He was trying to take everyone. He always had to be a ruddy hero.

Right then, a vision in yellow came and cut Chang's bindings. Cedric's bubble-head charm was perfectly applied and I was more jealous than I needed to be considering I knew how upset he was with her. Of course, to be fair, he would probably be less upset when he realized she was missing for such a valid reason – but I still held hope that their relationship would fall through so I could butt my way in.

As I watched him go, I snapped out of my little moment of awe. He was attractive, but now he was going to beat me because I had stayed to watch my brother be a tosser and my crush be a champion. I went towards Theodore, apologizing silently to him, before I wrapped my hands around it, I stopped treading water as I paid attention to my body, feeling how I was going to use my magic to cut the cord connecting him to the statue.

But as soon as I had stopped moving, I realized the exhaustion that I was already experiencing. I hadn't understood how much it would take out of me and it made even my Astral body's eyes droop when I realized how tired I was. I shook my head – not that it would have actually done anything – and focused again.

"_Diffindo_," I murmured, concentrating on my hands. The rope did not break.

I cursed under my breath as I closed my eyes and concentrated again. _Diffindo. Diffindo. Diffindo. Slice. Cut. Rope be gone. Di-fucking-indo. Di-ffin-do!_

And just like that, with a flash of yellow light, the rope separated from itself.

I yelled out in victory, some of the merpeople cocked their heads interestedly. I didn't care that it had taken me so many times trying – I had made the rope snap with a spell. I was spectacular with this Astral thing and Draco Malfoy's head of hair was _mine _for the bloody taking!

As soon as I started to swim, however, I realized the problem – I could not tow Theodore. I was a spectral being, no matter consisted in my body, so there was no way that I could wrap my hand around his and lead him to the surface. I swore again. I was too tired to levitate him all the way there – besides that, what else could I do?

While I was thinking, I felt merpeople start to whisper and nervously looked behind me. Some form of badly transfigured shark was headed my way – Krum should have just done the bubble-head charm, he would lose points for his ugliness, not that I minded. A wave of nervousness swept me – I was not getting last place when I was second here. Before he even got to his victim – could it have really been Hermione? – I turned around and began to focus on my hand – feeling it tingle before, amazingly feeling it burn. But not burn normally, it was a familiar burn, one I had felt not even an hour before.

It was the burn of the water. My hand, somehow, had materialized.

I cried out in surprise, not sure how to take this new development. How had my hand materialized in the water when only my ankles were tingling from being in the water in a flesh-and-bone state? I didn't know how it was possible, how I could have willed my body to suddenly produce atoms and matter, but I wasn't going to spend my time dwelling on it when I had accidentally given myself a way out of the mess I hadn't foreseen. Still terrified that I had somehow messed up my personal anatomy, I grabbed hold of Theo's hand and dragged him as forcefully as I could toward the surface. I was almost in tears with the strain of it – he was so heavy, or maybe it was only because my hand was the only thing that was connected to my body. I had no idea what type of magic I was accomplishing but it was draining my energy faster than doing a million levitation charms would have done and I was fighting back tears as I pulled him upward.

Then, painfully, a great clawing tugged at the flesh that was in the water. It hurt, badly, and when I looked I saw a grindylow – I would dare to wager the same grindylow as earlier on – looking at me mischievously while he squeezed my fingers.

"Get lost!" I hissed. "Go find someone else to torture!"

The grindylow just looked at me. Apparently these creatures liked me too, not that you wanted any kind of demon to ever take interest in you – water demons especially for people like me.

"You're not going to be able to pull me down just from my hand, so I suggest you find something better to do." I hissed, tugging more on Theodore. The grindylow looked at me again, I'm sure it would have been blinking to understand me were it to have eyelids, before he swam off. I was glad to see him go so easily.

Pulling Theodore further, I could tell we were near the surface. The water was less murky and it was a lighter green. I could only hope that as soon as he hit the surface whatever ingredient they had put to trigger the end of the draught he'd taken would let him regain consciousness. I wouldn't be able to swim him back to shore, I was too exhausted – I was surprised I was so close to getting to the surface.

When I was finally almost there, when I could literally see the little ripples of the surface, a strange sensation overcame me. It was not the sensation of me being too exhausted, it was not an Astral sensation at all, it was a real life sensation that made my stomach drop. _Something_ was happening to my real body.

With a gasp of realization, I used what little strength I had left to whip my hand over my head, sending Theodore floating to the surface as a painful tug pulled me down lower before there was a sensation of something _ripping_. It wasn't a real rip, it must have been the rip between dimensions because one minute I was being pulled down from nothing and the next, I was fighting for air.

Real air. My real body was fighting for real air I was hurtled into the water. Something, something very painful, had grip on my ankle and was tugging me down toward the depths of the sea again. I kicked against it, only to hear a strange clicking noise – it was the voice of a grindylow's sonar as it scouted out its prey.

Oh dear Merlin, I was the prey.

That bloody grindylow had headed for my _real _body after I'd insulted him!

I kicked against the hold it had on my ankle, only to let out a gasp and swallow salty water when it dragged me under again. It was with a moment of horror that I realized my real body didn't know how to swim. Displacing water was much different when you actually needed to be displaced, and I realized very quickly that I was going to drown.

As the creature pulled me down deeper and I was kicking, however clumsily, to get back to the surface, I couldn't help my instinct to scream. It was all my worst fears come to fruition – I was drowning. I was drowning and no one was going to save me. I screamed and flashed as it pulled me even deeper – I felt the rock of waves as the surface became turbulent from my panic. Would that be a sign to someone that something was wrong? Would anyone have the common sense to realize that I was dying?

I kicked again, hitting the grindylow and knocking him off of me. He let out a painful screech, so high that it felt like my eardrums burst, before he swam to darker depths I couldn't see. I didn't waste time looking to see if it came back as I tried to lunge myself back towards the surface again. It took me what felt like a lifetime before I bobbed to the surface, drinking in painful gulps of air that attacked my lungs with ice – I would not be surprised if they froze on contact of my breathing.

I had done a real number on what had been a very smooth surface of water – the lake was choppy and the waves were five feet high all around. I cried out as a wave came and slapped the side of my face, dragging me down again for a moment before I was able to drag myself back up again.

"Audrey!" A voice called. It was a heavenly voice, the voice I heard every single day when he reprimanded me for doing something ridiculous – such as being part of this tournament.

"Theodore!" I screamed back, blubbering after another wave hit me mid scream and made me swallow another liter of the murky water. I felt something grab my arm and I screamed at the thought the grindylow had come back for me – the waves gave a particular lurch before I heard someone shushing me.

"It's me, Audrey, it's me!" Theodore's voice hushed me again as he started to toe me toward the platform. I could see it now that I didn't have to multitask swimming _and _breathing. We were only twenty feet away and there were people with plush white towels and thick blankets, ready to pull us out from the water.

As soon as I was lifted up, I realized that I had no energy to stand. I fell into heap at the edge, just knowing that the grindylow was going to come back for me again. I think I started to have a panic attack with what small amount of energy I had to spare – it was then that Madam Pomfery came to me.

"Potter, what were you thinking? Astral projection – Magnuse? I didn't even think to bring an invigoration draught, this will have to do." She pushed some form of potion into my hand and I foggily swallowed it – I trusted the old nurse. I grinned at the familiar taste of a pepper-up potion, to get rid of a general cold. The little boost helped me pay attention to her string of reprimands.

Cedric, Fleur, Cho, Hermione, Krum, Theodore and I were wrapped in blankets and to my surprise the helpers had gone to get Harry. We had all survived – thank Merlin. I heard some kind of ruckus before I saw a familiar head of wheat-blonde hair run and jump at Nott, rattling off about something in her fastest form of speech.

"Daphne, Daphne, I'm fine!" Nott insisted, walking with her toward the edge of where we were allowed to go. She looked over her shoulder and sent me a glare so vicious I would have thought she were glaring at a mudblood who stole her seat in the Wizengamot.

As I sat there everyone rushed toward Harry, who had dragged both Ron and Gabrielle up with him. I couldn't reign in the rolling of my eyes, he just had to save everyone didn't he? I could see Dumbledore speaking to the merpeople – why was I even surprised he spoke mermish? – before he walked back to the judges. He sent less twinkling eyes on me – I blinked at them confusedly. What had I done that would require that look?

As the judges seemed to deliberate I tried to remember my scores. Harry had tied with Krum for first place last round, with forty points for his battle with the Horntail. Though I had been faster than him, though I had been the fastest out of all of the dragons I had only gotten thirty-six points, knocking me into third behind Cedric. Fleur was behind me with thirty-five. Who knew how this competition would go now. Ludo Bagman, who seemed to love the limelight almost as much as my brother, magnified his voice to give out the points. He was so happy I could almost imagine him wetting himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision!" He clapped his hands together with an enthusiasm I nearly envied. Over his shoulder, yards away, I saw professors Snape and McGonagall roll their eyes. I couldn't help but smirk towards my favourite professor's lack of tact. "Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows...

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the bubble-head charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

The audience applauded politely for her, even though she mumbled something I couldn't hear from as far away as I had sat myself from them and threw her arms around her sister. Her sister looked nearly embarrassed as she whispered to her in French.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the bubble-head charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty-seven points."

I tried not to cheer like a fan-girl, though I did clap for him. The Hufflepuffs were going mad in the stands and Cho leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek that made my own cheeks burn. I looked around nervously – had I been before or after Krum? I mean, if Cedric had been late then so had I, but how long had I been in the water before Nott had come to my rescue?

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was third to come to the surface with his hostage, though the second to make it out of the water. We award him forty points." I swore, though it was drowned out by his drooling fans cheering. Hermione's face was red.

"Audrey Potter used an impressive display of both Astral and Magnuse-magic to return second with her hostage, though needed to be saved by him to later be third from the water. We award her forty-six points."

_Forty-six points_? My jaw dropped. I had only gotten four points off for nearly drowning and getting my best friend to save me? That seemed almost wrong – not that I was about to complain about it. It knocked me up higher than Krum by a whole _six _points. As it stood, Cedric was in first place, I was second, Krum was third, and Fleur last. Harry's score was the only one that mattered now.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However...Mr Potter's score is forty-five points."

The applause for my brother was ridiculous. People were screaming for him, congratulating him as all his friends laughed and embraced him. I sent a withering look toward them – he had won again. Though I had done better – in _every_ way – during the task, though I had gotten an even better score than him, Harry Potter still stood as the first place victor.

"_Forty-five points_?" I burst, my face turning as red as my hair. Hermione, Ron, Harry and shockingly Fleur all turned around in surprise. "Forty-five bloody points – are you joking? Just because he has a hero complex that negates him from thinking logically in _any _given situation, he gets boosted for _moral fiber_? Why should we all suffer because this prat doesn't realize that the judges aren't actually going to kill the damn hostages? It's not _our _faults that he's too daft to realize not to take a _song _seriously!"

"Audrey," Hermione gaped, she was clearly stunned by my outburst. But why wouldn't she be? She doesn't understand what it was like to lose every single time to the person I knew I was better than. I know that I did that task enormously better than he did – I'd worked hard for it, not thought of it last minute, not gotten a house elf to solve my problems the night before, I had done my _job._ Why should he get to skate by on some platform of fame that already gives him so much ruddy attention?

"Back off, mate." Ron blinked with a look that said 'you have three heads'. I looked at the group of them: Krum, who looked just as downtrodden as I, Cho who was biting her lip trying to play the innocent in between girl, Cedric who looked almost – dare I say? – disappointed.

I shook my head when I realized it.

They were all stood behind him and I, again, was alone. I looked around for a moment, looking at all the faces around me – most of the audience was whispering to themselves, wondering why I was in such an uproar, as if they would know. Fred and George, sat between Angelina and Lee, did not look impressed with my accusations and after a moment, a blonde head of hair was nodding to me in a way that should not have been as encouraging as it was. It was like I understood what he was telling me – he was telling me he had been right, that the Weasley's, that Hermione, that everyone here was not here for me. They were not here to listen to me or be saved by me or be known to be my friend – they were here for _him. _They were here to listen to him and be saved by him and go down in history as someone who had been so close with Harry bloody Potter that they had been on his list of people important enough to cart around on any given day.

Draco Malfoy had been right.

"Whatever, I have a real_, won't-die-if-I'm-late _prize to claim." I mumbled, turning to walk away. I heard someone guffaw, as if they couldn't believe my nerve.

"Audrey, it's your _brother._"

"Yes," I whispered darkly as I turned around. "Yes he is – he most _definitely _is," I affirmed with a hiss, gritting my teeth against the tears fighting for their chance to roll down my cheek. "And don't I get to live with it every bloody day?"

Realizing that no one else would speak to me, I turned and stormed back to the common room. Not surprised by the fact that no one followed me, though hurt by the fact no one tried to.

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><p><strong>Wow, Audrey is not a happy camper, is she?<strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_naynay87_**: Well, whether or not Draco was right about the Weasleys, he certainly convinced her quickly, didn't he? The line between love and hate is dreadfully thin, which is exactly what I've been counting on to make the budding relationship between Draco and Audrey work. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and thank you so much for the review!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm so glad you're liking it! Yes, I was super proud of her as I wrote it too, I was even proud when she was having that little conversation with Snape here - Audrey has a lot going for her. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Puckabrina dreamer_**: Well, I hope it didn't disappoint! Thanks :)**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: It took her over a half an hour to make it, but she did get it. I couldn't let it be too easy for her, that just wouldn't be realistic. I thought about making it one of the twins, but then whatever relationship she may or may not have with Fred could have been rushed by it and realistically, no matter whether or not she falls in love with Fred, Theodore is her best friend. Hopefully you liked it anyway!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Yes, I love Drea and Snape - I think I put too much of my own love for his character into hers, but hopefully I'm at least making it somewhat believable. As for whether or not the Weasley's will get paid by Malfoy - that's something you'll just have to wait to see! Thanks for the review, as always!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: I completely agree - if it was easy, why would you try it? You are most definitely asking the right questions, so keep on that mindset, you're definitely on the right path. I think that Audrey's ending to the GoF part of this story will shock everyone, though, so maybe you should start trying to see that. Audrey may or may not go more Dark Side than people here expect...**

_ForeverTeamEdward13_**: Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed it, hopefully this one satisfied as well!**

_Laurafxox_**: Good call on Theo being her hostage - you were absolutely right! As for why Moody was talking to Fred, it was because of their mutual hatred for Ludo Bagman and Fred's upcoming plans to get their money from him, I probably should have made that a bit more clear. I'm glad that the whole Draco vs the Weasley family came through clearly, particularly because of what happened in this chapter, yes, Draco is very good with crawling under her skin. Heartbreak should have been the name of this series with everything I have planned, but hopefully everything else leading up to all those sad moments is enjoyable! Thanks for the review :)**

_eViLIsabelle_**: I don't think Audrey is close enough with Draco yet to have made him her hostage, but I still got to incorporate him in this chapter :) Hopefully you enjoyed all the action here, even though there wasn't any bickering with Malfoy. Thanks for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I may not be able to read your mind, but Audrey's psychic, so we'll just chalk up that chapter update to that. I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter, hopefully all the action in this one satisfied and answered some more questions. Do you still think, with how Audrey related Draco's argument about the Weasley's, that he has something up his sleeve? Thank you so much for your thoughts :)**

_ally0212_**: To be honest, I don't tend to read fanfiction on this site. I just remember when I was young - as in SUPER young - at the beginning of the fanfiction writing craze, I was reading and writing it on Quizilla. It's not even called Quizilla anymore, so I couldn't tell you what all they were, sorry about that!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Thanks for the review!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: You are back! So exciting! You were definitely missed over here on my end, and probably a whole bunch of others who cringed every time they read some improper sentence structures or spelling mistakes. I'm so glad that everything worked out for you, did you have to go back to work this week?**

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><p><strong>Well, that was definitely a long chapter with a lot of stuff going on, wasn't it? A task, some hard forms of magic, a lot of drama, and even Draco getting in her head again - and making her believe it! Whatever will she do now that she had such an outburst in public? <strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter - please remember to **_REVIEW_**!**

**-Egypt**


	20. Attack of the Blondes

**Hello there! Another update for you, sorry it took a little bit longer and it's not even a long one - but this one has a couple of answers, fluff, and drama so hopefully it keeps you sated for the new obstacle our favourite heroine has to learn next chapter! Special thanks to the fantastic **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for making this worth reading for you all!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Nineteen: Attack of the Blondes<span>

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><p>The news that Barty Crouch was found dead spread through the school like fiendfyre. Apparently my brother had been the one to find the body, which sent rumours flying about like rabies infested owls within the common room. I ignored them like I ignored everyone else. The common room had never been a pleasant place to me, which was probably a majority of the reason I was so annoyed with it when I had locked myself within it's confines. It also could have been the attention I was getting from other Slytherins - whether they be the ones who were so proud of my hard work, the ones who hated my brother and appreciated that I beat him in that task, or the ones who wanted to interrogate me on Astral projection and how I had been able to do it.<p>

The two Slytherins I expected to be around, however, seemed to have taken an absence in my life. Daphne and Theodore were ditching me - or rather, Daphne was ignoring me and tugging Theodore along in her methods. Anyone with eyes could have seen it and sadly, they all seemed to. They, of course, being in reference to the hierarchy of the House - Malfoy and his entourage.

Malfoy himself had luckily taken to ignoring me thanks to his loss of the bet. As much as I was sure he wanted to gloat about being right about my relationship - or lack thereof - with the Weasleys, he seemed too terrified over his personal sex appeal. Sadly, his absence left Parkinson clear as day to annoy the piss out of me. Millicent always backed her up, sometimes Daphne stood behind them and ignored the abuse like she was a Grade _O_ witch in bitch. Jackie Gorns and Mafalda Hopkirk - the poorer versions of the Bitches of Slytherin - usually just averted their eyes; they were too scared of me to have any input.

On this particular day, six days after the task, I was sitting by the fire later at night pretending to work on my potions essay. Truth is, with all my free time I had finished it hours before, but I didn't want to go to my shared dormitory with Daphne yet and I couldn't head to the library because I was also ignoring the Gryfindorks. To be honest, my outburst at the task had humiliated me and I was never one to admit when I was wrong. I didn't want to go up and apologize when, though unorthodox and unnecessary, I had been right with my outburst. Harry _did _always get rewarded for his impulsiveness while I was reprimanded for my inabilities that could not be helped.

In the end, the arse shouldn't have been stupid enough to believe that the hostages would be killed without his brave deed-of-the-day. It was moronic and absolutely expected, which was possibly why it was so insulting. I had worked for weeks to find a _real _solution to the task. He had shoved some stolen weed into his mouth and hoped for the best. Since when was bravery better than intelligence, or determination better than talent?

Since it was Harry flipping Potter that did it. Because when Harry was brave, he got a house cup - when I was brave I got detention for hexing someone who insulted my friend in the hallway. When Harry was determined, he helped solve mysteries and got his picture in the _Prophet _- when I was brave I got criticized for my mistakes…because Harry never made _those_. No, Harry Potter never made mistakes like thinking that the professors were fans of murdering classmates, trying to hunt down a serial killer, fighting a bloody basilisk, or living to break every school rule because he's not a cat and his curiosity had yet to kill him.

As I was contemplating the increasing amount of negative feelings towards my twin, I felt something very solid slam against the couch beside me. I was already curled up facing the fire, but the shock of it made me jump slightly before looking at what had intruded on my thoughts . It was the book I had given Snape on Astral projection.

I rolled my eyes, turning back to my parchment and scratching over words I had already written. "If you want to know how I did it, read the book and try it for yourself. I don't like interviews."

"That wasn't my intention," the voice made my eyebrows raise before I took the time to determine who was standing behind the couch. It was the ferret - standing there tall and proud as if he were posing for a portrait that was being painted very, very slowly. He didn't seem to move as his eyes appraised my reactions, which were reasonably cautious.

"Your intentions usually are more self-motivated," I agreed while turning a little more to face him, "are you here to gloat?"

"If you know why I could gloat, I clearly have no need to." He was so arrogant and yet, I could not argue the sentiment. He was absolutely right - he _had _been absolutely right. There was no way I could fight against it, when he had realized no one followed me back to the castle. Or that the Gryffindorks were ignoring me. Or that my brother was being adored and I was locked in his hunting grounds.

"However can I make your day better, Malploy? Would you like me to hand over my homework like in the olden days, or would you like to get in a spat to kill some time?"

"First, I would like you to stop coming up with those ridiculous nicknames." I frowned, turning back to my parchment. If he wasn't going to toy around the idea of a fight with me I had no interest in him. It felt as if the only thing to quell my bout of anger would be more, pointedly directed anger. "Second, I think we have a trade to make."

"And what would that be?" I mumbled, shuffling my parchment to give me something to do. He would know if he saw the final six inches that I had already finished it and he would make a scene because I had chosen to ignore him.

"You get my hair," he said firmly, no emotion detected in his voice. My eyebrows rose toward my hairline as my eyes dragged themselves over from my parchment back to his face. His face showed as little emotion as his voice had, but I could tell by his posture that he was not happy about what he was doing.

"I already knew that," I said suspiciously, my eyes wide and oblivious. "Why are you offering yourself up like mince meat?"

"What's fair is fair - you completed he Astral projection and on that note got second place. There's no denying what's owed to you." I shook my head.

"I don't believe this is happening - you cursed it or something."

"I'm not going to curse my own hair, you id-" he exhaled loudly and rolled his eyes, "haven't you been listening in Moody's classes at all?"

No, I almost said. I haven't been. Why would I? As much as the professor could teach interesting things, he was teaching dangerous things and there was something about him I just couldn't trust. It also annoyed me how keen he was on helping Harry. Were Harry not as famous as he was and therefore usually getting such close attention, I would almost think that the man was up to something more sinister than winning bets to gain profit.

"Considering the dolts you hang out with, I wouldn't put it against you to try," I countered with. He sneered a little at me before moving around the couch to stand in front of me, sitting on the ornate black table between the couches. His posture was still rigid, he was very uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to be laughing as if it were a joke yet.

"Do you want access to my hair or not?"

"What is up with you?" I asked with a frown. "The decent act doesn't look well on you." Then again, that could have been because he was a little green now that he realized what he was offering up.

"Stop your complaining," he groaned. "All you've been doing is sitting around here moaning about how unfair and biased the competition is - if you want the bloody hair as a sign of fairness then take it."

"Fairness?" Since when had Malfoy ever been fair about anything? Never, in his right mind, would he say something like this. He was definitely up to something. "Did Moody put you under the Imperius curse?"

"It's been a long day, Potter, I'd like not to waste all my time on this," ah, we were starting to boarder normality again. "Will you just do what you have to do?"

"Why?" I asked pointedly. He clenched his jaw.

"To be fair," he repeated through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

"You'd better not play this game when I'm offering my head to you on a silver bleeding platter."

"Why?"

"You've been this annoying since birth, haven't you?"

"Why?"

"For fuck sakes-"

"Why?"

"I hate seeing you moping, alright?" He hissed. I raised my eyebrows. "There, you happy?"

"Why do you hate seeing me moping?" I asked, blinking a few times to try and connect what he said to something he had said in the past which made sense. It did not work.

"Because," he hissed with his eyes narrowed angrily. "It's frustrating and seeing you like that depresses me-" somehow my eyebrows raised higher. "I mean seeing you cornered in the common room," he recovered. "It's annoying to have no privacy."

"It's my common room, too."

"Its also your hair and it will make you stop moping - so take it!" He burst. I found my eyes flickering to his hair that I had taken such pride in knowing I would take from him only three weeks ago. The happier, more confident Audrey of three weeks ago would be damning myself for hesitating at all - but I couldn't decide what to make of the situation.

My first thought, obviously, was that it was some sort of trick. There was something on it that would make whatever I did backfire or that he had something worse in store for me for while I was distracted.

The second thought, disturbingly, took me suspiciously back to second year - it was the only time he had ever been so kind to me and that was because the bloke had had a crush on me until I'd hit him where the sun doesn't shine and ordered him to go torture Pansy with his affections. I had been completely disgusted when he had done just that and almost was upset over it - though obviously it was only because he had gotten over me so easily with some inbred pug.

The third thought was, why not? I knew he wasn't lying or exaggerating how pathetic I must have looked sitting alone in the common room, which typically was his prime watering hole. He could very well just want me out so that he could do his business after he charmed his hair back - which was a ridiculous notion, because I would never let him escape that easily.

The fourth was, what the hell would I do with his hair? I'd had so many cruel and fantastic ideas when I had made the bet, but now I was completely clueless. As I looked at the blonde tendrils, I wondered what he would look like without him - he was noted for his white-blonde locks. It made him look like a candle in the darkness as his head stuck up above all the dark school robes. It drew people in like a moth to the flame, it made him more different than his money ever could. It would almost be a shame for him to lose it, to lose the only thing that set him apart from others - I knew how that was. To feel like everyone else and yet overshadowed for the greatness you could be. It was what made him special, not only in my eyes, of course.

I set my mouth in a firm line and shook my head.

"I don't want it."

He noticeably relaxed his posture even though he looked a strange mixture of confused and insulted. He set his lips the same way I had. "You're lying. You're just going to take it from me when I don't expect it."

"There's no use in your hair. I won. I can go on Astral journeys. I don't need your hair."

"This is a joke, isn't it?" he asked in what I was sure was a hopeful tone. I shook my head at him, shoving my parchment into my textbook so that he knew we were finishing up here.

"No. I won fair and square, which means I get to decide what I want to do with it - there's nothing I can think of, so you're off the hook." That was of course a lie, I could think of multiple ways to humiliate him using his hair, I just didn't feel the need to rid him of it. "If you would like to talk about fairness, however, you still have a bet that you didn't fairly cash out on. That's how you can repay your debt."

He sneered. "You mean give those weasels my money?"

"They aren't weasels, _ferret_," I hissed. "They earned that money fair and square on a bet that you lost. You were offering to settle this with your hair, so fork over the galleons instead. Then, we'll be even."

"I'm not giving them my father's hard earned galleons," he hissed. "If their father had any merit within the ministry he would be able to back up their bet as well-"

"Their father doesn't _need _to back up their bet, you lost!" I hissed, my face heating up with each word spoken. I was quickly getting ready to take him up on his previous offer.

"I don't care if their mother began the queen of England, I would never give them my charity! What are you thinking, Potter? They abandoned you, just like I said they would. Why do you defend them? They're pathetic, they betrayed you! You'd really pick their companionship over mine after they left you like a broken wand?" He yelled back, the two of us glared at each other, starting to scream unintelligible things before someone's hiss cut us off.

"Get a room."

The two of us turned, incredulously, to the voice who had spoken only to see Pansy's face going red and Daphne, ahead of her, glaring openly. I looked back to Malfoy, who looked almost as clueless to the jibe as I felt, before I realized how close we were. We had gotten into each other's faces to try and intimidate one another, true, but even then anyone who is anyone should have known that we would never consider _flirting _with each other, nevertheless doing anything more.

"What was that?" I hissed, shoving Malfoy back a little with my socked foot. He didn't even argue it as he jumped away from me like I was red-hot.

"You heard me," Daphne hissed. "What, three men isn't enough for you?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused. She had not spoken to me since before the tournament and now she was accusing Malfoy and I about having some sort of secret affair? It was a ridiculous notion that didn't make any sense.

"Shagging. You're shagging a bevy of men and now Malfoy, as well?"

"I'm not shagging anyone!" I sneered, standing up from the couch to walk up toward her. As I walked past, Malfoy had the decadence to look both scanadalized and disgusted. Surprisingly, the girl who was usually a coward stood her ground, though Pansy took several steps backward. Daphne had lost her backup and she was still at my throat. It was a sign that something terrible was brewing under those wheat strands of hers.

"Oh, that's rich," she laughed sardonically. "Everyone knows about your little 'meetings' with Cedric - Cho Chang has been putting him in line all week."

I did not know if this was true, I had been ignoring all public domains.

"And don't forget Weasley - it's the only time I've really felt something that happened to him wasn't actually his fault. No one can stand the lure of a Potter twin, though I can understand why you find toying with him amusing."

What the hell was going on right now?

"And then Nott. How could you do that to him, Audrey? He was your friend!"

"_Was _my friend?" I cut in quickly. "_Shag _him? Are you mad?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" She asked, looking around the common room. Until then I had not noticed that we had gathered a little audience, which luckily did not include any of the men that were mentioned, save Malfoy, but they were all listening eagerly - anything to bastardize someone who was recently their hero.

"Explain for the class then, since you know everything," I sneered.

"Diggory had Cho as a hostage. Krum had that Mudblood-" my fists clenched. She never used that word in front of me. "Your brother had that spineless excuse for a blood traitor because he doesn't have any other friends. Fleur had her sister. _You _had _Nott_."

"I'm sorry, so because I saved him I'm shagging him? I don't understand the connection."

"Diggory and Krum had their girlfriends and it was just coincidence that you had Nott and you expect everyone to _not _think you're shagging?" She barked out a harsh laugh. "No wonder you didn't want to go to the ball."

"Theodore and I could have asked each other at any point," I argued. "I never wanted to go - as you know because you pushed me with your incessant gushing until the night came! Nott was my hostage because he is my best friend - unlike _some _backstabbing skrewts."

"You're such a whore," her tone was laced with accusation and smugness. I wanted to rip that stupid grin off her face.

"You know that I have been a ringer for Cedric since I saw him - I told you that on the bloody train! In fact, we've been getting quite cosy - too bad he can't be my hostage because he's in the competition that just might kill us." I said sarcastically. She shook her head.

"Then you're a _home wrecking _whore."

"And you're a moron! I'm a whore because I kissed Cedric on the cheek or because I wouldn't give you his owl's name?" It was the common way of asking for the equivalent of a phone number, but Daphne had always been conceited enough to think that people would ask her for hers and she would never have to go out on a limb. It left her without many options. "Do you hear how ridiculous you sound?"

Her face reddened for everyone to see, but she took a step forward and marched on with her attack. "Admit you've been sleeping with him!"

"Just because Theodore means more and would be more devastating to lose than _you _doesn't mean that I'm sleeping with him. We're friends, no more than you and he are."

Her face was now the colour of my hair as she stomped her high-heeled foot. "Then why not Weasley as your hostage, aye?"

"Do you really think that I'm sleeping with him because he was my hostage?" I grimaced dramatically. "Someone should take over custody of Fleur's sister then, because that's illegal."

"Don't be smart," Daphne winced.

"Then don't be stupid," I hissed back. "I see what's going on here! You're embarrassed. _You _wanted him to ask you to the ball, didn't you? Of course he wouldn't have asked you! You embarrassed him with all your talk of how bad a date he'd be when he said he didn't like dancing. Since you obviously like him so bloody much _you _should shag him and get the hell out of my face!"

"I never said I liked him," she argued, though it was obvious she had less bite than before. I couldn't help the cruel laugh that bubbled from my lips.

"I don't need to be a Seer to see the way you look at him, the way you trail after him, the way you become so upset when he and I are off doing our own thing. It's no my fault you're not desirable, Greengrass. Maybe if you smartened up and stopped being such a patronizing bitch to him he'd see you as worthy of his time - but I'll tell you this: you'll never get him now. He hates publicity, he hates his business being thrown in the air and you just aired out all your dirty laundry for the House to see. He'll be disgusted with you and you should be disgusted with yourself. I'm glad your opinion never held any grandeur - you humiliate us nearly as much as you disgrace yourself."

"Audrey, stop." Theodore pushed forward from the crowd with wide eyes as he looked between us, his own face burning when he realized he had drawn attention onto himself. Theo hated attention like I hated water.

"Tell the truth," Daphne choked out, close to tears.

"Tell her how ridiculous she's being," I growled, only to have Theo shake his head at me. He seemed almost angry, for some reason, but it couldn't have been to me, could it?

"Audrey, you're out of line for everything you just said to her." He said quietly. "It was cruel."

I frowned, I couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt in my chest because of his words. I didn't mean to be cruel, I had meant to defend myself. It wasn't my fault that Daphne had kept baiting me and trying to embarrass me in front of the whole bloody House.

"And Daphne, _nothing _is going on between Audrey and I." His voice was stronger toward her, less disappointed and more stern.

"Nothing?"

"We feel no attraction for each other at all. In fact, I think you are _both _ridiculously out of line and selfish." He looked at both of us for a moment, shaking his head before his eyes landed on me. "I expect more from you."

The words cut through me like a shard of glass, they were painful and gut wrenching with the guilt they drew from me as if it were blood. I watched him, like the whole crowd watched him, as he walked back to the dormitories alone.

Daphne, tears in her eyes, turned to look to her posse before she looked back at me. It was clear from the lethal glare in her eyes that she had learned nothing from his outburst as I had, her eyes accused me openly as if I was the one who had started the argument and it was only I who had disappointed him. With a flick of her hair and a curl of her lip, she sauntered out of the common room, sure to hit my shoulder aggressively on her way out.

I stayed where I was for a moment, watching as everyone left for wherever they felt the need to go. Malfoy, also on his way out with his precious pug, stopped beside me before he made his biggest mistake.

"You _should _stop being such a whore, Potter. You can do better. Real men like me hate little tramps who sleep with traitors." his voice was cold, more cold than our entire conversation had been. Before I could comprehend what I was doing, my wand was out and pointed to his head, the curse I had been practicing in my head.

Without speaking the hex, my wand - blasted thing it was - did not do as I wanted to. I had planned to dye his hair a bright Gryffindor maroon and gold, but instead my wand confused itself, sending what looked like a bucket of paint the colour of magic at his scalp.

By the time he stopped crying out and trying to claw at the magical dye, I got to see my accidental handiwork. The confused ray had coloured his face in a golden tan that looked disturbingly solid as well as his scalp in splotches of red. The red was not the maroon I had intended, but rather a rather ironic ginger that was lighter than my own dark red strands and closely resembled that of the Weasleys. Instead of covering his whole head, it had splattered like paint leaving large chunks of his pale hair - in the end, it looked like some terrible off-colour mock of the Gryffindor House rather than the tribute I had intended.

While Pansy and her gang screamed their horror, Daphne turned her eyes to me. Her brown eyes were darker than normal, but I knew it was not because of their colour. Daphne Greengrass hated me and the worst part was I had done nothing to deserve it - my first friend, my first comrade, was gone and had been replaced by someone much more resentful.

In that look, it was clear that we were not going to simply get over this. There would never be any apologies and there would never be anything the other could say that could make this better - Daphne and I were not people of action in the way that would make it better. We would never do something heroic or genuine for one another. Our friendship was gone.

And, after the glare ended, so was she.

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><p><strong>Whew! Lots of drama, eh? That was a lot of emotion to write in one chapter, so I'll leave my comments for below the review responses. Thank you to all those who have been reviewing, it's so touching that so many of you like the story! To my magnificent reviewers:<strong>

_ForeverTeamEdward13_**: Draco couldn't follow her from the task because he's not going to admit his feelings yet. Silly boy, it would make their whole world more easy to bear! Thanks for reviewing, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: She is an Astral master now! Wait until you see her next conquest - it's going to be way more difficult. Poor girl just can't get a break! Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Most people have someone in their life it seems that they can't escape - someone who overshadows what they do. It completely sucks and I'm so glad that people are finding enough to empathize with so that they don't hate Audrey for her less attractive characteristics. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Oh, you should be thrilled he can get in her head. This is only the beginning ;)**

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: I'm glad you weren't disappointed or that you weren't upset by her less than polite outburst at the end of the last chapter. She didn't really redeem herself here with her little vindictive and bitter speech to Daphne, but the poor girl has a lot of her plate. Hopefully you liked it! Thanks for the review.**

_Antigona_**: I love what you said about how she's lonely and misunderstood and how that can "bitter a heart". You are completely right. One hundred percent on the dot. I was talking to my one friend yesterday about it, how I can't believe so many people can sympathize with this degree of bitterness and sadness, but I guess everyone has their demons. I'm glad that you are on Audrey's side - just remember that her views are blurred, she's still hurt and insulted by her brother. But don't worry, they'll fix it soon. They always will :) Thank you so much for the review!**

_Laurafxox_**: The question about her hand wasn't answered yet, but I can promise that you'll find out next chapter. I'm glad you liked her outburst, so many people were talking about it that I was excited to post her little outburst to Daphne too, because just like Harry hasn't been the model brother, Daphne definitely hasn't been the model friend. Thank you so much for the review, hopefully you liked the chapter and the old-married-couple's bickering from Malfoy and Audrey :)**

_britstar4_**: I guess what happened at the end of the chapter did bring she and Draco closer, didn't it? For a minute anyway. I hope you liked the chapter, thank you for the review!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: You are WAY too kind to me, you know? I don't think the story is illegally good, but I'm glad that you get some good reactions from it. I also loved the Snape-in-her-head part, when I reread it (I had written that chapter two weeks or so before) I was like 'I love that man. These two are hilarious' so I'm glad other people liked it too. Sometimes I worry that I like my own story as much as I do. Anyway, I hope you liked what little Draco-Drea they could have (before he was hexed). And don't worry about logging in, I just like hearing from you! :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I don't know if Circe could have been Audrey's hostage, so I didn't want to risk it. I had originally thought about making it so that Malfoy was holding Circe when she looked back and he nodded at her, but thought it may be too like a move from 'Dr Evil' for the story. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Audrey does get the short end, but she was super vindictive in this chapter, so much so that I think I may have to change the next one to make her a little more humble again. I'm trying to make her like a real Slytherin but I don't want to make her a despicable character, you know? I am glad that Snape's relationship with her is so believable as well, to be honest I didn't think it would be well recieved and it seems to be one of the things people like most! I tried fixing that place that you pointed out, did it sound any better? Thank you so much for being you and amazing and schtuff :) **

_naynay87_**: I think that the strain on her relationship is as much her fault as it is Harry's. It's kind of like when you go into a store and say "I don't like that food" so when you taste it, even though it's not bad, you already said you didn't like it so you just don't eat it. Even though it wasn't necessarily great, but it wasn't bad. I think that's how she sees their relationship. So she skips over all the good that could happen and drives him away out of fear of the bad that **_**can. **_**Hopefully you liked the Drea-Draco moments, thanks for the review!**

_BlueRose22_**: They can be morons, can't they? But now you see, even the Slytherins can be too! I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for your thoughts :)**

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><p><strong>Well, that was quite the gathering of bitter people, wasn't it? Daphne and Malfoy and Theo and Audrey all ready to take each other out thanks to gossip and tension and the inability to admit that they like each other. What silly people! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, thanks to all who reviewed on the last chapter. <strong>

**Important question****: what else do you want to see before the **_**Goblet of Fire**_** section of the story closes? Anything in particular you want to see happen? Please tell me in a **REVIEW**! **

**-Egypt**


	21. Crouch's Son

**I'm sorry for the bit of a wait here, guys! Normally this one updates fast but life has a way of taking you on strange detours and I was a little bit caught up in them. I didn't put this chapter through my editor because I wanted to get it out to you without anymore pause, but this is a nice long chapter with some interesting information and even more plot. After this chapter only three (possibly four, depending on length) chapters until we get into the **_Order of the Phoenix _**portion of Audrey's story! How exciting! Please see the bottom for more notes, but for now, enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty: Crouch's Son<span>

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><p>"Potter, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Snape asked suspiciously as I walked into his office earlier in the morning. He and I had been very distant compared to our normal habits after the second task thanks to the drama which had consumed my life and I had missed his company more than I probably should have missed the company of a professor.<p>

It was now late May, two and a half months of solitude later. I was still completely alienated from the entirety of the school, and I had not had a detention in three weeks. Clearly something was _terribly _wrong.

"I've had a lot of time to think lately," I said with a frown, pulling the strap of my rucksack higher on my shoulder. The books in my bag seemed to way a little bit more now that I had gathered the courage to try and do even more difficult magic with Snape. That in itself was the truth behind having had far too much time to think. I was feeling like Hermione with the amount of time I spent in the library, only I spent my time behind rows of books so that Hermione, Ron, and my brother wouldn't have to see me – we had not spoken. "And I remembered something that you mentioned during our first Astral lesson – about another type of cantated magic. I was wondering if I could talk to you about it?"

"Aren't you to be studying for the final task?"

"I've been doing nothing but studying," I argued with a frown. "Which is the problem; I'm not getting anywhere."

He frowned slightly, as if he knew what I was about to ask before he juggled and straightened the papers in his hands before laying them on the desk before him. "Then perhaps you aren't studying the proper things."

"Exactly!" I announced a little more enthusiastically than I meant to. It was so nice to have some sort of interaction, nevertheless with Snape, someone who knew my mind and who I knew would rather do what was needed than what was easy. "Which is why I'm here."

"Ask, then." Snape _did_ know. Of course he knew.

"Please professor, if there is some way I can use my talents with cantated magic to make up for my lack of techniques with incantation, I need to know. It could mean life and death. I'm not powerful enough to-"

"I meant to talk to you about this," Snape said with a strong voice, folding his hands in front of him so that he could look at me closely. I knew I was in some kind of trouble because of his level, unwavering gaze. I almost wanted to shuffle my feet guiltily thanks to the look I was receiving, but instead I held my head high.

"What about?"

"During the second task, when you fell into the water-" I could not suppress the shiver that shook from my knees to my teeth. "You did yet another interesting piece of magic."

"Oh, you mean the waves?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "That was hardly interesting."

"Whatever do you mean?" he seemed genuinely confused by my answer. I blinked at him, I felt like this was some sort of joke or he was trying to fish something out of me, but I couldn't tell what it would be. Besides, Severus Snape was the man I trusted most within the castle and right now he was my only confidant. I may as well not keep secrets from him.

"I mean, it was just a bit of nervous magic and energy, it was hardly interesting. Before eleven, witches and wizards do things like that all the time." I shrugged.

"Yes, before eleven, they do things like that." He agreed with narrowed eyes. "But not after one becomes dependant on one's wand. And it is never so focused. A burst of defensive magic is common, but you specifically raised the tides of a _lake_, Potter. That magnitude of power is _not _common."

I looked at him nervously. It was like I was in trouble but at the same time I knew he was trying to tell me something much more important than 'you have a detention for being a moron'. I was missing something very essential to this conversation.

"Because I'm older," I pointed out. "Of course I'll become more powerful with age. I don't see why this is such a big deal, you're acting like I slew a basilisk or something-" I cut myself off with a sneer, thinking about how someone very near and dear to me had already done precisely that. Not that he had gotten in trouble or a talking to from it.

"Potter, the question you came to ask me," Snape began. I was kind of annoyed that he had decided to branch into a new topic, but I had come asking something of him and it was good not to forget it beforehand. "What was it?"

"Right," I nodded. "That day, the day I came for Astral lessons and you were talking to me about all the different types of magical beings, you said a list of cantated beings or types or…"

"Go on," he urged.

I wrinkled my nose a bit, which made him clear his throat for some reason. "You said something about Astral beings, of course, and Occlumens, Legilimens, and something called Magnesium's – Magnusum's – or something as equally ridiculous sounding…"

"Magnusomes, their magic is referred to as Magnuse or Magnuse-magic." Snape corrected me with a nod, standing from his chair to go towards the narrow bookshelf besides his potions cupboards. He was rifling through it as I continued.

"Yes, that," I frowned. "Why was it when Bagman was telling the scores after the second task did he say I used Astral _and _Magnuse-magic? I was positive that I only did the projection. Was it something to do with the waves, sir?"

"The waves, yes." Snape swivelled back around to look at me with a large, deteriorating tome held in his hands. "But I've heard whispers there was something else, even more impressive you did down in that lake."

"Besides the Astral projection? Which, by the way, I don't think we get enough credit for. You and I did the unthinkable for a fourteen year old – I would bake you a cake were I not slightly afraid of the twitchy creatures hiding in the fruit down in the kitchens."

"How do you know where the kitchens are?" he asked accusingly. I looked over to the corner of the room, pretending that something had caught my interest.

"You said I did something else in the lake? I saved a life – according to Harry, anyway, because – you know – he thinks that volunteers are the ones who are going to be killed. Of course it wouldn't be that someone is trying to kill us by using one of his many ridiculous boughts of stupidity as a dagger in itself." Snape's lips rose at the sides – I could always trust that he would appreciate the venting done about my unreasonable, over-responsible twin.

"In the lake, how did you retrieve Mr Nott?" he asked, still flipping through the stiff pages of the old book he had retrieved. He stood above his chair and leaned over his desk as he skimmed – it was as if he was trying to intimidate another student, only he knew it would never work on me.

"I broke the rope and tried to levitate him – I didn't have the energy for that, so I grabbed his hand and tugged him up until that bloody grindylow decided he fancied my legs." I pouted. That grindylow had taken to watching me when I was in the common room – I had yet to decide a proper punishment for that blasted creature.

"And just how, in an astral state which has no matter-comprised body, did you manage to hold his hand?"

That was a great question. A question that I had asked myself as it happened, but had been too panicked to really think about. To be honest, I hadn't done any reading into it or into what the limitations should have been when I was in Astral form – I hadn't even attempted it since I'd done it at the end of February. Astral projection was exhausting it took all the energy out of me and lately I needed all the energy I could to defend myself against Pansy who was still hounding me for my attack on her precious ferret. I hadn't talked it out with anyone until now either – who was on my side enough to talk to me?

No one. The answer was no one.

"I'm going to go with guessing you're going for the brooding sorcerer look and ultimately know the answer, but are trying to stay mysterious." I said slowly to which he sighed.

"Astral projectors are those who can manipulate magic and form it into a mental and spiritual state." I nodded, trying not to look as eager as I felt. "Whereas Magnusomes are those who can form it into a _physical _state wi-"

"Wands form magic into a physical state," I argued. Snape's dark eyes glared at me, clearly upset by my interruption.

"May I continue?" I sighed at his annoyance, but did not say anything. "Magnusomes form it into a physical state _without the use of a wand._"

I blinked at him, wondering if he was lying to me or pulling my leg in recompense for me interrupting him – he'd done crueller things. My eyes narrowed at him, examining how annoyed with me he actually was – though I knew what I would find. Snape would never lie to me about something like this, there was no point, we both knew that in the end we would work on this until we could work no longer. The matter of success could be argued later when I'd driven myself insane with frustration – he tended to enjoy that process.

"And I did that?" I clarified slowly. "When I pulled Theodore through the water?"

"You did," he walked around his desk to hand me the large, musty book. "So I suggest you start your reading tonight."

"My reading?" I looked down at the book he'd handed me and clutched it to my chest. If this had the answers I needed then I would not hesitate to start reading it tonight when the others had fallen asleep. Snape, of course, knew this.

"I assume that you'll want to get to work as soon as possible." Snape didn't ask, but rather stated it, walking back to his place behind his desk again. I couldn't help but smile and laugh at him.

"You know me too well," I sighed. "Will this be as hard as Astral projection?"

"Harder, if you don't remember the sensation." He acknowledged. "Though, if you've been practicing and using your Astral form, it will make this slightly simpler thanks to the ability to control energy."

"Ah, yes," I winced. "Astral form…"

"You haven't looked at it then?" Snape asked in a disappointed monotone. I shrugged.

"You know, being a woman is very busying. There's pampering, pranking, school work, saving the world, and general causing of discourse throughout the dormitories…"

"Potter," Snape muttered, making me stop and blush. "I say you start practicing again."

"Will you help me?" I asked, knowing that I was struggling enough with my thoughts as it was, I would never be able to calm myself down in this mentality. "Just this once."

"Just this once," he seemed hesitant. "Then I expect you to study Magnuse on your own and come to me with theories afterward."

To show him I found it a fair trade, I walked over to the first row of desks and placed myself on it. Pulling my wand from the pocket of my robes and holding between my palms, the tip digging into my left hand.

"Now breathe, calm your thoughts, clear your mind…" I nodded, closing my eyes and trying to focus on the feeling of my wand between my hands. I skipped immediately to remembering what Cedric had told me about-

Oh, _Cedric. _

The only thing my backstabbing best friend had gotten right through our arguing was that Hoe Chang had tightened her leash and was now keeping a firm hand on Cedric's communications – particularly with me. Cedric had not been allowed to speak to me at all – though he had tried once, after the news we would be going through an enchanted maze for the first task – but when he'd made his attempt it had turned out badly for both of us. Cho had steered him away and I had been mocked by the Slytherin Hierarchy who thought my misfortune was _amusing_.

Almost as amusing as I had found their screams when they woke up with Grubborms in their beds.

"_Potter, you're such a nuisance!_" Daphne had shrieked from her bed. I was surprised by how close to a symphony it sounded while I could hear Parkinson's from one wall over. "_Get these off me!_"

"_I'm sorry, Greengrass,_" I had said with as much sincerity as I could fake. "_I don't know if I can figure out how to do that. As you said, I have quite the reputation for having many things in my bed as it is. Apparently I just can't keep things out of mine either._"

She had screamed again when she caught one crawling on her neck. "_You and your mudblood mother are just the same then! Get these off of me or you'll meet her end!_"

"_Sorry,_" I'd said again, this time gritting my teeth. "_But I'm on a no-shite diet. As in I won't take your shite just to get into your good graces. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bed to sleep in _– _lucky I've_ so many _men in it to ward off the bugs!_"

"Pleasant," Snape's voice snapped me out of the memory I had unintentionally shared with him. His face held a heavy sneer when I dared to open my eyes again. "But not what you are to be focussing on."

"Sorry," I muttered. "I told you I'd need help."

"So it would seem," he drawled. "Again."

I closed my eyes quickly, focussing on what Cedric had told me to. This time I would focus, I couldn't let him see another memory of the torture I had been going through in the commons or else he'd pick sides. And I wouldn't be able to take it if Snape was not actively on my side.

The parchment I pictured was clean and thicker than the kind I used for school. It was the beautiful parchment that one got with expensive stationary, the kind you wrote with longhand and had a rough draft to ensure there were no mistakes you'd need to go correct. I tacked it up to cover my vision, as if I had stuck my nose right to the center of the page, unable to see past it. All my life was written on this parchment. It was what I needed to focus on, just like Cedric had said.

I missed him.

_Focus. Stop thinking of boyfriends that won't help with Astral projection._

Snape's voice, annoyed as always. But it triggered another shallow pain in my chest – one that made me think of my favourite two 'boyfriends' as everyone always dubbed them. I missed the twins, the ones who knew my motives inside and out; the ones who made me proud of the adventurous streak that most said was what made me 'bad'.

_Focus._

Right. Focus.

I stared at the parchment again, focusing, making sure it was all I could see. My energy started to droop noticeably, something that almost made me start – I couldn't fall asleep. Sleep is the stage just past Astral form, a lesser form of consciousness that meant I had strayed too far into my mind and not far enough into my magic.

I tried riding the tides of sleep as they started to roar and try to drown me. It was hard not to give in, sleep had been one of the few places I felt safe lately, thanks to those who had kept me a safe distance away from them since the second task. I felt my body fight to shut down, to give into sleep, and tried to fight it. I couldn't help shivering as the familiar sensation of being dunked into a pool of freezing water slithered it's way through my senses.

The familiar sensation made me blink my eyes against the colours – I watched as a vision, slightly dimmed by the weeks before it would conquer reality, invaded my Sight. The third eye that Trelawney always spoke of but had never been victim to. In front and behind and to every side of me, it seemed, were tall, thick hedges that swayed in an unearthly breeze. I felt the tension as I walked through, wand upraised in one hand – the other up defensively. I came to a corner, one that was illuminated with a light that was not from my wand.

The world shifted, though the colours stayed the same tint, looking true toned but somehow dimmed by time that had not yet passed. In front of me, I saw that red sparks were being shot into the air, hanging ghastly over the hedges as if they were a beacon for danger itself. Looking around, I watched as a beautiful head of silver-blonde hair lolled to the side. I heard a moan before the scene shifted again.

The colours shifted, but it was clear that these snapshots were all from the same night. I was being warned. I was being warned that something terrible was on it's way, something that was dangerous to me. I saw my hand reach out, towards two figures running towards a clearing in the hedges, one illuminated with a colour of light that I had never laid eyes on – before they disappeared.

I heard a scream, a hallow, dangerous, painful scream that sounded like a creature being put through death. It burnt my eardrums and made me cover my ears and double over to try and shield myself from the terrifying decibels. No matter how much I cowered, I could not hide myself from the sound.

The vision changed, to something beautifully silent. I took a moment to appreciate the lack of thrumming in my ears, though it sounded as if everything else was muted or underwater. I heard voices, familiar voices, but not the words they were saying – one was the same tones I'd heard my entire life. It was coming from my brother, dirty and beaten, who nearly hung off the ground as a man held him at wand point – a familiar man, with sunken eyes and dark hair…the man from the Quidditch World Cup.

I didn't even have time to gasp before I pulled myself out of my vision, breaking through the water that I'd drowned myself in to try and get into an Astral state. When I gasped awake, my eyes flying open, I saw Snape was surprised.

"I'd thought you were successful and in transition," Snape observed. I shook my head, breathing through the dizziness that it caused. I all but rolled off the table, shoving my wand back in my pocket.

"I have to go."

"Potter, what are you doing?"

"I have to go see Harry," I whispered. "I just saw something and…" how would I explain that away? 'I saw the man that I claimed not to see over half a year ago and I have a bad feeling that he's about to threaten my brother'? I couldn't see that possibly going well for me.

"I'm sorry," I told Snape as I grabbed my rucksack and flung it over my shoulder, almost tripping over myself thanks to the energy I'd spent between forms. "I'll do the reading and be back, I swear…but I need to go. Thank you!"

I left him after that, ducking through the halls to find my brother, which was easier said then done. He was not in the Great Hall for lunch, nor was he hanging around in the courtyard. I had taken the time to drop my bag off in my room and – after some painstakingly long tries – placed a charm around my bed to ensure my dorm mates couldn't bother it. I tried to hide behind my hair, wishing I looked like something like Ginny so that people would just leave me alone in my search.

"Oi, Potter!"

I wish for too much.

But I did not turn around. If I did, I would only be drawing attention to the fact that I was in the hall where other possibly aggressive Gryffindors were taking their afternoon walk. I was already nervous enough that I was hunting down the king of them. I was still in no man's land from my colourful, public outburst and I did not want anyone to draw attention to the fact that I had yet to break the disgrace I'd been living in thanks to it. "Audrey!"

That was new. No one had tried talking to me on first name terms since the Malfoy incident in March and besides that, no one had dared speak to me since the task. When I turned around, shamelessly hopeful that it was a certain Hufflepuff, I was very upset by the green robes swishing toward me.

"Well dash it all, it was such a fine day." I sighed. "What do you want, Montague?"

Adam Montague looked particularly well-groomed today, his robes still crisp and his hair immaculate. Perhaps it was this disturbing perfection to his slimy features that made him so repulsive to me.

"Someone's still got her wand in a knot," he commented with a smile. I was not in the mood for his taunts – I was irresponsibly sour, that was true, but no amount of flirting from him would change that. "And to think, I was here to lend you a hand."

"Not a clue why," I commented dully. "I've nothing to do today and no willingness to get help from you."

"It's to do with your 'popularity'," he mentioned again. "Malfoy's having himself a little party in the common room in two weeks time-"

"Yes, for his birthday." I nodded. June 5th was coming up too quickly to enjoy and then Malfoy's birthday celebrations would begin _and _last until the end of the year – he would use any event like this to get attention.

"Right," Montague smirked. "Are you _sure _you're not shagging him? You're pretty well informed-"

"Has his hair dye come out yet?" Montague's smile fell a bit, before he laughed it off and shrugged his shoulders. I happened to know that the hair dye had been able to be pulled from his hair d faded from his hair days after the little prank, but his face had still been stained in a thin layer of faux gold tan for well past two weeks.

"Well, I wanted to invite you. Have a date already, meself, but I would be more than willing to ditch her if you wanted to join me." I sneered just at the idea of it.

"What poor sod agreed to go with you?"

"Your best friend, actually." He said smugly. I couldn't hide the horror – Daphne was now dating Montague? I mean, I'd seen her waving him around in my face as if it would actually make me jealous, but I never would have thought she would stoop low enough to try dating him. She couldn't fancy him after everything this bloke had done – it was unnatural! Even though I was still horribly boiled by our argument, I couldn't deny there was now a worry for the woman's sanity.

"Well, it does go with what little she knows." I bit out bitterly, as I quickened my step. "I won't be attending that party, not even if you paid me."

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Was I hurrying? I just wanted to get to Harry as quickly as I could. Getting away from Montague would also be a bonus.

"Finding the oh-so-famous one."

"Then why are you headed this way?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

"Because this is the way to the Gryffindor commons." I responded evenly.

"But he was on his way to the headmaster's office, last I saw." I stopped in the middle of the hall and blinked up at him, I couldn't understand why he was playing so nice – it was suspicious.

"Er – well…thanks then, Montague."

"Adam," he corrected. I wrinkled my nose.

"Thanks then, Montague." I repeated as I spun on my heel to head toward the headmaster's office. Montague, as always, was on my tail.

"You're not about to apologize to him, are you? What you said at the second task was completely called for – it'd defeat the whole purpose if you went to do that." I stopped walking mid step this time, almost losing my balance with the shock of that statement. Why _was _he being so kind to me, was it for some more malicious reason? Probably. I just couldn't figure out what it was and yet at the same time, I almost felt relief that he had said it – that _someone _proved I wasn't alone in my inner dialogues.

Still Montague, though, so I didn't take the compliment too close to heart.

"I have better things to do than suck up to my brother," I informed him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go have some private sibling bonding time."

He frowned at me, his face pulled into a frown so practiced it was like he tried different ones out in front of the mirror. Turning toward the dungeons, he left me without another word – I would have to remember to avoid the common room after the next two weeks…perhaps I'd stay in the Shrieking Shack.

The Gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office was already pulled to the side – Harry must already be here. As I went up, I saw his ear basically pressed against the door. He put his finger to his lips, not even seeming surprised or upset that I was here with him, before he pointed to the door.

"They think Maxime did it," he whispered, it was so quiet I could barely hear him.

"What?" I whispered back, confused as to what he meant. What did he mean 'it'? Oh Merlin, I wasn't hearing about Hagrid's sexual exploits, was I? Too curious for my own good, I went and pressed my ear against the door as well.

"-might be prejudiced in her favour because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out harmless – if indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, what with that monster fixation he's got." That was the minister's voice. They must have been here talking about Crouch's death. I couldn't believe that they were accusing Maxime just because she was part giant – ridiculous! That's like blaming me for being a Slytherin because I like _silver_.

"I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid." Dumbledore's voice, calm and collected as always. "I think it is possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius."

I smiled just at the thought of it, looking to Harry who was doing the same.

"Can we wrap up this discussion?" Moody's voice, even more growling than normal.

"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds, then." Fudge again.

"No, it's not that," said Moody. I barely had a second to realize what he was referring to before he actually said it. "It's just that our favourite set of twins want a word with you. They're listening just outside the door."

The door to the office opened almost before Harry and I could pull ourselves away from it. Moody looked at us with a twisted smirk, he was satisfied as it was for ratting us out. I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance – why was everyone so keen on keeping me in trouble?

"Hello, you two," Moody smirked. "Come in, then."

Dumbledore was waiting in his desk's chair, where Fudge stood beside him in a lime green bowler hat. He was ecstatic to see us. "Harry, Audrey! How are you?"

"Fine," Harry said tightly. I could tell he was still upset over what we had walked in on.

"Dandy," I stated more coolly than I probably needed to.

"We were just talking about the night when Mr. Crouch turned up on the grounds," Fudge explained with a little bit of a wave in Harry's direction. "It was you who found him, was it not?"

"Yes," said Harry. Part of me was almost surprised, I had hoped it was just rumour. As much as I was still upset with the prick for being such a fame-seeking-attention-hogging brat, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness. "I didn't see Madame Maxime anywhere, though, and she'd have a job hiding, wouldn't she?"

And there he goes playing the hero again. I sighed deeply, turning back to Fudge, catching Moody's good eye which read out his own annoyance with the subject.

"Yes, well we're about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Harry, if you'll excuse us…perhaps if you two would go back to your dormitories-"

"I wanted to talk to you, professor." Harry said quickly, looking to Dumbledore. I couldn't help but see the troubles here – I was about to get in a lot of crap. Harry was speaking to Dumbledore, I needed to speak to Harry – and in the end it was all going to come down to the fact that I had been lying when I said I had not seen who had shot the dark mark up in the sky all those months ago.

"Wait here for me; our examination of the grounds will not take long." That seemed like a lie – the Hogwarts grounds were extensive and if you were _really _looking, it would take hours. Either way, the men took their time to file out of the office without a second glance at us, leaving me alone with my older brother.

He didn't look at me at first, instead he decided to walk up to Fawkes – the beautiful phoenix loyal to Dumbledore – and pet his crimson feathers. I was the one who was supposed to be good with animals, but Fawkes had always had a closer connection to Harry than he had to me; I was almost jealous.

"You've been avoiding me." Harry finally spoke, but he didn't look at me. He stayed petting Fawkes, which was more than okay with me as the tension in the room suddenly built itself thicker than the boys' bloody skull. "You didn't respond to Snuffle's letter."

Ah, no I guess I hadn't. To be honest, I had thrown the reprimanding letter over my shoulder and didn't try to grab it from Circe when she assumed it was a new plaything. I wasn't really interested in rereading the lecture about how blood was thicker than water – I loved Sirius too much to respond how I would have for others – with a colourful answer about how I had almost died in that 'not as thick as blood' water and how ridiculous it was that Harry had been rewarded for that mistake.

"No, I didn't." It was probably not the proper thing to say, but it was all I could force out.

"We went to see him last Hogsmeade weekend. You didn't show."

"Didn't go." I said simply. I hadn't wanted to lose the few moments I would have alone in the common room. If I still had any power within my House it was against the younger years and the first and second years that were too young to go avoided me at all costs. It left my dorm _and _the common room free – I hadn't even considered leaving that solitude. Then again, had I known that Sirius was in town I probably would have slipped away for a visit when I knew Harry had left.

"Is this how it's going to be all year?" he asked, turning around with a sigh. "You don't think we should at least-"

"What, talk about it?" I sneered. "Don't you remember the last time we talked about anything, Harry? It involved me screaming at you in front of the entire student population."

"Yeah," he frowned. "And right before that you nearly died drowning. And just before _that _you were using some really exhausting magic. Just before _that _you were helping me with my tournament strategy – Audrey, I don't blame you for yelling at me."

"You don't?" I raised my eyebrows, I couldn't make myself sound relieved through all the suspicion.

"Of course not. Audrey, you nearly _died _and you were obviously embarrassed and upset and...well, I heard what's been happening with Daphne."

I frowned even more deeply. "Yes, I know what you're going to say – you told me so. You're right, we Slytherins are just diabolical and cruel-"

"No, _you're_ not." The emphasis was not lost on me. "Audrey, I really don't blame you for what happened that day – I never came up to you because I thought you were ignoring me as you were still upset."

"Not because Ron told you to?" I asked suspiciously. He noticeably winced.

"Well, Ron hasn't been the most supportive of anything this year, has he?" I rolled my eyes. "Drea, come on. This competition is bringing out the worst in everyone. We said we could do this together, we said we'd survive by helping each other out, so why don't we do that?"

"Harry, it's not-"

"Yes, you freaked out. Badly. But you're still my sister. I know that you have a harder House life than I do and I know that these tasks have been getting to you – you've been doing some _ridiculous _magic and after talking to Hermione and finding out how much work you must have been doing..." he cut himself off with a shake of his head, before coming up to me and grabbing my shoulders to try and push his point forward. "You're my sister and I love you. Now can we please stop fighting?"

I looked at him for a long moment, suspicious beyond what I probably should have been. This _was _my brother, true, but I had humiliated him and myself all within the same forty seconds. I wouldn't want to just forgive him if our places were reversed...

But this was one of the things I both loved and hated about my brother, his ridiculous sense of loyalty. It was the thing that constantly put the both of us in the line of fire and at the same time made him the person who I commonly went to when I admitted I needed help with something. I had little doubts that he was being sincere, I just couldn't tell if this loyalty and sincerity would come with future consequences on my part.

"You don't hate me." I stated with narrowed eyes, he rolled his eyes as he hugged me tightly.

"You're an idiot."

As he hugged me, not letting go until I gave in and wrapped my arms around him as well, I couldn't help but roll my own eyes and sigh. "Yeah, I know."

"Can we talk and be siblings again?"

"I guess," I shrugged, trying not to show him how relieving it actually was to have someone to talk to. It was also nice knowing that if he forgave me, it wouldn't be long before the entirety of Gryffindor stopped being so scathing to me in the corridor.

"Can we talk and be siblings without you going crazy again?"

"I resent that. I also refuse to promise it." He laughed, pulling away from me and holding me at arms length, scanning me over.

"You look terrible."

"I know we're twins, but there is no need to insult yourself just because I started styling myself in your image." He snorted. "No, I've been doing some more of that 'ridiculous magic' you were referring to. It takes a lot out of me."

"Er, yeah – can we talk about that? Where the bloody hell did you get the idea to try that? Hermione thinks you're insane, by the way. I don't really get it, myself."

"I didn't either. I've been having sessions with Snape whose been forcing me to understand. It's exhausting and..." I felt my face flush. "It's amazing to actually be able to do something."

"Astral projection? Do you realize how crazy you seem to people – Audrey, it's brilliant magic, but it's not supposed to be possible for a student." He leaned a little closer to me, aware of the curious portraits listening in on our conversation. "What did we say about keeping that kind of thing quiet?"

"It's fourth year," I said with a snort. "If people haven't noticed yet, they're too stupid to understand how impressive it is anyway."

I turned away from him and the curious eyes of the portraits above us, trailing my finger along the cabinet closest to me. It was black and towering – a door was slightly ajar on it. I fingered over the decorative grooves in the wood, scratching at a bit of it when the colours seemed to morph. Furrowing my eyebrows, I scratched at it again, seeing the colour worm its way from my fingertip.

Looking to the side, I noticed that it was not my finger changing the look of the cabinet but the door that was slightly ajar and emitting a silver glow. I looked at Harry, who looked back at my facial expression with some sort of understanding before finding his way beside me. We were far too curious for our own good, which was proven as Harry opened the door.

Inside the cabinet sat a shallow stone basin, lined with ruins and carvings so old I could not stand a chance of reading them. The light wasn't coming from the basin itself, but rather the silver liquid that was floating – no, swimming – no...what was it doing? I couldn't tell if it was liquid or gas, but the bright white and silver glow had a life of its own about it. I looked to Harry and blinked in confusion.

"What is it?"

"I don't know." He responded quietly. He moved his hand toward it almost subconsciously, but I saved him by slapping it away.

"Don't be a moron. Whatever it is, it's Dumbledore's. You can't trust anything he owns to be safe – the man speaks Mermish, for Merlin's sake!"

"Right," Harry agreed. He took his hand away for a moment and settled with watching the swirling silver tendrils again. It was strange, it looked kind of like the Grey Lady's cloak as she swished around, the fabric floating in a wind that wasn't there. At the same time, there was a grace to it that really did resemble water and-

"Harry!" I gasped, grabbing his arm away again as he stuck his finger into the bewitching silver-filled basin. I swore at him as I saw the contents begin to swirl and pull him – and me, since I was grabbed onto him – down into the depths of it.

This was it.

I always knew Harry would kill me.

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked with what I saw. I was not looking into the eyes of death – he and I were surprisingly ill-acquainted considering all the times we've met face to face – but rather a dimly lit room. It had torches attached with brackets and benches with witches and wizards that were ignoring Harry and my sudden arrival. In the center of the room, standing out like a sore thumb, was a chained chair, bolted to the ground.

I looked to Harry with a glare. "Look what you did, moron."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"I'm at a loss for surprise," I drawled, but as I looked passed him, my eyes widened. "Professor!"

Albus Dumbledore sat next to Harry, looking straight forward and not at all as enchanted as he normally was by our arguments and Harry's adventures. I felt my face turn red in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," Harry began. "I didn't mean to – I was just looking at that basin in your cabinet – I – we – where are we?"

But Dumbledore ignored us, something which he never did.

"Great, you've gone and pissed him off." I muttered.

"I'm really sorry, professor. Please, just let me-"

"Wait," I held my hand out to him, looking around the room with narrowed eyes. It wasn't just Dumbledore that was ignoring us – none of the witches and wizards sat around us were surprised that we were interrupting their whispering and gossip, nor did they seem to realize we had materialized from thin air. I narrowed my eyes. "Wait," I repeated, looking around the room before standing up and taking a deep breath. "Oi! Liven up you boring, lazy, slug-faced barnacles!"

No one flinched.

"They can't hear us." Harry noted, with a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin, you could have gotten us into serious trouble with your outburst."

"You're nervous about _that_?" I scoffed. "I'm nervous over the fact you pulled us into a mysterious basin where no one can see us or hear us so we have no idea how to find our way out."

Harry frowned. "Fair point."

We were silenced by the sound of the heavy wooden door in the corner opening to show three figures – only one of which was human. The man who shuffled in was nearly crumbling to his knees as he was lead by two particularly large dementors.

I tried not to let my blatant fear of the dementors show. I wasn't actually scared of them in the way that Harry was – Harry heard our mother's death, I knew that his pain and reactions were slightly worse than mine – but unlike Harry, I was unable to repel them. I had never been able to use the patronus charm and because of it, the dementors and I had become a little too chummy only a short year before.

The man was shackled into the chair, making me wonder what was so terrible about him that he needed to be restrained with iron _and _torture, before he raised his face to we – his audience – and I saw who it was.

It was Karkaroff.

I turned my eyes to Harry, his own gaze mimicking mine before I took the glasses off his face and squinted through them to look for sure. The tangled black hair, the dark and endless eyes, the disgusting sneer that revealed yellowing teeth – it was definitely the same man.

"Shite," I breathed, not complaining when Harry huffed and took his glasses back for himself.

"Igor Karkaroff," a familiar voice said. I gasped as I saw the recently deceased Mr Crouch up on a pedestal above us, looking down on the whimpering man with a sneer.

"Harry, I think we're in Dumbledore's memories..." I whispered, Harry didn't have time to reply before the memory of Crouch spoke again.

"You have been brought from Azkaban to present evidence to the Ministry of Magic. You have lead us to understand you have important information for us." His tone was nothing short of cruel, I was almost drawn into the anger that was behind it.

"I have, sir," Karkaroff said, his voice too weak to be familiar. "I wish to be of use to the Ministry. I wish to help. I-I know that the Ministry is going t-to round up the last of the Dark Lords supporters. I am eager to assist in any way..."

I looked to Harry, Ron's words playing through my head: '_Don't call him the 'Dark Lord', that's only what his _followers_ call him'._

"He _is _a death eater!" Both of us chorused. I would have laughed at it again were it not so serious. But a scoff from the side, a very _familiar _scoff, made us turn our heads to see a younger, fresher version of our current DADA professor.

Moody didn't look nearly as worn down here as he was in present-day Hogwarts. For one, he did not have a magical, wandering eye. He also seemed to have fewer scars, though his bum leg was raised to show it had already been taken from him.

"Crouch is going to let him out," Moody was noticeably upset by this. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him back to the dementors." Dumbledore made a noise of displeasure. "Ah, I was forgetting...you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?"

"No," said Dumbledore calmly. "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."

"But for filth like this..." Moody countered to himself.

"You say you have names for us, Karkaroff," said Crouch impatiently. "Let us hear them, please."

"You must understand," Karkaroff was nervous, it was obvious and understandable as I could all but feel the dementors breathing down his neck. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy. He preferred that we – I mean to say, his supporters – and I regret now, very deeply, that I ever counted myself among them – we never knew the names of every one of our fellows. He alone knew exactly who all we were-"

"Yet you say you have names for us?" said Crouch.

"I-I do, and these were important supporters, mark you. People I saw with my own eyes doing his bidding. I give this information as a sign that I fully and totally renounce him, and am filled with a remorse so deep I can barely-"

"Those names are?" Crouch was not pleased with his grovelling. I didn't blame him. It was cowardly, backstabbing, _and _weak – and that's coming from someone who didn't even _like _who he was betraying.

"There was Antonin Dolohov. I-I saw him torture countless Muggles and-and non-supporters of the Dark Lord."

"And helped him do it," Moody murmured darkly.

"We have already apprehended Dolohov, he was caught shortly after yourself." Crouch said. I couldn't deny I was on the edge of my seat and strangely I already knew the end of this take – Karkaroff _did _get off. Then he became a headmaster. Then he ruined my marks in the tournament around twelve or thirteen years after this memory.

"There was Rosier," said Karkaroff hurriedly. "Evan Rosier."

"Rosier is dead." Crouch did not seem remorseful. "He was caught shortly after you were, too. He preferred to fight rather than to come quietly and was killed in the struggle."

"No-no more than Rosier deserved!" Karkaroff was panicking now. Two of his names were worthless and he was not willing to be thrown back to the dementors care.

"Any more?"

"What of Bagman? He was a mule for the Dark Lord's information. He fed information from side to side so that we – and again by that, I mean his supporters – knew when to run!"

"Ludo Bagman was cleared of all charges," Crouch informed. "It was deemed an accident just after his-" Crouch grunted angrily. "Big Quidditch win."

"What a crock!" Moody grumbled.

"Is that all?" Crouch asked a now wild Karkaroff, who shook his head wildly.

"No, no! There was Travers – he helped murder the McKinnons! Mulciber – he specialized in the Imperius curse and forced countless people to do horrific things! Rookwood, who was a spy, he passed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named useful information from inside the Ministry itself!"

And Karkaroff had struck gold. The crowd was whispering and excited now.

"Rookwood?" Crouch asked, not even hiding his interest. "Do you mean Augustus Rookwood of the Department of Mysteries?"

"The very same, I believe he used a network of well-placed wizards, both inside the Ministry and out to collect information-"

"Very well, Karkaroff, if that is all, you will be returned to Azkaban until we decide-"

"Not yet!" Karkaroff pled. "Wait, I have more! Snape! Severus Snape!"

My heart fell, a wave of cold passed over my body as if I were dunked into the Black Lake all over again. He _had _to be wrong. Snape wouldn't have been on that side – he was a dark, disturbed man – but he was not a killer. Snape could never be a killer.

"Snape has been cleared by this council, he has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore."

"No!" Karkaroff screamed. "I assure you, Severus Snape is a Death Eater!"

"No!" I screamed back, unafraid of Harry's opinion of it. He put his hand on my arm encouragingly, but I dared not look at his eyes.

"I have given evidence already on this matter," Dumbledore said. I hadn't noticed that he had stood up as I had – the difference being that this audience could hear and appreciate his opinion. "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am."

I sat down as Harry tugged on my arm, sitting on the edge of my seat as I feared that I would jump out of it again. I didn't want to hear anymore.

"I'm sorry, Audrey." Harry wrapped his arm around me, I shook my head fighting off frustrated tears and a temper tantrum.

"Don't," I whispered, shaking my head. "You heard Dumbledore. He's not a Death Eater."

"But-"

"You heard!" I bellowed. Harry recoiled, slinking his arm away from me again.

"Yeah," he nodded, turning back to the scene in front of us which had started to swirl.

We were in the dungeon again, sat somewhere different and with more light shed on the podium where Karkaroff had just been released – or I assumed he was released since whenever we were able to escape Dumbledore's memories, he would be there to try and ruin us all over again.

"I was hoping we'd be tossed out after the first memory ended," I sighed, looking around to see that Dumbledore was sat beside us and wearing different robes. It was the exact dungeon we were in before, but now where the judges sat was also a broken down woman, heaving dry sobs into a handkerchief – the only sound in the room. No one was gossiping this time. No one was speaking, this seemed so much more violent thanks to the silences.

"He looks awful," Harry noted, looking at Crouch higher in the stands who looked gray and lifeless. I couldn't help but wonder if he looked somewhat similar when Harry found him in the woods.

"Bring them in," Crouch's voice echoed in the silence of the courtroom, only enhancing the sound of the heavy door in the corner as six dementors and four people scurried in – trying to run away from the monsters that flanked them.

The four were shoved and chained into chairs identical to the one Karkaroff had been confined to. The one on the far side was a thicker man who seemed completely emotionless – perhaps he'd already received his smooch from the dementor. There was a thinner man with shifting eyes to his side, he was sweating profusely. Beside him, a woman with crazy hair and heavy lidded eyes somehow still managed to look as if she owned the room. And on the closest end was a younger boy, barely out of Hogwarts, with freckled skin and dark hair. I took a moment to furrow my eyebrows.

"Do we know him?" I asked Harry, my eyes narrowing on the boy.

"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law," Crouch began, cutting off my question. Again I hadn't even realized that he had gone to stand. His face and voice were harder than the previous memory as he regarded these Death Eaters. There was less boredom and more hatred over his features. "So that we may pass judgement on you, for a crime _so heinous-_"

"Father," the teen whimpered. "Father, please…"

"-that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court." Crouch did not look at the boy who had plead with him, which made my skin cool nervously. Crouch's _son_…

"We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror – Frank Longbottom-"

"No," I gasped, my breath hitching nervously in the back of my throat.

"-and subjecting him to the Cruciatus curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Father, I didn't!" the boy cried. "I didn't, I swear it. Father, don't send me back to the dementors-" but Crouch ignored the pleas of his son, refusing to so much as look at him. The whimpering woman, with a similar nose to the boy, wailed again. His mother.

"You are further accused of using the Cruciatus curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information." Crouch sneered. "You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury-"

"Mother!" the boy bellowed, the witch began to rock back and forth, shaking her head to ward off his voice. "Mother, stop him. Mother, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!"

"I now ask the jury to raise their hands if they believe, as I do-" his voice was pointed and stern. It made my stomach lurch guiltily. "That these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!"

In a unison that seemed rehearsed, the witches and wizards along the deciding panel raised their hands. The crowd that lined the chained Death Eaters began to clap appreciatively, but my eyes were honed in on the boy who had begun to scream.

"No! Mother, no! I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't know! Don't send me there, don't let him!" The dementors had returned by now, the others accepted their fate without complaint, though the woman was sure to make eye contact with Fudge and ignore the boys screams.

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch!" She bellowed to him. "Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"

I turned away as the boy tried to fight off the dementors. I couldn't watch him destroy himself – his screams were enough. "I'm your son! I'm your son!"

"You are no son of mine!" Crouch yelled back down to him, finally daring to pay attention to the boy he had thus far ignored. The boy was so distracted for a moment that he lost what little leeway he had with the dementors who I could hear were beginning to drain his determination from him. "Take them away! Take them away, and may they rot there!"

"I think, Harry, it is time to return to my office," said a voice behind us. I looked around, catching eyes with Albus Dumbledore – who was undoubtedly acknowledging my watery eyes. He was real. "I believe Audrey agrees."

"Yes, sir."

"Come," the real Dumbledore said, putting his arm under my brother's elbow and his other arm around my back – almost as if he were trying to comfort me. It was the familiar feeling of falling into the gaseous liquid as we rose out of the stone basin and touched the ground of Dumbledore's office once more. It was wonderful to see the afternoon sun filtering in through his windows – the dungeon courtroom had severely dampened my already lowered spirits.

"Professor, it was my fault. I know I shouldn't've – I didn't mean – the cabinet door was sort of open, and-"

"I quite understand," Dumbledore nodded, with a small smile. He looked over toward me, almost as if knowing that I was not responding well to the scene I had just witnessed.

"What is it?" I asked accusingly, looking back to the stone basin with a glare.

"This? It is called a Pensieve," responded Dumbledore. "I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind."

Harry made an uncomfortable sound, but it was one of the first times I could ever agree with something the old man had said. It was completely true – I constantly felt like I thought too much about too many things.

"At these times, I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form."

Harry went on to ask about the thoughts, the gaseous things that drifted around in the basin. I was a few steps ahead, however, and made sure that I went to go look inside of it. I could not see individual thoughts there, but I couldn't help but wish I had one for myself. It would be the perfect way to keep my visions in check, my thoughts, all of the lies I tell…one of which was itching in the back of my mind now.

Beside me, Dumbledore had walked over and placed his wand to his temple. He focused for a moment, before withdrawing his wand which clung to a silvery wisp, like that of the Pensieve. Placing his wand and the memory into the basin, it spread across the surface and rippled into a memory.

Snape's face was before me – seeing it pulled at my stomach while I remembered what I'd found out minutes before. In the basin, Snape was showing his forearm – the crude marking as noticeable as the fear in his voice. "It's coming back…Karkaroff's too…stronger and clearer than ever…"

"A connection I could have made without assistance," Dumbledore sighed behind me. "But never mind."

"So, Snape really is a Death Eater." I whispered, my eyes raking over where his arm had been in the Pensieve, though now it had faded into the silver again.

"No, Audrey," Dumbledore said softly, but still sternly. "Professor Snape is not loyal to that cause. He is loyal to the cause that keeps this world, that keeps _you_ safe."

I nodded numbly, not even able to look at him before I sighed. "That boy," I whispered. "The one in the memory – Crouch's son. Did he do it?"

"I believe he did," Dumbledore nodded. "He was like so many others, lost to the idea of community that Voldemort thrived on. Voldemort was sure to create a family to those who didn't have any, like he had not had any, and as you can see – Mr Crouch had never been the ideal father to his son."

"What if he didn't do it? What if he really was an innocent bystander?" I asked. Harry shook his head.

"Death Eaters aren't bystanders. He was a _Death Eater_, Audrey. He joined Voldemort to hurt those he feels hurt him." I frowned at him, feeling as if he was talking about Snape directly – which bristled me in a way that I knew I shouldn't feel now that I knew.

"No, Harry. Some people _are _caught in crossfire. It happens as easily as dying on the side you're loyal to does." I whispered. "This is the difference between you and me," oh yes, I was definitely bristled now. "You think that because you're considered brave and loyal that that is all there is. It's not that black and white, Harry. People don't live on the right or on the left – they travel between. I understand that. What I _don't _understand is how you can't see that's how life is lead."

I frowned, looking at my brother who wore an identical facial expression. I was glad we had made up, but I suddenly felt different about my reason for coming to see him in the first place. I looked up to Dumbledore, who had a strange twinkle in his eye before nodding my head respectively.

"I'm sorry that we walked in on your private thoughts, sir. If you don't need me, I'll let you talk to Harry and be on my way."

"That's fine, Audrey. Have a pleasant evening." He smiled. "And good luck in the third task."

Ugh, he shouldn't have reminded me. I almost walked out of the room without a last look at Harry, but as his eyes caught mine I could see that he was nervous. He clearly thought that from what I had just said to him I would decide to leave him alone again, I just shook my head.

"Can I eat breakfast with you tomorrow?" I asked, which made him smile.

"What about dinner tonight?"

"May skip it," I answered honestly. "I need to go to the library."

He looked at me strangely, perhaps he knew how much time I had been spending there of late, but nodded his head all the same. I smiled towards him before leaving the headmaster and his prized pupil alone – but I really did have to go to the library.

I wanted to look up Death Eater history and trials. After all, Mr Crouch's son had fascinated me though I barely knew anything about it. Was he innocent? guilty? Had he rotted away in his cell like his father had wished upon him?

I doubted that he had…after all, Crouch _was _the one in my visions who had now attacked my brother _twice_.

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><p><strong>Yay! So that was over 10,000 words in itself, I hope it made up for the wait you guys had. The next chapter is the night before the third task <strong>– **I wanted to keep the Magnuse a bit of a surprise, but you will not have to wait nearly as long for it. Please see the bottom, after the review responses, for more important information!**

**To my reviewers:**

_XXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Don't worry, Audrey won't be friendless for long. She has far too charming a personality for people to hate her for long durations of time. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Laurafxox_**: See, Harry isn't THAT bad **– **he understood her frustrations and accepted them. You'll grow to see they have quite a strange relationship thanks to their different personalities always butting-heads. As for the Daphne-Audrey thing, you can see from here that Daphne is not the best friend **– **but we see that Audrey feels lost without her. Sometimes you become friends with someone and they change in front of your eyes, it's hard letting someone you were so close to go like that. As for Draco, I think he's realized his feelings for Audrey, he just hasn't grown to accept them yet **– **but don't worry, we're getting closer to the time he will! And I can't tell you which side she'll fight for, but I'll tell you that she'll never do anything she doesn't want to do. Audrey doesn't roll that way. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for your thoughts **– **I love hearing them!**

_Kimberly. _**: I agree the last chapter was more character building than action or plot. You are very right about what happened between Harry and Audrey during their first adventures in Hogwarts. Audrey does not speak Parseltongue, she just has that strange connection with animals. Hopefully I redeemed Harry in this chapter, I agree he was being a bit of an ass, but I tried showing they've both been going through a lot: Audrey's become an outcast and Harry found Crouch's body. Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad that you're liking it and hope that continues :)**

_britstar4_**: Well, thanks to Draco's rude comment at the end of last chapter any progress he had made with his small act of kindness disappeared **– **but don't worry, she'll start to see the light soon. She already has, she just can't admit it yet. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: This was an epically FANTASTIC review, thank you so much for it! Alright, on with the response. I think Draco's starting to realize he has feelings for Audrey, he just hasn't grown to fully accept them yet **– **he and her brother are enemies and Audrey is too stubborn to be one of his trophy dates. It's throwing him for a loop, I'd think. I also think that he never really stopped caring for her, but that will be more determinable once we see the romance blossom between the two. I also don't think that Audrey is THAT beautiful. I mean, she looks like Lily who is said to be beautiful, but I do like to highlight her flaws because I don't WANT her to be gorgeous. To me, it's her personality that really sets her apart **– **not just the Slytherin to Gryffindor gap or the sharp tongue to cruelty addition, but because she sees things in ways that most others don't. Though you'll hear more of that later. Anyway, Audrey DOES depend on Draco for a lot of abstract encouragement, usually regarded as spite, but the two tend to make a great team so long as they aren't labelled in that way. Daphne is on a high horse of teenage hormones and jealousy, not necessarily over the many men she's accused Audrey of harvesting, but rather the one man neither of them seem to have. I think the same problem Audrey has with Harry is starting to reflect in her own friendship with Daphne…don't you? GREAT thoughts, thank you!**

_Puckabrina dreamer_**: Oh, eventually Draco and Audrey will admit their feelings for one another, but first they have to accept that they have them in the first place **– **THAT is what will make a long story. These two are far too stubborn to just say 'I like you' and go along with it, not to mention the years-old rivalry between Draco and Harry. Thanks for the review!**

_Novella Vialli_**: There IS so much sexual tension, and to think, these are just children. What will happen as the years go on?**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Hopefully I rectified Harry and Audrey's fight quickly enough for you. Don't worry, in the next chapter when we see Draco he will be all squeaky and clean and Daphne will get a good lesson her way. I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing :)**

_Ella710_**: Daphne is a hard character to appreciate because she's been so hard on Audrey, but as I said to someone elses review: sometimes you become friends with someone **_**before **_**they change into someone you don't like and then it's hard for you to let them go. Theodore will have some answering to do, but not before more drama between that trio. I'm glad that Audrey was justified in her flip-out to Daphne, I try to make it as fair as possible, and I agree that it was a little harsh **– **but that's just the way that Audrey is. If she didn't have that extra dash of mean and that lack of care for peoples sensitivities, I may as well have sorted her in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. You'll have to wait for answers about the Graveyard **– **but not long as it's only chapters away! And don't worry, you're not demanding **– **hearing what readers want helps me know what they enjoy from the characters and bring out that type of juiciness. And don't worry **– **I made a promise with a kiss and she **_**will **_**have one! And your review was wonderful, not at all pathetic **– **thank you very much :D **

_xOxO Lost Angel OxOx_**: Yes, Audrey tends to get sliced up a bit more than her brother does when drama like this happens, but to be fair her friends were much more supportive over her becoming a champion than Ron was to Harry. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, thank you so much for reviewing!**

_XxI-Stole-Your-CookiexX_**: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it! I'm honoured mine was the first one you started reading, hopefully you end up sticking with it since Draco has many more moodswings than George would ;) **

_Invincible Shadow_**: I know, it almost hurt to put both Daphne and Draco into the same blonde haired asshole category, but it had to be done. I also agree calling her a whore was not acceptable **– **that's why she took back her kind act for the day by hexing him. I'm sorry I didn't fit in Theo-Audrey forgiveness, but at least she has Snape to lean on and now even Harry if she can ever get past her pride and embarrasment to tell him about Crouch. Hopefully you liked this chapter as well **– **thank you for the review!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Daphne was being bitchy, she still is, but don't worry Audrey's nerve will get her through such a sticky situation! She's too strong to just sit down and take a beating. Thank you for reviewing :)**

_KamiKase_**: Yes, Audrey was a little alone for a while there, but she's starting to get back on track. I think most people can relate to having a friend who changes and then not knowing what to do with your relationship that's been left over **– **it's one of the challenges of life, I guess. I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for your thoughts!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm sorry I didn't get this out to you before I updated, I just wanted to get it out after I'd made everyone wait and it was so long I didn't want to just spring it on you. I'm going to see if I can find a time for some more twin loving, but everything is going to get so dark in the next few chapters I'm having trouble seeing where an appropriate place to fit it in may be. As for the Cedric and Moody thing, I definitely plan to change a little bit of what happens there, but not in the way most people are thinking. I'm so excited for it I could burst! If it's alright and you have time, I hope to have some chapters by the end of the week if you're feeling up to editing :)**

_saving my soul_**: Thank you for the review :) I am glad that you like Audrey's stubborn personality. The peck from Cedric didn't count as her first kiss, I promise when she gets her first one it won't be one you can mistake and it will be in the next three chapters. Thank you for reading and enjoying **– **I hope it continues!**

_MiniMyrnin1997_**: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you enjoy it!**

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><p><strong>Alright, I have notes! As you can see, to my utmost pleasure, I've been getting lots of response and reviews <strong>– **more than any of my other stories have gotten. It is absolutely flattering and fantastic, but the responses that I normally do have been dragging the chapters on and on. Would you like me to continue putting them there, or would you like me to respond to them through PMs and little notes for those who bring up important questions/don't have accounts? I leave it up to you as you are the ones who may be getting upset with the format.**

**Also, the end of the **_Goblet of Fire _**segment is drawing closer and with that begins the **_Order of the Phoenix _**plot. This is super exciting for me, really, but I would love some input on what you'd like to see. Is there anything you really want to see before **_GOF _**ends? Anything you would like to see in **_OotP _**that you want to tell me before I begin writing it? I will take a two-three week hiatus on this between the two stories so that I can get started on the **_OotP _**portion and get chapters out to you faster because I'll be ahead. Half the reason this one was so late was because I no longer had the lead in chapters I did up until the second task.**

**Anyway, enough notes. Please tell me what you want to see, would like to see, and what you think about the notes to reviewers (ironically) in a **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	22. A Task in Itself

**Well friends, I have another chapter for you. Sadly this is not the third task, but good news – next chapter is! This one is an interesting little twist on things, so I won't hold you up much longer. Everyone give a bit thank you to my fantastic editor **_Angel of the Nightwatchers_** who made this chapter good enough for you to read.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 21: A Task in Itself<span>

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><p>I took a deep breath of fresher air once I came up from the dungeons. It was another long day of lessons with Snape and I was nearer to rundown as opposed to exhausted. The air on the ground floor near the Great Hall was much more satisfying than the damp taste that hit the back of your throat from the dungeons, and underneath it all was a sense of freedom that just didn't exist when I was so close to the Slytherin common room.<p>

This was particularly true now that Draco Malfoy's birthday celebrations had begun. It was a ritual event. His bashes lasted the entirety of the month, but even now that it was the day before the third task I couldn't bring myself to go there and face the hordes. It didn't matter how exhausted I was. My feet may have been dragging, and I may not have been able to keep my head upright on my shoulders, but I was more than happy to keep dodging the festivities - particularly after Parkinson had finally revenged Malfoy by placing light molasses coloured polka dots on my skin. I was now soaking them in a light pink solution so that they would be gone for tomorrow. My face was cleared, but my arms still had to be covered to avoid the humiliation of being pranked by a pug.

"Whoa there, lassie!" the gruff lilt could not have been less appreciated as I pulled my head up to look at my one-eyed professor. Moody's magical eye was spinning around his head, looking for others in the corridor. "Y'look terrible, Potter."

"How nice of you to notice," I forced a very bland smile. "How may I help you?"

"Your brother came to me with his concerns about a map, one that happens to tell the reader everyone in Hogwarts at any given time - heard o'it?"

"Never in my life," I lied evenly. Moody's good eye narrowed before he reached in his robes, pulling out a thick stack of parchment - the Marauders Map. "That looks like quality parchment, sir, and I've just run out - can I have it?"

I made to swipe at the map in his hands, which he quickly pulled out of reach. For such an old codger he had quite the reflexes. "Not so fast, Potter. I have some questions for you."

"Plural? That might be a problem, I tend to only have the patience for one at a time."

"Well, we'll have to find a way for you to suffer through." He grumbled. "Your brother told me he saw the name 'Barty Crouch' on this map."

"Did he?" my eyebrows raised and I tried to compose my reactions. Moody was obviously looking to see what I knew and his magical eye would not help me hide any of the little signs I could give away accidentally. I knew his kind - he was just like me. He watched people, analyzed them. I knew how to hide my reactions well. It included a deadpan voice, a quick rebuttal, and never actually answering what was asked. "As in the formerly deceased 'Barty Crouch'? Curious."

"It is," he agreed, with a nod of his head. "And in return, I hear say that you were in the library a few weeks ago lookin' up Crouch's former Death Eater trials."

"Where are you hearing all these things?" I looked around me, refusing to acknowledge whether he had hit the nail on the head. "Are those portraits gossiping again? Seriously, they're worse than witches in an apothecary…"

"Did you, Potter?"

"Go to the apothecary?" I asked vaguely. "Not since the summer."

"Did you look up Crouch's trials?" He verified. I felt my face warm under his eyes. He knew I was playing him and there was no way to stay on top if he knew. I needed to flip the power back in my favour - which I guess may require telling him. I started to wrack my brain for a new strategy before I nodded begrudgingly. "Find anything of interest?"

I was starting to wonder whether or not that magic eye was able to read thoughts. While in the library I had found something _very _interesting, something which I had immediately brought to Harry's attention - not that he really thought much of it. But Harry didn't know what I knew - Harry didn't know that the boy from the memories we had overheard and the name _Barty Crouch_had been passed on to that very body. He thought that it was just a normal occurrence for a father to name his son after him - but if Harry had seen the name on the Marauders Map, then my suspicions may have been verified. Because Barty Crouch was not just the Barty Crouch who was rotting in the grave; Barty Crouch was also a very active, brooding figure that tended to haunt my brother's footsteps and cast the dark mark into the sky.

"Nothing." I lied, holding the level gaze I'd learned early on during my years in the Slytherin commons. "There were a lot of people who may have wanted Crouch dead. He convicted hundreds of people through the years."

"Anythin' you found suspicious?"

"Besides this conversation? No." I grit out, shaking my head to void off the frustration. "Is there something you're directly asking about, sir? If not, I have places to be."

He leaned closer to me, ruining my area of personal space. His good eye was narrowed, his bad eye was trained on me. It was clear that he was looking for some kind of answer before he even opened his mouth. "Do you know who put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

The sound reverberated in my head, over and over again. It was like the idea was bouncing around in there, ordering me to answer - just playing cat and mouse with itself. I didn't know why it seemed so important to answer the question - the question that I still didn't now the answer for - but I found myself frowning at him.

"Why are you asking me?" I snarled back, he drew back from me quickly. "I've answered this time and time again; no, I do not know who put our name in the Goblet of Fire. For all you know, it could have been anyone, why do I get the black mark? Is it because I'm a Slytherin or because I'm not the golden poster-child? So long as the idiot understands Harry and I are not going to sit down and die and they leave us the hell alone. I couldn't care less who wanted to throw a ridiculous prank. So, professor, if you don't mind, I'm going to go get a good night's sleep so that whoever was stupid enough to test me can be proven wrong yet _again_."

I shoved my nose in the air before I walked away, turning around to go and brave the confines of the common room. At least there I could do a charm on my curtains and go to sleep in peace - walking around here apparently put a bullseye on my back for bullshite.

My walk to the dungeons was luckily uninterrupted. I was glad that Moody had not chosen to follow me or take off points for my manners, but I couldn't help but wish he would have made held me up for a little bit longer so I wouldn't have run into what I did. On the first floor, just behind the entrance to the staircase I used head to the dungeons, I heard shuffling. It sounded like clothes and whispers, the universal sign of sex and 'strangers, close your eyes'. I was all for following the rulebook of walking in on fraternization before I heard a strangled cry for help. In fact, the cry was dreadfully familiar.

I couldn't tell you why I felt the rush to see what was happening - I mean, it could have burnt my retinas, but I walked to the alcove with my wand held high. I made sure to steel my gaze, ready to see some things I was entirely unprepared to. "Are you performing cadences in the closets, Montague?"

My wand was pointed undoubtedly at him when he turned to glare at me. His eyes were hooded in a way I had only read about during sex and his hair was a mess. His robes, always perfectly pressed, were wrinkled with use and over his shoulder there was a girl.

The girl's wide, brown eyes were what really drew my attention. They were watery and lined in running makeup that flew past her red nose and quivering lips. Her wheat-blonde hair was tussled and tangled over her shoulder. Her voice broke when she said my name.

It was Daphne.

"Oh, Potter, no need to get jealous now - perhaps if you come back at another time, I won't be occupied." He smiled, looking back to Daphne who tried to shutter farther away from him.

"Alright, Greengrass?" It was so strange, saying her name like that. It was Daphne. Daphne, who I sat beside my first meal with the Slytherins and who taught me how to stay alive through the pureblood crowds. The same girl who had been my friend and, right up until we met and befriended Theodore two weeks after sorting, she had been the only one who made any sense within the damn House.

"She's _fine,_" Montague's voice had hardened, as had his gaze. "You, however, are interrupting. Would you mind?"

He went to turn around again, eliciting another whimper from my fallen comrade. I sighed, knowing that I was in a bad place. I should have just left Daphne to deal with her own problems. After all, she had done that for me for the past few months and had left me to literally fend on my own. She had attacked my bed, attacked my skin, and tried attacking my reputation as well. Why would I try to save her reputation? It's not my fault if she had dug too deep with her jealousy and landed herself in an unsettling position with someone as disgusting as Montague. Then again…

"Sadly, I do mind." I sighed, placing my wand against his back. "It also looks like she minds as well."

"You have your shag buddies and I have mine," Montague's voice was stern. "Now sod off, Potter."

I sneered at him, my eyes flying to Daphne again, who looked shell-shocked by my gesture. To be honest, I was amazed with my own random act of kindness. Maybe I put Harry through the ringer too much, it was easier than I would have thought to fall into the 'hero' persona in times of dire need. "Make me, Montague."

"Audrey-" Greengrass began, her eyes were watering again. Then again, I was glad to be the anti-hero, because I knew as the hero I would have cared more that she was scared. But I think she deserved the scare. She deserved it for being a stupid bint, hell-bent on hurting me in whatever idiotic way she saw fit and it was her fault that she didn't see the signs that Montague was willing to take advantage of her bitterness. Besides, were I not the anti-hero I couldn't throw an angry glare at the damsel in distress and hiss at her.

"Shut it, Greengrass." I didn't want to hear her apologies or her moment of spiritual awareness when she realized she ruined her relationship with her best friend, I knew she had mucked it all up and so did she. I hope that she realized that now I was saving her arse, _as always._

"She's not your friend, Potter, so why don't you leave us alone?" he asked. "Or do you get off on watching people shag since no one's willing to shag you?"

"Oh Merlin, just shut up and hand me Greengrass before I _make _you hand her over in the most violent way I see fit." I hissed, trying to ignore the fact that Montague had been begging for me to get in his bed since I had initially said no. Sadly, this was not the time to be proven right, men who are cock-blocked become scary creatures. "And if you don't, I'll be sure to hex you right in the arse. You'd better just hope I don't miss by a few inches."

"You wouldn't," he hissed, unable not to glance down toward his unzipped trousers.

"You doubt _that _of all things?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, tipping the point of my wand down. "_Really_?"

His face transformed before my eyes, back to the same dark and dangerous look I remember from the night of the Yule Ball. It was almost dangerous enough to be intimidating - but I'd always been a bit of a risk taker.

"Take her," he threw the blonde's shaking body into my arms before doing up the fly to his trousers and buttoning up his robes again. "But the slag will come crawling back tomorrow, won't you, Daphne?"

Daphne didn't answer but moved away from him as he passed to strut off toward Hufflepuff's tower - probably to stalk some other, defenseless girl who didn't have a registered badass to defend them. I couldn't stop the heat that crawled up my face as he walked past me, making me grab his arm with my wand hand. Daphne let out a whisper, something I didn't hear, but Montague looked back at me with a sarcastic and expectant eyebrow raised.

"What is it now, Potter?"

"I'm just disappointed," I said deadpanned. It took no stretch of the imagination to know where his mind automatically turned. The smug look came back on his face.

"Did you want a turn with me?" He asked with a sly grin. "The closet hasn't been dirtied yet."

"Actually," I grabbed his belt, making him come toward me. I paused longer than he would have expected making him look down where my hand was working it's magic - literally.

He probably assumed I would do something magical with my hand, I just doubt he'd figured out that I was spending what little of my energy was left to sew his pants to his body. It was as if I was burning plastic to his skin. First he made a sound of question - then he started to shout. I probably could have used a bit more energy to keep it from being painful for him - but he really wasn't worth the kindness.

"Actually," I began again. "I'm just disappointed you were planning to go do that somewhere else. You may want to go to Madame Pomfrey - those won't be coming off any time soon."

"You can't just do that!" He howled, pulling at the groin of his jeans. "I'll tell Snape!"

"Go ahead and tell him," I laughed back, taking the other girl's arm in my hand as I pulled her farther away from him, just in case he decided to lash out. "I'll tell him you don't know what _no _means. Besides," I snorted, knowing I was about to sound as arrogant as he and Malfoy combined. "Snape would never side with you over _me_."

Which was true. It was sad for him, but it was true, and a stranger would have known it. Not only was he in the wrong, but Professor Snape was my mentor. He would take my word over his and even on the slim chance that I was punished, it would be nothing compared to what I had just done for him. I just hoped he learned the valuable lesson not to mess with anyone associated with me.

"You're a bitch, Potter."

"And you're a dick," I smirked down at him. "Apparently a small one, at that."

There was no more time for him to argue before he wobbled off, headed off toward the hospital wing with a limp that I could not help but take pride in. I watched him until he rounded the far corner, making sure that he wouldn't come after us as we began the trek down to the common room.

"Audrey," Daphne began again, now that he was out of sight. I exhaled sharply, pulling her along harshly enough that she stumbled. Good. She could march to my beat now, because whether or not I saved her I refused to march to hers.

"Did he hurt you?" The emphasis and meaning behind my words was not lost to her. She sniffled a bit before shaking her head quickly.

"No. But he would have, if-"

"Please don't start that."

"But-"

"Honestly," I sneered, turning her to face me again. "I didn't do it for you. You could have been a seventh year Hufflepuff, or Marietta Edgecomb for all I care, and I _still _would have done it. Don't start thinking that after everything you said - everything you _did_- these past few months that I just decided to forget simply because you were stupid enough to tease Montague until he forced you to put out. I do not forgive you. I do not care if you're okay. I will not be accepting any in-the-moment 'thank you for saving me' nonsense, nor will I be accepting any rekindle of friendship. You are still a bitch and I am still the spawn of a dead traitor and a mudblood."

Daphne bowed her head, she almost looked solemn, but she continued to walk by my side and lean on me for support. I could see that one of her high heels had broken. She was also leaning on me in a way that insulted me. I didn't know _why _she decided to wrap her arm around my shoulder as if we were still chummy, but I was tired too. I didn't need to go around saving damsels who put themselves in dragon-watched towers, so why did she get to lean on me?

"Audrey?" I almost snapped at her, but realized through my exhausted haze that my name had not come from her lips. Looking behind me, I couldn't tell whether I should cheer or groan.

"Are you here to give me detention, prefect?" I asked sarcastically, juggling Daphne so that she came to a stop as well. She let out a groan of pain before swinging her head to look over at the newest member of our walk as well.

Cedric Diggory looked much more put together and gorgeous than we must have. It was also a pleasure seeing him in all his glory as it was. He had been a ghost to me the past couple of weeks, Hoe Chang had kept him tightly under her thumb and our conversations had been forced to a halt because of it.

"No, I'm here to make sure you're okay. I heard Adam Montague cursing about some scarred brat taking his girl, I only assumed you were either the girl, or…"

"Yeah, yeah," I waved off the awkward statement he'd walked into. "Both Harry and I have scars, it could have been either of us, I get it. Good perceptions, Cedric, well done."

"Sorry," he blushed. "Where are you headed?"

"Just down the corridor to the Slytherin commons," I jerked my head to the end of the hall where we would have to make a turn to reach the portrait. "Not far."

"Not far at all," Daphne agreed. "In fact, I'll leave you two to it."

Daphne picked herself up, groaning a bit as she bent to take off her uneven shoes. I reached out a hand to her, almost as if to catch her, but she took the time to look at it - then me - then Cedric - then me again before looking at me with a small smile and nodding an affirmative. It threw me back, just a weeks before, when I had seen her nodding affirmation in a vision. At the time it had been for something I hadn't been able to name, but now the intention was all too clear and more than appreciated…Daphne was giving me a moment alone with Cedric.

Hm. Maybe my friend hadn't been pulled all the way to the dark side, after all.

"Will you be okay, Daphne?" Cedric asked as she walked away. She waved a hand over her shoulder dismissively, but didn't look back as she rounded the corner and fell out of sight. I took a deep breath, still shocked by the turn of events with my ex-best-friend before I turned to face Cedric. He was smiling slightly at me. "Good to see you two have made up. I heard you were on the rocks."

"I'm just a bundle of surprises," I muttered sarcastically. "Did you come to save the day in case Montague had hurt someone?"

"Oh, no." He waved his hand. I almost frowned in disappointment. "I knew that he was muttering about you, so I knew whoever was fine. I was making sure you weren't escorted to the headmaster's office by some other prefect. It's after hours, you know."

"Yes," I said, trying to cover my blush. "I was doing some last minute studying before the task tomorrow. Nerve splitting, isn't it?"

"Kind of," he shrugged. "I don't particularly like that I'll be going in first."

"Ah yes, you and Harry are tied, right? An extra fifteen minutes will do you some good though - you'll be halfway through the maze before we even enter." I smiled, leaning a bit closer to him. "Don't tell my brother - but I think you're going to win it."

"You mean, you hope? You've made it clear you don't _want _him to win." I blushed again. My bitterness wasn't my most endearing quality but I didn't want him to mistake what I was saying to him.

"No. I mean I think. If anyone deserves this win, it's you. You're the only one who's done everything right." I thought of Fleur's mess up in the water and singed robes, Krum hurting his dragon and his terrible transfiguration - it was almost insulting that Cedric had such lame competition.

"You've done everything right," he pointed out kindly. Stupid Hufflepuffs, there was no need to be sweet about this.

"I'm not a real champion."

"I think you're the one who stands the most chance against anything out there," he said seriously. "You're amazing, Audrey."

"Amazing?" I stuttered, completely unable to think around the blush that had crept its way up my neck and was muffling up the thoughts that I should have been able to voice. I didn't know what to think of it for a long moment as I just replayed the words over and over. "I - er - prefer to think of myself as courageous, intelligent, stunning, maybe even a little darkly sweet but I guess-"

"I couldn't agree more," he said quietly.

"Yeah, well-" but I stopped once his words actually dug themselves into my brain. I rounded on him, eyes wide, while he turned red. I fumbled around for words for a moment before I could rearrange my thoughts into something appropriate for a lady like me to say. "Well, hell, Cedric. It almost sounds like you like me."

He laughed awkwardly, trying to push away the tension with the sound. We had reached the Slytherin portrait now, but as I went to stop he ushered me forward to keep walking again. Apparently the prefect wasn't all about rules. "What if I did?"

I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling much less confident than before. "I'd ask you if you were serious."

"And what if I said I was?"

How was I supposed to answer that? The thing I had been imagining for months, the scenario I had dreamed about more times than I cared to mention, the idea that had been swimming around when I should have been paying attention in class - it was finally happening. And I didn't have a bloody clue how to handle it. I knew how to handle _everything, _but this just seemed like a fluke. Cedric was so far out of my league. Not only was he gorgeous, but he was kind. Not only was he genuine, but he was _good_. And I don't just mean too good for me, I mean he was too good to be with someone like me. To have someone like me in his life - he was a light and I was a darkness. I was the _other _Potter.

"I'd ask you _why_." I stated with a frown. "Cedric, you're-"

"With Cho? A seventh year? A Hufflepuff?" He laughed, scratching through his hair nervously. "Yeah, those are more why _not_s, aren't they?"

"Well, the only thing I mind there is Cho." I said with a sigh. "My brother likes her, you know. A lot."

"Harry likes Cho?" He asked, blinking at me in shock. "Really?"

"You couldn't tell?" I was so glad we were on another subject, something that didn't revolve around him and I - or, more appropriately, what would never end up being between he and I. "He was crushed when he saw you together at the ball. He and I got together and stewed-"

"Were you upset over Cho and I, as well?" He interrupted, a small grin tugging at the side of his mouth.

"Well, _he _wanted a date, but all _I_asked for was a dance…" I teased, though the fact was true. I expected nothing from Cedric. He was a gorgeous, talented seventh year that I could never touch. All the same, Cedric winced at my words, pushing his hands into his pockets and smiling sadly at me.

"I'm sorry. I did promise, didn't I?" He stopped and turned to face me.

"I forgive you, I had quite an eventful evening myself. I probably even left before you did." I shrugged off, glad that I had put myself out there but completely humiliated by the fact I'd had to. He shoved his hand in his pockets as we continued on our way, not speaking for a while, just lost in our separate thoughts.

"Can I make it up to you?" He asked me, stopping in his tracks suddenly. I stopped as well, turning to look back at him. He seemed very concentrated on something that wasn't me. His eyes were to the floor and his brow furrowed. I was almost concerned he would glare a hole through the flagstone.

"'Course you can, Cedric. You did already come save me from after curfew justice, however, so I won't make you feel obligated to do anything else tonight. You're even being a gentleman and walking me around a corner - well, we've looped around the common room now, but we're almost back so you get the idea. You're being very-"

I stopped my mumbling when he took a step toward me. He was much taller than I was, he was even taller than Malfoy. He was red faced again and I briefly stopped to wonder which of us was worse off right now, and then he took my shoulders.

"Audrey?"

"Yes, Cedric?" The way he said my name had made it hard to respond, but I suffered through thanks to his hands against my shoulders, grounding me and keeping me from daydreaming about what could possibly happen next.

"I'm going to kiss you." He said very seriously, looking at me with his gorgeous gray eyes, making sure that I was okay with it. Then again, maybe I didn't have to daydream. He was such a gentleman.

"You are?"

"Yes, I just-" he pulled his hand from my shoulder, hovering it away from me for a moment as if he were afraid I'd pull away from him now. Of course, that thought never crossed my mind. Taking his hovering hand, he brushed some of my horridly tangled hair from my face and brushed his hand against my cheek. It sent a ice cold chill down my spine.

A very familiar chill.

My mind was hurtled from the excitement of what could be my first kiss and thrown into the tangled web of time and consequence. I couldn't feel Cedric's grip on my shoulder anymore as I was blinded by a bright emerald light, hurtling toward me and exploding in my vision.

Then, for the second time in my life, the vision ended. Just like that. I'd only had such a short, confusing vision once - when I touched the golden egg. When the water had flashed around me and began to drown me - but why had Cedric touching me triggered an emerald light to end the vision? What did that mean?

"Audrey?" Cedric asked, his voice sounding far away. I pulled my eyes up from the ground. I must have averted them from the glare of green light, before I took in his expression. He was anxious. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No," I said quickly, pulling away from the hand that still rested on my cheekbone. My cheek felt a little numb from the contact, from the vision that had seared behind my eyes. "No. You did nothing wrong at all," I shook my head. "In fact, you did everything right. It's just-"

"You don't want me to kiss you?"

"No!" I shouted. I watched his face fall before I was able to correct myself. "I mean, yes! Yes, Cedric, I'd love to kiss you, but-" I took a deep breath. "Not right now."

"Not right now?" He looked over to the portrait wall behind me, as if he could see through it. "Are you afraid of Malfoy?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Malfoy," he said again. "Are you afraid of him finding out?"

I snorted derisively. "Why would I care what Malfoy thinks?"

"Everyone knows you fancy each other, Audrey." He looked down, as if the statement stung. "I've known that since before we even met. The entire school knows."

"Knows _what?_" I demanded. "I cured Malfoy's annoying infatuation with me two years ago. He and I have never been anything but enemies since. How do people keep asking if we're together?" I asked rhetorically, but of course the gallant Cedric Diggory felt the need to answer.

"It's the way you two fight," he said with a shrug. "It's always so passionate."

"Yeah," I said as if he were stupid. "It's because we passionately _hate _each other."

"No," he almost laughed. "If people who love each other have as much passion as you two have with _hating _each other…" he trailed off for a minute. "You're so passionate about hating each other simply because you _don't. _Hate each other, I mean. And everyone sees it."

"Then everyone's blind," I ground out. "Well, now you _definitely _can't kiss me."

"Audrey, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to make you upset…" he trailed off, knowing that nothing he could say would rectify the fact I had just been informed that the entire school thought I was having an affair with Malfoy just because of how we tortured each other. It wasn't passionate, it was spiteful. Our entire relationship - no, our entire _lack _of relationship was spiteful. It was _Malfoy_for Salazar's sake!

"_Snakeskin_," I said to the portrait which opened for me. I turned back to him with a smile that seemed to make him uneasy - he must have thought I was really upset with him. "Oh, I'm not upset. But if I finally get to kiss you after all this time, I'm certainly not having it be after a conversation where you accuse me of liking _Malfoy_."

He laughed, it comforted me more than it should have. He whispered a goodnight to me before walking to his tower with a smile, hands dug back into his pockets. I smiled back at him, watching him walk away before I smiled even more and closed the portrait behind me. I turned around, smile still in place only to have it wiped from my face.

The common room seemed to be occupied.

Daphne was sitting in between Nott and Zabini. Her makeup had been cleaned up but she seemed to have cried again - though the black torrents no longer trailed down her cheeks. She was looking at me nervously, while Malfoy and Parkinson's posse of prats all looked at me expectantly.

"If you finally found out that I put a boggart under Parkinson's bed…I didn't do it." Parkinson's eyes narrowed at that, but she didn't say anything. She pursed her lips to stop whatever comment she wanted to spit at me while Nott stood up.

"Daphne told us what Montague did," he explained. I was shocked. The lard hadn't spoken directly to me since Daphne and my fallout and to be honest. I wasn't ready to speak to him civilly. Daphne got best friend status thanks to her two weeks longer of devotion in first year - but I was much closer with Theodore. That I had apologized and felt guilt meant nothing to him, that I had been completely isolated from the student population and had been tortured by my dorm mates had meant even less to him. So no, he was not innocent in this.

"Yeah. Well, I've always maintained he's a knob." I said, walking forward slightly. I would not let them ruin my good mood. I just needed to keep thinking about how badly Cedric wanted to kiss me. He had been disappointed he hadn't gotten the chance to. He even seemed nervous when he thought I was mad. I had charmed the charmer. I had finally gotten what I had dreamed about for the past school year, these gits would not ruin this moment for me!

"And he'll be bent like one," Zabini voiced, looking to Malfoy who nodded sternly. "But we also heard you saved her."

"Oh, Merlin," I groaned, rolling my eyes as noticeably as I could. "I'm nothing like my brother, I didn't 'save' anybody. I just told him to piss off."

"And then melted his trousers to him," Daphne voiced.

"Of course she did," Pansy voiced. Ah, I should have known she wouldn't be able to silence the insults for too long. "You've always been rather preoccupied with his trousers, haven't you, Potter?"

"_Pansy_!"

The sound startled both Parkinson and I. I couldn't even comprehend who all had and had not just reprimanded her for the dig, but I could tell you that both of my ex-friends had been part of them. I looked at all of them suspiciously, feeling like it was too easy. These were _Slytherins_, 'forgive and forget' was not a motto of ours. Not even close.

"Listen, I didn't save Daphne and I didn't maim Montague anymore than I would have had he pissed me off on any other given day. So can you just leave it alone and let me go to bed? I have tons to think about and had I not run into goldilocks over here, I would already be sleeping."

No one moved to stop me as I passed them going towards the girls dormitories, which was nice, I was tired and not in the mood to deal with any of them. The Magnuse I had used during Snape's lesson and against Montague had been tiring - then to add to all the excitement Cedric brought? I was knackered.

"Does he like you?" Daphne asked loudly just as I reached the stairs. I turned and saw her leaning over the couch, leaning forward as if she had whispered and it was a secret between us. She seemed more than able to ignore that she had drawn everyone's eyes to us. "Did you kiss him?"

"Kiss who?" Parkinson demanded, as if she was insulted by the very idea.

"Yeah," Malfoy sneered fervently. See? How could people think we fancy one another with this common sort of interaction? "Who would kiss Potter?"

"Cedric Diggory." I answered with a glare to him. I didn't say anything more than that - not confirming if I had or had not kissed him, if he did or didn't like me. They didn't need to know. It was strange to think it, but I didn't want to flaunt what could happen between us. It felt much more important than petty competition - if Cedric and I worked out to the extent of my daydreams, I'd be sending them a nice wedding invitation in a few years time that wouldn't actually get them into our wedding. And my kids would beat theirs up when they got to Hogwarts.

That I didn't answer them seemed to cause a rift in reaction, however. Apparently no one wanted to wait the years it may take for a wedding invitation or my offspring to come to the school. They wanted to know what was going on now, though it was not shown by Theodore. He had leaned over to comfort Daphne in a way that I had not seen him interact with either of us since we had gotten in our tiff - perhaps he was over the argument after my heroics. Or, maybe, just maybe, he felt a little for Daphne what she felt for him.

I was pleased to see Pansy and her crowd looked scandalized. Perhaps I should bring that to Cedric's attention tomorrow so that Cho wouldn't find out what I had alluded to. I'd have to tell him sensitively, of course, making up some excuse that Daphne spilled the beans and how I had nothing to do with the rumour of us kissing. Then again, if Cho heard that maybe she'd get the hell out of my way.

Malfoy looked furious, as if steam would begin pouring from his red ears, which almost made me stop to wonder if Cedric had been right. Not of me, of course, but perhaps Malfoy did still have some residual feelings I hadn't been able to kick out of him when he'd tried fancying me in second year. Perhaps he did like me a little more than he hated me - though it wouldn't make much of a difference. I clearly hated him.

I went to bed comfortably, closing my eyes and trying for the sleep I could feel I needed. I needed to reboot before tomorrow, I needed all the energy I could have, as well. Snape had some potions on hand to give me if I was still tired tomorrow, but I didn't want to have to use them.

But I knew I would have a pleasant night. Even though sleep didn't come quickly enough to miss Daphne coming in, or her going to her bed and whispering a 'thank you' that I pretended I hadn't heard.

But I still just knew it would be a pleasant night despite my growing anxiety that kept me awake. I knew it because I wasn't asleep too soon to miss the scream that came from the wall that separated Parkinson's room to mine.

I guess she had taken what I'd said about putting a boggart under her bed at face value and had gone to check. I could tell because now she was screaming about how the dunflabs I'd left to hatch under her bed had clung to her face and how they weren't getting off her.

I couldn't wait to see her tomorrow morning when they would find their voices and start calling her 'Mummy'.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what did you think? I know that some of you liked that Daphne was out of the picture – but the Slytherins have a very interesting dynamic and I thought you could see how they protect their own. Then again, Audrey doesn't quite protect Pansy at any point in time either...<strong>

**To my beautiful reviewers:**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: As always, thank you for editing this chapter. I really am getting the Nightfall and ABA chapters to you, it's just taking longer than I thought. My hope is to get them to you before Friday. I heard about the storms out there, I hope everything is okay on your end; out here we've only seen some heatwaves. And a puppy! That's amazing. What kind of puppy? They are handfuls, but they are so worth it – I have two dogs myself :) Thank you again!**

_BlueRose22_**: Audrey will be doing even more crazy things to Draco besides dyeing his hair, so I wouldn't doubt that something like a ferret tail is still an option. Though I didn't use your idea I do like the thought of it, maybe I will do something like that later – of course you'd get the credit ;) Did this chapter's pranks and prowess read well for you? I hope so and thanks for the review! **

_JEM-99_**: Oh, it's so nice to hear that you like it. I hope this alert made you just as excited as the past ones. Your pretties and pleases were listened to and I got an update out – I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reviewing!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Yes, Crouch did show some dark colours in this book – but in the end he did die. So in a way he lost his own trial of life vs death. I think that more than evens out innocent vs guilty. And to think, it was at his son's hand...ouch. Anyway, thanks for the review and hope you liked this chapter!**

_GirlOnFireRockz_**: Thanks for the review, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Oh, Audrey will definitely not agree with someone like Umbridge trying to dominate over her, but you'll have to wait a few chapters before that craziness begins. But sadly you'll still have to wait about the DA and who she decides to confide in – thank you for the review!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Hope you liked the chapter and thank you!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: I gave you Draco this chapter, even a little bit of Dreaco, so I hope you forgive me for leaving him out of the last. There was even the answer to what the school thought of them and some prank pulling – so hopefully I'm in your good books again. Audrey won't get her response on the dragons from her brother for a long time, but I have a reason for it I promise. The thought of the Magnuse and clearing of the mind in the next book is something I have definitely thought of – and already written out in a timeline – so I can tell you that you're thinking on the right track, though I can't tell you whether or not what you hope happens is what will.  
>Daphne didn't necessarily come to her senses, but she did get a little lesson in being loyal and humble, don't you think? I had that planned for a long time, but it played out a little better than I thought it would. Sometimes I swear these characters are real and they write it for me, it's strange. And there was one point where I did want to give Audrey a name like Rose but I actually looked up "Rose Potter" in the search bar and so many things came up I decided not to. I also thought Heather, but it just didn't roll off my tongue right. I looked through a lot of names before I found Audrey, something that sounded as common as Harry and had a good enough meaning for my character.<br>As for OOTP, Audrey is definitely not a pushover or suckup who will get along with Umbridge – but that doesn't mean I'm going to make things that black and white. Audrey's far too sneaky and complicated for that! As always, thank you for the review!**

_XxI-Stole-Your-CookiexX_**: Well, I think it's clear that Montague is out of the kissing possibilities, sorry about that! I promise you'll get to see who kisses her next chapter – you won't even believe it when you read it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reviewing on the last.**

_Magimagus_**: Long chapters? Ha. You haven't seen anything yet. I presume that the next chapter is going to be well over 12,000 words – if the skeleton I've written out has anything to say for it, anyway. I'm so happy that GEM is one of your favourite stories and never fear that your review is too long – I could practically bathe in the excitement I feel when I get them. That may have been gross, but now you know. The Astral Projection was actually a fluke as when I was writing out my timeline for this section of the story I was watching "Insidious" and stole it from there. Magnuse I came up with on my own and it took forever to fine tune it into something worth writing about. I won't leave you waiting too long for the third task and whether she goes to the graveyard, but I'm going to make sure it's a well written, long chapter before I give it to you. Thank you so much for the review and I hope that you liked what you read this chapter!**

_Dagmara_**: I know that you posted on ch. 6 and the last chapter, so I'm just answering them both in one for ease. It's so flattering that you chose to read this story and even honours me that you're enjoying it. I know that good sisterfics are hard to find, when I was younger and before I even started to write I always looked for them because the idea intrigued me and I hated how stereotyped and single-dimensioned they were, it's what made my friend and I write one when we were 13. Looking back it was clichéd even then – which is why I made Audrey SO different because I knew it was the only way I could fight the pull of the cheese. I'm glad that you like her differences and her complicated love life – I agree that in most stories you can always tell who the person will end up with, but that isn't real life. And I really want to make this as realistic as a witch going to magic school in a castle can be. I am so touched that this may be your favourite, even that it made it onto your favourites really means something so thank you so much! Please know your thoughts are always welcome, these were both amazing reviews, thank you!**

_Laurafxox_**: Yes, Harry and she made up last chapter and it seems like Daphne, Theodore and she are on the mend after this one – I won't make it so simple as it was a betrayal, but I think Audrey had gone through enough, don't you? Audrey's first kiss will be coming next chapter – I also feel like YOU guys have had enough waiting for that! But I promise it will be worth it. I'm so glad that you like Snape's relationship with Audrey, and that you could feel bad for a death eater – it's the difference I'm going to eventually make very clear between Audrey and Harry. Harry sees a death eater as someone who made a choice whereas Audrey can obviously see that choices aren't made in black and white settings. Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter and the little bit of Draco rage in this one – thank you so much for your review!**

_Apricots_**: Wow, you read it all in one go? That's flattering and impressive; I'm a slow reader, so I consider twenty-one chapters in one day a talent. Thank you so much for the review, I'm glad that you're enjoying it, I hope it continues! **

_xxz0eyxx_**: I alluded to a little bit of Dredric AND Dreaco fluff, so hopefully that made it so that you could last until the next chapter when the kiss happens. I can tell you that Harry won't be knowing about Audrey's love affairs for a while – sorry about that. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thank you for the review :)**

_Opened Secrets_**: I'm glad you like it, thank you for reviewing!**

_shainarae_**: It's so amazing to me when people can read something as long as this story all at once. I am far too slow a reader, so please know that I'm both flattered and impressed. I'm glad you enjoy Audrey's flaws, it's what I'm hoping for because I don't want her to be perfect and even though her darker side can obviously be bad it's what makes her realistic and (more importantly) a realistic Slytherin. I hate when people put someone in a house they don't belong in, particularly when people bastardize Slytherins who I think are the most complex and intriguing, so I hope you keep enjoying the edginess I put into the characters and their circumstances. Thank you so much for liking this and even more for commenting on it :)**

_enimzajlove13_**: Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad that you like the story and hopefully you liked the bit of Dreaco fluff that I put into the chapter. You'll have to wait to see when their relationship will become a romantic one, but I promise it will happen. I can't keep Draco out forever, I personally love him too much to keep pushing him aside for Dredric and Dred. So don't worry – it'll happen!**

_Guest_**: Thank you for reviewing, nevertheless giving this story a chance. I know that you wrote your review in the second chapter, but hopefully you like the story enough that you eventually make it to this chapter and see how much I appreciate it all!**

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><p><strong>Well, thank you all so much for your reviews! I can't believe how well this story is being received and I am touched by the response I've been getting from it. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and seeing a little bit into the Slytherin's group dynamic, as well as a little bit of revenge to the jerks of the story. Next chapter is the Third Task, I'm working on it now and it will be a long one. I will try and get it out as quickly as possible :)<strong>

**Please, please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	23. The Third Task

**So, for those of you who get notifications, you will have seen that this chapter is over 14,000 words. Yes. It is. That's how intense the Third Task is. So I won't distract you anymore than saying a thank you to **_Angel of the Night Watchers_** for editing this monster chapter and also remind you to ****read the note at the bottom of the page**** for more information!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 22: The Third Task<p>

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><p>I was oddly comfortable sat at the Gryffindor table on the morning of the third task, even if I was nervously bouncing my knee under the table. I had wedged myself between Harry and Neville, both of whom had given up on warning me to stop jiggling the table, after having to fish egg out of their hair. After that and realizing even Circe's annoyed glares weren't stopping me, the boys knew there was no hope – though they were kind with trying to get me to ignore the other stares from onlookers. Apparently it was not yet public knowledge that I had made up with Harry, but anything was better than having to sit at the Slytherin table which was bombarding me with whispers and glances. I didn't even want to know where the inspiration for them came from.<p>

Cedric was at the Hufflepuff table, interestingly avoiding Cho Chang's tries to get his attention. And Montague was just as interestingly absent from the Slytherin breakfast table, though Daphne and Theodore had seemed to put differences aside so they could sit together. It looked like they had almost left a seat open for me, but even if I was right with that guess I wouldn't have taken it. They were not forgiven yet.

"What did Sirius send you?" Harry asked me, now that we had taken the time to look over our mail. We swapped cards, which was really just parchment folded over with a muddy paw print on the front of each. Harry's was a sweet card wishing him luck and hoping that he did well with a small warning. Mine read about not being stupid and just getting in and out, this was not my battle – I didn't take it as an insult. I did notice, however, that he knew I was more likely to actually try to prove myself than Harry was. It's not my fault I was that mischievous; which was proven when he made a crack about me being too much like him.

"Cute," I smirked, handing the letter to Ron who offered to put them into his pocket as we were already in our clashing red and green _Potter _robes. I had just bent down to give Circe some of my ham and pet her when Hermione, reading through the _Prophet_, let out a loud groan.

"No way, not today. That old cow-" when I leaned forward to look at whatever article had offended her she held it away from me. My eyes narrowed.

"So Rita Skeeter's struck again, has she?" I demanded, trying to swipe the paper from her. She moved it away as quickly as she could, Ron taking the hint and moving it over to his side of the table.

"It's about me isn't it?" Harry asked. "Or is it about Audrey?"

"No," Ron said in the most unbelievable tone I'd ever heard. "'Bout neither of you."

"Mm," I hummed sarcastically. "Of course not. Then you'd have no problem giving it here."

"Actually, I would," Ron said quickly, moving his eyes to Hermione who shook her head minutely.

"You guys are the worst liars I've ever met, how have you made it through all the detentions and trouble you get? Now, pass over the paper or-"

"Hey, Potter!" My glare swiveled toward my own table, like everyone else in the Great Hall, to see Malfoy's long arms waving the _Daily Prophet _in the air. "Not _you _Potter, the _other _Potter!"

My face almost bubbled over in a blush that was completely traitorous – I should not react like this to such a twisted compliment. And it was a twisted compliment. But I couldn't help from wanting to smile from the thought of it: I mean, I'd neverbeen considered _the _Potter before, or never even the _first _Potter before. I mean, it was clear why; Harry was the saviour, Harry was the oldest, Harry was the boy, Harry was the _golden _boy; but to _not _be the infamously sneered _'other Potter'_ was almost..._flattering_.

Merlin's moustache, I'm going insane.

"How's your head, Potter? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?"

"Bloody hell," I muttered, pushing my hand in Ron's face. "Give it here."

"Audrey-" Hermione whispered nervously. "Don't let him rile you two up, it's _Malfoy_."

"I do not need to be kind, Hermione, however I'll do it because I like you. But give it here."

"Give it," Harry agreed. Hermione gave a face of discomfort as she signaled Ron to hand it over to Harry, who turned around and held it so I could glance at it as well. We quickly found that both of our names were printed under a large banner, complete with moving photos, reading:

'_ROTTED POTTER: DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS OR DEMURE AND DARING?'_

"Oh Merlin," I whispered, closing my eyes against the nausea caused by the four-split picture on the front page. One half of the page consisted of two very opposite pictures of Harry: on the left was Harry in the first task with the dragon tailing behind him and the other of him being kissed by Fleur after he had saved Gabrielle in the second task. Below his pictures were two pictures of myself: on the left was a sickening photo of myself being pummeled by the waves I had created in the Black Lake during the second task, and on the right it showed me in a confrontation with Malfoy that must have been during the Yule Ball considering the robes I was wearing.

'_The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been reported to be unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light between Harry Potter's strange behaviour and his sister – the new unspoken hero, Audrey Potter – who has been seen having vicious outbursts towards her brother. All of these new developments are casting doubt on both of the siblings suitability to compete in a demanding competition such as the Triwizard Tournament, and possibly Harry Potter's stability attending Hogwarts school with the rest of his classmates._

'_Harry Potter, the _Daily Prophet _can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who used in an attempt to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your _Daily Prophet _reporter witnessed him storming from the class, claiming his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying._

'_His protective younger sister, Audrey Potter, was seen coming to his aid not long later. After being torn apart for quite some time over disagreements with how to handle the fame of the Triwizard Tournament, his sister was quick to come to his side and try to cover up any rumours that may have been flying around do to her brother's condition. After a long chat with the headmaster of the school, Miss Potter was seen storming from the office looking quite flustered and upset – sources say that her brother's special treatment has begun to wear the girl down from all the stress and lies._

'_It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Mr Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that his scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion._

'_"He might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could just be a plea for attention – notice his sister doesn't have the same problem and hers was caused by the same man, was it not?"'_

'_The _Daily Prophet, _however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public._

'_"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year in both of the Potter twins classes. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy." _

_'When we asked Mr Malfoy which 'Potter' was referring to, he quickly came to the defense of young Miss Potter saying "she really just got stuck with a bad egg," and that "she always has to try and fight to be seen around him. He's very arrogant and always tries to push her out of the way – no wonder she has problems doing interviews, I bet Potter won't let her see the light of day during the holidays. He's that pompous. It's all hushed up, though. He makes friends with werewolves and giants, too. We think he'd do anything for power. His sister's a little bit of an idiot with a wand, but at least I know she won't sic a snake on me when I beat her in class."_

'_A lot of information came from Mr Malfoy. Please note that Parseltongue is the ability to converse with snakes and has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. It is an ability not passed on to Potions and Bestial genius, Audrey Potter._

'_Miss Potter has always remained a mystery, even after her impressive displays of Astral and Magnuse magic used in the second task – but who is she really? This _Daily Prophet _correspondent believes that Audrey Potter may just be a scared little girl, not strong enough to stand up against the monsters that keep her hidden: like her very own brother. It was when we tried to interview Mr Malfoy more on young Audrey Potter and he refused to answer anymore of the _Prophet's _questions, that this journalist did some digging of her own._

_'It has long been rumoured that Draco Malfoy and Audrey Potter have had static romantic energy for years, though her Gryffindor brother will see none of it thanks to his aversion of the Slytherin house – where Miss Potter herself was sorted. It seems as if Audrey has buckled under the pressure of her brother's insistent hatred of Malfoy so she has moved her sights onto Hufflepuff seeker, and third Hogwarts Triwizard champion, Cedric Diggory. No news yet as to how Harry Potter has taken their quiet affair between classes, though it seems that Miss Potter is still close to Gryffindor friend Hermione Granger – current squeeze to Bulgarian champion Viktor Krum and ex-girlfriend of Potter himself._

'_Many here at the _Prophet _are beginning to question if Albus Dumbledore is keeping close enough watch on his students. Is Harry Potter really so arrogant and power-hungry that he shoves his sister into the background? Is Audrey Potter really so scared of her brother that she put aside her affections for Mr Malfoy just to appease her twin? Perhaps someone as unstable as Harry Potter should not be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that he may resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the third task and the tournament, which conclude this very evening._'

At the end was a curvy stamp of Rita Skeeter's signature in an acid green that looked ready to eat away at the news page. None of us spoke for a long moment, each taking our time to read and digest everything that was said – I don't think all the time in the world would have left me able to understand.

I mean first and foremost: they were making _me _out to be the hero. How the bloody hell did _I _turn into the hero of this piece of shite? I had never wanted, nor fit into, the hero stereotype in my life and I didn't want the title even with everything that was happening now. Harry could be the hero, I just didn't like that he was always the only one that mattered. Sidekicks mattered, victims mattered, witnesses mattered, bad guys even mattered – I didn't like that Harry could shine so bright no one could see passed him...but I was not ready to be a heroine.

Secondly, Dragonbreath was going to die.

Malfoy had no business trying to speak about me in the first place – _defending _me? What in Merlin's beard was that? If that was him trying to thank me for saving Greengrass' arse, I was going to punch him in the throat. And what was all that ridiculous shite about us being together? '_Static romantic energy_'? what was this, Harlequin?

Salazar's shit, how did they know about Cedric and I? That third point was both worrying and intriguing. It's not even like it was common knowledge or rumour like Malfoy and I disgustingly were. Cedric and I were still freshly – and precariously – paired, but that made it so much more confusing as to how someone like Rita Skeeter would have found out. Thank Merlin I had heard just last night from Cedric that everyone thought Malfoy and I were together or else this shock to my system would have ended in a one way trip to Azkaban. But how could Skeeter have possibly known about all this if Malfoy hadn't answered those questions in the first place?

"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" Harry said at last with a bitter appreciation for not being the leading man in the paper. He frowned at me, reading my scandalized expression before tearing the sheet from the _Prophet _and stuffing it into the pocket of his crimson Triwizard robes. I could hear paper crumpling all around us as Malfoy and his buffoons laughed and tried convincing the masses to read the woman's piece of crap.

"I'll kill him," I hissed lowly, looking over to Malfoy as he pulled horrid faces and pulled back his platinum locks as if showing off Harry's scar. "I will wring him through with the wand he says I'm such an idiot with..."

"Audrey, don't-" Hermione whispered, leaning forward to put a hand on my shoulder which I shrugged off. Circe let out a hiss when my shoulder rotated and bumped my elbow into a spoon which launched toward her. Ron swallowed a bit of pumpkin juice as if his mouth had gone dry.

"Is it true, Drea?"

"Is _what _true, Ronald?" I asked pointedly, my eyes fixed on him and burning through him with the same acidity as Skeeter's acid green signature. He gulped quietly.

"About Cedric – are you really seeing him between classes? I'nt 'e dating Cho?"

"Godric's goats!" I cried, swivelling my gaze in shock to the Ravenclaw table. "I forgot about her!"

Hoe Chang was reading the article as I watched, her face had yet to pull into some sort of frown so I knew she had yet to get into the section about me sneaking her boyfriend behind her back. Movement from the Hufflepuff table alerted me to the yellow robes walking briskly out of the Hall. I looked from Cedric's robes back to Chang's tightening grip on the paper before I made up my mind.

"I'll see you after, give Circe some more ham and keep her with you until I see you, please." I rushed out to the Gryffindors before pulling off the bench and bustling as quickly as I could out of the Hall and after Cedric's bright yellow robes. I called his name as he continued down the hall, only to have him stop and frown at me.

"Did you do it?" He asked in the most accusatory voice I'd ever heard him use. It made me stop in my own tracks, heaving to catch my breath before I shook my head.

"Not at all. Skeeter is always looking for trouble and since trouble finds me, I guess she's taken a natural interest," I explained with a frown. "I'm so sorry, Cedric. I didn't mean for this to question your nobility or anything – I thought it was just a crush that would be ignored."

"An ignored crush?" he questioned skeptically. I blushed.

"Well, yeah. I mean, since I first saw you at the World Cup I've fancied you and then suddenly last night you hinted at returning the favour – by the time I woke up this morning I had trouble convincing myself I hadn't dreamed it. I know you may not like the green robes I wear, just like I don't particularly enjoy your prat of a girlfriend, but you have to believe me that I would never compromise your integrity just to have a chance with you...it'd completely ruin the point."

He laughed a bit at my boldness, coming forward slightly so that he could put his hands on my shoulders and stop the guilty rambling that was rushing from my mouth. "It's alright, Potter. To be honest, I think Cho saw this coming."

"Really?"

"Well, I talked about you a lot, you see." He smiled, a bright smile that I couldn't help but return. "After every challenge or talk we had I couldn't stop talking about you. It's like you wormed your way into my head and I couldn't fish you out. I think she's probably known for a while."

"Oh." That is _the best _I could come up with.

"Are you still upset over what I said last night?" he asked with a small frown. "I really didn't mean to offend you. Then reading the article-"

"Ugh, let's not talk about it anymore. It just makes me expect to see the Wizengamot for murder." He laughed at me. "I wasn't upset with you even last night – I just didn't want to ruin the mood."

"I see," he said slowly, taking another step toward me. "And how is the mood now?"

"The mood now?" I couldn't help but squeak. It's not like I was scared to kiss Cedric. I'd dreamed about kissing this boy since the summer for Merlin's sake, but to think about having my first kiss when he'd probably had dozens of first kisses was intimidating. I'd never had a kiss in my life, evidently I'd be bad at it and _then _what would he think of me?

"Can I kiss you now, Audrey?"

"Now?" I repeated dumbly. I looked at him for a long moment, into blue-gray eyes and felt my stomach flip nervously. My face was probably going beet red as he leaned a little bit closer to me – my first kiss and I was going to fall into cardiac arrest!

"Potter, Diggory," I both wanted to punch and hug Snape as he turned the corner and interrupted the could-be kiss between the two of us. He looked at us with a raised eyebrow before turning his eyes to me for a moment – a moment I was sure he was mocking me during – before he spoke again. "The champions are all gathering in the chamber off the Great Hall now to see your families."

"My _family_?" I wrinkled my nose, making Snape look away from me. "What family?"

"I do not educate myself with my students family trees, Potter. I suggest you go find out yourself." He explained with an air of finality before he turned back toward the Hall. "Miss Chang has already left the hall for Ravenclaw tower, if that comforts you."

It did. It really did.

Cedric and I walked awkwardly side by side back toward the Great Hall. There was a moment where he took my hand in his, squeezing it gently. I looked up and smiled at him, watching as he tried to make me more comfortable with going back into the Great Hall amongst all the people who now knew something so personal about me – not that they didn't always know something personal about me anyway. It seemed like almost the entire hall had waited for us to return, because people were risking being late for their exams – the ones that we champions were exempt from – so that they could see us walk through. I let go of Cedric's hand instinctively – not for my own means, but for his. I don't care what the school thought of me stealing him from Chang, but I did care about what they thought of him for having an emotional affair.

But who was in this room who was _family_? The Dursleys couldn't count, surely. Even if they did allow racist muggles into the castle I knew without a doubt that they would not choose to come. They would probably just wait at home hoping we died so we wouldn't come back for the summer. Could it be Sirius? Would Dumbledore allow him to disguise himself as a great lost uncle with some polyjuice potion so that he could infiltrate the castle and be here to watch over Harry and I?

"Wait," I said aloud, stopping just before we reached the door as my mind reeled. "Wait..."

Polyjuice potion, why was that sending up red flags? Red flags that made my mind hum with concentration – with a knowledge that I was missing something. What had I been thinking about right then? Sirius – polyjuice potion – infiltrating the castle...

Boomslang skin, powdered bicorn horn and lacewing flies had been stolen from Snape's private stores, Snape had told me that when we had talked about Harry's inferior use of the stolen gillyweed. Those were some of the hardest ingredients to find for polyjuice potion. And then after the death of Barty Crouch, Harry had seen Barty Crouch's name on the Marauders Map...while I had been having multiple visions of his imprisoned son. Circe had been going missing and had been very tense all year – was she missing because she was hunting for a fake? Circe hadn't liked traipsing around the castle like she used to and she refused to let me do so on my own – was it because she was protecting me from something? Or was she protecting me from some_one_?

No, it couldn't be...Azkaban was a fortress. A _fortress _filled with dementors and guards and the highest security that...that...

Shite.

That Sirius had already escaped from.

"Is something wrong, Audrey?" Cedric asked politely, pulling me from my reverie. I looked up to him, wanting to tell him that yes, something was very, _very _wrong but I couldn't find my voice. I turned my wide eyes toward Snape, trying to somehow send him a message to read my mind, to ask to speak to me alone – anything that could let me have a moment to talk this through and not feel completely insane.

Was it possible – Merlin, it did sound completely nutters – was it possible that Barty Crouch JR was in this castle, posing as someone we trusted?

"Nothing," I breathed, unable to make it sound at all believable. "Nothing's wrong. Continuing on..."

Behind the door off of the Great Hall were Fleur and Krum, most recognizable by their uncanny resemblances to their own parents. Krum was speaking in Bulgarian to his father who shared his hooked nose and strong jaw, whereas Fleur was speaking in slurred French to her mother, who was playing with her own identically silver hair.

To the right side was Cedric's mother and father, the latter of which I had already met during last summer holiday. He held out his hand to usher Cedric forward and though Cedric looked at me to come join him, my eyes had already wandered over to the left side of the room where Harry was talking animatedly to someone...was that a redhead?

"Mrs Weasley?" I asked, stepping toward her with furrowed brows. She smiled at me widely, rushing up to me to throw me into a hug.

"Surprise! We didn't want you to be alone for the big day!" After she finally released me from the rib-breaking embrace, she dragged me over to Harry and another man, who I now recognized as Bill Weasley. Bill was smiling at me as he held Circe in his arms, she seemed content there and purred loudly, which made me smile at him brightly. "Charlie wanted to come too, dear, but he's still having trouble taking care of Krum's dragon after the first task – has trouble keeping food down."

I couldn't help but send a sharp glower toward the hulking Bulgarian before smiling back to Bill. "All right, Bill?"

"Fantastic. How are you, Drea?" I smiled at him and shrugged, though he looked pointedly over my shoulder and nodded back in Cedric's direction. I felt my face heat up before I leaned toward him to grab Circe and at the same time covertly gave him an obscene gesture; luckily Mrs Weasley hadn't noticed.

"We're allowed to have the afternoon together until you need be ready for the tournament! Harry was just going to give us a tour of Hogwarts, it's been so long since Bill or I have been here-"

"Well, not as long for me," Bill amended with a smile. Mrs Weasley gave him a withering glare.

"Come along, Audrey. I've never seen the Slytherin dormitories before – is it true they're underneath the lake?" Mrs Weasley slowly ushered Harry and I forward, asking questions as we got toward the door. I was barely able to wrap my mind around what was happening – I was so happy to have someone here supporting me...well, more likely supporting Harry, but it was nice someone was on the side of the young delinquents who shouldn't have been in the tournament at all. On the other hand, I may have just had a groundbreaking discovery about who put our names _in _for the tournament. I may have just discovered that someone was not what they seemed...

When we walked past Cedric's father, even though I was barely able to pay attention as I warred with myself, Amos was ready to take a good and long glare at Harry.

"Bet you're not feeling so full of yourself now that Cedric's caught up to you in points, eh Potter?" he asked a little snidely. I was surprised by the bitterness behind it – could Hufflepuff's even _be _angry? – but when he turned to me I saw his eyes twinkle. "And you, Miss Potter! Some impressive magic you've done, haven't you? Our Cedric has been owling us constantly with all your accomplishments."

I felt my face turn the colour of my hair, only seeing out of my peripheral that Cedric's was doing about as well as I was. I heard him grumble under his breath a bit.

"Ignore him," Cedric finally voiced when Amos Diggory had gone back to glaring at Harry. "He's still a bit angry since Rita Skeeter's article about the Triwizard Tournament – you know, where she made out you two were the only Hogwarts champions."

"Didn't bother to correct her though, did he?" Amos Diggory hissed, loudly enough for us all to hear. "And Audrey, defending her brother like she was-"

Alright, that's it. There must have been some kind of chemical spill. That is the only reason everyone in this castle was insane enough to have put me in the hero's role so many times in the past twenty-four hours. And considering I never deserved to get the title _once, _it was clear someone was huffing bulbadin powder or something even stronger_._

"Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble, Amos, I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!" Mrs Weasley supplied angrily. "I mean, really, you don't believe Audrey would date Draco Malfoy, do you?"

"Anyone deluded enough to date Malfoy has terrible taste," Bill supplied with a smirk. "Besides there are much better catches in this castle...and considering what else that article said, it seems our Drea here knows that. So clearly, Rita Skeeter isn't always right."

Both Cedric and I wheeled, open mouthed, to gape at Bill before I decided to take matters into my own hands and show them the Slytherin dormitories – the place farthest away from where Cedric would be in Hufflepuff tower.

* * *

><p>Visiting all day with Bill and Mrs Weasley had been nice. It hadn't distracted me from what I was trying to wrap my head around, but it kept me from spinning into a fit of insanity while I tried to figure it all out. The two Weasleys were much more pleased going where Harry wanted to go, as Harry tended to do 'Gryffindor things', but it was beneficial to me as I kept up my thinking.<p>

Was what I was thinking true – could Barty Crouch JR be in this castle?

My thoughts had run away with themselves while we had walked around the grounds, casting shadows in the trees and figures in the corridors that almost made me jump out of my skin. After the tour, while the group of them finished dinner I had told them that I wanted to go take a pepper-up potion before the task. Skipping a majority of dinner, I made my way to the Slytherin dorms to grab hold of the potion in case I felt myself running out of energy and write down my suspicions on two pieces of parchment. One was titled to professor Snape and one to Harry, I figured that if Harry was the one I kept seeing Crouch charging toward, he should be the first warned. And I figured that Snape would be able to read the signs, think through a conclusion, and be most likely to help me. No one else would trust a Slytherin's conspiracy minded theories.

By the time I had run back to the Great Hall, the champions were all standing from their house tables, being cheered by their fans as we were to leave for the stadium. The Slytherins, surprisingly, held up green flags that read 'POTTER' in black block letters and there were a fair number of red and green faces to cheer us on as well.

I walked out with the champions, walking between Cedric and Harry as we walked out of the entrance hall and into the damp summer heat. I wish Snape would have been able to walk with the champions instead of Bagman – who was currently talking up Harry and trying to coddle him. If it were Snape I could have given him this parchment and given him a heads up to watch out for anything suspicious. I turned to Harry, pushing his piece or parchment into his robe pocket near his wand. He looked at me in confusion before I nodded, trying to convey silently that what I had given him was important.

The walk down to the Quidditch field was the same path as it always was, but what was to be seen between the stands was unlike anything I had ever witnessed. Between where the goalposts used to stand was a twenty-foot-high hedged maze that terrified me just to look at. The fog that hung over it and between the branches was ominous enough – thinking about what was housed in there only made me want to run away.

"Here it is!" Bagman cheered. "You know, I always to do the daily mazes in the _Prophet_, how I wish I could be part of this task – it will surely test you as individuals!"

He stood us in a line right at the gaping entrance of the maze. The sky was beginning to darken, the first stars beginning to shine above me – I couldn't help but make a wish on it. A wish that we all got out okay. We were stood in order of points: Cedric, Harry, myself, Viktor, and Fleur – the exact order that we would be let into the maze.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," Professor McGonagall announced as she walked in front of us like a drill sergeant. "If you reach a difficulty and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come retrieve you. Do you understand?"

We mumbled and nodded our versions of assent, I took the potion vial out of my robe pocket and downed it in one gulp. Luckily the pepper-up potion tasted of peppermint, so it was not a taste that would take me long to recover from. Sadly this particular potion wasn't actually to supply me with energy as I needed it to, but rather to cure the common cold. The instant flush of my sinuses and the quick banishing of the cloudiness in my mind was worth it though, it was a form of concentration I could not have received on my own with this much stress and magical exhaustion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" Bagman announced with his voice magnified for the world to hear. He was met with cheers that I could tell would not die throughout his speech. "Let me remind you how the points currently stand: tied in first place, with eighty-five points each are Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harry Potter – both of Hogwarts School!" I smiled at both my brother and Cedric and cheered for them as the audience did. "In Third Place with eighty-two points is Audrey Potter – again, representing Hogwarts!" I couldn't catch how loudly the crowd may have been cheering or booing for me because Cedric had caught my eyes and thrown me an eighty-two watt smile and a wink. Second place...even if I was behind Harry, I couldn't deny I felt pretty pleased with myself. Now I'd just have to beat him to prove that I was better. "In fourth place, with eighty points – Mr Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang institute!" Fan girls everywhere screamed for him. "And finally with sixty-eight points – Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!

"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric-" Bagman smiled at them. "Three – two – one-" there was a quick blast on his whistle, short but loud enough that it silenced the stands. Harry and Cedric, having no time to waste, ran full-tilt into the entrance of the maze.

They had barely gotten ten meters into the thick hedges before I had lost sight of them. I probably should have tried to copy Harry's glasses – maybe even stolen them – so that I could see during this challenge. Much like every time I realize I need them, they aren't anywhere that I will be able to appreciate their use.

The crowd were silent for the first five minutes before they realized that they would not be able to see anything, no matter how high in the stands they were sitting because of the fog that hung over the maze. I was getting antsy as I waited for Bagman to toot his little horn and let me enter the maze. He tried making small talk with me more than once, but I pointedly ignored his tries.

After many more awkward minutes of him pulling my teeth to try and begin conversation, he turned to me with a smile – completely nonplussed by my cool demeanor. "On my whistle, Audrey. Three – two -"

I don't know whether Bagman actually said the word one, or whether he had ignored it in favour of blowing the whistle in my bloody ear, but I was rushing forward before he had time to try and delay me with more questions on getting together this summer for tea. As soon as I had recognized that the Quidditch field was being turned into a maze, I had been sure to do my research on mazes. Once, on a muggle television program, I had heard that if you put your right hand on the right wall of the maze and followed that wall all the way through – never backtracking, never moving your hand, and following the wall around even if it leads you back the way you came thanks to a dead end – you would eventually make your way out. To be fair, I did not know if this rule would apply to wizarding mazes, considering I knew magic had gone into their growth, but it was better than having no strategy at all.

Not trusting actually placing my hand in the tangles of weeds, I followed it with my elbow and held my wand in front of me to illuminate the path. My work of '_lumos_' had of course not worked properly and now stained the maze in a lime green light, but it was better than no light at all. Pushing myself forward, left hand held out offensively to aid my wand if need be, I followed the path at an odd mix between a speed walk and a jog – the adrenaline was kicking in now and I needed to use it to propel me along.

The first dead end I met was not upsetting, nor were the second, third, or fourth. By the time I had reached the ninth, tenth, and eleventh, however, I was beginning to wonder if I should scrap the right-hand-on-the-wall-to-get-out plan. Right as I was making my decision, I felt the temperature change in the maze and saw the colours of the maze burn as if everything had quickly flashed in colour. My instincts were telling me something was ahead: my first obstacle was right in front of me.

I heard my first obstacle before I saw it. It was the sound of a snake – no, a _pit _of snakes – that made me stop in my tracks instantly. I could hear the snakes around a bend, and knew that they already knew about me. Well, this was the first test, wasn't it? Would I give up on my theory of sticking to the right-wall, or would I backtrack and avoid this foe altogether?

Normally, I probably would have backtracked...but this was a _snake. _I was good with snakes. Even multiple snakes – so hopefully I could either lull them into letting me by before I made a run for it, or I could take one with me for protection. I didn't know which was more likely and I wouldn't know until I saw the kind of snake it was.

I mean, they wouldn't put a basilisk in here, right? Aren't they pretty much endangered and hadn't we learned the lesson on basilisks back in second year? They wouldn't actually try to kill us would they?

No. But Crouch might.

Taking a deep breath and literally gulping down my fear, I held my illuminated wand in front of me and my left arm at the ready. Making as much noise as I could, so as not to startle the snakes, I took a deep breath and rounded the corner...and almost screamed.

In front of me was something that only Hagrid would have been able to convince people was safe enough to let into this bloody maze. When I thought I had heard the sounds of snakes, I heard had been correct – there was more than a single snake...kind of. I mean, it was technically one snake, but it had three heads.

Runespoors, as I had read, were native to Africa and from the condition and size of this – _these – _snakes, I could tell that it was a young one. For one, runespoors more commonly than not, only had two heads. This is because each of the heads have individual personalities: one head was the planner, one was the critic, the third was the dreamer and they never switched roles or mindsets. The dreamer and the planner usually ended up biting the head off of the critical mind – as they are all independent minds and get annoyed with having to share a body. That this snake still had all three heads and was only four feet long meant that it was still young.

I hadn't read enough to know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

I also hadn't read enough to know which head was which...which was a problem. The one with the most horrid poison was the critic, and I knew the dreamer didn't have any venom at all – but I hadn't read enough to know if the planner had venom or not. I also didn't know which head was on which connection to the tail – though I knew that it was the same for all runespoors. Then again, it was moving and coiling around itself -_themselves_? – and was coiling so quickly that I probably wouldn't have been able to keep track of each head anyway.

"Hello there," I whispered, my voice shaking more than it should have. I tried to keep my tone light as most animals, magical or not, only understood tone. "I'm Audrey, but my friends call me Drea. Nice to meet you."

The snakes stopped slithering toward me and stood up to their full height. I immediately recognized that I had been wrong – this runespoor was between five or six feet tall. The orange was as rusted as an adult colouring was said to be, the black bands around its middle counted it to be six years old. I took a deep breath, begging my heart to slow down so that I could think. With a nervous glance to the snakes, I pulled a leaf from the hedge at my side, pulling it into my left hand.

"Would you like to see some magic?"

Holding my hand out nervously, far enough away that I could see if they made a move for it but close enough so that they could see what I was doing, I took my first stab at Magnuse magic.

The adrenaline from being in the maze and in the presence of such dangerous creatures certainly boosted my energy, which made it a little more easy than doing test after test in Snape's dreary dungeon office – but what I was planning was still a type of nearly impossible magic. Thanks to separate potions talents, I could tell by the texture of the leaf in my hand that it was made of lovage – that the maze was made of something like this only made me want to roll my eyes.

Had they done this on purpose? Was this maze made out of lovage for we, the competitors, so it could confuse us? I knew lovage like the back of my hand, it was put into befuddling droughts and confounding potions, had they hoped so much of it surrounding us would confuse us too? They were wrong. The lovage in my hand was a weak variety – not meant to be used in potions or as an ingredient of any sort, but I knew how to change something like that that. Or at least, I would change that. Not easily, but I guess the best term would be I _have_ to change that.

Concentrating hard I felt the leaf grow in my hand. It was like I was feeding the leaf its own supply of sunlight, water, and energy – _my _energy. The lovage was swelling with something that mimicked a pulse, growing and writhing as it shed layer after layer to make room for a newer and larger plant. I felt as the exhausting mix of energy and magic broke through the plant and bled more chloroplast, which turned into the webbing between veins. I felt it bulge and grow and I smelt the strength that so much extra chloroplast put into the lovage...right until it split into one large sized leaf – two medium sized leaves...

One of the heads, most likely the critical thinker, lurched forward toward the hand that was using the energy. Snape had warned me that other animals would be drawn to such obscene amounts of energy, so I should have been expecting this would happen. Luckily I had been watching for signs of movement, even if I'd forgotten that they would have wanted the energy for themselves. It all worked out after that – since it hadn't been able to attack me for the energy, it was like it decided to attack what I had poured the energy into. It attacked and devoured the piece of lovage that I had dropped on my way to dodge the creature. I kicked the second piece, as I had only had time to grow two matured lovage leaves, toward the head that was watching me most closely – I had a feeling that was the planner.

I waited for a moment, backing up away from them as the plant was ingested by the snake head that had lunged – then how that snake and the snake that had been watching me battled for the second leaf. The third was watching the leaf curiously, though not acting – that was the dreamer. The non-poisonous one. I could get passed that – maybe I'd even pet it on the way. All I had to do now was wait.

And I didn't have to wait long. The chemicals in the lovage, concentrated as it had grown in size, had effectively confused two of the heads. Wonderfully befuddled, I walked right over their body, patting the dreamy snake on the head. It almost looked like that Loony Lovegood I'd seen in the corridor, the one that couldn't concentrate on anything of value like the fact it's prey was getting away.

I continued on, wand and opposite hand outstretched, as I followed the right wall through dead ends and turns. I was sure to walk quickly for another five minutes before I allowed myself to think of anything besides escaping the danger. Now that I was away from the fear-inflicting runespoor, I was upset by the toll the simple transfiguration Magnuse had taken on my energy. I should have taken two pepper-up potions if I continued to use it and to think, I wasn't even using Magnuse properly!

Snape had been very clear about how the limitations I had with Magnuse was not what was traditional for someone using that kind of magic. Normally, Magnuse magic was unlimited – if you could imagine it, you could do it, like some sort of superhero. If you could use an incantation, you were supposed to be able to cantate it. If you could have the energy, you were supposed to be able to create it. But I couldn't do a lot of those extras. I had tried to argue with Snape that I was new at this magic and that I was just tired, but he was right in his own way. I had never been able to jump and spread the magic apart from my skin. I couldn't do anything cool like create a force field like most Magnuse masters, and I couldn't shoot spells as if my skin were my own conductor, like a wand. Really, all I could do was touch things and let things work as they may.

I really couldn't do anything right.

And Snape was probably disappointed in me, too. It was always obvious when he was – which was always obvious because he always seemed to be. He was constantly telling me that I wasn't working hard enough and all I wanted was to impress the greasy git, but I could tell that he wasn't impressed with me. He always compared me to Harry, or to my father when I did particularly poorly – which upset me both because of his seething tone and the fact that I was upset he was comparing me to such important men in my life.

Then again, dad wasn't really important was he? Dad was dead.

This of course brought on another tumult of self-berating. It was true, both my parents were dead and the only role models I had hated each other. I was completely on the tracks of two very opposite worlds – but how could I ever decide which side I wanted to jump off of? I would never be able to escape this stupid world where my stupid brother was better than me. Because of some stupid scar he got when my family was getting killed. Who cared that I was horribly disfigured because I was attacked by the same man? Oh no, no one cared that my neck had been sliced open and I had narrowly escaped with my life. No one gave a bloody shit about Audrey.

"Audrey!"

Bloody hell, now I was hallucinating Cedric's voice? He was so much farther in the maze then I was. How was I going to impress him or win the competition when he had gotten that fifteen minutes more than I had? And I had wasted so much time with the runespoors that I was nowhere near where he must have been by now. Would they tell us when someone won? or would they leave us to figure the way out ourselves? What if I never escaped?

"Audrey!" And then, a light – a properly coloured wand tip – was making its way toward me. It was Cedric's voice again. Was he coming to tell me he didn't want me? That I was stupid for wanting him to myself and that he is much more attracted to Hoe Chang? Ugh, I don't know if I would have been able to take that.

"Oh Cedric, I know you don't want me, it's alright." I mumbled, my voice somehow slow and slurring. I guess heartbreak really did affect everything.

"No, Audrey, there's a Pogrebin behind you-" Cedric pointed his wand right over my shoulder and shouted. "_Riddikulus_!"

I turned just in time to see his spell hit a large – and somehow _hairy_- gray stone in the pathway. I was about to look at him and tell him that he was being 'riddikulus' before the gray stone moved. In fact, it didn't only move, but it stood up from what must have been a sitting position before it scurried away from us, back the way I had just come.

I looked back at Cedric, blinking slowly as I felt some of my energy return to me. It wasn't as much energy as I would have hoped to have returned, but with it came a clarity in my mind to understand that everything I had just thought, everything that had just happened, was not something I had done by choice.

"A Pogrebin?" I asked him, though I already knew that he had been right. It explained all my self-destructive thought: Pogrebins fed off of hopelessness. They followed around an unsuspecting victim and fed them so much hopeless emotion that eventually they just faint when they lose their energy. Then they try to eat the human. I couldn't currently remember if they actually could eat them.

Wow, these judges were really shooting below the belt here.

"I saw it following you, are you feeling alright?" he asked me, coming up and hugging me. I felt some energy come back quickly, about as quickly as my face probably burnt red. "I'm just glad I didn't see you collapse or anything!"

"It was probably leeched on for ten minutes," I took a deep breath, loving how light my lungs felt in comparison to what they had felt just minutes ago. "Thank you."

"Of course, just because this is a competition doesn't mean I don't want to help you out." Cedric pulled away from me to smile down at me. His smile was gorgeous and distracting. It was like his smile had the same effect as chocolate after a dementor's visit. "Stay away from the west, will you? Hagrid got his blast ended skrewt in here and it is really angry. And there's a runespoor back the way you came – did you run into that too?"

I nodded.

"Cedric?"

"I'm just glad you're alright. A Runespoor? How'd you do it – the one head wasn't stunned, did you knock them out one at a time? I heard they were really resistant to-" Cedric didn't get to finish, though because I had jumped up onto my tippy-toes and pressed my lips against his.

Thanks to tragic inexperience, I don't really know what a first kiss is _supposed _to feel like, but something tells me that it was supposed to feel exactly like _that. _Thanks to my slowly returning energy, it was slow paced and I was almost too tired to care about whether or not he was upset by my lack of technique. He was gentle, and wrapped his arms around me and made me shiver even as he warmed me.

"Audrey," he pulled away, looking at me in a kind of shock.

"I know you didn't want to kiss me while you were with Cho," it was really difficult not to call her Hoe. "So I just figured that since I don't really care, I could kiss _you_. And if I kissed you, then you wouldn't have to feel guilty-"

"I'm not with Cho," Cedric said quickly. "I ended it at dinner. I told her she could wait until after the tournament before it was official, but I wanted it off my chest before it was done. I don't mean that I want to date you or marry you or anything...well, I'd like to try dating you. I know you're younger and I know that-"

"Just kiss me," I smiled up at him. He kissed me again, just as gentle as the first time. It was a sweet kiss, as sweet as he was and much more sweet than I could ever be – and yet, it suited the both of us like I wouldn't have believed possible. I could kiss and be sweet – who knew? I was just beginning to enjoy myself when suddenly, terribly, a scream shattered the silence around us.

It was like we were suddenly aware we weren't in some soppy romantic tale. In that moment, we both remembered that we were in a competition.

"That was Fleur," Cedric whispered, looking around us carefully, keeping a tight hold of my shoulders.

"She's close," I agreed, trying to place where the scream had come from as well. I looked up at the top of the maze, barely able to make any of the stars out – but I most definitely did not see any red sparks. "Do you reckon she's fine?"

"She has to be, doesn't she?" Cedric asked, though he didn't seem convinced. Slipping his hand down to grab mine he lead me forward slowly. "Let's go together and if we run across her-"

"No," I said, pulling my hand away from his almost rudely. I looked back at him. "I'm sorry, no."

"No?" he repeated in confusion.

"Listen, I know the chances of me winning this are slim to none. I know the chances of you winning this are higher than anyone else's. Not only will I weigh you down from winning, but I want to try doing this on my own. I hate being that girl who's dragged around by other people for their adventures – my name was put in the goblet, as well. This is my adventure too."

Cedric took a moment, trying to sort through what I was saying and what I really meant. When he seemed to realize that I didn't mean anything offensive, he threw me that bright smile of his again.

"You know, sometimes – just sometimes – you make a really lousy Slytherin," he pulled me into another hug – something I still was not used to though he had done it quite a few times in the past twenty-four hours.

"If I tell you to sod off and get your own Triwizard Cup, will that put me back on track?" I asked him cheekily. He laughed at me again, leaning down and pressing his lips softly onto my own.

I felt nauseous as soon as he did it. A vivid and cold flash of green burnt itself behind my eyelids, knocking me backwards and away from Cedric's lips as I stumbled. He looked at me worriedly, looking around quickly as if to see if there was anything in the tournament that could have caused such a violent reaction.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I pulled away from him as he came to touch me again. That was the second time touching him had lead to seeing that flash...but why hadn't I seen it when I had kissed him for the first and second time? Why was it touch and go? "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go win and get the hell out of this maze."

He smiled at me again, though he seemed nervous when he did. "Alright. Let's go."

"Wait," I said before I could stop myself. Cedric looked at me expectantly, but I couldn't connect my thoughts to my voice. I had a terrible feeling – a terrible, daunting feeling. It couldn't be a coincidence that I was getting these feelings during the third task. What if something was about to happen to him? What if he was more tangled up in the possibility of Crouch being in the castle than I thought?

"What is it?"

"I have a really bad feeling," I whispered, I felt like an idiot as soon as I said it. I felt like I was some small child that was starting to believe her nightmares were real. I was a Triwizard champion. I was supposed to be brave. He took hold of my hands again, laughing off my childishness.

"This tournament gives me a bad feeling too...we'll be okay. You're right though, you have something to prove. And you're not proving anything with me tagging along with you – everyone already knows you've got me." He winked jokingly and the way my heart began to race distracted me from the clenching in my navel. "Just remember to be careful. If you start feeling depressed again, try to remember that there's a Pogrebin hiding around here somewhere."

I nodded, biting my lip against the worry that was building around me. "Be careful yourself – avoid all flashing green lights and blast ended skrewts."

"Flashing green lights?" he asked. "Haven't seen those yet. Be safe."

And with that, he moved to the left and I kept my course to the right.

I kept walking, taking mental note of everything. My lips were still tingling, the back of my eyes still burnt, my energy was fading, and I was still thinking like normal sarcastic Audrey – not depressed, angsty, mary-sue Audrey. It was good being back to myself and not thinking the worst of Cedric and Snape, Mum and Dad and Harry – though I had to wonder where the thoughts all stemmed from in the first place. Clearly my insecurities were a little more deeply rooted than I had thought because I knew that those little creatures couldn't put fake thoughts in your mind – only magnetize the hopelessness to start thinking what was already there.

And the nervousness that leaving Cedric had caused? I couldn't understand where it had stemmed from either – I had bad feelings all the time. There was no vision telling me that something was happening – just bright colours, flashing that something was about to happen. Just like my instincts told me every time something dangerous was coming up – but we were in a maze full of dangerous things. Of course I would be nervous now...

I turned around, looking to where I had seen Cedric. No, that was not a normal feeling that I had about what was going to happen. The dread was too thick. When I looked back, and even walked twenty feet the way I had come, Cedric was already gone. I waited a moment, wondering if I should go after him – wondering if I should warn him as to what I saw. He didn't know that when I felt something like 'a bad feeling' that it usually meant something inevitable. I should have warned him.

Then again, I knew exactly where Cedric was going. He was headed the same place as Harry, as Krum, as Fleur, as I was headed. If I got there first, I could try and find him or end the game before something terrible could happen to him. There was no reason why I couldn't try that, right?

With a new urgency to my pace, I began another long trek of silence where I tried to keep my wits about me. It was probably why when I came across tousled blonde hair showered over the ground, I was suspicious.

"Fleur?" I asked cautiously, taking a step toward her. There were too many reasons not to get too close. If she was faking, she could be trying to take me out of the running – it would be a perfect ploy that I probably should have tried to enforce earlier in the task. If she was not faking, then I need to know if whatever had rendered her unconscious was a risk to me and if it was still nearby.

"Fleur can you hear me?" I pointed my wand to her stomach. "_Rennervate._"

Fleur did not move.

"_Rennervate,_" I said again, knowing my terrible luck with spells as it was. "_Rennervate!_" I said for a third time.

Because my spell was having absolutely no effect on this woman, I could tell she had not been stunned. This girl was knocked out cold. Even a faker would have had some reaction by now and the only kind of wake-up-call that spell could give was if you were snoozing thanks to magic.

Pointing my wand to the sky, I tried to send red sparks. Tried to, being the operative term. First nothing happened. Then a small little stream of red sparks trickled from the tip of my wand and onto the edge of Fleur's robe – I then had to take a moment to put her robes out before I tried a third time which managed to send royal blue sparks high into the night sky.

Good enough.

Following the right-hand-on-wall trick, I kept moving forward at a brisk pace, ready to meet another obstacle at any given point. I did not expect to meet one as quickly as I did. In front of me, pacing back and forth menacingly, and yet so gracefully, was a sphinx.

Sphinx were legendary creatures that knew a multitude of human languages and were known to be very intelligent and mysterious. I'd always wanted to meet one, to have a conversation with one – I wanted to ask why they think they were made of a human head and leonine body.

Then again, I knew that if I didn't answer the Sphinx correctly, the sphinx would feel no guilt in attacking me. Most didn't survive an attack from this creature, much bigger than a lion and yet so very human. I lowered my wand but raised my hand instinctively. I was not ready to be cat kibble.

"Hello, Audrey Potter." the sphinx greeted, bowing it's head. "You are legend."

"As are you," I mumbled worriedly, looking left and right. "I assume you aren't here to become my friend, though, are you?"

"Sadly not this day," the sphinx stopped pacing in front of me. "Your brother has met my sister already in the Northern passage – you have little time."

"Harry's alright?" I couldn't help but feel both relieved and annoyed. He had already passed this stage of the maze, then. "Did he pass your sister's question?"

"She gave him a riddle," the sphinx informed. "He succeeded in his guess."

"Are you to give me a riddle, then?" I asked nervously. I wasn't the best at riddles, usually I got so annoyed that I just gave up on them and did something a little more literal rather than open minded. I liked concrete answers.

"I am. If you answer correctly, I will let you pass. If you answer incorrectly, I will attack. Remain silent, you may walk away unscathed – but know that the fastest route to the end is just beyond this path."

"Well," I sighed, looking at the sphinx nervously. Sphinx were very loyal creatures and they did not have the tendency to lie – I had no choice but to say yes. I needed to get out of here – I didn't want whatever had attacked Fleur back where I had come from to come after me as well. "Could I hear the riddle?"

The sphinx sat on her hind legs, much taller than me even though I had kept a good ten feet distance between us. She looked down on me with some form of affection in her gaze, before she began to speak in that resonating voice of hers.

"_In a world much like ours, where magic's unmeasured;_

_Think of that which makes sense but cannot lead to treasure._

_Now think of the rut that surrounds smooth and black stone;_

_The dirt that leads nowhere though can still lead you home._

_Now add these two treasures, the sterling and mould, to make something of magic:_

_Wood, black, red and gold_."

"You know," I sighed. "It's not fair to take advantage of your thousands of years of intelligence against us simple minded teenagers. Seriously, it's an unfair competition." The sphinx just smiled at me, it's tail curling intently around its paws. "Alright, er – can I hear it again? Slowly?"

The sphinx nodded slightly before she repeated the verse. With it more slow it was easier to pay attention to the words she was saying instead of her hypnotic voice as she was saying it. Even paying attention as closely as I could, however, did not give me any answers as to what it could mean.

"Alright," I sighed. "There's two parts...maybe three – wait, what did you say? After the 'lead you home', did you say 'now think' or 'now add'?"

"Now think," she smiled. Alright, that was a start. There were two parts to the riddle and then I had to add them together to make the answer – I could do that. I just needed to figure out the first and then maybe the second would be obvious.

"Alright," I repeated again. "'A world much like ours'...well, that would probably be the Muggle world, wouldn't it? Because there magic isn't measured – you know, because the only people who believe in it are geeks who play dungeons and dragons and little kids who still believe in the tooth fairy..."

The sphinx just blinked at me.

"Alright, so the muggle world. That's a clue. What was the next line about treasure?"

"_Think of that which makes sense but cannot lead to treasure._"

"That which makes sense but...okay. I'll come back to that one. Could you read me the second part again? Just up until the 'home' part."

"_Now think of the rut that surrounds smooth and black stone; the dirt that leads nowhere though can still lead you home._"

"Smooth, black stone..." I repeated. "And lead you home – well, that's a road, isn't it? Concrete, er – asphalt, I guess. Oh, but that's not my guess!" I said quickly as she shook her head. The sphinx smiled at me again. "But it can't be asphalt, wait – rut that surrounds smooth and black stone? What rut?"

The sphinx was not about to give me the answer, so I started again.

"Now add these two treasures, the sterling and mould," I repeated. "Sterling...wait, does that mean that the first clue is sterling and the second is mould? Sterling and mould put together means...nothing. Nothing, that means _nothing_. But what if that's a hint as to the things that add together...what's sterling? Sterling _silver_?" I sighed. "I'm sorry, could I hear the first part again?"

"_In a world much like ours, where magic's unmeasured; think of that which makes sense but cannot lead to treasure._"

"Cannot lead to treasure, well silver is definitely treasure. But this is the muggle world, I don't think they actually have silver as a form of treasure anymore. Think, Audrey! Alright, a cent is brass and a quid is kind of gold, but – wait, what was that next line?" I paused, thinking about it. "That which makes sense but cannot lead to treasure – that which makes _sense. _What if it's that which makes _cents_? Uncle Vernon was always complaining about the currency of the quid, bouncing up and down compared to the euro."

I thought back to the bumbling, blue faced moron that infiltrated my summer memories. He always complained about the instability of the British Sterling, "can't trade a quid for a kick these days!" he'd always say...wait!

"The quid is a British sterling!" I announced with glee. "The first part is quid! It's a quid!"

The sphinx smiled her catlike grin, not giving anything away, though the twinkle in her eye showed intrigue and she had not yet attacked me.

"Alright, we're on a roll," I smiled back. "Quid – who'd have thought Uncle Vernon would help me in an intellectual challenge? Ruddy hell," I mumbled to myself. "Okay, fine, the next part – back to the dirt leading me home..."

I racked my brain, trying hard to understand what it could mean about asphalt, but it still sounded like it was a misplaced clue to me. I growled, feeling the excitement from getting the first part right slipping away.

"Do not forget the ending, young one." the sphinx advised with a smile. "_Now add these two treasures, the sterling and mould, to make something of magic: wood, black, red and gold._"

"Well, the quid is gold obviously and it's sterling too," I debated. "Was the quid ever made of wood? I don't think it's ever been black or red – so that has to be the mould part. The only mould I can think of that would be that colourful are mushrooms...but quid mushrooms makes no sense."

"No, it does not."

"What else is black, red and gold?" I frowned. "Gryffindor is red and gold. But Quid-Gryffindor doesn't make sense either..."

Then, just a moment of thinking about Harry in his Gryffindor robes popped into my head. Flying around trying to escape the dragon on his beautiful Firebolt or speeding through the skies of the maze we were in now, looking after the snitch...

"A snitch is gold..." I whispered. "And the rut...the rut at the side of asphalt – it's a ditch!" I gasped. "Quidditch, it's Quidditch! A quaffle's red, bludgers are black, a snitch is gold and brooms are wood...the answer is Quidditch!"

I couldn't contain my scream of joy as the sphinx nodded its massive head and moved aside so that I could pass her on the path. I smiled, bowing toward her respectively as I went on my way, only to be stopped by her voice again.

"You have spirit, young Audrey. You've an uneven road. Beware of your future, corruption of the soul. We creatures can see you, we can feel your pain. We know you don't see you hide your secrets and blame. You are in danger, you will be unmade. You will be judged and be used, by he who's depraved. And as you are fighting, though you'll be enslaved, we will find you again when your heart has been saved."

"Er-" I began, trying to ask her what she had just prophesized to me before she turned and walked back the direction I had come, not giving me a moment to question her further. Confused, but still determined, I surged forward toward the side she had asked me. I could hear voices in front of me, speaking and saying something that I couldn't understand from this far away. I needed to get closer, someone was ahead of me and was going to get to the Cup first.

I could see a light up ahead and two figures running toward it. It had to be the cup, illuminated in the gloomy maze – one boy was limping, the other was striding...they turned around, distracted. I could get in while they were talking to each other and grab it from right under their noses if I could just hurry-

The thought was all but knocked out of me as I flew backward, a terrible pain ringing through my abdomen. I felt at my stomach, there was no blood, but there would be a horrid bruise – what had just hit me like a freight train?

I heard a whistle again -something was moving at me with crippling speed. I spun to the side instinctively, only to hear the ground near my head shutter under the pressure of..._a bludger_?

"Oh, bloody hell!" I groaned, getting up to quickly move away – but the bludger was on my hide, making a warpath for my head. I tried outrunning it, but that was even more difficult than trying to dodge it. It hit my wand arm, halting me and making me scream before I stopped running and ducked, hearing it fly noisily past my ear.

"Well, had enough of this," I hissed, trying to cradle my right arm in my robes before I held my left arm out. I tried gathering my energy, feeling it run through my veins before I tried, really hard to focus it. I just needed to touch the bludger. Just for a moment – the possibility that I was about to break my other arm was high, but if it meant that I got to the cup before Harry, Krum or Cedric did – I would break every bone in my goddamned body.

The bludger whizzed toward me, ready to dismember my head if it had the chance, but before it could I grabbed it within my hand, feeling the cool metal sting against my palm from the violent speed of it. I yelled against the push of it, trying hard not to let it overwhelm me before I removed the charm from it as if I were flicking off a light switch. Thankfully, after only a few seconds of resistance, the bludger fell to the ground with a loud thud, leaving me heaving for breath.

I was tired, it had taken so much of my energy that I was surprised I was still able to breathe – but I couldn't give up. I was _so close. _I couldn't give up now jus because I was a little tired – I had something to prove here. I needed to prove myself worthy of these dingbats and I was only three hundred meters away from doing it!

But the boys, one of which was wearing bright yellow robes so it could only have been Cedric, had reached it by now. The bludger had taken its final toll on my energy and my time and now I was about to lose – I was just glad I was about to lose to Cedric and...Harry?

_No!_

No I couldn't lose to Harry! Not to Harry, anyone but Harry! If Harry won it was just proving that a fourteen year old could have entered the tournament but I was still incapable. I mean, sure, I had done a hell of a lot better than Fleur had, but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. I couldn't lose to Harry, not after all the practice and energy I had sacrificed to get so far.

But it was too late, I saw them reaching up toward the cup – I tried yelling out, tried to get them distracted for just one second, but as I yelled, I felt my instincts seize. The colours around the maze burnt – something was wrong. My instincts were warning me that something was dreadfully wrong and, right then, in the back of my eyes I saw the brilliant flash of green that my instincts had twice attributed to contact with Cedric.

That was bad. Something terrible was about to happen.

I screamed for him, for Cedric – then for Harry, because if something was going to happen, neither of those boys could have it happen to them. They were the only ones that mattered here, the only ones that I felt any inclination to care for nevertheless keep safe and they didn't see what I could see. They didn't feel the dread or see the burning bushes around me that symbolized the danger that was right around the corner.

I watched as the two of them reached out their hands, not hearing my screams, and grab hold of the Triwizard Cup. I watched as the world spun in colour, my instincts warning me that something terrible was happening – my stomach lurching dangerously as I spun, falling to my knees.

And then, my ears burst at the sound of the scream. My body recoiled from the cool trickle of water that shivered down my consciousness. My eyes closed against the violent burst of colour while my senses slipped me away from the real world and into the tangled web of consequence and time...a time I wish I would never have seen.

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><p><strong>Whoa, Nelly! Please note that everything I wrote in that maze is actually in Harry Potter at some point or other. I did tons of research to make this legit. And then at the end – what happened? Who thinks they can guess? And what do you think is about to happen? I bet you'll never guess what I just set up in this chapter, ah! It's just so exciting, I can't wait to tell you all! Which is why you won't be waiting long – <strong>**please see the note at the bottom**** to see what I mean :)**

**To my beautiful reviewers:**

_TheEvilPinkCupcake_**: Thank you very much for the compliments and review – I hope you liked this action-packed chapter as well!**

_Guest_**: I hinted to Malfoy liking her in this one a little bit more, but the romance with Malfoy is going to really start up in the Order of the Phoenix portion of the story – which is just chapters away :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Oh, those three will eventually make up, but as Audrey said: she's not really one to forgive and forget. She'll have to swallow up her pride a bit first, she was humiliated publicly. Yes, Moody was definitely creepy – did you see that she **_**did **_**start to understand what was happening? She finally figured out it was someone in the castle – but she just didn't get where she needed to get in time. Poor Audrey. Anyway, I quite hope that you like the chapter I just wrote and a SUPER thank you for the review, as always.**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Everyone does think there's something going on between Drea and Draco – and now the whole wizarding world knows it thanks to Rita Skeeter. I think I'll start releasing the back-story one-shots during the little break that I'm taking as I try to get a head start on chapters for the OotP portion of the story. I can't believe how much more efficient starting it and already having ten chapters done was, it got chapters out to people so much faster and as soon as I fell behind the update times lagged again, so I'm going to get a head start and take a break but do one shots to keep people occupied. Anything you're particularly in reading about? Fred will get his moment, he will. Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for your long review again!**

_Laurafxox_**: I'm glad you like the in-between chapters and character development, I always feel insecure that people will get bored with them. That was my idea behind making Audrey save Daphne, that we could parallel her to Harry but see the differences there – that she doesn't want to be a hero, she just wants to be normal, and that includes being loyal (though she would never admit it). Yes, I can tell you now that Audrey and Snape will be close for almost the whole time – I'm almost worried that what I've planned for them may start looking romantic, so that's my challenge, making it so that it's still platonic. And I will be continuing through the books – all through to the end. I'm also doing a series of one shots to explain Audrey's experiences in the earlier books. I hope you liked this chapter, wasn't it a nail-biter? I'm pretty proud of it. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Magimagus_**: Long reviews will forever be appreciated, thank you! Yes, long chapters are a common thing to me. I always remember back when I read fanfiction (I don't tend to read Harry Potter fanfiction anymore as I feel like I've read all the plot lines, save the crazy I have yet to write haha – and that sounded arrogant, but it was closer to a joke, I swear) when I read the fanfics that were only 2000 word chapters or even 4000 I was always like "that's it? I feel like they could have expanded it to 7000 if they would have just put more detail in!" so, when I started writing again, I actively tried that. I basically refuse to release a chapter under 4000 words unless it's a prologue, epilogue or absolutely essential to the format and plot. And now Cedric and Audrey DID kiss! I giggled as I wrote it. I really did. I hope you liked the chapter, what do you think is about to happen in the next chapter? I'm so interested to hear opinions!**

_The Dark side of the Mind_**: I'm so glad you like it, thank you for the review!**

_Erugalatha Fael-ionath_**: I'm glad you like Audrey and her sass. I hope that you thought the kiss was cute as well, I think they could be very cute together. I also agree, the Weasley twins are too great to go through heartbreak, it's just not natural. I'm glad you approved of her choice!**

_Guest(2)_**: That was definitely what Audrey was thinking, that Daphne had gotten her into the mess, but no one deserves what Montague was doing. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Guest (3)_**: Haha, Draco will get his time, don't you worry!**

_Guest (4)_**: I'm glad you like Audrey's wit, even in such upsetting circumstances. Hope you liked this chapter as well!**

_j0ph33_**: I'm glad that you connect with the story and sadly you'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out what becomes of Cedric and Audrey – but you'll find out, I promise. And it will be a fast update!**

_BlueRose22_**: The idea about calling her a mudblood or calling Lily a mudblood – yes, I could totally see that happening if Snape were involved. I'm so glad that you like the chapter and know that I always like your reviews – they're great :) Hope you enjoyed this crazy rollercoaster!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I gave you SO MUCH with these huge updates coming up, thank you so much for taking it all on. It's a ton, I know, but I think the readers are due for a major update. Plus, Second Hand is starting and I'm very excited! How are you liking Vampire Diaries? I like that show so much simply because it's not afraid to run out of plot (and characters) cause it will just kill them off and somehow find a way to bring them back – it's why I just had to add my brain in. **

_Shadow-of-your-dreamz_**: I'm glad you like it and see how they are opposite :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Dagmara_**: It's true. I really want to show that Slytherins aren't evil and I want to show the community that I think they would have. I'm glad that it's showing through – Audrey's whole part in the war is that she sees things in ways that other people can't, thanks to where **_**she **_**grew up. You know, 'on the other side of the tracks', as it were. Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter – thanks for the review!**

_DracoFan94_**: I'm glad you like the story – thanks for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Well everyone, this is it. Big announcement: this week I will (and have been) be updating a story every day! I have two chapters for each story – maybe even more if I can keep up the pace! Also, please note that I have a <strong>**NEW STORY**** coming out tomorrow. It is called **_Second Hand_** and it is a Vampire Diaries story, so if anyone likes Damon Salvatore (my personal favourite blue-eyed vampire) you may like that story. I read the Vampire Diaries way back when and reread it recently, but I must say that I enjoy the show more – so, it is show oriented, not book oriented. But I may throw some other things in there just for spice.**

**Anyway, look out for all the different chapter updates and the new story coming out! Hope you enjoyed and please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	24. Divine

**Alright. Honestly, I don't like to toot my own horn, but this chapter is the best chapter I have probably ever written for any story, ever. I'm even updating like...12 hours earlier than I planned to because I'm so excited. I think you're all going to love it...you just...ugh, just read, I can't even keep you waiting. Just read :D**

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><p>Chapter 23: Divine<p>

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><p>I opened my eyes when my world stopped spinning, but even taking a good look around I would not have been able to tell you where I was. All I knew was that I was no longer standing in the maze I had just been in. I was on softer ground now, with cooler air that nipped at my skin. The world around me was fogged - or had I hit my head? My vision didn't seem necessarily unfocused, but I had never been in a place that was this fogged and dreary. It had a feel of something unnatural - were those my senses, or was I being paranoid? Had I done some accidental Astral projection and wound up somewhere that I had never been? I had never done that before, but from my reading I knew that it was possible. If I was in Astral form, I had no clue how to get back to my body when I was lost besides than having something tug me back like a lack of energy or a grindylow being an arsehole.<p>

Neither were preferred choices.

It took me a moment to realize that I was not alone here - wherever 'here' was - because I saw that fifty feet away from me was a man in a cloak, a thick cloak, and he was muttering things under his breath that I couldn't hear from my position across the...wherever I was. And in front of him was a figure - somewhat recognizable, though for some reason I had trouble thinking of a name. Messy black hair and glasses - familiar, but somehow not a name I could pull forward from my brain. I should know that name, something was telling me...but I couldn't understand why I would.

I had never been to this place and I couldn't think of anyone I knew ever wanting to come here - it hurt my head just thinking about it. I placed my hand to my scalp, my stomach lurching when I pulled it back to look at it. I was bleeding. I was bleeding a lot. Was that...from my _ears_?

I flinched away from the bellow that came from the boy that was stuck to the stone. He was yelling at the other man, it was possible he was crying, and he was definitely calling out something. Something I couldn't understand...ugh, between the blood and all this muffled sound and confusion, it was proof I'd _definitely _hit my head. I don't know why I couldn't understand what was playing out in front of me, particularly when my instincts were screaming that I knew what was going on and that whatever was happening right now was _dangerous._

The man in the cloak was hovering in front of the boy again, before I heard a scream ring out from the figure that was bound to stone. It took my nerves longer to comprehend the scream it had taken my ears - wait was that scream from me? No. No, the scream was from the boy, but somehow I knew I _should _be screaming.

The pain, the pain was reason enough but I couldn't understand where it was coming from and why I was feeling what I was but the boy was screaming instead. Why should he scream when I'm the one in pain? Why wasn't anyone paying attention to _me_?

I looked down at my arm, my pale - and for some reason bare - arm. It had been blackened with something, a spot or a mark that began to twist into a shape that I couldn't recognize. It sparked more red flags, like the boy bound to the stone did, but my mind couldn't keep up to the speed that the mark on my arm was transfiguring. I bent over my arm, watching while the black spot morphed into something resembling a skull, a skull with a gaping grin. It sent shivers down my spine and to make things worse, the grin split itself open and from it spilled a snake - a red, vicious snake...no. No, that was not a snake dripping from behind it's teeth...that was my blood. I took my right hand and touched the blood that had been near my ear - but it was not flowing enough to slither down my arm like this. No, no, more was flowing now. It was my blood and it was because this mark was slicing through my skin...

The red spilled from my arm and onto the grass, staining it brown. How was so much blood pouring from my arm? I couldn't imagine that I had this much in my body. I felt blood drip into my eyes, it was from the angle of bending over but it coated my vision in red. I yelled out, hearing the voice of the boy do the same. I tried scraping the blood from my eyes, tried to call out to the boy to save me...that voice. That voice was Harry's voice! Harry, my brother, Harry was my brother and he was tied to a stone - someone was hurting my brother!

I scraped at my eyes again while my mind cleared. I felt like I was myself again, whereas earlier I couldn't even tell who I was. But I still couldn't tell where I was, even as the wind whipped by me. When I had finally blinked out the blood that had fallen into my eyes I realized that I was not wherever I had originally been. Instead, I was sat a dingy brown room and a woman, a familiar woman stood in front of me.

Holy shite...I was having a vision! This was all a part of a vision...I usually wasn't an active part of them like I was now, and, looking down at my arm that still burned and felt like I had pushed it into flame, I could see it was still bleeding. I placed my fingers in my ear...they were still bleeding too. What was wrong with me?

The woman in front of me painted herself into being a neighbour back on Privet Drive, the one that Harry was forced to do chores for all the time when he used magic accidentally. I rarely ever helped him, I was often enamoured by her house full of cats - they were all quite sweet.

"Circe is a very beautiful kneazle," Mrs Figg told me. It took me a moment to realize that she was _actually _speaking to me, as if I were in the past right now. I was not watching myself in the scene nor was I watching this scene from a third person point of view...I was _in _the scene. She was hunched over and petting Circe - the conversation did not make sense to me. "She is quite protective of you. It's good, she's been well raised and properly imprinted. She'll protect you as long as you're together in life, you know. The way she came to see me today - she can tell when you're in danger before she sees the danger herself. Very strange...is it some sort of charm?"

"Mrs Figg," I couldn't help but suspiciously ask myself aloud. "How do you know what a kneazle is?"

The woman laughed - I was shocked. What was happening? Was she _responding _to what I said in real time, even though this is obviously something from the future? I couldn't believe that she was responding to what I had said...was this not a vision? Was she not just a projection of something that had yet to happen? How could she respond to me, someone who had yet to be where this is scene was taking place?

"Why, I breed them, dear!" She laughed heartily. "Really, you didn't think that all those cats were normal tabbies, did you?"

Mrs Figg laughed again. The laugh reverberated through my mind in a painful way - I closed my eyes against the pain and pushed my palms to my ears. I could feel that my palms were drenching in the blood that seemed to pour out of them more. Her loud laugh echoed in my head, mixing and distorting into some sort of scream - was that Harry's scream? Was that my scream? Was that really her laughter? I couldn't tell, but the pain was overwhelming.

Very suddenly, the sound ended.

I opened my eyes, watching as the colours finished moving around from Mrs Figg's house and into the next scene. The dull browns and beiges of the seventies wallpaper and drapes morphed into brighter hues of whatever I was going to see next. Were all of these moments soon to come? I felt like they couldn't be and yet all the colours were as bold as the next; this was unheard of in my visions. The browns turned into gray, the beige into the smooth colour of sand as I felt the air move back and forth around me. I was on a swing, I could tell instantly, and from the heavy weight in my chest, I could also tell that I was miserable. Behind me, I could hear Harry's voice. He was whispering, but I couldn't hear who to.

The whispers began to resonate just like the laugh had - bouncing off the clouds and the dirt in a way that - were my ears not already bleeding - would have made them start. I closed my eyes, praying for the sound to stop and change into whatever I had to see next. If this was how the transition was going to happen between moments each time the vision changed, I was positive that I would be struck deaf before it ended.

I was not at all used to being able to _live _what had yet to happen. Because of this, the sick sensation of my bleeding ears mixed with a dizziness that overtook every part of me dropped me somewhere else. I was bent over at first, trying to get my bearings again before I tried to note what was happening around me with my hands covering my ears - who knew how fast this vision would end and try to deafen me again?

I was back where I had begun. The soft ground and the sight of my brother bound to stone made it clear where I was again. The pain from my arm rippled enough to make me take my hands away from my sore ears, I tried to ignore the burning in my body to see what was happening to my brother in this future.

I watched as a man, the cloaked man, rested his spidery and bone white on the forehead of my brother.

I was instantly struck ill again - so ill that I actually vomited. Did I vomit in real life or just in the vision? How would I ever get these straight? Whatever I was seeing could not be real, I prayed it couldn't be real thanks to what I felt from the man with his hand on my brother.

I was so used to seeing evil and being around it; four years at Hogwarts and four years of constantly dodging murderers had you knowing the feel of evil and darkness...but this man, this _creature_ was no match for evil. He was crueler than evil and darker than oblivion - he was the personification of hate and loss. I could sense it like one person could sense someone else's fear. There was a moment of pause before he released whatever curse he had put on my brother - though the pain did not stop. It didn't stop for Harry or for me. Harry was still screaming, and the pain still throbbed in the back of my mind, a warning and a blessing. It was warning me that the man was turning...and as he turned, he caught me in his blood red gaze.

Had I closed my eyes? Or had I finally passed out from the pain? I didn't know. But I was no longer standing on soft ground. Instead, I was sitting in a plush seat with a very straight back. It was trying to keep me sitting straight but I purposely slouched in it's hold on me. I was pissed and I didn't need a _chair _trying to tell me what to do, too.

I was in the headmaster's office. In the seat in front of me, Professor Dumbledore leaned across his desk. He was looking at me patiently as though he could feel the anger coursing through me, as well, but he did not say a word to me. He steepled his fingers against a blackened hand, looking at me slowly as he nodded his head, expecting me to say something to him. Did he expect me to scream and yell like I wanted to? I couldn't help but give him what he wanted to, give into the frustration.

"What?" My voice was lower than I would have expected, pointed and jabbing.

"There are _seven_, Miss Potter. And I think you may know where they may be." I huffed, not wanting to answer the question even though I couldn't understand it. What were there seven of and why would _I _know where they are? Had I pulled some sort of prank and was angry with my punishment? Normally I took a lot of pride in whatever bad thing I did, so this must be something else.

"I don't know where anything is," I growled, shaking my head. He smiled sadly at me, mimicking the shake of his head as well.

"My dear, you know far more than I feared you'd ever have to."

The twinkle ever-present in Dumbledore's eye winked at me tauntingly. I looked into it with a glare - it was like he knew something and was mocking me for it. I didn't like that. I didn't like being made out as stupid or inept. I was just as capable as any other bloody witch _or _wizard in this castle!

The twinkle winked again before it started to grow, it grew until it was so bright I had to shut my eyes against it - it was like I was looking right into the sun. But when the light finally died out, I knew that it was really just another transition into a new vision.

The absence of Dumbledore my anger didn't dissipate, though I noticed it changed. Was this really only anger caused by the vision? It was hard to believe as I was smack dab in the middle of the emotion, but I hadn't been this angry before - so maybe I _would _be this angry whenever I was in the position I was.

The position I currently found myself in was the middle of a Hogwarts office. What office it was, I couldn't tell. I was too distracted to do much work on that thanks to the décor - it was filled with pink and frills and some kittens that would have been cute were it not so sickening. They were mewing at me as if they wanted to be set free from the pictures that they were rolling around in - scratching at the glass as if trying to jump into my arms.

The disgust that the imprisoned-looking kittens brought was nothing compared to the burn in my gut as I glared at a woman I had never seen before. She was a toady looking woman, smothered in pink robes and gaudy jewelry that hung from fat fingers and a bloated neck. Her sneer could have possibly been the most decent looking thing on her face, though it did not make her look any more human thanks to her bulging eyes. I pulled away as one of her pudgy fingers gripped at my arm.

"Traitor!" she shouted in a furious, high pitched squeal. "We do not accept traitors here, Miss Potter, you will end up just like the rest of your brother's little _club_."

"Get your hands off me," I growled at her, trying to pull away again while her gaudy rings scratched at my skin. I made to push at her, but instead my fingers gripped themselves around her precious necklace - a golden one that I somehow knew she always boasted about. One with an 'S' engraved on the front - and ripped it from her neck. She yelled out in shock and hopefully pain as the chain snapped from around her thick neck and into my hands. I couldn't believe the pain that the necklace cost as it tore from her throat - it was like it was melting to my hand. I hissed in pain but held tightly onto it from reflex - if this woman wanted it, I didn't want to give it to her. She took her grubby hands off me to try and reach for the necklace instead.

"Give that back here, it's mine!" she grabbed for the necklace in my hands. I winced from her nails scratching at my hand, not because her nails hurt but rather it jostled the necklace in my hand and moved it slightly to melt more of the skin on my palm. I growled at her and held it up above my head - this toady woman was even shorter than I was. "It's mine, I say! It is a Selwyn family heirloom that has been handed down-"

"Liar!" I screamed back, gritting my teeth to ignore burns across my hand. My whole face dropped in a way that I could tell I was trying to be cool and impassive, my eyes narrowing onto her retreating backside while she jumped to reach the locket. "That necklace may be ugly enough for you, but I can promise that no one in your family has ever been talented enough to put that kind of curse on it."

The squat woman's enraged scream filled my ears and started reverberating again. The pain in my ears, in my head, in my arm and now in my opposite hand were too strong to fight against it and I fell into the pain. I hoped that it would drive me insane...I hoped that my eardrums would just burst...anything that would make this pain stop. The sound was agonizing, pushing with a pulsation that matched the uneven thud of my heart while the scene around me changed under my eyelids. I hadn't realized that they were closed, but I was happy enough to open them again once the screaming stopped bouncing around inside of my mind.

The scene had changed around me. I was no longer in Hogwarts but again back to the dismal wasteland where I was forced to watch as my brother was strapped against a piece of crumbling stone. The man, the one who I now noticed did not have a nose, was pacing around a circle of cloaked figures. I could not see their faces, but I could see that Harry was crying, struggling but unable to be freed. I tried to take a step toward him, but my feet felt rooted into the ground and taking a step actually pulled against my tendons as I tried to move forward. I immediately stopped moving, feeling the pull stop and breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't need to cause myself anymore pain when I couldn't stop what was happening anyway. I watched as the man, the man with the blood red eyes, spoke.

"There was no hope of stealing the Philosopher's Stone anymore, for I knew that Dumbledore would have seen to it that it was destroyed," it sounded like he was continuing a speech of some kind. His voice was colder and higher than I would have expected it to be. He was speaking as if telling a children's story, but it was still condescending and somehow furiously pointed towards the robed men around him. "But I was willing to embrace mortal life again, before chasing immortality. I set my sights lower...I would settle for my old body back again, and my old strength. I knew that to achieve this - it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight - I would need three powerful ingredients. Well, one of them was already at hand, was it not, Wormtail? Flesh given by a servant. My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried." That's where we were. We were in a cemetery. And Harry was attached to some form of tombstone. A giant snake - even I could not tell what kind - had taken to slithering around Harry's ankles. He still could not move, he couldn't move around it, he also couldn't seem to keep from crying. What had happened before this? Why was he crying - what had him in so much pain?

"But the blood of a foe..." the horribly dark man continued. "Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who hated me...as so many of them still do. But I knew the one I must use, if I could rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted _Harry Potter's_ blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had stripped me of power thirteen years ago...for the lingering protection his mother once gave him would then reside in my veins too..."

I closed my eyes against what I was hearing, because what I was hearing couldn't be true. This was no vision, this was a nightmare. Only my nightmares come up with these scenarios where my brother is hurt and I can't help him. Or that someone from our past, like Wormtail, would go to help create something even more evil than he knows.

When I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere new. I was in a room, filled to the brim with...with _junk. _That's all it could have been considered, things that people didn't want any more. I almost screamed as I noticed to one side there was an owl skeleton in a cage, to another side a wig plastered on a mannequin whose head had been disfigured. Atop that wig was a tiara that glittered even beneath the dust that must have been settled on it for decades.

Where the bloody hell had _this _vision taken me?

A sound to my right made me turn and see a shadow. A shadow of someone walking away from me. Normally, I would have tried to wake myself up by now - this vision was long and my heart was pounding in terror - but I couldn't stop my feet from following the shadow of their own accord. I was quiet as I did, trying not to trip over any of the obstacles that had fallen from the mounds of discarded objects.

I almost gave myself away when I walked around another mountain of garbage to see bright blonde hair - but luckily ducked behind the garbage again. Only one person had hair that bright and thinking about being caught kept me from being able to breathe in case he heard me. But instead, he seemed to keep muttering to himself. I couldn't hear what he was saying, I wasn't close enough to him, but after a moment when I knew I wasn't going to be caught, I couldn't help looking around the pile and seeing what he was doing.

Draco Malfoy, as I had immediately guessed, was examining what looked to be a wardrobe. He was examining it to an extent that I wanted to tell him it would not lead him to Narnia - though he seemed to be concentrating on it enough to try to give it a go. But something told me that he was doing something suspicious, just like I had been told - because, at some point, I knew I had been told he was doing something suspicious.

I looked away, trying to blink through all of the airborne dust and bring back the memory of who had told me he was acting suspicious - it was Harry. Harry had told me that Malfoy was acting suspicious. And as I opened my eyes, I found that Harry was beside me, looking down onto...why was I laying on glass?

Looking around to try and make sure that I wasn't about to fall, I saw that Ron and Hermione were in the same position as Harry and I were; I followed their lead and looked down at whatever it was that seemed to hold the trio's attention.

I squinted my eyes, pulling my hands to the sides of my face to focus on whatever lay below the grimy window that was so enthralling. A beacon of blonde hair - _two. Two _beacons of blonde hair - were through the window. Malfoy was again looking at the wardrobe - which was housed in much more sanitary conditions now, even though it was still ghastly. I think it - _yes_, it was Borgin and Burkes. I could tell thanks to the one time I had gotten lost in there and Harry had to fish me out after an embarrassing encounter with both Malfoy JR _and_ SR. It was the first time I had met that old sod and see him bully his son. It was the first time that I had ever felt bad for Draco Malfoy.

I felt myself begin to slide down the glass and - though it was obvious we were trying to be covert - let out a yelp to get my brother's attention. But he didn't look back to me. Neither did Ron or Hermione. I pressed my face against the glass as my feet fell and dangled over wherever I was about to fall from. I held on as tightly as I could, asking for help from the apparent _brave _ones just out of reach...

When I had the time to take a breath, I realized I was no longer laying on - or falling off - glass. Instead my body was rejecting the idea of letting me lay down on my stomach and I was now upright. When the colours stopped swirling around me, a strange sensation made me close my eyes...why would a vision change the scene around me only to make me close my eyes?

Then I felt it - I was being kissed. Cedric was kissing me! I pulled my hands up to his face, bringing him closer to me only to furrow my eyebrows - this was not Cedric. Cedric's face was not this narrow, nor was he this height. His lips had not been this sloppy and I had never seen him drink firewhiskey, which is precisely what this bloke tasted like. I opened my eyes, waiting for my eyes to uncross so I could take in the face across from me. Red hair - there was red hair, and freckles and...

Merlin's testicles, I'm kissing a Weasley!

I let out a whine, which he must have confused for a moan because he tried taking the kiss to an even more passionate scale - it was sloppy and drunken, and not at all what I wanted. I needed to kiss Cedric. Cedric's lips weren't this chapped and they weren't so out of control. To be fair, I'm sure whichever Weasley twin I was kissing would be much better without the firewhiskey - but I didn't want to know what their difference between sober and pissed was!

I closed my eyes, I was getting a bit of a headache from keeping my eyes crossed for so long and when I opened them again, I was shocked into complete paralysis. I was no longer kissing a freckled fool and I wasn't kissing Cedric either - I would have been able to tell thanks to the dominating urgency, or because of the peppermint I could taste. No, I was kissing...

Bollocks!

I was kissing Draco Malfoy.

I wanted to throw up, thanks to the flipping of my stomach, but was only held more tightly as he pulled me closer toward him, one hand on my back and the other on my neck. His kiss was more...I don't even know the word for it. I guess it was passion, but why the bloody hell would Malfoy feel any passion towards me that didn't lead to some sort of hexing? We were not friends and we were not lovers and no matter how soft his lips were, they were not supposed to be attached to mine.

I want to wake up.

I want this vision to end.

Instead, I felt myself give into the swirling colours that stained the back of my eyelids. I knew that the colours were taking the scene from my view and ripping Draco Malfoy away from me. If that was the best I could get, I would take that right now - anything to get away from that. I just needed to wake up...I was no longer sure it was a vision because never in my _life _would I have considered kissing Draco Malfoy. Though I knew it had not happened yet, as proof of my disloyalty to him I wiped my mouth and tried to forget where the peppermint that I could still taste came.

I opened my eyes to find myself brought back to the dank place where the men were circled and Harry writhed. He was no longer attached to the headstone, but thanks to the men circling him he was easy to find. Harry was on the ground, writhing from whatever curse or hex the red-eyed man had placed on him. His wand, as white as his own skin, was pointed at my brother while he screamed.

"But what is this?" The man's cool voice asked, raising his wand from my brother for a moment before pointing at him - or, rather _near _him - again. Harry took the pause to breathe while two slips of parchment flew from my brother and into the bony hand of the man holding the wand. He took a moment, gazing over the one and let it fall to the ground, the second was in his grasp for longer, his eyes seemed to take in every detail of whatever it was that was in front of him. I could not think to try and see what he was looking at in time before his furious eyes glared around the circle threateningly. The robed figures stumbled back in fear while he crushed the second piece of parchment and threw it in the middle of the human circle.

"She, the stupid little girl who lives by _chance_, thought better than any and each of _you._" The man hissed, pacing around the circle agitatedly. "She writes of the signs that you did not see. The signs of my uprising and the signs that someone has been betraying she and her brother for some greater cause. She writes that someone has been in disguise in Hogwarts castle. She writes things that are true and my own, grown Death Eaters could not recognize this?"

His voice had turned into a threat in itself. A few of the men cowered away from the sound, just as I pressed my forearms against each other - the left one, the injured one, was aching. The red-eyed man levitated the parchment that he had crumpled into a squat, robed man's, face.

"_This_ is the girl I have heard about Wormtail? The one you assured me was not a threat - it writes here that she is no good with a wand and yet she is beginning to master cantated magic? You thought that she was no bother?"

"Not for you, my lord," Wormtail wheezed, taking hold of the ball of parchment that had slapped across his face. "She could never be a threat for you."

"A threat? Of course not," the snake-man hissed, it sounded like he was insulted that the word 'threat' was even used. "But a bother? Oh, she will be for you, that I can tell. You will tremble before her just because of what you have heard of her - is she more powerful than this boy, here? Is she going to be the true challenge to us and our cause?"

"My lord," one masked man whispered. "She is of Slytherin house. She is not like the filth seen here - she could be drawn to our cause." The robed man looked around the circle as if for back up. He pointed to another cloaked figure. "Our sons are close with her. We could lure her into believing our ways, I've heard she's quite against the ways of _him._ She could be an asset and-"

"She will never betray Harry," the wheezing Wormtail whispered. "No matter her ties to Slytherin, she will never betray the boy!"

"I believe Wormtail to be right," the red eyed man finally voiced. "She will be gotten rid of like the rest, I see no threat to her and I see no reason to hesitate."

No one spoke, though I felt my breath hitch. There was only one person I knew who had any of those credentials, and right now I was standing in her shoes and facing the man who obviously did not like the threat I was supposed to _not _be posing. Oh, Snape had been right. Snape is always right. I should have just laid down my pride and forfeited each task so that I wouldn't have brought so much attention to myself.

"Did you not wish to heed your sister's warning, Potter?" The man turned on my brother again. "Did you not think it wise to listen to a voice other than your own? I see the seal was unbroken - you did not even deem her words worth reading. If you had, you may have realized what was in store for you."

The bone-white wand was pointed on my brother again, who closed his eyes and grit his teeth against whatever he knew was on it's way.

"_Crucio_!"

"No!" I screamed, trying to run forward and intercept the spell. But I only felt pain, pain so badly that I kept screaming - pressing my hands against my ears, feeling my burnt hand weep against my already bleeding ear. I turned from the scene, unable to catch my breath when I finally was able to stop screaming and felt that I was somewhere else.

I was in present time, or very close to it - it was the only reason Harry was still in his Gryffindor Triwizard robes and it was the only reason that he had not had the chance to read the letter I had shoved into his pocket about someone lurking in the castle drinking Polyjuice potion. He must have still had the page of the _Daily Prophet_ he'd ripped out in his pocket...

Why hadn't I found the time to give Snape his copy? He could have stopped this before it began. He could dive into my head now and wake me up from this barrage of future - and present - moments.

I was back in the potions room, with a man I had never seen in front of me. He was large with just as large a moustache on his red and blotched face. He was in a green night robe, with a matching nightcap that made his head look even bigger atop his neck.

"I've got Butterbeer, I've got wine, I've got one last bottle of this oak-matured mead...hmm...meant to give that to Dumbledore for Christmas...ah well," the walrus-looking man shrugged his shoulders animatedly. "He can't miss what he's never had! Why don't we open it now and celebrate Mr Weasley's birthday? Nothing like a fine spirit to chase away the pangs of disappointed love..."

"Nothing like," I found myself responding, not that I understood what I was saying. I elbowed Ron a moment, who was still looking horror struck from when this portion of the vision had begun. "Hey, Won-Won, if you'd like something stronger I can go to the Slytherin commons and grab us some Firewhiskey."

"That bad?" Harry asked as the older man went to one of the cabinets to get the meade he'd spoken of and glasses to match. Both Ron and I nodded before looking at each other and taking a step away from one another, as if realizing very suddenly that we were much too close. I was not in control of my feet or my actions, like I hadn't been for the rest of this never ending glimpse into the future.

"There you are, then," the large man said, handing each of us a glass of meade. He raised his in toast. "Well, a very happy birthday, Ralph-"

"Ron," Harry and I chorused. Ron gave me an appreciative smile before he raised his glass and clinked it against mine.

"To forgetting today?"

"Ugh, Merlin please." I groaned pleadingly, pressing the glass to my lips with a grimace.

And suddenly as I looked into the glass I was drinking from, the meade rippled and showed the reflection of myself. And I was looking into a different cup. One across from Ron again, but this time I saw a pale hand - a pale hand with a scar on it that was not my own - pouring a clear liquid from a vial into the goblet.

And with a flash, I was looking at a similar goblet only this time it _was _my hand that was reached over it. Inside of it, I was pouring a clear liquid into the contents, from a vial that looked almost identical to what the other hand had.

The contents in the glass rippled, shooting out to the sides of the goblet and somehow, outside of the goblet and around the entire Great Hall. Everything around me was knocked over by the force of the ripple and, as everything was toppled over and almost seemed to burn - I again found myself in the graveyard. I moved to go toward Harry, watching as he fought with the pale man with the red eyes - their wands connected by clashing colours of light. Harry was concentrating, looking at the clashing spells and trying to keep control over his wand as the other man screamed in fury.

The light of the spell grew so bright that I had to shield my eyes. At first I tried not to. I knew that this was going to be a transition into another part of the vision, but I needed to know what would happen to my brother. He was fighting the _literal _reincarnation of evil - I couldn't not watch.

Finally, when I felt my eyes actually starting to burn, my body closed my eyes for me. My mind screamed to open them again, but naturally my body did not want my eyes to be damaged by the growing light from the wands.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing again. The room I was in was unfamiliar - nice stone flooring and high-as-the-sky ceilings. But I couldn't bring myself to pay attention to any of those superfluous details. In front of me was the only thing I cared about - the only thing I cared about in the _worst _way.

I was looking down on a woman, a woman with crazed curls and heavy lidded, dark eyes. She was laughing manically, pointing a finger hand at my brother, who stood tall beside me. I had never seen the woman in my life, nor had I ever felt such an uncontrollable amount of _hate._

The woman in front of me deserved to die. And though I always threatened to kill people who annoyed me, it was the first time I wanted to be someone who had the power to end a life. Her life. This worthless piece of witch in front of me was not worth saving.

"Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?" she cackled at Harry, her dark eyes tuned onto him like he was a disease to avoid catching. "You have to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain - to enjoy it - righteous anger won't hurt me for long. I'll show you how it's done, shall I? I'll give you a-" but the wild woman in front of me did not continue her speech. Instead, she screamed - loud and long. She screamed and writhed, twitching on the floor as her body tried to reject the pain that had no source.

It was like I fell into the colour of her dark hair which twisted and curled itself into a scene of its own. It formed into the tall walls and alcoves of Hogwarts. It had tapestries and pictures and soon, torches lit the walls so I could see where I was looking.

I saw a girl, an unpleasantly familiar girl, moving with Hoe Chang toward one of the tapestries I watched form from the crazed woman's hair. As there were no other people in the corridor I could assume that it was past curfew and I had a burning desire to report both of the girls so that they would get in trouble. That little bint, Marietta Edgecombe, had ruined my first relationship with Finnegan and then her little friend had ruined the possibility for me to be with Cedric all year. And now that little brat was headed toward my brother who-

_was _she headed toward Harry - simply because I took her boyfriend away from her? To be honest, I had always pegged Chang for someone who would put up a fight for Diggory - perhaps she would make this easier and realize that I'd already put a lot of effort into getting him to notice me. Maybe she'd be impressed and back the hell off. Wait, what was Harry doing in the middle of the corridor, waving the girls to a door hurriedly? A door near a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, who was teaching trolls to dance the ballet. Owl Lake, if I remember correctly.

This time I had no time to do anything but blink before another scene pushed its way into my sight. This one didn't seem like it involved me, thanks to the impossible angle I was looking from. It was like I was looking through a camera and I was zoomed in on two hands - two very different hands - which were clasped together - a magical glow about them both. It was like their hands were illuminated, a woman and man's hand grasped together as if they were holding onto each other for dear life.

And with another blink, I was looking at a different hand. It was my hand, and it was adorned with a gaudy ring that I knew I'd never want to - and never planned to - wear. It was made of silver and was large, obviously not a ring made for a woman. The large black stone that jutted out past my knuckle was cracked down the center, the engraved white design on it lost to the damage it had undergone. It had been mended, however, or it had tried to be. The design was still lost to the silver that mended the stone that was nearly cracked in two. It hurt to even look at the ring, a feeling I couldn't help but feel my stomach roll from - instinctively I reached for the chain around my neck, grasping at the cool metal of a necklace.

I closed my eyes against the pain that shot through my hand as I took hold of the necklace. It was still sore from the burn and when I took a moment to look at it, I realized that I was covered in my own blood. Was this part of the vision, some sort of metaphor I wasn't catching on to? How could I be covered in blood for every one of these visions?

When I looked past my hand and around me, I realized that I was in the Hogshead over in Hogsmeade. As I continued walking I could tell that I was bored. It was obvious by the way that I was fidgeting and taking my time to look along the pub's discolouring walls. I couldn't help but kick open the wooden door to the bathroom a little forcefully, pausing when I realized that there was someone else there - apparently I could no longer make a scene.

I went about my business, taking my time just so I wouldn't have to go back to being bored as quickly. I washed my hands quickly, looking in the mirror again - I was not as I looked now. My hair was longer here and my face more matured, this would not be in the near future, I could tell. I could also tell that there were eyes on me and yet, I was alone in the bathroom. There was a tingling at the back of my brain warning me that something was wrong - that something was not right. I turned off the tap, drying my hands on my jean trousers just to avoid having to spend any more time underneath some invisible scrutiny. I turned around - running into someone whose clothing began to smother me.

There was a moment where I felt like I would asphyxiate on the material before I got my bearings and was able to rip it from my face. Now, I was standing in a different bathroom. There was a horrible feeling of dread pounding my heart against my ribcage. I wouldn't be able to hide in the corner anymore than I already was - I was too distracted by the bursting water pipes of the sink in front of me. I watched as the jets of water swelled and aimed themselves for me - I dodged. This could not be happening, why was the water aiming itself for me; had someone charmed it?

I let out a scream, dodging the title wave of water that targeted me again. I let out a dry sob, looking down at my soaked shoes and seeing how high the water had risen. It was going to drown me, slowly but surely, and no one was doing anything to help me.

"Draco," I sobbed, unable to control myself. Was this his fault? is that why I was saying his name? I gripped for the bathroom stall again, hearing some sort of cackle from behind the wood of my hand.

"Draco, Draco!" the high, whining voice mocked. "He's preoccupied."

The water had rushed near my ankles now and I felt like with that raise, I was too close to dying for comfort. I tried to hold back the energy that the fear had given me, but it burst out of me like a shot - a shockwave that cracked the wood against my hand and rattled the porcelain. I felt the room shake from the effect of it - the water ebbing closer to me. I took another step back into the corner, trying to lift myself up and climb onto the splintering stall that was holding me steady.

What was happening to me?

I didn't have time to be terrified because as soon as a jet of water hit me in the face, I felt myself gasp for air. Instead of gasping, however, I took a big drink of it...and coughed. What I had just swallowed was not water, but...alcohol?

I opened my eyes to see myself sat beside Ron, who looked older, unshaven and badly disguised. I believe he'd tried to dye his hair to brown, only to have it come out as a spotty auburn with more patches than Dobby's old socks. He didn't pay any attention to me as I sneered at him and took another drink. Instead, he took some sort of lighter out of his pocket to play with it again.

The lights in the room didn't even flicker, but the small candlelight beside me sucked itself into the device. He put the flame back. He sucked the flame back up. He put the flame back.

"Irritating our eyesight is not going to fix our problem, Ron." I growled at him, flipping dark hair that could not have belonged to me over my shoulder. Was I seeing through someone else's eyes? Or was there some sort of reason that Ron was so badly disguised...was I forced to disguise myself, too?

Ron took a moment to glower at me. He did not say a word before he continued his monotonous clicking - removing and igniting the lantern beside us repeatedly. "Why did I get this?" he asked me quietly. "What did Dumbledore think it would do?"

"Act as a nightlight?" I offered with a scowl. "You _are_ acting quite childish."

Ron frowned at me, taking the lights from around us again. When the lights went back so I could see, I was no longer sitting with Ron. Instead, I was in the Gryffindor common room with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Hermione, Harry and I were sharing the couch as the embers of the fire died in front of us.

I saw that Harry had placed the Marauders Map in front of us, Harry holding it in front of our group as he hovered over it. His body hunched in a way that let me see how tall my brother had become in the time between now and whenever this vision took place. I could see that Ron was trying to keep from rolling his eyes where Harry could see him, but I didn't return the favour. Instead, I bent over the layered parchment as well, just so I could look to where his eyes had wandered. His eyes had wandered over to the name 'Draco Malfoy', whose footprints on the paper were fast and deliberate. He seemed to know right where he was going - right before he walked into a wall and his name disappeared.

"Perhaps he finally dropped dead like I asked?" I heard myself offer, leaning back into the plush couch that we shared. "You don't really think that's more suspicious than any of the other mysteries of the castle, do you? He disappeared, can we please sort out the bigger question here: how did our Ronald here get a girlfriend?"

Hermione let out some sort of indignant scoff and I took the clue that it was a touchy subject. I bowed my head over the parchment, watching as it showed the names of people coming and going. I was shocked, however, with what I ended up finding as I kept watching.

'Audrey Potter' and 'Draco Malfoy' could be seen walking down the halls - stopping when approached by Filch. It didn't take a genius to know that I was probably hiding from Filch - but why on earth was Malfoy with me? And why would I not be selling him out or getting him caught? I watched as Filch passed our names, his footprints leading off to another corridor. Malfoy and my footsteps waited a moment before we continued down the same hallway...and in sync disappeared off of the map.

The ink on the Marauders Map suddenly started to grow from each of the names and locations that it was viewing. It filled the parchment, growing and taking over the page until black was all I could see again. I took a moment, blinking my eyes against the darkness before my vision started to clear.

"My Lord, what would you have us do?" A voice asked, pulling me back to attention as I looked around the graveyard in front of me. I jerked my head left to right, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that there was no Harry Potter. I couldn't contain the smile it brought on - Harry was safe and he was away from the monster that was being bowed to and worshiped like some sort of god.

"Get me Harry Potter," the high, cruel voice of the red-eyed man hissed. It sounded less like a command and more of a threat, something that the cloaked man seemed to realize as well. The man bowed slightly before he backed away from the circle, disappearing with a turn on his heel.

"My Lord," another voice asked, a familiar voice that I could not place. "What will you have us do with the sister - the other Potter? Shall I kill her off the Express?"

"No," the man's high voice hissed. "I will deal with her as I see fit - and she's already written me on how to destroy her anyway."

The man held up the two pieces of parchment in his hand, the ones that he had read earlier to make his comments about me. I took a step back away from him; I didn't need to see them. I knew that it was my letter to Harry about Crouch and the article in the _Prophet_...the question was how he thought he could destroy me with it.

Shite. Should have listened to Snape.

The darkness of the graveyard returned, blacking out the graveyard from my sight. Yet, when I was sure that I was in whatever the next vision was, I noticed that the setting was actually darker than the graveyard had been. I was in a dark place, I couldn't see much of anything - somehow, I could tell that I was outside. Where outside I had no idea, but I was outside. The breeze was chilling me, making me shiver and even as I ran forward, I could not see anything but Harry, who was crawling back on his arse from something that was making him scream. Something - _big._

Was that a _dragon_, in front of him? A white-silver dragon, so close that I couldn't even tell it's breed was getting closer and closer to my brother who could do nothing but scream and back away. What was a dragon doing so close to my brother? We weren't in a tournament anymore, we weren't in any place where we would need to see a dragon again, but nevertheless the silver dragon took another step toward him - it would get there before I would.

I tripped over myself on my way toward him and by the time I had looked up, I was somewhere new. I was now _on _a white dragon - was it the same dragon? I couldn't tell as I couldn't see it's face. I could hear Harry screaming at me, screaming for me to jump.

"No!" I screamed, absolutely terrified. I could tell by the wind passing through my hair that we were airborne. "I'm not _jumping_, you're insane!"

"Audrey, you have to. Now, jump!" I felt him pull my sleeve until I couldn't resist anymore. He had momentum and gravity on his side which threw me over the side of the dragon with him. I let out a wail on the way down, closing my eyes so that I wouldn't have to watch myself die - I never thought I would see myself die in a vision, nevertheless because I had jumped - or really been _pulled_ - from the back of a dragon.

But when I landed, I landed on hard floor. I landed straight up and whatever I had crashed into had shattered into a million little pieces - formatting itself to...into the room of junk. I was back in the room of junk again, doing nothing but looking around aimlessly. I had no idea how I had gotten to find Malfoy last time, but right now I wouldn't know up from down in this mess. The scream that I had let out on my fall was still echoing around the room, which was hot and sticky. Finally, I saw Harry emerge.

"Run!" he screamed, bolting straight passed me. The scream that I had thought was my own was still echoing painfully enough that I had to plug my ears again, hissing at the pain from my hand. From where Harry had run from, I saw two girls emerge. One with wheat hair and the other an ugly girl with a pug face and terribly cut bob.

Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson ran toward me. Pansy was screaming and flailing her sausage wrapped arms, Daphne had eyes as wide as dinner plates. I looked at them strangely, unable to keep the confusion and hatred down enough to wonder _why _they could possibly be so terrified...and then I saw it. Another dragon, a dragon made of magic and flame, was racing toward us. It was incinerating everything on its way toward the blonde and the chubby girl, leaving no room for mercy or fail...and then, Pansy Parkinson tripped.

The fire grew so hot and so bright as the dragon made of flame flew closer that I shielded my eyes and felt myself fall over from it. The burning from the fire dragon continued on even as I closed my eyes and willed myself to continue on with another vision - or for them to end. Whichever would have gotten me away from that creature fastest. But the burning didn't really stop - though the fire went out with the end of that vision and the start of the next.

This vision was the worst. It was the worst because all I could feel was pain and all I could hear was begging and screaming - was I being tortured? Surely I was being tortured, because I had never felt this amount of pain and soon, I felt my sore throat begging too.

"I've never even touched it!" I screamed. "I never touched it, leave us alone!"

"You're both lying, you filthy Mudbloods, and I know it!" the crazed woman, that same one with the heavy lidded eyes from earlier on, screamed at...Hermione. It was Hermione who was laying beside me, looking in about as much agony as I felt. The dark-eyed woman held a wand up to Hermione's throat. "You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!"

Hermione screamed as a curse hit her and made her start to writhe. The woman looked over to me while she left Hermione completely inconsolable in her pain.

"What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth, or I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!" A knife that I had not noticed was poised, ready to stab me if I gave her the wrong answer. I looked at it in terror, before I felt burning hatred course through me - my eyes focusing on the knife.

I took a deep, shuttering breath...and spit in the woman's face.

Hermione stopped screaming.

The woman started screaming.

And then the pain hit again.

When the pain stopped, I don't know. I know that I must have closed my eyes because now I was somewhere I had never been. Now I was in front of an unfamiliar corridor, plain and dark with torches lighting up the path to a plain, black door. I walked towards it as if I was floating, it was like I knew where to go and somehow, though I didn't look behind me, I knew I was not alone. This idea was of course reinforced by the hand I could feel tightly clasping my own - but still I walked with determined eyes toward the plain black door, which opened without prompting.

I turned to my side, the person holding my hand was Harry. Harry looked back at me and in sync we nodded, entering through the door and into a large, circular room. It was all painted black, just like the corridor before it. Handleless black doors were set at equal intervals about the room, flickering in blue from the enchanted firelight in the torches.

The doors all opened themselves to me one at a time and I felt myself untangle Harry's fingers from mine while I walked forward and examined them all - they all had different rooms behind the doors, each room filled with different strange objects. Some sort of fish in one...An ancient looking stone archway with a black veil that gave me goosebumps...A room wrapped in chains and shackles... room filled with diamonds and crystals...

Harry took my hand again, looking at me with a determined nod before he set a brisk pace toward the diamonds and the crystals in the one room. The blinding winking of crystal soon turned into something closer to a flicker. The coolness of the sterling white light turned into a hot, humid air that flickered orange - fire. The world was on fire. I stood between the trees, keeping out of sight and out of mind while I watched a figure walk toward me...I was afraid. I did not want anyone to be near me.

Everyone is an enemy.

I looked back from behind my tree, my eyes sweeping over the skyline again - I realized where I was. I was in the Forbidden forest. And in front of me, I watched as Hogwarts _burned._

"No!" I whispered, not caring about walking forward toward the man that I couldn't see...Hogwarts was burning and I needed to do something to help them control whatever was going on. But as I stepped toward the man I couldn't see, as I walked out of the Forbidden forest and away from the tree cover, I did not step into the Hogwarts grounds as I had expected. Instead, I walked and hit the soft ground of the graveyard - watching as the bone-white man in front of me paced.

"You lost me my prize again!" he screamed, cursing a robed man that seemed to buckle to the ground.

"Forgive me, my Lord. I'm sorry, my Lord..."

"Harry Potter is free again, but I will reign victorious, my Death Eaters. I will defeat him and my power over this land will never be questioned again - as you have questioned before, isn't that right Nott?"

"Forgive me, my Lord," a low and familiar voice responded, bowing in time so that his knees would not crack as he fell under the power of the Cruciatus curse. It was the man who had offered me up on a plate, earlier. It was Theodore's father.

"I will be invincible!" The red eyed man announced loudly, the cheers of the robed men did not impress me or convince me that it was true.

"Yes," I muttered under my breath. "As invincible as you were the last time, then?"

"I will be unstoppable and do you know why?" The cold voice asked again. Then, suddenly, his head turned and his red eyes clashed against my own. There was a moment where I was confused, there was a moment I wanted to look behind me to see if I was in the place of someone who was actually supposed to be there. But a sick, twisted smile grew across the snake-like man's face. "Do you know why?"

When he asked it again, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes. I knew what was happening, but I couldn't believe it - I was having a vision, this was in the future, I was in another person's place and seeing through their eyes, wasn't I?

But the red-eyed man shook his head.

"Because Lord Voldemort sees all, _Audrey Potter_."

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><p><strong>I know, right? Ugh, that chapter took me forever. I ended up writing each scene and had to go back to write all those in-between how she got from this vision to this vision, etc...please read the note at the bottom! <strong>

**To my lovely reviewers:**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm so glad you liked the riddle and I really hope that you liked this chapter. There was Draco lovin and everything! Thank you for reviewing :)**

_JEM-99_**: I'm so glad you enjoy! Thank you for reviewing!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: I was thinking of doing a couple from each year, I kind of want to do the moment I just mentioned in this chapter in Borgin and Burkes when Audrey first feels sorry for Draco, I think it will be cute. And Draco totally deserved being hit where the sun don't shine, which you will totally agree with when you get to read it. Also, Audrey wrote those letters but didn't get a chance to get them to them before the task started - mainly she wrote it to Harry so that Voldy could get a hold of it, but I thought it was unbelievable to think she wouldn't write one to Snape as a warning. I seriously considered making her give it to him, but there wasn't actually a place where she would have been able to see him, so I didn't find it realistic. Besides, at that point she wasn't SURE that someone was in the castle, she was just writing it as an 'in case', just like how people write down bets to remember them and prove them later. Or at least, that's how I saw it. Anyway, I really hope you liked this chapter, I'm so excited to hear your thoughts on it!**

_Laurafxox_**: I did leave it with a cliff-hanger, but how was I to keep the chapter going with this? This chapter was over 10,000 words as well and a 24,000 word chapter is too much for anyone. It'd just be obnoxious then! So in the end, she kind of was in the graveyard as well PLUS we got to see some wonderful tidbits of the next three books. Ugh, I was so excited to post this! I'm glad that you like Vampire Diaries too, I'm pretty sure it's my weekly crack in the winter/spring. Anyway, I really hope you like this and thank you for reviewing!**

_Erugalatha_**: She did kind of wind up in the graveyard, wonderful guess! Thank you very much for the compliments and review!**

_BlueRose22_**: Thank you for the review, I do always like them. It's so nice to hear people's thoughts! What did you think of this chapter?**

_Magimagus_**: Well, you got two kisses in this chapter, romance, fluff, adventure, and a whole lot more from the next three books. Plus, a couple key plot points hidden about in there ;) Technically you were right, she did foresee something and she did get sent back to the graveyard, so good on yeh. Writing the riddle was actually a lot easier than you would think. As long as you know where you're going with it, I find it doesn't take too long. To be fair, I edited it like three times until I thought it was right, but really it's only as difficult as you make it. I bet if you took the time you'd find the same :) Oh, and I like your vocabulary just fine! You leave me fantastic reviews, so don't worry about a thing. Thank you!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Haha, had I not been writing everything I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to get past any of those tasks either, so don't fret. I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for the review!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Thank you for reviewing!**

_Mujona_**: Yes, poor Audrey. She goes through a lot, I feel bad for writing such tragic story points for pretty much every character I've ever made. Don't thank me for writing it, thank you for reading it! It sounds cheesy, but I would have the will to write it if I didn't get reviews and encouragement to keep going, so thank you very, very much!**

_PrincessK16_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, what did you think of this one? Was it as powerful as I wanted it to be, with her kinda being in the graveyard and all? Thanks for reviewing!**

_Ella710_**: Don't worry about not reviewing for a while, you're reviewing now :) Malfoy DID stick up for Audrey, I thought it was cute in his I'm-a-jerk way. Also, Audrey already knows Astoria because she's Daphne's little sister. She actually mentions it really early when she's brought into the tournament saying "what if it would have said Greengrass, would they have made you and Astoria go up?" but there will be more with her in the later books. Snape and Audrey are so cute in a platonic way! I think they have the best father/daughter relationship I've ever written - even better than when I write about real fathers and daughters. I don't WANT to kill Cedric, for the record. I really don't. I quite like Cedric. But I have to go with what's best for the story and even though you don't know for sure whether or not he's dead yet, I promise that whatever happens is best for the plot line. Trust me, I have this whole thing mapped out in a way that my teachers (who always called me disorganized) wouldn't even BELIEVE. Daphne isn't out of the water with Audrey yet, so don't worry, and she will prove herself in her own way. I really hope that you liked this chapter - even though you didn't get the answer to what happens to Cedric. Thanks so much for the wonderfully long and epic review!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad you liked their kiss scene. What did you think about the differences between the kisses I described in this chapter? Yes, Audrey did see what was planned for Cedric but I can't tell you yet what happened to him. You got the idea that she would go to the graveyard somehow, so good job. You'll find out which of your other ideas will happen soon - I will tell you that sh*t's about to hit the fan. And Audrey is about to...well, be Audrey. As for the riddle, it's okay. I suck at them unless I'm writing them, too! I hope that you liked this chapter, thank you so much for the review :)**

_alwaysxlove_**: I'm so glad you liked it, thank you and I hope you enjoy this one!**

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><p><strong>Wow. That was quite a ride, eh? So hard to write but so worth it. I was going to end it SO differently, but that scene just spilled out of my fingers and it gave me goosebumps so, I decided to keep it. What did you all think? Good, bad; what you expected, not what you expected; are you happy, sad? Please let me know in a <strong>**REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**


	25. The Monster

**I had to write this one like three times to make sure the feelings came across as I needed them too. For the record, I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter saying it was a bit confusing - keep in mind that I made it sound confusing because Audrey was confused. Things weren't supposed to be too obvious because Audrey doesn't understand them yet...but I promise every single one of those visions will be explained in vivid detail when they finally happen in the story! The response for the last chapter was absolutely amazing - so I couldn't keep you waiting for long. **

**There is a very important note at the bottom of the chapter, so please read.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 24: The Monster<p>

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><p>I woke up. I couldn't have told you when it was I had fallen asleep, or when I possibly fainted, but when I finally was able to open my eyes I knew immediately that I was in the Hospital Wing. The sterile smell and cramped bed were familiar getaways. I too commonly found myself waking up from mysterious causes in this damned part of the castle.<p>

I sat up slowly, acknowledging the distinct mix of potions that lingered on my tongue after having been pushed down my throat while I rested. I could taste some blood replenishing potion, some general healing concoctions - things I was commonly given. I quickly noticed that sound was muffled and looked to see that my head, arm and hand were all bandaged. When I put up my bad arm - remembering that my 'bad arm' was what had my 'good' hand - I could feel that a gelatinous goo was placed around my ears. When I pulled my hand away to smell what was on my fingers, it was some sort of potion not even I knew.

"You're awake," a familiar man breathed, relief unlike I had ever heard filling his voice. Looking to my right, I watched Snape stand a little bit straighter from beside me. "You've been injured."

"Am I really awake?" I whispered, looking around at everything in the wing. I couldn't get past the feeling that I was still asleep, that I was seeing another part of my vision that I had no control over. I had absolutely no proof I was not still in that limbo between times. "Is it really over?"

"The task is finished," Snape said curtly, trying to show as little emotion as he could. I didn't respond - that didn't help me gather time. The task was over, yes, but that did not mean I was back when I should have been. I was positive that I had been seeing Harry close to real-time while he writhed in that graveyard. And those eyes - the eyes of Lord Voldemort had known I was there...during a vision. Was any of it really a vision then? Was this just a continuation? Would Voldemort show up and speak to me again? "Do you remember coming up to the hospital wing? You were conscious, though admittedly not yourself."

"I don't remember at all," I whispered, placing a hand on my head. It pounded gently against my hand, which made me apply more pressure to the headache. "I-I walked up here on my own?"

"Not without help," he shook his head, looking away slightly. "You were not in the state you are - I believe you were in some other form of consciousness."

"Like Astral?" I asked quietly, thinking back to the vision I had seen. Wondering how on earth Voldemort would have known to address me had it been a vision - or was I astral? Or was it Magnuse? I didn't know what kind of magic would apply all three of these things - a physical body that couldn't move, travelling distant places, and foreseeing the future? I had an inkling that wasn't an answer I'd find in a library book.

"Possibly Astral," he responded lowly.

"Did you catch him, yet?" I asked suddenly, after thinking through all the visions I had seen. I always ended up coming back to when my brother was being tortured - when that _snake _was talking about the man who had infiltrated the school - how I had been _right_. Snape looked at me with furrowed brows.

"Pardon?"

"Here," I dug into my robes, hissing as the burn on my hand twisted and tore open again. I held out the piece of parchment that was dug deeply into the pocket. The piece of parchment I had written to him what felt like a lifetime ago. Snape looked at it curiously before opening it and reading it. He folded it and put it back in his pocket quickly.

"How did you know?"

"I wasn't just sorted into Slytherin for my charming personality," I frowned. "I paid attention. It was clear after a while - the polyjuice potion ingredients going missing, the fact that Harry and I were entered in the tournament, that the person needed to have access to everything and anything - it only made right that it was someone here in Hogwarts. Someone who we saw each day. Did you catch 'em?"

"We did," Snape nodded slowly. "It was Barty Crouch junior, in disguise as Professor Moody. He has been in the position for the entirety of the year. Potter, you need to know about your brother-"

"Was attacked by Voldemort. He also escaped unharmed." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath when he didn't dispute that he had gotten away safely. "I know."

"You know?" Snape looked something close to terrified - or at least, terrified for him. Snape did not show emotion, but the look of dismay on his face was enough to make me nervous in itself. "And you know about Mr Diggory?"

I sat up straighter. I had not seen Cedric in the graveyard and he had been in none of my visions. I hadn't thought of kissing him and I hadn't heard his voice in what felt like forever - and very suddenly, I felt the _need _to hear it. Just like I _needed _to see that Harry was okay. Just like I _needed _to tell Snape about what I saw - it was like without hearing Cedric's voice, I wouldn't believe I was really here. That everything was finally over.

"What happened to him? Where is he?" Snape turned away from me, looking around to the hospital wing as if looking for help. His silence was deafening, when his eyes finally caught mine again there was a sorrow in them that made my breath hitch. When he took that moment to size me up, as if he were seeing if I could handle whatever it was that he had to say, he began shaking his head. "But he's okay, isn't he?"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named knows no mercy," he said simply, without blinking and without showing any emotion through his monotone voice. "I'm sorry, Audrey."

He didn't need to say anymore. The look in his eyes would have been enough, but never - not in my four years through these corridors - had I heard him call me by my name. I had never heard him call me Audrey, or anything so personal. And I knew exactly what it meant - he was trying to soothe me from what he knew would be terror. Or maybe he was trying to smooth the transition into the shock I was experiencing. I could feel that my body was going numb. It was like it tingled and the muffled sound that I already heard thanks to my wrapped head was nothing in comparison to the ringing in my ears now. I nodded my head at him, just in case he was saying something that I couldn't hear. When I finally got enough sense to look back at him, I realized that my eyes were watering.

I was glad I had heard it from him, because if I had heard from anyone else, it wouldn't have been real. But I had heard it from him and I knew it was true. At least from Snape I wouldn't get more smothering from people trying to make it better in whichever way they felt most appropriate for them. I didn't want their sympathy. I didn't want anyone's sympathy. I know that I didn't want to hear sweet words about how good of a man he was or about my loss - if I even got that.

I wasn't ready to hear that. How could I have ever heard that? I already knew what a good man he was. I already knew that I had lost something amazing...something amazing that I had never gotten to really experience. Something amazing that I would never know was amazing. Something amazing that I would never get to know as _real._

What was I supposed to do now?

"Why were you sent to be with me?"

"I volunteered," he told after clearing his throat. "The real Moody has come to rest here after he was imprisoned by Crouch. I'm to take you up to Professor Dumbledore should you feel able. Your brother should be on his way there with the headmaster now."

"I'll go," I said immediately, some of pins and needles that numbed my senses disappeared at the thought of seeing my brother. "Is Harry alright?"

"You are more injured than he is," he said with a slight sneer. I would not be surprised if he was upset I was asking about my brother instead of asking about my own injuries - he'd told me not to worry about 'the wondrous one' so much before. But I had been there, I had felt and seen what happened to him and I wanted to think no more on Cedric. My brother was here, just walls away, and I needed to make sure that he was okay - that what Snape said was true. "I'll take you to his office. Dumbledore wishes to speak to you both."

"Yes," I mumbled. As I sat up more fully I tried to remember what I was supposed to feel - despair? Terror? Sickness? It didn't come. I wasn't in pain yet - perhaps I was in shock after hearing what had happened to Cedric. Or perhaps I wouldn't feel it at all - had become that rotten? Like what I had seen in visions all year - the woman with no emotion that watched things as if she had no soul or care? I remembered the look in my eyes, that barren look that held not one ounce of care for anyone in the room - could that be what is happening to me?

"Could you ask Madam Pomfrey for a draft of pepper-up potion for Harry and I?"

Yes, that may be what is wrong with me.

Snape nodded his head swiftly, taking my elbow to help me stand. I was dizzy and felt weak. A weak that made me sneer at myself. I couldn't believe how much my injuries had taken a toll on me - I couldn't believe I had injuries at all. Maybe the bludger had mauled me while I was having a vision, or maybe it had been some other creature from the depths of the maze.

He made me wrap my hand around the post of a hospital bed while he went to ask Madam Pomfrey about the pepper up potion. Across from the bed I was clinging to, I saw a figure. It took me a long moment to understand what - or _who _- I was seeing. But soon I recognized it as the real Mad-Eye Moody. Except, it wasn't him at all - he didn't even look like what Moody had looked like Crouch was his exact replica. His hair was uneven and chopped - probably for the potion, his magical eye was missing and the lid covering where I was used to seeing it was sunken, he was thin and pale, even looking frail in a way I never would have expected someone whose motto was 'constant vigilance!' would look.

"The real Moody," Snape's voice startled me to jump a foot in the air. "Come."

I followed Snape as quickly as I could, which was probably at the speed of a flobberworm, until he grabbed my elbow again and held enough of my weight to help me speed up. Though all I could not focus on anything enough to pay attention to the whispering portraits or the memories that I let play through my mind through certain hallways, I did notice the help he gave me. Had anyone else done it, I probably would have snapped at them that I could do it myself and not to rush me, but the way Snape did it without saying a word showed that he was not doing it to rush me, he was doing it to support me.

He and I thought in strange and stubborn circles.

"_Cockroach clusters_," Snape whispered. I found my eyes dragging toward the Gargoyle when he seemed to hesitate about moving aside.

"She looks horrid," the gargoyle voiced. I found the energy to glare at him.

"At least this is only a situational circumstance for _me_," I hissed to it. "Now move."

The gargoyle sighed agitatedly before it jumped to the side. The stone gargoyle and I had a very contemptuous relationship thanks to the many visits I'd had to the headmaster's office. He and I usually took to insulting each other or berating each other's situations - it was almost comforting to have something normal like that happen right now, but the warmth it brought cooled as soon as Snape let me go to open the door.

"Audrey!" I was shocked as I was pulled into a hug by...by...who was this? I pulled away quickly, suddenly terrified of whoever it was that was touching me. No one should be touching me. I didn't trust them and I didn't want to trust them - I just wanted to go to sleep. I wanted to see Cedric. I wanted to ask Harry what had happened to him. I wanted to know why I couldn't have saved him...

"Sirius?" I was almost shocked. Sirius did not look like the last time I had seen him. He was still rugged looking - something I doubted would ever fully go away after twelve years in Azkaban - but he looked cleaned up. His eyes, though worried, had a spark of life in him that had not been drained by the dementors. He was no longer haunted or bloodthirsty, Sirius almost looked _paternal_.

It took until Sirius lead me to a seat to notice that Snape had lagged behind and let go of me. I turned my head to look at him, to try and see what was wrong with him - but Snape was too busy glaring at Sirius' back. It was so bitter that I didn't even want to have to address it. Now was not the time.

"Sit, sit," Sirius encouraged, sitting me in a seat beside a messy haired individual. Like in my vision it took me a short moment for me to realize who I was sitting next to.

"Harry," I gasped, leaning forward and grasping on to him. He was alive, he was here, he really _had _escaped the clutches of that red-eyed _snake_. He looked almost shocked to see me, taking a moment to hug me back before he held me at arm's length.

"What happened to you?" He asked, looking at me in shock. His eyes skimmed over my bandaged head, my hand, my arm and into my eyes. I could only imagine what he saw in them. Did he see the mirthless monster I had seen in those visions?

"Don't ask," I muttered, gripping his hand even more tightly with my own. I blanched a little when I saw an identical dash in his arm as there was in mine. "Are you okay?"

"Drea, it's Cedric, he-"

"I know," I whispered, trying to fight against the tears building in my eyes. I closed them for a moment, focusing on my breathing - which was hard. It was hard because I felt like my chest was constricting and couldn't make the room to take that breath. My heart felt like it had been beaten, like it was swollen from the pain of the abuse and because of that nothing seemed to fit inside my body anymore.

"It is a good question, Audrey. What happened within that maze, for you?" Professor Dumbledore asked me, leaning over his desk and steepling his fingers. I couldn't help but gape at the scene for a second, the expression on his face was more grave, but I was disturbingly reminded of what I had seen in my vision however long before. _There were seven_, he had said then. Only there he had been more intent and there he'd had a blackened hand - a hand which currently seemed untouched. Still, it gave me shivers and I had to look away.

A soft rush of wings broke the concentration between the three men and I. Fawkes had flown to leave his perch and come across toward Harry and I. The beautiful red bird landed on my knee and cooed toward me for a while, as he always seemed to do, before looking at Harry. It was then I looked at Harry for the first time since I had really gotten in the room, and what I saw didn't comfort me. Harry looked more terrified and more knowledgeable than he ever had - and it was in the worst way. He was this knowledgeable because he was about to hurt himself. He was this knowledgeable because he had been through hell and back and now knew and accepted the repercussions.

"'Lo, Fawkes," Harry whispered, petting him gently. His hands were shaking, but he seemed to relax evermore slightly with Fawkes' approach. I was always so surprised by the way this bird fawned over Harry. I was supposed to be the one good with animals and Harry was supposed to be the one good with snakes...but thoughts of the snake-like man jumped into my vision and I didn't finish the thought. Harry and Fawkes' relationship could be dissected some other day.

"I need to hear about Harry first," I was determined though I could not look at whom I was speaking to. Both Harry and I were petting the large phoenix now, just so we wouldn't have to look at the adults around us. "I don't think mine will make sense before his."

Sirius was giving me a look out of my peripheral. I didn't understand what he was trying to portray with it, but I couldn't bring myself to look closely enough to find out. I saw Harry glancing around the room, his gaze landing behind him for a moment before he turned back toward Dumbledore.

Snape cleared his throat. "I must go check on Crouch, headmaster."

"Wait-" I said quickly, turning in my seat to look at him. He didn't move for a moment, looking at me closely. I tried to tell him not to go, that I wanted him to be here, but I don't think my eyes were saying it properly and I don't think he was getting any sort of hint from my attempts at legilimency.

"I think that's a good idea, Snape." Sirius cut in with a sort of growl. "I'm sure I can handle my own godchildren."

Snape's eyes hardened as they left my gaze to settle on Sirius'. There was a silent battle between them, something that I wouldn't have been able to follow even on one of my best days, before Snape turned back to me, nodded his head and turned around.

_Call if you have need._

It was his voice - it was undoubtedly Snape's voice in my head - that had just whispered that to me. I tried to say something back to him, to think something back without saying anything at all, but for some reason I didn't get anywhere for it.

_You have no energy. Do not exert yourself. I will be told of everything by the headmaster later, if you allow it. For now, enjoy your _family _time._

Even the thoughts were unbearably bitter, but I couldn't blame him for it. If anyone knew about bitterness it was me and I knew I didn't have any right to comment on it. I turned back toward Dumbledore, just realizing now that I had been staring aimlessly after Snape even after he had closed the door behind him. Since no one would know the silent conversation we had, I probably looked like some sort of lost kitten. I could almost hear Snape taunting me in that disinterested monotone of his. I tried not to blush at the mens expressions, but Dumbledore just smiled sadly. Sirius put his arm around me encouragingly.

"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze, Harry." Dumbledore explained to him. I closed my eyes, trying to keep the images from me. I didn't want to know exactly what happened after - not when I knew what happened in the end of it all.

"We can leave that till morning, can't we, Dumbledore?" Sirius asked harshly. He moved his arm from around me to reach over and place his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let him have a sleep. Let him rest."

Dumbledore leaned forward again, ignoring Sirius and placing his eyes directly on Harry. "If I thought I could help you by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it." Dumbledore explained gently. "But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened."

Fawkes let out a trill that was oddly comforting. I looked at Harry, who looked determined, but somehow - possibly because I had spent so many years looking at his face - I knew that he was terrified. I looked at Dumbledore, whose eyes were still focused on Harry and took a breath.

"The Portkey took him to a graveyard," I said as strongly as I could. "He was met there by Wormtail."

"How do you-" Harry started, looking at me in terror. Maybe it made it even worse, that someone else was reliving it for him. I stopped speaking, looking at him expectantly. He seemed to realize that I was done his introduction and took a deep breath.

Then he told the story, a story that I couldn't really pay attention to. It was hard, no, _impossible_ to pay attention to the rest of the story after one of the very first details. How could Wormtail have just _killed _Cedric, just because he was there? And how was I supposed to pay attention with that playing through my brain? My mind came up with all the scenarios of what could have happened, what really did happen. Thinking of him being murdered mercilessly. Thinking of him trying to defend himself as that terrible green curse hurtled toward him. Watching him fall...

"I knew," I whispered with a gasp, tears jumping to my eyes. The shock was fading. "Merlin's beard, I _knew_."

Harry stopped talking, I'm not sure where he had been in his story. All three of them were watching me closely now, but I couldn't do anything but look at my hands. They were shaking badly, so badly they had fallen from Fawkes who was still perched on my knee. I tried to hold them to stop the shaking, but the more I thought about it - the more I _realized _- the worse it became.

"Audrey?"

"When Cedric tried to kiss me...when he _did _kiss me - both times I saw a green light-" a loose tear fell down my cheek as I took in a shuttering breath. "I never thought that - how could I have? I told him to watch out and be careful of green lights. But I never thought that it would be - I mean, who would have wanted to kill Cedric?"

"You had a vision," Dumbledore nodded gravely. Sirius looked at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, Audrey..."

"I didn't know," I closed my eyes, but it only made the green lights replaying through my memory glow more brightly. "I shouldn't have let him go - I told him I wanted to go on my own. I told him I wanted to win...he wanted to go together. He wanted to go find Fleur and I said I wanted to try to win. If he would have just come with me, we would have found Fleur together and been too late to touch the Portkey. If he wouldn't have touched the Portkey, he wouldn't have died, he-"

"Audrey, no," Harry said quickly, his voice hoarse. "He and I only went together because I saved him and he saved me. If he would have gone with you, he might have gotten there first on his own-"

"It could have been me," I hissed. "If it was you and I, we could have taken Voldemort."

"No, Audrey," Sirius whispered. "No. That's impossible."

"He didn't want you," Harry agreed. "He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's. He said the protection my - _our_ mother left in me - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

"Very well, Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier." Dumbledore nodded, I closed my eyes again.

"I saw that too," I whispered. "He touched you. I felt the pain, I even vomited. I don't know if it was real or in the vision, but I vomited from it."

"You saw this in a vision?" Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his eye as he looked between Harry and I - his gaze quickly falling to our forearms.

"A bunch of visions, smacked together." I whispered. "I didn't think it would end."

"Interesting, interesting," Dumbledore mumbled.

"What's interesting, Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, sounding as annoyed as I normally would have been. Instead, Dumbledore held up his hand to quiet him.

"Let us let Harry finish his tale," he said solemnly. Harry nodded to himself before he began again. He explained how Voldemort had come back and the speech he said to his Death Eaters, I decided not to interrupt again by saying I had been there for part of that as well. He explained how Voldemort ordered him to duel, how he placed the Cruciatus curse on him.

"That's when he found the parchment in my pocket," Harry stopped, looking at me from the corner in his eye, I did the same. Harry seemed to be asking permission if he could tell what I had written in the parchment. I ignored the question and turned to Dumbledore.

"He found the warning I'd put in Harry's pocket. The warning that someone was disguised with polyjuice potion and playing a role in the tournament," I explained. Sirius looked absolutely shocked, even Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in interest. "I had put it in his pocket before the tournament. It was a revelation I'd had just before I saw Mrs Weasley and Bill - but I couldn't think through it enough to just admit it or accuse anyone. I should have just admitted it..."

"Go on," Dumbledore encouraged.

"I told him that someone was disguised and it was the same person who put our name in the cup. He didn't read it in time and I saw as Voldemort read it. Earlier in the day, Harry'd torn out the article from the _Prophet_ - Voldemort read that, too." I swallowed, finding my throat closing.

"He was mad his Death Eaters didn't see the signs that she did," Harry finished for me, his eyes staying on me. It was like he knew my chest was swelling nervously, like he was trying to make sure I was still breathing. "He thought she was a threat-"

"Not a threat," I corrected. "He was completely insulted by the word _threat, _but he kept saying I would be a bother. That my abilities were going to intimidate the Death Eaters and that they plan get rid of me without hesitation."

"Someone offered to kill her when she got off the express," Harry remembered suddenly, looking to Dumbledore as if it were a warning. "They won't be able to, will they?"

"Of course not," Dumbledore said and for some reason, he made it completely believable.

"They said they would try to change my allegiance," I gritted my teeth, ashamed to even put the idea in their heads. "That because I was in Slytherin and was friends with Slytherins I may join their cause. Wormtail said I'd never betray Harry so they decided getting rid of me was easiest."

Sirius looked away but Dumbledore nodded, a small smile pulling on his lips. His eyes went to Harry patiently. "What happened then, Harry?"

Harry continued his tale again, talking about trying to duel the snake-man and how their wands had been connected by some golden beam light. He was having trouble talking, but now I couldn't help him. I had not seen this, I did not know what had happened. Besides, I was nearly lost to the world with thoughts of Cedric again - I tried to pay attention to him, I really did, but the image of Cedric's body was haunting me.

"The wands connected?" Sirius asked, looking from Harry to Dumbledore. "Why?"

"Priori Incantatem," Dumbledore muttered as an answer - not that any of us understood it. His eyes focused on Harry for a moment and it was as if they were having a conversation like Snape and I had only half an hour ago. I wish I could have called for him now. I wish I could have him here to just read my mind and tell them everything - I had no reason to speak yet and I didn't want to hear anymore.

"The Reverse Spell effect?" asked Sirius sharply. I looked around at all three of them, all three who knew exactly what was going on even though I was completely lost.

"What do you mean 'reverse spell effect'? Did the spells they say switch? Did Harry accidentally cast the killing curse?" That was impossible though - because Voldemort hadn't died. That I remembered quite vividly.

"My wand's feather came from Fawkes?" Harry asked in shock.

"Yes," smiled Dumbledore almost sadly. "Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago."

"But what is the reverse spell thing?" I asked, looking at Harry who looked away from me almost guiltily - but why? What did my brother have to feel guilty about after everything that had happened tonight?

"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?" Sirius asked, looking from Dumbledore to Harry. It sounded like he might have known but he didn't sound sure enough to make any decisions.

"They will not work properly against each other," Dumbledore explained quietly. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle...a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed - in reverse. The most recent first...and then those which preceded it..."

He cast a look to Harry that I could not understand, his eyes sliding to me for a moment before he looked back at Harry. Harry nodded, answering some other question that I didn't understand, instinctively I took hold of Harry's hand. A look that guilty and that grim could only mean something terrible, couldn't it?

"Which means," said Dumbledore slowly, his eyes upon flickering between my twins face and my own, "that some form of Cedric must have reappeared."

My eyes looked up to Harry, wide and confused. "What?"

"Diggory came back to life?" asked Sirius sharply. I heart leapt and pounded painfully against my sore skin. But how could he have come back to life? Was it thanks to this Priori thing? No, it was too good to be true - wasn't it? Didn't I finally deserve a break? Didn't Harry finally deserve a break? Cedric certainly didn't deserve to be ruthlessly murdered. No, he deserved to live. But if he _was _living - why couldn't I see him? Why was Dumbledore looking so grave if Cedric Diggory was not dead?

"No spell can reawaken the dead," said Dumbledore heavily, his eyes landing on me and trying to drive the point home. It was a moot point anyway, I knew it was too good to be true. I knew that I wouldn't get a happy ending in all this. I just couldn't believe that this was how _Cedric's _ending played out. "All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged from the wand...am I correct, Harry?"

"He spoke to me," Harry whispered, gripping my hand more tightly. He was shaking again and it seemed that he was unable to look at me. "The...the ghost Cedric, or whatever he was, spoke."

"An echo," reminded Dumbledore, "which retained Cedric's appearance and character. I am guessing other such forms appeared...less recent victims of Voldemort's wand..."

"An old man," Harry said, his throat still constricted. "Bertha Jorkins. And..."

"Your parents?" said Dumbledore quietly. I physically started from the thought of it and snapped my eyes toward my brother, who was determinedly keeping his eyes away from mine.

"Yes," said Harry.

I pulled myself away from my brother, looking at him with wide eyes and finding myself looking into Dumbledore's and Sirius' gazes for clarification. For reassurance. For anything. _Snape, why aren't you here_? I asked, but I didn't receive an answer. I didn't have enough energy to find his mind and communicate with it right now. Both of the men looked solemn, as if they were trying not to move and scare me even more. Maybe I really was a lost kitten to them: a lost, scared kitten that would run away if they came too close.

I pulled away from Harry, suddenly revolted by the thoughts swirling through my head. It was like I was suddenly back to myself for a minute; my bitter, angry self that saw how unfair what I was just told was. Why Harry? Why were they looking at me like _I _was the one who was most fragile, but my brother's sanity was slipping through his fingers? It wasn't fair. None of this was fair! "You _saw _our parents? You _saw _Cedric?"

"Audrey-" Sirius whispered, I put a hand out to stop him as I stood from my seat.

"Don't 'Audrey' me," I mimicked cruelly. "You have no idea what _I_ saw tonight - what I heardtonight. I got to have visions of being tortured and dying and seeing _other _people die but not being able to help. I got to _feel _the pain Harry went through and experience all the pain I now knew I'll _have to. _I had to have Voldemort _address _me in a vision because somehow he could _see _me-"

"Voldemort could see you?" Sirius asked in shock. Dumbledore seemed to find this interesting enough to now take his eyes off of Harry and tune intensely into my words. Fantastic.

"-and all the while you were chatting it up with our dead parents and my dead-" my dead _what? _Cedric was not my boyfriend. I had only kissed him. I'd only had time to kiss him. And then I had killed him. I had killed him because I hadn't listened to my instincts. I'd killed him because I hadn't listened to the things I knew - that he was in danger. That I was in danger. That _we _were in danger.

"Audrey, Harry fought You-Know-Who tonight. He-"

"He saved the day. Yeah, he's _always _saving the day, ain't he?" I looked at him, tears blurring my vision as I felt my face lift into a sneer. "But he always gets some sort of reward, have you noticed? He certainly had time for some last words with Cedric, didn't 'e? Did you get to have Mum sing you a lullaby, too?"

"Drea, please-" Harry was also in tears, looking at me desperately. I couldn't believe how betrayed I felt - he had gotten to see Mum? Dad? Cedric? Why didn't I get to? Why did Harry have the wand that let him see them? Why was it Harry's blood that was needed and not mine? Is my blood not _good enough_ - had Pugfaced Parkinson been right all along?

"_No_!" I bellowed, Fawkes tried to fly back over to where I'd stormed off to, tearing up on his way. I pulled away from the phoenix. "I don't want your tears and I don't want to be healed. I don't want to forget this and keep living through tomorrow. I want to _grieve_. Leave me alone!" I rushed toward the exit, unable to stop the momentum my heart had taken to get away from the office. Even when Sirius called my name, I couldn't stop. I heard Dumbledore tell him to let me go, that I had been through more than he knew tonight - which made me want to turn back and hiss at him more.

Dumbledore had no idea what I had been through tonight - he hadn't really taken the time to ask. To be honest, I didn't really care what he thought I had or had not been through tonight, but I was upset that I had left before I got my word. But I had needed to do something to get out of there. I needed to do something to get away from the haunting image of my parents and Cedric screaming at Harry to run. I didn't want that to be how I imagined my parents. I didn't want that to be how I remembered Cedric. Cedric had been calm and collected and sweet. I shouldn't have to be forced to think about his last moments - as an _echo _ - and about how he had died thanks to my own idiocy.

And why had Harry got to talk to our parents and I hadn't? Harry always seemed to be getting those experiences that I had never got the chance to have. Harry had gotten to see them in the Mirror of Erised, he'd gotten to hear Mum's voice as his happy thought for Patronuses, and now he'd gotten to see their - their what? Their ghosts...or _echoes_?

Why not me? Why didn't _I _ever get to experience those kinds of things? Why didn't I ever get to experience something so personal and so earth shattering like seeing my dead parents? Because they _were _my parents, too. No one ever seemed to remember that Lily and James Potter had a bloody _daughter _as well. Why didn't I ever get to be the hero who got the reward of seeing my parents or getting that moment where everyone worried about _me_? Even when I had been poisoned by a bloody dragon, they all worried about him.

What was wrong with me?

What was I missing that Harry had?

I looked around aimlessly when I had finally left the headmaster's office. Part of me wanted to go back, the empty corridors seemed more daunting than I had ever noticed. But I couldn't go back - not after the scene I had made and the fact that the truth still stung. Harry got _everything. _Including second chances a hundred times over.

I yelled out, pulling at my hair which blurred my face in red for a moment as it fell over me. Nothing responded to my angry cry, thanks to no one being in the corridor - then again, who would want to come up to the seventh floor for anything other than to see him or go to the Gryffindor common room?

I started walking, trying to get my head on straight. I couldn't have told you where I was headed - there was no way I could have known. My mind was too scattered in the reverberating images of my multi-levelled vision and my gut was still lurching at the idea of Cedric falling down under the glare of a green spell. It was too distracting to think about such trivial things as my footsteps.

Before I could even place where those footprints had led me, I looked up into the sneering face of the fat lady. Apparently my subconscious had decided to lead me to the Gryffindor common room - not that I really understood what I was here for. Harry was still with Sirius and Dumbledore and I was standing in a barren corridor, waiting for some sort of inspiration to spark in me.

"You need the password, _Slytherin_." Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten that I was on as poor of relations with the Gryffindor portrait as I was with the headmaster's gargoyle.

"A Slytherin whose twin brother is in Gryffindor," I rolled my eyes. "And it's _banana fritters_."

Thank Salazar I had been to the Gryffindor common room with the Weasley's and Harry just earlier today - was that only today? Had I not toured the castle with them, there was no way I would have gotten in. To be honest, with how much I had been dwelling on who was in the castle, I'm surprised I had paid any attention at all.

Now my mind began to wander again. It was wonderful to have a pause between thinking about green lights and heavy bodies hitting the ground so I could think about Mad Eye Moody - or rather, Barty Crouch JR - and think about everything he had done to me in the past day. Month. Year.

I briefly noted that there was no one in the dormitories - presumably they were all kept out on the grounds after everything that had happened. Looking at the clock, I saw that it was only 11:00pm - the task had only ended an hour and a half ago. Apparently Dumbledore wanted everything taken care of before he let the students barge in and get in the way of those with post traumatic stress disorder from the happenings of tonight.

My thoughts still on the traitor, I moved up to Harry's dorm. It was up stairs, not on the same level like the Slytherin dormitories were. His room looked much nicer than ours. Sure, ours had skulls on the bedposts and immaculate décor to combine with the green glare of the lake, but something about the warmth of the red draping and plush, overstuffed and ugly beds made them more appealing. I went to the edge of Harry's bed, trusting my instincts when I realized that this was where they were leading me.

How could I not trust my instincts after tonight?

Opening Harry's trunk was easy and finding the invisibility cloak floating around at the bottom of his trunk was expectedly simple. I had only given back to him just the week before and he was already mistreating the thing. I touched it lightly, wondering what this cloak had been used for. If I had been able to see my father as many times as Harry had, I would have asked him. I would have asked him what it was like to pull pranks in the castle back then. If Filch had always been so jumpy and if that damned cat had always hated everyone - even me. I would have asked him what the best prank was that he used it for and how much he had used it after he became an animagus.

I pushed the cloak over my shoulders, easily hiding beneath its folds. Harry wouldn't be able to wear this too much longer - he was getting taller and taller. Eventually, this wouldn't be able to hide his feet and his head at the same time.

It was surprisingly comforting being invisible. Though no one was here and all I wanted to do was confront everyone who dared come in my path, I felt much more free. Possibly even liberated from all of the pressure I had been under with the tournament, the task, the articles, even the little stress that Cedric posed. It was like a lightness in my chest, the feeling of invincibility - the feeling that I could get away with anything.

And suddenly an idea popped into my head. Suddenly, I realized that I _could _get away with anything. I was invisible. I was a Magnuse - I could be completely untraceable and at the same time, I could be completely...completely _what?_

My feet decided to answer the question for me.

It was hard, walking all the way down to the first floor from the top of Gryffindor tower. I was feeling so tired, I barely had any energy. I had grabbed some chocolate from inside of Harry's trunk to take with me, but the rush that gave me wasn't enough to keep me going for much longer. In retrospect, I wish I would have had the sense to take the pepper-up potion that Snape had gotten for Harry and I...then again, I wouldn't need to worry about that in a little bit. Something told me that my adrenaline was about to cure these problems.

Outside of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's office stood McGonagall and Snape. McGonagall looked exhausted and frazzled - her hair wasn't in her severe and tidy bun that I regularly saw it in. It seemed like she had played with it, or possibly run about, causing wisps to escape and deflect from the harsh demeanor she tried putting on. She and Snape were whispering heatedly to one another, every now and then shooting dark glares towards the man bound in the chair within the office.

Barty Crouch JR was almost exactly as I remembered him from the Pensieve. He still had the straw coloured hair, sunken eyes, but now there was a note of lunacy to each of his movements that had not been present when he was pleading for his life. Perhaps this was why neither of my most stern professors dared to be in the same room as him.

"The Dark Lord will come for me, Snape. And when he does you'll be killed, traitor!" Ah, or perhaps that was why. The words made me sneer towards the straw haired man. He wasn't that old - he must have been just ten years older than Bill Weasley, if you were able to look past his brutal insanity. Snape stiffened slightly but turned his back on the man, walking a little bit farther away from him and out the office door. I looked at McGonagall, who was whispering some sort of threat at the Death Eater, before she moved farther away to squabble more to Snape.

I took the chance as I saw it. Call it instinct - and as I now knew never to ignore my instincts again, I was fast to act on it.

I breezed past both my professors, keeping little under the cloak they had no idea I was there. They were still bickering while I looked more closely into the room, watching as Crouch's head rolled along his spine. He was smiling and muttering to himself - something about mudbloods and traitors dying in the uprising.

You know, the usual.

I sneered at him again, going to the door and touching it where my professors wouldn't see.

I started concentrating before I even planned out whatever it was I was about to do. I stretched out my energy, paying attention to the gritted wood, knotted and rough underneath my fingertips. I tried to imagine the wood swelling, imagine that it was being opened and pried and spelled - but the wood was so stiff and swollen that it wouldn't open to whatever it was I was doing. It was almost as if my energy were willing the wooden door to be _loyal_ to me. It was the only way I knew to make it work and I didn't have the energy to mould the door into something else. But speaking to the wood? Strangely enough, it was easier. Exhausting, but easier.

I felt the tips of my finger grow warm and then very quickly cool, as if it were sending me back some sort of message. Something in the affirmative, somehow I understood that much. It was like it was agreeing with me, agreeing that what I was doing was to avenge, to justify, to validate the deaths this man had and would cause...

The door slammed shut.

The door locked.

McGonagall and Snape were immediately on the door: banging, spelling, ramming, yelling. They tried everything, I watched as they did it. I was not confident enough in what little energy I had to hold the door closed with my under-average Magnuse skills. I waited another minute to listen to the hear that McGonagall had left to get something else - or someone else - before I tugged off the invisibility cloak.

"Ha!" the sunken-eyed Death Eater cackled. "Audrey Potter - I see the damage that the Dark Lord did to you. Do _you_ see? Do you see his power? He can control you from anywhere!"

"No, not me," I sneered back. "I'm here to look at the man who killed Cedric Diggory."

"Had he not touched that cup, he would have been spared. He had good blood, good talent." the man nearly sounded disappointed, but he did not sound remorseful.

"To think I felt _sorry _for you," I hissed. "When I saw you being carted away, imprisoned by your father - I thought about how people just didn't understand. The pressures, the bitterness, that it wasn't always black and white. I _defended _you."

"It is not black and white," he jeered. "But it is life from death! It's too bad good blood was spilt, but it is in the name of something greater than the Diggory boy-"

"You didn't care about him. You don't really care about good blood or bad blood, you just want to decimate," I accused, placing my finger against the scull tattoo on his forearm. The same one I had seen mould itself into my arm and pooled into blood. I looked at it distastefully, a rage building in my gut that was nauseating. "Do you feel better? You'll be imprisoned again for serving your master - only this time, you won't be able to escape."

"Escape?" his laugh was too loud, too crazed. "The Dark Lord rewards his followers, Potter. He will break me out of Azkaban, or I will walk out when he takes control again! Just like those most loyal in his last reign - I will be rewarded beyond measure."

I didn't know whether or not this was true. I didn't know if Voldemort had broken Death Eaters out of Azkaban before, but I didn't want to take the chance. I couldn't help myself when my wand was suddenly in my hand and suddenly sticking into his jugular. "Then _I'll _kill you."

He was no longer laughing, but his eyes still held their hysterical twinkle.

"You don't have the gall," he taunted. "You're a coward."

"_Voldemort's_ a coward," I hissed pointedly.

"Do not speak his name! You're a coward, Audrey Potter, and the Dark Lord knows it!"

"Me? I don't hide in someone else's body to secretly control people's lives." I sneered, pushing my wand a little bit harder. He grimaced and tried to move away, but being strapped to a chair only let him move so far.

"But you hide in your brother's shadow and are too afraid to take control of your own?" I couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question thanks to him gritting his teeth against the pressure in his neck, but the sentence itself unnerved me.

"Had you not killed my potential boyfriend, helped bring Voldemort back, and pretty much damned Harry and I into running forever - this could potentially be an interesting conversation." I tilted my head threateningly, jabbing my wand into his throat again. "But you did."

"_Oh thank heavens, Minister_!" McGongall's voice sounded from outside the door. "_The door is locked, we can't...what are you-why would you bring that here?_"

I looked over my shoulder before looking back at him. "They're coming for you, Crouch."

"They can have me - the Dark Lord will not leave me, now!" The man cackled again. Were I not so viciously mad, I would have felt sorry for the pathetic excuse for a man in front of me. Azkaban had really done him in, with that insane glint in his eye and the dangerous dependency on a reptile.

He stopped laughing as the room began cool. It was an unearthly cool, something that rose goosebumps on my arms but had no reason to. It grew colder, even colder still...a candle right behind Crouch's head blew out. His laughter was replaced by a whimper as his eyes bulged and watered.

"Dementor," he whispered, his breath coming out in a puff. There was a moment of fear in myself, the realization of what was trying to enter the room almost frightened me - but that Dementor would not be coming to find me. No, it had more slippery fish to fry.

"I told you they were coming for you, Crouch." I found myself smiling, but it was not a smile that I usually gave. It was not a smile or smirk, it was...vindictive. His sunken, wide eyes turned on me.

"It'll kiss you, too! You can't hide from it with that cloak!"

"Oh, I won't need to." I backed away, watching as the door again began to tremble. "I've always been a romantic. My happy thought is to watch it kiss you. I'll watch it kiss you to death."

I threw the cloak back over me, moving out of the way of anything that may now happen. I couldn't stop myself from listening as he began to wail and scream, watching as he tried to pull himself from beneath his bindings. His terror was remarkably satisfying.

The door didn't burst open, it actually burst - splinters flying this way and that. I guess that was one way to ruin the Magnuse I had managed to use on it. Had they not thought of that before, or was I growing so weak that I just let it happen? Or, more terrifyingly, was I _excited _to see Crouch punished?

Snape and McGonagall entered the room with their wands drawn. They were cautiously looking around the room to see what had caused the door to slam and stick - but I kept myself well hidden. I watched on while they noticed there was no noticeable danger and lowered them, their eyes falling back onto Crouch who was still writhing in his chair.

"Is this-" Cornelius Fudge gasped, looking at the man in the chair. "What-how-who?"

"A Death Eater, minister. Broken out of Azkaban," Snape finished for him. Fudge looked from the potions master to the Death Eater, dumfounded.

"But how?"

"My master will save me from you!" he screamed. But he was not looking at the people in the office, his eyes were completely focused on the hulking, black figure outside the doorway. "The Dark Lord will make this right, you watch! And all those traitors will die!"

"You believe You-Know-Who gave these orders?" Fudge asked in disbelief, his eyes flickering to my professors, before narrowing again on Crouch.

"Of course, I serve only my master." He announced loudly. "He has risen! The Dark Lord has risen!"

This was not going fast enough for me. I moved behind his chair, moving slowly so that they wouldn't get a glimpse of me underneath the cloak. It was a sluggish pace, trying to take the fact that the Minister and my professors were speaking to one another in hushed tones. When I finally got behind the chair, I tried to think of my next move...what was I going to do now?

I was here. I was behind his chair, the man who made Cedric's death possible. He had taken the life I knew away from me: a boyfriend, simplicity, safety; in return he'd given me what? Fear and death. That's what. This man had killed everything I expected for myself, everything I could have had.

I didn't have enough energy to use any type of magic against him. I was exhausted, but in the back of my mind I knew I always had something up my sleeve to help ruin the man responsible for everything that had happened this year. I needed to do what I knew - and I knew how to scare people. Frighten people. Fool people.

I leaned toward him, half a foot away from his face before taking a deep, rattling breath.

My breath did not sound like I had wanted it to. I wanted it to sound like the rattling breath of a Dementor. I wanted to terrify him to the point that he would cry out and ask to be taken back to Azkaban - just so he could stay in a cell and away from them. But perhaps luck _was _on my side, or perhaps he was too terrified to have noticed the difference between what I had done and the real thing, because Crouch started screaming.

He didn't have the time to think about the Dementor on the other side of the door. He started squealing and looking away from the creature on the other side of the door which had turned its head toward us. It could sense all of the panic and the hopelessness that was radiating off of Crouch's skin. Perhaps he sensed the bitterness in my chest. Who knew what else had gripped the Dementor's attention and caused it to swoop into the room and closer to where both Crouch and I stayed.

I took a step to the side, two steps, seven steps...I tried to move away from the Dementor and even though it was blind, I somehow knew that he knew I was in the room. That I was here, watching what justice would be given to the monster in the chair.

And perhaps I was a monster too. Perhaps I was a monster because I didn't try to run from the room, which was starting to freeze from all the despair. Perhaps I was a monster because I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene in front of me while he moved toward Crouch, leaning over him with what I knew was rotting, clattered breaths. I watched him hunch toward the screaming man in the chair, breathing in the fear and the essence of a soul I didn't believe the man possessed.

_Potter?_

It was Snape's voice. I knew it was Snape's voice, but even in my sick excitement I couldn't find the energy to respond to him. I couldn't even care that Snape might know I was in the room - I couldn't tear my eyes off of the hulking, cloaked figure bending over Crouch - who silenced while the others tried to fight the Dementor off.

The room grew colder as he pulled away from a very different looking Barty Crouch. His face was pale and placid, a neutral deftness to his features. His eyes, blank and unseeing, moved around the room as if trying to understand where he was...maybe the man had had a soul after all.

The Dementor turned on the others in the room, his head slowly swivelling to them and finally to me - he was trying to determine who to attack next: who was an enemy. But there was nothing he would have been able to do to me now. Not now that I realized that this, this blank-faced monster, was my happy thought. I watched him lose his soul and I felt no sympathy. I felt no remorse for the soul that had been lost by someone who had already sold it to a man who could murder innocents like he had.

Did that make me a monster? I felt myself almost smile, before watching as a bright patronus filled the room, luring the Dementor back out the door. The light reflected around the room and cast almost a _reflection _on the inside of the cloak...what I saw I barely recognized. It was my reflection, but it was not me in it. Had it happened so quickly? Had I already turned into the monster I had seen in my visions - the cool, impassive look in my eyes that only now made sense to me.

Perhaps I was turning into a monster, but for some reason it seemed like the ruthlessness was the only thing that made sense. That ruthlessness was the only thing that seemed to make this right. _It's unfair_, I had kept saying - and now, and now I could make it fair. Even if I had to turn into something terrible to do it. I had brought justice to everything that happened today.

And I had done it for _him. _

_For Cedric._

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><p><strong>Man, that was intense, eh? Is Audrey going to the Dark Side, or is she just grieving and dealing with things a little differently? Do you think that what she did was justifiable? <strong>**At the bottom of this AN is a very important reminder****, so go take a look! **

**o my absolutely AMAZING reviewers from Chapter 23:**

_naynay87_**: I know last chapter was a bit confusing, but try to remember that Audrey wouldn't have understood what was happening and since we're seeing it from her point of view, it needed to be distorted. I hope that makes things a little better! I will be writing one shots for this story during the short pause I will be having while I get a head start on the OotP part of the story - if you have any ideas for what parts of Audrey's story you'd like to see a one shot of, let me know!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: I'm glad you were trying to understand it, but remember if you understood the whole thing it would have just meant I was giving you spoilers for the rest of the story! I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for your review :)**

_Erugalatha_**: Last chapter was definitely an overload of information, but I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for your review, I really appreciated it!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Yes, the oneshots will definitely be happening, I'm already starting to plan them now. I warn you that I will not be doing one shots from books five and up - I'll save those for closer to when they happen. I've already given a lot of sneak peeks with that last chapter. I really hope you liked this chapter, it was definitely a hard one!**

_PrincessK16_**: I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter - thank you very much for reading and reviewing. I hope you liked this chapter, a lot happened!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: You were supposed to be confused, so don't worry it will all be explained! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well and thank you for the review!**

_Mujona_**: I'm glad that you're on the edge of your seat - but don't fall off! The next one will not be a long wait from now - promise :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Magimagus_**: Thank you for the compliments! I tried to update as quickly as I could, I would have had it out three days earlier, but it was just not up to par to my regular writing so I took the time to make it something worth putting after the last chapter. I kind of wish that I could finish the whole story so I could read it back myself, to be honest. There's a part of me that wishes I could just skip the whole next book and the Dreaco romance so that I could get to the Department of Mysteries and sixth book - but alas, too much is set up in year five (such as Dreaco) to just skim over it and get to the excitement. And I LOVE long reviews, so never worry about rambling, pointing out too many things, or anything as silly. I enjoy them more than you know! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully this one kept you on the edge of your seat as well :)**

_Ella710_**: It's alright to skim, so long as you got all the important facts! A ton of information was in the last chapter, so if you missed out on some, it may not be exciting when the visions may or may not come true! I can't describe how giddy I was when I started describing her kiss with Malfoy. I was like "AH, IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!" even though it's not. I mean, I know that I needed to set up the books and it wouldn't be realistic to make the relationship last through all the books because of what will end up happening, but that doesn't mean I don't want them to be together right now ;) I'm also excited for the Malfoy Manor scene,,,ugh, so much angst! Yes, Cedric died...it sucks, but it was very important and you got a little glimpse into why. This is a really big turning point for Audrey (much like Harry's big turning point with the deaths of Sirius and Dumbledore in the books) and it needed to happen. Though I ended up liking the Cedrea thing more than I thought I would. Oh well. I hope you liked this chapter, I can't believe how fast I got it out (particularly because I rewrote it three times) and I plan on getting the next one out just as quickly! Yay! Thank you for the FANTASTIC review!**

_JEM-99_**: I'm glad you liked it so much and I hope this chapter was no different :) thank you for the review!**

_slytheringirl4life_**: I'm so glad that you felt so into the last chapter! Hopefully you thought this one was exciting as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Yes, Draco-lovin at last! :D**

_leafstone_**: I'm glad you enjoyed it, thank you for the review :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: It was a really difficult chapter to write, as was this one. I have a feeling that most of the chapters that are starting to come up will be really difficult, but it's something worth toughing out because I really think this story can go somewhere :) as for the Daphne and Pansy question, you'll just have to wait and see. Thank you so much for your thoughts, I hope you liked this chapter!**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: I'm so glad that you like the story and hope that this chapter kept up the pattern. Thank you very much for the review!**

_Midnight LeAnn_**: I'm so glad that you like this sisfic, it's definitely a lot to live up to considering how many there are. Thank you so much for the compliments and even more for reading :D**

_GirlOnFireRockz_**: All those questions you asked I cannot answer, I can't risk ruining anything for you! I promise that eventually they all will be though and that you are asking the right ones. I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter and hope that this one was exciting for you as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Rainy2000_**: Wow - you're so sweet, thank you for the compliments! I'm glad that you enjoy it, I also remember when I was just a reader of fanfiction and always being annoyed that people didn't use proper grammar or used short cuts because it was just fanfiction. A story is a story and I'm glad you like the twist that I make in this one :)**

_BlueRose22_**: It was confusing, but if you understood it all that would just be a plot spoiler for how she fits in to the rest of the story. I hope that this chapter was less confusing and more exciting - thanks for reviewing!**

_AdelphiBahana_**: Thank you very much for reviewing! I'm glad you aren't upset over the slow Dreaco relationship - some people are, I can tell, but I am trying to keep it realistic. It's so great that you like the story, and I really hope you liked this chapter as well.**

_DracoFan94_**: Yes, it was definitely a jam-packed chapter. I hope that you liked what you read in this one as well - thanks for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Well guys, that was pretty crazy. I'm so flattered by the response of the last chapter, it's why this one came so quickly. You may not believe that reviews make a difference, but I swear they do - I'm so flattered I feel obligated to keep writing because of how sweet you all are, so thank you! <strong>

**For the important note**** I mentioned, I just wanted to remind you all that I will be going on a bit of a break after the GOF portion is finished. The next chapter will be the last chapter for a few weeks while I get a head start on the OotP segment so that you won't have to wait as long. I had a ten chapter head start (up to the Yule Ball) for this portion and it worked out much better and got you reviews more efficiently - so I plan on doing the same here. But don't worry - it won't be too long and it will be worth the wait!**

**Thank you for your encouragement guys, please remember to ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	26. End of an Era

**Alright my loves, this is the end of the **Goblet of Fire **portion of Green Eyed Monster! Whew, crazy isn't it? Please read the bottom so that you know what the plans are from here on out...thank you to all those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed the story thus far. I really hope you hop along for the other books as well!**

**Without further ado...the end of **The Goblet of Fire**.**

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><p>Chapter 25: End of an Era<p>

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><p>If Snape ever wondered whether or not I had been in the room when Crouch was kissed by the Dementor, he never asked me. No one ever asked where I had stormed to that night. Harry never questioned why I had the invisibility cloak that had been in his position before that night. Really, no one seemed to want to confront me about anything; it was a wise choice. It was like they were willing to let me get away with...well, whatever it was I'd gotten away with.<p>

Nott and Greengrass had come round to speak to me a few times, but they would always get tongue tied thanks to the cold shoulder I'd offer them and give up. It was for the better: anyone who was trying to be close to me right now was going to inevitably get burned. It did not take a Seer to know that after everything that had happened, I was not in a good place.

Snape had come up to me once or twice during the 'bad week' as well, thanks to the information he was fed from other professors. The week after the final task had been dubbed 'the bad week' from my fellow classmates. It had been full of reviews in class and certain students - particularly me - skirting around trying to avoid it. But for once the professors seemed to be glad I was bunking. I had become a new form of danger like Longbottom's lack of aim or Finnegan's ability to blow things up with a flick of his wand or a wrong ingredient. Simple spells were no longer just an issue for me, but like the other dunces in class, they were a danger for everyone else. When I would get frustrated, sometimes I'd accidentally use Magnuse that left me falling asleep in my chair...while my textbook was on fire.

Yes, Snape had a lot to say to me about _that._

Dumbledore had spoken to the school the day after the tournament, telling everyone to leave the Triwizard champions - particularly Harry and I - alone. I couldn't tell if him doing that made things better or worse...for Harry, people seemed to be respecting his wishes and giving him his space, which he appreciated, so he told me later. As for me, everyone moved away when they saw me in the halls. Everyone except for the _Ravenclaws. _Usually led by a vicious looking Hoe Chang or Marietta Edgecombe, the Ravenclaws had nothing but rude sneers and dirty glares for me. Apparently Chang was still upset I'd stolen her boyfriend from her.

Well, neither of us won that argument, now did we?

Harry had come up to speak to me two days after 'the incident' as well, though it hadn't really turned into anything of value. It wasn't until the final day of term that he had caught me on my way to the end of term feast - which he seemed to be dreading as much as I - before we actually had a conversation with any meaning. The conversation started by basing itself around the idea that neither of us wanted to celebrate the end of the year. We agreed it was stupid to celebrate the end when it was also the beginning of a massacre...though we never said it in so many words.

"Hagrid and Madam Maxime are going to do something for Dumbledore this summer," Harry explained to me quietly. "Something to do with Voldemort."

"Something tells me a lot of people will be commissioned by Dumbledore for things like that," I noted vacantly. I was still upset after what Harry had said about Snape - that he may or may not be going to work as a spy for Dumbledore again. Snape would be behind enemy lines, with the Darkest wizard of all time, just so that Dumbledore could get information. It hardly seemed fair and I was ruthlessly worried. Not that I would ever get to converse with him about it, you know, as he was a spy.

Harry and I slowed our pace a bit, hoping that we would be able to sneak in while everyone had already served themselves. Before we entered the Great Hall, he took my hand and twirled me around so that we could talk some more. I have no idea what he thought I'd want to talk to him about, but he seemed pretty adamant on doing it.

"Audrey, I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry," I repeated in a monotone. I could feel myself already shutting down for whatever conversation he was about to have with me. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to hear him talk about the only thing he had to be sorry for - I didn't want to hear _his _name. But Harry seemed to want none of it and nodded, his eyes showing the pain that my dead voice had done to him.

"I'm sorry about Cedric," I grimaced at the sound of his name. Yes, it was just as painful as I had expected it to be. "I'm sorry that he couldn't be saved. I'm sorry that I saw Mum and Dad...that you've never gotten to," he said with a wince. It was clear that this situation was painful for him to remember as well, but he continued to sweat out the words. "They told me they missed you."

"_Who_ did?"

"Mum and Dad - er, their echoes," he caught my eyes again and tried to keep my gaze on him but my eyes kept drifting away out of - out of what? Shame? Never. "They said that you are very brave. And they said to trust your instincts. Cedric-"

I let out a strangled kind of growl - how couldn't I? I thought my actions made it clear I had no desire to hear his name and now my brother was going on about the last moments of ghost-Cedric - or rather _echo-_Cedric. I didn't need to hear whatever it was he had to say. I didn't want to hear whatever lies Harry would come up with just so that he could try to make me feel better. It wouldn't work.

"Cedric said to say he's sorry. He should have helped you win."

I let out something that was a mix between a sob and a laugh. Alright, so maybe what Harry had to say had helped a little...but it also made me feel frustrated at the same time. Of course Cedric would try to be so noble. But who did he think he was, trying to be kind to me after he'd already rolled off his damned death bed?

"What a git," I laughed. Harry looked about ready to defend him before I shook my head. "Chivalry's supposed to be dead, too."

There was a moment that he was shocked while he let my words sink. After that moment, he let out a sarcastic bark as well. We looked at each other, one of our infamous looks that said it all, and started to laugh. _Really_ laugh. It was a laugh that I hadn't been able to muster anything close to in the last week. Sure, it sounded a little bit hoarse and even more foreign - but it was a laugh.

Harry put his hands on my shoulders before pulling me in to hug him. "I'm so glad to have my sister back."

"Right," I mumbled, frowning into his shoulder. Was his sister really back? I wouldn't have been able to answer that. A quick flash entered my minds eye as if it had been implanted there by someone else: Crouch's pale face and his vacant eyes, his body alive but his essence stolen. I had been the death of him in the same inadvertent way I had been the death of Cedric. "I'm always around."

"Come sit at the Gryffindor table," Harry pulled away with a watery smile. He then took to trying and yanking me into the Great Hall. "I know you still aren't getting on with Daphne or Theodore, so why don't you sit with us?"

"No," I said quickly pulling away. I didn't want to sit with the Gryffindors now that everything had happened. Those oh-so-loyal Gryffindors may not have snubbed me in the hall like the Ravenclaws did, but their disapproving whispers had reached me all the way down in the depths of the dungeon. They were not pleased that I had been the undoing of Chang and Diggory's relationship - they pretty much considered me a home wrecking whore, so the rumours said. I did not have the energy to go on denying it for the entirety of a meal.

"But you hate the Slytherins-"

"And the Gryffindors hate me," I pointed out strongly. "The dungeon dwellers are still pleased with me after an episode a while back, so I trust they'll leave me alone." And they would. Something about me having saved Greengrass from Montague's clutches had made the Slytherins respect me. I knew it wouldn't last until next year, but I was willing to abuse the privilege while I had the chance. It'd made Pansy no different, with all honesty, and Montague had a shorter fuse and was more pushy than ever - but the Slytherins kept them both at bay. I doubt that it was out of empathy, so something told me it was repaying Daphne's debt.

"Is that when you melted Montague's pants to his skin?" Harry asked interestedly. At my raised eyebrow he lowered his eyes. "I heard about it the day of the Task. He always bragged about you. I guess I never caught on..."

_Cedric_, I realized with a wince. I guess that he had decided to mention it to Harry at some point in time while they were in the maze. I tried breathing against the tightening in my chest but found it close to impossible. To avoid it, I took a step toward the Great Hall.

"At least ride back to the station with Ron, Hermione and I." I frowned at my brother, I had been hoping to scare some first years out of a compartment so I could have some peace and quiet. "Please?"

"You're just afraid of what you heard that Death Eater say," I rolled my eyes at him, it was ridiculous that he took everything so seriously. It's why he didn't outright win the second task; he needed to learn not to believe everything he heard. "And you think they'll try to attack me at the platform."

"I do," he acknowledged with a nod. "But that's not all."

"No?" I asked sarcastically. He hadn't been afraid for me all year; not with dragons or underwater challenges, or even people entering our name in the Goblet of Fire. It was typical that one sentence from one of Voldemort's supporters had suddenly made him overprotective again. It's not like we had anything more to worry about besides a trip on a train.

"You're my sister, Audrey," He said seriously. "You're my sister and we're the only ones that know what happened. We're the only ones who understands what all this means...I need you. You're my _sister_." He said for a third time, as if trying to drive the point home. I pulled away from him again, not liking that he kept pointing it out - I knew exactly whose sister I was. I just didn't necessarily like the kind of brotherly affection he sparsely showed me.

"I'll meet you at the carriages."

With a nod between us, I walked into the Great Hall - decorated with black instead of the winning house colours for the feast. For Cedric. I ignored all the looks that I got by keeping my nose in the air and finding a seat with the Slytherins - one had been left open for me, as my two ex-friends always seemed to be doing lately. Nott was across the table from me, knowing better than to try and catch my eye. Greengrass was to my right, she had stopped eating when I sat down beside her. Surprisingly, to my left, sat Malfoy. His goons flanking his other side, as usual, but he wasn't paying much attention to them right now. In fact, I noticed quite quickly that Malfoy was quite _openly_ watching me.

"Eat," he ordered. I didn't feel the need to obey him. After a few minutes I did pick up my pumpkin juice and keep it cradled so that I wouldn't have to reach for it every time. He seemed to understand that it was the best he would get and finally looked away.

Creep.

Minutes later, during my subtle scoping of the Great Hall I caught the dark eyes of my favourite professor. He and I really had been at odds in the past week. He was constantly berating me for not being in control of my emotions - and in turn my Magnuse - and I was always telling him that it wasn't as easy as he was making it out to be. But to be honest, I was upset with him for what Harry had told me. I didn't want to have to bury him. I didn't want to think about how he might be playing spy again. And I was upset that he had left me the night of the third task...

It was more of a personal insult that I couldn't quite explain.

I averted my eyes as the hall came to an abrupt silence. It was not something that I was used to hearing in the school considering how many students were here - particularly with the other two schools adding to our population - and when I looked up I was not surprised to see that Dumbledore had quietly gathered everyone's attention.

The man really knew how to control a room.

"The end of another year," Dumbledore looked around at all the students, his face not nearly as enigmatic as the strange man who had spoken mermish the first time I heard him give a speech. This man looked old and grave. He was still in control, but it was a control driven by sadness, not power. It was sad in itself.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight, but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here-" he gestured towards the Hufflepuffs; the ones with the despaired faces and wet eyes. I looked away. "He should be enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

No one paused in standing, save maybe for me. Still, I managed to catch my breath and raise my goblet along with everyone else in the hall as we echoed in one loud, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory".

Dumbledore waited until everyone sat down to speak again. "Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house; he was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear what could be said but knowing exactly what I would hear anyway. It was almost like he was saying _Potter killed him. Audrey Potter killed Cedric Diggory_._ Audrey Potter killed him. _I could feel that people within a ten foot radius had dragged their eyes to me.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

I did not open my eyes while the whispers shook the crowd. Every voice was panicked and every person seemed to say something that involved the words 'Potter', 'Diggory', or 'he said his name'.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are." He shook his head. "It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Yes, it was, I thought to myself. But there was something that could be more insulting than even that. And that was simply the whispers that I heard to my left hand side. I dared to flicker my glare to the side to notice Malfoy was muttering to his two oafs. I looked away, gripping the edge of the table and biting my tongue. How could someone have _that _much nerve?

Malfoy continued to whisper.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore continued. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

More whispers rippled through the students. Malfoy even snickered. People couldn't help but look at my brother from the corner of their eyes, as if that would make it any less conspicuous. Then, of course, people turned their eyes to me - wondering what my role in all of this was. I wondered, too.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour him."

Dumbledore raised his goblet once again. People stood up again, many Slytherins were not among them. And I was one of the Slytherins who stayed seated. I didn't do it to be petty, or to be rude. And I did catch my brother's eye and raised my goblet to him - but I did not drink. How could I? I didn't want to drink to honour my brother because what happened to him was not something to be honoured. This was a tragedy. It was not something to thank him for, it was something to pity him for.

"And you?" Greengrass interrupted the solemn moment. "What about _you_, Audrey?"

"Saint Potter," Malfoy hissed, taking away any opportunity I was given to speak. "He'll even rob a grave for some fame, won't he?"

I turned angry eyes to Daphne first, who wisely bit her lip and looked away from me. She knew what this kind of rage meant and she knew better than to raise question about it. I didn't even need to turn my glare to Malfoy - a little daydream that played through my head was enough.

My grip on the table - the one nearly splintering the wood - mixed with my anger was enough to cause energy pushing my daydream into reality. The bit of accidental Magnuse took hold of Malfoy's silverware and twisted his knife and fork to point towards him menacingly. He let out a strangled yelp when the knife grazed his rib and ripped the front of his shirt.

I released the table before I got any more annoyed and actually commenced in stabbing him.

"You're lucky, prat." I hissed, catching his angry eyes before turning back to the front of the room.

"-in this hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

"It is my belief - and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.

"So remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

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><p>While the three schools said their goodbyes to each other for the end of term, Circe and I stayed to packed my trunk. After everything that had happened the past few months, I was completely comfortable ignoring the large crowds and felt much more comfortable in isolation than with a bunch of teenagers who were crying their goodbyes to other snotty kids.<p>

Maybe this was because I didn't feel like a snotty teenager anymore. Maybe after everything that had happened, I had finally grown up. I certainly felt like I had; it was a wisdom and an acceptance that my old stubbornness never would have let fly before now.

It was hard to believe that it was the end of another year - that another year had even happened. Everything this year felt like a dream - a terrible dream full of romance and terror and dress robes. I was ready to leave this year behind, leave the terror behind.

"Audrey?" The voice sounded the minute I had lugged my under-packed trunk into the common room. I'd left a few things for Pansy to find after noticing that her trunk was still half packed - I'd been very kind to finish packing for her. She'd have quite the surprise when she got home - I'd never heard her talk about owning any house elves. I refused to give up in my ways just because the world as I knew it was coming to an end.

"Oh, it's you," my voice was low while I sat on the couch, ignoring my two ex-friends who were sitting on the couch adjacent to me and paying attention to the Kneazle perched in my lap. She purred calmly, but looked at the two across from us very suspiciously. It was as clear that she knew we were fighting as it was clear that those two had been waiting for their moment to ambush me. I couldn't look at Daphne though. When I tried even glimpsing her, all I could picture was her screaming as she ran away from the dragon made of fire - of Pansy slipping and falling...

"Listen, Audrey. We wanted to talk about-"

"About everything," Daphne interrupted Theodore. He turned to give her the skunk eye, but she was already continuing. "Are you going to give us the time of day, or keep averting your eyesight?"

"Honestly, I'm not in the mood for you." I told her bluntly. Her face turned red.

"We're trying to apologize."

"Well, isn't that convenient for you?" I asked darkly. "Will it make you feel better, apologizing now that it's all over?"

"That's not what we're here for, Audrey." Theodore told cautiously. He must have been able to tell I was about to snap at them both.

"Then what are you here for, Nott? Are you here to tell me you're sorry about what happened? That you were wrong? I don't want you to give your sympathies or try to understand what's happened - because you never will. And you won't. And you didn't understand when I tried to make you. So if you're here to become all buddy-buddy again, perhaps you should realize that a few months ago you screamed at me like a lunatic and you-" I sneered to Theodore. "Berated me for defending myself. So I'm sorry if I don't want to be nice now that I don't need you around, _friends_."

Circe hissed at the two in front of me. Daphne looked completely offended. She looked about ready to give me a good talking to when Theodore nudged her in the ribs, shaking his head. "No, we deserved that."

"You deserve a good hexing," I corrected. "But I have more important things on my mind."

"Audrey," Theodore began with a low, exhausted voice. "We're sorry. Really sorry. About what we did, about the cold shoulder, about Diggory-"

"Don't you _dare_ pretend to know about what happened with Diggory," I hissed, my eyes blazing on him. He nodded his head sadly.

"I know I don't. And I know that not knowing what happened with Diggory is wrong. You're still my best friend, Audrey-" Daphne flashed a pout that disappeared quickly. "And I should have been there for you. But when you were shouting and threatening in front of everyone - when you were 'airing my dirty laundry' as you put it - how could I not have been mad?"

"Mad? That I'd understand. Ignoring me for months? Not quite so reasonable." I frowned. "I've seen no commitment from either of you that I'm worth your bloody time and just because you come to apologize now that everything's over - that's not good enough for me. Because now my time is filled with more important things - like keeping real friendships, grieving, staying alive...the real things that aren't over yet."

And it wasn't all over now. Everything was just beginning. Everything was changing in a way that made me want to cry from the pain of it. I frowned at them, taking a grip of trunk handle again.

"Have a good holiday," with that Circe jumped off of my lap so that I could turn on my heel and leave, dragging my trunk behind me and slowing for my Kneazle. I didn't look back to know what was going on, but realistically Daphne was trying to come after me and either apologize more or tell me off. Theodore was probably holding her back and telling her to give me my space, which was a wise move. Their plan had been made to create another friendship between us and perhaps I would give them another chance when I had finally moved on from the emotions I was feeling right now - but Theodore was right to make her leave me alone. That day was not today. Today was the day I was ready to take out these emotions on whomever crossed me.

The walk back up to the courtyard was shorter than I was used to and it was still swamped with students who were saying teary goodbyes. I rolled my eyes at them all, pushing through and breaking up as many kissing couples as I could on the way. No one seemed to think less of me for it though - not even Montague who was busy kissing Marietta Edgecombe.

I'm surprised even _he _would stoop so low.

"Ugly day, innit?" I didn't even jump as Ronald Weasley appeared by my shoulder. I gave him a tight smile, turning to see that Harry and Hermione were now flanking me as well.

"Disgusting. Sun in July - dirty bastards," I smirked sarcastically. "Is there room in your carriage for a bitch?"

Hermione nodded with a small smile. "Sadly there will be room in the compartment as well."

"Oh, drat." I said sarcastically, tearing my eyes from her. There was a terrible moment where all I saw was an image of her screaming with that wild woman on top of her - it was a painful reminder. Circe mewed at me, as if she knew that something in my demeanor had changed.

"You will sit with us, won't you?" Harry asked quickly, his eyes turning to Circe. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop being ridiculous, no one's getting attacked at Kings Cross - but yes, if you're really that nervous I will. I don't want you doing something stupid when you hear me yelling spells at first years to kick them out of a compartment." He must have thought that Circe meowing was a sign that something bad was going to happen. She knew bad guys, she wasn't psychic - but it was sweet of Harry to worry. My brother nudged me playfully, probably thinking that I was joking about the first years, as we walked toward the grounds and out of the castle courtyard. It was when people started to take notice of us, now that we had drawn attention to ourselves to lead the older years out toward the carriages.

Harry jumped into the first carriage he saw, keeping his head down as we heard some students whispering about what had happened to Cedric. I walked around the carriage, giving a group of some familiar third year Ravenclaws one of my lethal glares. It shut them up quickly. I turned to give the Thestral pulling our carriage a quick pet - this one looked more emaciated than the one that had given us a ride here in September...perhaps I would need to start bringing out raw meat from the kitchens for them.

We rode back in silence, Harry keeping his head down even as he jumped on the plane. He was quick to find us an empty compartment so that we could shut the door on the outside world and not have to open it until we were in a realm where none of this had to be happening if we didn't want it to be.

Sometimes I wish I were a muggle. Taxes seem so trivial when compared to a resurrected madman out to kill us.

We were making very simple, but light conversation when the trolley arrived. Ironically Harry and I both ordered chocolate frogs and licorice wands, even though I ended up just keeping my cards and setting the frogs free...I know it's just a spell, but something just felt wrong about keeping them in captivity only to ruthlessly bite off their limbs one at a time. It was a stupid point I was trying to make, however, because Circe always caught them before they jumped too far.

While Hermione ordered her pumpkin pasties, a copy of the _Prophet _came out of her bag and landed on the floor between my feet and Harry's. Hermione didn't catch on, but Harry, Ron and I all looked at it uneasily.

"Want to read it?" I asked Harry, he just shook his head.

"There's nothing in there. You can look for yourself, but there's nothing at all. I've been checking every day-" I didn't believe her and dove for the paper, checking page by page. "Just a small piece the day after the third task saying that you won the tournament. They didn't even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. If you ask me, Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet."

"He'll never keep Rita quiet," Harry said with a sneer.

I hummed my approval. "Yes, not with a story this juicy."

"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything at all since the third task," Hermione was almost bubbly at the words. "As a matter of fact, Rita Skeeter isn't going to be writing anything at all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on her."

"There are beans?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "What kinds of beans?"

"Magic beans," Ron said with a snort. "Bootran beans!"

"_Bowtran_," I corrected with a snort. I shrugged his shoulders, leaving us both chuckling, but Harry was ignoring our jibes to ask exactly what Hermione was laughing about. She pretty much jumped to attention in her seat, by the excitement she was demonstrating, she had clearly been waiting to tell us this for a very long time.

"I found out how she was listening in on private conversations when she wasn't supposed to be coming onto the grounds," Hermione stated with a smile.

"How was she doing it?" Harry asked, leaning in closer.

"How did you find out?" Ron asked, staring.

"Did you kill her?" I asked in excitement. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Well, it was you, really, who gave me the idea, Harry-"

"Did I?" he asked in confusion. "Er - how?"

"Bugging!" She was so happy I was sure Hermione was about to piss herself.

"But you said they didn't work-"

"Oh not electronic bugs. No, you see..." her voice lowered conspiratorially. "Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn into...a beetle."

Out of her rucksack she took out a large glass jar, filled with a few twigs and a large, black beetle with green designs on it's back. I'd never seen a beetle that looked like it in either the wizarding or muggle world. It took me seeing Circe swat at the jar and hiss at the fat beetle before I was able to register her words.

"You're kidding," said Ron. "You haven't...she's not-"

"Oh yes she is..."

"Hermione," I gasped. "Have I ever told you that I love you and you're brilliant?"

"No, but it's nice," Hermione beamed. "I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and you'll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears."

"Ew," I grimaced, then raised my voice right to the jar. "You're lucky bugs don't recognize fashion sense!"

"Wait-" Harry said suddenly. "There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his mum!"

"Exactly," Hermione nodded. "And Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair after we'd had our conversation by the lake. And unless I'm very much mistaken, Rita was perched on the windowsill of the Divination class the day your scar hurt - it followed you out while you left to see Dumbledore. That's probably how she caught up with Audrey, too. She's been buzzing around for stories all year."

"When we saw Malfoy under that tree..." said Ron slowly.

"He was talking to her, in his hand," Hermione mimicked a motion of talking into a cupped hand so that I understood. "He knew, of course. That's how she's been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldn't care that she was doing something illegal, as long as they were giving her horrible stuff about us and Hagrid."

"That bastard! As if him defending me wasn't bad enough," I made a face of pure disgust. "He did it while looking clinically mad?"

"Why _did _he defend you, did you ever find out?" Harry turned to ask me with a sour expression. I tried to show him how bored I was just at the mention of it.

"Ugh, please. I will never understand the inner workings of that lizard's mind." I turned back to the jar in Hermione's hand. "So, what are we going to do with her? Burn her, squish her, feed her to Hedwig, let Circe chase her? I personally think those lasts were viable options-"

"I've told her I'll let her out when we get back to London," Hermione frowned at me disapprovingly. "I've put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar, you see, so she can't transform. And I've told her she's to keep her quill to herself for a whole year. See if she can't break the habit of writing horrible lies about people."

She started putting the jar back in the bag while I began harassing her with _better _ideas, but I quieted myself after the third ingenious plan when the compartment door slid open.

"Very clever, Granger." Draco Malfoy's voice grated on my nerves the minute I heard it. It did not help that his buffoons were standing behind him, looking as intimidating as raindrops in a pool. All three of the Slytherin boys looked smug and surprisingly comfortable under our glares.

"So," Malfoy dared to take a few steps into the compartment, looking between each of us slowly and deliberately. "You caught some pathetic reporter, and Potter's Dumbledore's favorite boy again. Big deal."

Crabbe and Goyle laughed as if he had said something extremely funny. I sneered at him.

"I would leave before I force you to," I offered to him. He looked at me for a moment before raising an eyebrow and looking over to Harry, who was too angry to say a word.

"Trying not to think about it, are we?" Malfoy spoke gently, as if speaking to a toddler. "Are you trying to pretend it hasn't happened?"

"Get out," said Harry. He moved to stand up and have a go face to face with the bloke, but I stuck out my arm and held him back. Both boys looked at me for a moment - I was becoming so frustrated I could feel my hands tingling. I could practically see both boys gripping their wands.

"Malfoy, I will do worse than turn your cutlery on you if you don't leave right now."

"You've picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you..." Malfoy sneered, looking between the two of us before his eyes landed on my brother. "I told you that you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met the first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this!" He jerked his head to the two others in the compartment - who were keeping their composure much better than Harry or I were. "Too late now, Potter! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back. Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well," his eyes flashed to me for a moment, his eyes almost emotionless before he looked at my face, his eyes flickering down - down _where_? - for a moment before his sneer returned. "Well, second. Diggory was the f-"

Before anyone could have stopped me, my hand was around Malfoy's throat. I had used the momentum I'd used to get to him and pushed him back into the semi-closed door of the compartment. The tingling in my fingers was more uncomfortable than ever. He looked scared, twit, when he seemed to realize that this position was much more dangerous than if I had my wand shoved in his mouth.

"If you ever-" I whispered darkly, "and I mean _ever_ so much as _utter _his name again, I will personally see myself escorted to Azkaban while your parents escort you into the ground. Cedric Diggory was twice the man you've ever spoken to and one hundred times the man you will ever be. If you are ever disrespectful to him like you were today, I will rip your intestines out with my _teeth._ Do you hear me?"

To make my point clear, I let a little bit of the tingling in my fingers take over and felt him howl and try to yank himself out of my grasp. I kept a tight hold on him, but he had wriggled away so you could see the welts strategically placed where my fingertips had dug into his neck. His eyes narrowed on me.

"Let go of me."

"No," I hissed, leaning in to threaten him again...but as I did it, a memory flashed in the back of my eyes. Just a moment of memory from my vision where I was pressed against him, even closer than we were now, his lips attacking mine - I couldn't help but look down at them, worried that maybe this was the moment when that would happen. But he didn't move. His lips, however, looked exactly like I remembered them feeling...

I turned away from him, taking three large steps back so I didn't have to be near him.

"You could have had it all, Potter," Malfoy hissed at me, rubbing his neck at the same time. "You could have made it through this on the right side, a _real _Slytherin...instead you chose the losers. You chose the idiots who try to win _equally_. Or maybe you didn't choose the idiots side, maybe it was just that you chose to shag one of the ones who sided your broth-"

It was as though someone had exploded a box of fireworks within the compartment. Circe was screaming in fear as she clawed at my leg, trying to get away from the sight. Nothing I had ever seen was so bright and brilliant and I couldn't have imagined something so fantastic. There was a deafening series of bangs to follow the display and by the time the smoke cleared - not even metaphorically - I was surprised to find my wand in my hand and a group of us instinctively looking at the bottom of our compartment.

The bodies of Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy were all sprawled on the floor - it was them, wasn't it? They were nearly unrecognizable thanks to all the different hexes that had been used and collided with their bodies. Malfoy was sporting some interesting slimed skin, along with other blemishes, and Goyle even seemed to have a pink tinge about him.

"Thought we'd see what those three were up to," one of the Weasley twins - who I quickly saw was Fred - stepped onto Goyle as he walked into the compartment with us. I couldn't help but smile at the two twins when I noticed that their wands were also out, still pointed subconsciously at the dolts on the compartment's floor.

"Interesting effect," George mused, looking down at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"

"Me," Harry said lightly, breathing heavily from his frustration.

"Odd, I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Did you use the Stinging Jinx, Hermione?" George asked. Hermione shook her head.

"I used the Densaugeo Hex," Hermione deadpanned, moving a little to see if any of their teeth had grown to an obscene length - Crabbe's still seemed to be lengthening past two inches.

"I tripped them!" Ron cheered.

"I think I stung them," I said honestly, trying to remember the incantation. "I didn't even know I could do that one."

"Then good on you," Fred smiled, taking Circe from my leg and petting her as he sat down.

"Agreed. Remember that the Stinging Jinx mixed with the Jelly-Legs seemed to cause some kind of acidic smelling slime, will you Fred? Now, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the décor." George added.

Ron, Harry, and George kicked, rolled, and pushed the ugly lards out of the compartment and into the corridor. They all looked equally terrible - Crabbe's teeth had grown six times their size, adding to the tentacles colouring his face. Goyle's skin was now a cherry red, his hair was now turning white. Malfoy's teeth seemed to be longer as well, giving him a snagle tooth that added to his full-body coat of green slime. Once they were fully outside the boys shut the door sharply.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" said Fred, pulling out a pack of cards.

"Are those rigged cards?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. George looked horrified.

"Us, cheat? Never!"

They were rigged cards, of course. I knew thanks to the first three games being won by Fred and George; but as soon as I figured out the pattern - a simple double tap method - I started coming out on top again. It was after another few games that Harry looked up to the twins with a raised eyebrow and cleared his throat - besides the explosions, the game had been played very quietly.

"You going to tell us, then? You know, who you were blackmailing?"

"Oh," said George darkly, the twins and I all casting a bitter glare to one another. "That."

"It doesn't matter, it wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway."

"It's not the end of the world - I still have a debt to you," I reminded the twins hopefully. Fred just waved his hand dismissively.

"We've given up," George shrugged. I frowned at them.

"Who was it?"

"Come on, tell us!"

"If you've given up there's no harm," Hermione reasoned as the boys continued to plead. I sighed, shrugging my agreement to them before Fred waved his hands impatiently.

"All right, all right, if you really want to know...it was Ludo Bagman."

"Bagman?" Harry asked with a frown. "Are you saying he was involved in -"

"Nah, nothing like that." George sighed.

"No, stupid git," I muttered. George nodded to me.

"He wouldn't have the brains."

"Well, what, then?" Ron seemed very impatient - it wasn't _that _exciting of a story.

Fred hesitated, looking at me nervously. "Well, after Audrey had a vision that Krum would get the snitch but the Irish would win at the World Cup, we made a bet with him."

"Yeah," said Harry and Ron slowly. Hermione turned a glare toward me, very displeased that I was helping the boys cheat. Whoops.

"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots." Fred answered. I scoffed scathingly for them, it was still so insulting.

"So?"

"'So'?" I repeated with a frown.

"So," said Fred took over, "it vanished, didn't it? By next morning, it had gone!"

"But - it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" Hermione asked. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Not everyone's as loyal as you lot," I told her darkly. She frowned at me.

"Well, that's what we thought at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us."

"What a wart," I nudged Ron, he nodded angrily.

"In the end, he turned pretty nasty," said Fred. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."

"So we asked for our money back," George glowered. I had not been there for this part, so I leaned forward to listen carefully.

"He didn't refuse!" Hermione was far too innocent.

"Right in one," said Fred.

"But that was all your savings!" Ron was rightfully outraged - who knew how much of it the twins had stolen from his own savings?

"Tell me about it," said George. "'Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?"

"How?" said Harry.

"He put a bet on one of you two," Fred pointed between Harry and I. "Put a big bet on one you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins."

"So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" said Harry. "Well - I did win, didn't I? So he can pay you your gold!"

"Nope," said George, shaking his head. "The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting one of you would win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task." I sighed, leaning my head back on my shoulders - what a git.

The rest of the ride continued with more exploding snap. About fifteen minutes until we pulled into the station, I realized that I was still in Slytherin robes. With a sigh, I announced that I was going to go and change into more appropriate muggle clothing. I opened the door - having to pull it a few separate times thanks to the three lards still lying unconscious outside the door. I wonder if people had just been stepping over them or if people really hadn't noticed they were there? Where must Pugfaced Parkinson have been? She'd been away from her Drakie-Poo over half past an hour.

Circe, who had apparently left Fred's lap so that she could follow me to the changing car, mewed at Malfoy before licking a bit of the slime on his face. I frowned at her, picking her up and moving her on the other side of Goyle so that she wouldn't hurt herself.

"Why are you broken, Circe?" I sneered. "Stop liking this dolt."

I turned to walk away before I took a deep breath, spinning on my heel to look back at the pile of goo on the floor.

"Actually," I hummed, going back to the slimy faced idiot whose foot was still in the door. I leaned over top of him, closing my eyes against the vision of kissing him again. Ugh, I wish I could obliviate that out of my mind, but I would never trust myself enough to do it and having someone else do it would mean telling someone else that I'd had a vision of it. Gross. Leaning over I looked over him quickly. "There you are."

Digging in his pockets for a quick moment, I took hold of a little change purse in his robes, only to have his hand grab my wrist as I tried to pull the heavy leather away from him. He gave a noncommittal groan.

"Oh, don't be such a twat," I sneered, pulling away from his hand. Ugh, the slime left on my hand really did leave a painful sting. I couldn't image how he must feel with it covering his entire body. "You promised me this in the autumn this year, remember? This is mine. And if there's extra in it, you can consider it having gathered interest."

He gave another groan.

"No, I'm not stealing. You owed it to me."

Another groan.

"But you're very sweet giving it up without so much of a fight. Sadly, I don't like slimy kisses, so you'll just have to accept my condolences on your face. I'm sure a trip to St Mungos will fix that all up."

A louder groan.

"Yes, yes, Fred and George will send their thanks, I'm sure." I tried to remind myself that they should send him some form of stink bomb. "Have a lovely holiday, Drakie."

When I had changed and made my way back to the compartment, the three stooges were still there. I was sure to step on each of the three before entering the compartment. The three Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry were still in sitting and playing cards, but when I came to get my trunk they all got ready to do the same. While the twins were busy cleaning up their mess from Exploding Snap, I took out my wand and turned away from them - may as well try.

"_Reducio_," I whispered. Malfoy's money bag did not even budge. "Ugh, come on you worked earlier today!" I frowned. "_Reducio_..._Reducio_..." _Reducio_ wasn't such a hard spell was it?

As I thought that, the bag shrank. I raised my eyebrows and nodded appreciatively.

"Cool."

I turned back to the others, still busy with their trunks, while I kept the shrunken bag of galleons hidden in my fist. Fred was now reaching up to help Hermione with her trunk and I took the distraction to slip the bag of gold into his robe's pocket.

"Did you need something Audrey?"

"Nothing," I smiled, turning to get my own trunk down. I felt better suddenly, I finally felt like _something_ good had come from this year. As Fred and George left to get their own trunks, Harry left to go talk to them. Hermione, Ron, and I all looked to each other awkwardly - it was uncommon that we found ourselves together without my brother.

"You going to be alright this summer?" Ron asked. I shrugged. I didn't mind going to the Dursleys anymore, now that I was just big enough to avoid being locked under the sink. The small comfort of being able to do Magnuse also made it seem bearable. I'd done enough research to know it isn't traceable - I planned to take advantage of that to practice.

"We will be. The sooner we get out, the saner we will be, of course."

"Of course," Ron repeated with a smile. I smiled back.

"Did you invite Harry over to the Burrow this summer?"

"Harry?" Ron looked confused. "Audrey, you're invited too."

"Audrey, you're invited every year." Hermione reminded with a blink. "Don't think that this is just about us - you may be in a different house, so it is harder to sometimes speak, but you're still our friend."

Somehow, I doubted the complete sincerity of her words, but there was something that told me that Hermione really _wanted _to believe what she was saying. So instead of giving her a bitchy response I just smiled back at her and took a deep breath.

"Well, then I'll see you two as soon as we can."

"Likewise," I nodded, fighting to catch my balance as the train stopped. We stayed there for another moment - an awkward moment - before we all left, stepping on the Slytherin boys still sprawled in the hallway, with myself leading the way.

Unlike every other family, the Dursleys were waiting outside of the barrier for us to go meet them. Hermione, her parents, and the Weasleys followed Harry, Circe and I out of the barrier to find them. It was surprising when Mrs Weasley grasped both of us twins in her arms, her eyes teary. "I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer. Keep in touch, will you?"

"See you. Harry," said Ron, clapping him on the back. He gave me a nod in return.

"'Bye, Harry!" Hermione smiled, kissing my brother on the cheek and backing away. Ron looked between the two in confusion for a moment. Hermione even dared to hug me - clearly she was ill.

"Goodbye, Audrey. Please be safe - and follow the rules with your Magnuse," she chastised. I frowned at her, but smiled when Fred - over her shoulder - winked at me knowingly.

"Harry ...thanks," George muttered, Fred nodded fervently at his side before both of the boys grabbed me in bear hugs and lifted me off the ground. I wonder how happy they would be when they realized I'd put so many galleons in Fred's pocket?

"Boys, quit it!" Mrs Weasley scolded.

"Yeah boys, quit it!" I repeated, obviously mocking them. They both sighed in unison before putting me back down where I could stand upright.

"You still did smashing you know," George smiled. "In the tournament."

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "Whether it was a sham or not - you were brilliant."

"Suck ups," I winked, glad to hear them laughing while I walked away.

With a deep breath both Harry and I turned to Uncle Vernon, his face red and his posture showing how bristled he was just to be around 'our kind'. He didn't give us any indication to follow him besides the fact that he started walking silently from the station. Harry and I sent each other a sideways look and we both took a shuttering breath before we followed him, Circe stiffly weaving between my feet - watching the crowds around us nervously. She was as nervous as Harry was, it seemed. Away from the hustle and bustle of the station it was easier to think. It was easier to remember everything that had happened over the last year. I didn't like it.

Harry seemed to mirror my thoughts: that this was the end of something wonderful and the beginning of the end. The end of what, I don't think either of us would have been able to tell, but it was the end of everything as we knew it.

Without any prompting, we reached out and grasped each other's hands, squeezing as much hope and encouragement to each other as our grasps would allow.

_We could get through this_, we silently expressed to each other. _Together_.

* * *

><p><strong>Man, oh man, things are about to go crazy. PLEASE NOTE that I will be taking a short break from updating this story so that I can get a head start on the <strong>Order of the Phoenix **chapters. This will last from three weeks to a month as I try to get as ahead as I can. This next book will be very exciting, guys, and let me just say...tons of Draco/Drea or 'Dreaco' lovin in this next portion...so please stay tuned!**

**Thank you to my fantastic reviewers:**

_- WulfLuvr22_**: Grief is a very dark thing, but I think Audrey's lashing out was the most realistic way for her to respond to all of it. And there is a reason for why she acted the way she did...you'll have to wait to find out what that reason was...but I never write something in this story without purpose. I've had this entire story planned out a year before I published it ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

_- Erugalatha_**: Yes, I did sneak in the idea of her being a monster, I'm glad you caught it and understood the title reference. Thank you very much for reviewing!**

_- xxz0eyxx_**: I work really hard to keep Audrey in character, it's not as easy as you would think. Maybe it's because I'm more of a gentle personality than she is, so I tend to have to go back after writing a chapter and be like "nope, she'd totally hex them here. She wouldn't walk away." but as long as it gets the realistic result, that's all I aim for! As I said to another reviewer I promise to NEVER give up on this story until it is complete. I will realistically have short hiatuses between each of the separate Harry Potter books, but this story will be completed. Promise :)**

_- slytheringirl4life_**: Thanks for reviewing!**

_- alwaysxlove_**: Audrey's always a bad ass! You're really going to see that come out in the next section of the story. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_- PrincessK16_**: Luckily the Dementor didn't kiss her. Right at the end we saw a patronus, so I tried to make it obvious that she was okay. I probably could have done that better. I am writing all the way up until the end of the series or to the end of Audrey's story - you know, if she makes it that long ;) I promise that this story will never be on permanent hiatus. I am WAY too involved with it to ever let this go! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_- beba78_**: Grief is a very dark thing, isn't it? I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully this one was just as enjoyable. Thanks for the review!**

_- AdelphiBahana_**: It's alright to be impatient, I'm impatient to get them out to you. I have this terrible wish that I could just think it and it would write itself in some telepathic connection to me so that I could release it all at once...sadly there's no technology that lets you do that. Closest is a Pensieve and I'm fresh out. Thank you for reviewing :)**

_- BloodxForxMyxRose_**: Everyone has someone they feel overshadowed by and I'm so glad that Audrey speaks to so many people and that they understand her. Thank you so much for your reviews and I hope you continue to like the story when it comes back in September!**

_- Novellavialli1_**: The next chapters will be here in about a month's time and be updated WAY more often, so I hope you enjoy them when they come :)**

_- Invincible Shadow_**: I was wondering where you had gone, but you're back now and that's what matters! I would have loved to read what you thought of the other chapters. Hopefully you like what I have planned for the OotP part as well...thanks for reviewing again!**

_- xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you liked this one as well. Thank you for reviewing :)**

_- mjkcsk_**: Thank you for reviewing and remember that I'll be back in a month with the OotP part of the story, so don't give up before I come back!**

_- lotusflowerlove6_**: I'm so glad you like it. Fred, Draco, and Audrey drama will definitely be the bulk of the next act of this story, so stay tuned! Thank you for reviewing.**

_- naynay87_**: Thanks for reviewing! I tried to bring about the idea that Snape is a father figure to her because Sirius is a father figure to Harry. Of course, I'll make Sirius and Audrey become closer when I have more time to do it, so I hope you'll enjoy the drama that will ensue in OotP :)**

_- Ella710_**: Yes, Snape is fantastic. In the last chapter he was really good, I didn't give him so much this chapter because I wanted Audrey to be a little confused on his place in the future. We'll see tons more Snape interaction when I get back - promise. Never feel bad for demanding anything - I always like hearing what my readers like...and if I REALLY don't agree, I won't write it ;) It is hard to understand exactly Audrey's standpoint in that last chapter when she freaked out - but I wanted her not to really be able to justify it. She was in shock and denial and starting to grieve...the first time I lost someone I went through the stages of death so quickly that I couldn't make sense of my own thoughts. I figured that she would react like that, only more violently...it's still Audrey we're talking about. You're allowed to critique as much as you want - you're an intelligent woman and I fancy hearing it from someone who wouldn't do it to insult me. Anyway, thank you again and see you on the flipside...**

_- Pandora Destiny_**: I'm glad you like my portrayal of Audrey. She's a character I would want to become friends with and always fear to cross - I try to make her as realistic as possible with that in mind. I'm so glad that you like it and hope that after the little break between GOF and OotP I'll still catch your attention! Thanks so much for the review.**

_- Blue Rose22_**: Snape and Audrey are so precious to me. As soon as I decided to do this story I was like "Snape is going to be a huge part of it". I'm glad it's working out and people love him. I'm glad that you understood where her little freak out last time came from and I'm glad that you don't think she's a monster. Audrey is really going to dance with the dark side in the future...we'll have to wait and see how she controls dancing on the precipice. Thanks for reviewing!**

_- rose1589_**: Funnily enough, I'm drafting a book right now. Maybe one day it'll actually be on shelves for people to read, haha. Thank you for the review and especially all the compliments in it!**

_- Tonks94_**: I'm so glad you like it, thank you for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Ugh, it was terrible making Malfoy say those things like he did in the book but also give Audrey a moment with him. I rewrote it probably eight times. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I left it on a better note than the last chapter. I'm sorry for the break, but it will be nicer for you guys when you don't have to wait weeks for an update. I hope to be able to update once or twice a week, every week, by getting ahead so I promise that this little pause is worth it.<strong>

**Thank you all so much for being part of this, please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	27. Stag and Dope

**Ah, I can't tell you how hard it was not updating this for these past weeks. I hope that you all enjoyed the one shots that I released under **Audrey Potter's Prelude **and that you aren't too upset I took a little bit extra to get ahead. You'll love these chapters though - I'm very excited for you to read what's been going on in Audrey's life while you've been away. So thank you to my fantastic editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for making this flow and without further ado: I welcome you back to Green Eyed Monster!**

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><p><strong>Part Two: Audrey Potter and the Order of the Phoenix<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 26 – The Stag and Dope<span>

I sat in one of the hard, plastic chairs of the strip mall and watched people pass by without a worry in the world. None of these mallrats knew that they were all in danger. None of them realized what was going to happen in their future- not like I did. In front of me sat a half eaten box of greasy fries that had cost the entirety of the three quid I'd wrangled out of a ten-year-old kid. It had been a nice trade with him, two quid for a bowtran bean. To make it better, Harry couldn't even be upset with me if he found out; after all, I hadn't been lying when I told the kid it was a 'magic bean'. I just happened to leave out the information that he had to pour cold piss on it to make it bloom into a pansy. Not a muggle pansy either, a pansy that still had its amorellen – an ingredient used in the most powerful love potions and the inspiration for a _Midsummer Night's Dream_...

I'm sure it was safe in his hands.

The large, suspended television screen in front of me played out the news; there was nothing of interest. Both Harry and I had been carefully committed to the Muggle News network. At first I had argued that they wouldn't know anything, but he made the point that the first move Voldemort made would be against muggles and it would be too large to keep under wraps. It was a good point and after having had a vision of watching Hogwarts burn, I had no doubts that Voldemort was not one for subtleties.

I heard the danger before I saw it – a small child's voice followed by an adults clearly asking it questions.

"That's her," the child said. I could barely contain the roll of my eyes. Great, the little brat ratted me out – and for once I hadn't even been lying.

"You," a man with a deep voice growled out. "Did you steal my son's money?"

"I did no such thing," I responded, stretching my arms above my head and turning to look at him. I was right about it being the kid I'd traded the bean with and from the lime green goo exploding between his fingers, it was clear that he'd squeezed it. "I told you, kid: those beans don't like heat."

"What kind of teenager steals a seven-year-old's money?"

Oh, the kid was younger than I had thought. "I'm the renegade niece of Petunia Dursley," I said simply. If this came back on my Aunt and Uncle I would feel no sympathy. "The one that was sent to the boarding school for rude and inappropriate women? If you'd like to send my aunt a message, I'm sure she'll add it to the pile for next term."

"Why you-"

I rolled my eyes and stood, flicking my hair over my shoulder. Aunt Petunia had tried to cut it this summer – only to receive a good earful from my brother. Apparently it was too long and too red again – what kind of idiocy was that? I was still trying to let it grow out from the last time that she had cut it. Apparently her stuffing me in closets, locking me outside, or throwing me under sinks had nothing to do with me getting lice and her refusing to buy the medicine for me.

"Get back here! Give my son back his two pounds." I was almost surprised when the man grabbed my arm and spun me around. By now some of the people who had been sitting and eating were watching the two of us with wide eyes. The man's disheveled appearance and tired eyes did not distract me from the look of fury behind them. It was clear that this man wanted some vengeance for his son. I nearly felt bad that he wouldn't get it.

"Sadly the pounds have been spent. I can, however, offer you one more bowtran bean – this time, don't squeeze it in your hand kid. Put it in a napkin, in your pocket, _then _bury it-"

"He doesn't want another bean!" the man hissed. The kid pouted behind him and looked about ready to argue only to have his father grip onto his shoulder to keep him quiet.

I'd seen that kind of power abused before. I'd seen the authority that a parent can have over their child. I'd seen someone handling his son so rudely that he hurt him. It brought back memories that made me want to sneer at both the kid and the man – but there was no point sneering at the kid. The kid was not Draco Malfoy and both he and Lucius Malfoy had _always_ been bastards. Probably like the man in front of me. I tried to put the Malfoys out of my mind...ever since that vision and the ridiculousness on the train, that blonde douchebag been entering my mind more than I would have liked.

But even then, as I looked between the boy and the man in front of me, I couldn't help but feel the same anger I felt when I had first seen Malfoy hurt by his own father. It made my stomach burn.

"I suggest you unhand your son before you lose the feel in that hand," I narrowed my eyes at him. I could almost see the green reflecting in his own brown eyes...he did not seem as worried of my threat as he should have been.

"I suggest you not tell me how to handle my son," he responded with a hiss, reaching to grab me again. I fumbled to grab hold of his hand before it grabbed me, but it was too late. His nails had grazed my skin and settled around my wrist, making me look down and cringe at the dry skin and fat fingers that I was trying to twist out from. I took as little time as I could imagining that I was looking through his flaky skin down through to the stretched muscles and tendons that wrapped around his weak bones. I concentrated harder, working my imagination so that I watched as the muscle swelled – swelling so thick that it had nowhere to move, becoming and rigid.

It wasn't just my imagination that had his hand seizing. The bloke looked at his hand in shock, giving out a loud yelp when he realized he couldn't let go of my wrist again.

"You know, you should really get this carpel tunnel checked out," I hissed, twisting my wrist free of his now locked hand. "Between all the work you don't do and grabbing your son as you do – it looks like it's damaging your muscles. I'd suggest stopping that."

"How did you do-"

"I didn't do anything, you grabbed me. Everybody saw. You're lucky I'm not pressing charges," I replied snottily, turning my gaze back to the little boy. "Here you go kid, I'll give you four beans. I can't tell you how to sprout them, but if you bury them under a full moon and wait until the next full moon comes 'round, you can dig underground and find a chunk of silver. Get yourself something nice and hide them from your Daddy for when you grow up, you hear me?"

The kid, eyes bright and wide, nodded quickly before snatching the beans and running away – leaving his father behind. Yes, I can tell that this little kid and his daddy get along magnificently. The father, still gripping his hand that still could not move, glared at me more. "You're a lying little bitch."

"And you're an abusive fat bastard. That will give him enough money to get him and his mum away before you do something more stupid than threaten someone like _me._"

I walked away confidently. None of the spectators knew what I had done and that man would never be able to understand what had happened. That was the thing about muggle minds, they could read about magic and mystic and aliens, but when the time came to meet them head on, they never let themselves believe what was right in front of them.

Then again, on second thought, perhaps I shouldn't have done that after I had decided to tell him Aunt Petunia's name. I guess I'd just have to stay out of the house more in case that idiot decided to peruse any kind of legal – or violent – action.

I couldn't help myself as I wandered over to the park. It had been a regular dwelling I'd visited since I returned to Privet Drive for the summer. I slightly wished I would have just stayed in the mall. Today was blisteringly hot and though night had fallen it was no cooler; air conditioning would have been nicer than walking in the mugginess. At least I was alone with my thoughts.

Half the problem of this walk could have been how utterly exhausted I was. Between the small amounts of Magnuse I was able to do since I'd gotten back and the little sleep that I fell out of every few hours. I had no energy to do any kind of formidable magic. Nightmares were a bother, but the fact that I was freezing up was a worry. Every now and then Harry would speak to me and I would worry that it was the start of a section of the visions I had gone through, that something terrible was about to happen. Every now and then Harry would open the Marauders Map and I always feared I'd see Malfoy's name. Or I worried that if I'd fall asleep, Voldemort would speak to me again – as if he could see me again though I wasn't even there...

I was sitting on the swing before I knew it. There was only one swing available, thanks to Dudley and his little gang breaking all the chains – perhaps when I had more energy I'd try to reinforce the chain for my own later benefit. The park had been abandoned from the heat and the sunset, though it was clear people had been here thanks to the footprints in the sand that were shadowed by the streetlamps. In my pocket was my last letter from Sirius – the only person to have written to me this summer, save two days ago for my birthday when I also got messages from Theodore Nott, begging my forgiveness, the Weasley twins, promising me unlimited Weasley products and a better present, finally there was a joint message for Harry and I from Ron and Hermione. Sirius' newest letter from yesterday was in code, as all Harry and my letters had been this summer – but it told me to keep out of trouble and keep safe. V_ery_ subtly, he encouraged me to keep practicing my Magnuse...'could save your hide', he'd said.

But how could I practice when I was so exhausted? Just locking that man's hand had made my eyes heavy and made me wish that I hadn't left the half box of fries behind. I'd need to go back to Privet drive to make myself some kind of pepper-up potion. I'd given up making sleeping draughts – it just made the nightmares last longer.

The nightmares didn't end, even when I woke up, either. My imagination was in control of my everyday habits and even looking out into the garden I would see people in the shadows, watching me. Waiting to lure me to the graveyard where I would be forced to beg for Cedric's life and watch him die from my failure to save him. As soon as he would drop, Death Eaters would bring others to Voldemort's feet so that I would continue to beg and they could continue to jeer. I would beg mercy for Fred, for Theodore, for George, Daphne, and Ginny. For Harry...

I had not been going over my nightmares for long before loud laughter broke me from my reverie. I didn't need to turn my head to know who it was: only Dudley and his gang would be wandering the streets this far after nine, looking for younger children to steal from and beat up. At least I tried being noble and actually traded something, Dudley just wanted to beat people up thanks to his new boxing reputation. Whoever would let a walrus like him in the ring had the _right_ to be punched out.

"Oi, Potter!" Ugh, they'd noticed me. I slipped an impartial look over my groan before looking at the lot of them.

"Why hello Piers, so good to see you've gotten over your fear of the dark," Piers, one of Dudley's gang mates, sneered at me. It was strange to see the gang without Dudley standing in front of them and blinding them from view.

"Oh, she's so tough, that one," Gordon taunted.

"So tough now her teeth have grown back," Malcolm, the last boy, made an insulting sound of someone without teeth. I openly frowned at him. It was common knowledge that these three had pushed me down at this very park when I was four and knocked out my two front teeth. They hadn't grown back for years which secured me a lisp until they grew back when I was nine...it was a humiliating time for me.

"At least mine came back straight after you knocked them out, Malcolm. What's your excuse for those _things_?" Malcolm's teeth were more crooked than a row of tombstones and everyone knew it. He stopped laughing so that he could stretch his lips over his horse's teeth.

"You better be nice to us, Potter. Big D's already gone after your brother, we have no problem dealing with you ourselves." Malcolm was not intimidating, but suddenly what he was saying held some interest. My eyebrows raised.

"Dudders is stalking Harry?"

"Don't call him that!" Gordon hollered at me. "He's the Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion of the Southeast!"

"Ugh," I made a retching sound. "What a mouthful. I usually dumb it down to 'Idiot' or 'Popkin'. If I'm really looking for a long introduction I call him 'Stupid Fat Arse'."

"As opposed to what?" Piers took a step toward me. "A little whelp like you? Come on, Potter, take a shot!"

"You wouldn't know how to fight me, Piers," I said without interest. "But if you ask really nicely, I'll let you walk home with your balls attached."

The boys spluttered, looking insulted – well, Piers and Gordon did. Malcolm had his attention somewhere else, over his shoulder and looking back the way toward Privet drive.

"Is that a storm?"

"What?" Piers snapped, upset that he didn't have all of Malcolm's attention.

"A storm. Over there," Malcolm pointed back over to Magnolia crescent, his face screwed up in confusion. I dared to take my eyes from the tormentors to see what he was looking at – a dark cloud hung over the street that made the hair on my arms rise. We all took a moment to look at it before, quickly, I had a moment of recognition...

I'd seen this before. A girl, sitting on a swing, looking dismayed only to look up...

"Harry," I breathed, realizing that something terrible was happening just a few streets over. If Dudley and Harry were underneath that cloud, that cloud that was quite obviously superhuman, then it could only mean something horrid had happened. Or was happening.

I jumped from the swing, quickly moving to help my brother – who knew which vision this could be a part of? Was Voldemort there, were the Death Eaters surrounding him? Had Dudley finally pushed him over the edge? My mind was reeling with questions as I moved toward the cloud of negative energy – but of course, bullies don't like not bullying. One of them – who turned out to be Piers – grabbed my arm. I turned an angry glare on him and he actually looked shocked from it.

"If you don't let go of me, you'll never be able to grasp anything again, Piers. I'm already in a terrible mood and I have no problems taking this out on you," Piers frowned at me but apparently believed something about my tone or behind my glare enough to let me go. "Good choice."

"This isn't over," Malcolm hissed at me.

"As far as I'm concerned, you never had a chance to begin it," I hissed back. With that, I hustled my way over toward the dark cloud hovering in the sky. I felt like I couldn't force myself fast enough, I felt like there was no way that I would be able to get there before something came to fruition that I had been trying to avoid and change all summer long...

By the time I got there, I could see the problem – the dark figure that was hounding down on my twin and my cousin – the last who was running into the darkness and toward the creature flying to them, it's rattling breath the only sound in the dark night.

_Dementor_.

"DUDLEY, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!"

"Harry!" I screamed, running toward my brother and grasping him by the shoulders. Now that I was in the dark cloud, I could barely see anything myself. He was flinging around wildly, not knowing what was real and what was the effect of the monsters sucking at us. "It's a dementor, it's-"

The footsteps I had heard in the distance stopped. There was a screech, like a pig being gutted, that did not end. The hair on my arms rose and behind me, someone took a shuttering breath. Not someone..._something_.

"There's more than one," Harry whispered to me, as if that could save us from what must have been close to us. But they knew we were there – how else would they have found us other than being sent from Azkaban to our front door? The dementors were under orders.

"DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" I screamed at him, looking to see if I could see him. But the cloud that blanketed the stars from our sight had now settled around us so I could no longer see my cousin.

"WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" Harry screamed again to him, his voice wavering nervously. "Wand...where's...wand...come on – _Lumos_!" I was amazed when it worked and we now had a thin beam with which to see. Harry turned it to me, checking me over for injuries before looking at my pocket. "Audrey, your wand-"

"I don't have it," I said quickly, holding out my hand in front of me for him to examine. "I'm covered. Just keep your wand lit, that I _can't _do."

"You can't _touch_ them," Harry ordered. "They're dementors, Audrey! They'll suck the soul right out of you-"

"They have to _kiss _me, Harry. We can do this, though I must say your lack of faith in me is insulting." I breathed heavily. "We have to find Dudley."

Harry nodded and we started to take cautious steps forward...only to be stopped as a hooded figure glided toward us from the side. You could not see the monster's face under its robe, but you could smell its breath – the breath that smelt of rotting souls.

"_Expecto patronum_!" Harry screamed, grabbing me by the arm and tugging him harshly back to him as I stumbled away from the dementor. A wisp of silver shield appeared in front of us, but it was not enough to last for long.

"Harry," I whispered, my voice shaking cruelly. I could feel that my body losing heat, I could feel myself starting to shake and panic as voices began ringing in my mind; terrible, horrible memories were pushing at the boundaries of my consciousness, trying to drag me into the dark with them...

"_Expecto patronum_!" Harry tried again – but it did even worse than his last attempt. His breath was as shaky as the dementors, which was now reaching out his hand for my brother. I almost screamed as we reversed rolls and I grabbed him to drag him backwards.

I had never been able to do a patronus. I'd never come close to being able to create the silver shield that Harry could do on an everyday occasion, but I could do Magnuse. And Magnuse did not require a wand, and considering I didn't have one...

No. No, there was no possible way that I could bring myself to touch that dementor. Touching _any dementor_ could kill me and I _really _didn't want to die, no matter how many people tried to kill me on a monthly basis.

"Harry, come on!" I screamed at him, placing my hand on his arm. I tried to shove happier emotions into the forefront of my mind to keep me conscious. I tried to play through emotions that I could rarely feel on my own and so I only remembered from rare, happy days. I tried to think about how other people showed happiness, that one was easier to picture. I thought of the day Hagrid came to get us, of the day I grew close to Theo, about the day on the train just last month where Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Harry and I sat playing exploding snap and laughing at the three Slytherin idiots stupified on the ground outside our compartment...

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_"

A silver stag, which seemed much closer to the size of a moose, flew from the tip of Harry's wand and charged toward the hooded figure in front of us. It's antlers threw the dementor backward and away from us, but it wasn't done that simply. It charged after the rotting guard and out of our view. Immediately, the night started to clear and though my energy was now dwindling, I swallowed and stood. Interesting, I hadn't even realized that I'd fallen.

"This way," I groaned, ignoring the aches behind my eyes so while I began tugging Harry along with me. He threw his wand toward the direction we were headed, making sure that it lit our path and didn't get us caught by where we knew the other one was headed. The sky started to darken again as we drew toward the second dementor, which I could now see crouching low over a whimpering figure.

"Dudley!" Both Harry and I screamed, he let go of me to grip his wand with both hands while his stag suddenly wavered. The dreadful atmosphere was another blow to his magic and what we were seeing could not have done him any good. The second dementor was yanking Dudley's arms away from in front of his face, swooping low toward him...it was going to kiss him. Dudley's face, pale and clammy was so terrified that it could only have reminded me of one thing...

"Gerrof!" I screamed, hurling myself forward, hands first, and shoving hard against the dementor's dark robes. I pushed, feeling the dread and the nightmares start to work their way up just because of my close proximity to the dementor. Cedric's body, Crouch's screams as the dementor drew closer, Cedric's last words, Crouch's blank stare when the dementor pulled away, Voldemort's blood red eyes locking onto mine...

Bollocks, Dudley Dursley was not worth this cruel end to my life...he was not worth reliving what was playing through my mind. In a haze of consciousness that I couldn't quite see through, I saw that the dementor was off my fat cousin and had rounded on me. I didn't have enough strength to use Magnuse when I pushed him and now that I was so close to one of these leeches, I didn't have the energy to run away. I fell to the ground, just feet away from Dudley. The images came more quickly with a tumult that made my throat ache. I should just crawl toward him, hide under him, I hadn't told anyone about the visions I'd had yet so how would I be able to live and help the people I'm supposed to help if I die saving this idiot? I won't be able to do the things I did, I won't be able to change the things I saw. I wouldn't get to help Hermione when she was being tortured. I would never get to kiss one of the Weasleys. I wouldn't get to toast Ron or go to a pub with him. I wouldn't get to see the white dragon. I wouldn't get to kiss Malfoy – hell, I would even take kissing Malfoy as opposed to a kiss from a dementor. But if it came any closer, if it got it's rotting lips on my face, I would never be able to do anything...

Something white charged toward me and I took the time to cower behind my arms, just as Dudley had done. I heard a kind of hiss, a terrible sound of ripping fabric before I finally heard Harry's voice scream something unintelligible. With a roar past my ears that made me scream again, the silver stag burned past my eyelids and stormed around me to attack the dementor. It let out a kind of screech that could not have come from anything that wasn't evil before it soared away to join it's comrade.

I didn't dare to open my eyes even when the world went silent. There was no more rotten, rasping breath breathing on my neck, the world was not cold anymore, but I couldn't tell if that was just because my soul was gone. What was it like, having your soul gone? Would I just be trapped inside my mind for the rest of time replaying Crouch's kiss, the horror of my vision, and the nightmares of Cedric's death?

I heard a mew. I tried opened my eyes, I had to do it twice – heart pounding, nails breaking against the asphalt I was gripping. The night flickered back into the light – stars twinkling, streetlamps crackling with electricity. My body began to warm. In front of me was my kneazle.

"Audrey?" I didn't respond. For a moment, I wasn't sure I knew how to. "Audrey, come on. Look at me..."

I turned my head, looking into my own eyes – no, not those were my brother's eyes. Harry was looking at me in terror, his eyes flickering over to the heap on the ground beside me. The heap was Dudley.

"Audrey?"

"Circe?" I asked, my voice did not sound like mine. My white, leopard printed kneazle shoved its way into my arms, licking at my chin. "Circe, how did you get out of the house?"

"She must have known you were in trouble," Harry breathed. He sounded relieved.

"All right, Dudley?" I croaked, my cousin didn't answer. "Did it kiss him?"

"It couldn't have," Harry whispered, grabbing me and slinging me forward so that my head pounded into his chest. I felt too strange and weak for it to have been uncomfortable. He kissed me shakily on the top of the head. "You pushed it out of the way – what the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," my throat hurt. I must have been screaming more than I remember. "I knew if I took the time to think I'd see-" I stopped myself. Harry didn't need to know what it was I saw in the darkest recesses of my mind. He didn't need to know I thought of Cedric and no one was ever supposed to know I saw the soulless shell of Barty Crouch...that I had been the man's undoing. He didn't need to know that I saw Voldemort's red, evil eyes watching me when I didn't even know how I was watching him...

"Never do that to me again," he ordered me. "You're too important, alright?"

"Alright," I kept shaking. Circe mewed again, rubbing against my neck.

"No, listen to me. You're – too – important," he repeated. "Say it."

"I'm too important," I whispered back, but my body was still in shock – it had still been too drained to recover as quickly as I tried to force it to.

"There were dementors," he breathed, falling down beside me as we lolled our heads back against the stone wall behind us.

"Here," I finished for him with a weak nod. "Why?"

"I don't know," he shuttered quickly. We looked at each other, my energy returning quickly as it was replaced by white hot rage. I saw the feeling reflect in his own eyes as we realized that someone was trying to murder us. _Again._

"Bloody hell," I hissed, throwing the nearest rock weakly. "Why can't we ever catch a break?"

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><p><strong>Well, what did you think for the last chapter back? I would love to hear your thoughts, but before I do I really need to send my thoughts to those who reviewed on the final chapter of the Goblet of Fire:<strong>

_XxMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm so glad you like it and hope that you continue to! Thanks for the review!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I love the part where they all hex Malfoy as well, so I was very excited that I got to put some romantic tension in there as well. I promised I'd update in September, so here it is! I'm impressed I kept the timeline, to be fair. I'm a exactly month BEFORE your birthday, does that count? I hope that you liked the story, thank you very much for reviewing!**

_Erugalatha_**: Nope, I decided I'm jsut going to stick it all in here - it's easier for everyone, I think. Thank you so much for the compliments - I can't believe how many people like Audrey's character and her insertion in the series, I never thought it would be this big of a hit but I'm so glad that people are enjoying it. It really makes me want to write it even more than I already did. Thank you so, so much!**

_Brdrama94_**: I'm just keeping the story here, don't worry. I hope you liked it :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: So was it a good idea to have the little flashbacks during the pause? Hopefully this chapter was a good start to the new section - I'm very excited to hear your thoughts on it. Be as descriptive and critical as you like!**

_PrincessK16_**: I know, sometimes I just want to skip this whole book and get to HBP, it's half the reason that I made the romance start to grow in this book to be honest, that and I know the perfect moment when they're going to break for each other...I promise you it'll be adorable! Anyway, I hope that you liked it, thank you for reviewing :)**

_Laurafxox_**: This book will be better. I will get past the boring year by making it tense with crushing and some extra things that I cannot mention yet...this was my least favourite book, but I'm going to make it Audrey's pride and joy! I'm back in business, as you said, and I hope you enjoyed. Thanks!**

_beba78_**: Thank you, hope you enjoyed!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: I have a friend much like Daphne and it's one of those things where I feel proud every time I put her in her place, but it's very hard to keep it together because we've been friends for our entire lives. Sirius will be coming in the picture soon, promise!**

_BlueRose22_**: I also hate stories that bash Snape. He's the real hero of this entire series if you ask me. It's actually HIS love for Lily that makes everything work. Lily's loved saved Harry for a bit, but Snape was the one who constantly kept him safe and risked his life for him - to me, he's the biggest hero of all. And yes, she will have feelings for Draco - how can you not when you have thoughts of kissing someone constantly rolling around in your head? Silly Audrey, she should know she can't escape it. The whole story will be here, I've decided. I may as well keep it all together - hopefully you liked this beginning!**

_freethinker_**: Thank you so much for the kind review. I'm so glad that people like the darker Potter sibling, I really had no idea she would be so popular. Hopefully you like her now that OOTP has started - it's going to be one hell of a ride from here on!**

_Guest (Caro)_**: Props to you for being able to read the previous 25 (26 with the prologue) chapters in one day. It's really flattering! I also teared up a bit when Cedric died, I felt so bad for Audrey, but I knew it had to happen. Don't worry, there will be lots of Draco/Audrey (Dreaco) fluff in this part of the story - not for the first multiple chapters, of course, but I promise it's coming :) thanks for the review!**

_Magimagus_**: Your reviews are always so long and amazing that it's fine when you don't for a chapter - you always make it up in quality and quantity next time :) Yes, Audrey's dark side will definitely make things interesting now that she's going back for her fifth year after Cedric's death. Oh I can't wait for the Cho and Audrey beat down that you've gotta know is going to happen - I haven't written it yet, but it's coming. I think (and by think I mean know, I made it up but this is just a theoretical conversation) that Magnuse is effected by emotions and that's why her Magnuse is out of whack, as you put it. You made a point that she could control it when she was attacking Draco, but in my mind she wasn't as conflicted then - her mind wasn't racing because she was so angry about him and her mind was set on **_**him**_**, you know what I mean? Otherwise, when she's just sitting in class her mind is allowed to roam and hence get her in trouble.  
>Dreaco is coming - I'm so excited. Honestly when I introduced his character on the train I was like "Oh my god I have to update this now so everyone can be excited with me!" but I refrained and wrote further so that you guys wouldn't have to wait as long between updates. Anyway, so exciting!<br>I actually really enjoy writing Audrey and Ron's strange friendship too. They end up being closer later on, but as I'm sure you can see there is a definitive line between them thanks to the House Rivalry - but I think Ron and Audrey have quite the same humour in ways. They'd be close if they could be.  
>Anyway, I'm so glad you liked it, thank you - as always - for the fantastic review! Hope you like the new beginning :)<strong>

_rose1589_**: Ha, I doubt my book will be as good as this considering this is based off of the best series ever written (in my mind). But I hope my book will at least be good. I don't expect to get 'best seller' or anything, but it'll be nice if I can get a book out there and say "I'm a published author". Thanks for the compliments AND review :D**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Have I ever mentioned your wonderful? Cause you are. I've left you responses in every other update so here I just want to go on about how fantastic you are. Cause you are. Remember it. Oh, and also, when you said you hoped Cedric would die - this isn't common knowledge to anyone who isn't on here and reading your responses to: but I'm only giving myself one save. One save in the whole series. I can't even decide who it's going to be yet - but realistically, Audrey would be able to save at least one person because an extra wand would make a difference...I have people I want it to be, but it really all depends on how and where she ends up - I can't push her (metaphorically, I realize I am the author, but you know what I mean) just because I like certain characters. It's Audrey's choice to make. But I get one save ;)**

_HikariYamino_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!**

_Rebekah_**: I'm so glad that you think it's different and good, I updated the next day, I won't deny I'm pretty proud. Thank you for the review!**

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><p><strong>Well, what did everyone think? If you would like to give me a big welcome back, I would love a wave of reviews! Also, I have a new pole up on my profile page - give that a vote if you have the time. This weekend's going to be a long one for me and getting updates to my email with notifications would be splendid :) Let me know what you're thinking and <strong>**REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	28. Magical Mistakes

**Well, it's so nice to be back! Thank you all for getting back into the swing of things with me and reviewing. Thanks to all the new favourites and follows and especially thank you to my wonderful editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for her general awesomeness. Please read the bottom for an interesting challenge and promise to those of you who want faster updates :)  
><strong>

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 27 ̶ Magical Mistakes<span>

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><p>"Let's go," I said quickly as my energy began to return. "Let's go before they come back."<p>

Harry nodded, his neck stiff with tension as he pocketed his wand and moved toward Dudley, who was still immobile and whimpering on the ground. Apparently muggles could not recover from dementor attacks as easily as we did, even though I still felt like utter shite. Maybe it was because I knew the danger more than he did, and I was ready to get the hell out of dodge, who knew? All I knew was that we needed to get some chocolate into us and a good night's rest somewhere safe – but how could we feel safe when we didn't know why dementors would come to a Muggle inhabited area?

"No!" An old and panicked voice cried out. Both Harry and I turned, ready to fight again, though we quickly saw it was completely unnecessary. In front of us, panting heavily, was our grizzled next door neighbour, Mrs Figg. She was holding a heavy shopping bag around her wrist and was in fuzzy house slippers that did not match her outfit. "Don't put it away, idiot boy! What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!"

Harry did not move for his wand. I looked at her for a moment, measuring up the vision I'd had before I turned to Harry. "She means your wand."

"But-"

"Take it out, Harry. She already knows." Both of them looked at me in shock, I knew that I wasn't supposed to yet know that Mrs Figg knew about our world, but there was no use denying the fact that I already did. Visions were visions and emergencies were emergencies – this certain circumstance had a mixture of both. I looked back to Mrs Figg questioningly. "Who's Mundungus Fletcher?"

"He left, that's who!" Mrs Figg roared, wringing her hands and looking all about. No wonder we always thought she was batty, all this time she'd just been super aware of what _really _lurks the streets. "Left to see someone about a batch of cauldrons that fell off the back of a broom! Told him too I'd flay him alive if he went, and now look: _dementors_! It's just lucky I put Mr Tibbles on the case, he got right to your little kitty there – beautiful, by the way, Miss Potter. Oh," she drew out the sound, her nerves getting the best of her again. "But we haven't got time to stand around. Hurry, now, we've got to get you back – oh the trouble this is going to cause! I will kill him!"

"She knows about dementors," Harry said again, looking at me with wide eyes. I looked to her again.

"She breeds kneazles," I recalled. She looked shocked. "You're a witch?"

"I'm a Squib," she corrected bitterly. "As Mundungus knows full well, so how on earth was I supposed to help you fight of dementors? He left you completely without cover when I'd warned him-"

"This Mundungus has been following me?" Harry asked. "Hang on – it was him! He disapparated from the front of my house!"

I looked at Harry in confusion. "When?"

"You were already gone to the mall," he explained to me.

"Yes, yes, yes, but luckily I'd stationed Mr Tibbles under a car just in case, and Mr Tibbles came to warn me after he'd made sure your kneazle was on its way. Oh and now – oh, what's Dumbledore going to say? You!" she pointed to Dudley who did not move, or show signs he knew he was addressed. "Get your fat bottom off the ground, quick!"

"You know Dumbledore?" Harry asked again.

"Of course I know Dumbledore," she scoffed. "Who doesn't know Dumbledore? But come on – I'll be no help if they come back, I've never so much as transfigured a teabag."

Both she and Harry went to work trying to get Dudley off the ground. I didn't even offer to help – not that I would have admitted it was because I was weakened from the night, but Salazar's shit, I was weakened from the night. I needed to get myself home before I worried at all about _Big D_.

When I had gotten half a block on my own and noticed that Mrs Figg was no longer aiding my brother in carrying Dudley – who was easily three times his weight – I grabbed the lard's other arm and helped heave. A few times I was worried my feet would slide out from under me and I would be finished, but I kept going thanks to the urgency Mrs Figg kept ringing in the air, and Circe giving me a little meow every time I nearly fell.

"Stay awake, Dudley," I commanded. "I'll fix up something soon, just stay awake. I need to see the damage."

"His eyes are rolling to the back of his head," Harry commented lightly, grabbing his wand from his pocket as Mrs Figg began to berate him for pocketing it again. "I'd say there's more damage than he already had."

"Wonderful," I grimaced, swallowing the pain in my ankle. I think all the weight and the weakness had resulted in it being twisted. This was turning out to be my least favourite night of the summer – even more so than when I had taken a shower to have the shower head explode causing my subsequent punishment.

"Good, your wand's out," Mrs Figg rambled as we made it to Wisteria Walk. "Never mind the Statute of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery...this is exactly what Dumbledore was afraid of – what's that at the end of the street? Oh, it's just Mr Prentice – don't put your wand away boy! Don't I keep telling you I'm no use?"

Holding Dudley was more than a hassle, it was as difficult as climbing a mountain. He could not move at all on his own and I was starting to wonder if this was a lost case – maybe his mind had been scrambled too much for him to ever recover. Maybe even _my_ potions wouldn't be enough to reanimate the sack of blubber.

"Why didn't you tell us you were a Squib, Mrs Figg?" Harry asked, gritting his teeth against Dudley's weight. He was obviously taking more of it than I was. "All those times I came round your house – why didn't you say anything? Why didn't _you_?"

The last part was obviously pointed to me. "I thought it was her news to share," I said simply. "And I've only known since the third task, so bugger off."

"I was under Dumbledore's orders, lad. I was to keep an eye on you, but not say anything, you were too young. I'm sorry I gave you such a miserable time, Harry, but the Dursleys would never have let you come if they thought you enjoyed it. And it was quite hard swaying Audrey's opinion when she was so caught up with my cats," she drew out the word on a laugh. For we all now knew they were not 'cats'. "When Dumbledore hears about this...How could Mundungus have left, he was supposed to be on duty until midnight – where is he? How am I going to tell Dumbledore what happened? I can't Apparate-"

"I've got an owl, you can borrow her," Harry gritted out again.

"Harry, you don't understand! Dumbledore will need to act as quickly as possible, the Ministry have their own ways of detecting underage magic, they'll know already, you mark my words-"

"But he was chasing off dementors!" I raged, already irritated with the idea. "He had to use it. Aren't they going to be more worried that they're darkest creatures are roaming the streets without their knowledge?"

"Oh, my dear, I wish it were so, but I'm afraid...Mundungus Fletcher, I am going to kill you!" As if she had summoned him by his name, there was a familiar _crack _and a terrible smell of tobacco and liquor. Circe hissed at the man that had Apparated directly in front of the four of us, taking a swat at him that he managed to avoid nervously. The short, raggedy man looked at us curiously with bloodshot eyes.

"S'up, Figgy?" he asked, looking at us all individually before shaking a silver cloak in his hand. I noticed quickly that it was an invisibility cloak. "What 'appened to staying undercover?"

"I'll give you undercover…dementors! You useless, skiving sneak thief!"

"Dementors?" repeated Mundungus in confusion. "Dementors, here?"

"No, over on Wisteria Walk," I responded unsympathetically. "Which is right where we just so happen to be coming from."

"Exactly, you worthless pile of bat droppings: here!" Mrs Figg was in a fit. "Dementors attacking these boys on your watch!"

"Blimey," Mundungus released a long breath, looking at all of us nervously. "Blimey, I…"

"-And you off buying stolen cauldrons! Didn't I tell you not to go? Didn't I?"

"I – well, see, I-" he fidgeted, trying to hide the cloak behind his back innocently. "It…it was a very good business opportunity, see…" Mrs Figg finally lost what little composure she had left before she started to hit Mundungus with the plastic bag wrapped around her wrist. It sounded like it was full of cans – probably for her many cats – or, I guess as I now know, kneazles. "Ouch! Gerroff – gerroff, you mad old bat! Someone's gotta tell Dumbledore!"

"Yes–they–have!" Mrs Figg yelled, taking a swat for each word. "And–it–had–better–be–you–and–you–can–tell–him–why–you–weren't–there–to–help!"

"Keep your 'airnet on, I'm going! I'm going!" And with another loud crack, the squat man was gone. Circe let out a hiss after he'd left, as if she was warning him not to come back. I smiled down on her before looking to Harry and starting to lug Dudley along once again.

"I hope Dumbledore murders him!" Mrs Figg began to rant again while she continued to lead us. "Now come on, we need to get back quick…I'll take you to the door." She waited until we had turned on to Privet Drive before she continued again. "Just in case there are more of them around…oh my word, what a catastrophe…and you two fought them off on your own! Dumbledore said we were to keep you from using magic at all costs. Well, it's no good crying over spilt potion, I suppose." She didn't sound convinced. "The cat's among the pixies now…"

"So, Dumbledore's been having us followed?" Harry asked with a pant.

"Of course he has. Did you expect him to let you wander around on your own after what happened in June? Good Lord, boy, they told me you were intelligent…right…get inside and stay there," she said as they reached Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's house. "I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, looking at her in shock.

"I'm going straight home," she replied obviously. "I'll need to wait for more instructions. Just stay in the house. Goodnight."

Harry was trying to get her to stay but it was no use – the woman was already bustling in her soggy slippers right through her door. There was a moment I almost chose to follow her. I knew that the vision I had seen had happened in her living room...but why would it need to happen now that I'd gotten all the information out of it? I watched her door swing closed. It was loud even from across the street. She must have been itching to hide, to get in touch with someone like Dumbledore...I should follow her, I should place myself in those brown rooms so we could have the conversation I'd seen in my vision from June – shouldn't I? What would happen if I didn't? Why did I have an option to change what had happened? What was I missing?

"Let's just get this over with," I sighed, turning away from Mrs Figg's door. Looking up at Dudley's green face rolling around his neck, I knew that I had more important things to deal with than figuring out why the course of a vision could be changed...it's not something that happens often. The light that was on in Number Four Privet Drive's hallway, both my aunt and uncle must be home. This was going to be a scene, obviously, and I just wanted to let it go so I could go to bed and worry about this all tomorrow. I was exhausted enough from the Magnuse I'd used today – add that onto a dementor attack and I was surprised I was standing, nevertheless supporting the weight of a half ton moron.

"Diddy!" Aunt Petunia's voice called as Harry rang the bell. There was no way that we would be able to drag him through the door without it being opened, one of us on our own wouldn't be able to support is excessive bulk. Luckily we could see our aunt through the front door now. "About time too, I was getting quite – quite – Diddy, what's the matter?"

I thought it was pretty obvious what was the matter. But just as she had asked both Harry and I turned to look at him, he'd really taken a turn for the – I jumped out of the way, right before he vomited and fell to his knees.

"Diddy! Diddy, what's the matter with you? Vernon, Vernon!" As uncle Vernon came lumbering into the hallway, I came to stand right beside Harry and let the adults deal with their deranged son.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, he looked at me skeptically.

"Are _you_?"

"I'm weak, but fine," I frowned at him. He could be so overprotective sometimes. "I'm going to make up something for Dudley, do you need me to make you anything?"

"I'll be fine. Make something for yourself too."

"I'll be fine," I mimicked. We stared at each other for a moment, trying to show our distaste for each other's attitudes before he looked at me strangely.

"How did you do it, Audrey?"

"What?" I asked, not meaning to play dumb, but the question was vague and I was already exhausted and disoriented enough.

"Back with the dementors, how'd you do it?"

I don't know how I could explain my moment of insanity in finding the courage to stick up for someone who had bullied me all my life, so I just shrugged. "Family's family I guess."

"No, I mean whe-"

"_Him._"

Both Harry and I stopped talking so that we could look and see that Dudley was now looking – or trying to look, he was having trouble focusing – on Harry. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were about ready to explode with red faces and furious eyes.

"Boy, come here!" He grabbed Harry by the scruff of the shirt – Dudley's old shirt, we never dared wear our good clothes when we knew the Durlseys would try to destroy them – and yanked him toward the kitchen. I followed nervously, pushing as rudely as I could past my aunt. "What have you done to my son?"

"Nothing," Harry said simply. Uncle Vernon of course did not believe him.

"What did he do to you, Diddy?" Aunt Petunia had somehow started to get Dudley from the doorway and on the way toward the kitchen had started to sponge the vomit of his jacket. "What is it – was it you-know-what, darling? Did he use his…his thing?"

Slowly, incriminatingly, Dudley nodded.

"What a load of bull," I yelled at the senile kid. "I saved your life, you miserable little twat, the least you could do is tell the truth!"

"I didn't!" Harry agreed with a nod of his head. "I didn't do anything to him, it wasn't me, it was-" but Harry was interrupted by the screech of an owl that burst through the kitchen window. Aunt Petunia screamed and Uncle Vernon had to duck as it circled me and dropped the envelope at Harry's feet. It didn't wait for change or for any sign of response, it didn't even stop to investigate me like most incoming and outgoing owls usually took the time to do…not a good sign.

"Owls, owls again! I will not have any more owls in my house!"

"Shut it, or I won't make your son the antidote." I hissed to my uncle, who spluttered at my tone, as I watched Harry's face pale while he read the recent letter.

"You'd better!" Aunt Petunia wailed. "Look what you freaks did to my son!"

"Where d'you think you're going?" Uncle Vernon yelled toward my brother, who, I now noticed, had pulled out his wand again and was walking away from us. Uncle Vernon moved to block his exit. "I haven't finished with you, boy!"

"Get out of the way," Harry said lowly, his voice more dangerous than I'd heard it in weeks. He raised his wand a little bit toward Uncle Vernon, but he was in too much of a rage to care.

"You're going to have to explain how my son-"

"If you don't get out of my way, I'm going to jinx you." Harry said simply. I almost rolled my eyes at him – he was ridiculous if he thought that threat was going to work this long into our imprisonment here.

"You can't pull that one on me! I know you're not allowed to use that outside of that madhouse you call a school." See? As much of an idiot as this man was, he was observant. I still took the time to sneer at him, ready to explain that I'd found a way around that little technicality, but Harry raised his wand even higher up uncle Vernon's neck.

"That madhouse just chucked me out," Harry hissed again. I opened my mouth in shock, grabbing the piece of paper from where his fist had closed around it. I tried to smooth it out so I could read it. "We have to run, Audrey. They're coming to take my wand – we'll be sitting ducks."

I wanted to argue that it was ridiculous, running when we already had a madman out to kill us – one who would knowingly send dementors into a muggle infested area – was not a good idea. But as I read the letter, reading that he had been expelled and Ministry Officials were coming to claim his wand, I looked back up at him with a lead chest.

"I'll fight them off." I told him quickly, my gaze confident. "I'll distract them while you take Hedwig and get away – go to the Burrow and I'll meet you there."

"They'll snap your wand too," Harry shook his head. I scoffed.

"Dash my wand, I don't _need _my wand for magic anymore! They can snap my wand all they want, they can't amputate my hands." The Dursleys flinched away from me.

"No," he shook his head, taking another step back toward the staircase. "You don't have the energy and no matter what potion you're about to make for you and Dudley-"

"Dudley will not be drinking any potions!"

"-you won't have the energy to fight them off. We have to run together, right now." But I would slow him down, I knew I would slow him down. I _was _low on energy and as much as my brother and I disagreed, with a madman on the loose I knew that it was fight or flight – and my brother could not fight for his life if he didn't have a wand.

Besides, I didn't doubt they _would _amputate my hands. If they could catch me.

As I wracked my head for a better solution, another sound filled the kitchen – it was like a crack, but sounded much closer to something breaking, much like a window. Which I could now see was caused by the dazed owl having just collided and cracked the closed glass of the kitchen window. Ignoring as Uncle Vernon began to rant and rave again, Harry crossed passed me and dove for the window, letting the owl in and taking the role of parchment from around it's leg.

Harry read it quickly as I looked from Aunt Petunia, to Dudley – who was starting to get some colour back – to Uncle Vernon, and back to my brother.

"Right," Harry sighed, looking at me intensely. "I've changed my mind, I'm staying. Get yourself and well, I guess Dudley, fixed up."

I nodded, watching as he sat down on the table and began to be interrogated by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. I went straight up to Harry and my shared room, pulling my trunk out of the closet and grabbing my potions kit from last year. I was running a low on ingredients, so I'd have to become creative. I grabbed my pewter cauldron and rushed down the stairs, placing the cauldron on the oven and turning it on once some water was in the bottom of it.

"Potions? No! No, Dudley will get none of that and I will not have those in my house!" Uncle Vernon roared. "Get it out of here – get it out! Don't you need a book for those kinds of things?"

"Audrey's a genius at potions," Harry said for me. "Literally the best in the school, she knows what she's doing and if you want your son better, you'll let her work _her _magic."

"Dudley," I turned to him, at the same time as grabbing a cutting board. "Though I'm surprised you know what discomfort is considering your all-too-spoiled-rotten past, and since I can see that you probably had one hell of an internal battle from the dementors, would you like me to fix how you feel?" I couldn't help smirking to myself thanks to his wide eyes. "I'll even take the potion first to prove it's not poisoned."

He looked at his mother and father nervously, obviously they were very against anything magic related but with how green he still was and how disoriented, it was obvious to all of us that they didn't have much of a choice. What would the neighbours think if they had to take him to a hospital and couldn't describe his sickness? "Yes."

"Good choice," I said simply, turning back to the refrigerator. I was fresh out of peppermint, but I knew that Aunt Petunia had gotten some fresh stuff. I just hoped that she had enough – I didn't even know which potion I would make, but anything to make you feel better had peppermint. Should I make the Elixir to Induce Euphoria for Dudley? No, if I had to drink that too, it'd be annoying and I needed something to replenish my energy in case I did have to fight so Harry could keep his wand.

Invigoration draught it was.

"How come you fell over, son?" I heard Uncle Vernon ask. It appeared the interrogation of Dudley and my brother's little adventure had not finished yet.

"T-tripped," Dudley sounded almost as terrible as he looked. The dementors did get a good bite out of him, luckily they didn't get a kiss. "And then-" he paused. "Horrible. Cold. Really cold."

"Okay," Uncle Vernon sounded anything but okay, he sounded like he was speaking to someone clinically insane, which was about right in this scenario. I cut up the peppermint and threw it in the water that had begun to boil – that needed to ferment for the entirety of the potion. I got to work on the dried ginger from my potions kit. "What happened then, Dudders?"

"Felt – felt – felt…as if, as if..." he paused. I stopped cutting for a moment, the feeling seeping back into me just from the memory of it.

"As if you'd never be happy again," Harry finished for him. Dudley croaked out an affirmation.

"So!" Uncle Vernon sounded as proud as Sherlock Holmes, little did he know he still hadn't caught who'd done this. "You put some crackpot spell on my son so he'd hear voices and believe he was – was doomed to misery, or something, did you?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Harry asked, sounded like he was snarling. "It wasn't me! It was a couple of dementors!"

"A couple of – what's this codswallop?"

"De-men-tors," said Harry slowly and clearly. "Two of them."

"Dementors are the second most dangerous creature in _our _world," I interrupted, placing the ginger into the potion along with one cup of armadillo bile – the Dursleys gasped as they saw the potion turn lavender. I continued stirring clockwise as I continued. "They feed off of happiness, hope, and peace from the people around them. Muggles like you can't see them, but they make you re-live your worst memories – those were the voices Dudley heard." I stopped stirring to turn back to them, letting it sit for two minutes. "And they attacked Harry and Dudley. I came to help when I realized what was happening."

"Codswallop!" Uncle Vernon said again. "I don't believe you, if these things really were real, then you'd give me a better lie than that!"

"It's not a lie!" Harry growled. "Dementors are dangerous and they are very real. They-"

"They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban," had I not heard it, I wouldn't have believed it. My eyes widened as the silence spilled through the room. Aunt Petunia clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing that she had spoken that aloud.

"How d'you know that?" Harry and I asked at the same time.

Aunt Petunia looked disgusted with herself. She tried to send our uncle a silent apology as she shook her head from the reality of it all.

"I heard that-that awful boy – telling her about them…years ago."

"If you mean my mum and dad, why don't you use their names?" Harry hissed, but he didn't get a response. I turned back to my cauldron, which was now turning into a deeper purple. It was the proper colour at this stage but I was all out of spider parts. I looked around wildly, there had to be a spider here somewhere – all I needed was two of its legs and then I could finish the potion off with the last of my Mandrake leaves.

I left the room, going outside to the front of the house – I couldn't help looking this way and that, but there were no signs of any Ministry Officials yet. Bending down at the front of the house I started digging for spiders – I knew if I looked long enough they'd come to find me. Spiders were just like any other animal: strangely drawn to me. Not that I could understand it, but I liked them just as much. I didn't even plan to kill the spider – I just needed two legs…

By the time I'd found one, plucked one, and come back inside Harry was holding another letter in his hand, an owl just swooping out of the window. I stopped what I was doing, though I knew I was on a deadline for this potion and looked at him.

"What does it say?"

"I've got to go to a hearing," Harry said slowly. I nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Good, serves them right. I hope Dumbledore obliviated the lot of them." I shoved my nose up in the air as I walked to my potion, dropping the two spider legs into it and stirring it four times counter clock-wise. I grabbed my final three mandrake leaves and threw those in as well. The potion made a loud wheezing that cut the conversation behind me again. As I stirred it ten times clockwise, it turned from an indigo back to a bright cyan.

"How is it?" Harry asked, taking a look at it. I smirked.

"Perfect, as always. Invigoration draught. You should take some, too."

"Take some yourself and give it to Dudley first," he said quickly, grabbing two mugs from the shelf above my head. "If there's any left, I'll take some."

"Oh, no you don't!" Uncle Vernon's face was purple again. "My son is not drinking that…that…whatever it is! It looks toxic!"

"It's perfectly safe," I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't be drinking it and have offered it to my brother otherwise. If you would like your son to return to his normal idiotic and bumbling self, I suggest you make him drink the entirety of this."

I slid the mug, full of the Invigoration Draught, across the table and right in front of Dudley. He had trouble getting his eyes to focus on such a bright colour, but he did not seem to trust me still. I took a seat where Harry had just occupied, sitting down in front of him.

"I know you can't see dementors," I said to him levelly, watching as he tried to bring his gaze to rest on me. "I know that you're really confused, and scared, and you feel weak as a dog – or at least you're more confused and scared than you regularly are...but that's because of the dementors. And this is the solution to it. A dementor's greatest weapon is called the dementor's kiss. When it kisses you, it sucks out your soul-"

"Cobswallow," Uncle Vernon murmured, but even he couldn't help but listen. Maybe it was because he'd never seen me be so brave in front of them, or so knowledgeable, but he didn't seem to have the gall to interrupt me.

"I used magic tonight too," I told Dudley again. "Special magic. Magic that only I can do. You saw it. You saw me push that thing, that _feeling_ off of you-" his eyes widened. He had not really seen anything and I had not really used Magnuse against the dementor while he was watching, but I wanted him to trust that I was helping him. Besides, it was true that me pushing the dementor off of him had probably withdrew some of the demons wandering his mind...what can I say? I'm a saint. "Now this is what I'm best at, making potions. Best in the year, best in the school and I promise you that it will do nothing but make you feel better. So drink the ruddy potion before I stuff it down your throat – I want to go to bed."

As much as his eyes were still as wide as saucers, I was not amused by the pause he took. So, grabbing his mug with a sigh I took a sip of it. I made it animated and loud and showed him the blue stain it left on my tongue before sliding the mug back over to him. I took my own mug, already a little more energetic thanks to the sip and chugged it down.

When I was finished I clenched and unclenched my hands. I didn't quite have enough energy in me to do some wandless magic – that was only something sleep would cure – but I felt like I would be able to walk up to bed now and my mind was a little less fogged. I took a deep breath, watching as Dudley slowly – very bloody slowly – drank his cup and put it down.

Were I not to have seen this potion work before, I would have even gasped with how quickly he got his colour back, with how his eyes stopped being so glassy and he looked _normal _again.

"You're welcome," I told my cousin simply, pushing off from the table and making my brother a half glass with what was left at the bottom of the cauldron. "Drink it down, it's stronger than normal – probably the fresh peppermint." When he finished and gave me a wry grin, I sighed. "To bed, then?"

"Right," he nodded, looking to the other family members as we started to walk away. "Well, if that's all-"

"No, it ruddy well is not all! Sit back down!"

"Godric," I hissed, covering my ears. "And you think _we're _distracting? The neighbours over in London can hear you!"

"Dudley!" Uncle Vernon tried to remind us. "You fixed him, but I still want to know exactly what happened to my son!"

"Fine!" Harry yelled, his emotion not in check. Thanks to his terrible temper and his wand that was still clutched tightly in his hand, red and gold sparks shot out of the end of his wand. All three Dursleys flinched, looking terrified while I put my hand on his hand.

"Give me the wand Harry," but he didn't, he just kept talking.

"Dudley and I were in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. Dudley thought he'd be smart with me, I pulled out my wand but didn't use it. Then two dementors turned up-"

"But what _are_ dementoids? What do they _do_?"

"Audrey already told you – they suck all the happiness out of you. And if they get the chance, they kiss you which is what they call it when they suck the soul out of your mouth," he reminded them with gritted teeth and impatience. "They didn't get his soul because Audrey showed up and for some reason decided to save the git. She pushed the dementor away from him and almost got kissed herself. And then she...well, I don't know what she did."

I gave him a confused look not understanding what he was referring to, but he didn't seem to have an answer considering he looked just as confused as I felt.

"And then you fought 'em off, did you, son? Gave 'em the old one-two, did you?" I rolled my eyes. Apparently me saving their son's hide meant absolutely nothing to them.

"You can't give a dementor the old one-two," Harry fought back another wave of sparks.

"Why's he all right, then?" Uncle Vernon bristled. "Who saved the girl? Why aren't they all empty?"

"Because I used the Patronus-"

Another owl. A different one again. While Uncle Vernon kept screaming about the infestation in his house, I stood on tip toes to read over Harry's shoulder – it was undeniably Sirius' scrawl.

_Arthur has just told us what's happened. Don't leave the house again, whatever you do._

And that was it. Harry turned the message over again, but there was nothing else there. He looked at me, eyes wild with indignation. I almost asked him to give me his wand again, ignoring Uncle Vernon's continuing rant about owls, before his angry eyes turned to our purple faced uncle again.

"I can't stop the owls coming," Harry snapped, throwing our godfather's letter to me.

"I want the truth about what happened tonight!"

"We told you the truth," I growled back to him. "And frankly, I'm irritated that you keep questioning the fact I saved your son. I should have left him to rot with the way you lot have treated us."

"If it wasn't you who hurt him," Uncle Vernon bellowed. "if it was demenders who hurt Dudley, how come you've been expelled? You did you-know-what, you've admitted it!"

My brother took a deep breath, trying to reign in his newfound temper. I thought I was supposed to be the hotheaded one and here I was, actually protecting these people from the supposed 'good guy' who looked ready to kill them all. "I did the Patronus Charm to get rid of the dementors. It's the only thing that works against them."

"But what were Dementoids doing in Little Whinging?" asked our uncle, obliviously. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, if we knew why they were here, we wouldn't have all these owls saying that Harry's suspended. But we don't, so sadly you're just going to have to wait in wonder for the next catastrophe."

"Next catastrophe?" Aunt Petunia blanched, looking at me with wide eyes. Uncle Vernon rounded on me at once.

"It's you," he began. "It's got something to do with you two, I know it. Why else would they turn up here? Why else would they be down that alleyway? You've got to be the only...the only..."

"Freaks?" I offered his preferred term to him, which made him snarl at me.

"I don't know why they were here." Harry said simply, but I could see that his brain was now working in overdrive. I don't know why, Uncle Vernon hadn't told us anything that we didn't already know, or maybe I had been thinking a little more about the big picture than he had been.

"These demembers guard some weirdo prison?"

"Yes," Harry sighed. I was even more annoyed with how oblivious they were than he seemed to be.

"Oho! They were coming to arrest you!" Uncle Vernon seemed too pleased with his newest flawed theory. "That's it, isn't it, boy? You're on the run from the law! That's why you tried to get the girl to flee-"

"Of course I'm not," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Then why-"

"It had to have been _him_, Harry. Who else would have sent them?" I offered him, trying to put his mind in the right place. We didn't need to worry about these morons right now, we needed to worry about the next bad guy who would try to come and get rid of us. Harry nodded to me darkly, not pleased with whatever it was he had come up with.

"What's that? Who must have sent them?" Uncle Vernon bumbled.

"Lord Voldemort," Harry and I said in unison, not taking our eyes off of each other. We were trying to have some sort of conversation, trying to let each other know that this was now a thousand times more serious than it had been the day before – Voldemort had turned aggressive. So long went the ideas of his under-the-radar attacks and his lack of attacking in public like we had grown used to this summer. He was bringing forward a new type of battle now by bringing in dementors to silence what we know.

"Lord – hang on," Uncle Vernon almost looked pensive, though it was quite impossible for him to actually achieve that task. "I've heard that name...that was the one who..."

"Who killed our parents?" I offered in a monotone. They didn't even wince.

"Yeah," Harry murmured in the same tone as I had.

"But he's gone, the giant bloke said so. He's gone."

"He's back," Harry said simply, but somehow intensely, as if he were trying to get them to understand the gravity of the situation – which they never would. Not unless that green light hurtled toward them...the visual made me turn away. _Cedric..._

"Back?" Aunt Petunia repeated. I couldn't tell if she didn't understand or she was actually frightened – but as I looked at Harry while he nodded, I could tell he saw what I saw. That for the very first time – the _very _first time – we could see how Aunt Petunia was actually related to us. Why I shared her name in my own – because she was our mother's sister. And she had also suffered the loss of a family member through the wrath of Lord Voldemort...and that, just maybe, Aunt Petunia might realize a little bit of what his resurrection really meant.

"Back," I repeated in the affirmative.

"He came back a month ago. I saw him." Harry finished for me. She grabbed a hold of Dudley, not caring how much of her fear showed.

"Hang on-" Uncle Vernon burst the serious moment between those of us who were related by the chill coursing through our blood. "Hang on. This Lord Voldything's back, you say."

"Yes."

"The one who murdered your parents," he continued slowly.

"Is there a point to this summary?" I sighed in boredom. "Because I've been talking about this twenty minutes longer than I'd planned and I'm ready to fall dead in bed."

"Yes," Harry said, looking to me with a roll of his eyes. He was answering our uncle, not me.

"And now he's sending dismembers after you two?"

"So it would seem," I answered while crossing my arms over my chest.

Uncle Vernon had dared to look pensive again, but even as he did it his face continued to purple toxically. "I see...well, that settles it. You can get out of this house!"

"What?" Harry asked, my eyebrows had raised, but I did not say anything.

"You heard me – _out_! Out – out! I should've done this years ago! Owls treating the place like a rest home, puddings exploding, plumbing bursting, half the lounge destroyed, the floor caving in, Dudley's tail – his _tongue_, Marge bobbing around the ceiling, that flying Ford Anglia, dyeing our hair purple-" ah, one of my favourite accidents of mine. "Out! Out! You've had it, you're history! You're not staying here if some loony's after you, you're not endangering my wife and son, you're not bringing trouble down on us, if you're going the same way as your useless parents, I've had it! OUT!"

I was no longer looking surprised, but I could tell by my Aunt's worried eyes on me, that I must have looked venomous. I looked at her, using the force of whatever she saw in my eyes that scared her.

"You'll let him do this – take away the last portions of your flesh and blood? The last remnants that you ever had a sister? Without us, you three don't stand a fighting chance against what's coming for this _entire _world – Voldemort will kill you just for being muggles. At least with Harry and I here, you have people to protect you...but if you let him do this, I will make sure you will never see magic again. And that includes all the protection that has been stationed around this bloody house since we came here fourteen years ago!"

Aunt Petunia may or may not have pissed her pants by then.

"You heard me," Uncle Vernon was even more upset now that I had just berated his wife. He had gotten as close to Harry and I as he could – trying to intimidate us with his closeness. Close just meant an easy target for me and if I felt I had to use Magnuse, I'd drank that potion that had given me enough energy to do so. I was not afraid to do whatever I had to do to survive this blasted night.

"Get going! You were all keen to leave half an hour ago – plotting your escape and saying you'd protect him! I'm right behind you there. Get out and never darken our doorstep again! Why we ever kept you in the first place, I don't know, Marge was right, it should have been the orphanage. We were too damn soft for our own good-"

"Soft?" I screamed at him, anger rising exponentially. "You locked Harry in a cupboard – you'd throw me under the sink!"

"Thought we could squash it out of you!" he responded with a growl. "Thought we could turn you normal...but you've been rotten from the beginning and we've had enough of – _OWLS_!"

Another owl, I believe it was the fifth, came in from the chimney. Perhaps this was one of the owls who had come so long ago and delivered our Hogwarts letters? Harry raised his hand for the letter, which we could tell immediately was a howler, but it completely surpassed him and flew – to Aunt Petunia? She screamed and covered her face as it came toward her, but the owl simply dropped it on her head, turned, and flew away without so much as a second glance.

Harry moved to grab the letter, but Aunt Petunia got it faster and held it close to her chest, I couldn't help but smile at her and the red envelope she clasped.

"Hold it back from us all you like, but we're going to hear what it says."

"Oh?" She asked defensively. "I would never let that happen-"

"That's a Howler," Harry said just as smugly. "You don't have a choice."

"Let go of it, Petunia!" Uncle Vernon surged toward him. "Don't touch it, it could be dangerous!"

"It's addressed to me," Aunt Petunia's eyes raked over the writing. "It's addressed to me, Vernon, look! Mrs Petunia Dursley, The Kitchen, Number Four, Privet Drive-" and then the Howler began to smoke.

"Better open it," I encouraged tauntingly. "It only gets annoyed if it's ignored."

"Open it," Harry agreed. "Get it over with – it'll happen anyway."

"No," she said shakily – maybe it was because she was actually shaking. She looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide it, bury it, get rid of it...but it was not fast enough. The envelope burst into flames in her hand – she screamed and dropped it.

"REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA."

The voice was terrifying, it echoed and reverberated and made all of my hair rise on end just from the sound of it. It was a haunting voice – but something told me it was not supposed to be haunting for us. It sounded like so mournful and dark that I couldn't begin to think who it had belonged to.

Our aunt, who had already blanched, looked the colour of rainless clouds. Her eyes looked as if it had gathered all the moisture from those clouds, but was refusing to let them spill. She shook as she sank behind Dudley, almost trying to hide herself behind his fat, staring at the ashes of letters in horror.

"What is this?" Uncle Vernon broke the silence. "What – I don't – Petunia?"

My aunt was too shocked to speak.

"Petunia, dear?" Silence. "P-Petunia?"

"They both-" she looked at her husband meaningfully, her lip quivering. "They both will have to stay, Vernon."

"_What_?" I think that was communal from every soul in the room but her.

"They stay," she said quickly, standing and straightening out her dress and apron. She did not look at us, but kept her eyes glued on her husband. She was trying to right herself and look in control of the situation, but she was failing miserably considering the shake to her hands.

"But...But Petunia-"

"If we throw them out, the neighbours will talk." She said crisply, smoothing out her hair with her hands that still shook. "They'll ask awkward questions, want to know where they've gone. We'll have to keep them."

"But Petunia, dear-" he seemed completely devastated that his hissy fit would go unheeded.

"Stay in your room," she ordered us without expression or glance. "You're not to leave the house. Now get to bed."

"No," I said quickly, holding my arm out to catch Harry's in case he'd give in but he had not moved either.

"Who was that Howler from?" he asked, looking as determined as I felt.

"Don't ask questions."

"Are you in touch with wizards?" Harry asked again.

"I told you to go to bed!" She looked nervous and furious again, she was completely unwilling to talk about it. I just couldn't tell if she was so nervous in an act of self-preservation thanks to her real family being in the room, or if she was too afraid to let the secret slip. I shook my head.

"Not without answers. You pissed someone from our world off, who was it?"

"What did it mean? Remember the last _what_?"

"My last," I corrected my twin. "Who's last?"

"Go to bed!" She squealed, stomping out of the kitchen quickly. Harry moved to question her further but Uncle Vernon's voice began to blare that we needed to listen to our Aunt and go to bed. We turned on our heel, realizing we weren't getting any answers, and headed up the stairs to our room.

"Could you tell who it was?"

"No, you?" he asked me, I shook my head.

"Eerie though, wasn't it? I have a feeling out dearest aunt is hiding something that we have missed."

"But how will we figure it out? The Howler's ruined." Harry sighed, shoving his wand into his pocket so that he could pull at his hair. I swatted at his closest hand until he dropped both of them to his side.

"We'll figure it out. Maybe we can ask Hermione if there's a way to look into post delivery or if we can track down whose owl it was – it was a screech owl, you don't see those often, they bother most people." I thought I could continue on theories that probably wouldn't work, but instead he stopped me on the stair, turning me around to look at him.

"How'd you do it?" he asked me seriously, I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Do what?"

"Back in the alleyway," he said slowly.

"Push Dudley back?" I waved my hand dismissively. "They may be dark creatures, but dementors are no less physical matter than we are. I pushed him like I've always wanted to push Dudley down the stairs."

"No," he shook his head. "I know how you pushed it – how did you put that memory into my head?"

"_What_?"

This was news to me.

"The memory of us on the train, it was from your point of view. I could see myself. I could hear you murmering in the background – they were your thoughts. How did you put them in my head?"

I looked at Harry nervously, my mind reeling with this new information as I tried to piece what he was saying together bit by bit. He had seen what I had been visualizing about the day back in the compartment? Had he seen the other memories, of Theodore, of the twins, of causing havoc?

"Is that how you managed the Patronus?" I asked quietly, with as little expression as I could compose my face. He looked at me as if I were loony.

"Of course," he nodded. "Otherwise all I could hear was Mum starting to scream..."

I shook my head at him, pretending that I understood. But I didn't. I didn't understand what he was saying or what it meant – I had put a memory into his head? I barely remembered what had happened – had I touched him? Had I been standing away from him? Had I perhaps said it out loud and he had just visualized it as I was describing it? I couldn't answer any of my own questions and I needed to go to bed even though my chest felt thick with the realization that something _else_ had happened tonight. Something else which lead to another unsolved mystery that had to center around magic being done illegally and me – only I hadn't known what I was doing this time.

"You probably just thought of it yourself," I dismissed quickly, trying not to sound as stressed as I felt. He looked as doubtul as I felt. "Putting thoughts in your head is a form of Legilimency, Harry, and I know I can't do that."

Though suddenly, I was not so sure...

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><p><strong>Audrey, Audrey, Audrey...why can't you just be normal? I wonder how popular this story is in comparison to my Twilight hit <em>Forgetting Franki<em>...do you think I could get more reviews by chapter 30 of this than the (approx) 325 it had when it was finished (for the first few months, that is). Do you think that I could ask for enough reviews to beat that record? I promise to release a chapter the same day I reach 330 reviews. The same hour if I have wifi. There is your challenge, readers! To those ahead of the race who reviewed last chapter:**

_PrincessK16_**: I wish I could skip some of these chapters too, I really just want to get into the Dreaco fluff and action...but then you wouldn't anticipate and appreciate the build up, and if I can do anything, I think I can build something up. I want to finish the series as quickly as I can. Realistically, not before the summer in 2013.**

_Erugalatha_**: I'm glad you feel the sense of foreboding and that it may lead to good things - I certainly hope I can deliver!**

_Novellavialli_**: He's coming, but not before Sirius :)**

_mjkcsk_**: Of course I'm posting! I couldn't leave you wonderful people waiting for long.**

_alwaysxlove_**: I'm back and prepared - hopefully you are too :)**

_Guest_**: I'm glad to be back, thank you so much for the review and compliments. I promise that the Draco/Audrey (Dreaco) is on its way!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you think it's interesting, I hope this chapter did the same!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Yes, Harry usually is the driving force for all the drama the poor girl has to go through. Sirius is coming very soon, I think he's wonderful so I was sure to keep all his parts in!**

_Laurafxox_**: Audrey IS too epic to consider Dudley's little gang. Yes, there will be many twists and turns for Audrey's fifth year - I hope you're ready for them all! **

_xxz0eyxx_**: Thank you so much for waiting and of course there will be updates in October; multiple, in fact. Thanks for the review!**

_Magimagus_**: Thank you! Ah yes, the bowtran bean. Surprisingly, I come up with all of this on my own. I, of course, do a lot of research on Harry Potter to make sure that everything is absolutely one hundred percent accurate and do all my own research on potion ingredient and how it is made - but the rest that I can't find there, I make up myself...like Magnuse. Magnuse was actually the reason for all the pauses in the first part of GOF - it was so hard to plot out and make sure it was a constant, working and believable (or as believable as magic can be) kind of thing. That you appreciate all the detail is just a cherry on the cake. Earlier in the story Snape explained that Magnuse is supposed to be the ability to do magic without a wand or any touch but Audrey is only able to accomplish Magnuse with physical contact. This will come up later again, so don't worry.  
>Ron and Audrey were originally not going to get along in my plot. I love Ron's character, but I thought that the two of them probably wouldn't get along because their both a bit self-righteous and stubborn, but as the story went on they pretty much wrote their own relationship that is usually based on mutual teasing and mockery.<br>I'm glad that the darkness of Audrey has begun to leak through, this story will be very different from the last because of the loss of Cedric and the knowledge she has of the future - as you can already tell by the Mrs Figg thing - so I hope it comes through as brightly (or in this case darkly) as I plan.  
>As for Dudley - that will have to wait. I think I'll let that just write itself. I have a basic idea of his response, but I'm not focusing on that, I'm worrying about more important things like romance right now ;) I hope you liked this chapter as well, thank you so much for your review!<strong>

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><p><strong>Oh no, Audrey's discovering new tricks again - they never really work out well for her, do they? Was that just coincidence? Magnuse? Legilimency? Please let me know your thoughts by giving me a <strong>**REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**


	29. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

**Wow, I can't believe I got over 330 reviews so quickly - I really didn't expect so many of you to rise to the occasion so thank you so much and, as promised, here is your chapter that has been edited by the fantastic **_Angel of the Night Watchers_**.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 28 – Number Twelve Grimmauld Place<p>

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><p>I woke up in a cold sweat, pushing myself off of the mattress and launching from the pillow. I gulped in as much air as I could, considering in my dream I hadn't been able to breathe at all. I could tell by the coolness the air brought to my lungs that I had ignored breathing for a long time while I was asleep and dying, or at least dream-dying. I guess it was likely that I attributed most death to the sensation of drowning.<p>

"All right?" Harry asked me in the dark of our room. I could barely see him thanks to the streetlamp outside our bedroom window, but he looked at me very grimly. Apparently he was having a bad night as well. "Was it a vision?"

"No," I responded bitterly. Harry knew of my ongoing battle with my Sight – I hadn't had a vision in over a month. Since the mega-vision of the final task in the Triwizard Tournament I had been completely left in the dark, unable to see so much as a train wreck in Tibet.

"Too bad," Harry responded distractedly, looking out the window and toward the blank night sky.

"No sign of Hedwig?" I asked dully.

"None," he responded in the same tone. Hedwig had been gone for four days now, waiting on responses from Sirius, Ron and Hermione. Harry had sent the letters off the minute we were sent to bed the night of the dementor attack, but we still hadn't gotten any replies. The words '_don't leave the house_' rang in my ears as if I had heard Sirius actually say them, and the sight of his note continued to flash in the back of my mind – we had stayed cooped up in the house like everyone had asked, so why couldn't we have some explanation for it?

"What time is it?" I asked with a yawn, stretching and accidentally knocking Circe from my legs. She gave me an angry mew before trotting off to the part of the bed my feet weren't touching.

"Late evening," he shrugged. "Thought I'd let you sleep."

"Thanks," I mumbled. We'd both needed it. Ever since we'd come back to this place we were both plagued by nightmares. I'd made us a few sleeping potions at the beginning, but it took a long time to realize that it made the nightmares continue forever and I had luckily run out of asphodel early on. We had been forced to endure on our own ever since. "Did the Dursleys feed you?"

"Not tonight," he shrugged. "They left about an hour ago. They locked the door, too."

"Oh, the big bad lock's going to stop me," I said sarcastically sitting up from the bed and frowning at him. He looked pale, which made the bags under his eyes were more prominent. "Want to get something to eat?"

"Not hungry," he muttered. I wasn't hungry either, but I could actively appreciate that it was a problem neither of us were ever hungry these days. I'd have to start from scratch when I got to Hogwarts again this year – I was thinner than any other summer I'd been away from school.

Circe came up to me again, she seemed to have forgiven me for pushing her off the bed with my rude awakening. She rubbed her face against my arm slowly, giving a small mew while she looked up at me as sweetly as she possibly could. Pft, she couldn't hide anything; she hadn't forgiven me at all, she was just buttering me up so that I would feed her.

"Suck up," I accused, picking her up and walking away from the bed toward my trunk. I was just bending down into it when a crash sounded from downstairs. I dropped Circe, looking toward Harry with wide eyes. "What was that?"

"It wasn't you?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked him disapprovingly, miming a scene about how I wasn't near anything that would crash. We both trained our eyes towards the bedroom door, taking deep and nervous breaths. "Are the Dursleys back?"

"That doesn't sound like the Dursleys," he whispered back to me. We kept our voices down, waiting for any out of place sounds to reach us again. It took a moment before any did. Voices. Now, suddenly there were voices. It didn't seem like there was only one, and it didn't sound like they were trying to be covert, either. Harry grabbed hold of his wand, pointing it toward the door and inching toward it.

"Don't you dare be a hero," I hissed at him quickly, trying to wrench his arm down. "I swear to Salazar I will smite you and ruin your funeral if you off yourself by being the hero!"

The lock clicked.

"Use your wand," I took back the threat immediately. These were no burglars, it was obvious thanks to having not heard voices outside our door. The door, however, had still been unlocked...which meant that there was magic involved. I backed behind Harry a little bit more. My wand was over in my trunk, which I had run away from to make sure that Harry wasn't going to be stupid, so I wasn't going to be much help considering to do any damage with Magnuse I'd have to touch whatever the danger was – which wasn't exactly ideal.

The door opened.

The hallway behind the door was dark and it took me a long moment for my eyes to focus to the dark hallway and show that there was no one behind the door. Harry moved forward, wand held high, pointed straight to the gap in the door. I tried to hiss at him again, but he ignored any attempt I made by walking out from my grasp and toward the stairs, looking down into the darkness. I followed him, trying to pull him back into the safety of our room – before I realized I was looking at the dark figures of multiple people. Multiple. More than two. More than four. Had the dementors come for another bite to eat?

"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out." That was a _very_ distinctive growl, making me guffaw from the shock of it.

"Professor Moody?" Harry asked in amazement, though I was happy to see he didn't lower his wand as instructed.

"I don't know so much about 'Professor', never got round to do much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."

"Don't put down your wand," I hissed at him, noticing that he had tilted it down and relaxed his grip. Have I ever mentioned that my brother is a bloody moron? Considering all the polyjuice potion he and I have been privy to, he thinks it's okay to let his guard down? Merlin, this idiot was going to get me killed one day. Probably before I even got myself expelled for inappropriate jokes on people.

"It's alright, Audrey," a familiar voice soothed. It made my heart stop. "We've come to take you away."

"Lupin?" I asked. "Is that really you? You know, if this is some kind of trick, it's a cruel one."

"Oh, why are we all standing in the dark?" an unrecognizable woman's voice asked. "_Lumos_."

A wand tip brought colour and being to the stairwell and hallways we were standing in. There were multiple people here, I had been right, and a few of them were recognizable in a way that made me feel like I was already home again. Lupin was closest to us, grubbier and more ragged then I remembered, but to be fair I knew it had been under a week since the full moon and the poor werewolf was probably still recovering from his horseplay.

"Oh, they look just like you said they would!" the witch with the lit wand smiled. She was the youngest, devastatingly close to the age of a seventh year, and had short, shockingly violet hair. "Wotcher, Harry; Audrey."

"I see what you mean, Remus," a bald, dark skinned wizard rumbled in a low voice. He had a gold hoop in one ear that made him look even more badass than his voice made him sound. "Looks just like James and Lily-"

"Except the eyes," a silver hair wizard wheezed from the back. "Who would have thought they'd both get Lily's eyes?"

"Are you quite sure it's them, Lupin?" Moody moved forward – exactly like I remember seeing him in school and yet completely different. Because the man in front of me was the real Mad-Eye Moody, not some Death Eater who was good at making a potion. He looked like he was healthy again; his hair, however, was still uneven thanks to being cut so much for the polyjuice potion for the impostor. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eaters impersonating them. We ought to ask them something only they would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"

I blanched just at the idea. I had way too many secrets to keep to have that shite around me.

"Harry," Lupin said calmly. "What form does your Patronus take?"

"A stag," Harry responded nervously, lowering his wand completely now. I looked nervously at Lupin, who nodded to Moody.

"And the girl?" Moody rasped, his magical eye – which had been spinning in the back of his head – swiveled to me and though it was fake it managed to look at me threateningly.

"Audrey," Lupin began in the same voice. "What does your boggart look like?"

"Water," I said quickly. "A body of water."

"That's them, Mad-Eye." Lupin gave us both a small smile, one that I beamed back at him.

"Just like I said," the purple haired woman smiled, walking a little closer toward us while Lupin motioned us forward down the stairs. We did so nervously, this still didn't seem real. It's strange that they thought it was okay to question us, but we were supposed to just trust that these people were strangers that they were trusted by others here from our past.

"Don't put your wand there, boy! What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!" Then again, that sounded damn near the Mad-Eye Moody I was accustomed to. I looked to see what he was referring to, so I could take note, my brother had shoved his wand unceremoniously in the back pocket of his trousers.

"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" The woman with the bright hair asked.

"That kind of thing actually happens?" I asked in the same tone.

"Never you two mind who, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" What a tongue twister. Moody moved forward, continuing to mutter lowly to himself. "Elementary wand-safety, nobody bothers about it anymore...and I saw that," he added lowly, while the bright woman rolled her eyes. Yes, this was definitely Moody.

Lupin held out his hand to my brother, then to me, grasping it firmly.

"How are you two?"

"Never better," I mumbled sarcastically.

"Fine," Harry breathed, still in shock. "How did you – you're really lucky the Dursleys are out..."

"Lucky? Ha!" The voilet haired woman laughed loudly, apparently we had no need to be quiet anymore. "It was me who lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now...or they think they are."

I smiled at her. "Oh, I like you already."

"We are leaving, aren't we?" Harry asked, his face even more lit up than mine. "Soon?"

"Almost at once," Lupin said with a nod. "We're just waiting for the all-clear."

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking at each of them excitedly.

"The Burrow?" Harry added hopefully.

"Not The Burrow, no. Too risky. We've set up Headquarters somewhere un-detectable. It's taken a while..." a while being four weeks, but none of them ventured to say such a thing about that, though everyone was thinking it anyway. Was this why Harry hadn't gotten any letters?

"This is Alastor Moody," Lupin introduced, pointing towards Moody.

"Yes, I've met your evil counterpart," I said darkly. "He and I didn't get along."

"Then you and I should," the gruff man nodded. I smirked. I guess I could accept that as a possibility.

"And this is Nymphadora-"

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus!" the violet headed witch shivered. "It's Tonks."

"Nymphadora Tonks," Lupin continued with a smile. "Who prefers to be known by her surname only."

"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora," Tonks mumbled to herself, moving away from the crowd a little bit now that she'd been introduced.

"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt," he pointed to the tall, dark skinned wizard, "Elphias Doge," that was the man who had linked our eyes to my mothers. "Dedalus Diggle-"

"We've met before," squeaked the excitable Diggle, dropping his violet-coloured top hat. I could remember all too well. He had bowed to Harry before we even knew about the wizarding world, and we had later had the pleasure of meeting him in the Leaky Cauldron – still being utterly confused by his worship.

"Emmeline Vance-" Lupin was continuing. There were even more people than I knew. This was a very stern looking witch in a green shawl. "Sturgis Podmore-" his jaw was quite square and he was quite a strong looking individual that was probably in his early thirties. He had a kind looking smile. "And Hestia Jones."

The last woman, a black haired witch with pink cheeks waved from in the kitchen.

"A surprising number of people volunteered to get you two," Lupin said knowingly when he saw our awkward hellos.

"Yeah, well, the more the better," Moody exclaimed. "We're your guard."

"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," Lupin explained again. "We've got about fifteen minutes."

"Very clean, aren't they, these muggles?" Tonks asked, looking very interested. "My dad's muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just as it does with wizards?"

"Er...yeah," Harry looked at me, I looked away. I was forced to be clean thanks to the dormitory I slept in. It's not my fault my brother didn't have the same discipline. Then again, if you were to look inside my trunk it'd be clear my cleanliness wasn't quite by choice. "Look, what's going on? I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's Vold-"

"Shut up!" Moody growled while the others hissed as if we'd dropped poison in their ears.

"Oh come on," I rolled my eyes. "It's just a name. Have none of you seen Romeo and Juliet? They're names were way more unlucky to be said-"

"We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," Moody interrupted, before shaking his head irritably. "Damn it," he hissed. "It keeps getting stuck – ever since that scum wore it-"

His magical eye popped out with a sickening sound – I looked away in revulsion.

"Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" Tonks asked, though she didn't seem bothered by it at all. Something told me that was because she was used to it, not okay with it.

"Get me a glass of water, would you, Audrey?"

"Ugh, on it." I mumbled, anything to get away from that sight. I went into the kitchen, passing Hestia – who was very interested in the toaster – to fill a glass of water and hand it to the one-eyed man.

"Cheers," Moody said, dropping the magical eye into the water and playing with it. "I want three hundred and sixty degrees visibility on the return journey."

"How're we getting...er, wherever we're going?" Harry asked the group. Lupin looked at me nervously.

"Brooms," he answered, he must have noticed me stiffen considering how quickly he continued. "I'm sorry Audrey, it's the only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."

"Okay," I blanched, even though my mind was screaming about how _not _okay it was.

"Remus says you're a good flier," Kingsley, said to Harry in his deep voice.

"He's excellent," Lupin corrected. "And Audrey will have a knack for it when she gets up there, I'm sure."

Really? I wasn't.

"You'd both better get packed, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes." Remus said to us both. I nodded my head stiffly, bounding up the stairs only to be followed by a calmer Harry and Tonks.

"Funny place," she was saying as we headed up to our bedroom. "It's a bit too clean, d'you know what I mean? Bit unnatural, I – oh, this is better."

I started throwing my things inside my trunk, ignoring the talk about how it was nice our room was so dirty. I just wanted to hurry. No matter how nervous I was to leave by broom, I was excited to get the hell out of here. Circe mewed to get my attention and looked at me expectantly, watching while I packed all of my kneazle and my things.

"I'll feed you later, you little coward. Didn't even come to check if anything was wrong?" She mewed as I accused her, even though I knew that if there really had been any danger she would have been right there warning me. Like with the dementors. Like she always had. I guess I should have figured it out. I went to pack up the food I'd been about to take out and watched as she began nudging it toward me. I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're a glutton."

"Is that a kneazle?" Tonks said excitedly. "Oh, I always wanted one! Mum said I couldn't because it'd be upset every time she tried to go visit family, which never worked anyway as we were disowned. Didn't like her marrying a muggle, see? I'm a halfblood, just like you. Oh, she's quite a pretty little thing." She went up and without warning pet Circe, who sat and rubbed her face against the hand I looked at Tonks with raised eyebrows.

"Well, you and I must be meant to get along...then again, she's nice to Malfoy and he and I are at it like cats and dogs."

"Draco Malfoy?" Tonks sneered out the name. "Yes, my little cousin tends to be a little prat. Over privileged."

"You're related to the Malfoys?" I gasped, unable to stop the disgust from lacing my tone.

"All purebloods are related one way or another, there aren't very many of us left," she explained with a shrug. "I don't talk to any of them though, so it's alright. Just have them in the ol' family tree."

I frowned at her. "Poor woman."

"Too right."

I continued my packing, hurtling clothes and books into my trunk. Tonks watched both of us for a moment before going over to the mirror hanging in our wardrobe.

"You know, I don't think violet's really my colour," she sighed. "D'you think it makes me look a bit peaky?"

"Er-" Harry looked at me searchingly. Ugh, boys would never understand women, would they. I shook my head at him, but it was too late. Tonks had gotten some answer or other from the silence.

"Yeah, it does," Tonks seemed to agree with herself. She concentrated on something really hard, screwing up her eyes in the process...before her hair turned bright, bubble-gum pink.

"How did you do that?" I demanded. "How did-what-"

"I'm a Metamorphmagus," she explained as if that was all the answer in the world. "It means I can change my appearance at will. I was born one. I got top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all, it was great."

"You're an Auror?" Harry asked with a voice that reeked of being impressed. I knew that Harry had been thinking about trying to be one after he graduated Hogwarts..._if _he graduated Hogwarts, that is.

"Yeah," Tonks looked very proud. "Kingsley is as well. He's a bit higher up than me, though. I only qualified a year ago. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking. I'm dead clumsy, did you hear me break that plate when we arrived downstairs?"

So that's what it had been.

"Can you learn how to be a Metamorphmagus?" Harry asked excitedly. I rolled my eyes at him, turning to pack my trunk. Harry needed to read a hell of a lot more if he thought that she'd respond with yes.

"Bet you wouldn't mind hiding those scars sometimes, eh?" she asked us. Her eyes flickered to both of us. Harry's lightning bolt scar was much more impressive than mine, but it was not something as easily seen. His was just a little lightning bolt shaped thing on his forehead – clean and impressive. Mine, however, was a large and jagged 'X' cut into the side of my neck... not concealable.

"Not really," both Harry and I muttered lowly, looking from each other to our trunks, embarrassed by having to admit it.

"Well, you'll have to learn the hard way, I'm afraid," Tonks continued. "Metamorphmagi are really rare, they're born, not made. Most wizards need to use a wand, or potions, to change their appearance – but you knew that, didn't you, Audrey? But we've got to get going guys, we're supposed to be packing."

"Right," I cleared my throat, continuing to throw everything into a heap within the walls of my trunk. Luckily I had left all my pranks in the possession of Pansy Parkinson; this meant that I had a lot of space for clutter. And even though I wouldn't get to see my pre-made-pranks again, I'm sure I would get to hear about the effects for the rest of the year thanks to Parkinson's whining.

Harry was so behind that Tonks made quick work of it by using magic to put everything in his trunk. She looked at mine, not at all neat, but at least efficient, and after a few words to Harry – and help cleaning out Hedwig's cage – Tonks was ready to go.

"Got everything?" she checked before we left. "Cauldron-"

"Oh, it's downstairs!" I said quickly. "They locked it under the sink."

"We'll get it," Tonks promised. "Broom? Wow! A Firebolt!" I rolled my eyes, pushing past them. I just knew where this conversation would go and right now was not the time I needed to talk about the speed or tricks it could do. "And I'm still riding a Comet Two Sixty! Ah well...wand still in your jeans? Both buttocks still on? OK, let's go. _Locomotor trunks_."

Both Harry and my trunk levitated behind us as we descended the stairs. I made sure to grab Circe's green carryon case and took time coaxing her into it – which I knew I would pay for later. She hated her carryon case. When we made it to the kitchen, we saw that Moody had thankfully decided it was time to put his magical eye back in. Around him, the other wizards were looking at devices in the kitchen very curiously – the microwave and potato peeler seemed to be the most fascinating. Lupin was sealing a letter, likely for the Dursleys.

"Excellent," he smiled when we entered. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry-"

"They won't," we both assured him.

"-that you're safe-" he continued.

"It'll only depress them." Harry shrugged.

"Hell, it depresses me when they're safe, sometimes," I shrugged. I added the sometimes when I got a stern look from Lupin.

"-and that you'll see them next summer."

"Must we?" I asked at the same time Harry asked. "Do we have to?"

Lupin only smiled.

"Come here, boy," Moody said gruffly, beckoning Harry forward. "I need to Disillusion you."

"And I'm Disillusioning you," Tonks smiled, hopping over toward me. "I wanted to ask you if you could teach me how to make that potion you made that turned you invisible? You know, for the Triwizard Tournament? Remus asked me not to bring it up, but I figured thinking back to the first task wouldn't do any harm. It was a really impressive potion. He said you made it yourself, is it true?"

"It's true," I smiled slightly, trying to hide the grimmace of the idea that Lupin had warned her I was...I was what, _delicate_? It was humiliating.

"That's even _more_ impressive. Did you ever think of becoming a Potions Master after Hogwarts? I think you'd do great, if you can make potions like that at your age. I'm terrible with stuff like that."

"I've always been pretty good at it," I admitted. "And to be honest, I don't really think much about after Hogwarts. It tends to be the case I need to worry about my life year by year, so I'll worry about After-Hogwarts after Hogwarts."

"Good plan. Wotcher, this'll be cold!" she slapped her wand against the top of my head, making me yelp out in pain while she mumbled an apology. What I thought may be blood – but was far too cold to be anything but ice water – slithered over me and made my skin slick and cold. There was almost a moment, as it slid down my spine, I wondered if I was having a vision – but it didn't turn out to be quite the same sensation. No visions blessed and plagued me – I was still invisible to the world and blind to the future.

"Nice one, Mad-Eye," Tonks looked through where Harry had been – but no longer was. I could see straight through him, however I could tell that he was still there. Instead of making us invisible, like my potion last year had made me, we were now something close to a chameleon – blending in with my surroundings, which currently consisted of the kitchen cabinet. "Do you think mine's alright?"

"Here," Moody rapped his wand against my head again. "There, now the tips of her hair aren't showing. Focus more, Nymphadora."

Tonks frowned at his casual use of her first name before everyone – including almost-invisible Harry and I – gathered out on the front lawn.

"Please keep her safe," I said as I handed Circe's carrier off to Lupin. "She's definitely the most important thing in my life besides some select humanoids."

"I'll watch her with my life," Lupin smiled, taking her from me and strapping her onto his broom.

"Clear night, could've done with a bit more cloud cover," Moody frowned up at the sky, his magical eye was swiveling with the jitters. "Right you – er, Potter – er, _boy_," he could not see us easily while his magical eye was looking for danger, which had caused trouble defining whom he was speaking to. "We're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you both from below. You-_girl_, I want you riding between Harry and Remus, just in case you lose control of the broom."

"Oh, bloody hell, I'm not inept!" I grumbled. Terror was not the same as inability.

"Hush. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed-"

"Is that likely?" Harry asked, I could picture his wide eyes.

"-the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you two survive, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."

"I love nightly flights towards or what may cause certain death," I sighed whimsically. Tonks elbowed me encouragingly – even though it was actually in the ribs, but I forgave her as she couldn't see me.

"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, they'll think we're not taking this seriously." Tonks said simply, taking Harry's trunk on her broom while I watched Lupin strap mine onto his. My eyes anxiously fell on the green traveling case for Circe again.

"I don't care who you have to kill, Remus, you keep my kneazle safe." I reminded.

"Don't listen to all of Moody's brooding," Lupin chuckled. "We've planned this well enough it should be a smooth ride." I did not miss that there were no guarantees.

"I'm just telling them the plan. Our job's to deliver them safely to Headquarters and if we die in the attempt-"

"No one's going to die," Kingsley assured again.

"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" Lupin was suddenly quite urgent and I felt Moody slap a broomstick into my hands. Oh, ruddy hell, I barely remembered how to mount one of these nevertheless to fly them. I was suddenly very glad that I had fallen asleep in my jeans because if I had worn pyjama pants or shorts, it probably would have made me even more uncomfortable than I already was. After that terrible ordeal in first year flying, I'd given up without any thought of attempting again. Of course I would now have to worry about doing it all on my own with a strict deadline.

Up in the sky, bright red sparks had lit up like a firework. It made me pause and my breath catch in my breath. I had sent those once, for Fleur, right before...

I shook my head, throwing my leg over the broom and nervously kicking up. I hovered with a shake, it was almost like it wouldn't hold my weight. Oh, bloody hell, I was already underweight, there was no way I could make myself work this broom if it was something about weight or balance. Shite. I don't know how to do this. I was going to die without us even being attacked!

"Second signal, let's go!" Lupin declared, watching as what appeared to be a green firework exploded a few behind us. I hovered some more, trying to keep to moving with the others and learn how to fly all at the same time.

_He's a natural_, people kept saying about Harry. _Just like his father._

I looked just like Mum and from what I knew, she'd never been good on a broom either. Fantastic.

We kept moving, the broom quivering under my hands which had gone white knuckled against the wood. Harry, above me, seemed to have no problem as he flew around and Lupin, below me, was looking up at me every half minute to make sure I hadn't begun to crash. It was disconcerting that even Lupin didn't have faith I could navigate this blasted thing. I just needed to be able to get through tonight and then I'd never have to be on a broom again...

To be fair, now that I was up in the air and working on stabilizing my broom, it was actually a very refreshing sensation. The fresh air in my lungs, the wind whipping through my hair, the feeling that I was doing something that didn't require me pretending that I was normal, that I was a muggle, or a regular witch...

"Hard left, hard left, there's a muggle looking up!" Moody's shout made me jump and I lost grip with my right hand on the broom. I let out a yelp that made most people look at me nervously before I got another good grip and was able to bank with everyone else, even if a little more slowly. "We need more height...Give it another quarter of a mile!"

Oh Merlin, I whispered as everyone tilted their brooms up. Not only was it harder to fly upwards thanks to the feeling of falling off my broom, but as we continued to ascend close to the level of the clouds I suddenly remembered this top was sleeveless. My eyes were burning from the intense cold, I couldn't see anything definitive from this high up anymore – I guess that's what Moody had wanted in the end. My hands started to shake from the cold which made me grip the broom harder.

This broom wouldn't splinter, would it? I mean, I was holding it tightly, but it wasn't that weak, right?

Oh, bat balls, I'm going to be sick.

"Bearing south!" Moody shouted again. "Town ahead!"

I yelped as everyone turned left much more quickly than I. I heard Lupin yell at me, watching as I turned slowly to come toward them. I yanked a bit harder on the broom, watching as it fell right into position with the others. I frowned a bit, gripping the broom tightly and doing another little wobble.

"What are you doing?" Moody growled at me.

"Learning!" I yelled back, doing a couple more turns. Maybe the problem had been I had been a bit too generous to the broom out of fear. Apparently they were durable and I was allowed to kick it around a bit – which made me feel more comfortable. I wasn't good with being gentle to things, kind to things...But all things considered, the broom wasn't actually that difficult to control – when I wasn't shaking and ready to jump off to avoid the actual flying part.

Which, admittedly, was pretty nice.

When I wasn't panicking.

"Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!" Moody called again. Ugh, who died and made him captain? He was making everything much more difficult.

"We're not going through clouds!" Tonks yelled back to him, "we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"

Moody didn't respond but as we didn't keep climbing higher into the low cloud bank, I assumed that he had decided he shouldn't fight _every _battle. We kept flying, altering our way every now and then when Moody saw something that he deemed dangerous. I ended up feeling so cold that I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to get myself off the broom if we would land any time soon – was it possible to freeze against wood? Who knew when magic was involved.

I don't know how long we were traveling for, but by now my lips were numb. I could hear my teeth chattering every now and then when the wind would change direction and there was that short moment that it was quiet. The people circling us – the ones that I didn't know, including Moody – seemed just as cold, though Moody seemed to be quelling the shivers by taking his signature swigs from his flask every few minutes. Firewhiskey kept out the cold.

"Turning southwest!" Moody shouted out to us however long into our journey. "We want to avoid the motorway!"

Everyone turned and I went to follow them, but as my vision burned – the colours of the dark night clouds and the starry sky seemed to burn more brightly and wash into something neon and bright.

Oh, no.

"Audrey!" I barely had time to look up when I heard the shout, it must have been from Tonks because as she screamed I felt something hard collide with the back of my head and my shoulder. I yelled out, trying to let go of the death grip on my broom so that I could check my throbbing scull and also swerving away from whatever had come to hit me. As I kept swerving I realized that I had jerked too far and I was now going into a head spin, plummeting down without any strength in my numb limbs to pull up fast enough.

Were we under attack? Was someone trying to take me out?

"Audrey!" I heard Harry scream. I groaned, looking at my hand only to see that there was no hand there. I didn't know the Disillusionment charm that well, but I figured that if I was bleeding I would have still been able to see the blood on my hand, so I figured that whatever had hit me hadn't hit me as hard as it felt I had.

"W-what the bloody hell was that!" I screamed, my teeth still chattering as I moved up toward Harry again who had noticeably slowed down with the rest of the guard.

"What was it?" Harry echoed, I couldn't tell who he was speaking to as I couldn't see him. "Is s-someone after us?"

"No, no, it's alright!" Lupin called quickly as we had all noticed that Moody was ready to spring into action. "It was just the cage. Hedwig's cage fell. Are you alright, Audrey?"

"Got control, Potter?" Moody asked me, continuing his circling around us.

"I'm f-f-fine," I yelled back with a hiss. "You're just l-lucky Tonks cleaned that cage out, Harry. I would've k-killed you if I had owl p-pellets in my hair!"

"Don't be such a wimp!" My brother called back. I was mortally offended.

"I'm riding a goddamn broom for the f-first time in f-four years and keeping up with your lazy ass," I yelled back. "S-s-so don't you dare call me a w-wimp!"

"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed thanks to all this talk!" Moody shouted, throwing a pointed glare in our general direction.

"Are you mad, Mad-Eye?" Tonks screamed. "We're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off-course we're not going to get there until next week! Besides, we're nearly there now!"

"Time to start the descent!" Lupin bellowed over them both. I felt an urge to hug the life out of that man. Also, potentially, take his body heat. "Follow Tonks, you two!"

Both Harry and Tonks turned into a dive, one that made me nervous, but I was so excited to get under some blankets that I found myself willing to do it anyway. For a moment I was going down too steep, but with a groan and a rough pull up – that only felt rough, considering I only pulled up on the handle about two inches – I was soon following them at the same angle they descended toward the ground. Below us, the spider web of houselights and streetlamps started turning into individual subdivisions and houses, cars and sidewalks...

"Here we go, careful Audrey!" Tonks warned and before a few seconds she landed.

I had a rough touchdown, actually tripping a little bit and falling on my one knee. I let out a hiss, taking my time to pull myself to stand while I shook from head to toe, my breath laboured and heart pounding. I was still unnerved by the cage having fallen on me and shivering from all of Moody's detours...but I was alive. Harry, who must have seen where I was by my very visible broom, placed his hand on my head – then on my shoulder where he'd initially aimed.

"Alright?"

"I flew," I breathed, almost as amazed I had survived as I was frozen.

"Yes, you did."

"Well, it's a nice feeling, flying," I breathed. "I just d-don't think I'm any good at it."

"You weren't bad," he assured me. Lupin, unlocking my trunk in front of us, nodded.

"Quite right, for your first time really flying Audrey, that was quite good. You were able to get control of the broom on your own when the cage fell and you landed without crashing – you have some natural ability."

They were just being kind.

Looking around, I noticed that we were not in some pretty neighbourhood like I had thought we may be. It looked almost abandoned – broken windows, flickering streetlamps, peeling paint, litter...

"This is a muggle neighbourhood." I observed.

Harry hummed his approval. "Where are we?"

"In a minute," Lupin responded quietly.

Moody was digging through his pockets, his hands probably as cold as mine which made him fumble more than he would have normally. "Got it."

He grabbed a lighter, a very expensive looking silver lighter, and clicked it – the nearest streetlamp died. He clicked it again – another followed. He continued the pattern until every lamp around us was extinguished, leaving the light from the houses the only light around us.

I gasped as a scene played from my memory, a scene that involved Ron and I in a pub, him clicking that exact same lighter, watching as the light around us came and went...

"Where did you get that?" I demanded, unable to stop myself from sounding rude.

"Borrowed it from Dumbledore," Moody explained. "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out the window, see? Now come on, quick."

I didn't get to ask him anymore questions about the light-taking-lighter before he began leading us from the grass we stood on to the pavement across the road. The other's followed us, carrying our trunks and a very whiny sounding Circe. The rest of the guard followed, wands out and watchful.

"Here, read quickly and memorize." He handed Harry a piece of paper, I could hear him humming it to himself so that he would try to remember it better. I took the paper from him after a few seconds, seeing that it was only one line and should be easy to remember. Pushing it in front of my vision, I looked down at the familiar hand carefully.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

"What's the Order of th-"

"Not here, boy!" Moody snarled at my brother, pushing him forward a bit. "Wait till we're inside!"

"Inside where? There is no number twelve." I frowned, looking at the numbers of the houses, we were outside number eleven, and beside it was a number thirteen, but the number on the paper was not there. And was this side street even Grimmauld place?

Moody took his wand and lit the piece of parchment up in my hand. I let out a hiss at him.

"But where's-" Harry began for me.

"Think about what you've just memorized," Lupin whispered to us quietly. I frowned, remembering 'number twelve Grimmauld Place, London' – I can't believe we'd taken so long to fly to London. I wasn't an expert in flying or anything, but I knew that we weren't that far from–

Suddenly, a battered door emerged between eleven and thirteen. A battered door that had not been there before. After a moment, there were grimy windows. And a moment after that, it was as if it had been there the whole time. I blinked at it, waiting for it to disappear. Was something wrong with my third eye? Was something wrong with my _two _eyes?

"Come on, hurry!" Moody encouraged, pushing us up the steps. I took a moment to lean over and look at the muggles in number eleven – who were still sat watching some television program...the muggles hadn't felt anything at all.

"Like magic," I smirked, following the guard into number twelve, Grimmauld Place which I could instinctively tell would be my home away from homes.

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><p><strong>Guess who makes an appearance the next chapter? Who is excited for that? Thank you all for your reviews, it melted my heart. Really. Please continue reviewing - see? It makes chapters come faster!<strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you like it, thanks for the review.**

_ya-fav-bumblebee_**: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it!**

_SchadenFreude95_**: I'm glad you can see little differences now that she's darker after Cedric's death, I will try to make a note to remind what vision I'm talking about when I mention them. That's a really good point - I have them all mapped out, so sometimes I forget that you guys don't have vision-webs at your disposal too! Thanks :)**

_Novella Vialli_**: I wish we could - but this is all going to be important! I'll make it worth the wait, promise!**

_someonenotthere_**: I'm glad you like it, I've never thought of listening to Harry Potter music as I write - I bet it would set the mood very well!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: He's coming soon! I know, I remember loving Sirius in the books and then was so excited when it was Gary Oldman who was cast - but it was a wasted role. As in the role was written to be wasted; so depressing. I think it's a good guess Audrey will ask Snape about Legilimency, being her mentor and all, but you'll have to wait and see :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Thank you! You're too kind.**

_Laurafxox_**: I love throwing twists and turns in for Audrey - she needs to have twists and turns when it comes to her Magnuse. It's a real downfall that she has to touch someone to inflict damage, it means she has to get in danger's way to protect herself. Thank you for the review!**

_kaaayyytteee_**: You left a few of these, so thank you so much - especially for all the compliments! Thanks for reading through the whole thing so quickly, hopefully this chapter was enjoyable as well!**

_jibarra80_**: It's so nice to hear that you enjoyed it enough to read it all at once, I know it's pretty wordy. Thanks for the review!**

_Princess-Dixon_**: Back when I used to have time to read fanfiction, I used to hate that people would ignore proper grammar and punctuation or pretend that they didn't know the English language. Maybe they didn't, sometimes it looked that way. Thank you for reviewing, especially as it is your first time - it's alright to be a lurker as long as you're enjoying, but I won't deny I very much enjoyed your thoughts :)**

_emerly_**: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I think Harry's 'horcrux' side wasn't destroyed by those things because he needed to die. Personally. I think it was actually the sacrifice of needing to die that killed the thing off - because Voldy's spirit couldn't have separated from him unless he made a sacrifice to define himself as his own person. I'm glad your hubby likes the series, have you seen the Hunger Games or, even better, read them? I'm a Peeta fan, myself. Anyway, I have more of these chapters for you - would you like them?**

_BlueRose22_**: Agreed! Thanks for the review!**

_Antigona_**: They could be, but I may as well tell you that it has more to do with her emotions - particularly fear - than the water itself. Her powers are a little rocky when she is a little rocky, emotionally. And I agree that people should acknowledge how great she is - but would she be as driven to be so great if everyone treated her equally?**

_Guest_**: I'm excited to bring Draco and Severus in, as well!**

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone! You make me so happy, you really do. I can't tell you how inspiring your reviews are...inspiring enough I get a chapter out the day I promised! So, remember how much I enjoy reading thoughts and posting responses, so please <strong>**REVIEW!**

**-Egypt **


	30. Answers

**Hello readers! Man, every time I update this story I just get so giddy. It actually brings me more joy than I can explain to you. I would like to thank my fantastic editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for getting these back to me so quickly. Hopefully you all have a nice week and enjoy the beginning of October...my very favourite month. Maybe I'll even give you more updates because of that ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 29 – Answers<p>

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><p>We were warned not to touch anything upon entering the once-invisible-now-visible house. It was a wasted sentiment considering that everything was so grimy and dirty that I wanted to go back and stand in the dirt outside. At least I knew what kind of dirt that was. The old house smelled of dust and mold. The wallpaper rotted straight off of the walls. Curtains hung on a wall with no window, portraits of haughty relatives looked down on us with sneers. Behind us, those others of our 'advance guard' were filing into the narrow hallway. Tonks was bringing in my trunk, while Lupin brought Harry's, and Moody put the lights from the lighter back to their respective streetlamps.<p>

"Here," Moody came and hit Harry's head harshly with his wand. I cringed away from it, but Tonks was at the ready.

"I've got it, here you go-" with a similar – yet somehow less violent – movement, I watched interestedly while the colour leaked back through my skin and I could see myself again. I turned my hands around and looked to make sure that nothing wasn't still part invisible, but she apparently did a better job with Reillusioning me than Disillusioning me.

"Brilliant, thank you."

"Any time," she smiled back.

"May I have my kneazle now?"

"Oh, 'course!" She smiled again, letting Circe out of her carrier and I felt her jump out so that she could weave through my legs. It was good to know for sure that she was safe and sound, considering the flight hadn't gone as well as I would have hoped it would. Though Circe mewed at me, I didn't pick her up. I was too distracted while we all stood waiting and Moody explained that he would give us some light. While we waited, I took in what little bit of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place that I could. I could hear all the hushed voices around me and smell the rot of the walls...it was an unpleasant odour.

When Moody put the lights on for us, the sight was no less than I expected, because it was the exact same as lighted as it had been when it was dark. There were more noticeable cobwebs and you could see the dirty carpet, now. You could take in and recognize the people in the rippling portraits, see that everything was decades out of date.

Everything was Slytherin coloured.

If there are no other redheads in this building, I will be pissed. Green only looks good when we redheads are infiltrating it all – and by that, I mean the twins and I.

Hurried footsteps interrupted my thoughts while the door right in front of us opened to show me a wonderful redheaded woman, wearing an apron that she was drying her hands on.

"Oh Harry, Audrey, it's lovely to see you!" she whispered like everyone else in the house had, but she did not hesitate in pulling each of us into our own bear hug. She was careful to mind Circe and give her a welcoming pet. "You're both looking peaky – oh, Audrey, have you eaten at all since June? You both need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid..." Mrs Weasley turned away from us and addressed the adults – or near adults – that were behind us. "He's just arrived, the meeting's started."

"Meeting?" I asked, watching as the adults filed past us and going through the door that Mrs Weasley had just come from. Harry was automatically moving to join them, his curiosity so peaked that he didn't even realize he was being called and jumped when Mrs Weasley held her hand out to stop him.

"No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs and Audrey, Fred and George are floating around here somewhere – likely doing something they shouldn't. You can wait with them until the meetings over, then we'll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall," that was added very seriously. Though I normally would have felt encouraged to start throwing a very loud hissy fit, I respected Mrs Weasley's wishes. I didn't need to start anything...yet.

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't want anything to wake up."

Well. That's daunting.

"What d'you-?"

"Don't question it," I muttered, placing my hands on his shoulder blades so that I could steer him towards the stairs at our side where Ron and Hermione would apparently be found. Circe lead the way, separating Mrs Weasley and us while she explained she had time to show them where we'd sleep, she tip toed near silently up the stairs, passing a row of heads mounted on plaques...house elf heads.

Gross.

"Mrs Weasley," Harry began, still whispering. "Why-"

"Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I've really got to dash. There," she pointed just down the hall with two doors. "You're the door on the right, Harry. Audrey, you're right across on the left. I'll call you when it's over."

And then she was gone.

I looked at Harry for a moment, not quite sure what to make of our new visit to the Headquarters of the Phoenix Whatever. Harry's thoughts seemed to be mirroring mine: confused and frustrated. He quirked his head toward the door Mrs Weasley had said was his. I nodded my head, following him as he took the serpent's doorknob in his hand and opened the door.

Harry was attacked immediately, hugged near death by Hermione and earning a surprised hiss from Circe. I nodded to Ron, who gave me a sad, wry grin back. I didn't feel the need to be kind today and even if these two were my on-and-off companions, I had no loyalty toward them while they got to live in some cool house with high ceilings and Slytherin memorabilia while Harry and I were off fighting dementors. Hell, even _Hermione_: _Muggle, born and raised _had gotten to come back to wizarding kind before we had.

Well...now I'm a little pissed.

"Harry!" Hermione was rushing. "Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you alright? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless – but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't..."

"Surprise, surprise," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Audrey! Oh, Audrey!" Hermione moved from Harry to grab me, as if she had just noticed I happened to be here too. She didn't hold me nearly as long but looked me up and down as if making sure that I was okay. "Oh we have so much to tell you two!" She moved over to Harry again. "And you've got things to tell us – the dementors! When we heard – and that Ministry hearing? – it's just outrageous. I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's no provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations-"

"Let him breathe, Hermione," Ron was grinning and moved behind me to close the door. He was taller now, awkwardly gangly, and his voice had gotten lower. Puberty had hit Ronald Weasley.

"Hedwig!" Harry went to go pet the owl that was sat atop a wardrobe right near me, but I was not as excited by her appearance. Instead, I gave the owl a glare.

"Decided to stay on holiday, did you?"

"She's been in a right state," Ron defended. "Pecked us half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this..." Ron held up a gnarled index finger.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." Harry didn't sound overly apologetic. "But I wanted answers, you know..."

"We wanted to give them to you mate," Ron winced. "Hermione was going spare, she'd kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us-"

"Swear not to tell us," Harry finished. "Yeah, Hermione's already said."

"Are you surprised?" I asked skeptically, looking at Harry haughtily while he frowned at me. I shrugged my shoulders irritably, making a motion of disbelief. "I'm not. Not at all. This is exactly what Dumbledore does, he's cryptic – wants you to figure things on your own. It's a load of bull. It's why I don't listen to him. It's not like he says anything you'll ever understand. The people _I _listen to give me things straight – no matter how cruel they may be," I shot Hermione a glare. "Even if they have to break the rules."

"He seemed to think it was best," Hermione said breathlessly. "Dumbledore, I mean."

"Right," Harry muttered. I gave him a look, hearing Harry's dark tone and seeing his eyes flicker from me to the door. Ah, yes, I don't need a map to understand that I needed to get out of here quickly so that these three could deal with their own issues.

"Well, you three have loads to talk about, I'm sure. But since I just got all the colour scared off me, I'm going to go find some amusement of my own," I turned to my brother. "If there's anything you feel I should know, or even more importantly if there are things I shouldn't, I expect to be informed."

Harry gave a curt nod, all three of them waiting silently until Circe and I left the room. I closed the door behind me, walking through the narrow hallway before I opened the door adjacent to the one I'd just closed – this room was pretty much identical to the one I had just left. It had two beds, like the other, but had another cot set up near the ground. I'm sure it was mine. It also had the youngest Weasley child lounging on the farthest bed.

"Drea!" She gasped, giving me a slight wave. "I didn't even hear you, when did you get in?"

"Just now," I sighed, going onto the bed across from hers and throwing myself on it. It was comfortable, if a little firm, but I still may need to fight Hermione for it. "I see you weren't mauled by Hedwig?"

"Harry never writes me," Ginny's face went slightly pink, but she quickly tried to change the subject. "It's so nice to have another girl here. Hermione's great, but we're still outnumbered."

"As always," I couldn't help but smirk. Really, I had no quarrel with Ginny. Ginny was not one of those that Harry had tried to contact and with her unrequited love for him, she was always too shy to try and get a hold of him herself. "Where are your brothers?"

"Which ones?" She asked sarcastically. I waited a moment before she laughed. "Why, did you happen to miss one of them?"

"I missed organized chaos," I sighed dreamily, but dropped the act quickly. "Where are they?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'll make an appearance. Fred and George passed their Apparation exams, so they tend t-"

"Pop in and out?"

"AH!" Between the loud crack beside my head and the breath on my neck, I couldn't help toppling off the bed. A peel of duo toned laughter filled the room, too familiar to mistake even if I wouldn't have been able to see the two identical faces looking down on me from the bed I'd just sat on.

"Hullo, Audrey," a twin – George – began.

"So nice to see you again-" Fred continued.

"-missed you this summer. Thanks to Dumbledore-"

"-we weren't allowed to owl. But we've made it up to you." Fred smiled widely. I rolled my eyes at the two of them.

"Oh, can't wait for this," I said sarcastically, though I couldn't help the smile creeping onto my face.

"We wrote you letters anyway!" Fred announced, bringing forth a large thicket of envelopes.

"Couldn't send them-"

"-no, of course not-"

"-but we made sure to write anyway-"

"-pretending that you wrote back about your own adventures-"

"-which we may or may not have made up-"

"-involving a sea serpent and a battle in Rome-"

"-as example."

I looked at the two boys, who looked completely sincere, and swiped at the letters in Fred's hands. Grabbing onto them, I saw that they were all dated – supposing these were legitimate, they really had been writing me all summer. I held them too my chest for a moment, I didn't want to let them in on how much this actually meant to me – but I'm pretty sure they knew anyway. My heart, somehow, grew even more for them.

"You guys are the greatest," I smiled, getting up off the creaky floor to hug them. They both hugged back enthusiastically, while Ginny snorted at our display. "You don't know how boring it's been this summer: trading beans for money, ordering Malfoy Gryffindor souvenirs from catalogues, fighting off dementors...I feel like I haven't been living."

"Is that all you've been able to pull?" George looked appalled. "No hair dyeing?"

"Skin dyeing-" Fred began to list.

"-stink bombs-"

"-fireworks-"

"-multiplying appendages-"

"-boils-"

"-poisonings-"

"-wand infractions-"

"-iced hair?"

"None," I sighed, looking between their shocked faces. "Not so much as a stolen toilet seat."

"The horror!" George gasped.

"The shame!" Fred grabbed hold of me, throwing me backwards on the bed. "We have to fix her!"

"We have the wandology!"

"Isn't the quote 'we have the technology'?" I asked with a laugh. Fred sat up, looking between George and I with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

"We're wizards, not _boring._"

"Very well," I laughed. "What kind of wandology do you have?"

"These," Fred wiggled his eyebrows as he pulled something fleshy out of his pocket. At first I thought it was an earth worm stuck to something rubber, but as he held them out to me I realized that it was a terrifyingly life-like ear attached to a long, flesh-coloured string. I looked at them for a moment, waiting for the information to click together in my brain.

"You finished them!" I gasped, looking at the hearing device they had brainstormed last year.

"We came into some money last year," Fred winked. "Made a few prototypes of things. We call these Extendable Ears, the newest in the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes products."

The smile was probably splitting my face. "Brilliant! You, gentlemen, may as well have my vault number soon, considering how much I plan to spend in your will-be store."

"You?" Fred looked insulted.

"Spend money?" George sounded nearly identically aghast.

"On something we made?" Fred continued. George and he both slapped their hands over their chests while he joined in with a final "never".

"You're in our brainstorming circle," George continued. "You get our products free."

"And to test them? Or to threaten others to?" I winked. Both nodded.

"Whatever you dream," both smiled.

"What about me?" Ginny asked. I'd nearly forgotten she was there.

"You're a test subject," George winked at her. We dissolved into a fit of laughter, all four of us redheads rolling around on our beds. The moment was, of course, ruined.

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT – WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?"

Harry's voice was carrying through the walls, bringing a look of shock to all of our faces.

"Oh," I said simply. "I believe Harry may be annoyed."

"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"

"Oh. He may also be delusional," I noted with a false enthusiasm, looking through the wall as if I would be able to watch him as he threw his little hissy fit.

"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?" Harry paused for a moment. "CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU _SWEAR_! FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON – I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-'

He quieted. I looked at the other redheads around me, my eyebrows raising.

"Am I that bad?" I said after a moment, looking at them with crossed arms. "I mean, I'm rather selfish at times, sure, but I'm not _that _bad, am I?"

"Not usually," George shrugged. "You tend to be less proud and more disturbed."

"Fantastic," I breathed. "I don't sound that shrill, do I?"

"You're a beautiful whiner," Fred's eyes rolled again. "Stunning, really. Much more beautiful than Harry's whines-"

"-though Ginny won't agree to that-"

"Hey!" Ginny cried.

"-but you still have a fantastic way about getting your point across-"

"-in the most beautiful whine of all."

"Aw," I smiled. "You two are too kind."

"We aim to please," both said at the same time, bending over in a taunting bow.

"Can we go check that Harry didn't murder them?" Ginny asked, getting off her bed and smoothing out her jumper. "I haven't said hello to him yet."

"Or that you love him," Fred added. "You haven't said that, either."

"She has time," I muttered with a wave hand. "Yeah, let's go see what he wants for their ransom."

"Splendid," George smiled. "We'll go ask!"

With a last smile and a deafening _CRACK,_ Fred and George disappeared. Because of the scream I heard across the hall, however, I understood that they had probably just wanted to Apparate in there first.

"Shall we go?" I asked Ginny. She sighed irritably at her brothers' antics, leading the way to the next room while I bent down to take Circe in my arms, walking in with the others.

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," Fred was saying. "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."

"You two passed your Apparation tests, then?" Harry voiced, his voice low and hoarse from all his yelling.

"With distinction." I stood beside him while Fred pulled out the Extendable Ears again, bumping my shoulder against Harry's. He looked at me, eyes dark and mouth held in a thin line – he seemed _very _mad. I wonder what answers he had gotten from Ron and Hermione that he hadn't decided to deem as good enough.

"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," Ron muttered to his brothers. He must not have known that the two had been in the other room saying their welcomes to me.

"Time is Galleons, little brother. Anyway, Harry, you'll interfere with reception. Extendable Ears," he showed them to my brother. "We were going to try to hear what's going on downstairs."

"You want to be careful, if Mum sees one of them again..."

"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having," Fred said, turning to me while Ginny said her quick hellos to my own brother, who nearly ignored her when he turned to me to explain.

"The Order of the Phoenix, that's the group downstairs, is trying to talk about something or other doing with you-know-who and how they need to do whatever they are talking about to keep everyone safe."

I raised my eyebrows at the twin. "That's a whole lot of nothing that you just said."

"That's why we have the Extendable Ears," Fred waved them in front of me again. "This is how we'll find out about their little protest plans-"

"It'll be no-go with the Extendable Ears, Mum's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door." Ginny informed, smirking when her older brothers' faces fell.

"How d'you know?"

"Tonks told me how to find out, you just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."

Fred and George moved in front of me so that they could fall on the bed.

"Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."

"Snape's here?" My heart almost soared. If there was anyone I could talk to about my problems, anyone I could talk to about what I didn't even _know _were problems, it was Snape. Harry was the one companion I could say was always there – almost always – but Snape could see it from a different perspective and was the only one who ever really understood mine. I had so many things to ask him about: not having visions, the haunting of my visions, all the problems with my Magnuse, apparently putting images into Harry's brain...

"Yeah. Giving a report. Top secret."

"Git," Fred offered.

"Hey," I warned, pointing threateningly at the two of them. Circe growled lightly under her breath to show that she agreed with me. I kissed the top of her head.

"He's on our side now," Hermione reminded.

"Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us..." Ron gave a small sneer.

"That's only because you're Gryffindors and still in his class. You also always break the rules and mess up your potions," I resisted the urge to stick my nose in the air as Daphne always used to. "You're all rude to him, too."

"Bill doesn't like him, either," Ginny argued me. "It's not just that we're his students."

"Is Bill here? I thought he was working in Egypt?" Harry asked.

"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order. He says he misses the tombs, but, there are compensations..." the twins smirked over to each other before looking to Ginny who wrinkled her nose slightly.

"What d'you mean?" Harry and I asked in unison. Ron winced, hating the sync that either we pair of twins had, while George beamed at us.

"Remember old Fleur Delacour? She's got a job at Gringotts to '_eemprove 'er Eeenglish_'-"

"-and Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons," Fred snorted.

"Charlie's in the Order, too," George continued as we all grimaced. "but he's still in Romania. Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off."

"Couldn't Percy do that?" Harry asked. Considering Percy Weasley's position in the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Co-operation, he seemed fit for the job. Instead of agreeing with Harry though, everyone in the room exchanged dark looks with each other that seemed to bring down the temperature of the very room itself.

"Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad," Ron whispered. Harry and I raised our eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"Because every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum starts crying."

"It's been awful," Ginny whispered, closing her eyes against some memory or other playing in the back of her mind.

"I think we're well shot of him," George muttered darkly.

"What happened?" I couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Percy and Dad had a row. I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normally Mum who shouts..." the twins both shook their heads at us.

"It was the first week back after term ended. We were about to come and join the Order. Percy came home and told us he'd been promoted," Harry asked a vague 'you're kidding' but otherwise we sat and listened with dropped jaws. "Yeah, we were all surprised because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realised Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain..."

"So why'd the idiot get promoted?" Maybe idiot was not the right word to use. Though everyone seemed to agree with it as they made ugly faces filled with remorse and regret that I felt the cause of.

"That's exactly what we wondered. He came home really pleased with himself – even more pleased than usual, if you can imagine that – and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts – Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."

"Only Dad wasn't," Fred sighed with a frown.

"Why not?"

"Well, apparently Fudge has been storming round the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore," said George.

"That seems like the wrong thing to do considering he's probably the most powerful wizard we have on the You-Know-Who-should-get-screwed bandwagon."

"Dumbledore's name is mud with the Ministry these days," Fred argued. "They all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back." I made a face, hoping my confusion was clear, but no one was paying attention to me right now.

"Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks," George was extrapolating, but I had no idea on what subject. "Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad's a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession."

"But what's that got to do with Percy?"

"Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family – and Dumbledore."

"Likely," I offered with a frown. "Keep going."

"He went completely berserk. He said – well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry, and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been – you know – not had a lot of money, I mean-"

"What?" both Harry and I raised our eyebrows. Voldemort not being believed to be back or not, this was almost more surprising to me. And equally offensive.

"I know," the Weasleys all sneered as Ron continued. "And it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that he – Percy – knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family any more. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now."

"Shite," I breathed. "What an arse."

"Mum's been in a right state," Ron nodded. "You know – crying and stuff. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy, but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does if he meets Dad at work – ignores him, I s'pose."

"But Percy must know Voldemort's back," argued Harry. "He's not stupid-" I made a sound at the back of my throat, showing I didn't quite agree with that. "He must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof-"

"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row," Ron looked and sounded nervous. "Percy said the only evidence was your word and...I dunno...he didn't think it was good enough."

"Percy takes the Daily Prophet seriously," Hermione explained.

"What are you talking about?"

"Haven't – haven't you been getting the Daily Prophet?' Hermione stuttered nervously.

"Yeah, I have!"

"You have?" I asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "Since when? Why haven't I seen it?"

"I've been getting rid of it," he shrugged. "You never read it before."

"There wasn't a physical reincarnation of a man out to kill us before!"

"So you haven't been – er – been reading it thoroughly?" She asked in the same tone.

"Not cover to cover," Harry said defensively. "If they were going to report anything about Voldemort it would be headline news, wouldn't it?"

A flinch at the man's name. Hermione cleared her throat nervously. "Well, you'd need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they – um – they mention you a couple of times a week."

"But I'd have seen-"

"Not if you've only been reading the front page, you wouldn't," Hermione frowned apologetically. "I'm not talking about big articles. They just slip you in, like you're a standing joke."

"A joke?" I repeated darkly. Hermione blushed.

"It's quite nasty, actually. They're just building on Rita's stuff."

"But she's not writing for them anymore, is she?" Harry asked while I narrowed my eyes.

"She better not be. I told you I wanted to feed her to Circe, Hermione-"

"Oh, no, she's kept her promise – not that she's got any choice – but laid the foundation for what they're trying to do now."

"Which is what?" Harry and I both asked venomously. Hermione flinched at the tone.

"Okay, you know she wrote that you were collapsing all over the place and saying your scar was hurting and all that? Or how you," she pointed to me. "Were a squib who was insecure and forced to be submissive to Harry?"

"Yeah," we repeated together in the same dark tone.

"Well, they're writing about you as though you're this deluded, attention-seeking boy who thinks he's a great tragic hero or something," Hermione sped out, probably with the intention to tear the Band-Aid off quickly rather than slowly. "They say that you're keeping your sister like a slave and they make it so Audrey _is _the tragic hero...sort of," she winced again. "They keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far-fetched story appears, they say something like, 'A tale worthy of Harry Potter' or if it's a story of an underdog it's 'A tale worthy of Audrey Potter', and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's, 'Let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next'-"

"Are you _kidding_?"

"I don't want anyone to worship-"

"I know you don't," Hermione looked near petrified of us. "I know, Harry. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. Fudge is behind it, I'll bet anything. They want wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit of a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going."

"And what about the facts?" I hissed, steeling myself for the memories that started to flitter through my mind's eye. My throat started to close while my eyes started to sting – it was a natural reaction at this point. Something that I could not stop. "What about...about last year?"

"I didn't ask – I didn't want – Voldemort killed our parents! I got famous because he murdered my family but couldn't kill me! Who wants to be famous for that? Don't they think I'd rather it'd never-"

"We know, Harry," Ginny soothed.

"People don't talk about the third task anymore," Ron looked to me honestly. "Dad reckons it's too painful to keep bringing it up and the Ministry is using that so that they don't have to bring up the other facts."

"And of course, they didn't report a word about the dementors attacking you," Hermione continued with a sad look. "Someone's told them to keep that quiet. That should've been a really big story, out-of-control dementors. They haven't even reported that you broke the International Statute of Secrecy. We thought they would, it would be in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off. We think they're biding their time until you're expelled, then they're really going to go to town – I mean, _if_ you're expelled, obviously. You really shouldn't be, not if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you." I scoffed. Abiding by their own laws? That would make it a fair form of government and from what I knew of the world, that kind of thing did not exist.

"Uh oh." Fred, who had still been holding the Extendable Ear, gave it a tug back into his hand and Apparated away just as Mrs Weasley knocked and entered.

"The meeting's over, you can come down and have dinner now. Everyone's dying to see you two. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?"

"Crookshanks," I was impressed by the quick lie on Ginny's part. "He loves playing with them."

"Oh," Mrs Weasley frowned. "I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Now don't forget to keep your voices down in the hall. Ginny, your hands are filthy, what have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please..."

Though Ginny obviously didn't approve of being reprimanded like a child, she went and did as she was told and followed her mother out. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were left in the boys bedroom – all waiting for someone to say something, anything that would help make sense of everything that we had just heard...Harry looked near screaming again.

"Look..." Harry began after a long moment full of deep breaths.

"We knew you'd be angry, Harry, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we did try to persuade Dumbledore-" Hermione began nervously.

"Yeah, I know," Harry sighed, looking for something else to talk about besides his outrageous outburst and the one he obviously felt like throwing now. "Who's Kreacher?"

"The house-elf who lives here," Ron made a face. "Nutter. Never met one like him."

Hermione scowled. "He's not a nutter, Ron-"

"His life's ambition is to have his head cut off and stuck up on plaque just like his mother," Ron blinked at her. "Is that normal, Hermione?"

"Well – well, if he is a bit strange, it's not his fault-"

"Bad defense," I snorted, picking Circe back up and smiling as she licked my cheek.

All four of us went downstairs, walking quietly as they whispered about Hermione's growing ambition to make SPEW a lasting thing. I tried not to comment, but it was hard, considering the conversation was so ridiculous.

"Hold it!' Ron flung out his arm to stop us all from continuing on. "They're still in the hall, we might be able to hear something-"

We all huddled to peek over the banister, trying to look at the people below us. I could see our guard, others like the Weasleys, and there – his greasy hair easy to spot no matter how far away you were: Snape.

It hurt to see him again, a clench in my chest that worried me. I was still upset over the idea Harry had wormed into my brain: that he was playing spy for the Death Eaters and putting himself in risk that might mean that he would not be able to survive on either side thanks to the confusion it would surely cause. A Death Eater and an Order Member?

I watched while an Extendable Ear passed in my peripheral vision, going down below us. As it moved down, however, everyone below us started moving toward the door. Up above me, Fred swore, pulling the flesh string up again.

The door opened and closed.

"Snape never eats here," Ron looked at me somewhat apologetically, as if he knew that I had wanted to speak to him. "Sorry, mate. C'mon."

"And don't forget to keep your voice down in the hall," Hermione whispered to prove her point. We all moved as quietly as we could, past the House-Elf heads and down the stairs where Lupin, Mrs Weasley, and Tonks were locking the front door after those who had left. Mrs Weasley stopped as she reached us at the bottom of the stairs.

"We're eating down in the kitchen. Harry, Audrey, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall it's through this door here-"

A crash distracted Harry and I considering the rest of the hall had been so silent.

Mrs Weasley let out a loud cry, looking accusingly at whatever had spilled across the floor. "Tonks!"

"I'm sorry!" Tonks wailed back, full voiced that made me jump from how loud it was in the virtually silent hallway. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over-"

My ears began to ring. Maybe it wasn't ringing, maybe this was the sound that someone heard before their eardrum burst. I couldn't really say, but there was something going on that made me double over in pain as I screeched back at whatever was trying to deafen me. I was just realizing my head wasn't splitting in two when I realized that the squeal was a woman's voice.

Behind those horrid curtains that were not over a window was a portrait. The portrait was of a woman that I could now see as the curtains had magically opened themselves. She was a weathered woman with black hair and dark, accusing eyes. She woke up all the other portraits that lined the walls while she was screaming bloody murder – but none shrieked so terribly as she did.

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-"

Tonks continued to apologize profusely while Lupin and Mrs Weasley moved to shut the curtains over her portrait again. While she cleaned up the umbrella she'd knocked over – that looked to be made of a troll leg – Mrs Weasley went to stun all the other portraits.

"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut up!" A man ran from behind Harry and I, rushing toward the portrait and attempting to help shut the curtain with the other two. His tall, thin body did nothing to hide the look on the portrait's appalled face.

"YOU!" she howled. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"

"I said – shut – up!" he roared again, helping Lupin to shut the curtains and silence her. The silence that fell over the house was euphoric, making some sort of sound escape me that I either had never made before or I wasn't hearing properly thanks to my new damaged ears. I took my hands from my around my head, watching as Circe hissed at the portrait in front of her, swinging one of her paws toward it threateningly.

"Hello you two," the man who had helped Lupin turned around. I was shocked to see the gray eyes of my godfather, Sirius Black, in the flesh again. It had been two months since he had been there...there _that _night when we were in Dumbledore's office. Maybe I hadn't noticed because I was too distraught to take the time, maybe he really had changed in the time between then and now but Sirius Black looked entirely different. His eyes, more alive than I had seen them even as he tried to murder the rat. His body heavier, healthier, his hair freshly cut but still long and straggly, his whole aura singing _alive._ "I see you've met my mother."

"That's your mother?" I asked with wide eyes, not able to take my eyes away from my godfather and the transformation he had made. "Surrogate, right?"

"Nope, my dear old mum," Sirius sighed. "We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."

"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked as we weaved down the stairs again. The two of us both fighting to be closer to our godfather as we walked.

"Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house," Sirius explained. "But I'm the last Black left, so it's mine now. I offered it to Dumbledore for Headquarters – about the only useful thing I've been able to do."

If anyone could identify bitterness it should be recorded for all time that it is me. And anyone would have been able to tell that Sirius was _bitter._ It was possibly only me who could feel his pain, know his frustration, because it was the familiar frustration I lived with daily. His voice sounded dark and hard, his eyes flashing around as if accusing the entire house for something that we had not been around to be part of.

Where Sirius led us had stone walls, rough with dankness and gloom. There was a fire at the far side of the room and iron pots and pans hanging from the tall corners of the ceiling. Chairs were crammed all over the room – perhaps there were more people at the meeting than I'd seen exit the room – and the table in the middle of them was too small for all the people in the house. Covering it was parchment, quills, bottles, and rags – rags which at a second glance I noticed clothed a person.

Mrs Weasley cleared her throat, startling the two eldest Weasley men, Arthur and Bill, into noticing we were there. Mr Weasley was starting to bald a little bit more under all the stress of Voldemort's return and Bill, a surprisingly close confidant who taunted me more than supported me, had bags under his eyes like I'd never seen.

"Harry, Audrey!" Mr Weasley smiled, coming toward us and shaking our hands. "Good to see you!"

Bill, whose Ponytail was not as neat as normal, rolled up the parchment over the table quickly. Clearly it was not meant for our eyes. "Journey all right, you two?" he asked. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then? Told him not to, Audrey, when he told me you were traveling on broom."

"Thanks," I muttered darkly, trying to block out all the horrid memories of the way here.

"Well, I told him that if you went near Greenland, you'd get lost somewhere in the ocean. He didn't believe me at first, not until Ron explained how terrible you were on a broom..." I frowned at what had turned into an insult, it only made him smile more widely.

"He tried to make us," Tonks added with a frown, going to help Bill start to clear the table. As she did that, she bumped a candle, making wax fly over a piece of parchment that I was not tall enough to see. While she apologized and Mrs Weasley cleaned it up with magic, she also saw me trying to look and quickly went to shove it into Bill's arms before I could see.

"This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings," Mrs Weasley snapped at her son, before she huffed over to ready the silverware. It seemed Mrs Weasley was cranky tonight.

Bill cleared everything with a spell, throwing Harry and I a quick wave as he went over to try and calm down his mother. Sirius came up behind Harry and I, placing a hand on each of our shoulders so he could steer us toward the table.

"Sit down," there was no need for Sirius to say it as he was already pushing us into seats. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"

"Yes, we have," I mumbled, but didn't look at the rags I knew Mundungus happened to be sleeping under.

"Some'n say m'name?" Mundungus sounded like he'd just woken. "I agree with Sirius..."

I looked at him again, seeing that he'd raised his hand and looked like he was sleeping with it in the air.

"The meeting's over, Dung," Sirius almost snorted. "Harry and Audrey have arrived."

"Eh?" Mundungus raised his head again and looked at us with glazed, bloodshot eyes. "Blimey, so 'ey 'ave. Yeah...you all right, 'Arry? Aud'ey, last 'ime I saw you, yeh're dead on yeh feet."

"I'm alive and all souled up, thanks." I crossed my arms, watching as he shoved a grimy pipe into his mouth and lit the end with the tip of his wand.

"Owe you a 'pology," he grunted, but he didn't move to make one.

"For the last time, Mundungus, will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen?" Mrs Weasley called. "Especially not when we're about to eat!"

"Ah, right. Sorry, Molly..." the foul smell didn't disappear while I watched him slide the pipe back into a sack that clinked around in a way that was suspicious. I had a feeling something stolen was in there – whether it was instinct or common sense telling me, I was not sure.

"And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand," she said to the entire room. "No you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey. Audrey, no-" I had already gotten up anyway, moving toward her. I did not want anything to eat at all, I just wanted to get away from Mundungus.

"What can I do, Molly?" Tonks came up behind me, it was impossible not to see Mrs Weasley hesitate.

"Er – no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today." She was trying to be kind, but Mrs Weasley looked nearly terrified by the idea of Tonks helping, I couldn't imagine why – Tonks seemed very nice and fit to help. She was an _auror, _after all.

"No, no, I want to help!" As Tonks said it, moving to Ginny instead, she knocked over a chair on the way. Ah, it seemed everyone was afraid of whatever chaos Tonks would create when she knocked into things. I guess that was an acceptable reason to try and keep her away – for a second there I thought they didn't like her. She may have been a little too...too..._happy _for me, but she seemed pretty down to earth. It's more than I can say for temper-tantrum throwing sissies like my big brother.

Ginny let Tonks help, more easily than I probably would have, and soon knives were chopping meat and vegetables without hands guiding them, Mrs Weasley was stirring a cauldron and I was apprehensively sticking vegetables underneath the cutting knives, trying hard not to become an amputee. I stayed quiet while the others mingled, I caught myself listening to Mundungus talk to Harry but felt no urge to join in. When Sirius began speaking to him though, I found myself eager to pay attention.

"Had a good summer so far?"

"No, it's been lousy," Harry mumbled in response.

"How's Audrey been doing?"

"Even worse," Harry whispered, hoping that I couldn't hear him. "She's been having a really hard time."

"After the dementors?"

"After the third task," Harry whispered even more quietly. I stopped what I was doing, nearly getting the top of my hand sliced open when I did. Harry stopped talking – perhaps he had noticed my pause – so I continued my job mindlessly. "We've been coping. Or trying to."

"Don't know what you're complaining about, myself...personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights...I've been stuck inside for a month."

"How come?"

"Because the Ministry of Magic's still after me, and Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus by now. Wormtail will have told him, so my big disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix...or so Dumbledore feels."

"At least you've known what's been going on," Harry sounded almost as bitter as most of my thoughts tended to be, but Sirius' tone topped it.

"Oh yeah, listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life, while I'm sat on my backside here having a nice comfortable time...asking me how the cleaning's going-" were it not Sirius that this had been done to, I probably would have laughed. It was just like Snape to do something so overdramatically petty, but I couldn't make myself feel angry for Sirius. Because in a way – Sirius _was_ staying here on his backside. He may not have a choice, but Snape was right: Snape _was _out there risking his life, and the confirmed information was enough to make me want to scr-

"ARGH!" Thanks to the distraction of my conflicting emotions on Snape and Sirius, I hadn't been paying attention that the knife was slapping the cutting board and had long since been done with the celery. Thanks to it not having anything else to snap at, the minute my hand had appeared on the cutting board, it had grabbed it's chance. Apparently enchanted knives thought fingers looked like carrots. It had gotten two big cuts into me before I had noticed and four before I had been able to pull my hand away from the sharp blade. By the time my scream was finished Harry and Sirius were out of their seats. Apparently I'd woken Mundungus.

"Audrey, are you alright?"

"I think I'll lose my fingers!" I gasped, I could see bone through my right hand fingers and screamed again when my stomach lurched, throwing me into a state of panic that would be cured even less easily then my fingers would have been.

"That's deep," Sirius muttered, taking out his wand. "You know, I appreciate you giving me something to do while you're eavesdropping, but there were better ideas than maiming yourself."

Were I not in so much pain, I would have blushed. "Glad I could make your day."

"Alright, I'm not really any good with healing charms, but I can get Molly to-"

"Do you have any Murtlap essence? Blood-replenishing potion? Dittany?"

There was a moment where I thought maybe he would be insulted that I hadn't taken his offer for help, but instead he rolled his eyes at me.

"Always so tough," he nearly tutted me. "I doubt you'll be able to make a potion as easily when you're holding one hand together with the other one. I'll get Molly to fix it, alright?"

At least Sirius respected my lone-wolf tendancies. Well, perhaps it would be more appropriate if I generalized it and said my lone-wolf personality. At least he understood the way I thought – sometimes I think his bitterest thoughts were nearly similar. Mrs Weasley's gasp as she rushed over, however, suggested she did not.

"Audrey! Oh, I knew you were too tired to help-" not at all what my problem had been. "Alright here," after rapping my hand painfully a couple times she looked at me. "Oh, that's going to leave a nasty scar. We don't have anything to make potions of either – do you, Audrey?"

"I'm fresh out of potions supplies," I winced. "I was using ingredients from the Dursley's kitchen, so that I could get Dudley and I an Invigoration Draught."

"Then we'll just have to send an owl to Severus," Mrs Weasley mumbled. I frowned, I didn't want Snape to think that I couldn't do it myself. I could have, quite easily, were it not for the fact no one here had basic potions ingredients. Really, what kind of witches and wizards didn't have Murlap essence in their house?

"What about until then, Molly?" Sirius asked over my shoulder. "It looks like if she bends her fingers, the skin will tear in two again."

"It won't, will it?" I asked with wide eyes. Mrs Weasley shook her head.

"Of course not, dear...but I wouldn't move them in case. I'll create a splint, here you go...Why don't you go upstairs and change your shirt?" Looking down at my shirt, I noticed that it was painfully drenched in my blood. It seemed I had moved around more than I remembered. The fingers still stung and hurt and while I attempted to move them I felt the skin tear. I swallowed as I nodded to her, trying not to be as insulted as I should have been when I noticed that Harry and Sirius were already talking again as if nothing had happened to me at all.

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><p><strong>Well, they are finally at the Order of the Phoenix and Audrey is already getting herself into trouble. What a girl! I have some shout out for my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: Thank you for all your reviews of these chapters, it has been so sweet! Eventually when you get here please know that I appreciate every review you leave :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Oh I'm already writing Pansy-Pranks and Draco fluff! I can't wait to show it to you all – thank you so much for your review as always!**

_PrincessK16_**: I'm glad you like it, thank you very much :)**

_Novella Vialli_**: Hope you liked it!**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Thank you! Draco is coming, I promise. And once he's there, he's not going away...**

_BlueRose22_**: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, hopefully this one is good too!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Sirius is here! There will be Audrey and Sirius will have bonding time in the next few chapters :) Get ready!**

_Magimagus_**: Did you know that I look forward to your long, detailed reviews every time I post a chapter? I am not saying this to butter you up, I just thought you should know. Moving on: I actually really love writing Circe into the story. I love how much her character adds to Audrey's and how the two play off each other, I think they're really sweet. **

**Audrey's scar is a cursed scar, but it isn't the same kind as Harry's. Think 'Sectumsempra' but on her throat – Voldemort had not considered her a threat and killed her in that gruesome of a way simply because she was a loose end...and other reasons we will find out later on.**

**I thought every now and then about whether or not Audrey makes it into the Slytherin team – but I remember reading once that no woman has **_**ever **_**been on the Slytherin team. And because of that and Audrey's fear of flying (even if she does like the sensation), I figured it unlikely she'd join. And yes, we'll be seeing more of Audrey's fears in the next few chapters...I'm glad you liked it! Thank you, as always, for your AMAZING review!**

_Ella710_**: Well as long as you like quick updates, I don't see a problem because you still reviewed and that's all I can ask! I guarantee that there will be lots of Snape in this book (in every book, really) because of his relationship with her (and my own love for him) so you don't have to worry! And though I also know life isn't made of ooey-gooey emotional scenes, I promise that you're going to end up seeing quite a few of them in the OOTP part of the story. Thank you, as always, for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: I'm glad you liked it, thank you for reviewing**

_Princesslinleigh_**: I am so glad that you liked it so much! I always used to hate that people wouldn't write properly. I remember being in elementary school and reading these and saying "why don't you know grammar when I'm obviously younger and I do?" so I make a point to keep it legible...even if I do have a tendency towards run-on sentences. But I'm glad you like Audrey and I like to think that she's as realistic of an OC (who's inserted into a cannon universe) as she can be. Thank you!**

_Angel of the night Watchers_**: Hunger Games is great, as I said in the Second Hand chapter they do plan making them into movies – it will be fantastic, I'm sure. Plus I'm also a huge Josh Hutcherson fan...he's such a good guy in real life that I can't help but crush on him a little bit, even if he is a bit younger. Who are your main celebrity crushes, my friend?**

_Neko-fire demon tempest_**: I'm glad that you ended up liking it! Hopefully you make it all the way to this chapter and keep enjoying. Thank you very much for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Well, what did you all think? Do you think that she'll enjoy her time at Grimmauld Place, did you like her interaction with the characters? What about her reaction to Harry's ever famous "holier than thou" speech? I'd love to hear your thoughts!<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who commented the last (or previous) chapter(s). I love every review I get, they really encourage me to keep writing. I'm at a very hard point in this book right now and it is taking me some extra effort to chug through this point, so any extra support would be highly appreciated! Please Review!**

**-Egypt**


	31. Offerings for the Order

**Hello readers! Happy Thanksgiving – or at least to those of you in Canada, as I am. I thought I would offer you up some chapters, this one is pretty interesting. Special thanks go to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for being amazing and editing these all for your pleasure.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 30 – Offerings for the Order<p>

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><p>Dinner was a fascinating event at number twelve Grimmauld place. Between Fred and George Apparating every two feet they had to travel, Tonks' amazing animal snout impressions, and Sirius' sarcastic remarks about cleaning the house it felt as if there was always somewhere to look.<p>

I couldn't really make myself feel up to the task of eating. If anyone was going to bother me about it I could easily tell them that the sight of my right hand fingers being chopped off had nullified the urge, but I don't know if anyone would believe me. My appetite had already dwindled over the summer from a mix of knowing the Dursleys wouldn't always feed me, and a sick worry for when my stomach was full and would make me drowsy. Drowsiness meant sleep and sleep never did me any good nowadays...not with the nightmares. The effect of malnourishment was showing, I'd already gotten a few comments on it. I was thinner than I normally was over the holiday and I could already hear the old, familiar ring of 'little dead girl' from my Slytherin adversaries.

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus," Mrs Weasley glowered, though Ron, Fred and George were all still howling from the story of one of his cons.

"Beg pardon, Molly," Mundungus slurred, daring to wink at Harry who looked as confused as I felt annoyed. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong-"

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons." Mrs Weasley seemed to dislike Mundungus Fletcher even more than I did. It was nice to know I was not alone.

Fred and George, across from me and a few seats to the right, laughed into their butterbeer, closing their eyes tightly to try and contain themselves around the sounds of George's hiccoughs. Mrs Weasley threw a dark look at Sirius before she left to grab something or other for the table. Sirius, between Harry and I, lowered his voice.

"Molly doesn't approve of Mundungus," he informed us.

"Wonder why?" My sarcasm made Sirius smirk at me slightly.

"How come he's in the order?" Harry asked quietly, leaning toward us slightly.

"He's useful. Knows all the crooks – well, he would, seeing as he's one himself. Caught him stealing from my own house, you realize? He swore not to do it again, but it doesn't matter in the end. I don't really care about anything besides the people here, anymore. Besides, he's not hear for my benefit. He's also very loyal to Dumbledore: he helped him out of a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Dung around, he hears things we don't. But Molly thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you."

"He couldn't tail both of us," Harry defended, I rolled my eyes.

"So you're saying he's useful, but he's unwanted?" I elaborated, giving my naive brother a weighted look. "Harry, you really need to learn the important life lesson that sometimes people use other people just because they can. Sometimes they don't need any other reasons."

Harry frowned at me, but silenced while he took time to think over my words. I hope he saw at least a bit of truth in them, I didn't doubt that it happened to him often simply because he was _the _Harry Potter. It even happened to me and I was only _that girl, _Audrey Potter.

Mrs Weasley brought out dessert, which I didn't even pretend to want to eat since everyone was scrambling for a piece. When that was finished, a few people started to move chairs to talk to people – Fred and George switched places with Ginny and Hermione so that Ginny and Hermione were in front of Harry and Sirius, but the twins could be in front of me. They must have been working to improve my mood...they also must have known how quickly it worked.

"Look at you," Fred noted his mother's handiwork where she had wrapped up my wounded hand.

"I'm crippled," I sighed dramatically. "Mrs Weasley said that you would do my work for me tomorrow though. I quite like you two, you know. You can both be so considerate, sometimes."

"She didn't!" George gasped.

"She did," I wiggled my eyebrows and did not even try to withhold my smile. "Ask her, if you want."

"Mum!" They both yelled quickly.

"Oh, what is it now?"

"You didn't really tell Audrey that we'd be doing her work tomorrow, did you?"

"Actually, I did," she said while her face darkened. "She's injured and since you can do work _so _quickly thanks to your Apparation, I figured you could do the work four times as quickly as someone else taking over for her."

She turned away from them and Fred and George gave me a long glower while Sirius tried to keep his face straight.

"I'm not going to apologize," I warned them with a smirk.

"You owe us," George warned.

"I do not!" I said quickly. "It's not my fault you've been rubbing it in our faces that you two are finally of age – how long did that take you, by the way?"

"Eh," Fred waved off wistfully. "Something along the lines of seventeen years..."

As the three of us continued to bicker, Mrs Weasley seemed to get more tired and annoyed with the whole lot of us in the kitchen. With an exaggerated yawn, she gave us each a pointed look. "Nearly time for bed, I think."

Though all of us groaned – even though it was 1:30am we had not been here for long – Sirius pushed away his empty plate and looked between Harry and I. "Not just yet, Molly. You know, I'm surprised at you two. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

It was like dementors entered the room: it chilled as if someone had iced the furniture and the hair on my arms raised apprehensively just at the thought of learning what Lord Voldemort may or may not have been up to. I looked at Harry, whose eyes were wide.

"I did! I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-"

"And they are quite right," Mrs Weasley pitched in, suddenly not looking tired at all. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" Sirius pointed out stubbornly. "My godchildren have been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. They have the right to know what's been happen-"

"Hang on!" George butted in.

"How come they get their questions answered?" I couldn't believe how much Fred _actually _looked mad. It was almost a surprise to see considering I rarely saw it...actually, I can only really think of three instances where I had. And they usually involved Quidditch or money.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a stinking thing!"

"'You're too young, you're not in the Order,'" Fred mimicked his mother perfectly. "They aren't even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius defended. "That's your parents' decision. Harry and Audrey on the other hand-"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for them!" I raised my eyebrows at Mrs Weasley's outburst. She looked positively furious – it was clear that this was not a first time argument. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" The dark sarcasm flowing through Sirius was not something I was used to, but it was oddly – _traitorously_ – refreshing. That bitterness – that dark side that Sirius had had to accommodate after his life in Azkaban – was something that I shared with him. Something strictly I understood. Something that I doubted Harry would _ever_ understand.

"The bit about not telling them more than they need to know," it was like Harry and I weren't there. This argument was simply between Mrs Weasley and Sirius. We were not actually a part of it at all; this was all about control, but I could not be sure why. Why would Mrs Weasley feel the need to control Sirius? By the look on Harry's face, he was just as insulted over that as I was. Everyone else was watching as if it were a tennis match, Sirius to Mrs Weasley, Mrs Weasley to Sirius. Repeat. Lupin looked exasperated.

"I don't intend to tell them more than they need to know, Molly," Sirius said levelly, though I could tell he was clenching his teeth. "But Harry was the one who saw Voldemort come back, Audrey is the one who had a vision of..." he paused, he knew I had had a vision but I had yet to dissect what I had seen for everyone. "They have more right than most to-"

"They aren't members of the Order of the Phoenix! They're only fifteen and-"

"-and the two have dealt with as much as most in the Order," Sirius argued. "And more than some-"

"No one's denying what they've done! But they're still-"

"They aren't children!"

"They aren't adults either!" Molly hissed. "They aren't James and Lily, Sirius!"

Sirius took a deep breath, I couldn't tell if it was of pain or of trying not to snap at her. "I'm perfectly clear who my godchildren are, thanks, Molly."

"I'm not sure you are," Mrs Weasley began again, leaning toward him threateningly. "Sometimes they way you talk about Harry, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back. And Audrey, pulling those pranks she does, it's as if you think she's exactly like James. Severus said exactly the opposite though, didn't he?"

"Yes, but we all know _why_-" Sirius sneered.

"They are not James or Lily. They are Harry and Audrey. And if you keep thinking the way you are, you'll forget them for who they really are."

"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Our parents were the greatest, _bravest_ people-" I started, Sirius nodded.

"Yes they were, Audrey."

"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, however much you might look like him! And Audrey, you may look like you're mother but you are not Lily. You have both proven you are your own people." Her eyes narrowed on Sirius. "You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"

"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius edged, his voice rising.

"Meaning you have been known to act rashly, Sirius," she may or may not have been referring to how he attempted to kill Wormtail in the middle of a public muggle street...I assumed it was playing in the back of her mind somewhere. "Which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay home and-"

"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!"

"Arthur!" Mrs Weasley barked, rounding on Mr Weasley, who looked like a deer in the headlights. "Arthur, back me up!"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and took off his glasses, taking his time before speaking. "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that the twins will have to be filled in, to a certain extent, now that they are staying at headquarters-"

"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting them to ask whatever they like!"

"Personally," Lupin interrupted, looking toward Harry and I before moving his head to Mrs Weasley. "I think it better that Harry and Audrey get the facts – not all the facts, Molly, but the big picture – from us, rather than a garbled version from...others."

By the pause and his expression 'others' had a deeper meaning that Harry and I were not yet supposed to understand. It irked and worried me – who else knew something we did not?

"Well," Mrs Weasley stuttered darkly. "Well...I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting them to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart-"

"As for Audrey's?" My heart soared, I couldn't even hide the look of adoration that must have been plastered on my face while I looked up at Sirius. He had stuck up for me. He had stuck up for me against the idea of _Harry_...no one did that, not ever.

Not _ever._

"Of course, Audrey's as well, Sirius. But you know as well as I-" what did he know as well as she did that had to do with a _but _which separated the idea of Harry and I? Why would she put that 'but' in there? My curiosity spiked and bristled my entire being toward Mrs Weasley. It was not the first time, but it was most certainly the most potent.

"They are not your children," Sirius hissed.

"They're as good as," Mrs Weasley hissed back. "Who else have they got?"

"They've got me!"

"Yes," Mrs Weasley drawled with a glare, "the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after the two of them while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"

Sirius rose from his chair.

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about the twins," Lupin cut in, his voice dark as well. He seemed as insulted as we all looked – she had been out of line, clearly. "Sirius, sit down."

Mrs Weasley looked about ready to cry. Sirius sat down in his chair, shaking slightly.

"I think they ought to be allowed a say in this," Lupin continued. "They're old enough to decide for themselves."

"We want to know what's been going on," Harry and I said in sync. When we looked at each other, it was like we could read each other's minds and knew not to look at Mrs Weasley, who had so graciously grouped us with her own children, but who wanted to keep us ignorant.

"Very well," the woman in question sounded hurt. "Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George – I want you out of this kitchen, now."

And so began the riot. Everyone's voices melded into a giant scream of indignation, but one argument in particular stood out.

"We're of age!" the Weasley twins shouted. When Mrs Weasley started arguing – with all of her children present – Mr Weasley stepped in.

"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George, they are of age-" the twins beamed.

"They're still at school-"

"But they're legally adults now," Mr Weasley deadpanned. Mrs Weasley was purple faced.

"Audrey would tell us anyway-"

"-yes, we're best mates, did you know-"

"-best mates," Fred nodded fervently. "Best mates who tell each other everything-"

"_-_absolutely _everything_." George nodded for emphasis.

"I – oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron-"

"Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway! Won't you?" He added to Harry nervously.

"Course I will," Harry responded. Ron and Hermione beamed.

"Fine! Fine! GINNY," she rounded on her last child. "Bed!"

Ginny started kicking up a fuss as well. I frowned.

"I'll just end up telling Ginny, too," I argued, though to be completely honest I wouldn't have in the first place. The look on Mrs Weasleys face seemed to mirror that knowledge and I felt the overwhelming urge to argue and defend myself. "How will I not? We're rooming together and she and I always get on at school, did you know that I sneak into the Gryffindor common room all the time? She lets me in a lot of the time-" that was a lie. "If Ginny asks, I'm not going to lie to her. She may as well stay, too."

Ginny beamed at me, her eyes skidding over to my brother for a moment, most likely upset it wasn't he that had stood up for her. God, they really should just start snogging and get it over with this long-lasting-unrequited-love game they were playing was getting old. Mrs Weasley looked about ready to pop after I had taken her last shred of dominance away.

"FINE!" Ginny moved farther away from her mother when she screamed, but sat down at the table with us all, positively beaming while she subtly high-fived Fred and George.

"Okay, Harry, Audrey...what do you want to know?"

"Everything?" I offered, Lupin smiled sadly at me.

"That's quite vague," he responded.

"Where's Voldemort?" Harry asked, I watched while the Weasleys winced at his name. "What's he been doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything-"

"That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet," Sirius sighed. "Not as far as we know, anyway...and we know quite a lot."

"More than he thinks we do, anyway," Lupin added.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked.

"Yes, that seems to be his favourite pass-time," I added with narrowed eyes. "What's made him give up his day job?"

"He doesn't want to draw attention to himself," Sirius said. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

"Or rather, you messed it up for him," Lupin smiled lightly at Harry, I frowned at my Harry's bewildered expression.

"How?"

My brother's an idiot.

"You weren't supposed to survive," I rolled my eyes. "Merlin, Harry, are you daft?"

"You _weren't _supposed to survive," Sirius agreed with a smile. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters were supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."

"And the last person he wanted alerted of his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," Lupin added with a satisfied grin. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"And how has that done any good?" I asked bitingly. Bill blinked at me incredulously.

"Are you kidding? Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"

"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned," Sirius patted Harry on the back.

"So, what's the Order been doing?" I asked with a frown.

"Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort can't carry out his plans," Sirius explained, shooting a look over to Mrs Weasley to see if that was sufficient. Though still red-faced, she did not seem to want to argue it.

"How d'you know what his plans are?" Harry asked. My breath was quick to leave me and I felt my chest ache as the ridiculous and obvious idea became an inevitable truth.

"Snape," I whispered, gritting my teeth against the truth of it. "Snape tells them."

"Dumbledore's got a shrewd idea," Lupin countered, flickering his eyes to me. He knew very well my relationship with my potions professor and it appeared he didn't like my reaction – or that I knew to have it in the first place. "And Dumbledore's shrewd ideas normally turn out to be accurate."

"So he's a Seer now to?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at Fred and George. Both of them took the time to snort.

"No, but the Seer we have does have Intel we need to discuss," Sirius said slowly. "Don't we, Audrey?"

My face was almost blistering with heat now, everyone had turned to look at me – Fred, George, and Ginny looked confused. Ron and Hermione didn't, I can only assume that Harry had told them about my little outburst in Dumbledore's office which had resulted in me inadvertently advertizing about my clumped, clipped, and abstract mega-vision.

"Yeah, you'd probably all love to know about it," I nodded slowly. "But we have more to learn about Voldemort, first. Like what Dumbledore thinks Moldyshorts is planning..."

"Moldyshorts? Ha!" Sirius waited for Fred and George to stop laughing before he continued.

"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again. In the old days he had huge numbers at his command: witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one of the groups he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."

"So you're trying to cut off his selection?" I offered.

"We're doing our best," Lupin sighed. Clearly he did not think that their best was going well enough.

"How?"

"Well the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard...it's proving tricky, though." Bill frowned.

"Why?" I asked indignantly. "You'd think people would be all for self-preservation."

"They would be, were it not for the Ministry's attitude," Tonks began. "You saw Cornelius Fudge after You-Know-Who came back, Harry. Audrey, he didn't believe him, and he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened."

I tried to ignore the memories that flooded to remind me of Fudge's reaction to the news. No one knew that I had seen it too, no one knew that I had questioned him beforehand. I had been there when they had tried to get a statement from the only other person who had seen Voldemort in the flesh...but they didn't know I had been there. They didn't know that I had seen – and _caused_ – Barty Crouch to be attacked by the dementor. I swallowed the thick memories back.

"But why?" Harry groaned desperately. "Why's he being so stupid? If Dumbledore-"

"Ah, well, you've put your finger on the problem," Mr Weasley frowned. "Dumbledore."

"Fudge is frightened of him, you see," Tonks whispered.

"Frightened of Dumbledore?" Harry repeated slowly.

"Frightened of what he's up to. Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him," Mr Weasley sighed. "He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister for Magic."

"Even Dumbledore wouldn't want such a shite job," I offered, only to be tutted by Mrs Weasley for my language. Sirius and Lupin both smiled wryly at me.

"Of course he doesn't," Mr Weasley continued. "He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."

"So, he's the schoolyard bully. The one who's afraid the kid that had a growth spurt that summer will take his lunch money," I elaborated. Lupin nodded.

"Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice, but it seems he's become fond of power, and much more confident. He loves being Minister for Magic and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."

"How can he think that? How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up – that I'd make it all up?" Harry frowned.

"Because he doesn't want to look stupid," I supplied, I knew the feeling well and as disturbing as it was to be able to get into all of the bad guys' heads thanks to similarities between them and me, it was nice to be able to finally contribute. "Fudge wouldn't want people going to Dumbledore for help when he's supposed to be in charge, but like Bill said, Voldemort's afraid of Dumbledore. So instead of making it a power switch, he's in denial."

"Exactly, Audrey, exactly." Sirius looked proud that I'd gotten the answer right, even thought the subject made him sneer. "Accepting that Voldermort's back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years and Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Dumbledore's lying to destabilize him."

"You see the problem," Lupin pointed out, taking over for his friend. "While the Ministry insists there is nothing to fear from Voldemort it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumour-mongering, so most of the wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."

"But you're telling people, aren't you?' said Harry, looking around at all the adults. "You're letting people know he's back?"

They're response was not even close to enthusiastic.

"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass-murderer and the Ministry's put a ten thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Sirius asked restlessly.

"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community. It's an occupational hazard of being a werewolf." Lupin sighed morosely.

"Tonks and Arthur would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off," Sirius added with a glance to them. "And it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."

"We've managed to convince a couple of people, though," Mr Weasley tried to make it sound better, though the tone of the conversation was still upsetting. "Tonks here, for one – she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having aurors on our side is a huge advantage. Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset, too; he's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."

"But if none of you are putting the news out that Voldemort's back-" Harry began, but I cut him off quickly.

"Harry, they can't. Voldemort's still not acting and without proof they'll lose their jobs or _worse_," I said pointedly, my eyes flickering around the table and seeing the discomfort at the mere thought of the consequences. "I don't know about you, but I know money still needs to come in, evil dictator or not."

"I gave them proof! I saw him come back!"

"That doesn't make it evidence, it makes you a witness," I argued with a hiss. I did not want him to have another little burst of energy like he'd had upstairs. Now was not the time to act like an incompetent child – now was the time where we learned to grow up. "I obviously believe you Harry, but it won't make a difference to people who don't want to hear he's back at all. People who don't want to hear it won't hear it. It's called denial and people live in it just like they live in fear."

"Wait, who said none of us are putting the news out?" Sirius added on. "Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"

"What d'you mean?" Both Harry and I asked, turning to Sirius and Lupin.

"They're trying to discredit him. Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true. He was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot – that's the Wizard High Court – and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."

"They wouldn't!" I gasped, Hermione looked just as insulted but nodded her head, it seemed she had already heard this news.

"They would. But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards," Bill grinned and a few of us chuckled to ourselves before we were silenced.

"It's no laughing matter," Mrs Weasley snapped at us. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this he could end up in Azkaban, and the last thing we want is to have Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to he's going to go cautiously. If Dumbledore's out of the way – well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."

"But if Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters it's bound to get out that he's come back, isn't it?" Harry tried again.

"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors, Harry," Sirius shook his head.

"Really? I always pictured him bringing over a muffin basket." No one laughed or appreciated my humour. These people were all about business.

"He tricks, jinxes and blackmails them. He's well-practised at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on those for the moment."

"Well, what other things does he want? He wants an army, he wants a following, but what else does a bad guy need?" I thought aloud, thinking of what _I _would need in order to...I stopped. I should not think along those lines so simply. It made me seem even more callous than I already was.

"What else is there?" Harry agreed with me.

"Stuff he can only get by stealth," Sirius answered. When we didn't say anything he added, "like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?" Harry made sure.

"Yes," Sirius told us with a heavy look that I could hardly understand. He was trying to tell us something else with that look, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Like what kind of weapon?" Harry asked. "Something worse than the Avada Kedavra?"

"Something worse than the Cruciatus curse or losing your free will?" I added.

"That's enough!" Mrs Weasley had finally interrupted, apparently she couldn't hold her tongue anymore. She looked absolutely furious, as if something had mortally offended her. "I want you in bed, now. All of you."

"You can't boss us-" Fred began.

"Watch me," it was such a snarl that no one dared to argue with while she turned to Sirius. "You've given them plenty of information. Any more and you might as well induct them into the Order straightaway."

"Why not?" Harry said quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."

"No," everyone turned to look at me, as it was me who had said it. A few people looked shocked that had I taken a side, a few people looked insulted – thinking that I had chosen the _wrong _side – and Mrs Weasley just looked proud. "You're not fighting in the Order, idiot."

"Excuse me?" he looked disgusted, as if I had just told him he would be forced to marry Percy.

"You're not fighting in the Order, you won't get the chance," I didn't tell him why. I didn't tell him that in our time at Hogwarts, we would be in war. I had seen it. But I could not tell him...not yet. "You're a victim, not a soldier."

"To bed," Mrs Weasley said again, Harry got up – practically seething at me – and stomped up to his room. Ron and Hermione, looking nervous followed him. Fred, George and Ginny all stood and looked at me slowly, waiting for me.

"Wait outside the door, will you? I want a word with this lot," I pointed to the witches and wizards in the room: Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Bill...even though George and Ginny looked about ready to argue, Fred wheeled them from the room giving me a quick "hurry up, mate," before he left too. He must just be glad I fought for them – and I kind of was too. At least with them knowing things we could talk it out between us. It'd be nice to have some comrades considering I had none last year.

"Audrey?" Sirius asked me carefully.

"I know I'm not in the Order," I began slowly, weighing the expressions carefully as I continued. "I know that I'm too young and to be honest, I don't really want to be in it. I like your cause, I support it, but I meant what I said to Harry: we aren't soldiers. And just because Voldemort has hit so close to home, shouldn't mean we give up what little normalcy we have left...so for now, I'll stick to surviving my OWLS before I think about surviving a war."

"I think that's very noble of you, Audrey," Mrs Weasley started but I shook my head to shush her.

"It's not," I said simply. "It's selfish and maybe even petty. I don't really care, though. Not when I know what I know," I looked to Sirius. "The night of the third task, I had a vision."

"I know," Sirius nodded his head. "And I've told them already."

"I acknowledge that," I said slowly. "But you don't know what it was about."

"No," Sirius said slowly. "Are you going to tell us?"

I turned to look at Mrs Weasley, to look each of the Order members in the eyes before I asked the real question.

"I'm asking permission to sit in on an Order meeting so I can tell you," when they all open their mouths to argue I backtracked. "Not to sit in on your section, that's fine, I get it: secrecy and celibacy or whatever-" Sirius let out a snort that I couldn't help but smirk towards. "But I want to sit in and say it to everyone because I'm not going to say it twice or write it down for you. And if you're going to be getting information or piecing together things from my visions, I want to be there for it. I want to know what they are, too. It's me that got hurt from it. It's me that lives with this stuff inside my head..."

I looked at the vague scar trailing down my forearm, watching as everyone did the same. I trailed it with my damaged right hand fingers, closing my eyes and fighting back images of that night; of the blade in Harry's arm. Of the blade somehow slicing through my arm. Of Voldemort's smile. Of Cedric disappearing with the cup. Of his lips. Of him trying to get me to the end, just he and I..._he and I_...

"We will consider it," Lupin finally said. I nodded my head, smiling towards all of them and turning my back so I wouldn't have to try so hard to hide that I was mocking the very thought of it.

"'Consider it'," I repeated with a snort while I walked toward the door. I turned toward them, examining them all with a smile before I took the time to open it. "You know, I don't have to be a Seer to know you'll say yes."

With a smile of ehilarated excitement, I walked out. It was nice, this feeling. And I enjoyed how rare it was; the feeling of going to bed without a guilty conscience.

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><p><strong>Well, Audrey certainly keeps things interesting, doesn't she? And bribing the Order of the Phoenix! Do you think they'll let it slide? A shout out to all of my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: I know, he seems like such an ass in the books but I enjoyed putting commentary behind it so that we could see the transition that Harry's making. Hope you liked this chapter :)**

_Just one randomgirl_**: Aw, that's so sweet of you! I'm glad you like seeing that I've updated, I always love hearing that you enjoyed it!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thanks for reviewing – as always. Did you know you are constantly in the first three reviewers for every chapter? Sorry you didn't get to read the twins letters, I had more important fish to fry what with her baiting the Order and all, but I promise that there will be MULTITUDES of twin fun to come! **

_SchadenFreude95_**: Even I'm frustrated with her pity-parties. A lot of the time I don't write them in until later on because as much as I hate them, they're a part of her character and make her who she is. As long as you (or people in general) relate, I think her dramatic side is worth being frustrated over. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: James and Oliver Phelps are pretty amazing and who ISN'T a fan of Chris Hemsworth? That man could melt glaciers with his looks, I swear. As for the idea of Fraudrey (man, I love combining names in a sickening way) I totally see it as a possibility. It is believable and I always hint towards it because it's the most realistic pairing...but we'll have to wait and see how they play out. I have vague ideas of what I want to happen between her and each possible love interest through each of the books, but until I write it down, nothing is set in stone...or internet coding...**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Yes, Sirius is back! How did you like him? Thanks for the review!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Yes, Hogwarts is up and coming and it is FULL of action already – Audrey really doesn't like boring days. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing :)**

_BlueRose22_**: I'm glad that you think Audrey is believable and like her, she can be very frustrating to write and keep in character. A lot of the times I just want her to grab someone and kiss them...sadly, she's not really that romantic and usually much more cruel...**

_kayydoo_**: Strangely, I think your threat to kidnap me and make me keep writing is one of the sweeter reviews I've ever gotten...**

_Addicted_**: You asked for an update, it's two days later...how'd I do? :)**

_Ergelina_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, thank you very much. Hopefully you liked this one, too.**

_Neko-fire demon tempest_**: Whew! What a load of reviews! These were all fantastic! I'd like to thank you, first off, for being so nice and reviewing even though the chapters have already passed. Now I'd like to comment on some key points throughout the story that you mentioned: yes, I do a lot of research on Harry Potter for each and every chapter. I make sure that they're all correct because I am one of those annoying women who loves sounding smart, and even more than that, I love the Harry Potter universe. Daphne and Audrey are strange friends, based off of a friendship I find myself stuck in with one of my own friends: that kind of person who is there for convenience, not really support – but there are moments that it's exactly what someone needs. Audrey always needs to talk to Snape – I quite enjoy writing their mentor/mentee relationship. And it was fun finally seeing something in Harry that we see in Audrey all the time (the bitterness). It was very fun to write, what with her comments and her own growing anger as she heard him keep going. The long chapters used to be difficult, now I just love them – they roll write out of my fingers. Thanks so much, again, for all the reviews!**

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><p><strong>Thank you to all those who reviewed and I hope you liked this chapter. Again, Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who live in the Maple-Land. Please remember that feedback is inspirational, so remember to leave me some in a <strong>_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	32. Hearings and Meetings

**I have another chapter for you! This one goes out to my fantastic editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers_** and **_xxz0eyxx_** as it is her birthday – so happy birthday! This chapter is pretty exciting so I won't keep you waiting any longer.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 31 – Hearings and Meetings<p>

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><p>The next morning was filled with Doxy cleaning, which was actually one of my favourite things to do. This is of course with the consideration that I was still horrifically, obtrusively, and extensively injured – though it honestly wasn't all that bad – but I didn't actually have to do any cleaning. Thanks to my lapse of judgement that cut my fingers open, Mrs Weasley worried that my reflexes would be too slow spraying the creatures with Doxycide, so instead I got to apply the anti-venom if anyone got bit – which wasn't that often – so really I just got to sit around.<p>

Realistically, I could have just told them the proper way to lure out Doxy's – instead of infuriating them, they really had a penchant for blue cheese – but this way seemed much more entertaining and the ridiculousness of it made the gloomy house seem less depressing. Besides, it was nice to sit around and help Fred and George stuff immobilized doxy's into their pocket for later Weasleys Wizard Wheezes experiments.

At one point, Harry left for time with Sirius. I couldn't be sure but it seemed like they were consoling each other – I felt a slight flare in my stomach. It was annoying that I never got time with my godfather, but he always seemed to make time for Harry. Maybe it was because they got along better, being Gryffindors and having their stricter 'moral code' and all that rubbish; or perhaps it was even a bit of what Mrs Weasley had accused last night, that Sirius was confusing having James back – I didn't really know.

To be frank, I thought I had more in common with my godfather than Harry did. Sure, Harry got in trouble more often, but that's because trouble _found _Harry. Harry didn't always cause trouble like I did, like Sirius had; Harry didn't have a penchant for making peoples lives more miserable like I did; like Sirius does. And by miserable, I of course mean more interesting. Besides, Sirius was bitter and damaged and had lived life in a way that Harry would never be able to understand – _I_could barely understand – but at least I understood that I wouldn't and never would...Harry just pretended that he did anyway. It was insulting to what Sirius had lived through. Sirius was like me: he was misunderstood and he was alone.

By the time lunch came, Harry and Sirius reappeared. Harry tried to sit beside me, but I was sure to wedge myself between Fred and George as they talked on and on about their new project: Skiving Snackboxes.

Life went on with monotonous cleaning and sly stealing for three excruciating days. Since we weren't really going out of Grimmauld place, I refused to let anyone buy me ingredients for the potions I could make to heal my hand. It was a stubborn move that kept me sore, but also kept me from doing work and owing anyone any favours. I helped Fred and George with their products, on our few hours off. Since they were working out a mail-order business, I helped organize all their orders and also attempted to help them test some of their products...they wouldn't let me test the more unstable ones, but it was nice to feel like I was part of something anyway.

Ron and Hermione had taken to comforting Harry about his upcoming hearing. I had tried a few times, but got frustrated when he would keep complaining that I hadn't been called as well. I tried explaining that they couldn't pick up my Magnuse and the magic I had used would not have been seen by muggles, but he didn't believe me and still thought it was unfair – which admittedly was kind of true. I just couldn't think too much about it since it kept me out of the hot water. I still continued to try and remind him that muggles couldn't see dementors and that his defense was that it was about to kiss both Dudley and I. I also told him to make me look good in the story, to which he rolled his eyes. No one appreciates my humour.

The days came and went, still filled with monotonous cleaning and dodging responsibilities. With each day came a new layer of dust and dread, however, while Harry's hearing drew nearer and nearer until finally, on Wednesday, he was getting ready to go.

I woke up early that morning, new foggy dreams of my brother turning into a convict had prompted an early rise. When I finally forced myself to look around me I saw that it was half past five and Ginny and Hermione were still out like lights. I stayed in my cot for a long few minutes, going over my dream and trying to dissect whether it could have been a vision or not. As much as I didn't want the dream to be true – really, as much as my brother could be a pain in my arse, I didn't want him to have to run from the law – I hoped that I was gathering some sign of my foresight back. I hated being blind. Or, at least, blind to the future.

A creak outside my room alerted me that someone else was awake and with that encouragement I was able to roll myself from under my bed sheets and out into the hall. Harry was slowly going down the stairs, fully dressed in some of his nicest clothes though looking like he hadn't slept a wink. I made a quiet noise – sure not to disrupt the temperamental portrait of Mrs Black in the hallway – to get his attention. He turned around, giving me a tight smile and waiting for me to reach to his level on the stairs. I was sure to grip his hand and pull him a little bit faster toward the kitchen, as soon as we were out of that blasted portraits range of hearing, I could give him what little advice I could come up with for his big day.

Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones awake, which made my advice die in my throat as we heard the voices through the kitchen door. The dull voices that we could hear made us open the door a little more cautiously than we should have and we almost tripped Tonks over in the process. By all the people here, it looked as if being up early was normal for Order members. Or perhaps they were as nervous as we were about the hearing today. Either way, both Mr and Mrs Weasley were in the kitchen having a quiet chat with fully dressed and exhausted adults which included Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks – who was in the process of sitting with more tea.

"Breakfast," Mrs Weasley smiled as soon as we entered the room. Harry stopped, probably taking in the scene, so I was sure to pull him forward by our linked hands and started over toward Sirius, I knew it would comfort him more than breakfast would.

"Morning, twins," Tonks yawned through the sentiment. Today her hair was blonde and curly. "Sleep all right?"

"Yeah," Harry muttered vaguely.

"Sure," I said in the same tone, still urging him forward. Tonks yawned again.

"I've been up all night," she frowned. "Come and sit down."

She pulled out a chair beside her, knocking over the one beside it as she did so. I snorted at her slightly, but sat Harry down right beside our godfather, who gave me an appreciative look before he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. I went out to the chair Tonks had pulled out, not helping her as she picked up the one that had toppled.

"What would you two like?" Mrs Weasley called from the fire in the corner. "Porridge? Muffins? Kippers? Bacon and eggs? Toast?"

"Just toast, thanks," Harry and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and gave each other a smile while Mrs Weasley complained quietly about the two of us being bags of bones.

Lupin, looking a little more spry than Sirius and Tonks, turned back to the blonde. "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?"

"Oh, yeah...well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions..." I didn't choose to listen to much more in the conversation considering it was all about Ministry members I had never heard of. It sounded closer to worry over people monitoring them than anything war-related and I had no interest in that.

I _did _have interest in their Order meetings – which they had not hosted since our first night here. They'd had mini-meetings, where they would talk and rush us out of the room, but it never had anything to do with bigger matters. Because of this, I still had not gotten an answer on my offer to them – I thought it was a fair one, I wanted my visions to start making sense and they wanted to know what my visions had said. It was a fair trade and I didn't want to keep my visions quiet anymore – not after last year when I had ignored telling anyone that I was seeing Barty Crouch JR and then he'd gone to...to...

Mrs Weasley placed the toast in front of me just as my hands started to shake. I thanked her quietly, picking up the toast and shoving it in my mouth just to give them something to do rather than having to visualize all the nonsense playing thorugh my head. Mrs Weasley started smoothing out my brother's shirt, fussing over him to make sure that he looked his best – she tried fiddling with his hair. I examined the look on his face, one that I had seen so many times, and turned my body in Mrs Weasley's direction.

"Do you have any marmalade?" Mrs Weasley seemed thrilled that I was thinking about food at all, considering I had barely eaten since we'd arrived. She smiled at me slightly and went to fetch some, leaving my brother alone. He gave me a thankful smile in return and I gave him one back, smearing the marmalade she brought over on the toast I still didn't feel like eating.

"...and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just too tired," Tonks yawned again. I wonder when the last time she had slept was and how many hours she'd been able to squeeze in. I should offer to take over for her – I'd barely been sleeping anyway.

"I'll cover for you," Mr Weasley offered. "I'm okay, I've got a report to finish anyway...how are you feeling, Harry?"

Harry, surprised by the sudden change in conversation topics, shrugged his shoulders.

"It'll all be over soon," Mr Weasley was as encouraging as he could be. "In a few hours' time you'll be cleared..." _we hope_. It was the only thing that would have finished the sentence properly and yet no one said it.

"The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones' office. She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you."

"Amelia Bones is okay, Harry," Tonks smiled, looking sincere. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."

"Is that Susan Bones' mother?" I asked, thinking of the quiet but kind Hufflepuff girl in our year. Mr Weasley shook his head and informed me that it was her aunt. Either way, the news was kind of comforting. If Mrs Bones was anything like her niece, she should see reason and listen to my brother's defense.

"Don't lose your temper," Sirius reminded. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

"The law's on your side," Lupin agreed. I watched as Mrs Weasley came toward my brother with a wet comb – even I couldn't distract her from this one. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."

She attacked his hair, trying to get it to behave. I knew from my own hair that it would never work – our hair never stayed as it was supposed to. "Does it ever lie flat?"

"Never," I smirked cheekily, tossing my own hair tauntingly to try and make her understand that it was no use and she may as well leave my brother's head alone.

"I think we'll go now," Mr Weasley said to Harry, checking his watch. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off at the Ministry than hanging around here."

Harry gave me a nervous look, I couldn't tell what it meant. I couldn't tell if he realized for the first time that I would not be going with him to the hearing, or if he was asking me to fight to come instead. I grabbed his hand again, pulling him up as everyone started to stand and prepare to go their separate ways.

"You'll be all right, Harry," Tonks patted him on the arm.

"Good luck," Lupin threw in. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And if it's not," Sirius added darkly. "I'll see to Amelia Bones for you..."

Mrs Weasley broke Harry and my grasp on each other when she smothered him in a hug. "We've all got our fingers crossed."

"Right," Harry said nervously, waiting as she pulled away. He turned to me, looking at me nervously, it was like everyone was looking to see what I'd say.

"You can do this," I said to him strongly. "You did nothing wrong. Remember what Kingsley said yesterday: you can ask for my testimony if you need it and I'll come straight away. I was there, I saw them, and I was the one who used magic first – throw me under the bus if you have to. Remember, they can't amputate my hands..." a few people looked around nervously when I said it. "You're in the clear, so don't get nervous and make yourself seem guilty. Say it exactly like it was and you will be fine. I'll be waiting here to say I told you so."

"Okay," he took a deep, shaky breath. "Okay."

"Now go kick some Ministry arse," I shoved him toward Mr Weasley. "I expect thorough decimation of the people in the Ministry who found a hearing necessary in life or death scenarios. Got it?"

"Right," Harry said again, looking to Mr Weasley who showed he was ready to go, before looking at everyone else in the room nervously. "Well...see you later, then."

And with one last look between Sirius and I, Harry walked out of the room and out of the house. Well...what do I do _now_?

"Audrey," Lupin began slowly, breaking the silence that the room had fallen into when my brother had left. "We may as well talk briefly before the other's wake up."

"Remus, it should wait," Sirius said slowly. "She's upset."

"What is it?" I asked, ignoring the fact that I was not really that upset so I could look levelly between the people in the kitchen.

"We've decided to let you sit in on the next meeting," Lupin inferred. "It will be tomorrow morning – early in the morning – at 3:00 AM. Does that suit you?"

"Are you serious?" I looked at Mrs Weasley with wide eyes. "You'll let me?"

"You are not sitting in for any of the more...business aspect," Lupin shook his head. "And you are not allowed to tell anyone you are going or what you do hear unless we allow it and it pertains to them...but yes, you were right. The information you have could do well with the information we have – if we can put those two pieces together, then I think we may be able to find some answers."

"Thank you," I couldn't help but breathe, I was still in shock. I looked over to Mrs Weasley, whose mouth was set in a firm line. "What made you come 'round?"

"Exactly what Remus said," Mrs Weasley sighed. "If what you have to tell us can keep even one person safe, then it's worth a little rule bending. I'll be getting you at exactly three this coming morning, so I suggest you go back to sleep now and try to rest up for your early morning tomorrow."

"As you command!" I smiled enthusiastically, sprinting up the stairs. By the time I got back into my room, I wasn't able to quite make myself fall asleep. Between the excitement of getting to sit in on an Order meeting and the nervousness for my brother's hearing, all my emotions were clashing and keeping my eyes wide open.

When light started filtering through the grimy windows, I pulled the covers over my head, ignoring the dank smell of the comforter. It didn't take much longer for me to fall into a light sleep after that and what felt like five minutes later I was woken by Ginny and Hermione, waking me up for their breakfast. I followed them downstairs, despite Mrs Weasley being upset that I was awake. None of us really spoke at the breakfast table. Instead, we sat and waited.

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><p>"He's back!" I yelled the moment my brother had come through the door. While most people had waited in the kitchen, Sirius and I had found that it was impossible to wait and stay near so many people. When I had retired to sitting on the stairs outside of the kitchen to wait for him, Sirius had offered to come and sit with me. He didn't say anything, which was the best part of the whole arrangement.<p>

It was strange, sitting there and waiting to know whether my brother would be goign to Hogwarts or not. I couldn't imagine us missing a year of it – not when we had so few left, considering my vision of Hogwarts burning. Harry and Hogwarts just _worked. _As much as the prat bothered me with his hero complex and holier-than-though Gryffindor ways, we both belonged at Hogwarts and we both belonged _together._

Though the darker, and more logical parts of my mind, were warring with the idea of what would happen if he was expelled. As much as it made sense for him to get off I had a sneaking suspicion – which felt undoubtedly like my intuition, the one that boardered foresight – that said the Ministry didn't _want _Harry at Hogwarts. Maybe it was because of Voldemort coming back, or the way that Harry's allegations were undermining the Ministry's hold on the Wizarding World, but I had a horrible feelign that they didn't _want _to let him go free.

And then what would we do? Would we run? Stay in Grimmauld place forever? Wait until we were seventeen and then join the Order with the wands that the Ministry would try to snap? Would we become outlaws if we ran or just another pair of teenagers lost in the muggle crowds – just waiting for Voldemort to demolish them?

I was glad that Harry was back so that these thoughts could cease. At least now I would know, at least now – good or bad – we could make some sort of plan to continue on.

If people hadn't heard me announce Harry was back, Mrs Black's wails were sure to let them know. I ran forward, ignoring the annoying portrait, while Sirius tried to shut the curtains on her. I grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.

"Well?" I asked pointedly, he didn't look at me but rather everyone who was filing into the hallway, now ignoring Mrs Black who kept screaming. I shook him again. "Well?"

"Cleared of all charges!" he smiled at us. We let out a collective cheer – one that rivaled Mrs Black's screeching – before moving into the kitchen so that we didn't have to hear her voice anymore.

"I knew it!" Ron yelled, punching the air once we were in the kitchen. "You always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you," Hermione smiled, she looked so anxious that it could have been mistaken she'd been through a near-death experience. "There was no case against you, none at all."

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I'd get off," Harry smiled at the lot of us.

"You're _the _Harry bloody Potter," I winked at him while I nudged him in the ribs. "Your luck has got to run out _sometime._"

As I began to say this Fred, George, and Ginny had begun dancing and chanting "_he got off, he got off, he got off-_" while the adults filed back into the kitchen with us.

"That's enough! Settle down!" Mr Weasley shouted over them, though it was obvious that he was still smiling and quite happy. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry-"

"Ugh!" I cried, looking to Harry who nodded. "Can we never get rid of the Malfoys? Dung," I called mockingly. "Give me the name of your best friend who has the lowest morals. I want someone tortured and done with-"

"Audrey!" Hermione scolded, tapping my hand lightly. I hissed in pain as she had hit my right hand which had recently nearly gotten chopped in two.

"_Ow_! What'd I say?" I said defensively. "I never told you who it was! However, if you were going to say Dingbat Malfoy, you would have been correct."

"_He got off, he got off, he got off_-"

"Be quiet, you three!" Mr Weasley said again, now nearly laughing at Hermione and my exchange. "Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on Level Nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely. We'll tell him, don't worry." Sirius was very stern on the point.

"Well, I'd better get going, there's a vomiting toilet waiting for me in Bethnal Green. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner-"

"_He got off, he got off, he got off_-" I turned to laugh at them, this encouraged them further.

"That's enough – Fred – George – Ginny!" Mrs Weasley seemed exhausted as her husband left the kitchen for his own work, which sounded surprisingly easier to deal with than this group. "Harry, dear, come and sit down, have some lunch, you hardly ate breakfast. Audrey, don't think you're off the hook, I know only half your plate was empty and that most of that helping had been given to your kneazle this afternoon-"

"You always were a clever one, Mrs Weasley..." I frowned, sitting down beside my brother while Ron and Hermione sat opposite us.

"'Course, once Dumbledore turned up on your side, there was no way they were going to convict you," Ron stated factually. He got himself another plate of food, and let Hermione take her own – she only took a little as we had already eaten and when I tried to pass on a serving, Mrs Weasley took the ladle from me and scooped a large helping of mashed potatoes onto my plate for me.

Fantastic, Circe was nowhere in sight. She would not save me this meal.

"Yeah, he swung it for me," Harry, however did not seem happy about that and just as I was about to question him further, he swung his fingertips to his forehead, pressing harshly against his scar.

"What's up?" Hermione asked in shock.

"Scar," Harry choked out. "But it's nothing...happens all the time now..."

I frowned, not necessarily thinking that to be true, but not willing to dispute it in front of all the people in the kitchen. Luckily no one seemed to notice that something was wrong or that anything had happened. People were serving themselves food – or, in Mrs Weasleys case, serving _me _food – and the three redheads in the corner were still dancing and chanting ridiculously.

"I bet Dumbledore turns up this evening," Ron said with a smile full of food. "To celebrate with us, you know."

"I don't think he'll be able to, Ron," Mrs Weasley said slowly, setting a plate of roast chicken in front of us and putting some on my plate. "He's very busy at the moment."

"_He got off, he got off, he got off_-"

"Shut _up_! Come and eat your lunch!" she turned her eyes back to Ron. "He's a very busy man and he probably won't be able to come by tonight, so close to term."

As she pulled back, Mrs Weasley sent me a long, calculated look that I knew meant he _would _be here tonight. Late tonight. Because he would be here when _I _would be invited to that meeting...but Ron, Harry, Hermione and anyone else at this table shouldn't know that. I smiled into my full plate of food. Little did Mrs Weasley know, I could keep secrets to the grave.

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><p>It was really hard to be sneaky getting downstairs at three in the morning. Considering the excitement of the day, everyone had been up and trying to talk about the unfair hearing and theorize over how likely it was that Fudge had played into Lucius Malfoy's hands. Because of this, people had taken a lot longer to get to sleep and now I was worried that they weren't in a deep enough sleep for the creaking floorboards to go unnoticed.<p>

I tiptoed the entire way down the stairs, shredding off my nightclothes as I went. I had smartly worn a pair of shorts and a t-shirt under the heavy pajamas – at least now I wouldn't look so dishevelled when I went into the meeting. I didn't want anyone to discredit me anymore than they already did considering how young I was and coming down in thick ducked pajamas would not help my case. Wrapped in my left hand – my good, non-bandaged hand – was my Visionary that held detailed points of every single vision I'd had since I got it. The one that took up nearly fifteen pages was the one that everyone was waiting for...

When I had gotten down the stairs I pressed my back on the furthest point from the curtains hiding Mrs Black's portrait and slunk along the cool, moulded wall toward the kitchen. When I realized that her screams did not fill the house, I knew that I had gotten out and was in the safe zone. Checking quickly for any fleshy strings or listening devices I knocked on the door.

The real Mad-Eye Moody answered it, his magical eye looking at the notebook in my hands.

"Lucky I had this, Potter," he pointed to his magical eye. "We've silenced the door, wouldn't have heard ya."

"Oh," I said dumbly, trying to look over his shoulder. "Am I late?"

"Only from being cautious, no doubt." He stood aside to let me in, keeping the door open behind me. I'm sure he was doing one last check to make sure I hadn't brought any listening devices in with me before he closed it. I was surprised by all the people who were looking at me from around the tiny table and sea of chairs.

"I feel like I'm taking an exam," I breathed, looking at the many faces in the room. When no one laughed, I winced. "Tough crowd."

Professor Dumbledore was at the opposite side of the room, his face stoic and not holding the smile I was accustomed to seeing. Beside him was Professor McGonagall and on his other side was Sturgis Podmore, one of the ones to help us get here for Privet Drive. Scattered around I saw the regulars: Mrs and Mr Weasley, Bill, Tonks, Mundungus, Lupin, Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Closer to me were the ones I didn't see often, a witch that helped us from Privet Drive – I think her last name was Vance, Hestia, Elphias Doge, Diggle, and two men that I could not believe were sitting in such close quarters.

Now to be fair, Sirius Black and Severus Snape had never gotten along. They did not get along when they were in school and the last time I saw them together besides Snape depositing me in the Headmaster's office last year, we all thought that Sirius was trying to kill us so naturally, these two men were not were you would call 'chums'. To see them sitting in such close quarters was startling – even if they were three seats away and across a table from one another.

"So," I took a breath. "You're the Order of the Phoenix, then."

"Hello, Audrey," Dumbledore gave a little smile, a smidgen of the normal smile he gave when my brother was near. "I hear you have some information you deem important."

"Yes, sir," I said slowly, casting my eyes from Sirius to Snape. "I brought this-"

"That's the Visionary I got you, isn't it?" Sirius interrupted, looking at the book I held for them all to see. I looked at him with a nervous smile, nodding my head slightly.

"Er – yeah, last Christmas," I looked back to Dumbledore. "Where should I start?"

"I usually suggest at the beginning," Dumbledore smiled, now nearly looking like he looked when he talked to Harry. I couldn't believe how obvious the differences between our conversations and his and Harry's were. I looked from Sirius, to Snape, to Lupin, to Mrs Weasley and back to Dumbledore with a stiff nod. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for everything I was about to say.

"Alright, well, I guess I should probably start a little earlier back than the beginning...during the Third Task-" I almost hiccoughed. "I was getting a whole bunch of...er, well Trelawney calls them 'future flickers', but I call them flashes – it's how I know something bad's about to happen." A few people looked confused. "It's not a vision, per se, but it's a...an _intuition _that tells me something's about to go wrong. It's always right."

I paused. I knew what came next in the story, but a part of me kept saying _they don't need to know. It's not important, don't say it_...

And I didn't want to say it. no part of me wanted to say what had to be said, to relive what was dead, to dig up what had been buried...but I _did _need to say it. Because it _was _important.

"I caught up with...with Cedric," I swallowed thickly, saying his name was still a challenge that boiled my insides. "He tried to get me to go with him to find Fleur and win together – I told him I didn't want to. When our skin touched-" a shiver went through me. A shiver that felt a creepy mixture between the joy I'd felt when he'd touched me and the horror realizing that he was gone. "I saw a bright green light. I didn't' understand what it meant then, I told him to be careful of it and he-" I shook my head. "Sorry, I know that's not important. I just – I-"

_Calm down._

It was a voice in my head that made me finally register that I was rambling and looking exactly how I didn't want to: weak. Terrified. Like a _child_. My eyes, slightly widened, swivelled to the right where Snape, not making eye contact with me was sitting. It was his voice, I knew it – but was he really in my head or was I imagining it...you know, in my head?

_Breathe. Now get on with it, Potter._

I nearly sighed. That was definitely him.

"It's alright Audrey, take your time," Sirius said at nearly the exact same time as Snape's voice chimed in my silent consciousness. It was strange, the two different types of support rallying through my brain and beating against each other. Tough love and comfort beating each other down to the bones – the truth of the whole situation. I looked between the two of them, taking another deep breath before I put my book down on the table.

"Right. I was there when Harry and-and Cedric touched the cup, farther away, but I was there – I had one of my flashes, another moment knowing that something was wrong. I tried shouting out to them and as soon as they touched it and went to the graveyard...well – see, normally I have a very specific way of having visions, very specific signs, if you will. It didn't happen. It was like I slipped into a reality. It wasn't like other visions either," this time I cast my eyes to Snape, who was now looking at me knowing that what I was now elaborating on was mostly for his understanding. "This time it was as if I was _in _each of the visions. What I said while I was watching and living the visions ended up being what happened...which I found out the moment the first one happened...after the dementor attack."

And so started the whispers. Mrs Weasley looked like she was about to have a heart attack. I busied myself by taking a deep breath and flipping open my Visionary to the first page of the vision and I began reading. I read everything – the first vision of seeing Harry in the graveyard, of talking to Mrs Figg, of Dumbledore's words to me 'there are seven', being called a traitor by a toad-like woman and having my hand burnt by her necklace, Voldemort explaining the need for _Harry's _blood, Malfoy sneaking around –

"Er," I stopped, looking at my messy writing and feeling my face go red. "That is definitely irrelevant, so let's-"

"No!" Tonks sounded aghast and excited all at once. She easily could have been mistaking this for some exciting movie or story instead of realizing that this was our _future_. "This is important, what is it?"

"It's just..." I paused, pushing my hair down around my face to hide that my hair was the same colour as my face. "It's just personal and completely irrelevant, so..."

"Audrey," Bill laughed. "What is it?"

"Er..." Bill was not one of the people I wanted to say this to. In fact, if all the Weasleys left the room, I probably would have felt much more comfortable. "It's just a little romantic _thing _that does not matter at all. So skipping that, it leads to-"

"No, no, no..." _traitor! _my mind screamed at Bill from where I stood. "You said it yourself: you want to know how this has to deal with You-Know-Who's return and it's going along with all these important ones so let it lose: who was this romantic moment with?"

I took a deep breath, feeling my bitchy side taking over so that I didn't have to feel as embarrassed. "I was kissing a Weasley. There, happy?"

Bill, Tonks, and Sirius burst into laughter. Mrs Weasley surprisingly looked _thrilled _and even Lupin couldn't stop himself from chuckling. I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at the rude laughter with narrowed eyes.

"Which...which o-one?" Bill wheezed.

"Not your business," I hissed, squeezing my arms together a little more tightly as if they could protect me from the laughter. It did not work.

_They're bullying you._

Snape was right. They were bullying me.

"Do you want me to continue or not?" I snapped at them, feeling proud when they almost looked as if they had been chastised by Mrs Weasley herself. I nodded my head as they calmed down and waited. When I was sure that the mickey wouldn't be taken out of my any more, I felt confident enough to continue.

Though I didn't quite continue honestly. How could I? Instead I blatantly ignored the fact that there was something missing in my Visionary that I had foreseen – I had not only seen myself kissing a Weasley, no, I had seen something much, _much _worse. I had seen myself kissing the enemy. I had seen myself kissing the _devil_.

I had kissed Draco Malfoy.

And that _was_ completely irrelevant. It was probably one of those visions that was subjective – something that was abstract and I had to look for a deeper meaning. I had no idea what deeper meaning could be in such a twisted image, but it certainly couldn't be anything as ridiculous as me actually _kissing _Malfoy.

It was impossible and _totally _unnecessary to say in this meeting, so instead I continued with the important things: I continued to explain how Voldemort wanted to kill me for fear that I may 'intimidate' the Death Eaters; to Harry, Ron and I being in the potions office with a man with a toothbrush moustache...

It took me a while to gather up the courage to spill the beans on Harry. To explain that he would attempt to use the Cruciatus curse on the wild haired woman – everyone in the room was shocked – maybe they were shocked because it had been Harry and not me, maybe they were shocked because it tainted his innocent little halo, I don't know. They were not happy on the news, Mrs Weasley looked ill at the idea.

I continued to explain that I saw students sneaking around; two hands grasped together bathed in eerie light – which they made me demonstrate with Sirius. It seemed that they had understood it as soon as I did, but none of them looked shocked by it – was it supposed to make sense to me why I saw the joined hands in a vision, or was it only supposed to make sense to them? Was it possibly important enough of an image to mean something that could change how we will view this war?

But they wanted me to continue before I asked any questions – Lupin was still taking note of each vision as I said it, writing in point form so that he could regard them later. I told them I came to own a ring and that I ran into someone in the Hogshead; I explained that I would be sitting with Ron at a pub while he played with the exact contraption Moody had used to steal and replace the lights the day we arrived. I explained how Harry would go to hound Malfoy and how Voldemort had said I'd already 'written how he could get rid of me' and it's obvious references to Rita Skeeter's article in the _Daily Prophet _about Harry being my slave-driver and Malfoy being a forbidden lover...it just made my cheeks burn again as I thought of the vision I'd omitted.

What is _wrong _with me?

I went on to tell them how we would ride a dragon and have to jump, how Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson would be running from a raging fire and Parkinson would trip, how Hermione and I would be tortured by the wild woman Harry tries to curse and how I would spit on her face – I was sure to include that part considering something told me to feel proud of it. I described the room that lead to more rooms with a veil, with shackles, with an aquarium, a room filled with tiny crystal balls...

Everyone in the room stopped breathing.

"Er- did I say something wrong?"

"Audrey, that room you saw, you said it was in a room that lead to many rooms?" Mr Weasley asked me plainly, I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah, all the doors are the same and they were spinning but they opened themselves up to me and..." I narrowed my eyes. "What's in those rooms?"

It took a long lag while the Order members looked to one another before Lupin decided to answer me. "We believe that Voldemort is looking for something that is in one of those rooms."

"And he wants what's in the room with the small crystal balls?" I guessed, nodding my head in understanding while they looked at me with furrowed brows. "It's the one Harry and I walked into."

Everyone was silent, taking in what I had just told them before Dumbledore looked at me and calmly said, "continue".

"Er," I stopped again, looking at the shaky writing, I had gotten more upset as I wrote this – my hand shook more and made it nearly impossible to read. "Next I saw...I saw Hogwarts burning," I looked up to each of my professors. "It was on fire, I was in the Forbidden Forest and when I went to go help...I wound up in the graveyard again. And..." I stopped. This was it. This was the end of everything.

"And what, Audrey?" Sirius asked, his voice nervous.

"Voldemort saw me. Voldemort _spoke _to me...he knew I was watching or there or...or whatever I was doing. I had just made a remark about how he wouldn't win. It was under my breath, I knew that we were in something close if not current time, so I tried to calm myself by narrating, as if I could stay calm like that. I said how he wasn't invincible and never had been-" I left out that it was a really snarky way of putting it. That wasn't entirely necessary...then again, they probably already suspected it. "And he asked his death eaters why he will be unstoppable and then he-he looked right at me and said," I took a deep breath and swallowed to wet my suddenly dry throat. "'Because Lord Voldemort sees all, Audrey Potter'."

I closed my book. Looking at them all. No one seemed to want to speak and for the first few minutes I was fine with that. But as the silence itched on and the looks between them started to hold silent conversations, I began to get annoyed. I had done as I had promised, I had told them everything that I knew and now they were holding out because I was in the room – which was not a fair trade.

"Alright, I'll ask the first question then," I said bitterly. "How the hell could Voldemort know where I was standing and look at me if I was in a vision?"

"Could you have been in Astral form?" Bill asked. "We know you can do it and I wouldn't be surprised if Voldemort had a sixth sense for someone in another form."

"But I can't just be in Astral form and not be in Astral form, it has to be a conscious – or rather _sub_conscious – decision." I argued, sitting down in the chair at the opposite end of the table as Dumbledore. "Besides, that still doesn't explain how I was having visions. I'm completely lucid in Astral form, I'm not lucid in visions. And I don't participate in them like I did in these."

"What about her vision about the toad-woman?" Tonks looked to Dumbledore nervously. "I think it's clear-"

"It is clear that Miss Potter will have to tread very carefully this year," Dumbledore said it with twinkling eyes on me. I nodded my head. Apparently, this woman would some close link to me _this _year...my hand throbbed just at the thought of it, at the memory of the locket's burn.

"What about seven?" I asked Dumbledore, who folded his hands in front of him. "What are there seven of, professor?"

"I cannot yet tell you as I am not sure, but when the time comes it seems you will know," Dumbledore said simply. "Miss Potter, could you please elaborate on the woman you saw – the 'wild' woman, as you call her?"

"Oh," I furrowed my brows. "She, er, has a mane of crazy hair and really sunken eyes. She's an adult, not old or anything and she has this insane-"

"Laugh," Sirius finished with a wince. "She has an insane laugh and a familiarity with torture...Dumbledore," the last word seemed like some sort of warning as he breathed deeply. Both he and Dumbledore turned their eyes to Snape.

"Well, I guess that's just as we expected," Mr Weasley had taken off his glasses and was scrubbing at his eyes. "There will be a breakout from Azkaban."

"A breakout from Azkaban?" I repeated, my eyes widening. "But-"

"The woman you described is Bellatrix Lestrange-"

"_Sirius_!" Mrs Weasley hissed. He shook his head.

"No, Molly, she deserves to know considering what the woman will..." he shook his head and clenched his jaw. I don't know what he must envision it looking like as she tortures me, but it seems to upset him nearly as much as the memory upset me. "What she'll put her through. And as soon as she sees her picture, she'll know anyway. Bellatrix Lestrange is one of Voldemort's closest followers she was imprisoned with-"

"Crouch," I realized with a gasp, looking to Dumbledore. "I saw her in your Pensieve! She looked so different but...but it was her – she's the one Harry curses and she's the one who tortures Hermione and I!"

"Do you know where or when?" Lupin asked levelly. I shook my head.

"No, there aren't that many clues either, she just..." I shivered. The pain I remembered, the look in her eye, it made me terrified just at the thought. It made me want to tell her what she had wanted to know and yet I didn't even understand what she had been asking.

"What about Hogwarts burning, Audrey? Did you see anything, hear anything, anyone? Was anyone with you while you were-"

"No, I was alone," I shook my head. "I was alone and in the Forbidden forest. I just watched it burn – but it hadn't really been a shock to me, I don't think..." I took a deep breath. "I think it was it: the final battle. The showdown. It just...it had an air of finality."

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded. "What others are you interested in hearing explanation for?"

"All of them," I said simply. "I don't understand what that light-putter-outer has to do with Ron and I being in a pub, or why I saw myself going to the bathroom in a pub, or why Ron and I tend to be drinking or in pubs..." I added thoughtfully, though to be honest it wasn't _that _much of a mystery. If I was going to drink with any of Harry's friends, it would be Fred, George, or Ron.

"The light-putter-outer, as you called it, is an invention of my own," Dumbledore explains. "It is to help keep your path clear if you find yourself lost through the dark."

"Then why is it in my vision?"

"I would assume that one of you may become lost," Dumbledore said simply. "And at that time you may not have a light of your own."

"Alright, what about the others?"

"To be honest Audrey, they are all so flippant that most of them could be at any moment. You going into the Hogshead, seeing children sneaking around, or seeing your friends chased by fire-"

"They are not my friends," I say firmly, ignoring the twist in my gut to mourn the loss of Daphne and the sickness caused from putting Parkinson in the same category.

"Either way, those visions are completely skewed. Who knows when they will happen and if they will mean anything to the future of this battle or your own personal future-" my thoughts wandered to the images of being kissed again and my face began to burn. "Most of those are hard to determine. But I should say that when you see them coming, you should prepare for something."

"Perhaps the worst," Sirius said sternly, hoping that I take his words to heart. I did.

"Or I could just see it coming and change it," I shrug. Moody begins to chortle.

"Can't change the future, lassie, other than maybe clenchin' your teeth!" Tonks and Mrs Weasley give his chuckling a glare but I shook my head.

"You're wrong," I say simply. "I've already done it."

The table silences again. It seems that I have a profound effect on the noise quality of this kitchen. Sirius and Snape were no longer glaring at each other _or _the table, instead they looked up at me with raised eyebrows – apparently not even Snape could hide his intrigue.

"Audrey, that's not possible."

"It is, I've done it." I repeat, and I am stern. I am determined. I am _right._"This summer – when the dementors attacked and Mrs Figg came out of nowhere, I knew who she was because of the vision. I changed it – I didn't go over to her house, we didn't have the conversation I heard, we didn't have to."

"You recognized and acknowledged the situation from a vision and changed its course," Dumbledore hummed to himself, drawing all eyes away from me and toward him. I was thankful for it, even I watched as he steepled his fingers and held them in front of his face. He focused on them so he was not distraction as he thought through my words.

"Audrey, I believe it's time for you to leave." Though the words were dismissive, somehow the way they were said did not sound insulting. I am, however, Audrey Potter and the very idea made my heart race angrily.

"_What_?" I hissed. "You told me that I could listen, you told me that you would help me!"

"And so we have listened and we have pieced together. Alas, tonight has been too long and I fear that we need time to comprehend everything we have heard. Shall we to bed?" The way Dumbledore asked made it clear that we _shall _to bed.

"I'm not tired," I gritted through my teeth.

"We will talk of this when the time is right, Audrey. Until then, I believe that it is time for me to go and for you all to rest. Thank you for the tea, Molly, and thank you, Audrey-" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in a way that always made me think he knew something I didn't. "Thank you for being so honest. And brave."

Then he left.

There was a minute of silence as we watched him leave Grimmauld place before my blood start to boil. I turned back to the group in front of me, the word 'brave' sounding closer to an insult than a compliment – as if I had never been brave before, as if I had never risked my life and secrets and _integrity _before – and I was suddenly furious.

"Are you bloody joking?" I hissed. "That's it? That's all there was?"

"That is all," Mr Weasley said, trying to sound final but the frustration and exhaustion leaked through his voice enough to make me feel even more insult toward Dumbledore.

I stood with my arms crossed in front of me, watching as people filed out the door or got on travelling cloaks. Everyone spoke in whispers – so as not to disturb Mrs Black – and all I wanted to do was scream at them. Like Harry had gotten to scream. Like Harry had gotten answers. Like Harry had always gotten _everything._

"I'd heard you were injured," Snape's voice jolted me out of my thoughts as his eyes flickered around my bandaged fingers. "Did you meet with a hacksaw?"

"No," I frowned. "I was distracted during dinner preparation."

"I'm sure you can piece together what to do with this after your stunning display of no homework last year," he went into his robes and pulled out a small vial for me, full with the mossy green ingredient I had been hoping for since the incident itself. I looked at him skeptically, remembering explaining to him in detail what to do with this ingredient and being allowed to mark the fourth year papers for my knowledge.

"Murtlap essence?" I raised an eyebrow. I could not tell if he and I happened to think the same way, or if someone had told him what I had needed and asked for when I had hurt myself. But that Snape had brought it at all was touching and I tried not to smile as kindly as I felt the urge to – we were not openly, or admittedly, kind. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem. I would suggest restocking your potions kit before class this year as it is one of the only classes you may stand a chance at passing." He gave me a look before his eyes flickered behind me and he swept out of the room and out the door. I looked behind me to see my godfather, who watched Snape's turned back with a glare.

"Don't know how you stand that man," he grumbled, looking down at me. "Tired?"

"Not at all, not with all this in my head now."

"You feeling all right?"

"No," I said honestly. "And the term 'overwhelmed' doesn't sound sincere enough."

"Come on," he smirked, moving to go upstairs. "I have something that will cheer you up."

Walking up the creaking stairs and tiptoeing past bodiless house-elves was much easier now that it was closer to five. I no longer feared that people would be awake to hear me and because of my lack of care I somehow felt less conspicuous.

Sirius lead me to a black painted door, the paint peeling off to show a nice rosewood door with elaborate designing. He took hold of the Slytherin pendent.

"This is my mother's old room, but something tells me you'll be in here more than she ever was." Not really understanding the insinuation I waited until Sirius opened the door and walked in himself to go in there.

Inside the bed had been cleared out, the closet's doors ripped off their latches. The corner had a thick bed of hay, straw, and tattered pieces of clothing to nestle and complete the nest. Inside that nest was a beautiful creature, taller than a human, plumaged in grey feathers with a swinging tail and amber eyes.

Buckbeak.

My eyes welled with tears faster than they could even take in what I was being shown. Tentatively, I bowed my head to the Hippogriff who gave me a loud caw before bowing it's head and pawing one of its talloned feet on the ground. He wanted me to pet him.

I went over to the Hippogriff, keeping eye contact but not able to make myself seem calm and pace myself. Instead I was immediately aiming to rake my fingers through his feathers which made him nearly purr. His large, amber eye closed as he relished having me pet him – I wonder how long it had been since he was actually paid proper attention.

And all I could think was: yes, this makes it better. Yes, this makes me feel like myself again. Buckbeak had nothing to do with Voldemort or war or visions or unanswered questions. Buckbeak was memories of a better time – before Voldemort, before the task, before Cedric, before all the tragedy that was slowly rotting me from my core.

I turned my watery eyes to Sirius, who smiled at me in a way I rarely saw anymore – another sign of life before tragedy.

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><p><strong>Well, what did you all think? It was cool getting to see her visions. Will anything change now that she has confided in others and they may confide in her? I'd love to hear what you're thinking. To my fantastic reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: If you loved how Sirius stood up for Audrey last chapter I hope you liked how he, Snape and she all interacted here. Besides, you asked for Snape and I'd already written it: I think that's a good sign! Plus I thought it was pretty fun to write, so hopefully it was enjoyable. I also do a **_**lot **_**of research for each chapter, it's true, but admittedly I'm a Harry Potter nerd who knows half of the stuff off the top of my head. Yeah... thanks for the review!**

_Princesslinleigh_**: Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hopefully this one tickled your fancy as well :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Happy Birthday! how does it feel to be however old you are? I usually don't feel a different in age other than the year I was allowed to start drinking – I felt hungover which was a rather significant difference. Anyway, Happy Birthday, I hope you have a great day and hopefully this put a bit of a smile on your face!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Alright, I didn't update on a Monday this time, but I'm going to start updating twice a week soon. Oh yeah, you heard me, I just need to get my computer fixed and then I'll be able to write and edit faster :)**

_SchadenFreude95_**: Audrey is a wonderful trouble maker, I like to think. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Yes, I like making her badass and hard shelled because I really like keeping her within the Slytherin persona. I hope it comes off well. Thanks for reviewing, as always.**

_Novella Vialli_**: There was talk of Draco here. Next chapter has a BIT of Draco. Chapter after? Lots of Draco ;)**

_WulfLuvr22_**: Sirius is a GREAT character. One of my favourites of all time. **

_TheForrestAgain_**: Wow, thanks for reading through my stories! I wanted to make Audrey different from every character you see playing Harry's sister in other stories so I figured that the most likely thing to happen to someone near him would be the jealousy (hell, Ron did it in Goblet of Fire and in Deathly Hallows) so I thought it would make it different and still realistic. As for Draco, I love him too much not to make him the love interest – it's more for my selfish desires than Audrey's. Twilight had lost it's sparkle (no pun intended) when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee as well. I felt completely scandalized. It's why I started writing fan fiction again (I stopped when I was about 14 and on Quizilla of all places). I'm so glad you enjoyed it, it's so sweet of you to compliment it like that! And I also agree: I love me the bad boys – Jacob, Draco and Damon all the way!**

_BlueRose22_**: I agree, changing character personalities is hard and I try to keep it from happening as much as possible unless something spawns it. You say it was finding your boyfriend and ironically the time in my life that changed mine was breaking up with mine. I think I went from being sweeter to a lot harder shelled, a bit like Audrey. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Ella-Starstruck_**: I'm glad you enjoy it, thanks so much for reviewing! **

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Chris Hemsworth is pretty swoon-worthy. But honestly, I think I could marry Chris Evans in a paper bag and live poor but be happy for the rest of my life. Those damn charmers...anyway, how have you been? I sent you a few more chapters yesterday, and I will be sending you more in about a weeks time once I get my computer fixed so that I can actually type on it. Did you know that your keyboard can peel off of your computer? It can. And it did. And editing/rewriting with a separate keyboard but the touchpad mouse is actually surprisingly difficult. What's worse? My laptop is only three months old. Not pleased, Toshiba. Not pleased.**

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><p><strong>Well, I hope you all liked the chapter – the next one will be very exciting I promise! The more reviews I get, the faster I will update...so let me know what you're thinking. I love to hear predicitions and such – let me know in a <strong>**REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	33. Prefect Mess

**Wow, 405 reviews! I can't believe that there have been so many reviews for this story, you guys are awesome! Since **_Angel of the Nightwatchers _**was awesome and reviewed a bunch of chapters, in thanks for the 405 reviews I'm giving you another chapter half a week early!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Chapter 32 – Prefect Mess<p>

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><p>Snape having given me the Murtlap essence was both a blessing and a curse. It was nice to have full motor function in my hand back within two days and have it not leave scars to be embarrassed over. However, I didn't like that I was now able to help with the cleaning that Mrs Weasley forced upon us every single day of life in the Order's headquarters.<p>

Sirius and Harry spent time together often, though Sirius seemed nearly upset that Harry _hadn't _been expelled. I understood the point behind it: now he was stuck in his childhood home again and he didn't know when he would get to see the two of us, whereas with Harry expelled it was constant time together. I understood the fear of being in your childhood home and I understood the fear of isolation.

When Sirius and I got to spend time together, it was usually while tending to Buckbeak – or Witherwings – the Hippogriff. Though Sirius had heard in letters, through word of mouth, and of course from the events of the Triwizard Tournament, that I was good with animals, I don't think he really understood until he saw me in the room with Buckbeak. He was constantly asking for advice how to handle him. He even asked for advice with Kreacher, his bastard of a house-elf, but I told him I tended to get on the wrong side of anything that could talk back to me. He said that he understood.

It was nice having Sirius spend time with me – something that I never really thought I'd get. I loved listening to him tell stories about he and my Dad or Dad chasing Mum around like a love struck idiot. Apparently Mum had absolutely hated him up until they were shoved together as Head Boy and Head Girl – I continually told him I couldn't believe it, that something _that _simple had changed their lives and made them realize their feelings for each other, but he swore it was the truth. He constantly explained to me that Dad loved Mum since he met her and Mum loved Dad when she finally – and forcibly – spent time getting to know him. Sirius dealt well with my cynicism about blind love and devotion considering he seemed to be a true believer in it. We never argued about it for long, though, because at least the stories kept us occupied from more daunting conversation topics.

Sirius made an effort to repeatedly ask about Snape and I, as well. I could tell that it was brewed out of jealousy, but I couldn't really understand why. Sirius was my godfather and as much as Snape meant to me, I was no more than one of his best students. It did not hurt that we also happened to share a similar distaste for idiots and a bitterness toward my overrated heroic brother.

It was the last day before term that Ron came to see us and give us each thick envelopes as we did our separate things. Hermione was out with Ginny cleaning out their trunks in the girls room while Harry was cleaning Hedwig's cage. I had taken the time off to spend some much needed time with my kneazle and was now grooming Circe in the boys room – it was a task that I had put off for too long.

"Booklists have arrived," he sighed, throwing one to each of us our heavy envelopes. "About time, I thought they'd forgotten, they usually come much earlier than this..."

"Probably just because we can't send letters here, one of the Order members must have gotten them from Hogwarts by hand," I offered, ripping open the heavy parchment and looking through my booklist carefully. The letter was the same requirements as last time – pewter cauldron, potions kit, wand and our optional pets and brooms – but it didn't say anything that I didn't already know. I scanned down to the booklist, reading through how many new ones I would need, but Ron beat me to it.

"Only two new ones, 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5' by Miranda Goshawk, and 'Defensive Magical Theory' by Wilbert Slinkhard."

"You'd think we'd have more books," I frowned, putting down the parchment and instead grabbing the brush I'd laid down near Circe. She purred as I began to detangle her fur again. "You know, considering OWLs are this year."

A loud crack alerted me to the presence of my two favourite redheads. Both of them had popped up right between the beds my brother and I sat on and we were so used to it by now that none of us flinched at the sound.

"We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book," Fred continued our conversation casually, as if him knowing what we were saying wasn't exciting enough of a conversation so he had to begin one of his own. Boys were so pushy sometimes.

"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," George finished. I frowned, combing through Circe's hair a little more harshly. I hated Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was just another place for me to embarrass myself with my bad wand work.

"And about time too," Fred nodded.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked. I pursed my lips, trying to keep what I knew quiet.

"Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back," Fred began, "and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."

"Not surprising, is it, when you look at what's happened to the last four," George said factually.

"One sacked, one dead, one's memory removed, and one locked in a trunk for nine months," Harry counted on his fingers. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

"The next one's a cow," I muttered.

"What was that, Drea?" George asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," I sighed, knowing how much trouble I would be in if I told them before I got on the train. There was no point telling them that I had quite a theory about who the teacher would be – that toad-like woman from my visions. It only made sense: during my meeting with the Order they had told me that I needed to tread carefully this year after I told them about the woman with the locket and now they finally had a professor for the class?

Apparently this year I would be a traitor...or next year...or the year after – either way, this woman would try to ruin my reputation before my Hogwarts career was through. No need to tell _them _that.

"What's up with you, Ron?" Fred asked, looking at his little brother like he had just declared he might start ballet. The way Ron looked, however, seemed like he may have been asked to be prime minister. Fred tried again. "What's the matter?"

Upon not receiving an answer for the second time, Fred moved toward Ron and looked over his shoulder and...suddenly he had the exact same expression on his face.

"Prefect?" Fred asked, though it sounded like he was accusing him. "_Prefect_?"

George jumped at Ron, grabbing the envelope from his youngest brother's hand and hastily turned it upside down. I watched with raised eyebrows as something scarlet and gold fell into his palm.

"No way," George whispered in awe.

"There's been a mistake."

"No mistake," I raised my eyebrows, throwing Ron a smile. "They've made Ron Weasley a _prefect_."

"No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect!" George argued with a scowl, before both twins turned toward Harry with pointed fingers.

"We thought you two were certs!" Fred announced. "We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!"

"Me?" I snorted. "No way, in case you didn't notice I _cause _the trouble and I basically _live _in detention. I'd have no time to punish anyone if I never get to leave."

"But you two pretty much won the Triwizard tournament!" Fred argued again, shivers ran up and down my arms as I looked down, Fred made a sound of regret when he realized his choice of words.

"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against them. Besides, Audrey's right, she's not a magnet for trouble. The _teachers_ are the magnets for _her _trouble..." George said conversationally to Fred, as if we weren't actually here. I rolled my eyes, trying to shove back the shivers caused by the mention of the Triwizard Tournament. Circe cuddled more into me as if she could feel my pain.

"Yeah, yeah you've caused too much trouble, mate." Fred clapped Harry's back and threw me a nervous smile. "Well, at least you've got your priorities straight, Potters."

"But of course," I laughed, trying to lighten the mood between he and I. He threw 'em a grateful smile before his eyes flickered back to Ron.

"Prefect..." Fred nearly seethed, looking at Ron as if he'd grown himself a Slytherin badge. "Ickle Ronnie the prefect..."

"Oh, Mum's going to be revolting," George groaned loudly, pushing the badge back at Ron while sitting down on the bed beside me. "And you, what were you saying about a cow?"

"I said nothing about cows," I took a breath. "I hate cows."

"You can't hate cows," Fred chipped in with mock terror. "That's like hating idiots."

"It is," George agreed. "And self-hatred doesn't look good on you, Audrey."

"Oi!" I gasped, whipping Circe's brush at Fred and then my Hogwarts letter at George. "No need to be cruel, you two!"

"Ow, what the..." George looked at my letter and rubbed his cheek where it hit. "Audrey, did you even look at your letter?"

"Of course, saw the booklist and the customary 'leaves at precisely eleven' and that-"

"And that _you're _prefect, too?"

"I – wait, what?" George, had now dumped my envelope upside down and out of the thick packaging fell a green and silver badge with an ornate 'P' grafted into the metal snake. It was a small badge, smaller than the Slytherin crest on my robes but somehow I knew it would be much more noticeable. I took it in my hand, feeling the weight of it and turning it over in my hand, trying to make my mind stop racing and process what this meant. "I'm a prefect..."

"Audrey Potter, prefect..." Fred said slowly.

"Audrey Potter, _prefect_..." George said in the same voice.

"Audrey Potter," they both said slowly. "_Prefect_."

"Nope," George shrugged his shoulders.

"Still doesn't sound right," Fred agreed, all three of us nodding our heads as we stared at the green and silver badge that rested coolly on my palm.

"Did you – did you get-" Hermione barged into the room, looking around to Harry, who was holding Ron's prefect badge with a puzzled expression. She squealed holding up her own, of course she had gotten prefect. That was not surprising at all. "I knew it! Me too, Harry, me too!"

"No," Harry shoved the badge back into Ron's hand. "It's Ron, not me."

"It – what?" Hermione looked positively flabbergasted.

"Yeah, we didn't expect it either," I said dryly, lowering my hand a bit so that no one would continue to look at mine. Hermione, however, was looking at the badge in Ron's hand as if it was something she'd never seen before.

"Ron's prefect, not me."

"Ron? But...are you sure? I mean-"

"It's my name on the letter," Ron frowned, pulling his badge out of line of sight out of insult.

"And here's Audrey's!" George piped in, grabbing my hand and shoving my palm forward as if he were helping me to brandish a sword.

"Audrey?" The Gryffindor trio said in sync. Hermione now looked aghast. "You're a prefect?"

"So it would seem," I wrinkled my nose and shoved the badge out of sight again.

"I...I...well...wow! Well done, you two, that's really-"

"Unexpected?" George helped Hermione.

"No," Hermione shook her head. "No, it's not...Ron's done loads of...he's really..."

Ron looked about ready to curl up in a ball and die.

"Ron's been loyal and stuck with you two when you always get into trouble – he actually rarely starts it and is always the one that get's hurt." I helped out, but I was lying. I was always the one that got hurt. Today I just couldn't stand the idea of sitting through another argument. "And Hermione, you got it because you'll keep him in line and you're so responsible it borders irresponsibility."

"Oh," Hermione looked confused again, but swallowed it to accommodate us.

"What about you?" I don't know whether or not Harry had meant it to sound as rude as it did, but I knew that he had thought of it as bitterly as it sounded. I raised my eyebrows up at him, surprised by his ferocity. Something churned in my stomach while a sick satisfaction coming from his jealousy.

"I don't know why I got it," I said honestly, but I made sure not to sound shocked.

"Who cares?" Fred smiled. "Audrey's going to turn this school around!"

"She'll make the school fun again!"

"Audrey for Prefect Queen!" They both shouted, only to be tutted by Hermione.

"She will not let you get away with everything, if that's what you think. Audrey has to be mature now-" _now? _The frown marring my face was immediate. "She was just given a lot of responsibility and she knows she can't exploit that-"

"Oh, I do," I said with a serious nod. "I do know...I also fully expect to exploit it anyway."

"You...you what?"

"I'm serious," I smiled. "This is exactly what Sirius has been telling me stories of all month – my Mum and Dad were Head Boy and Girl and Mum was a Prefect since fifth year too. You can't honestly think Dad followed the rules? I fully intend to take advantage and put idiots like Marietta Edgecombe in detention as often as humanly possible."

"Audrey!"

"What?" I shrugged off her disappointment. "At least I'm being honest about it."

"This is going to be the best year ever..." just as George was finishing that sentence, Mrs Weasley walked through the door carrying a hamper filled with our newly washed clothing.

"Ginny said the booklists had come at last," she sighed, looking around at everyone's envelopes to make sure we got ours. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pyjamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing...what colour would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," George suggested with a smirk.

"Match his what?" Mrs Weasley was obviously not paying attention as she saw to Ron's laundry absent mindedly. Fred looked pained as he took over.

"His badge. His lovely, shiny new prefect's badge."

Mrs Weasley dropped the socks she was folding.

"His...but...Ron, you're not-" Ron held up his badge in response. She let out a shriek sounding almost exactly like Hermione had when she'd entered the room. "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours?" George asked with a slack jaw. His mother pushed him aside so she could tackle Ron with a hug.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh, Ronnie-"

Fred and George had begun to gag dramatically making me giggle which made Fred's eyes fall to me. I saw the look in them, the twinkle in his eye that made me widen my eyes and shake my head. _Please no,_ I tried to portray in it, _please god no! _But it seemed like my silent begging made him want to do it more.

"Hermione got one too," Fred started his voice purposefully dragging as if he were going to continue. Mrs Weasley barely noticed and instead turned to face Hermione, grasping her in a hug of her own. I backed farther away on the bed, shaking my head and trying to threaten him with my eyes.

"Oh, Hermione, that's wonderful! Your parents will be so proud!"

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley-" Hermione's muffled voice came from somewhere around her shoulder. Fred's eyebrow lifted tauntingly.

"Oh, and we can't forget who else," Mrs Weasley pulled away from Hermione, looking at them in confusion. Her eyes flickered to Harry, probably thinking 'there's only one chosen a year'. Her eyes didn't even flicker to me in consideration. "We can't forget our girl Audrey here is Slytherin prefect."

"Audrey!" Mrs Weasley tried not to show her shock by rushing toward me as well, her eyes focused on the green and silver badge in my hand. Alrightm now it was just getting insulting... "Audrey, that's so wonderful! Oh, I bet Snape fought tooth and nail-"

"Er, thanks..."

"Mum...don't...Mum, get a grip..." Ron muttered slowly, his face red as he looked at the scene his mother was making. She finally released me and stood up, ignoring that Circe was glaring at her hug after she had uprooted my kneazle from my lap.

"Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?" Ron asked as if she had just told him he was kicked out of the house.

"You've got to have a reward for this!" Mrs Weasley sounded _so _proud it was almost sad...I never expected prefect to be such a big deal. But maybe that's because I didn't have anyone who _would_ make a big deal out of it. "How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," Fred muttered, sounding like he sincerely regretted the gift he'd given him. I nudged him in the ribs, giving him a smirk that only made him fight a smile.

"Or a new cauldron, Charlie's old one's rusting through, or a new rat, you always liked Scabbers-"

"Mum," Ron said slowly, "can I have a new broom?"

Mrs Weasley's face fell, I could see the money signs playing through her eyes as if she were on Dudley's ridiculous cartoon network. I watched her smile struggle to pull up at the corners while she tried to think of a budget that would allow such a gift. It was sad.

"Not a really good one!" Ron added quickly. "Just-just a new one for a change..."

"Of course you can..." Mrs Weasley smiled tightly. "Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy too. I'll see you all later...little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks...A prefect...Oh, I'm all of a dither!"

With a rather wet kiss on Ron's cheek, Mrs Weasley sniffled out of the room.

"You're arseholes," I hissed to Fred and George who exchanged eyerolls and turned away from me until I calmed down – it was a wise choice.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" Fred asked obnoxiously.

"We could curtsey, if you like," George added with a wiggle to his eyebrows.

"Oh, shut up," Ron scowled and blushed.

"Or what?" Fred gave an evil grin. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try," snickered George.

"He could if you don't watch out!" Hermione hissed.

"It wouldn't matter, I'll do it for him." I added with a frown to them, they turned around with mock expressions of horror that they could barely contain laughter through. "I owe you for selling me out as you did."

"You wouldn't," Fred and George laughter could not hold anymore.

"We're going to have to watch our step, George," Fred said with a terribly fake impression of fear, "with these lot on our case..."

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," George sighed wearily.

"I already promised that I was going to take advantage of this, and if you don't-" but I was cut off by George's evil smile to Fred.

"She's just mad we offered to kiss Ronnie and not Awdwee!"

"No I'm not! I-" there were two loud _CRACKS _that filled the room before I realized that my cheeks were getting _licked _by the Weasley twins. "ARGH!"

"Cheerio, darling!" They both said in posh, ridiculous accents before they cackled and Disapparated from the room.

"Bastards!" I hissed, wiping my cheeks off on Ron's bed sheets. "Those lards better watch out because I _will _put them in detention, no matter how much I like the dolts..."

"Those two!" Hermione agreed, frowning up at the ceiling where we could hear Fred and George's continuous howl of laughter. "Don't pay any attention to them, you two, they're only jealous!"

"I don't think they are," Ron frowned. "They've always said only prats become prefects...still they've never had new brooms! I wish I could go with Mum and choose. She'll never be able to afford a Nimbus, but there's the new Cleansweep out, that'd be great...Yeah, I think I'll go and tell her I like the Cleansweep, just so she knows..."

Ron left the room quickly. Hermione looked from me to Harry, her entire demeanor showing just how awkward she felt with us. Or maybe it had nothing to do with _me _at all. Maybe she felt awkward because of the glare Harry was trying to burn her prefect badge with. Apparently my brother was not taking the alienation well. Well he could cry me a bloody river. I'd been more alienated than he'd ever been prefect material.

"Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Well done, you two," Harry said in the fakest voice he'd ever spoken in. It almost sounded like there was a bubble in the back of his throat which kicked his voice up half an octave. "Brilliant. Perfect. Great."

"Thanks," Hermione said slowly.

"Yes, thank you for the false sense of pride. It's not like we didn't support you through all _your_ trophies," I rolled my eyes, standing from the bed and grabbing my letter, badge, and kneazle. Hermione's eyes were so wide they could have been the dinner plates downstairs and Harry's glare had left Hermione's badge and fallen on me instead. He seemed not to like being called out.

"I know you did." He said stonily.

"You can be such a prat sometimes Harry. Your best friends got something that you didn't, big deal. Ron's been a Quidditch fan for years and _you're _the one who got on the Quidditch team. Hermione's the best student and stays bored in classes, but _you_ were the one who got private lessons for more difficult spells the past three years..."

Hermione's jaw fell at my nerve. Harry's face fell, but his eyes stayed narrow as we glared at each other, trying to pass messages without words.

"Harry, could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They'll be really pleased – I mean prefect is something they can understand." Half the reason she was asking was so she could leave. When Harry gave the 'okay', she called Hedwig down from the top of her wardrobe and left immediately.

"Audrey, it's not that I'm not happy for you-"

"No, it's that you're _jealous_ of us." I frowned at him. "You know, I've been jealous too, but at least I always admit it. And still I just sit here, watching you be the famous one, you be the _wondrous _one, watch you be the hero every – bloody – year. The one time I finally get something good for _me_, you can't be happy? Bloody hell, I go to your Quidditch games and cheer for you – against my own house and even though I hate Quidditch, may I add? I support you and defend you and get you out of tight spots; I've helped you fight monsters and diary-demons and werewolves and dementors..."

"It's just a bloody badge!" Harry yelled at me. "It's not like I wanted it anyway!"

"Good!" I yelled back at him. "Then stop being such a goblin about it and support your bloody friends. Just because _I'm _used to you being a git doesn't mean you have to let them in on your arrogance!"

I stuck my nose up in the air and started walking out the room, turning the nob and frowning before I turned to face my brother again. I slapped my hip twice and Circe – with a glare of her own for my brother – walked over to me. Harry had been glaring at my back and now it was directed right at my face again.

"What?"

"If you don't go apologize and be happy for your friends," I began with a haughtiness that only seemed to show itself to him when he was throwing a tantrum. Like now. "I'll give you detention with Snape."

"You can't do that, we're not even at school!"

"Then you have until the express to do it," I said to him again before walking out of the room and across to my own. When I was done packing my trunk – with Ginny's congratulations – and when Fred and George didn't come to visit me like I had hoped I decided to trek and visit Buckbeak instead.

The familiar walk to Mrs Black's old quarters was as dreary as ever, but it was made better when I saw that Sirius was already there. He was expecting me, it seemed, because he was looking at the door while I walked through it, a calculating expression on his face.

"Hermione said you and Harry were fighting," he said simply.

"We're usually fighting," I said just as simply.

"She said it was about the prefect badges?"

"Yes. _Our_ prefect badges," Sirius raised his eyebrows at the news. "Yeah. That's what he thought, too – except he was a little more upset he was left out."

"Well, that's understandable..." Sirius began. I nearly snarled.

"No it's _not_," I basically hissed. "Hermione was a shoe-in, but he should have been happier for Ron. I mean, Merlin, the boy constantly puts his arse on the line for the git and then Harry goes and puts him down. It was ridiculous."

"And you're not upset that he wasn't supporting you?" Sirius asked me. I snorted.

"I'm a _Slytherin _who goes out of her way to start trouble. I purposely keep people with negative imagery of me. This reaction toward me isn't a surprise; Harry _never _supports me and I don't blame him."

"Audrey, you're a great person. Just because you're a Slytherin-"

"I heard what you said to Harry about your family, about how the house is full of Slytherin memorabilia that shows what kind of awful people they were," Sirius frowned, but I ignored it as I absently pet behind Buckbeak's wing, keeping my eyes away from his. "I know what you must think of me, I didn't even come from a Slytherin background and got put there but _you _came from the thick of it and still came out on top...a _Gryffindor_..."

"No one thinks less of you for your house, Audrey."

"Of course they do," I snorted derisively. "You all do. You all expect less of me and think the worst of me. You all have low expectations because of it...even Fred and George said so today."

"Fred and George love you..."

"It doesn't change what they think. Feelings have nothing to do with it," I sighed, leaning against the cool wall, the paper torn away from the Hippogriff's talons and beak. "I'm all right being alone, Sirius, I really am."

"Then why do you hate it?" It was a good question, one that made me stop and actually have to think about it for a moment.

"I hate that everyone just _expects _me to be all right with it. I wasn't at first, you know. I wanted to prove everyone wrong...and then I realized: why would I work so hard to prove everyone wrong, when I could make everyone happy and prove them right?" I smiled to myself. "I like being the bad one. No one judges me when I do something wrong – because in the end, that's all they expect from me, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>In the kitchen of Grimmauld place, a large scarlet banner had been hung over the table with silver writing reading 'Congratulations RonHermione/Audrey – New Prefects!'. The look of it was almost nauseating...I couldn't wait to see how Harry was taking it. Mrs Weasley was bustling around, more excited than I had probably seen her the entire holiday, moving chairs and righting food.

"I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," she told the group of us once Harry entered the room. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron. I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled."

Well, at least I could see Bill today, though I did still need to get him back for laughing about me kissing one of the Weasley brothers...

The people who had already shown up to the 'party' included Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and Moody. We mingled with them for a long while before we all started grabbing butterbeer and telling stories about some of the times at Hogwarts endured by the Order members.

"Oh, Alastor, I'm glad you're here," Mrs Weasley smiled. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages – could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

"No problem, Molly..." Moody's fake eye swivelled upwards and to a place where we couldn't see the iris as he was undoubtedly staring through the ceiling. "Drawing room...desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it. Yeah, it's a boggart...Want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

"No, no, I'll do it myself later," Mrs Weasley beamed. "You have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration actually. Fourth prefect in the family!"

As if Moody didn't know why he was here. I walked up to him. "Question, do you know what a boggart looks like? I mean, you're not facing the boggart right now so it can't mimick your fear...can you see it through your eye?"

"Aye," he nodded. "Ugly little brute."

"Cool," I smiled, clinking my glass with his and taking a sip of my butterbeer.

"So, prefect, eh?" Moody nodded his head appreciatively, his eye swivelling through the back of his head again. "Well, congratulations. Authority figures always attract trouble, but I suppose Dumbledore thinks you can withstand most standard jinxes or he wouldn't have appointed you..."

"I just assumed that Ron's shiny badge would deflect them," I couldn't help but smirk. "After all, I expect he'll be shining it before, on, and after the train."

Fred and George laughed behind me, Apparting themselves over the five feet between us when they heard my jibe. Both seemed in more civil spirits than they had been hours before and when I looked at them guardedly, both shrugged as innocently as they could muster.

"You know we love you, Drea-" Fred began with a smile.

"-and that we'd never hate you-"

"-particularly if you can save us from trouble-"

"-or even turn the other cheek-" George winked.

"-or turn them our way-"

"-oh, she certainly could-"

"-she does have a nice bottom." Fred finished with a note of finality that made my jaw drop.

"You two are horrible!" I laughed. As I was laughing the rest of the company arrived. Mr Weasley, Bill, and Mundungus had walked through the door looking at the banner and smiling. Waiting until he and the new additions had gotten their drinks, Mr Weasley raised his goblet.

"Well, I think a toast is in order: To Ron, Hermione, and Audrey, the newest fifth year prefects!"

I decided to drink instead of beam and bask in the limelight like the Gryffindors while they were toasted and applauded. The crowd broke into conversations about prefects (apparently Lupin had been one), SPEW, Bill's hair and-

"Look what Dung's got us," George smiled, holding his hand out to Harry and I – who stood on opposite sides and not facing each other. In his hand he held out seeds – Tentacula seeds, I realized with a closer look. I backed away a bit.

"Venomous Tentacula seeds," George smiled. "We need them for the Skiving Snackboxes but they're a Class C Non-Tradable Substance so we've been having a bit of trouble getting hold of them."

"Ten Galleons the lot, then, Dung?" Fred asked, shifting through his pockets.

"Wif all the trouble I went to to get 'em"?" Mundungus stuck his nose in the air haughtily. "I'm sorry, lads, but I'm not taking a Knut under twenty."

"As difficult as they can be to trade, Tentacula seeds are actually very commonly found in the Southwest. They actually tend to stay in herds that number hundreds and have pods of seeds by the thousands...so, realistically..." I trailed off, getting a very dirty look from Mundungus and a large smile from the twins.

"Be careful," Harry whispered to us nervously, looking around for anyone overhearing our conversation.

"What?" Fred asked with a snort. "Mum's busy cooing over Prefect Ron, we're okay."

"But Moody could have his eye on you," Harry pointed out, making Mundungus look over to him fearfully and shuffling through his pocket.

"Good point, that. All right, lads, ten it is, if you'll take 'em quick." He said it as if it was a strain on him, but I knew he'd probably only had to chum up to one of his criminal buddies to get the seeds when the twins had asked for them.

"Cheers, you two!" Fred smiled, raising up the little bag that must have held the seeds. "We'd better get these upstairs."

"Hide them in something Moody can't see," I advised them pointlessly. I'd never really asked, but I didn't think Moody had anything he couldn't see through. They still gave me a wacky solute before jumping the stairs two-at-a-time to get to their room before anyone asked any questions. Apparently they were so excited they forgot they could Apparate.

"Mrs Weasley's going to kill them some day," I mused with a smile.

"...why Dumbledore didn't make Potter a prefect?" Kingsley asked, trying to be quiet.

"He'll have his reasons," Lupin responded in the same tone.

"But it wouldn't shown confidence in him. It's what I'd've done, 'specially with the Daily Prophet having a go at him every few days..."

"Don't listen to them," I muttered. "They're mostly shocked it's me and not you. Just like you are."

"I'm not shocked," he said quietly. "You do a lot of good. You saved Daphne last year, you even tried to save _Dudley_..."

"Yeah, and you commonly save the world," I rolled my eyes. "Just go support your friends. I'm fine on my own, as always."

I walked away and toward Mrs Weasley, about to ask her if she needed help cleaning up as she yawned. "Well, I think I'll sort out that boggart before I turn in...Arthur, I don't want this lot up too late, all right?"

I turned to her. "I'll come with you, I'm knackered."

She gave me a smile. "Oh, it's just a little boggart, you don't have to worry."

"Well, my boggart looks like water, so it's easy enough for other people to get by. I'll help you by making it an easy job." Walking up the stairs with her, she started congratulating me on being prefect and how nice it will be to have a "fair hand" in politics regarding the Slytherins. It was a quite a challenge to keep a straight face.

Upstairs in the drawing room, just past the stuffed elf-heads, a desk was rattling. It was shaking a little bit and making loud noises that made me back a bit away from it. I wish I was like Moody and could see what a boggart actually looked like, you know, when it wasn't scaring the shite out of me. Maybe then I wouldn't be as intimidated by them.

"Alright, Audrey, dear. I want you stand in front of the desk. I'm going to open the drawer and spell it away when it's concentrated on you. Is that all right?"

"Perfectly fine," I swallowed, suddenly feeling a little less secure. Once I had just seen a body of water, but who knew what it would take this time – would it surround me in water? Would the room fill up and start drowning me?

"Here it comes," Mrs Weasley warned, flicking her wand to pull open the desk drawer.

I couldn't tell what I was seeing at first, sprawled on the ground, but I could tell that it was not water. For one, it was not flat and it was not moving, but it did take shape into something extremely solid...and terrifying. Looking on the ground, I felt myself freeze. In front of me was a body – rich, light brown hair, pale skin and haunted gray eyes...

"Cedric," I breathed, hearing Mrs Weasley do something behind me. The body shook and with a _CRACK _Cedric's body changed to have flaming red hair and blue eyes with freckles that belonged to one of the twins. While the body lay limp on the ground I could not tell which one it was. The body shook with another _CRACK_ at Mrs Weasley's word, but didn't change. I couldn't move, I was frozen in place as I watched my friends appear before my eyes. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Mr Weasley, Harry, Bill, Percy...

"Mrs Weasley," my brother's voice knocked me back into the real world while nightmares rotted my mind. "Just get out of here! Let someone else-"

"What's going on?" Lupin's voice came but it didn't distract me from the body now on the floor, Harry's body, curled unnaturally and staring straight at me with wide, watery eyes. But my eyes could not only stay on my brother's green, lifeless eyes for long when Mrs Weasley sobbed again. Beside Harry's limp body were a pair of eyes that had faded into a glassy silver, the skin tanned and then paled, the light brown hair hanging limp over his face as he looked at me, his hand stretched toward me...

Cedric..._Harry_...

"Oh, no, Audrey," Sirius breathed, grasping at my shoulders while Lupin moved Mrs Weasley away from the boggart. With my brothers eyes – my own eyes – staring back at me and Cedric's hand reached toward me as if to grab my hand and lead me through the maze as he had asked, I heard a spell called. My eyes, unable to decide which body to look at, could not understand when my brother's eyes had turned blue, when the corpses skin began to mold into a mossed green skin and finally blue skin while the water rose up and drowned the bodies that had already drowned in death anyway...

I screamed, the body of water that had drowned Cedric and my brother was licking at my feet and-

"_Riddikulus_!"

The water at my feet curled in on itself and made itself into a large, blue popsicle. Pale blue – the colour of Cedric's eyes. I looked at it strangely, not realizing until now that I was shaking and that I was pulling against Sirius' grasp on me. I could not catch up to whatever had just happened. The images of my brother, of _Cedric, _of my friends...

"Audrey," Sirius stood in front of me, grasping my shoulders firmly. "Audrey, it's alright. It was a boggart. It was just a boggart."

Behind me, Mrs Weasley was sobbing.

"Get me a jar," I said quietly, my eyes still locked over Sirius' shoulder and on the popsicle.

"What?" Sirius asked, looking over to someone over my shoulder.

"A jar, get me a jar." Moody must have entered the room because I heard his lilt and his heavy wooden leg's steps toward me. Over my shoulder in my peripheral vision, he handed me a jar. I do not know if he had it with him or if he transfigured something into one. Moving away from Sirius' grasp, I walked toward the popsicle on the ground, ignoring everyone who tried to tell me to stop. I bent down, grabbed the popsicle by the wooden stick and placed it in the jar. With a hiss that was not human, it shook in my hand and started to melt, filling the jar again. I put the cap on and with both hands focused all my energy into making sure that this jar could never break.

The jar heated itself and stopped trembling in my hands. I didn't have the will to look at anyone as I stood, the jar grasped tightly in my hands.

"I'm keeping this."

"But Audrey, you can't-"

"I think us camping out here and planning to overthrow the Ministry's tactics or taking down an all-powerful Dark Lord is breaking enough rules as it is," I said without emphasis, finally noticing the stickiness to my face while I spoke. It felt like my cheeks were stretching and my skin was made of elastic. I had been crying. I hoped it didn't take away from the strength I was now trying to show. "I'm sure one more couldn't hurt."

"What must you think of me?" Mrs Weasley asked shakily, not saying anything more about me taking the jar. "Not even able to get rid of a boggart..."

"Don't be stupid," Harry tried to smile, I looked away from him – I wasn't seeing _him _right now. I was seeing a blue skinned, glassy eyed version of something I never wanted to see again. "That wasn't a normal boggart – it was confused over whose fear to mimick, it got you both..."

"I'm just s-s-so worried. Half the f-f-family's in the Order, it'll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this...and P-P-Percy's not talking to us...what if something d-d-dreadful happens and we've never m-m-made it up with him? And what's going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who's g-g-going to look after Ron and Ginny?"

"Molly, that's enough," Lupin was stern. "This isn't like last time. The Order are better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to-"

Sirius turned to me again. "Audrey, are you-"

"I'm fine," I snapped, moving away from him and out the hallway until I had finally made my way to my bedroom and hidden beneath my blankets. I ignored the curious people who checked in all night.

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><p>It was very clear that I would not have a good night sleep, but by the time I was up and moving it seemed like the others had had just as bad of a night. It made me wonder if I had screamed last night during the little sleep I had managed to get, Harry had said I'd been doing that a lot this summer.<p>

Apparently everyone had slept in because everyone was moving hectically. To make matters louder and more confusing, Fred and George had tried bewitching their trunks to float down the stairs instead of carrying them, which had knocked Ginny down the stairs. Both Mrs Weasley and the portrait of Mrs Black were screaming at them from the top of their lungs.

"-COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS-"

"-FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS-"

"Come on, Circe," I sighed. "Let's get out of here."

Walking down all the stairs and into the kitchen, ignoring the struggles and not trying to help as they silenced Mrs Black, I saw that Ginny had a nice large bandage over her knee and a bruise on her arm. I raised my eyebrows.

"Bruised up and patched up, I see," I said toward her with a smirk. "They got you good."

"Don't know why I didn't see it coming," she sighed. "I guess I was just distracted by the news."

"What news?" I put Circe down, getting her some food while we waited. She dug in very quickly, I felt bad for not having fed her last night after the boggart, but I hadn't been in the mood. Circe seemed to have understood at the time and slept on my stomach all night, waiting and watching for danger.

"You must have been showering," she shrugged. "Fred, George and I overheard Lupin saying that Sturgis was caught sneaking through the Ministry last night, then in the _Prophet_ they're already saying they plan to convict him for a short term in Azkaban."

"Sturgis Podmore?" I asked with shock. I thought about the strong jawed wizard that had been around all month, who had saved us from Privet Drive. The last time I had seen him was when I had been allowed in the meeting with the Order, now he was going to be sent to Azkaban? Something didn't smell right. "Why was he in the Ministry?"

"Who knows?" Ginny asked, looking upset. "But I have a feeling that it had something to do with the Order...it kind of makes it real, doesn't it? That people are already feeling the brunt of it all."

"Sure does," I sighed, turning to Circe and petting her while I was distracted by my thoughts. Instinct told me that there was a reason that the last time I had seen Sturgis was when I had told him about my visions and then he had ended up caught by the Ministry...but why?

"Will you lot get down here now, please!" Mrs Weasley yelled up the stairs. I heard immediate thunking of trunks on the stairs, Mrs Black's portrait howling a horrid harmony. She met us all in the kitchen, shutting the door to try and muffle the screams as best she could.

"All right? Well, Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks," Mrs Weasley shouted over the howling. "Leave your trunk and owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage. Audrey, you do the same, you're-"

"I don't go anywhere without Circe," I said with a frown, picking her up from her food. "I'll carry her the whole way if I have to, but she stays with me."

"Well, you can fight Alastor on it, I guess. You'll be travelling with Remus and Arthur," I gave a little look of confusion as neither Tonks or Lupin were there, but was distracted by a bit of a growl from Mrs Weasley. "Oh, for heavens sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!"

A giant shaggy, black dog had walked in the room and sat between Harry and I, sitting and paying attention. I smiled at him and pet behind his ears, watching as his tail wagged.

"It's alright, Mrs Weasley," I said as encouragingly as I could. "Moody keeps saying that we need to have as much protection as we can. Besides, no one will be suspicious _or _surprised when they see him; I'm a notorious animal-lover."

I winked at Sirius, who gave a bark of agreement.

"Oh honestly," Mrs Weasley sighed again. "Well, on your own head be it!"

With a motion to leave, Mrs Weasley walked through the kitchen door and all the way to the end of the hall, walking right out the front door and onto Grimmauld street. It was nice to be in the sunlight. And even nicer, though the sound of cars and sirens was all around us, was not having Mrs Black's screeching...it was akin to silence.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around. It was only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mrs Weasley and I. There was no sign of Ginny or the twins, nevertheless our supposed 'guard'.

"Tonks is waiting for us just up here," Mrs Weasley sounded nervous, her eyes flashing to Snuffles, our convict goddog, before turning her eyes in front of her to an old woman at the corner. She had tight curls of gray hair and shockingly dark blue eyes.

"Wotcher, Potters," she winked. "Better hurry up, hadn't we, Molly?"

"I know, I know," Mrs Weasley all but moaned. "But Mad-Eye wanted to wait for news on Sturgis...If only Arthur could have got us cars from the Ministry again...but Fudge won't let him borrow as much as an empty ink bottle these days. How Muggles can stand travelling without magic..."

Though Mrs Weasley looked stressed beyond belief, all around me played a joyous black dog that even had Circe purring. It was chasing its own tail, chasing pigeons, and doing laps around the group of us as if it were a puppy – which he may have been, in a way. It was his first time outside in who knew how long and it must have been as refreshing as learning the about the world all over again.

On foot it took us twenty minutes to get to Kings Cross. Mr Weasley walked somewhere from behind us about the last five minutes in, walking between Ron and I, and when we were there we were met by Lupin. Apparently our guard was a relay.

The station was filled with muggles and wizards, as per normal. It was bustled and hectic as every September 1st at 10:48am was – it was like last June had never happened. As we subtly leaned into the wall that divided platforms nine and ten to enter Platform nine and three quarters, I couldn't help but smile and pet Sirius' shaggy fur.

I almost missed the Slytherin dorms, that's how much I longed for normalcy. Or maybe it was actually insanity I missed. I couldn't quite tell which.

"I hope the others make it in time," Mrs Weasley hummed nervously, looking at the platform.

"Nice dog!" Lee Jordan smiled on his way toward the scarlet engine.

"Thanks, Lee," Harry grinned, Sirius wagged his tail.

"Pretty girl, innit?" I winked down at Sirius, who was apparently so happy he didn't mind the jibe about his gender. He yipped and licked my hand in revenge.

"Oh good," Mrs Weasley breathed. "Here's Alastor with the luggage, look..."

Moody had come, in a semblance of disguise that did not help, pushing a trolley full of trunks with Fred, George, and Ginny. I gave a clipped bump to Fred's shoulder.

"How'd you two manage on your own two feet?" I mocked, knowing they had not been allowed to Apparate and had to walk the entire way here.

"I think they're blistered-"

"-and bruised-"

"-possibly broken-"

"-or at the least sprained-"

"-it was dreadful-"

"-how do you manage?"

"I'm a tough girl," I laughed, looking up at Moody who was busying himself by speaking to the adults.

"No trouble?"

"Nothing," Lupin shook his head, turning to the rest of us. "Well, look after yourselves. You two as well," he gave a pointed look between Harry and I. "Be careful."

"Careful's my middle name," I shrugged. George snorted.

"No it's not-"

"-it's Petunia."

"Oh piss off," I sneered, jumping when Moody placed a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled. And don't forget, all of you – careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all." Moody said, giving a pointed look to me. I was offended, I should not be in trouble considering I barely wrote at all! I constantly got in trouble for not keeping in touch. That look should _not _be directed at me.

"It's been great meeting all of you," Tonks smiled, going between all us girls and hugging us. I tried not to tip over when she nearly tripped us. "We'll see you soon, I expect."

A whistle blew. The train would leave soon.

"Quick, quick," Mrs Weasley said distractedly, hugging us all. "Write...be good...if you've forgotten anything we'll send it on...Onto the train, now, hurry!"

The large dog in our party jumped onto its hind legs to put its front paws on my brother's shoulders, only to be pushed back down by Mrs Weasley with a hiss.

"For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius!"

"Bye, Snuffles," I bent down, putting Circe on the ground who sat patiently as I took a moment with my godfather. "You be good and safe too, Sirius. Write as often as you need so you can stay sane. Write as Bill if it you think people will be suspicious, just let me know with some sort of hint. And keep the other's safe, if anyone can do it, I know you can."

The dog gave a gleeful bark, licking at my cheek before I stood up and laughed.

"That was unnecessary."

He barked again.

"Yes, yes, I'll be good. And yes, I'm probably lying."

"Audrey, we have to go!" Hermione called, getting a good grip on my arm to rip me away. She rushed me into the train and I only had a brief moment of panic before I realized that Circe was following right behind me. I couldn't imagine forgetting Circe. I stopped, grabbing hold of the side of the car while the train began to move out of the station, no one seemed to mind that we were in the hall of the train.

"See you!" Harry opened the side window to call out as the train began to roll down the tracks. We all waved and I blew a kiss toward Sirius. Tonks, Lupin, Moody and the Weasleys disappeared slowly as the train moved, but the massive dog bounded alongside the window for as long he it could until we rounded the bend and left Sirius behind.

"He shouldn't have come with us," Hermione murmured nervously.

"Oh, come off it," I waved off with a roll of my eyes.

"Yeah, lighten up." Ron agreed. "He hasn't seen daylight for months, poor bloke."

"Well," said Fred with a sigh. "Can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Lee. See you later!"

"I can't believe you're able to walk all the way to find him!" I shouted after them, only to receive a very rude hand gesture simultaneously over both their shoulders.

"Shall we go and find a compartment, then?" Harry asked us.

"Er-" Ron began, clearing his throat.

"We're – well – Ron, Audrey, and I are supposed to go to the prefect carriage," Hermione stated awkwardly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Er – we are?"

"Yes, we are," Ron looked at me with a furrowed brow. "Did you not read your letter?"

"Actually I didn't," I shrugged. "The twins found the badge and as the only Slytherin I knew it was mine and I knew I was a prefect...I figured that's really all there was to it."

"Well, it's not!" Hermione looked outraged. "It's very important and we have to go so we can meet the others and learn our duties."

"I'm not quite interested in that," I shrugged. "And I never read I have to go, so I'll just pretend-"

"You're coming with us," Hermione said so intensely I'd almost wondered if I had mortally offended and if this was the reaction I would get if I said her mother was fat. I guess I would never know.

Instead, I looked at my brother with an expectant gaze. He was busying himself by closing the window again and purposefully not paying we prefects the regular attention he gave.

"What about you? Are you okay with this?" I don't know how obvious it would have been to others that this was me providing him with the last chance for his ultimatum. That last ultimatum I'd given when we'd each thrown our little tantrums. Whether I'd thrown a tantrum or not, I was right – Harry should be happy for Ron and Hermione and he still had to give them his blessing for their new roles in Hogwarts society.

Harry gave me a look before offering a tight smile to his Gryffindor comrades. "Right. Go ahead."

"I don't think we'll have to stay there all journey," Hermione amended quickly, I distracted myself from their conversation by searching through my little bag – that was also Circe's carrying case – to grab my prefects badge and pin it to my still-muggle clothing. No one would believe I was prefect unless I wore this to the meeting – even then, they may worry that I'd stolen it. "Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time."

"Ugh," I groaned. "I don't want to do _that_ either."

"Well, I – I might see you later, then." Harry stuttered awkwardly.

"Yeah, definitely." Ron looked like he was about to burst from nerves. It's a pain having to go down there, I'd rather – but we have to – I mean, I'm not enjoying it, I'm not Percy."

"I know you're not," Harry said with a small grin which made Ron beam back. Hermione and Ron turned, slowly to follow and I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Well done, Potter. You're reprieved of detention."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't make me take it back for rudeness..." I smiled. "'Cause I can do that now."

"You're horrible," Harry hissed.

"When you have your friends for an extra day, because they don't realize how _rude _you were, you'll thank me." I shrugged, not needing to say more. Then I caught Hermione's stern glare while she waited for me not ten feet away. She probably thought that if she didn't drag me I wouldn't go with them to the prefect compartment. She's got good instincts like that.

"Well, have to run." By the time I caught up with Hermione she seemed pleased again. Apparently being able to put me in my place made her feel at one with the world – well, whatever tickled her fancy. Walking to the prefect carriage didn't take long, it was right at the front of the train and we hadn't ventured far to say our goodbyes from the windows. When we were pretty much there, Circe circled around my legs until I lifted her up.

"Do you think I can just take Circe with me to do my job?" I asked Ron as he looked into each of the compartments to find out which one was the one we were supposed to head into. "I'll always no when someone's up to no good with her around. Maybe get her to scratch them as a behavioural lesson? Or, I guess if it's a really minor offence I could just give them detention."

"Audrey, you can't do that," Hermione said firmly.

"I don't see why not. It's not like there aren't potions and spells to fix it. Really, it's easier than detention, it takes less time and gets the message across promptly." Though Ron started to hum his approval, Hermione seemed to seethe out her anger.

"That's wrong on so many levels," Hermione frowned.

"Not true, on an individual basis violence can solve virtually any problem." I nodded. "It's as you start getting groups of people and societies copying the method that it gets complicated."

"_How_ are you a prefect?" Hermione asked with a hiss. I shrugged.

"Best Slytherin's got, I'm afraid."

"I'm afraid you're wrong," a voice said from behind me. I didn't need to turn around to see who it was but by instinct, I turned anyway. Looking at the white-blonde hair and arrogant pale features, I was not surprised at all by who I saw. "I am."

And though I did not approve of what he was saying, my eyes slapped down to catch the glint coming off his robes. It was an emerald and silver glint that caught my eye and made me groan out loud.

Draco Malfoy was Slytherin prefect too.

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><p><strong>He's back! Oh, how I have missed him! And you won't believe how what's happening next chapter. If everyone's really nice and leaves me some long messages, I'll get that chapter out early as well!<strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad you liked it, how was your birthday? Eighteen was a good year. As a Canadian it tends to suck because you're only one year away from being legal to drink, but I bought myself a lottery ticket and could sign myself out of school! **

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you told me it was you or else you might not get my thanks! Well, now you know who the Slytherin Prefects are - are you excited? I am. I've already started writing some of their patrols and I promise that it is constantly interesting :) Thank you, as always!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: I think Buckbeak is adorable! One of my friends is terrified of birds too, she almost goes into cardiac arrest when they come toward her. Yeah, I like that Harry is a lot like Lily, even though Snape refuses to acknowledge it. I don't remember, did you read the September 6th, 1991 chapter in Audrey Potter's Prelude? I talk about that throughout the entire chapter, about Audrey's differences and similarities between her parents. Anyway, I hope you liked it :)**

_BlueMirage_**: Thank you for the correction. **

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: He's back, are you happy? Next chapter is just full of Draco as well, it's quite exciting. I love hearing your thoughts - what do you think this year will hold for Audrey? What do you think will happen between her and Umbridge?**

_Ergelina_**: Thank you for the review! I'm so glad that you see her as a real Slytherin, not some knock-off who was put there simply for the ease of a Draco ship. My pet peeve is when people bastardize houses - I figure if you're sorted there you deserve to be there, why make it more complicated than that? I know that the seeing-the-future is a bit overdone, but it actually has it's place...not that I can tell you why yet, it would ruin the story ;)**

_Antigona_**: Snape will always come to Audrey's rescue, I think. I think that Audrey and Harry want their own lives separate from one another and that's the distance. They're very different and want to be seen that way, which I respect. Everyone has someone they feel overshadowed by...Audrey's just not the kind of person to sit and take it. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

_BloodxForxMyxRose_**: I know, Sirius and Snape are my favourites! Maybe Audrey can save them? Guess you'll have to find out ;)**

_TheForrestAgain_**: The Order of the Phoenix was probably my least favourite of all the series, however, now we get lots of Draco so I'm hoping it makes it look up. Besides, Audrey's not one to make this a simple 'Umbridge-rules-all' year, don't you think? As for the idea of an Avengers fic, I have definitely thrown the idea around, but since I am SO in love with the comicbook universe (particularly Marvel) I would never consider it until I was absolutely sure that my story would be worthy of it. I love it too much to ever butcher something so wonderful :)**

_SchadenFreude95_**: I hope they keep their word too, but you know how secretive Dumbledore is...**

_Amira_**: Aw, thank you so much! I love getting reviews so it only seems right to respond to them. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

_lenie954_**: I'm glad you like it, thank you for reviewing :)**

_Novella Vialli_**: I guess you don't need to ask anymore, considering he's back! Excited? You should be...**

_sara253xxx_**: Thank you very much! It is definitely a gamble to keep the romance on stall for so long, but I'm hoping that people appreciate plot and accept that the romance will happen later. Which it will. Very soon ;) **

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: I know that you reviewed many chapters before this one, but thank you for reviewing - especially for continually reviewing even though the chapters have passed!**

_me gusta_**: I'm glad you're enjoying it, hopefully this chapter was exciting. Thank you for reviewing :)**

_Invincible Shadow_**: It's been so long, I've missed you! You know, you're really too kind to me, but it's nice that you think Audrey's a genius. And it's actually surprisingly easy to fit her into the plot - I assumed it would be more difficult, but she just works. Or at least she does in my mind. And you feel like there's something I'm not telling you? There are a ton of things I'm not telling you, of course, you'll have to be a bit more specific...anyway, I've missed you and hope you liked the chapter!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thanks for getting these chapters back, I really had the urge to update. I actually had a Dell before my Toshiba and it literally just started falling apart by the first year. My mom got another Dell (the newer inspiron) and it has held up a year and a half so far. And that sucks about having all the needle marks from the test, did it help at all? Did you find anything you didn't realize you were allergic to? What do you do when you volunteer to help deployed soldiers? The next two chapters are among the favourites I have ever written - I'm so excited for people to see them!**

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><p><strong>Well everyone, exciting times are ahead. Next chapter is super exciting...oh and the chapter after that...and the chapter after that...really, the story just starts rolling again from here. And if you want another chapter remember that you could always bribe me with a <strong>_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	34. Unnecessary Words

**You guys spoil me, you really do, so I decided to spoil you with another chapter that was (of course) edited by the fantastic **_Angel of the Night _**Watchers. Oh, and hint-hint, there's lots of Draco in this one...**

**Enjoy ;)**

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><p>Chapter 33 – Unnecessary Words<p>

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><p>"I'm starving," Ron groaned as he fell into his seat in the compartment where my brother, Ginny, Neville and some blonde behind a <em>Quibbler<em> were sitting. Despite all the left over chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes strewn on the compartment's floor, I had no appetite. Circe, of course, went to taking out one of the chocolate frogs to play with it mercilessly until it would melt between her paws . I was too upset to stop her. How could I do anything _but _mope, how could I have an appetite? How could I think of functioning throughout this year when I knew what I would have to face each meal, each day, every day, without fail...

"Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from every house," Hermione began, shooting me a look as she took a seat beside me. "Boy and girl from each."

"And guess who the other Slytherin prefect is?" Ron asked with a sigh, his head lolled back against the seat and his eyes closed. Harry's eyes found mine, his eyebrows raised.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking down at my prefect badge briefly before shaking his head. Oh that prat better not be getting a sick satisfaction out of his prefect-less position after I'd already taught him a thing or two about friend and sibling appreciation...

"Of course," I mumbled, crossing my arms in my seat. Ron shoved an entire chocolate frog in his mouth with a grunt. "I don't know what Dumbledore's thinking, sticking the two of us together. Not only will we both be abusing the power-"

"Audrey," Hermione warned.

"-but we'll also be at each other's throats the entire time. I think we'll do more damage than good considering we'll get detentions for hexing each other during patrol!"

"That wouldn't be surprising," Ron nodded, grabbing for another chocolate frog. "But at least it'd be entertaining."

"Ronald," Hermione said in the same tone that made Ron and I look at each other and roll our eyes. She was so anal retentive about _everything _all the time.

"Really, the two of them as Slytherin prefects _is _a bad idea," he amended, though I could tell he still stuck by his previous statement. "I thought we were supposed to be role models, not dueling partners."

"Who are Ravenclaw's?" Harry asked, he must have seen the flickering in my eye and knew to change the subject.

"Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil," I answered lowly.

"And Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott for Hufflepuff," Hermione finished.

"Bit of a git, Macmillan," I frowned out toward the rain pattering the glass. It was a light drizzle, but enough to distract me with the weak currents rolling over my window. "I guess he's not as bad as Smith. Clearly the Hufflepuffs don't have many good candidates, do they?"

"Yeah, not since Digg-" Ron silenced, as did the rest of the compartment as they all turned to look at me. I took a few subtle breaths, steeling myself against the painful memories that leaked through the front of my brain. I felt Circe rub her face against my ankle with a purr.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," a quiet, wistful voice stated. We all turned our heads to the blonde behind _the Quibbler _who had been silent until now.

"Yeah, I know I did," Ron blinked, somehow not choking while he spoke around his mouthful of chocolate frog.

"She didn't enjoy it very much," the blonde stated again. "She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded, I don't like dancing very much."

Alright, who the hell is this?

"Introductions, anyone?" I asked vaguely, though the girl didn't respond, she had gone back to reading _The Quibbler _again.

"This is Luna Lovegood," Ginny responded once she had stopped giggling around the knuckles she'd stuck between her teeth. I nodded, not really knowing who 'Luna Lovegood' was besides being a Ravenclaw – thanks to her blue robes – and a wispy voiced loon.

"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often," Ron sighed, checking his watch. "And we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something..."

"You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!" Hermione scolded.

"Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all. Besides, Drea's already admitting she's _excited_ to!"

"It's true," I raised my hand as if to draw the attention onto myself. "Those oafs are getting a week's detention if they block up the hallway – which they will," I looked at her particularly closely knowing how insulted she would be with the further explanation. "It's because they're fat."

"Audrey," Hermione all but whined, turning to Ron when she realized that, like always, she would not convince me to renounce my ways. "Are you really going to descend to Malfoy's level?"

"No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine."

"And you?" Hermione turned on me, I shrugged.

"Honestly, he's so twisted I think we're probably on the same level, he's just off somewhere to the left. So really, I'll be doing people a favour by being the one to punish them instead of him."

"Oh, for heavens sake, you two-"

"I'll make Goyle do lines!" Ron smiled suddenly, kicking me excitedly from across the compartment. "It'll kill him, he hates writing: I – must – not – look – like – a – baboon's – backside..."

It was quite a good impersonation, the lowered voice, slur, and furrowed brow. Perhaps Ron had missed his calling as an actor. As everyone enjoyed the impersonation, I found myself watching as Luna Lovegood kept laughing, almost letting out a scream of enjoyment while she continued boisterously at the joke..._genuinely. _Ronald Weasley was not _that _amusing. The loud laughter woke Hedwig from her peaceful nap and the slap of the magazine falling down her legs and onto the ground made Circe jump up from near my feet and across the seat so she was as far away from the young girl's tones as possible.

"That was funny!" Luna gasped, still making sure to laugh at a decible that made me uncomfortable.

"Are you taking the mickey?" Ron asked with a frown, but Lovegood continued to laugh, holding onto her ribs, her eyes swimming in tears caused from lack of breath.

"Baboon's...backside..." she laughed again, but I was interrupted by my brother reaching out his hand and grabbing the magazine on the ground. I wanted to tell him not to bother, I'd heard from almost reliable sources – or at least as reliable as Slytherin sources could be – that _The Quibbler _was just full of folly and make-believe.

And if a bunch of young witches and wizards going to school in a castle told me that it was make-believe, how could I not believe them?

"Can I have a look at this?" Harry asked, only to have Luna nod, considering she was still trying to catch her breath from her tremendous laughing fit.

As Harry opened it up to some article or other, I got a quick peek at what he was probably looking at. The title page held a number of subtitles that could be found inside that month's issue of the magazine and on the front between _Corruption in the Quidditch League _and _Secrets of the Ancient Ruins Revealed! _was _Sirius Black: Villain or Victim?_ Even I raised my eyebrows after reading it.

"Anything good in there?" Perhaps Ron had read the subtitle as well, because he raised his eyebrow as he asked Harry the question.

"Of course not, _The Quibbler_'s rubbish, everyone knows that." Hermione was more scathing that normal and it made my eyebrows raise. Well, now I was convinced: if Hermione Granger – know it all extraordinaire – believed that it was rubbish, it was most _certainly _worth what would be an entertaining read.

"Excuse me," Luna's voice had hardened, losing the whimsical undertone. "My father's the editor."

"I – oh," Hermione blubbered, her eyes widening while Ron and I fought back our sniggers. "Well, it's got some interesting...I mean, it's quite..."

"I'll have it back, thank you," Luna Lovegood's voice was almost cold when she snatched it away from my brother, turning to a different page and importantly turning the magazine upside down as if that was the final thing she would be contributing to the conversation.

"Well done, Hermione," I looked to the bushy haired girl with a smirk. "You frightened our new friend. Harry?"

Looking over to my brother, I tried to depict with my eyes what the article had said about Sirius with a flicker to the article and back at him. It didn't matter how upset we were with each other, if it was something about Sirius both of us were willing to put anything aside to figure out what was going on. Instead Harry just shook his head, a small smile playing on his face while he slowly mouthed 'rubbish' again.

Fair enough.

As we were trying our silent conversation about the article, the door to the compartment opened. I regretted looking up to see who had joined us as soon as I saw the smirk. _He was here._ I let out a long, exaggerated groan.

"What?" Harry hissed to Malfoy at the same time I ended my groan with a sentence.

"Is this how it's going to be _all year_?"

"Manners, you two, particularly you Potty...or I'll give you a detention," Malfoy stuck his nose up at the group of us, his eyes trained on Harry. I happened to know from earlier conversation today that Malfoy was still _very _upset about the way we all parted last year. "You see, I – unlike you – have been made a prefect, which means that I – unlike you – have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "but you – unlike me – are a git, so get out and leave us alone."

"I'm actually here for your sister," his eyes flashed to me for a moment. "Prefect things, you know. Actually, you wouldn't know, would you? I'm curious, Potter...how does it feel being second-best to the _other_ Potter?"

My face flushed red and I felt like I was on fire. I had heard him say something of the sort last year which had warranted this same reaction, but it was still just as much of a shock. Who would have thought that Dragonballs over there would consider me _the _Potter. I mean, sure, to him I was _the _Potter that was always around and _the _Potter who challenged him on a daily basis – but to be _the _Potter of his daily life, taunting or otherwise?

It was, again, almost flattering.

Then again, he'd tried to kiss me in second year and would apparently try and succeed again at some point. Clearly he would always be a git.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione hissed sharply.

"I seem to have touched a nerve," Malfoy smirked. "Well, just watch yourself Potter, because I'll be _dogging _your footsteps in case you step out of line."

I blinked. Everyone in the compartment seemed to let the words sink in with a deep breath before I stood up as Hermione screamed an order for him to leave. I stood up, pushing my hands out in front of me warningly.

"Let's patrol, you and I," I said darkly, shooting a look to Crabbe and Goyle who stood behind Malfoy with their usual dumbfounded obedience. Malfoy shot them a look and nodded, making the two idiots bumble away as I picked up Circe's carrier and got my school robes out of the conjoined compartment that was built in. May as well change now.

Malfoy, sending another snigger and glare to my brother, left the compartment. He was still wary of the hands that I had stretched out in front of me, though. Apparently he well remembered what I could do with them, considering he still looked a bit frightened and mighty upset by the memories that must be playing in his head from the _last _time he'd dared to taunt us when we were all together in a compartment.

"Always saving the ass," Malfoy sighed dramatically. "You're too nice to him."

"He's my brother, you git." I looked at him darkly, my eyes flickering to two girls whose heads were sticking out of the compartment furiously. "What was with what you said before I pushed you out?"

"Get back in your compartment before I give you a detention!" Malfoy yelled at the girls. I could not tell whether I was insulted or amused as their eyes widened and they retreated into their compartment with a slammed door. He smirked, continuing the conversation as if he hadn't interrupted it. "Which part was that?"

"The..." I tried not to sound to obvious. "The, er – stalking his footsteps? No, marking his footsteps, or..."

"Dogging?" He raised his eyebrows tauntingly at me. "Come on, you're supposedly the _smart _Potter."

"Smart enough to know your hair's mighty greasy," I commented, playing coy. "Oh, or is that leftover slime?"

Malfoy gave me a thick glower, stopping at the compartment that was only a car away from ours before opening the door and entering, taking his time to sit down.

"I thought we were doing rounds," I sighed.

"I never said anything of the sort," he argued. At my glare he rolled his eyes. "Oh come off it, it's not like you would have done them anyway. Some people wanted to say hello to you."

And some people seemed like they did.

The compartment was filled with old faces of people I did not want to see. Crabbe and Goyle, as always were squished into sitting in Malfoy's compartment – likely so he could feel important. Pugfaced Parkinson was also squished to the wall, keeping the seat beside her open for Malfoy's attention. Someone who had been my friend, or who I had thought was my friend, sat closest to the door, opposite of Malfoy. He looked nervous and was balling his hand into a fist at his knee – a long known sign of his anxiety.

"Theodore," I greeted emotionlessly.

"Audrey," he said, close to the same way, but with a desperation I refused to voice. I turned away from the sound to the dark, angry eyes facing me.

"Parkinson," I greeted, holding in my smirk. "You look well."

It was a lie. Pansy Parkinson looked even uglier compared to the year before. Her hair washed her out now that it was a darker black and had been cut many inches shorter than I had ever seen it. She was chubbier this year, wearing more caked on makeup that did nothing at all for her looks and she had a god awful sneer splitting her face that I knew was meant directly for me.

"I am, no thanks to you."

"What are you on about?" Malfoy asked, but I couldn't help but notice how his eyes stayed on Parkinson. Oh no, they hadn't gotten together again over the summer, had they? I don't think I would be able to stand if the two of them decided that they would date again considering they were incapable of keeping it out of the common room.

"Potter jinxed my trunk and put a load of traps in it," she hissed. I could no longer conceal my smile.

"She didn't," Theodore frowned half-heartedly...he knew quite confidently that I most likely had.

"Oh, no, I did," I assured. "It's her own fault that she kept packing her trunk and taking objects she knew weren't hers. She wouldn't know how to take care of the tricks she took – had she just given them back to me, like someone respectable would have, she wouldn't have had that problem."

Theodore sighed loudly, leaning back further into his seat while Pansy's face started to redden.

"I had to cut my hair!"

"And dye it, looks like," I acknowledged. "That's a horrible colour on you by the way."

"You can't say that!" She stood up, her fist clenched as her other pointed to her hair. "This is your fault!"

"A simple mistake of trusting the wrong person with my valuables," I said honestly. "Now sit down before I give you a detention for stealing _and _pissing me off."

Parkinson, absolutely livid, was pulled back down by Malfoy, who mollified her by whispering in her ear. She giggled, a freakishly high and girly sound that I hoped I would never make. And suddenly her eyes flickered to me...tauntingly? No, they wouldn't be taunting because there was not even an inch of me that actually cared to know what perverted things Malfoy was saying to her. Disgusting.

"Sit down," Malfoy finally said. "Make yourself comfortable."

"As for rounds?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

"Do you _really _want to do them?" He asked. When I didn't answer his smirk widened. "Would you go do them if I stayed here?" Obviously not. "Then we may as well enjoy the train ride."

"I think I'll go walk aimlessly before I'll join in your conversation," I shot a look towards Theodore, who still looked hurt that I was ignoring him.

"Well, we need to figure out rounds anyway," Malfoy waved off. "So go change into your robes but don't be long or stop to chat. I need you back here so we can figure out a schedule where we have to see as little of each other as possible."

"Draco, shouldn't we-"

"With pleasure," I gritted out, cutting Theodore off and turning on my heel to leave the compartment. I made sure to slam the door behind me. Walking toward the girls lavatory, I couldn't help but let my mind race. I couldn't believe that there was a part of me that nearly felt _guilty _when I saw how put out Theodore looked – but I had to hold strong. I had to remember what he did – because he had been _wrong_. He had left me after that second task – where I saved his arse and admitted that he was my closest friend – and then he'd left me for _Daphne_. Then, when I tried defending us he had taken her side and made me look like a fool. Alright, maybe he didn't necessarily take her side, but he certainly hadn't taken mine. And when I had lost everything during the third task, he had not been there to help me recover. Negating the letters that I never responded to this summer, Theodore had made no attempt and hence no progress with winning my friendship back.

I wish it would have taken longer to change into my uniform. The longer that would have taken the less time I would have had to spend pretending that I was happy with whoever I was about to go sit with. I wasn't happy with my brother and his friends, I wasn't happy sitting with the Slytherins. It seemed there was really no place for me to go without wanting to hex someone into oblivion. I wish I was back with Tonks and Sirius, back in Mrs Black's old room and venting to my godfather while I helped him take care of Buckbeak.

"Hello, Potter," I turned to the compartment to my left, the one I had been walking by, to see the tall form of Adam Montague hanging out of the doorway. He had grown even larger this year and his voice – and expression – showed a crazed maliciousness that I knew could only have spawned after our last encounter where I may or may not have melted his pants to his genitals...

"Montague," I nodded back stiffly, just ready for a fight. "Good summer?"

"Not the best," his eyes narrowed. "Had a few health issues, you see. It really interfered with my personal plans for a few weeks in there."

"Unfortunate," I said strongly, "I hope the girls were all willing participants this time?"

"Does it matter?" He asked with a scoff. "Besides, there's really only one girl I want right now...and I don't quite care whether or not she is willing."

The threat was clear and I was almost surprised by the shiver that slithered its way down my spine. Montague was no threat to me. Not only was he not so great of a wizard so I could always see him coming, but I had people and teachers on my side as well as Magnuse that could stop him cold.

So, why would his threat make me nervous?

Could it be the insane glimmer behind his eyes? Quite possibly.

"I really hope you have a better plan than shoving this one in an alcove," I threatened back. "Girls like that put up fights."

"That's what I hope for," Montague's eyebrow lifted, the smile which stretched across his face split it into an insane puzzle of plans that I could not piece together. His hand made its way to my shoulder as he leaned in toward me. I clutched my hands into fists at my side – there was no need to waste energy on him: he wouldn't try anything. Not yet. Not on a train full of people who could hear me scream, not when I was completely in control of my Magnuse – for all he knew, at least – and most certainly not when I was not fighting against him.

"Get away from me," I warned.

"You know, maybe I'll melt hot wax on you. Or maybe – maybe I'll burn you so you can feel a little bit of what you did to me last year, Audrey," he hissed into my ear. "But you'd best know that I always get what I want. And I want you to _scream_."

"Why?" I dared to look at him, even though he was so close. "Do you want me to sound like _you_ did?"

Not the best response, but it would have to do. Montague looked about ready to say something else – probably along the lines of another threat considering I'd not only insulted his manhood but also his pain – when his eyes flickered over my shoulder and he quickly pulled away, straightening his robes.

"Hello, gentlemen," he said poshly. "How were your summers?"

"Fine," the familiar drawl was darker than normal. Looking over my shoulder I saw that Malfoy and Theodore had come to track me down, I must have taken too long for their tastes. Theodore looked between Montague and I in something resembling disgust – but as it turned into a darker and more violent expression, I realized that he was to put two and two together. Malfoy didn't show any emotion, I couldn't tell if he had figured out what had happened, but his eyes were trained intensely on the seventh year in front of me. "Is there a problem here, Montague?"

"Not at all," he said in the same clipped tone. "Just telling Audrey here all the things I'm looking forward to in my final year."

"I'm sure," Malfoy's tone dripped of disdain. Ah, he did know, then. "Go change, Adam. The train will be arriving soon."

"Of course...He won't always be around to save you," Montague's fiery eyes flickered to me after he'd whispered and then took his time to straighten up again. "See you around, Potter."

As he moved to grab his robes from his compartment and left for the boys toilets, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Was I actually _intimidated _by Adam Montague's threat? It wasn't like I couldn't handle myself and it wasn't like I couldn't kick his arse if he tried so much as stealing my fork at dinner...but in my head, all I could think about was how I'd never been threatened like that before. My life always seemed to be on the line, but I was never threatened to be _used _first. It was a new kind of worry, a sick sinking of my stomach. In my head, the famed Slytherin identifiers kept flickering like a dangerous fire: _cunning, ambitious, sly, determined..._

"All right?" Theodore asked after we had all watched Montague disappear down the next car in silence.

"Fine," I tried to sound strong, I don't know how well it came off. "Why are you two here?"

"Draco's idea," Theodore's throat cleared. My eyes flickered to Malfoy who made a dramatic roll of his own.

"Thought you'd gone on rounds without me and were trying to make me look bad already," he said simply, as if he didn't know what he and Theodore had just interrupted. I hummed doubtfully, my eyes searching for answers between the two before I shook my head.

"How long until we get there?"

"Not long," Theodore said. "Malfoy, did you bring the frog?"

"Here," he shoved a box into my hand, giving me a chocolate frog that made my cheeks burn. I loved chocolate frogs – not eating them, but watching them, just like with any other animal, and Malfoy had always indulged in my fascination of them. He must have taunted me behind my back about it, which fed his own methods behind always saving one for me. Still, he'd given me one the first night at Hogwarts and he'd sent me large collectors editions of them after I was petrified by the basilisk. Or I thought he had, I guess it could have been anyone.

"Thanks," I muttered, pocketing the frog before I led the way back to the compartment. There was no part of me that wanted to sit with them, but I figured that if I wanted to come anything close to staying away from Montague, there would at least be power in numbers if I did.

* * *

><p>"Where's Hagrid?" I asked no one in particular because I knew it was likely that besides Theodore, no one really cared. Still, all the heads in the group of Slytherins turned this way and that, listening for the booming voice of the giant, only to find that he was nowhere in sight. Which, by his size, clearly meant he was not here.<p>

"Good riddance," Malfoy muttered, leading the group of us over toward the carriages and pushing some first and second years out of the way to do it. I wasn't going to berate him for it. We were prefects now. We could do things like that without serious repercussions and I think everyone expected the abuse of these badges the first few days – possibly weeks. As I started to scan for my brother – because I would rather ride with Gryffindors than these _particular _Slytherins – I spotted his crew through the crowd. They were a few carriages in front of us and I saw that my brother had stopped and was staring at the thestral that would be pulling him along. I watched the exchange with a frown...my brother had never been able to see thestrals before. I remember having tried to explain them to him in third year – our first actual carriage ride – which was the first time we had seen them, only to find out that I was the only one in the group of us who had any idea they were there...but now, after the night in the graveyard...

I threw myself into the carriage, ripping my eyes off of the thestrals in front of us and not caring that I was wedged with Pansy on one side and Malfoy directly across from me. They probably hadn't expected me to sit with them either, but I did not want to have to be the one who explained to Harry what he was seeing. We bumped around in our carriage as it was never a smooth ride, my knees hitting against Malfoy and Goyle's who sat across from me and all of us glaring at each other while Theodore tried to placate the tension with small talk. When we were finally stopped outside of the castle doors, I was quick to jump out of the carriage to breathe clean air and brush off my robes as if their germs were catching.

The Entrance Hall was as magnificent as ever and I found myself taking a deep breath, finally feeling like I was where I belonged. As much as I loathed classes, or most classes, Hogwarts was the most safe and happy place I had ever been. And even with the memories swimming through my brain of what had happened last June, it was still nice to be home.

The Great Hall was not as spectacular as normal for these first years. They would not get to see that the sky was illuminated to look like the stars because sadly the stars outside were covered by clouds, so rightfully these stars had been as well. Still the high ceilings, excitable ghosts, and candles floating in midair should be enough to keep the first years awed just like I had been.

The Great Hall was full of dark glares toward me as I walked to my seat at the Slytherin table. Theodore sat close on my right hand side and for the first time – in all my years at Hogwarts – Crabbe and Goyle managed to unlatch from each other and sit across the table from one another...Crabbe sitting down beside me. I don't think he noticed how much closer he was to me than I wanted thanks to half of it being his fat rolling out from his robes.

"What is going on," I turned to Theodore and hissed, watching as Daphne came and sat across from me next to Pansy, Draco, and Goyle. My accusing eyes seemed to make Theodore nervous, but he shrugged and refused to tell me about this suspicious seating arrangement.

I looked around at the rest of the table watching to see that my dorm mates: Lillian, Alya, and Tracey, were huddled with Millicent and whispering. They cast glances towards me that made me feel something near self conscious. Adrien Pucey and Blaise Zabini sat beside them, looked away when I met their eyes. I had always had a close, taunting relationship with Blaise. I turned to Theodore again, my expression more baffled than angry now.

"What's going on?" I asked again. He looked at me nervously, threw a glance across the table and shook his head, silently saying he would tell me later. We were silent as we watched the first years file into the hall, all scared and fascinated and jittery. Malfoy sneered.

"We better get a good crop this year. I want these ones to be even _more _afraid of me," he mumbled to Pansy and Goyle who took the time to laugh – or in Parkinson's case, giggle toxically – before they all turned back to the group of kids.

McGonagall placed down the stool and the sorting hat, as per tradition, and everyone settled down as the seam on the tattered hat splayed itself open and began to sing. But the song that came out of his mouth was not the one I had heard the past years I'd been here, instead it was longer and his voice less strong and more desperate than I'd ever heard the infuriating material be.

"In times of old when I was new  
>And Hogwarts barely started<br>The founders of our noble school  
>Thought never to be parted:<br>United by a common goal,  
>They had the selfsame yearning,<br>To make the world's best magic school  
>And pass along their learning.<br>'Together we will build and teach!'  
>The four good friends decided<br>And never did they dream that they  
>Might someday be divided,<br>For were there such friends anywhere  
>As Slytherin and Gryffindor?<br>Unless it was the second pair  
>Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?<br>So how could it have gone so wrong?  
>How could such friendships fail?<br>Why, I was there and so can tell  
>The whole sad, sorry tale.<br>Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those  
>Whose ancestry is purest.'<br>Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose  
>Intelligence is surest.'<br>Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those  
>With brave deeds to their name, '<br>Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,  
>And treat them just the same. '<br>These differences caused little strife  
>When first they came to light,<br>For each of the four founders had  
>A house in which they might<br>Take only those they wanted, so,  
>For instance, Slytherin<br>Took only pure-blood wizards  
>Of great cunning, just like him,<br>And only those of sharpest mind  
>Were taught by Ravenclaw<br>While the bravest and the boldest  
>Went to daring Gryffindor.<br>Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,  
>And taught them all she knew,<br>Thus the houses and their founders  
>Retained friendships firm and true.<br>So Hogwarts worked in harmony  
>For several happy years,<br>But then discord crept among us  
>Feeding on our faults and fears.<br>The houses that, like pillars four,  
>Had once held up our school,<br>Now turned upon each other and,  
>Divided, sought to rule.<br>And for a while it seemed the school  
>Must meet an early end,<br>What with duelling and with fighting  
>And the clash of friend on friend<br>And at last there came a morning  
>When old Slytherin departed<br>And though the fighting then died out  
>He left us quite downhearted.<br>And never since the founders four  
>Were whittled down to three<br>Have the houses been united  
>As they once were meant to be.<br>And now the Sorting Hat is here  
>And you all know the score:<br>I sort you into houses  
>Because that is what I'm for,<br>But this year I'll go further,  
>Listen closely to my song:<br>Though condemned I am to split you  
>Still I worry that it's wrong,<br>Though I must fulfill my duty  
>And must quarter every year<br>Still I wonder whether Sorting  
>May not bring the end I fear.<br>Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
>The warning history shows,<br>For our Hogwarts is in danger  
>From external, deadly foes<br>And we must unite inside her  
>Or we'll crumble from within<br>I have told you, I have warned you...  
>Let the Sorting now begin."<p>

The song died out and many of us didn't know how to respond, we clapped our hands slowly, trying to determine what it was we had just heard. Had the sorting hat just tried to _warn _us? As in warn us that our unity was important right now – because I had news for that sack of polyester and felt: _he _separated us and because of it we would never get along. Not even my brother and I, my _twin _and I, could get along and it was partly thanks to the separation of our houses.

I had once condemned the hat for putting me here, for putting my brother in Gryffindor...now I just wanted to condemn him for trying to warn us it was _our _fault for being divided.

"Little morbid, don't you think?" Daphne turned to me, as if we were still friends, with a strange look on her face. Her eyes skirted to the side – looking toward Alya, Lillian, and Tracey again – before I glared and turned back up to the sorting.

If I was going to forgive _anyone_, Daphne was the last on my list.

The sorting was not a painless event this year. The group of first years was not particularly large, but the sorting hat seemed to be taking extra time with all of his decisions, eventually sending eleven first years into Slytherin's grasp. It seemed like all of us higher years were waiting for the feast with baited breath, now that the last girl had been sorted into Hufflepuff, Dumbledore would let us eat and then give some kind of speech before we were allowed to leave. As per every year.

"To our newcomers welcome!" Dumbledore's voice rang above the crowd, as always easily drawing silence over his students. The man certainly knew how to control a crowd. "To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There was a laugh from most other tables, but ours, save for a few of the first years, who did not yet know that Slytherins were not supposed to be on the Headmaster's side. They would learn. The giggles turned into appreciative gasps as the table burst to life – food spilling off the plates, broths boiling in their pots, steam rippling from the dishes. Hogwarts had outdone itself this year...or maybe I was just starved.

I took the time to fill my plate, though I knew I wouldn't eat half of what I put on it. While I was filling up my goblet with pumpkin juice, I felt something warm crash against my face. It didn't hurt, but it had been whipped hard and I felt, rather than saw, what it was as the flakey mashed potato that dripped off of my cheek and down onto the table.

My eyes burned as they turned toward the side which had thrown the mashed potatoes. Millicent Bulstrode giggled behind her one hand while the other held an incriminating spoon with potato still stuck to it. My eyes bore into her so badly, that she actually stuttered in her laughter, her eyes widening when she realized the punishment to come.

"Detention, Bulstrode!" I bellowed down the table at her. "For a week...with _McGonagall._"

"But-" her eyes searching this way and that until they landed on Malfoy, who sat in front of me. "Draco, don't let her give me a detention with that woman! I just did what everyone wanted t-"

"You heard her, Bulstrode. Detention." It was simple and it made my eyebrows raise toward Malfoy, who did nothing more than raise his eyebrows back at me, daring me to question him in front of all these people. I sat back down while I had to peel off all the residue on my cheek. When it was gone and I knew I could be more intimidating again, I turned to Theodore.

"What _the hell _is going on?"

"In the common room," Theodore whispered. "Now eat. You look awful."

Hearing that from never-says-something-rude Theodore meant that I must look a right sight worse than awful and without another word, I took to relaxing my muscles, which were all stressed thanks to Bulstrode. I made myself sit down and ingest the amazing food in front of me, yet somehow it still tasted like rubber. Dinner went without anymore talk from the group around me or myself. No one really wanted to say anything after Bulstrode had gotten put in detention, but it almost felt like people were vibrating to get some word or other in...I just didn't know what it was about. Had my pranks on Parkinson _really _been that insulting? I thought it was quite funny.

By the time the plates were cleared and I had ingested as much food as I could stomach, everyone was groaning and talking about bed. I wasn't quite excited to go to bed – being away from the idea of living underneath the black lake for the past two months had left me vulnerable to the fear of my own dormitory again. And even then, the skulls and cold stone did nothing to make me miss the ambiance of the dungeons.

"Well," Dumbledore's voice silenced the complaints of tight belts and drooping eyes. "Now that you are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students...and a few of the older students ought to know by now, too."

I rolled my eyes at the sharp look from everyone around me.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time-" it was not a stretch to imagine him counting and probably not at all shocking to think it was an accurate amount. "-to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door."

Well, they were going all out this year.

"We have two changes in staffing this year," Dumbledore continued. "We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons..." the Slytherins let out cheers about being rid of Hagrid while I melted in my seat. Great, this would be a boring year in that class, too. "We are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

My eyes widened on the purple wrapped sausage that sat in the seat. My brain whirred while the memories plagued me, memories of things that hadn't even happened yet. I was right, it was _her._ Like a vivid dream that I knew I had not had yet...this was the woman from my vision last June, the woman who would later deem me a traitor, the woman whose locket would later burn me. Looking close, I could even see the chain of the locket that was under her robes. I could see it cutting into her extra chins. A hand overlapped mine on the table, which let me realize I was clutching the wooden table dangerously.

"Audrey?"

I ignored Theodore. Watching as the frog woman – _Umbridge – _interrupted Professor Dumbledore with a loud and forced _'hem, hem'_ that dropped jaws all around the Hall. She was short – for I hadn't noticed the difference between her sitting in her chair and when she strode forward...was she...was she intending to make a _speech_?

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." Umbridge's voice was unnaturally high and sweet. I wondered how close to a troll she sounded when she wasn't putting on the posh accent she hadn't grown up with or the airiness of a woman much more refined. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

I doubt anyone looked happy. I know I didn't.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends! _Hem, hem_," hearing the sound again made it grate on my nerves even worse. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them for ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

She left a pause here as if we were supposed to agree with her, but I could do nothing but stare in horror. The Ministry. The Ministry had finally gotten it's foot into Hogwarts...and something told me it had something to do with my brother.

"_Hem, hem_...Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation...because some changes will be for the better," oh no. That was not good. That sounded like imminent changes. "While others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

Prohibited. Changes. Abandoned. Accountability...this woman was going to ruin my life.

Dumbledore clapped for her as she sat. The staff slowly followed, though they were not as enthusiastic. Some students also clapped, particularly my dorm mates and Millicent Bulstrode, who was whispering over to them and Pansy excitedly.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," it was the first time I'd realized that Dumbledore was a _wonderful_ liar. "Now, as I was saying..." Dumbledore continued about Quidditch and regular extracurricular activities that I had no care about. Instead, I turned to my plate, picking at the dessert I had not touched. It looked fantastic, too...

"Wake up, Potter," Malfoy growled, kicking me under the table. I had not been asleep, just not paying attention. "Let's rally the dwarfs and get to the common room so I can get on with _my _extracurricular activities."

The wink he sent to Parkinson was not missed and I couldn't help myself from retching, unable to stop myself from seeing her blow a kiss to him and unable to stand from the table as if to run away from the thoughts plaguing my mind – the memories of what had not yet turned to memory...that Malfoy and I would...that we'd...

"Let's go, cretins!" I yelled to the first years, going toward their end to the table and watching all of the wide, terrified eyes. "You all listen to me, you hear? I'm showing you the way to the common room once and _only _once. I will tell you the password. You have to memorize it all now because I don't plan on sticking around to show you again," I saw one girl turn to what must have been her friend to whisper to her with a pout. "Shut it, you. People in this house will eat you alive if you act like that: no one here likes babies," I hissed to her. "If you wanted to be coddled, you should have asked to be in Hufflepuff."

"Are you Audrey Potter?" a little boy asked.

"I'm your worst nightmare," I assured him. "Now follow me before I leave you here for the night! Hopefully the creatures that clean the great hall when the lights go out aren't hungry, themselves..."

It was enough to get the First Years to follow me. Malfoy was nowhere in sight, so I lead them all the way to the dungeons on my own – not that there weren't other Slytherins around me, but none offered to help. It wasn't surprising, but it was frustrating.

"Don't say the password to the portrait," I told the kids when we had reached the stone wall. "Augustus is testy and he'll just pretend like he's changed it on you. You have to say it to the wall itself, which will move for you. The password is _Ancient_...check the boards every now and then to see when it changes – and it _will _change – because I don't want to have to keep telling you. Got it?"

The kids nodded nervously while the wall opened for them to go in.

"Where are our dormitories?"

"Girls to the right, boys to the left. Your things will be in them already. Now get out of my way," I pushed past the boy who had asked me my name_, _and made my way to my own Dormitory. I just wanted to get Circe and go to sleep. People were acting strange and I didn't want to have to be in charge of the brats. Malfoy could do that when he camped out with Parkinson and snogged on the couches.

When I got into my dormitory, Circe was hissing. The girls in my dormitory – Daphne, Alya, Tracey, and Lillian – were all together in a combined cacophony of argument. I couldn't tell who was saying what – but I had a distinct idea as to what it was about. On my bed, where Circe was pawing at the group and hissing, was a torn green comforter and blood red writing. The girls quieted as I took in what was written on my bed...something that made my heart stutter and my face burn.

So, this is why I was so heavily guarded today. This was why Theodore and Daphne had even gotten Malfoy on their side – everyone thought ill of me after the third task. Now that Voldemort was back, whether people believed it or not, and now that Cedric was dead I was a liar. I ruined the illusion everyone had built up that the world we lived in was safe, that the world was recovering from You-Know-Who's reign...

I had broken something when I defended my brother. I had broken their sense of safety. I had ruined the lies that everyone lived by, so this is what they thought of me, now. These word on my covers, the word mirrored on my trunk...

_SLAG_

"I see," I found myself saying, clenching my jaw to keep from screaming. I didn't know how I wanted to react what was written on my bed – I am a slag, am I? I'm a whore? A common slut who sold herself to get ahead in life? This is what the lot of them had been saving me from today – Malfoy, Daphne, Theodore? They knew that this was how people felt about me.

"Who wrote it?" I asked, my voice not venomous like I knew it should have been. I felt like I should be furious, but for the most part I think I was just in shock. It was like I had _expected_ some kind of punishment for last year, for the challenges, for my alliances, for my feelings toward...toward...

"I did," Alya said defiantly. She tried to look more confident than she was. "Someone had to let you know what people were saying behind your back."

"How kind," I said flatly.

"You finally chose a man and he ended dead, Potter," I did not so much as flinch at the words, though I felt something inside of me shatter. "Just like your parents, just like Quirrel...it was only a matter of time before people learn to stay away from you."

"Not before they learn to stay away from you," I forced the closest thing I could manage to a mischievous grin, though I'm sure it looks as broken as whatever had shattered inside of me. "I can promise you that."

Alya doesn't respond to the threat, but she processes it enough to go to her bed and make a point of keeping her wand with her. Lightly touching the shiny new badge on my robes, I decide to take to the hallways of Hogwarts – giving her detention would be too simple and giving her detention would draw attention to why she needed one. She wouldn't get to spread that message around. Not like she planned. Luckily with my prefect badge pinned to my robes, there was no rules to stop me from prowling the corridors when I could not sleep. Tonight was one of the nights I was sure I'd be unable.

In the common room, Theodore sat and waited for me. He must have known what kind of things I would hear in the dormitories, because he doesn't ask me why I came back down and instead he gives a sad nod of understanding. He shoves his hands in his pockets, hating confrontation, but hating voids in our friendship even more.

"Didn't go well, I take it?"

"Not for my bedsheets," I acknowledge. "And not for her either."

Theodore does not berate me as he normally would have, instead he nods again. "Going to walk, then?"

"Yes."

"May I join?"

I didn't feel the need to respond to him, because I doubted he really wanted to come anyway. There was no conversation that could happen here and I had no room in me to forgive anyone – not after what I realized I would have to be fighting this year...friends, family, _and _enemies, like the man who could see me through my visions. I left the common room quickly, feeling almost as if I can't breathe beneath the water-dormitories, feeling like I need to escape from the realizations of how hard this year may really be. As I left the common room Theodore was quick to fall into step with me.

And I didn't stop him.

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><p><strong>Yay, Theo and she are reunited! And Draco...lots of Draco...but why so much? Any thoughts? To the fantastic reviewers of last chapter:<strong>

_Princesslinleigh_**: Believe it or not I'm working on writing a book - it's a lot harder than writing fanfiction, not because it's harder to imagine but rather because it's hard not to get constant feedback on each chapter. In my mind, Snape always has personality and I was really exciting when I realized just how well Audrey had the potential to fit into the story and how much it would then include him. And yes, lots of Draco! How'd I do?**

_WulfLuvr22_**: I'd marry Draco too. Then I would have all his children and he could name them whatever weird names he wanted...except one. I reserve the right to name one.**

_Just one randomgirl_**: Thank you very much! I'm glad that you like it and that it keeps you excited, hopefully this chapter did just the same :)**

_Ella710_**: I was rather choked up when I wrote Cedric and Harry's body. In the books, Harry comes in to see Mrs Weasley going through the body of her family, including himself, but I thought that since it was supposed to be Audrey's fear (and I wanted to unravel her emotional stability a bit more) it would be more prudent to shove Cedric in there, too. As for the idea that this would make a good tragedy, I personally think that the entirety of the Harry Potter series IS a tragedy - the wars, the deaths, the genocide, I think that wherever Audrey lands (on which side and on whichever side of life or death) it will ruin her. That's all I can really say without giving too much away...but know that I do have a finite plan for the end of this story. And it will be...intense.  
>I will never see Sirius Black as a villain. Even if he were to come up and murder Audrey, I'd still be like "man, there had to have been a good reason!" and even though it would crush me, I'd know that Sirius Black only means well. As for Dumbledore, I'm kind of making him a villain in this piece. Well, maybe not so much a villain, but he is not the beloved archetype that he is with Harry's point of view. Audrey has a distaste for him that I don't think will be gotten rid of with everything that's about to happen in this series.<br>Snape is always something to look forward to, considering he's the REAL hero of the Harry Potter series (in my opinion) considering it is his love for Lily (and hence Harry) that saves them all at the end. He really did make the ultimate sacrifice for a love long since deceased, but not dwindled. Malfoy will have some sort of redemption, eventually, or else I know that Audrey would just hex his ass to Timbuktu, but I'm still not going to make it easy for either one. And when they do finally admit they like each other...well, you probably won't expect it.  
>As for Daphne, she hasn't forgiven her yet. And realistically I have not forgiven her either, so she's not going to be around like she was before for a while. Then again, she will still be around, as you saw in this chapter. They WERE friends and she DOES feel bad. Isn't it crazy that I know someone like this? Sigh. So glad she doesn't read fanfiction or I may be sued by how obvious it is that Daphne is based after her. I love you and your long reviews...have I ever mentioned that? <strong>

_TheForrestAgain_**: Yes, I couldn't imagine that Fred and George would have taken her prefect-hood any other way than what they did. I'd like to think that Audrey has some moments where she's like her mother, but really I think her whole battle is trying to become her own person, which is difficult when you're constantly being portrayed as someone else (like in the Prophet and such). Hopefully she can find herself and realize she should be with Draco, too!**

_love4anime_**: I try to make Audrey as realistic as possible, so it's nice to know she seems like she fits in so well. It took a lot of planning to make it so she was fitting in here without a huge seam between worlds, so thank you!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Audrey and Draco as prefects ARE a disaster waiting to happen: look at their first day! Maybe they will be closer, maybe they'll even...dare I say...love each other? Thanks for reviewing!**

_Qee15th_**: I love the twins too! Thanks for the review!**

_Novella Vialli_**: I knew you'd be happy! Look how much Draco in this one, too!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Growing out of allergies is good! I grew out of a few I was born with. Apparently your system of cells goes through a complete change every 7 years, so you can either lose allergies or gain them with the new body of cells. Cool, eh? What you do for the soldiers is so nice! You're such a gem :)**

_Kate_**: Thank you! A few people have told me of these notorious happy-dances upon chapter updates, I just wish I could see them! Yes, I made it to 405 last chapter, and now I'm even higher at 421! It's really exciting, I never expected it to be so popular!**

_jezzabylle_**: Dreaco is starting sooner than you would think and I'm not going to deny for a second that I am crazy excited for it! I'm so glad that you're liking the story so far and that you have gotten so into it, it's a real honour. Thank you :)**

_sara253xxx_**: He is back! And better than ever...or at least, I think he is. I don't hold anything against you for liking the story more when he's in it. Even I like the story more when he's in it! Thanks for reviewing!**

_S_**: Here's the next chapter for you!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Oh yeah, I took full advantage of signing myself out of school. All my teachers knew, but I was like "you can't argue it now!" and would practically cackle on my way out. It's just what happens when you become of age...you misuse power at first. Much like Audrey with her prefect duties, actually. Hm, maybe that was a subconscious send-back to my own school days? Anyway, Draco is back and the story can start rolling again now that Umbridge has been introduced...hope you enjoyed!**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Yes, ferret-boy is back and as sexy as ever. I'm sure the die-hard Draco or even Dreaco fans got excited with the Montague-Draco confrontation. Oh, I can't tell you how fun that was to write! Well, not the Montague part - he's a creep. As for your specific idea on Audrey and the unravelling of her psyche, I don't know if people necessarily think that she's HAPPY per se, but it's quite clear that Audrey is certain they don't give a damn either way. And I think that Audrey digs herself into a little bit of a hole because she particularly tries to keep people from noticing, because as she's said before, that's a form of weakness to her and "she likes being the bad guy". So the real question is: will Audrey be able to stay "the bad guy" without turning into the REAL bad guy, or will she decide that she doesn't like toeing the line anymore and pick a side?**

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><p><strong>YAY! Draco's back, Theo's back, they're back at Hogwarts, there's drama already, Montague's a creep, Umbridge is approaching, and Audrey is about to lose her shit...so, predictions anyone?<strong>

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**


	35. Delusions

**Hello everyone! Before I give you this chapter, I really want to thank you for all the awesome reviews I recieved for the last chapter - it was absolutely amazing so thank you, thank you, thank you! As always, the fantastic **_Angel of the Night Watchers_** edited this, as always, so give her a round of applause. Also be sure to look out for more updates this week!**

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><p>Chapter 34 – Delusions<p>

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><p>By the time I woke the next morning, Alya had wisely disappeared from the dormitory. Daphne had been sure to wait up for me so we could head down to breakfast, but I did not make any indication that I knew she was there – as unusually kind as the gesture was, it didn't fix what she had broken. I had nothing to prove to Daphne and I had nothing there to outweigh the bad she had done the year before. And yes, even though Theodore and I had walked for hours in comfortable silence last night it was Daphne who had caused the rift between our trio in the first place. And I was not ready to forgive.<p>

I allowed the annoying first years to trail me all the way down to the Great Hall, even though I had sworn I wouldn't, simply because I wasn't in the mood to ream them out and try to disappear where they wouldn't notice me. That was a lot of effort for children who would end up asking Theodore and have him lead them down without complaint. Nott followed me at a closer distance than the first years dared to, and he was sure to sit exactly to my right at the Slytherin table. We were all isolated into similar groups from the night before this morning, which meant that I was sat far too close to Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy. When Daphne thought to join our little breakfast club she seemed to keep her culture in check and sat closer to Lillian and Tracey. To her merit, the three of them were quite blatantly glaring at Millicent, Pansy and Alya – all of which were fiendishly whispering about me and feeling no subtlety toward the idea of it.

"Mr Malfoy...Mr Goyle...Mr Nott...Miss Potter..." I had not even noticed that Snape had come round to hand out our class schedules until it was put on top of my plate – which had nothing on it. I looked up to Snape, watching his eyes bore through the page he'd laid down and then flicker back to me again.

_Eat__._

I could not tell whether or not it was Legilimens or instinct that told me Snape was ordering me around – as always – but I moved the schedule off the plate and placed a piece of toast on it with a glare, taking my sweet time to put on raspberry jam that I didn't necessarily enjoy. I liked strawberry, but that required reaching over to Malfoy, who had used it last.

"We have Divination first, Audrey," Nott sighed, turning his schedule over to me as if I couldn't read my own. "But at least we have double Potions after it – then History of Magic and double Defence Against the Dark Arts...we're split between Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs today."

"Splendid," I sighed, picking at the burnt crust on my piece of toast.

"Oh, get over yourself and eat it," Malfoy hissed from near my unattained strawberry jam. "You're so bloody annoying, Potter. We have prefect things to do, you know, and your moping isn't going to help either one of us. Drink your pumpkin juice, eat your toast – you look bloody _dreadful – _and then plan your revenge like you always do. You're angst is a bore."

Then Malfoy stood up and left the table.

"Er..." I didn't know where I was supposed to look right now, but my raised eyebrows and curious eyes naturally followed him and watched him retreat out of the hall. The hypocrite had left his breakfast mocking me with the strawberried toast and our apparent 'prefect things' seemed not to have been as important as he'd preached.

"He's in a foul mood today," Tracey – who was always quite adamant on saying things exactly as they were – looked nearly as surprised as I did.

"What's gotten his wand in a knot?" I turn to Theodore and Tracey, who had already gone back to their breakfast instead of watching him leave as I had. "I understand all the gossipers and you being all 'defensive friend power' and all, but what's eating him?"

"Er..." Nott sounded exactly as I had. "He's been having a bit of a rough summer, you see."

"A rough summer?" I responded with a frown. "Did his involve dementors too?"

"No," Daphne's face turned red. "He's been having a very hard time with the media, Audrey. You should know how particularly vicious they can be."

"So I've heard," I narrowed my eyes at her. "What have they been saying, then?"

"Well after all the allegations about the Triwizard tournament, Lucius Malfoy gave a statement about how safe the Wizarding World is and how much of a liar your brother is," Lillian leaned forward to explain. I rolled my eyes.

"Please give me a moment to reign in my shock."

"Well exactly, it was just a typical press release at first, so it was all fine," Lillian flickered her eyes over to Tracey, who sighed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, it was _fine _until the _Prophet _started to come after Draco for his opinions on your part in the tournament and what you had told him happened that night." She said strongly. Her eyes were very focused on me, but I couldn't really understand why.

"What I told him?" I repeated with a scoff. "Why would anyone question him?"

"Audrey," Tracey swallowed thickly, suddenly looking a little anxious. I assumed she feared my reaction to whatever was about to be said as Malfoy had left already. "The entire Wizarding World thinks your dating, love. After Skeeter's articles about Malfoy and your love being fought by your brother you became somewhat of a hit...the paper loves you, makes you the hero-" yes, I could remember that Hermione had said something of the sort when we were in Grimmauld Place. "And they think that you and Draco are star-crossed lovers or something. He's gotten a lot of grief."

"Alright then why is he making it worse by trying to keep people like Alya away?"

"You're kidding, aren't you? She's blind," Tracey turned to speak to the others. "You know, Potter, sometimes I wonder why you don't just take your brothers glasses and keep them."

"You lost me when you insulted my vision," I said blatantly, blinking my eyes slowly to show my distaste for the riddles. I don't understand why people weren't just straightforward. I'd always thought that Tracey and I at least had that in common.

"He has to work with you all the time," Lillian cleared her throat. "He doesn't want to be associated with someone who is a social pariah. He has a reputation to uphold."

"Ah, yes," I couldn't keep the venom from my tone. "Let's go drill this star-crossed lovers thing into the ground, shall we?"

Everyone took last bites of their breakfasts and sips from their goblets. I took one large bite of my overcooked and cold toast just to appease Snape, who I somehow knew would be watching for something to be gone from my plate. I brushed my hands off against themselves and left the Great Hall, making sure to push into Alya and watch as her goblet spilled over Bulstrode's skirt.

Climbing up to the Divination classroom made me as tense as it always did. I could barely stand the sweltering heat from the dimly lit room and as always it gave me an instant headache. The smell of the herbs she burnt and the atmosphere of the room had done me in since the first lesson we had ever had in Third Year, but it seemed to make me feel even more nauseous than usual. Even Blaise – who had noticeably distanced himself from me last night – gave me a sympathetic frown, he'd been partnered up with me a lot during third year and it seemed he still remembered my unfortunate class side-effects well.

Considering that I hadn't been having visions, I could assume that the headache building up and throbbing against my skull was a sign that the future was backing up in my system. It felt sickening, like I was going to vomit up excessive visions caused from all the pain.

"Good-day, class," Professor Trelawney trilled as she entered the attic-like room. She gave me a brief glance, as if noticing that I was in pain, before she continued as if she didn't care. "Welcome back. I have been following your fortunes most carefully this holiday and am glad to know that I was right in seeing you all back this year..."

Liar. You can't even see through your spectacles, much less into our futures.

"The Dream Oracle, by Inigo Imago is something we shall begin our study on so that we can prepare you for your OWL. Use the copy on the table in front of you so that you can help with the dissection of your dreams. If you have The Seeing Eye, this will matter quite little-" I rolled my eyes. It was ridiculous that I was the only one with any kind of Sight here, and I probably had one of the worst grades in the class. Even if I _did _do my homework, that is. "Please turn to the introduction to read Imago's thoughts on dream interpretation. When you are finished, divide into pairs and use The Dream Oracle to interpret the most recent dreams you can remember. Off you go."

Behind me a gaggle of Hufflepuff girls were whispering. The pounding in my head made it both easier and harder to hear what they were saying, but it was quite clear that they were whispering about me – what I could make out of it were all terrible whispers that included the words 'murder', 'Cho', and 'Cedric'.

My stomach clenched painfully.

"Alright," Nott pushed the book between us, his eyes darting to the side where the Hufflepuffs sat before they caught my eyes again, levelly. "Let's just do this and get today over with, shall we? My dream last night was about being locked in a dungeon with unicorns stabbing at my stomach. Do you remember yours?"

_"Did you hear what Rivers did to her bed? Called her a slag!"_

"Audrey?" Theodore asked tersely, his eyes flickering beside us again. "Come on, Audrey, ignore them."

"_She is a slag, Susan. She broke up Cho and Cedric and then he died – she's bad luck. I can't even believe I'm sitting so close to her. But you know, it wouldn't surprise me if she killed Diggory herself..."_

"Audrey," Theodore said loudly, snapping my attention back to him. "What did you dream last night?"

"I dreamed about Cedric," I whispered quietly, then raised my voice. "I dreamed about when Cedric was killed and about how no one respected him in death and shut the bloody hell up!"

The class around me silenced. The Hufflepuffs to the side stopped their whispering.

"Miss Potter," Professor Trelawney had lost the soft tone to her voice that was replaced with a cold and nervous stutter. "Our dreams should stay quietly between partners."

"Why?" I asked with a frown, turning in my chair to face the Hufflepuffs who looked away nervously while my eyes practically shot daggers at their backs. "It was clear that some of them were curious."

No one whispered for the rest of the class.

By the time we had made it out of the attic room, I couldn't help but keep my head clutched between my hands tightly. It was a throbbing pain, the future pushing against my subconscious, and it made it hard to stagger my way to the dungeons. I hadn't had this type of headache in years now, and it was just as debilitating now as they had been in second year. I was so disoriented by my head that for the first time since I could remember, Nott made me keep hold of the railings on the moving staircases – which all seemed to move beneath my feet as if they knew I couldn't concentrate today of all days.

The dungeons were much more comfortable when I had gotten down there. The lack of windows and natural light was a help in itself, but added with the cooler temperatures to battle the thick and dense heat of the attic Divination room the dungeons had a kind of soothing quality that I had not needed comfort from in years.

"Settle down," Snape ordered coolly as he let us into the dungeons and closed the door behind us. We filed into our seats – me sitting between Theodore and Harry, who I had not seen since yesterday on the train. He looked at me carefully.

"Headache?"

"Closer to migraine," I groaned. "I'll be all right."

"Have you talked to Dumbledore about it?" Harry lowered his voice. "You know, your lack of visions?"

"I'm sure he knows," I replied dryly, closing my eyes to avoid the lie. Luckily he seemed to take it as a sign of the headache and continued on himself.

"How's it in your dorms?" Harry asked, his eyes shifting nervously across the room toward my ex-boyfriend, Seamus Finnegan. I sighed in understanding.

"It's bad for you too, is it?" He just nodded, considering Snape was starting to speak and neither of us wanted punishment – me for different reasons than him.

"Before we begin today's lesson," Snape began, moving toward his desk so that he could leer at us all. "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some in this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your OWL, or suffer my..." he paused dramatically, glaring holes through Neville Longbottom, "displeasure."

"Luckily some of you are his favourites, ain't that right, Drea?" Ron leaned over to me quietly. I just rolled my eyes, having heard this argument from Ron every year so far. I was not safe because I was Snape's favourite. I was safe because I was the best in the school. Though being Snape's favourite was probably due to that fact.

"After this year, of course," Snape continued, "many of you will cease studying with me. I take only the very best into my NEWT Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye." I briefly wondered who did want to be in this class and who would drop it like a bomb once they had the option. I wonder if Harry would quit the class simply because of he and Snape's mutual hatred. Potions was so important, particularly for being an auror as he'd said he wanted... "But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell. So, whether or not you are intending to attempt NEWT, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students."

Oh, then today would be easy.

"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation," his eyes flickered to me, watching me while I rubbed my forehead impatiently. I wanted the pain to stop, even though I knew it wouldn't be so easy. I shook my head at him, trying to explain that my headache was not caused by any certain level of agitation. "Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."

Snape flicked his wand to put everything we would need into place. "The ingredients and method are on the blackboard, you will find everything you need in the store cupboard. You have an hour and a half...start."

I groaned loudly, checking quickly to see if Hermione had sat at this table with us. She hadn't. Good, I wouldn't be guilt-tripped for my negotiations. "Alright, here's the deal. I'm in pain and I refuse to do work today, so I'll tell you lot exactly what to do so long as I don't have to do it, you hear me?"

Harry and Ron nodded enthusiastically, glad for any kind of help in this class. Theodore responded by walking up to the front, so he could gather our ingredients.

This potion was not a simple potion by any means – even for me, it was something that I had to spend a lot of time to work out in my head. There were so many ingredients that it was hard to find the short cuts and the meshes that I used to pattern out a potion, but even ill I was sure that there was no concoction too difficult for me.

I kept my eyes closed for nearly the entirety of the lesson, unless I was checking to make sure that they had cut things properly or were using proper amounts of ingredients. It was easy to hear what was happening as Theodore spoke softly and Harry and Ron whispered so that they wouldn't be caught by Snape. I took no precautions in trying to hide my rule-breaking, if anyone was going to get me in trouble for having a migraine, I would punish them in some way befit the punishment they'd given me.

At one point, I thought that I may have gotten the potion on me because Harry was too quick to switch directions from stirring the potion clockwise and then counter-clockwise, but having it splattered on me at this point had no effect. Still, I was almost worrying myself with this headache – normally, I would not have panicked at all, considering I would have been in my right mind enough to know better.

How the bloody hell was I going to survive the rest of the day?

"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion," called Snape, with ten minutes left to go in the class. Over to my right, Ron and Harry's potion had a dark smoke rising from it – too thick to even be close to right. Too little hellebore, maybe none at all...I couldn't concentrate for long enough to tell which it was.

Harry should have listened to me better – as he always should, but even I couldn't be snippy with him today. Headache or not, my mind was back on the red words written across my green comforter and I had no doubts that his thoughts were elsewhere for a similar reason.

Nott and my potion, luckily, was doing nearly fine. The vapour was a little darker than it would have been under my own hand, but Theodore had done very well for such a tricky potion that he had never tried. I was sure to tell him that I was impressed. He just hadn't cut up his basil small enough – a simple slip of his hand could have been the culprit, but I knew it would still work. It just may not last as long as the perfect brew.

"Potter," I winced at the sound, Snape was right at our table and his voice was louder than normal – or maybe I was just in that much pain. He must have noticed because his voice noticeably quieted to a threatening growl. "What is this supposed to be?"

"The Draught of Peace," Harry mumbled, knowing quite well that it was not. I gave a glare and an exhausted sigh at the two of them. Neither paid any heed to it while Snape was being egged on by the other Slytherins' snickers.

"Tell me, Potter, can you read?"

Malfoy laughed, I would have pitched my glare at him were I able to tell where he had laughed from.

"Yes, I can," Harry whispered darkly.

"He can," I agreed with a groan, not in the mood for their antics today. "But I was reading it for him so he would help me handle my half of the ingredients. It's my fault. I'm rubbish in my state."

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter," Snape was not pleased with my instruction. I glanced over toward the chalkboard, not knowing off by heart the instructions as I only worked by memory – only to find that I could not read it from where I sat.

"I can't sir."

"It says to add powdered moonstone, stir three times counter-clockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes then add two drops of syrup of hellebore."

I watched Harry's face relax in realization. Ah, it seems he had forgotten _all _of his hellebore.

"Did you think it's alright to let your sister try to do the work in her state without a visit to the infirmary? Instead, you tried to get her to help you and could she tell you anything at all that was on that third line? No. So, Potter, did you _do_ everything on the third line?"

"No," Harry whispered quietly. I turned to him, trying to show how sorry I felt but his eyes were glaring at Snape with a passion either rarely showed. Ah, a great start to the year.

"I beg your pardon?" Snape repeated.

"No," I said quickly. "Because I told him not to add the hellebore."

This was a blatant lie, but I had already started trying to think circles around the fog hovering inside my mind. If I could just convince Snape that I was using one of my 'short cuts' I could get Harry out of this mess, and possibly survive the first day of classes without my favourite teacher ragging on my twin as well. I just couldn't imagine having Harry put into detention this early on – not when I had to talk to him and maybe find ways so that he could sneak out and walk with me during the night patrols that I refused to spend with Malfoy. I already felt like my own house was deserting me, I didn't want to feel like my own brother wasn't an option.

Think, Audrey, think. The hellebore was used to counteract the powdered moonstone and keep it from turning into a solid, the process of it turning into a solid was because of the spider venom...but if you added an extra half ounce of spider venom, it would burn right through the hellebore so I could say...no, I couldn't say anything like that because Snape would be upset that he had added extra venom. What else would counteract the balance of the hellebore syrup and the moonstone?

"Daisies," I said suddenly, my answer coming out louder than I had meant it to. "I told him that he had to add...er...four daisy petals into the potion at the very end as it simmered and he would get the potion right."

Snape's eyes narrowed on me, evidently he did not like that my brother had just been saved. I only wished that I could have lied a little bit more efficiently so that this wouldn't have happened at all. Maybe if I had been able to think more on my feet Snape wouldn't have realized that I had been lying to him at all.

"Your new urge to help people is upsettingly noble, Potter," Snape sneered at me. "It will help with your prefect duties, I'm sure. This, however, is class time where your duties are not needed. And because your duties are not needed, you should be aware that helping Mr Potter – who is not your partner – is not allowed. He should have done the work himself. _Evanesce_."

Harry and Ron's cauldron cleared itself, not a drip of potion left in the pewter. Snape walked away, explaining how we had to hand in vials of our potions so he could test and grade us. Ron and Harry would have nothing to hand in, now.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, gripping my head again. "If I would have thought it through faster I probably would have been able to be more convincing."

"It's fine," Harry sighed. "He hates me anyway, I should have known something like this would happen."

"He's not that bad," I tried to defend. "He's under a lot of stress, Harry, remember h-"

"Don't make excuses for him, Audrey," Harry growled, shoving his empty cauldron away from him so he could clean up his cutting board. "Just like we aren't making excuses for Seamus – he thinks we're liars, you know. Thinks that we're looking for attention."

"Seamus has always been an idiot," I hissed, sending a glare across the room to him. "You just didn't believe me soon enough."

"No kidding," Harry sighed, a small smile falling across his lips for a moment before it disappeared. I thanked Theodore when he went up to hand in our potion without complaint. I watched Snape's eyes flicker to me when the vial was handed in – I could almost hear his voice say 'what the hell is wrong with you?' considering it was one of the least correct potions I'd ever brewed. Snape watched me carefully for a moment, but I couldn't have told someone what it was he was looking for.

"Homework," Snape barked out, his eyes turning to my brother. "Twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and it's uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday."

Easy.

"He's doing it because of my headache," I sighed, looking at Harry importantly. "So in return, I'll make it easier for you. Write six inches on powdered moonstone and write six inches on solid moonstone – which is used to help headaches and clear magical thought. The clearer the moonstone, the more impact it has, you hear me? For instance: I'm about to go ask for one now."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ron asked with a frown. "You look like you're going to – oh, did you take one of Fred and George's Puking Pastels?"

"No, just legitimate nausea stemmed from a legitimate headache. But thank you, Ronald," I mumbled, walking up to Snape's desk and waiting while people moved past me so they could clean their stations. Without saying a word, Snape pulled out a drawer in his desk and handed me a full moonstone – completely clear save for a small line of fog that sliced across it.

"It may not work as well as some in the past, but it was the clearest I have in stock," he explained simply, turning his eyes from me.

"How did you know?" I asked, pushing the moonstone against my forehead, sighing at the tingling sensation that spread through me and turned me numb. That he had known to have one ready ahead of time, however, was suspicious.

"You haven't been having visions again and I recall that you had Divination today," he said simply. "It was an educated guess."

I felt the urge to say thank you, but he had turned away to examine the vials of the Draught of Peace that he had just been handed and I was still stung by his treatment of my brother. I pulled my rucksack farther up on my shoulder while I frowned.

"I wish you'd take the time to see he's not that bad, because he's not," I said to him again. As I have said every year, every time he treats Harry unfairly and we have time to speak. "Harry is having a rough time too. We're complete outcasts after last year, we've lost half our friends – the least you could do is make _this _part of our lives painless." I sighed. "Give him some of the marks he deserves. Take them from me if you have to. I'm sick of having to quell arguments between you two. I have bigger fish to fry and considering the last time I saw you, you should know that."

* * *

><p>I skipped lunch after potions so that I could sit in an alcove in the dungeons and keep the moonstone attached to my head. It was helping the headache, but no moonstone had ever been able to take them away and this one was no exception. With the nausea that accompanied the visionless-headache, there was no reason to try and ingest any food. It was like I was back in second year again, back when I didn't know who I was or what I was doing with my untapped potential.<p>

History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs was exhausting, but at least I didn't really have to pay attention. Thanks to my outburst in Divination, all the Hufflepuffs seemed to have decided only to talk about me when I wasn't around to contradict them or defend myself. I could deal with that better than I could deal with my temper. Talk of the giant wars was definitely something that sated any of the anger I felt. It was so boring all it made me want to do is sleep and when the moonstone I had pressed against my skull clattered loudly upon the desk and made me jerk, I realized that for a few minutes I probably had.

The walk to Defence Against the Dark Arts was quiet as I confided in Theodore what I knew about the Umbridge woman, though I didn't really tell him about the locket. Something deep within me kept me in line, saying that the locket was not a piece of information I should share. Instead, I explained about how she would call me a traitor and how I would be punished for it, how I would accuse her of being a snake and how terrible she would end up being for my future – and something told me for every moment until that future-day. It made both of us walk a little more cautiously through the doors and find seats behind some Gryffindors and in the shadow that kept me out of the light from the windows.

"Well, good afternoon!" Professor Umbridge looked particularly pudgy today, smothered in a splash of white robes with little kitten pink heels that clicked and demanded attention. Her hair was in a large beehive which made her look as if she were a Stepford wife that would never be married.

"Looks like a piece of work," Theodore whispered beside me. I smiled. Theodore's little comments were comforting to have back. He may not like confrontation, but that did not mean that he was inable to form opinions of his own. They were usually comical.

"Tut, tut," Professor Umbridge pretended to pout. "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'," I turned an incredulous stare toward Nott, who pursed his lips. "One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

I did not respond, though the rest of the class was quick to chant back to her.

"There, now," her voice sounded sweet – too sweet, like it had been dipped in cyanide: something sweet that you didn't know would kill you. It made the hair on my arms rise defensively. She was bad news – I don't know if it was memory of my vision telling me so, but this woman was _dangerous. _I took the moonstone from my temple, praying for a vision to tell me whether or not I was right. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Normally I would have been all for the idea of wands away, but I was in no condition to read or to write. Still, I went through the motions and got out my book, quill, parchment and stashed my Augurey feather and Ash wand into my rucksack. By the time I looked up the words _Defence Against the Dark Arts: A Return to Basic Principles _was scrawled along the board.

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" That was quite an understatement: A (quite literal) two-faced murder in first year, a famous idiot who didn't know a basilisk from a bat in second year, a werewolf who was the best teacher yet in third, and of course the polyjuiced impostor who was out to kill my brother and I last year. No. It wasn't disrupted at all. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

The blackboard was tapped by her short, squat wand and the board erased and rewrote itself to read:

_Course Aims:_

_1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

_2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used_

_3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

I did not write this down considering how irrelevant it seemed. I know what the idea behind learning defensive magic is: it's to defend oneself. The idea that I needed to write down what that was in detail seemed redundant. I tried to bring forth an image to my head instead – something of the future, something to explain why I would be a traitor and what this woman would do to make me become one...but nothing rushed to answer me.

It was linked, I knew it. Everything I had seen was linked. _Somehow._

"Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?" the toad asked. I sadly nodded in the affirmative, suddenly wishing I hadn't let Mrs Weasley go to the trouble for my course books. She did not seem pleased with her response. "I think we'll try that again. When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, 'yes, Professor Umbridge' or 'no, Professor Umbridge'. So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

I am not a follower and I do not follow orders.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," was chanted by the room and I couldn't help but think it sounded like a cult following. Like a drone of emotionless classmates that were brainwashed into doing her bidding...a shiver ran up my spine and my head ring painfully.

"Good!" She was far too cheerful for it to be real. "I should like you to turn to page five and read 'Chapter One, Basics for Beginners'. There will be no need to talk."

I am not a follower and I do _not _follow orders.

But even if I was going to spite her and disobey, the ruffling of pages were her cue to go sit at her desk and watch us as we read. I did not take the time to do so, instead I kept my book closed and pressed my moonstone back to my temple. If I was not going to have a vision then I wasn't going to put myself through this pain. I think I would have to start skirting Divination until I was able to have visions again and release the pressure against my skull.

"Miss Potter," the woman's voice chimed. I sighed as I looked up at her. "I believe that I said to put other devices away and start reading your textbook."

"I would, Professor," I said with as false a sweetness at her. "But I am currently having a problem with my sight and I cannot read."

"Then perhaps you should go to the infirmary," she said with false sweetness.

"I have a moonstone that will ease the pain as much as any potion," I explained with false sweetness again. "Besides, I would never want to miss the experience of your first day, professor."

She perked, a grin spreading across her wide face. Theodore kicked me under the table, warning me that my sarcasm may not register well with the woman but as I looked at her, I saw that she was actually _pleased _by my response...did Professor Umbridge not understand sarcasm? Did Professor Umbridge possibly believe that I was excited for her lesson? There was no way she really believed it. No way.

"Then sit there quietly, Miss Potter. I'm sure someone will share notes with you when you're feeling well enough."

Yes. She _really_ did.

No one spoke while they read, which was a relief that almost made me take back my thoughts on the toad sitting in her chair. Every now and then she would throw me a dramatic and sympathetic glance – and each time my sarcasm could not hold back throwing her a false, dramatically fake look of gratitude in return. She seemed pleased with my reactions toward her.

Hermione Granger, however, she did not seemed pleased with. The girl had not opened her book either and instead held her hand straight into the air for a good twenty minutes. Instead of responding to her, Umbridge was finding other things to do – including be 'kind' to me and some form of paperwork. Still, Hermione sat in her seat for minutes while people watched her and waited for some sort of acknowledgment from the teacher.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she pretended to be shocked that Hermione had her hand in the air, though it had been there for half an hour by that point.

"Not about the chapter, no."

"Well, we're reading just now," I could not help but bristle at the condescension in her tone. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims," Hermione was confident and not going to be swayed. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

"And your name is?"

"Hermione Granger."

A look flashed in Umbridges eyes that I could not ignore. It burnt of understanding and dislike...well, it seemed that someone had already warned her about Hermione Granger.

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully," she smiled, a fake smile with small and nubby teeth.

"Well, I don't," Hermione was too strong to be distracted by something as juvenile as ignorance. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."

I did not need to look back at the board to see if Hermione was right. If Hermione was saying it, then she _was _right.

"Using defensive spells?" She repeated, sounding nearly shocked before she tittered out a laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"Not using magic?" Theodore whispered to me just as Ron repeated the words aloud for Umbridge to hear. She tried to hide the sourness in her gaze.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr..."

"Weasley," Ron shoved his hand into the air almost violently.

But Professor Umbridge decided not to answer him at all. Harry and Hermione raised their hands and I found myself raising mine as well. Professor Umbridges eyes flew over the class before they landed on me – she did not as kind as before. Now she was suspicious.

"Yes, Miss Potter?"

"What about for our OWLs?" I asked seriously. "Obviously you don't think we need to use magic in the classroom, but surely we'll have to use them when we take our exams in June."

"And you will be able to do them just fine with the appropriate amount of mental study," she smiled. "But a good question, Miss Potter, thank you."

I did not mean for it to be a good question at all, so I raised my hand again. "But Professor, I am not the only student here who has problems performing magic with her wand – what about those of us who naturally fall behind?"

"I have a lot of faith that you will not, Miss Potter."

Though she did not seem upset with me she turned her back on me, as if blocking out the idea that I would ask anymore debatable questions. She did not want to fight me...Umbridge...Umbridge _liked _me. It was a strange realization that made my world spin a bit and forced me to hit the moonstone back to my temple so the world would stay still.

How was that possible? How was it possible that Umbridge would like me now when however long from now I would be wrenching a locket off her fat neck and she would be screaming that I was a traitor? Was the vision wrong, or just very outdated?

Had I somehow changed the future already?

No, impossible. Everyone at the Order meeting had said that it was ridiculous – the notion that I changed the future after I had already seen it. But it was true, wasn't it? I _had _changed the future. I _had _ignored the vision to go to Mrs Figgs and I had answered all the questions by what I had seen earlier on before the incident in August. So could I have changed it? Could have I changed what Umbridge thought of me without meaning to?

Hermione was beaten down by Umbridge's cool answers quickly, but it was not long before my brother needed to fall back into his heroic-mode once again.

"What use is that?" he asked loudly. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a-"

"Hand, Mr Potter!"

Harry's hand raised again, but he did not get picked. Instead one of the many other people who had raised their hands did – each and everyone of them were Gryffindors who looked absolutely resolute in hating her.

"And your name is?"

"Dean Thomas," Dean reported with a frown. Still, Umbridge tried to play nice.

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it? If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free." I could almost see her starting to bubble under her white and pink covers, I could see her beginning to sizzle at the disobedience the class was showing toward her, the rudeness, the questioning.

"I repeat, do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"Yes," I said loudly, raising my hand as I did. I tried to keep my face straight though I could tell that it was scrunched up and I was blinking more often than I would have normally. I didn't want to show any weakness right now, but my headache was an animal scratching inside my mind. I hid it as best I could while the entire class looked toward me with their eyebrows raised. I was the only Slytherin standing up for our right to use magic as we learn it, and I was clearly the only one allowed to speak without my hand raised.

"But Miss Potter, why would you think such a thing?"

"Because we're teenagers," I said simply. "House rivalries – particularly between Slytherins and Gryffindors are at an all time high. The bullies are picking on the bullied, the strong on the weak, and I know I have been hexed, jinxed and curse more than once in a classroom-"

"The Gryffindors should know better," she frowned. "You should not attack Miss Potter in the classr-"

"It wasn't a Gryffindor," I said sternly. "That was just an example. It was acutally a fellow Slytherin and it happens all the time. It happens in the halls, in the dorms-" my eyes slid toward Alya threateningly. "And everyone does it...magic is for using, isn't it? I fully expect to be attacked in this classroom and every other space within this castle and I would like to be able to defend myself when that happens."

Even though my argument wasn't what it should have been – wasn't what my brother was obviously itching to say about what was really out there in our new world, but it got my point across.

"If any students decide to take that kind of action against you, Miss Potter, or any other student I would suggest reporting them, particularly now that you are a prefect." Or maybe my point wasn't across at all. "I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed – not to mention extremely dangerous half-breeds."

"Half-breeds?" I responded, my face reddening.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," Dean hissed, "he was the best we ever-"

"She does not just mean him," I whispered, throwing a dark look to Theodore. "She means people like _me_."

"Halfbloods?" Theodore was incredulous, blocking out the rest of Umbridge's speech again. "You can't be serious, she's an educator, she can't just-"

"And Snape can't discriminate against the Gryffindors...but he does," I say very seriously, my mind throbbing with an overload of information – some I could see and some that was still restricted to my conscious efforts. "My vision was warning me of this, I just know it. I'm a traitor because I'm in Slytherin and I will end up siding with a muggleborn. I just know it."

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you," Umbridge continued sternly.

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" I was proud of Dean, he was really coming out of his shell and taking control. "Mind you, we still learned loads."

"Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas!" She was almost singing now, trying to keep herself calm. "Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?"

"Parvati Patil," her hand had now shot up. "Audrey is right. Isn't there a practical bit in our Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL? You really won't let us practice?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions."

"_Some of us_ will be able to perform the spells," I heard a snort from behind me. Two tables back Bulstrode, Parkinson and Alya all snickered and pointed at me. My chest burned as if I had heartburn – I would show them just what spells I _could _perform...

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" Harry asked loudly, fist in the air.

Professor Umbridge was not pleased, but her calm look didn't quiver to show her anger at all. Only her clenched jaw and her deep breathing was my tip off.

"This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world."

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting for us out there?" Harry asked again. I buried my head in my hands, tempted to plug my ears against what I knew was coming.

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter. Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" But Harry as on a hero's mission again, I could hear it in his voice. Please don't make this worse for me, Harry. Not with Alya already siding with Pansy...please don't bring _it_ up.

"Hmm, let's think...maybe...Lord Voldemort?"

He just couldn't resist, could he?

The class rippled with winces and gasps. Neville fell off his stool and Theodore slapped his hand to his forehead, almost as frustrated as I was. Umbridge, however, did not move. She was staring at him so emotionlessly that it was shocking and if it weren't for the tiny lift of her lip – I would not have realized just how malicious she really was.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter." The class calmed again, looking between the two carefully, while Umbridge walked closer toward all of us. "Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead-"

"He wasn't dead, but yeah, he's returned!"

"Harry, stop," I said sternly, Sirius' words of caution were ringing through my ears. I glared over at my brother, trying to tell him, trying to warn him to listen to what we were told, but all he did was turn his darker glare back at me. It was almost as if he thought I was betraying him.

"Listen to your sister, Mr Potter. You have already lost your house ten points, do not make matters worse for yourself," her voice was a hiss. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It is _not_ a lie. I saw him, I fought him! And Audrey saw him too!"

My eyes glared into my brothers, more dangerously this time. I was about to speak up, say something – _anything _to get the attention off of me, but under the table Theodore kicked my shin. I bit my tongue to silence myself, clutching the seat beneath me.

"Detention, Mr Potter! Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office," she turned to send me a sad smile. "I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners'."

Harry stood. "So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?"

My chest squeezed against itself. I felt like I suddenly couldn't breathe and I was now quite certain that I would vomit. It was like all the air around me was full of lead and it had infected my lungs when I tried gasping. At some point, between the gasps of the students around me and the glares between both Umbridge and Harry, I had stood up as well. The class didn't know who to look at: Harry, Umbridge, or myself. By Harry's uneven shuddering, I could tell that I too was shaking with rage.

"Shut up, Harry." I seethed.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," Umbridge said weightedly, her teeth clenched.

"It was murder," Harry argued. "Voldemort killed him and you know it. Everyone knows it, they just won't admit it. But I will. Audrey will. Audrey saw it too – tell them Audrey, tell them how you tried to warn him, tell them how you tried to stop us from touching the cup..."

I screamed, unable to stop my own actions as I pitched the moonstone at my brother's head and watched it shatter against the wall behind him. He had ducked and managed to avoid it, but the words had still been said. He couldn't duck out of those. Harry and I glared at each other, it was dark and filled with electricity that crackled in the tension of the room. I could students around us shiver as if the room had dropped twenty degrees, I could feel everyone's eyes on us as they held their breath. Maybe it had dropped temperature, because suddenly my fingers felt numb.

Harry had ruined it all. Not only was he getting us into trouble after we were told to keep a low profile – and going around classes and shouting that Voldemort had returned was certainly not a low profile. He had dragged me into the thick of it. He had dragged _Cedric _into the thick of it and belched my pain out for everyone to hear, for everyone to hate me for too: that I could have stopped him. That I could have _saved _him.

It was quite clear from our glares that I radiated anger and revenge. But him? To my brother, I was a _traitor_.

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><p><strong>Ooo! Twists and turns, people, twists and turns! What did everyone think? What does everyone predict? I'd love to hear your thoughts! To my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_Princesslinleigh_**: The book is a sci-fi book, it's pretty complicated...like most of my plots are, ha ha! If it does get on the book racks, I'll be sure to give you the title! As for this, there is tons of Draco from here on out - and I try to keep him as in-character as possible, it's just a crime not to - so if your heart swelled for the last chapter it's only going to continue growing like the Grinch's ;)**

_jezzabylle_**: Draco is definitely one of my favourite characters as well, he's so complicated that I can't help but want to peel off all the layers and know what he's really like. Draco will be in character as much as possible. If he's not in character I may as well just write the story about someone else, you know? Thanks for reviewing!**

_SchadenFreude95_**: Yes, I noticed that I was switchign between past and present, thanks for noticing and I'm sorry if it bothered you! One of my very own stories is written in first person present tense and at the time I wrote it I was writing both chapters in the same day, switching between them when I found inspiration. Sorry about that!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Ah, as long as your grades don't drop and all that, I think that it's good you're experiencing the world. It just a part of growing up - you know; excessive drinking, partying, meeting new people, embarrassing yourself at karaoke...if this is your recent schedule: I wouldn't worry! The Dreaco fluff will be coming soon, I promise! And do you really think that Audrey will go on living without revenge on those girls? Thanks for the review ;)**

_Apple_**: I also think that Pansy is repulsive, but I can't just write her out of the original books and I wouldn't even if I could - she is a great rival for Audrey in all ways (save intellectually) and she will constantly spice things up during Audrey's school years...so sadly, she has to stay. Montague is really creepy - and we haven't even seen the worst of him yet! I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Rainy2000_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it and hopefully you were just as excited for this chapter as you were for the last. And a fellow Canadian! I wouldn't believe how most of my readers who are Canadian like to let me know and you wouldn't believe how few of us there actually are! **

_WulfLuvr22_**: I completely agree. But don't worry about Alya, she'll be the least of Audrey's problems soon enough...**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked it - hopefully this chapter was just as entertaining. Thank you, as always :)**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Montague IS a creepy ass. So what did you think about the Umbridge/Audrey confrontation?**

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: Thank you for reviewing chapter 17, 18, and 19! I hope you're still enjoying when you reach this chapter!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Yes, Draco is back. It's so nice! He's such a joy to write...okay, maybe not a joy, per se, but he definitely makes it fun. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's not a douche...but maybe, just maybe, he's a little bit nicer to a certain redheaded heroine! **

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Aw, your favourite? Thank you! I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Ella710_**: I would never tell a lie about loving long reviews. They just seem a lot more personal, so never worry about making it too long, just acknowledge it means I have more to chat about with you in this section ;)  
>Their relationship is going to be built on complication and undeniable attraction...which we're only just beginning to see. But you'd be surprised how quickly things like this can just happen...Audrey definitely will be, too. And between you and I, Malfoy DEFINITELY knew that he was saving Audrey from Montague...or at least he had gone with the intention of saving her from SOMEONE or other.<br>Theo and Audrey are back as friends! She has a good friend-base now, even if it is more complicated, but at least she has someone now. And Daphne will keep trying to get back in her good graces, whether she'll succeed? Meh, I'm letting my fingers roam over the keys and I'll see what happens.  
>Yes, the story is a tragedy to me and to be honest I have two endings in mind for the story. Either way the same thing will be accomplished and the ending will pretty much remain the same...I just can't decide who will live and who will die. I've taken it upon myself to be able to save up to two people in this story - because I figure that during the battle like Harry saved many and Hermione saved many (etc) that Audrey would have influence over a life or two. I just can't decide what will happen because of that - because for all the good Audrey will do there will obviously have to be a balance of bad to counteract the things I change. Hence the two very different (and yet ending up the same) endings.<br>I also agree that in the move the love story between Snape and Lily did overshadow the story between Lily and James, though I still do think that Snape is the most heroic (and as you said tragic) of the story because HIS love is the love constantly overshadowed. Because he still loved her after all this time and she never loved him back (as he loved her) but he still risked everything. That will play a very important part in my story later on...but shh, don't tell. And on the subject of not telling, I DO know someone like Daphne and she WOULD be too arrogant to know that this is about her. Ha. Very good point. Thank you, as always and ever, for your FANTASTIC review! I honestly can't express my love for reading yours each time I receive one!**

_Kate_**: Yay happy dances! She and Luna won't have much interraction in the beginning part of this story, but as Luna starts to leak her way into the trio's heart, we'll see more of them. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Audrey Eakman_**: Thank you so much! Here's another chapter, hope you enjoyed it :)**

_DiamondOfNight_**: First of all, thank you so much for the long review - I love it! I'm so glad that you enjoy this story and that you think Audrey's believable and relatable. That's exactly what I go for with her: the darker parts of people that no one likes to admit they have. I also love making sure that there is tons of Draco and Snape but that they are both kept in character - I may as well write about other characters if they aren't as they were originally written...in my opinion, anyway. If my book makes it through and is published I will be sure to let you know the title - it's a lot harder writing a book of my own than writing a story on here. At least here I get feedback and know what people like and don't like...my own story is closer to a shot in the dark. Again, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter! **

_Princess Dixon_**: The school years are my favourite too, but I refused not to give Sirius his starring moment! Besides, since we didn't see Sirius in the third book, I really had to make it clear what kind of relationship they had over the summer. Hope you enjoyed and thanks you so much for the review. **

_Cora_**: Believe it or not, Audrey says something very similar in the next few chapters about Draco lowering his standards. I swear, I wrote it two weeks ago! Haha. As for who she kisses, I won't let you know until it happens - but it will definitely be interesting, I promise you that! As for how she'll respond to Alya, Pansy, Millicent, Cho, and Marietta this year...I think most people will like it ;) Thanks for the review!**

_Marie_**: Parkinson is such a gross pug - but maybe he thinks he never stands a chance with Audrey? After she hit him in the nuts second year, I'd be pretty afraid to make a move, too!**

_Monica_**: Audrey's not really the type to rat out about her problems, just like Harry never really tells about Umbridge and her blood-quill, but I don't think she'll take the threats lightly. Hopefully she doesn't get too comfortable though...**

_Anna_**: I wish Audrey could have gone to the Yule Ball with Cedric - but she didn't know she was going! If she had decided she would go I think things would have gone much, much differently. Thanks for your review of chapter 14!**

_Amelia_**: Yay, another Canadian! It's always so nice to hear from fellow eh-ers. Thanks for the review!**

****_DancerForver_**: Thank you so much for your review! You were reviewing as I was updating so if you don't read this until later I'm very sorry but I rushed to write a response. I'm so glad that you like the story so far. I am quite dedicated to it, I really feel like it's my favourite of all my stories - I baby it a little bit, I won't deny. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thank you! **

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><p><strong>Wow, so many reviews guys, this is absolutely awesome! I'm so glad that you like all of it. Please let me know what you think - what will Audrey do about Umbridge now that Umbridge sees the weakness between she and her brother's relationship? Will Audrey take Harry's place as bad-ass of the year? Will Malfoy be able to protect her from Montague, the Slytherin girls AND a professor out for blood? <strong>

**Let me know and please **_**REVIEW**_**! **

**-Egypt **


	36. In the Eye of the Storm

**So much excitement! This chapter has a lot of good stuff in it as well as an important plot point...I can't wait for you all to read the next couple of chapters coming out – it gets really exciting. Also, I wanted to say thank you for all the reviews! It's so wonderful, everyone, thank you so much! Special thanks to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for editing and being generally fantastic. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 35 – In the Eye of the Storm<p>

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><p>Mealtimes had possibly become my least favourite time at Hogwarts. I had previously disliked them because there was someone constantly trying to avenge themselves from a prank I'd pulled on them – but now that my brother and I were hated by <em>Prophet <em>readers and non-believers alike, the insults at the dinner tables were hitting an all-time low.

Alya had started skipping meals as well, or at least waiting until the last half hour to come and steal a bit of food. She was apparently very afraid of the consequences surrounding my sodden bed – and quite rightly, too. She knew that something was brewing in the back of mind, or at least she knew that it should have been. Because of the fear of my retaliation, she'd also taken to moving her bed into Parkinson's dormitory. It had taken two house elves twenty-four minutes to do it. I know because I'd counted and threatened to give them clothing if they didn't work fast enough.

Breakfast the next morning was an event in itself. Now that I was back at school Nott and I had subscribed for our own copy of the _Daily Prophet, _so that we could keep tabs on what was being said and what was being hidden from the public. I tried to ignore the sensation of all the eyes on me as I read. It was nearly impossible not to snap at them, but even I wouldn't be able to defend myself against them _all _– and I was luckily distracted by the news article on the front page.

"So he _is _going to Azkaban," I sighed, looking down to the strong jawed picture of Sturgis Podmore that covered the front page.

"Who is?" Theodore checked over my shoulder. "Do you know him?"

"No," I lied quickly. "Just been keeping up with it. Don't understand why someone would want to break into the Ministry. The..." I checked exactly where. "Department of Mysteries."

"Maybe because it's a mystery?" Nott chuckled. "I'd be pretty curious if I worked somewhere I wasn't allowed to go into. The Department of Mysteries isn't available to anyone other than the people who work there specifically, and they have taken an unbreakable vow of silence on what it is they _do_."

"Unbreakable vow?" I frowned, racking my brain for when I had heard it. It had something to do with Malfoy's dad. "Is that the one where if you break it you die?"

"Right," he nodded. "Now eat so we can go."

Theodore had been hounding me about my food intake during the meal times I'd grown to hate. I knew I was thin, but I hadn't figured anyone would care as much as Nott seemed to. I took the time to finish my toast and just a few bites of my eggs, but that was all I could stomach. I'd been forced to argue with Theo the night before, explaining that because I'd been eating so little my stomach had shrunk and that's why I couldn't finish my plate. He didn't want to get into a fight now that we were on the mend so he shut it, but he hadn't seemed to believe me. To be honest, even I couldn't tell whether or not I was making excuses.

"Oh, hey Audrey," Lillian came to sit down on my open side, only open because Goyle had mysteriously gotten pumpkin juice spilt all over the front of his robes. "How are you?"

"Just chipper," I rolled my eyes. It was nice having some form of support group. With Alya's dismissal of our friendship, Lillian and Tracey had been making an extra effort to be kind. It was really hard for them, considering that Lillian was in a very upper-class pureblood circle and Tracey, though a halfblood, was not used to keeping quiet about mudbloods and blood traitors, but we were all learning and I appreciated the support that they gave. "Where's Davis?"

"Tracey? Er...hospital wing," Lillian frowned. "She got hexed by a Ravenclaw sixth year. Git."

"Who?" My eyes narrowed, she shrugged her shoulders and looked away from me.

"Don't know, just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess."

That was a lie. Even though she hadn't said anything about it I knew it evidently had something to do with me. People had been threatening my friends as well, hissing at them in the halls and telling them that I was not someone to be trusted, whispering threats about what would happen to someone if they hung out with me for too long. "Just like Diggory did", they'd say.

"We have Care of Magical Creatures today," Theodore said loudly, trying to distract from the thoughts rolling around in my head. "It's with Grubbly-Plank, do you think she'll be substituting for long?"

"No clue," I said honestly. "I haven't even heard why Hagrid's away."

"Well, let's go now," Lillian declared as she grabbed a piece of toast and pointed it to me. "If anything can cheer this woman up, it's the possibility of getting ourselves mauled."

Outside the castle the air was cool and cloudy, rain dripped every now and then from the sky in thick drops that slithered down my back and made me shiver. The walk down to Hagrid's hut and the area he taught class was filled with awkward conversation. Lillian and Theodore had never been close whereas Lillian and I had not really had time to talk about why she was taking my side in all these matters – but walking in a group provided the power in numbers we needed to be confident we wouldn't be hexed like Tracey had been. Professor Grubbly-Plank was waiting for the class on the edge of the forest, a table placed in front of her.

"Everyone here?" she asked as we filtered in. She took a moment to wait for the stragglers before nodding to herself. "Let's crack on then. Who can tell me what these things are called?"

In front of her, on the table, were a heap of twigs. They were bowtruckles. I didn't need to answer though because, as always, out of the corner of my eye, Granger's hand shot into the air. All the Slytherins rolled their eyes – even me. Sometimes I wondered why she wasn't in Ravenclaw for that brain or Hufflepuff for her kiss-assery.

Malfoy did an insulting impersonation of Hermione begging to answer the question – which was sadly quite accurate – and made Pansy laugh so hard that she squealed like a stuffed pig. The sound made the bowtruckles leap to their feet. They were actually very similar looking to pixies that were made of wood: knobby arms and legs, two fingers, and a bat-like face.

"Bowtruckles," Hermione smiled to the professor. "They're tree-guardians, usually living in wand-trees."

"Five points to Gryffindor," Grubbly-Plank crowed. I rolled my eyes, if Hermione ever let anyone _else _answer questions maybe other houses could get points too...then again, maybe she felt obligated to get those points because she, Harry, and Ron were all bound to lose double that when they misbehaved. "Yes, these are bowtruckles, and as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"

"Woodlice," Hermione answered immediately.

"Or fairy eggs," I said loudly, looking at Hermione with a sort of glare. "Though they can't get to them as easily so those are more of a treat than a meal-plan."

"Five points to each of you," Grubbly-Plank smiled, not noticing Hermione's sour look. The bushy haired girl tapped on her own Prefect badge, as if trying to remind me that now I'm supposed to behave. Ridiculous, I've been behaving just fine. "So, whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of woodlice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will try to gouge at human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a bowtruckle – I have enough here for one between three – you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body-parts labelled by the end of the lesson."

"Easy," I smirked, crossing my arms to look over at the table. "But I'm a shite artist."

"I love art," Lillian threw in. "But I have no idea how to label..."

"You two draw my bowtruckle for me – and make it look like I drew it myself – and I'll give you all the labels," I negotiated. All three of us smiled and went toward the table, taking a look at the bowtruckle in front of us. As with every animal, the bowtruckle took an immediate interest in me and once I had fed it some woodlice, it liked me enough to jump onto my arm. I smiled at it, pulling my arm close and petting it with my opposite hand's forefinger.

While I took the time to pet it I felt a chip in the bark on it's back. The bark around it acted like an armour, so to feel a crack was immediately a bad thing. I frowned at it, cooing a little, before I went over to find a tree that had begun to sap in the cool nights and warm days of the autumn. Taking some of the sap I rubbed it along it's back and tried to fill up the crack.

"There you go, that should heal you up in a day or two."

"Well done, Miss Potter," Grubbly-Plank nodded to me. "As always you know your animals."

"Thank you, Professor," I couldn't help the smug smile that crept over my face when Granger's eyes narrowed on me. "I'll go over to help my friends now."

As I walked over, throwing a taunting wink at Granger, I was distracted by my seeing my brother leaning over the table and being bothered by Malfoy.

"Maybe that oaf's been messing with stuff that's too big for him, if you get my drift." Ah, he was enlightening my brother and trying to seem like a know-it-all again. I figured I may as well end that before it got messy.

"Malfoy," I hissed, giving him a good glare and flickering my eyes to my brother and back to his group of friends. He got the idea and left before any more drama could ensue. "Would you leave my brother alone, please?"

"Playing the prefect role already?" Malfoy asked with rolled eyes, moving away from Harry and toward me, clutching the bowtruckle in his hand. "You realize that we don't have patrols until ten tonight."

"Ugh, please don't remind me." I muttered.

"I've been nothing but kind to you this year," he pointed out with a smirk that I was sure was not kind at all. The bowtruckle in his hand was squirming and trying to distract from the odd mix of smirk and mischief on his face. "I've been trying to make it so we have no reason to kill each other in deserted corridors, so return the favour and leave me be."

"Oh, I'll return the favour," I eyed the stick-figure in his hand. "I'll give you a bit of not-so-psychic advice: you're about to be hurt."

"Wha-" but before he could finish the Bowtruckle he had grasped in his hand took a swipe at his hand with the same claws known to take out human eyes. I rolled my eyes as he began to whine, dropping the twiggy creature to the ground where it scampered away.

"Oh, don't complain. It's not deep," I sighed, placing my bowtruckle on my shoulder. He went to warn me to not to, but I grabbed at his hand and held it in front of me instead.

"Ow, watch it!" I tauntingly took my time to examine the damage on his hand, the two large gashes that were luckily shallow but were admittedly bleeding a fair bit. The gashes stretched across the top of his hand from the lowest knuckle of his thumb to the knuckle of his middle finger. His skin – at least the skin that wasn't smudged with blood – was even paler than mine and his hands looked big enough to crush mine if I tried to hurt him.

Those hands would hold me, eventually. Those hands would hold me close to him while he...

"Look," I grumbled while I forcefully pushed his hand away from me. "The ickle baby doesn't even need to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Some favour that warning was," Malfoy hissed at me as if he could shoot venom. He cradled his hand and was sure to examine the gashes to check if I was lying.

"If I hadn't have warned you it would happen you wouldn't have dropped it so quickly. Then it would have kept slicing," I shrugged with a smirk. "I did you a service."

"You shouldn't have," Malfoy said lowly. "I would have liked to leave this class, even though we finally have a decent teacher."

"Hagrid is a fantastic teacher," I argued, feeling my jaw clench.

"Oh yes," the sarcasm dripped from his tone even more thickly than the blood from his hand. "Father was talking to the Minister just a couple of days ago, you know, and it sounds as though the Ministry's really determined to crack down on substandard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron does show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straightaway."

"Shut it, Malfoy," I hissed, hearing my brother curse when his bowtruckle had also swiped at his hand thanks to being held too tightly. The Slytherins laughed, but I rolled my eyes. So I called out a simple "I can set these bowtruckles on you lot, so you know".

Suddenly no one had anything to laugh about.

At least I could still frighten them properly, even if they did all make fun of me.

Charms was a difficult class, as it always was. I couldn't do anything there with my wand acting as it was and would loved to have just put my wand away, but instead I tried on with the lesson because Theodore threatened that he wouldn't help me with my homework if I didn't give it a shot. We were doing summoning spells...or others around me were doing summoning spells; summoning spells and I did not get along. By the end of the class – when Flitwick was paying particular attention to me – I made sure to roll my quill toward me on the table so as to look like I'd accomplished _something _during the hour. Flitwick had smiled at me, but he hadn't seemed to have caught onto the fact that I had done it by placing my left hand on the table and focusing on my Magnuse.

Herbology was after Charms and that was terrible, as always. I may know the plants well and I may be able to understand their uses in potions, but I use the dead and dried versions of it. I do not _raise _them. It made working with dragon dung – the best fertilizer in Professor Sprout's opinion – even more disgusting. And the stench just made the day longer.

By the time my last period spare rolled around, I had done so much Magnuse and smelt of fertilizer so badly that I spent nearly the entire hour in the shower, soaking in the hot water and relaxing my muscles. There were a few moments that I may or may not have dozed off, but considering I was in the exact same position when I opened my eyes again, I couldn't be sure.

When the time to step out of the shower came I had to focus on denying myself the thrill of cocooning myself inside of my blankets for a real nap. The situation was helped tanks to Theodore, Lillian and Daphne having all waited for me in the common room. I scowled a bit at the thought of Greengrass being there, but went to meet them anyway. I only had a small group of friends now and I wasn't about to ignore them thanks to my efforts of disowning her. Still, she must have known how against her presence I was, which may have been the reason that her cheeks started to burn red.

"I thought we could all go to dinner together," she said simply. "Might need a group of us to get past the prissy purebloods, right?"

"Because I'm a halfblooded whore, right?" She cringed at the memory of having said those words before. I guess she didn't appreciate how they had come back to bite her in the arse. Her cheeks turned even more pink.

"I shouldn't have ever said that to you, Audrey," she turned her nose in the air stubbornly, as she always used to. "But if you can forgive Theodore then why can't you forgive me?"

"Simple," my eyes narrowed just at the thought, just at the _comparison _between the two of them. Their betrayals had both been of a different standard and if Greengrass didn't know that then she had scaled three steps back in her placement of being forgiven. "Theodore and I had a foundation built on trust and loyalty. You had nothing to fall back on besides the fact you were overlooking your pureblood biases to be my friend. Even then, that didn't usually stop you from your rude insinuations and comments insulting my family and myself."

"That's not true-"

"But it is," I hissed, taking two steps towards her. "And to make matters worse you then decided to scream all of those discriminations – the ones with as little foundation as our friendship had – at me in the middle of the common room. And then you let me rot in isolation for the term...so no, Greengrass, I can't forgive you."

Her face, now beat red, bowed slightly while I looked at Theodore and Lillian.

"I'm skipping dinner."

"No, Audrey, I'll go..." Greengrass began.

"You can't miss another meal, Audrey," Theodore agreed.

"No, I have other things to do so feel free to eat with the man I'm shagging," I mocked heatedly. Theodore's face burst into a darker shade while Daphne clenched her jaw and nodded slowly.

"Audrey, you need to eat," Theodore repeated more firmly and did not even feel the need to address the comment I had made. I guess that he was still nervous I would disown him any minute. Maybe he had known that everything I'd just spit to Daphne was true about them both.

"You're skin and bones," Lillian agreed.

"Then I'll go to the kitchens," I shrugged. "I might try to nap before patrol tonight – Merlin knows I'll need to be well rested and in a good mood to spend two hours with Malfoy."

The three agreed with me fairly easily after that and even though we all walked downstairs together, I made it very clear that I was going another way. I did appease them by going toward the kitchen, going to the portrait of the fruit and tickling the pear. It giggled outrageously before the portrait swung open.

Most of the house elves were terrified of me: it _had _been just this morning that I had threatened some of them with freedom if they didn't make Alya's move out of the dorm room quick and painless. A few of them – by the names of Dobby and Winky – managed to look something close to excited.

"Oh, Missus Potter! Missus Potter, Dobby is so happy to sees you!" The little elf's giant eyes looked up at me with much more excitement than I usually looked down on him with. I smiled slightly, it was the best I could offer him.

"How have you been, Dobby?"

"Oh, very well, Missus Potter. Yous asking me is so, so nice."

"I'm not really a nice person, Dobby," I frowned.

"She certainly is not," a familiar voice agreed. Looking to my right I saw two figures hunching over a table and stuffing some sort of tarts into a bag. It was Fred and George Weasley. My face split into a real grin just seeing them.

"What are you doing here?"

"Canary Creams," George nodded his head to the tarts they were hording onto trays. "Taking them upstairs to be tested. What are you doing here?"

"I'm under orders to get food," I sighed. "I'm not very hungry though."

"Why are you so down?" Fred frowned. "I heard you got spot-on with Umbridge, didn't even get a detention."

"You sound impressed," I observed with a snort.

"Call it something closer to surprised."

"Why," I laughed. "Did you?"

"Almost," both of them said at the same time with some sort of smile that made me think I was missing a part of the reason why.

"Well, she and I didn't get on, but I didn't publicly ruin myself in front of her like Harry did."

"Yuh, hear' 'bout that," George spoke through a mouthful of tarts that obviously did not have the potion in them yet. "Naw 'ight."

"Not bright?" I asked, he nodded to tell me that my translation of his full mouth was correct. "No, he usually isn't."

"He's pissed then?" Fred guessed.

"Yeah, didn't stick up for him when he talked about last June and what happened," I muttered, crossing my arms. "I'm having enough troubles in my dorm, I don't need to worry about him getting himself in trouble."

"Trouble in your dorm?" George asked now that he had swallowed. "Are they jealous you're a _prefect_?"

He spit the word but the idea was not lost. "No, actually, they don't agree with my standings."

"Your standings?" George repeated.

"Oh, it's no matter," I smiled to myself. "They won't know what my real standings are until I knock them on their arses. But we have more room in our dorm because of the disagreement."

"Good," Fred smiled. "We'd hate to not see justice served."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" George asked with a frown.

"Not give them detention," I scoffed. "Like any of them needs attention brought to why they hate me. It will just fuel their cause."

"No, no, no," Fred shook his head. "We mean what are you going to _do_?"

"If you're being repetitious to annoy me, it's working."

"Drea," both twins rested one of their hands on each of my shoulders. "What's our motto?"

"It's all shits and giggles until someone giggles and shits?"

"No," Fred rolled his eyes. "Don't get mad: get even."

"Get even?" I repeated doubtfully, my eyebrow crumpling. Hadn't that been what I had been trying to do this entire time? Hadn't I tried to get even by thoughts of hurting her, of giving her detention, of ratting her out to Snape or Dumbledore?

"She humiliated you, get even with her. Besides, if she's in the other dorm isn't Parkinson there?" George asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," I thought slowly. "And Bulstrode and Perks and Capper..."

"Exactly, you've never been friends with Perks or Capper and you know that you deserve to get even with Parkinson, Bulstrode and whoever else it was that embarrassed you."

"You just want to see some sort of spectacle," I accused, to which he smiled.

"I would love to see some sort of spectacle," Fred agreed. "But how would I see it all the way from Gryffindor tower?"

"Do what you do best," George nodded. "_Make them _see reason."

The emphasis was not lost – it wasn't about making them see reason at all. It was making them see how horrible I could be, make them see how much of a threat I could present myself.

With a smile the Weasley twins bid me goodbye and left the kitchen. They had definitely left me with a lot to think about, but I couldn't really understand what they were insinuating. Was I supposed to make a big deal about it or wasn't I? Whatever I would do to Alya and her new dormmates would have to be intense: I'd need to spread the word that I'm not one to be toyed with – but what would I do?

Deciding to lie about eating dinner I bid Dobby as sweet of a goodbye as I could muster and made my way back down to the Slytherin dorms. I just wanted to sleep and if I slept, maybe I could dream about the future...or about what future I should give those no good, backstabbing witches...

* * *

><p>"Audrey," something dared to shake me out of my sleep. "Audrey, wake up."<p>

"No," I groaned, turning away from whoever had touched me. "And next time you wake me up I'll Magnuse your arse."

"Draco's waiting for you in the common room," I groaned even louder, opening one eye and moving over to see Daphne looking down at me nervously. "He said something about patrol."

"Tell him to bugger off, I'm busy."

"He said he'd go to Snape if you didn't come," she said quietly.

I growled to myself, muttering death threats to the boy that was not present to hear them while I dragged myself from my bed. I couldn't believe that I had slept for as many hours as I must have – one moment I was lying in bed and thinking of all my specialties in torture and cruelty, the next I was being shaken awake. I turned around, noticing that Daphne was getting ready for bed now.

"Oh, er – thanks, I guess."

"Oh," she sounded genuinely shocked. "You're welcome."

Not wanting to exchange anymore pleasantries, I walked out of the dormitory and toward the common room, letting out a wide yawn as I came out of the dimly lit passage and into the slightly better lit Slytherin common room – which was only lit better because of the reflections within the Black Lake. I looked at it and frowned, shivering at the memory of being stuck in there and having to save Theodore. It was the reason this whole mess with Daphne had begun.

"About time," Malfoy drawled. "You were sleeping, weren't you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I knew I'd need rest and patience to deal with you anymore than I already have to," I said simply, emphasizing the sentence with a yawn at the end.

"Well, so you know: your hair is facing north, east, south _and _west." I frowned, running my fingers through my hair to try and smooth it down. "You also have a pillow crease marked on your cheek."

"Lay off," I rubbed at the cheek I knew I had slept on, trying to increase blood flow and make the mark disappear. "Let's just be civil and get this over with. I want to send at least two students to detention."

"_There _she is," Malfoy chuckled darkly, almost giving out one of the rare smiles that no one had ever seen, but everyone knew _had _to exist. When he was done he began walking toward the wall that would release us into the dungeons. "Now, where would you like to stalk first?"

"The Ravenclaw common room," I said immediately with a vague hope that I could catch either Chang or Edgecombe out of bed. I'd had a vision that I would at some point, so we may as well patrol that area every night until it came to fruition.

The two of us walked there in silence, both knowing that as soon as we spoke we would start to bicker and the entire night would end with someone blowing up and the other having to clean up the mess and finish rounds on their own. But as we walked and I became more and more bored, I found myself _wanting _to start some sort of fight with him. It just felt natural for us to argue. It felt like what Malfoy and I did everyday and what we would have to do every day after...at least until I was secure that I had changed the future and the two of us would never _ever _kiss.

"So how was your holiday, Malploy?"

"Enough with the nicknames," he mumbled, turning his head toward me lazily. "And it was _dandy_. How was yours?"

"Apparently it coated the newspapers, so I'm sure you can guess," I said stiffly. To be honest, I hadn't really expected him to answer my question – now that we were talking, however, I felt more awkward than I had with the silence. "Go anywhere exotic and swim in money? Or did you stay home so that you could bully the neighbouring children? Oh! Did you go somewhere exotic and bully children by drowning them in money?"

"I stayed home and entertained myself," he corrected with a glare. "Did you go fight dementors? Or use magic illegally? Oh!" His rude impressions of Granger earlier in the day were much more accurate than the terrible impression he then did of me. "Did you illegally use magic to fight off dementors?"

"Heard about that, did you?" I frowned and rolled my eyes. "Wasn't in the papers."

"I like to keep myself well informed," he said simply, without any particular emphasis. "Unlike _some._"

Oh, here it comes.

"I'm as informed as I need to be," I said defensively. "How was I to know that people had been mocking me in the papers and setting the two of us up in some forbidden romance? Seriously, I don't read the funny papers."

"It didn't seem funny to me," he sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "It was revolting, some of it."

"Only some?" I repeated doubtfully.

"All," he corrected. "But some of it was particularly retching."

"Fantastic," I frowned, walking for a long moment without saying anything more. He didn't seem particularly interested in fixing the silence either – but the silence only made my mind race more: back to the papers, back to the vision, back to every moment I'd shared with him since I'd realized we were both prefects on the train. It was all just...strange. "Why didn't you just come clean and say we hate each other? Would have saved you a lot of grief."

"You forget that we don't," he said lazily. I frowned.

"Yes we do."

"No," he said with a frown. "We don't."

"I'm quite positive we do, else I did not receive that memo." I kicked at a raised crack in the flagstone for a moment, but realizing that all it was doing was holding us back from Ravenclaw tower, continued forward as Malfoy had not stopped walking.

"One never needed to be sent, it's rather common knowledge." He continued once I'd caught up with him. I blinked bemusedly for a moment.

"Er – common in _which _circles?"

"You said last year that you would have been afraid if we were close because we got along thanks to our mutual disdain," he said flowingly. I was surprised, simply because I remembered the conversation so I knew it was true. "And since we both _constantly _feel disdain, we can't possibly hate each other. We're too busy hating everyone else."

"Well, I _do _hate everyone else," I sighed dramatically. "But you are included in _everyone, _so stop feeling so entitled and know that I still hate you."

"Fantastic," he rolled his eyes, continuing to walk for another minute or two without speaking before he frowned, a sour look crossing his face. "What about Montague?"

I frowned, thinking back to the train when Malfoy had made it very clear he did not like the interaction he had walked in on. Then again, maybe he'd just put two and two together –  
>or maybe he didn't like that his friend was stooping so low as to fancy a halfblood. "What about him?"<p>

"Do you hate him?"

"I've always hated him," I replied with a sneer. "And since I melted his trousers to his bollocks, he's finally realized he hates me as well."

"You could just keep a low profile for _one year, _Potter. Would it be that difficult?" He asked rhetorically, but I knew that the question really sponsored a proper answer.

"No explosives?"

"No." He scoffed.

"No pranks?"

"Explosives are usually counted in a similar category for you." He bit back.

"Hmm, no dangerous and unnecessary acts of greatness?"

"Not those either."

"No death defying acts of any kind?" I continued with innocent eyes, he narrowed his eyes at me on this one.

"Particularly none of that."

"Then yes, apparently that would be quite difficult." I snorted, smiling away from him so that he wouldn't see that I actually wasn't minding some of this conversation. "Don't see why you care, though. You usually get off on me getting hurt."

"That's true," he smirked to himself. "I don't know why Madame Pomfrey hasn't just saved you a bed in that wing yet – you're almost permanently placed there anyway."

"Speaking of which," I turned to look at his obviously self-bandaged hand. "Didn't get that looked into?"

"No need," he raised an eyebrow. "Some girl told me that it wasn't deep."

"It's not and if you would have gone you would have been even more of a sissy than normal..." I frowned, continuing to walk for I hadn't really realized when we had stopped. He just shrugged to my jibe, continuing on with me as there was nothing better to do in these halls with no one else around. "But it's your wand hand."

"I've realized."

"I just can't believe you'd leave yourself vulnerable like that," I mused. "I can barely use my wand and even I don't like the feeling."

"I can't believe you care," he shot back quickly. The insinuation itself made me stop talking and swallow thickly. Were we really getting along almost reasonably? Why? Was it because we knew that this would be a pattern for the next how-many-weeks, or was it possibly something..._worse_? Could it be the images that keep flickering in my mind; the images of hasty and completely unorthodox behaviour and being wrapped in his cold hands was starting to take over all my thoughts when I was around him. Could it be that it was changing my entire perception _about _him which changes how I feel I have to act _around _him?

"Why'd you do it?" I asked quickly. I needed a reason to hate him again. I needed it before my mind spun into that unforgivable territory and back to the vision of last June. And I knew that as soon as he answered like the arse he was, it would be easy to hate him again.

"Do what?"

"_Protect _me," I sneered the word. "You did it on the train with Montague and you had pretty much army tactics to try to keep people away from me so I wouldn't know what was being said – which didn't work, by the way, the torturing continued-"

"Ah yes, Pansy told me about Alya's little move. Ridiculous." He scoffed, sneering at the wall in front of him. I did not like that. I did not like that he was sneering about something that had been done to me as if he was on _my _side. Malfoy would never be on _my _side.

"Yeah," I agreed with a clenched jaw. "That's _one _word for it."

"I did it as a favour to Nott. He was worried about you."

"And your reputation as my forbidden love?" I asked with a raised brow.

"That will be rectified as the entirety of the school will see me snogging Parkinson in every corridor until the articles stop."

"Oh, gross!" I pretended to vomit. "Malfoy, if you're going to make it convincing you have to date someone who isn't so _pathetic. _Parkinson will only prove you want someone easy and on the side of something substantial, not that you're not dating and _being_someonesubstantial."

"Thank you for the advice, Potter," he said sarcastically. "It's really comforting to get coupling advice from someone who only ever dated _Finnegan._"

"I didn't only date _Finnegan_," I frowned, my mind starting to race as thoughts plagued it. Memories of dating Finnegan, and my first kiss with Cedric and the fact that Cedric had wanted to date _me. _I had not only dated Finnegan and the world had been in on the secret.

"Sorry," he mocked, "then he's the only 'substantial' one."

"That's not true," I said quietly, not able to talk loudly past the knot in my stomach. I turned away from him so he couldn't be privvy to the burning in my eyes. "And you know it."

"Oh yes, I guess _Diggory _was in there too – for a few hours," he amended darkly. I felt sick to my stomach, but what filled me wasn't a sense of nausea, but rather a sense of _rage. _I couldn't stop myself as I rushed forward, pushing him closer to the wall and grabbing a fist full of his robes.

"Don't start, I'm warning you.._._"

"Oh come off it Potter, you never got to date him," he said simply with a sneer as he looked down on me. I could not tell whether or not I looked insulting considering I was so small and he was so tall, but he should be intimidated. I could not account to where in this small body all this rage could have been stored. "And I'm not scared of you. I heard your Magnuse is completely out of control."

"Out of-" I stopped myself abruptly, completely aghast with the idea. Sure, my Magnuse had not been quite as reliable as it could have been and sure, I still wasn't able to project it out from my own body, but my Magnuse was still more powerful than any curse he could try to hit me with. Besides, who was the big mouth who told him? The only ones who would know that my Magnuse is not up to par would be Order members and my brother – who started the rumour? I took hold of his wrist, wrenching it strongly out to the side before closing my eyes and focusing. He didn't stop me...but he should have. He should have stopped me before I got such good focus on his hand, on the smooth and pale skin covering his arm, of the muscles and tendons that encased the brittle and long bones of his fingers. I took extra care in focusing on what little warmth there was in his hands and how that warmth was caused by blood flow – not that he had a heart to pump blood from – and how that blood moved around the hands that would one day...

"_ARGH_!" his scream disrupted the focus on my Magnuse and I was pulled out of my concentration as he yanked his hand away fro me. It did not matter how much my concentration had been ripped from him, however, because the damage had been done. The rip in my concentration could not stop the fact that his cut from the bowtruckle had just deepend threefold from when it had been done this morning. He looked at me with a sneer, trying not to concentrate on the blood dripping down his arm.

"You underestimate me too much, Malfoy." I hissed darkly. "And that girl who warned you that isn't deep was wrong. Now she's telling you to sod off and go to the hospital wing."

Malfoy looked like he wanted to retort, to say something mean and hurtful as he had just done moments before – but instead he just let out something between a growl and a curse before he spun on his heel and headed to the infirmary.

Alone. Again.

Angry or not, I watched him leave with a knotted esophagus – the entirety of my throat and stomach all clenched and angry. Was it because of the closeness I had sworn never to be near him with again? I'd been quite close when I hurt him, after all. Was it the comment about Cedric, a subject that still makes me want to scream and cry and vomit? Or, worse, was it knowing that I felt guilty because I knew – someday – I would want to kiss him despite all this?

"Miss Potter," the familiar and low inflections of Snape made me feel even more heavy hearted. I didn't know how long it had been that I'd stood watching where Malfoy had disappeared, but it was long enough to have Snape sneak up on me. I didn't want him to speak to me and distract me from figuring out the origin of the knot in my insides and at the same time I didn't want any advice on this kind of guilt. "Is there some sort of reason why Mr Malfoy is on his way to the hospital wing during your prefect rounds?"

"I hate him, Snape," I couldn't help hissing while my eyes welled up – it was still hard speaking around the knot made from my insides and the tears in my eyes were heating me up like fire. "I hate him. And everyone always says that I really don't and everyone always tries to convince me why I shouldn't...but I _hate _him."

Snape looked away from me for a moment, down the hallway that Malfoy had disappeared. After a moment he looked back to me and nodded his head slowly, as if he were figuring something very important out. As if he _understood. _But how could he? How could he understand what I did not, how could he understand what everyone thought, what everyone whispered, what would happen at some point with this person I hated?

Snape took a step closer to me, slowly, as if knowing I was about ready to explode at anything that came within my personal boundaries.

"Potter, this year is not the year for outbursts – magical or emotional," he said slowly, his eyes meaningfully narrowed. "Straighten up, you should know better than to attack a prefect, particularly your round partner. I do not care what provoked the treatment of his hand, but it needs to stop. This summer should have been enough for you to realize that we are underhanded in our efforts and you and your idiot brother need to realize that we are trying any and every way to do all that's in our power to keep you safe. Safe against others who would like nothing better than to see you hanged as bait-"

"Umbridge will never get close enough," I snarled at him. He shook his head, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Then do not let her. Be on your best behaviour – help by keeping your friends out of trouble and warning them of what will happen." I felt something else bubble in my stomach, something hot and bitter.

"Like _you _are?" I couldn't help but hiss at him, feeling more upset when something hot rolled from my eye and down my cheek. "What was it that kept _you _busy this summer, professor?"

Snape recoiled from me as if I had burnt him, perhaps he did not know that I realized where he had been. Perhaps I was the first to comment on him going back to the Death Eaters. Perhaps there was something else that I didn't understand, but it did not feel as good to hurt him as I had imagined it would. It did not ease my own turmoil.

"I have done what I need to do for the good of the people _I _watch over, Potter," Snape responded lowly and deliberately. "You would do well to grow up and do the same."

I let out a sob, it was all I could do to only let out one. With a characteristic sweep of his robes, Snape walked away from me and left me there. I immediately felt terrible – this was _Snape _I was talking to and I had just completely hurled my anger onto him.

Then again, I _was _angry. And it wasn't misplaced anger that I was throwing on him this time. I _was _mad at _him _– I was mad that he was risking his life to spy for the Order. I was mad he was risking his life by being part of the Death Eaters. I was mad the he seemed to have no sense of self-preservation and felt no need to protect himself for those anonymous people he thought he watched over. I was mad at those people for being so selfish and not realizing what they were doing to him. I was mad that those people were not risking themselves instead.

I started walking back toward the common room, fully preparedto let Hogwarts go unprotected for the rest of the hour, when I heard footsteps. Still feeling angry, I figured there was no harm in sending one kid to detention – why not? It would help with my own anger and it would help the teachers feel like I did something somewhat productive with my time.

"Oi!" I shouted, hearing the footsteps stop and hearing a long, drawn out sigh. "Detention, you little twerp. You're out after ho-"

But I stopped as I rounded the corner because it was Harry that stood in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring with pursed lips. It was almost like he had subconsciously learned it from Aunt Petunia.

But I could not miss the fact that my twin brother looked awful. His face was red and blotchy, sweaty – as if he'd just run a marathon. His hands were shaking, perhaps that was why he had his arms crossed so defiantly. And his eyes, more green than normal, were inspecting me in the same way, as if he could see that I had just been crying as well.

Still, neither of us put our pride away to worry for the other.

"What are you doing?" I asked him with a frown.

"Headed back to my common room. I'm sure you'll find I have detention every night this week thanks to me being the only one in the class to voice my opinions," his sour words hurt more than I expected them too. I had been through too many open wounds tonight to have my brother rub salt in them. "So there's no need to give me another, thanks."

"You're just getting out of detention?" I asked, unable to keep myself from being suspicious. "Weren't you just doing lines?"

"Umbridge is a piece of work," he said simply. "First night of prefect rounds?"

"Yeah," I said simply. "Malfoy sadly had to go to the hospital wing..."

"Did you send him there?"

"I gave him advice to go," I said swiftly. "After I did a few rather impressive magic tricks."

Harry, even when he was angry, couldn't help but smile. "Did it hurt him?"

"Blood everywhere," I couldn't help but let out a laugh in return. It was like a bark, like one of Sirius' bitter laughs, but it was the best I could do around the knot that still sat in my stomach. My brother went to ruffle his hair – and in doing so messed it up – and that was when I saw it.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" But he seemed to know what I was referring to because he immediately lowered his hand.

"On your hand. It's raw."

"Oh, must have hit it-" he pretended to look confused by it. "Strange."

"It was a quill that used blood ink, wasn't it?" I sighed, going up to him and grabbing his hand. On it, written faintly as he had not written enough for it to sink in yet, were the words 'I must not tell lies' in his own messy script. I was repulsed enough to feel tears bite themselves back into the corner of my eyes and threw his hand away in response. He looked confused.

"You've heard of them?"

"I've used one," I sighed. "Malfoy gave me one in second year after I nearly made him a eunuch."

"Ha," Harry barked in rather a familiar fashion as I had. "What'd he make you write?"

"Nothing, gave it to me to write my potions essay with – said later that he knew I'd write a whole bunch down before I stopped and realized it was carving. Realized faster than he thought though so it didn't scar." I frowned. "Umbridge did this to you?"

"Yeah," suddenly angry again, Harry turned his back away from me. "Thanks for that."

"You know, I didn't mean to wring you out to dry in that classroom. You shouldn't have brought up Cedric. And you should learn not to. While you're learning that, learn to shut up in appropriate situations, as well. We were warned-"

"We weren't warned about _her_," Harry pointed out. I frowned, neglecting to tell that I kind of had been. "She's awful, Audrey. She's here simply to make sure we stay in line, I'm sure of it."

"Then maybe we should stay in line," I offered.

"What are you talking about?" he threw his hands in the air. "You're the one who always gets in trouble and gets even. The minute that _I _want to stand up for what I believe in all you have for me are lectures? I already have one Hermione in my life, thanks, what I need is a twin that will back me up."

"I'll back you up on the battles that _need _to be fought," I hissed back to him, insulted at the comparison between our battles and allegiances. "This is just your pride getting in the way."

"My _pride_?" He sneered. "Audrey this is about Mum and Dad and Cedric and-"

"_Stop talking about Cedric_!" I bellowed, stomping my foot and feeling the hallway shake. I tried taking a deep breath, as Harry's wide eyes looked at me nervously. He knew what that was – a wave of Magnuse focused into my stomp. A wave of Magnuse that I had not meant to release.

"Audrey, don't-"

"Don't you dare, Harry Potter," I hissed. "You have no right to talk about him. I don't care if you were there or if you weren't, you have no right to keep holding him over my head so that I'll follow you along in all your little grievances. I know that Cedric is gone and I'm reminded _every day_, Harry, so stop acting all noble and thinking you were the only one hurt by what happened in June because you don't _know _the pain I feel over it all. You don't know the guilt and the nightmares and the loss of losing the only one to ever have any sort of faith in you. You don't know what people are saying and what they're doing and it's all because you're so used to being loved and adored, you attention-whore!"

"Someone has to defend his memory, Audrey." Harry gritted out, I shook my head.

"And someone had to keep him from getting killed," I hissed back. "So why do you always think it's you?"

"This isn't about us, Audrey," Harry shook his head. "This is about the bad guys being-"

"Harry, I've said it once and I'll say it again," I shook my head at him doubtfully. "What makes you think that you're always the good guy?"

When he didn't answer me, I didn't wait around. Instead I turned to go back down to the dungeons, ready to flop into my bed and sleep the weekend away. I didn't need any of this, I didn't need daily reminders of what I couldn't fix and I didn't need my mind to constantly be racing instead of learning how to cope with everything that had happened.

My racing mind was the exact reason that I almost screamed when I nearly ran into a pink swaddled toad.

"Oh, professor Umbridge," I breathed in shock. "I didn't see you there."

"Not a problem, Miss Potter," she smiled. it looked nothing close to sweet. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with your brother..."

"Yes, the walls here are so thin," I responded sarcastically. Again, she did not seem to notice.

"I will not deny I was warned, Miss Potter, that you would be a handful before coming to this teaching post. I was told that you are impulsive and generally very angry – but I see that you are underestimated from your true potential." I raised an eyebrow. "You, my dear, have lived through so much and have such a better grasp on the real world than your brother does. I am truly sorry about Mr Diggory, I heard that he was very fond of you and you of him...what exactly do you think of the things your brother says about his death?"

Something urgent in me told me to lie. I mean, obviously I believed what Harry said, in some way or another I had been there when he had died and when Voldemort had been resurrected – but I had played my cards close to my chest up to this point; like Harry didn't and like Harry should have, and I had not given that away yet. I could play however I wanted now: I could fold, or I could bluff. I could _win._

"I don't know what to believe," I bluffed carefully. "I try not to think about it at all."

"A wise decision," she was trying to be sweet but it came of like acid. "I would like you to do me a favour, if you will, and tell me when you hear things about dear Mr Diggory and what happened to him, or all the rumours that fly around about that night? Do you think you could help me with that?"

This was the moment, when I decided what to do with my hand. Malfoy's insults ringing in my ears, my own screams to my brother still rumbling in my throat, and in my stomach I could still feel the knot that tossed my stomach and made it growl in the tune of Snape's words: _I have done what I need to do for the good of the people I watch over, Potter. You would do well to grow up and do the same._

Maybe it was time to grow up. Maybe it was time for me to follow my mentor's footsteps and do what I could do for the Order, for my brother, for the memory of Cedric Diggory. I couldn't think of another way to help. I was no good with a wand, I was no good with people, and I was no good with involving people in the cause of the Order.

No, I was a Slytherin. No one worth trusting trusted me anyway...but maybe it wasn't about me trusting others and helping others...maybe it was about people trusting _me _and helping _me _when they didn't even know they were doing it...

Isn't that what Snape did every single day? Doesn't a mentee follow the mentor?

"Of course, professor," I found myself gritting out before I could stop myself, before I could make a better decision. "I can think of no better way to help make things better."

* * *

><p><strong>Audrey's going <strong>**SPY****! I've been putting in little hints for chapters, whew, it's so nice now that it's out in the open! So, who saw it coming? Who? I'd love to hear theories and thoughts! To my AMAZING reviewers:**

_jezzabylle_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, particularly why Draco was acting so weird – you'll be hearing more about that soon, too! Thanks for the review.**

_Princesslinleigh_**: Thank you! I love Snape too much to portray him as a bad guy or anything other than what he is – which is just very misunderstood and very sad. I think he's the strongest person in the whole series. I'm glad you like the Audrey/Umbridge/Harry triad of hatred and not-so-much hatred, but you should start expecting it to get much more complicated... **

_Sienna_**: I'm glad you like it – and I like answering reviews because it's so nice to get them. It'd be strange not to say thank you for each person who wrote to me :)**

_Rainy2000_**: I'll always respond to your reviews! Don't worry about wanting Montague beaten up – I can't wait for bad things to happen to him considering how many bad things he's thinking about our Audrey! Draco romance is happening – I swear – I just wrote some fluff not twenty-five minutes ago and I think I'm still giggly from it. Thank you so much for the compliments and the review!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Yes, so basically it isn't just Audrey being awesome that makes Umbridge like her – everyone thinking that she and Malfoy are an item is certainly helping her stay out of trouble...along with Malfoy himself actively trying to keep her out of trouble's sight. Audrey's fight with Harry definitely influenced Umbridge's faith in her – again in this chapter as well – so the hope is that she will be able to dig around and help everyone out since no one else has the power to. After all, it's quite clear that Umbridge loves her little Slytherins...  
>As for your ideas on Voldemort and what he knows of Draco's relationship (not necessarily romantic, but the two are definitely in close confines often), you have a good thought process there. I can't tell you, of course, as that would be cheating and boring if a similar subject came up, but you have to know that Draco won't keep quiet about what's going on at Hogwarts – and if Lucius knows what's going on...<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, Audrey has her friends back! Well, most of them, anyway. Hopefully Audrey can make it through this year with everything that's on her plate...hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for your review :)**

_Ella710_**: Harry is usually massively stupid – or at least, that's how I always thought he was in the fifth book. Here I'm really trying to point out how much Audrey sees that Harry doesn't. She wasn't put into Slytherin for no reason, and Slytherins are cunning and sly – I'm trying to show how she can evaluate a situation (without being insulted or too emotive about it) and react accordingly to the outcome she wants...is that coming through? It was only a matter of time before she went spy, with that in mind. It's hard trying to make her so observant like that while not overpowering the brilliance that is Hermione Granger. Because no one is as smart as Hermione. Period. But as Audrey always says about her potions "it's just a different way of thinking" ;)  
>Snape, as always, was awesome in the last chapter. Sadly not much of him in this one – but I still thought he was pretty good here. After all, he's the one who convinced Audrey what she had to do to help her brother...I think it'll be fun. As for loving a fictional character? I certainly hope it isn't wrong, or else I am in a lot of trouble...<br>Daphne will be making a comeback, I've decided, and when it happens it will be hard not to like her. She won't make a full recovery in the backstabbing wound she inflicted, but she will be back in Audrey's life. I know exactly when. It will be great. But you will probably hate it. Also, you'll think "oh, this will be it" a whole bunch of mini times...but when it happens you'll KNOW :P  
>You don't sound callous about who you do and do not want to die. I have my list of people who I really do not want to die and Snape, Fred, and Sirius are at the top of it. I'm trying to decide who I will be saving but at the same time I'm trying really hard not to make a decision – I don't want to pick based on my own biases, I want Audrey to save them based on the probability that it could happen...which sucks because I want her to save who I like best...<br>I can SO see Draco and Audrey having super snotty Slytherin children in a big house with Snape nearby. I can also see Narcissa hovering over them like a far-too-involved grandparent who gives them anything they want...I kind of wish that I could just be like "and they all lived happily ever after, no one gets hurt, no one dies, Voldy just decides he doesn't want to be evil anymore and there is no war. YAY!" but...that's DEFINITELY not realistic, so...  
>I'm glad you think I "consider all the angles" as you put it. Ironically, that's going to be a really big part of the Dreaco fluff...but no more on that, I can't give too much away! Still – I'm giddy at the thought of it.<br>Oh, and as for you being excited to read my replies, I'm always excited to read your reviews (particularly yours because they're so in-depth) so don't worry at all! You're marvelous, thank you as always :)**

_Princess-Dixon_**: Aw, I'm glad it makes your day when I update because it always makes me feel so happy when I get reviews! I think this is a win-win for us both. I'm glad the angst doesn't feel overdone. I remember when I read the fifth book thinking that the angst was suffocating the rest of the novel, so I'm happy that you don't think it's too much. Even though Draco wasn't in the last chapter he's in this one and the next five that I have already written, so don't fret! Thank you so much for the review, I hope you liked this chapter!**

_rose1589_**: Thanks for the review, hope you liked the chapter!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Harry should be slapped a lot of the time, so I encourage you.**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Umbridge is a great villain, even if she is a little bit bad on her uptake of sarcasm and the general feeling of apathy most feel toward her. Malfoy's stuff in the press is DEFINITELY affecting her perception of Audrey, which will be more defined in coming chapters. The fifth book is my least favourite – it's great and I love the plot points, but it's just not as exciting for me until the last ten chapters or so...it's a pattern I'm trying to break as most people say this was their least favourite of them all. I hope that you liked the chapter and thanks again for reviewing!**

_love4anime_**: Yes, Umbridge really doesn't seem like the type to understand sarcasm, does she? She's a subtle kind of evil (for the most part) but I could see her jus tnot understanding sarcasm, particularly if it comes from dry humoured, takes-no-crap Audrey. I found Harry very frustrating in this book particularly, so it's good that I'm getting the hair tugging frustration and at the same time the "aww good brother" ideals across. Do you still think that Audrey may join the DA now that she's decided to play spy? Thank you so much for the review :)**

_DancerForver_**: Yes, you had really good timing last time when I updated as you were reviewing, that was pretty cool :) Thank you for your review, I hope that you liked this chapter too!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I don't think the Slytherins will ever truly love Audrey as she is...unless maybe she starts dating Malfoy ;) School sucks, but as someone who's taking a year off, love it while you can. You don't realize that the stress of school is nothing in comparison to the stress of the real world – they really don't prepare us well enough for the whole 'living on your own' thing. It's depressing. Anyway, thanks for the review!**

_Guest_**: Sorry about the confusion, it was the right chapter but I probably should have reminded everyone a little bit better that Alya, Tracey and Lillian were dormmates with Audrey. We saw them a few times in the Goblet of Fire (particularly the night before the Yule Ball). Thanks for letting me know.**

_FullmoonSwan_**: Thanks for the review – the tension will only get worse, so I hope you still liked it!**

_Kate_**: Yeah, Audrey would have been pretty cool in the movies. It's hard to imagine her because when I was looking for a picture to post of her (I ended up using Emma Stone) I couldn't find anyone who looked like what I envision in my head. So though I used Emma Stone, she looks way different to me – but I guess it's up to each individual. I'm glad you want to punch Alya and the girls in the face – it means you feel for Audrey, which is good...or it is to me, anyway. Thanks for the review :)**

_sexichick_**: Audrey's always getting herself into trouble – but would we love her as much if she didn't? I'm glad that you like Audrey and the difference between she and Harry – I try very hard not to make her into a Mary-Sue, which can be difficult considering she's pretty powerful and stuff. I also like that you're now for Draco! Yay, welcome to the dark side! Hopefully you like everything I have going for the two of those crazy Slytherins.**

_neoko-chan_**: Thank you! My advice for any fanfiction is to never base a character off of a character...when I say that, I mean that I didn't base Audrey after Harry and I didn't base Audrey after Sookie Stackhouse – I based her off of someone I know. Because that person is real and hence Audrey will have real fleshy feelings, not premeditated book-y feelings. That's my method anyway, hope that helps! And yes, I can totally see Snape as Squidward...they should do a Harry Potter Puppet Pals about that...**

_Magimagus_**: I don't mind that you haven't been reviewing, but know that you have been seriously missed! Not having internet must be earth-shattering. It was for me. I got my computer keyboard fixed (so it was gone for a week) and I literally thought I may die. And I still had a superphone to live off of.  
>Draco is definitely in this story more now, which is nice and exactly how the Dreaco fluff will start. The Slytherin girls bothering her was bad, for sure, but don't worry – it'll get better. Fred and George reminded her how ;)<br>I'm glad that you like the angst of the "traitor" thing and I'm pretty proud of the parallel there – it's been a lot of fun to write. Audrey deserves the attention, I think. And I think she's been going about it the right way in consideration that her brother is totally drawing attention to himself, even when he was warned not to.  
>I promise that there will be lots more Snape, lots more HarryAudrey butting heads, lots more Sirius, lots more twins, and – of course – TONS more Draco. Thank you, as always, for your fantastic review and I hope that you enjoy the chapter whenever you get around to reading it!**

_WulfLuvr22_**: I literally belted out a laugh at the "someone should just stab Umbridge in the neck with a rusty fork". My boyfriend thought I was insane...but that's okay. He should know by now, anyway. It is REALLY interesting how everyone hates Umbridge – like everyone, ever. It's a pretty big deal to have a bad guy that no one can relate to and find things that they like about them. I just like how good of a bad guy she is. I even think that Voldemort has more redeeming qualities (such as the whole orphanage thing, parents didn't want him, people were cruel to him, etc)...and Draco Malfoy can't be in your bed. He's too busy in mine. THAT is all ;)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I don't blame you for being lazy, I'm pretty lazy myself, but I'm glad that you've liked it. As for your moment with the waiter, that's hilarious – I sadly have moments like that all the time. I'm often in my own world and I'm also stupidly clumsy...so don't feel alone! Thanks for reviewing.**

_Qee15th_**: Yuck, exams. I hope this update helped relieve some stress and gave you a little break. When do you have to take it? Exams and I do not get along, I'm a notorious procrastinator when it comes to school work. I have a rough skeleton written out for the story but I have not finished it. I am, however, multiple chapters ahead of where this chapter I just released. I'm currently working on chapter 40. So I'm not done, but I am farther ahead. Thanks for the review :)**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: Thank you very much :) I'm glad you're enjoying it, hope you liked this chapter!**

_Audrey Eakman_**: Aw, thank you, I love long reviews! Umbridge was a Slytherin, so sources say, and she definitely favours them in the books – I went and did lots of research on that before I began writing. You were right on about Audrey taking advantage of Umbridge's positive thoughts towards her and use it for the Order – well done – and now that she's a spy, I plan for it to become very interesting. Also Draco-packed, since we know that Draco is all for (and really helps to enforce) Umbridge's upcoming regime. Audrey and Draco will definitely not be having a straight forward "I love you" and "I love you too" relationship – that's not either of their styles, but I think it's pretty clear that they can't deny there's some sort of attraction. As for Montague and Audrey having to fight the battle on her own, it's quite clear that she plans to...but sometimes having a little bit of backup can save your life. Maybe she needs to start realizing that she needs to be a team player sometimes...  
>You're a Hufflepuff? That's cool. Though I've made it so Audrey doesn't think well of them, my Grandpa and Sister are Hufflepuffs and I love them dearly. Most people in my family are Slytherins or Ravenclaws (save my grandpa, sister, brother and I). Both my brother and I are proud Gryffindors – not that you can tell with Audrey, eh? Haha, thanks again!<strong>

_Apple_**: Yes, Audrey being liked by Umbridge is pretty funny and in this chapter we see just how much it might benefit her. I'm glad you like the Audrey/Draco interaction and yes, Pansy will still be an option for Draco for a while, but don't worry – I didn't make this a Draco/OC story for nothing :) I'm glad you like Theodore, he's the voice of reason and the most loyal of all to her (I think) and I think every story should have a friend like him in it. Harry has Hermione, but Audrey has Theo and I think it's a good trade-off. As for the question about Audrey getting a new wand, I ended up taking what you said to heart and writing the reason why into chapter 38, so keep a look out for that when the chapter is released. Good on you for guessing that though, I wasn't going to write the real reason for a long time – so you're asking the right questions ;)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Have I ever mentioned how great you are? I'm already working on another three to give you after the three you just sent back, you should get them some time next week. We did get some of the hurricane up here – Sandy took out power lines and took a lot of branches down, but other than high winds and lots of rain we didn't get much. How bad was it down on your end? As for me, I'm fine. Recovery has been a little bit rocky and even though I was on a tri-daily anti-biotic and in bed, my boyfriend called my mom the other day panicking because I had a really high fever. Apparently you're not supposed to get sick when you're on anti-biotics (which makes sense, I guess, though they do wipe you clean and leave your immune system wide open, so I can also see why). Either way, it just means another trip to the doctor tomorrow. Sigh, I feel like I'll never escape them! How have you been?**

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><p><strong>Well everyone – the time has come when the plot thickens. Audrey's going spy, she's actively thinking about Draco often, and Umbridge seems to be on her side...what do you think will happen now? <strong>

**Please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	37. Miracles of Mab

**Hello everyone! Normally I would not update so quickly, but we have another birthday and because she's such a fantastic reviewer I wanted everyone to say a happy birthday to **_Princesslinleigh__**...**_**and maybe thank her for getting you another update so quickly ;) Also thanks go out to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for editing this!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 36 – The Miracles of Mab<p>

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><p>Waking up on Saturday morning felt like a strange new world. Knowing what I was planning to do, that I was planning on working as a spy against Umbridge and whatever plans she would have against my brother – or at least plans worse than branding him with his own writing – almost made me feel giddy and uplifted compared to the entirety of the week before.<p>

Of course I wasn't stupid, the thought of why she would be calling me a traitor was sure to play on repeat in my mind near constantly. I would probably be found out for my spying, or maybe I would end up having to save Harry and she would call me a traitor for that – either way, I couldn't see a scenario that wouldn't make this all worth the risk. As bad as it would be to be found out for working against her – while working _with _her. Her being upset enough to call me a traitor still meant that I brought something in her plans apart...and after seeing the writing on Harry's hand, that was enough motive for me.

I did get an earful by the time I had made it down to the common room, however. Adrien Pucey was absolutely livid with me – which I guess was fair considering Slytherin Quidditch tryouts were this afternoon and I had intentionally ripped the seeker's good hand open. I was surprised that it wasn't the team captain – _Montague – _to be sharing these angry feelings with me, but I guess Pucey's anger may have stemmed from the fear of my retaliation of his long-time girlfriend Alya. Still, I took it all in stride, not able to take the bounce out of my step while I moved to the Great Hall. It was almost a liberating feeling, knowing that I was now a spy. It was almost like I was doing something for once.

Maybe this was why people joined causes like the Order.

Maybe it really _was _a good feeling to make a difference...still didn't plan to be doing it often, but maybe it was. Besides, I didn't feel any want to fight in a war – wars were not really my style. I would, however, love to undermine and slowly strip down the power of certain individuals using cunning, stealth, and a lot of mischief.

"Oh yeah," I thought aloud, drawing the attention of the people around me. I had barely noticed that I had sat myself between Theodore and Lillian or that across from me sat Tracey and Daphne. Unlike most mornings, Crabbe and Goyle weren't anywhere near me. They must have stuck around Malfoy who predictably was not sitting anywhere near me this morning. Tracey had been freed from the hospital wing after my prefect rounds last night and had explained that Malfoy had not ratted me out to Pomfrey...something I would have to interrogate him for later.

"Oh yeah, what?" Lillian asked.

"I still haven't plotted my revenge," my eyes flickered over to where Parkinson, Bulstrode, and Alya sat several seats away from me. None were looking my way – a rarity of late.

"Is revenge really necessary?" Daphne asked nervously, her eyes following mine. "I mean, I know what they did was wrong, trust me, I do-"

"Do you?" I asked darkly. She cleared her throat.

"Yes, I do. But do you really want to exacerbate things by drawing attention to the rivalry? I mean, these aren't Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs you're revenging yourself with – these are Slytherins. They like revenge just as much as you do and they're not as noble about how they do it."

"Not to mention we happen to room with them and they have access to all our things," Tracey added. I looked at her, blinking my eyes as my mind started to race. It was so simple...it was so simple, how could I have not thought of it before? Fred and George would be ashamed it took me so long to come up with this plan and yet...it was so perfect, I couldn't even be upset that it had taken so long. It would be worth it in the end.

Tracey's brown eyes looking suspicious after my long thought process. "Audrey?"

"Yes," I said quietly. "They _could _go through my things, couldn't they?"

"Oh, Merlin, I made it worse," Tracey realized with wide eyes.

"Audrey, please don't set anything loose in our dorm room," Lillian sighed, sounding as if she already knew that there would be no stopping me.

"Set anything loose? You think so low of me? I'm much more intelligent than _that_." I scoffed, looking down the table at the girls again. This time they saw me watching and looked away nervously.

"Not too intelligent for revenge it would seem," Daphne sighed, at least she knew that their warnings were useless.

"Speaking of revenge," Theodore began slowly. "Is it true that you sent Malfoy to the hospital wing last night?"

He had said the magic word, any news on Malfoy was considered top priority in Slytherin House and while everyone was busy trying to pay attention, I was pleased that I could take the time to smile at the memory.

"Yes, I did," I said loudly, holding Alya's glare defiantly. "During prefect rounds, actually."

"Audrey," each girl from my dorm room sighed.

"Why would you go and do that?" Daphne frowned. Tracey just smiled, again having being there, and nodded at me in understanding. She'd heard the entire situation behind my attack as soon as she'd come back into our room while the others slept.

"He spoke out of place and it was my job to put him back in his place," I sneered just at the thought of what had been said. "It was no less than he deserved."

"And no more?" Theodore asked doubtfully.

"No, I could have done much worse and still been justified in my actions," I informed seriously. Tracey nodded to help emphasize my point. "Besides, it's not like anyone besides the Quidditch team cares." The girls threw nervous looks at one another before digging into their food. "What?"

"Theodore is trying out for the Quidditch team today," Daphne said quietly. I raised my eyebrows, looking over at Nott with surprise. He looked sheepish as he began to play with the food left over on his plate.

"You are?"

"Well, I just figured in trying out – it's not like I'm actually talented enough to do any good for the team," he sank a little more in his seat. "I just thought it would be a laugh, you know, get my broom out of the wardrobe for once."

"Theodore's great," Daphne defended quickly, placing her hand on Nott's shoulder. "He practiced all summer long, don't let him fool you."

My eyes narrowed on Daphne. "You know what he did all summer long then?"

She looked nervous, her hand recoiling from him as if he were suddenly made of snakes. "Well, I-"

"Oh, I don't mind," I said with a taunting smile. "Just as long as you don't say it was _me _that was shagging him this time."

"He plays a mad keeper," Daphne ignored the jibe with shifted eyes to Lillian. "He'll get on the team for sure."

"I told you, it's just for a good time, I don't think I'll get on the team," Theodore muttered into his eggs.

"You're being too modest, I watched him and saw him play with some of the other boys." Daphne waved him off. "You should have seen when-"

"And like always, you're not being modest enough," I hissed, standing up from my barely touched plate of eggs and ham. "I'll talk to you before your try-outs, Nott, I have much less frustrating things to be doing."

I thought about walking over to the Gryffindor table to go and talk to Fred and George – particularly about the new plan I had brewing – but it seemed like it would be detrimental to the role I had now decided to play. Since the role required my utmost Slytherin qualities, I needed to embrace them and begin hating the Gryffindors like I hated everyone else...overall an easier task than most would think. I particularly knew my favourite Gryffindors opinions on the new regimen that Umbridge was trying to enforce and I was acutely aware that to make my position work, I would have to pretend that I didn't like people who would surely go against her new movement. So going over to the Gryffindor table would definitely be a no-no.

Instead I decided to go to the library – it wasn't necessarily the most interesting place in the world to me, but at least it would give me something to do until I could catch Theodore without having Daphne there to bother me. Was it that she was trying to get back into my good graces or that she and Theodore were obviously moving forward to spend more time together that bothered me more? I couldn't really tell. It's not like I was jealous of her and Theodore in a romantic way, certainly not, Theodore was no more than a friend to me...but I may have been a little bit envious of all the time they had obviously spent together over the summer.

Bloody Hell, I was envious of _Greengrass. _I've hit a new low.

When I got to the library it took me a while to know what exactly I was looking for. I saw a lot of interesting books there – lots on magical beasts that I'd already memorized, potions for ponces, even the book the boys and I had found when we were trying to see whether or not Magic came from the body or the mind – a subject that I still wasn't quite clear on.

"There you are," I muttered while I grabbed a thick tome on pureblood family trees. It was thick and dusty save for the newer sections that seemed to magically insert themselves when new members were born. Strange book. More interested now that I saw the differences in the ages of each page, I began leafing through it while blindly finding a seat at a table. It was disturbing how all the different families interlocked somehow – that the Weasleys were relatives of the Prewitts and the Prewitts were relatives of the Potters and the Potter's were relatives of the Longbottoms and the Longbottoms were relatives of the Crouches who were related to the Rosiers who were related to the Malfoys and it all came back to the Black Family Tree...

I could see all of my friend's families written on the thick parchment. The Greengrasses, the Notts (Marilin Nott, Theodore's mother, had died in '88, she'd been quite pretty), the Rivers, the Moons, the Davis'...it was strange seeing pictures of some of the relatives. It seemed that all the moons had white blonde hair and light eyes, that all the Davies' had dark eyes, that all the rivers had dark hair. The Malfoys all had light hair too – it was disturbing to see how much the Malfoy I had maimed last night had been spawned from look-alikes born generations earlier. The picture of his paternal grandfather Abraxas made me realize just how much he had inherited from his father's side.

His mother, Narcissa Malfoy, did not look anything like any of the blacks. They all had dark hair and even with the pallor in contrast to their dark hair she still had the lightest skin. She really did look like she belonged in the Malfoy line, if I thought about it. It was disturbing how people would stay in such a close-knit circle.

_Incest_.

Flipping the page back to the Black Family Tree, I saw Sirius' name written beside another – Regulus Arcturus – who I knew to be his brother. The tree was filled with people, for each member of the family a picture was placed on the opposite page as well.

Focus, Audrey. Sirius was not what I had come to look for.

Flipping through the index I went to find the 'Selwin' section. Or was it Sellwyn? or Selwinn? It took a while of digging before I found the name, it was spelt 'Selwyn' and it had a long list of pureblood Slytherins – including a Jane Selwyn and Thane Umbridge with a line beneath it that read 'Dolores Jane Umbridge'.

"Typical," I sighed, pushing the book away from me and rubbing deep into my eye sockets. I was getting another headache. It had not come on fast but it was not exactly gentle – I would be able to survive without the moonstone in my bed so long as I wasn't annoyed or anything of the sort.

"Oh, look at my luck."

Well, now I'm annoyed.

"Hello, Montague," I sighed, closing my book tightly so that I didn't have to worry about him seeing which family tree I was looking through. "Can I help you find something? How about the exit?"

"Clever as always, Potter," he said simply, sliding to sit onto the table in front of me. I pulled my chair back with a loud squeal against the hardwood while he leaned close. "What are you looking at?"

Not surprisingly, he took hold of the book and rifled through the pages before snorting. "Funny, it's not like you'll be finding a picture of you in here," he flicked the 'PUREBLOOD' on the cover. "Don't you agree?"

"Wasn't looking for it," I said simply.

"Oh," he said slowly, leafing through the pages again. "You know, they don't normally show blood traitors in these either – or at least they shouldn't."

"What about bastards to humanity?" I asked innocently. "I should hope your picture isn't in there, then."

"You know what they do show?" he asked darkly, slamming the book down in front of me. The picture looking up at me was of a pale man, handsome features, long black hair and familiar gray eyes. "Dirty old dogs who belong in Azkaban."

My blood all but froze in my veins as I tried to keep my face placid. It could have just been a coincidence that he had called Sirius a dog, there was no reason that he would know that Sirius was an animagus – we had not even known that Sirius was an animagus, so why should he?

Voldemort, that's why.

The picture of Sirius still smiled up at me while Montague took the chance to lean ever closer. "Think they pinpointed him to London, did you hear?"

"Oh dear," I said nervously. "I guess that means no more midnight strolls."

"Best not go to grandmother's house late," he mocked. It would have been close to charming were that dangerous, rabid look not still in his eyes. "Or the big bad black wolf may get you."

Not a coincidence. Montague knew.

"Aren't you supposed to be off to the Quidditch field so you can practice teaching others how to lose to my brother and play badly?" I hissed out, my entire body feeling like it was boiling out of nervousness and anger.

"Playing dirty is not the same as playing badly," he smirked, raising his eyebrows as he noticed my reaction. "I could teach _you _how to play dirty."

"I'm sure you could, but I'm not interested in learning."

"I never said you would be interested in it," he said lowly, the dark look on his face fully mimicking that look he had on the train again. "You know, Malfoy isn't here to save you now – you made sure of that, didn't you?"

"I don't need Malfoy to save me," I said with a grin, taking my time to make a show and stretch my fingers and crack each knuckle of my left hand before resting it innocently underneath my chin. "Do I?"

"I guess not," he pulled away slightly, the memory must have been burnt to his mind just as badly as the trousers had to his genitals. "But you might want to keep him around if you have any thoughts on staying – what is it you prudes say – _innocent_?"

"Oh, I dare you to bring that little package near me again, Montague," I gritted through my teeth, no longer able to pretend to not care thanks to the way my heart was racing under my ribs. I knew I was safe. I knew it. I was. Montague could never hurt me. "I'd love to see what I can do under duress."

"So would I," he leaned in to breath into my ear. I couldn't help the fist I made with my hand, which made him place his own hand over it. He was growing more and more comfortable with my discomfort. "Careful, Madam Pince is watching us."

I couldn't tell whether or not he was lying, but I had no want to look away from his hand over my own. "I guess we'll have to wait for tomorrow."

"For tomorrow?" I repeated, making sure that my voice didn't waver like my knees felt they would have were I standing.

"Or the next day...or the next...or the one after that..." he pulled away and began walking backwards out of the library. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

Montague walked out of the library backwards and smirking the entire time. When he had finally gone I found myself able to take a breath. I don't know why I was so terrified, why my heart was hammering like I had run from Voldemort himself, but something terrible had just been said to me and my self-preservation was making sure I knew it.

Montague demanded me and he was not joking when he said he always gets what he wants. He would try again.

And he would _lose_, I tried to remind myself. Still, I shook.

I took the book he had left on the table, the picture of Sirius still looking right up at me from its open page on the table. I looked at the picture briefly, watching Sirius watch me – smiling, unlike all the others in his family tree. He seemed to find it _amusing _being in this book. I looked left and right before tearing the picture out. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to save a few younger years from recognizing his face this way, or maybe I could stop people from recognizing that I would be speaking to him soon.

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><p>After sending a rather frantic and coded letter to Sirius, I could hear Daphne and Tracey's voices calling me from downstairs. We had all decided to go see Theodore's team tryouts and I was more than willing to go, even if it meant being close to Greengrass for the afternoon. Before I went down, however, I had unfinished business to attend.<p>

Since it was clear that with my spy-status I could not willingly hurt a Slytherin, I would have to be more discrete in my vengeful tactics. Which I was more than willing to do while I placed the newly labelled jar on top of my still-packed clothes and closed the lid of my trunk.

That and an hour of primping was all it would take.

"Audrey, hurry up!" Tracey yelled from the door to the dormitories.

With one last proud look toward the trunk at the end of my bed, I skipped out toward the common room. I briefly wondered what people would say – if I had done enough to make people notice and pay attention enough to make my plan work. But I needn't have been worried, any work on myself was more work than I did in a month and the girls mouths all dropped when they saw me.

"Audrey..." Daphne asked slowly. "Are you wearing makeup? Are you...your hair is – why do you look so..."

"Why do you look _pretty_?" Tracey said bluntly. She may hang out in pureblood circles the girl had grown hard-shelled and blunt thanks to being a halfblood in those societies. I had never really asked who had been the muggle in her family, but since she lived with her father, I was left to assume. "I mean, you always look nice but now you look..._pretty._"

"Maybe I'll tell you later," I winked. "When we're watching the boys during Quidditch."

"Are you doing this for a boy?" Lillian asked almost giddily. She was always up for a conversation about boys and liking them. It was her forte to be some kind of matchmaker. "Because this is exactly how you play it if you are – aloof and coy and make yourself noticeable...honestly I can't believe it took you this long to discover makeup – is that makeup or a charm? – either way, you look fantastic."

"Thank you, ladies," I said simply, leading them through the dungeon and out onto the grounds. The air outside of the castle was cool, even in consideration of it being September. The Forbidden Forest in the distance was beginning to change colour, it's leaves making it look much more beautiful and quaint than any of the creatures that dwelled within it.

When we stepped into distance of the Quidditch pitch I felt my blood run cold. It wasn't like I hadn't known where we were headed, but seeing it – seeing the Quidditch pitch – made my stomach flop painfully. No, it didn't look anything like the last time I had been here: the tall tresses of loveage had gone and the pitch no longer wound around itself and hid all the dangers that were out to kill me. In fact, nothing but the tall goal posts were hidden within the stands now – but once upon a time, the dangers that were out to kill my brother had killed Cedric Diggory.

"All right, Audrey?" Daphne asked me carefully. Tracey and Lillian had looked over their shoulders to catch my mood, apparently I had stopped walking, and the other three girls had made sure that I was still following.

"Fine," I forced a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know whatever charm you used made you look pretty enough to believe," Daphne frowned. "But I still don't buy it."

"So clever," I drawled, taking a deep breath and crossing my arms over my chest. I would not have any problem going into this pitch – you know why? Because I am Audrey Potter and nothing scares me...save water, dead bodies, deathly encounters, dark and confined spaces, or the idea of boys. Clearly.

"Come on, there are some seats right up here," Lillian pointed to some stands on the left, away from anyone who would be willing to taunt me for my brother's big-mouthery. I frowned, looking up at the stands and all the people who were sitting in it. All of the Slytherin girls had come this year, including a few Ravenclaw girls who weren't afraid to be seen with our crowd. A section of the stands were full and I was not afraid to sit by them and let them all know they didn't frighten me.

"No," I said loudly. "I'm not afraid to sit with them – I know who I am. Come on, let's go sit right there with them."

With uneasy looks from the three girls – particularly Tracey who had been hexed just yesterday by a Ravenclaw – I pushed past and lead the way, climbing the stands easily, getting comfortable in our seats before starting to talk about the turnout of Quidditch tryouts this year.

Nott was quite noticeable, he was over by the closest goal posts, looking to test his broom. There were only about six other boys with him – four older and two younger – considering there was only one position available that Nott wanted: he would be trying out for keeper today.

There was a bigger lot for beaters, however, including two second years who were trying not to seem intimidated by Crabbe and Goyle or the even more intimidating lot of seventh years who looked like they were just excited to hit something _really hard. _I immediately assumed these to be Montague's circle of friends.

We watched them all stretch and maintenance their brooms for a while, it was not anything interesting and I kind of found myself wishing that I had stayed in the dormitory longer. Maybe I could have made myself look more attractive with more time, maybe I could have thought over some smoother deliveries for everything I would end up lying about today.

"Alright, you lot!" Montague stepped forward, unfortunate captain of this year's team. "Last year we lost our seven year Quidditch cup streak to the Gryffindors – this year, I'm making sure we get a keeper who can keep that from happening and some beaters with better aim!"

A loud cheer came from the Slytherins in the stands and on the pitch, it was so loud that Tracey and I plugged our ears. We had never been much of the 'team spirit' kind of people and even though Slytherin wasn't necessarily known for it, we were considered anti-supporters.

"Now, the whole of you," he eyed the group that had assembled for the position of keeper. "Are here to try out for our last chance on the field. If a team does happen to get past our offensive, we need to be able to know our keeper can do his job properly. So I'm going to make sure that each and every one of you are up to the task. So, everybody mount your brooms and see if you can keep up!"

The Slytherin team all mounted their brooms and began flying around the pitch so quickly that I was surprised none of them had toppled off the other side of their brooms. I know I would have. Those who already had positions had come all dressed in their emerald Quidditch robes, making the new comers easy to spot from the old faithfuls on the team. And it was easy to spot that though Montague was the captain, he could not fly like Malfoy – as much as it pained me to say – and it seemed like Montague was having a real hard time reigning the bunthead in. I should have injured his hand worse to ensure I wouldn't have to keep watching his sorry arse.

Montague, Malfoy, Pucey and Warrington – what was left of the team – began cutting people as soon as they had finished an invisible air obstacle course that they seemed to have laid out for everyone to fly. These cuts ended up slicing those trying out in half. The two second years who had tried for beaters left along with a few older years. It was two violent looking seventh years, Crabbe, and Goyle who were left for that group. Out of the six trying for keeper three left, including a gutsy third year, a sour sixth year, and a seventh year who was sure to throw a temper tantrum on his way out.

Nott was still safe.

"We're going to do something a little unorthodox here," Montague's smirk was almost intimidating as he crossed in front of the seven people left to try out. "Instead of _saving _the goal posts, right now, I want to see if you can move quickly enough to defend them...when you're busy defending yourself."

He stepped back for a moment, moving to talk to the group of beaters while Malfoy moved forward to yell at the keepers. "The beater trys here will be aiming for your head while you guard the goals. The point of the exercise is not to get hit," his eyes found the quick flying fourth year. "You're first, twerp."

He was paired with the seventh year beaters who looked keen and ready to hit something and it seemed like they were pretty good at it considering after three fantastic dodges, the fourth year was hit in the shoulder and had to be taken to the hospital wing. I was too excited to be worried for him – there were only two keepers left now.

"I didn't know Quidditch could be exciting," I whispered over to Lillian, who let out a laugh.

"You should actually start coming to games...seeing Malfoy out there..."

"Ew," I frowned.

"Not ew," Tracey corrected. "It's really impressive, that boy can play. Overshadowed by your brother, sure, but he is still very good."

"It also helps that he's stunning," Lillian sighed. I rolled my eyes, watching as the next keeper was called up.

_Nott _was the next keeper. He had gotten on his broom and looked confident, but anyone who was watching would have seen his hands shaking. Crabbe and Goyle were merciless with him – it seemed like they had some sort of personal vendetta against my best friend and were I not to have known better and be on my new mission to be Umbridge's favourite, I would have ordered them to detention right then and there. Instead, I was forced to watch as they tried to dismount Theo from his own broom.

But even still, Nott managed to dodge them.

Nott had to veer harshly a couple times and almost slid off his broom when he once turned too far to the right and nearly spiraled, but he had managed to evade the bludgers that had been thrown towards his goal posts. I cheered.

But it was then that Montague decided to go back to his old ways. Montague, clearly not happy that neither of his beaters were doing a great enough job, chucked a quaffle toward Nott when he was already moving to the side to avoid the bludger Crabbe had aimed at his face. Because of the timing and the angle Nott had dived, he hadn't been able to catch the quaffle before it fell into the left side goal.

Which was a ridiculous test.

Still, not catching the quaffle would be a point against him, but I was glad to see he was safe and sound: as was Daphne, who had cut off the circulation to Lillian's hand with her tight hold and looked about ready to vomit.

The third and final keeper was able to dodge all the bludgers as well, sadly just as easily as Nott had been able to and – when the time came, since he knew what would come next – was able to catch the quaffle.

The Slytherins cheered. I frowned. Tracey swore. Daphne let out a groan. It was quite clear who had won between he and our friend. Slytherins didn't take comeraderie into account when making teams. It was not about friendship. It was about cold, vicious triumph.

"Well done, you lot, well done," Montague nodded to the six left at tryouts. "Go get some attention from the ladies over there while we deliberate."

A few of the boys came over to the stands while a few of the girls started climbing down the stands so they could make their way to the pitch and greet the players. It seemed like only Malfoy and Montague were needed for the deliberation because soon Alya was sucking face with Adrien Pucey. Knowing now that Alya, Parkinson and Bulstrode had all seen it fit to make their way onto the pitch, I was sure to pull the girls along so that we could congratulate our own player. But he saw me first.

"Audrey?" Nott asked with wide eyes as he walked over. "What _happened _to you?"

Apparently he had noticed my little transformation as well. I looked over my shoulder, sad to notice that no one else had been close enough to hear the exchange. I shrugged at Theodore, determined to still get my moment in the limelight. Lillian giggled.

"Doesn't she look fantastic? She's doing it to impress a boy!"

"Which boy?" Theo asked with a frown. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Luckily he knew well enough to believe me – I had no reason to doll up and try to impress some pompous, arrogant boy who was trying out for the Quidditch team.

"You did great, mate," I told him while I put my arm on his shoulder. "Really."

"Not well enough," he sighed. "He was better."

"Maybe they hate the fool," I told him seriously, looking over toward Montague and Malfoy, both of whom were throwing glances over to the older keeper try who was surrounded by Slytherin and Ravenclaw girls alike. He was basking in the glory. "He looks like a ponce."  
><strong><br>**"You're lying," Theodore snorted derisively. "But thanks."

"I think you did wonderfully, Theodore," Daphne smiled what would have been sweet in the past, but now all I could imagine was how fake it must have been. "You were very impressive."

"Daphne looked like she'd give herself a seizure, considering how nervous she was," Lillian giggled, moving forward so that she could nudge me with her shoulder. "Didn't she?"

"Seizure?" I repeated mockingly. "Ah, yes, that would explain the drool."

"Shut it," Daphne snapped, her cheeks burning pink.

Not really having much else to say, Daphne and Theodore made awkward sm/all talk that sounded much like ill-practiced flirting. It made me want to laugh and vomit all at once. It was nice seeing Daphne not knowing how to act around a boy, but it was disgusting to think that her flirting was working considering that Nott's cheeks seemed to have been dipped in permanent pink paint.

The group of us waited patiently until the potential players were all called back onto the field. The people who had gotten out of the stands didn't seem to care about decorum and stayed out on the field, too lazy to move back up to their seats in the stands. So neither did we. Instead I stayed leaning against the wall of the stands, keeping my eye keen on where the Slytherin Slags were standing just twenty feet away from us. It had now grown clear that Bulstrode had taken notice of my new appearance. I could only tell because she was openly gawking at me and shifting her eyes around to her friends to see who else had noticed the changes.

Good girl, Millicent, herd in the cattle.

"You weren't bad, Slytherins," Montague called out to the group before him. "But there were three that seem fit enough to survive the training we'll be initiating starting this weekend. This isn't the end for either group of you, winners or losers – if you can, try out next year for the team. If you are selected – expect to be put through torture just to get you in shape enough for practices..." his eyes flickered to Crabbe as he said this. Everyone noticed, so the Slytherins snickered.

"It's my pleasure to announce the new Slytherin beaters as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle," he began, waiting as a dull cheer rose through the crowd. The other beaters were not happy. The taller one began blaming his partner, the shorter one started trying to hit the taller in the head with the bludger bat. So outwardly violent...what an inferior gender.

They should be like me and have subtle vengeance instead.

"Shut up!" Malfoy called loudly, his voice resonating enough to quiet down the stands who had begun to laugh at the display from the misplaced tryouts.

"And for Slytherin's new keeper: Theodore Nott."

Theodore's eyebrows shot up so high on his forehead that they had disappeared into his hairline. The group of us girls cheered and screamed as loudly as we could; if there were ever a time to show some team spirit or school pride, it was seeing my best friend be picked for our virtually unstoppable Quidditch team.

Montague pulled the new team aside and the entirety of the team seemed to share a few words with the three new additions. The older, nicer looking Slytherins were accommodating and took the time to clap the new players on the back supportively. They couldn't do it for long before Montague gave them the cue to leave. Like lemmings, they followed him.

Parkinson, Bulstrode, and Rivers all moved forward to congratulate Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle on a wonderful day – probably using more flirty and colourful language – while Theodore came running back to us, a grin splitting his face in two. I really didn't like Quidditch, but seeing my friend so happy was something to look forward to. It seems I'll actually have to start attending games, so long as I wouldn't have to sit beside Greengrass-Girl-Wonder over here, who was bouncing for joy beside me.

"I did it!" Theodore laughed, moving toward us with a smile.

"Well done, mate," I cried back to him. "And to think, you haven't even broken any bones yet."

It drew attention in a way I hadn't expected – particularly a blonde haired seeker's attention. His eyes narrowed on me for a moment before he left the group of fawners' at his side to move toward the lot of us.

"_Potter_?" He asked, looking insultingly perplexed. "What _happened _to you? Why are you here?"

Ah, it seems my little tricked had worked on Malfoy too. Which, considering his standards – either extremely high or extremely low – could have been insulting _or _a compliment. Still, I felt like kicking myself when my cheeks burned.

"What does it look like? I'm congratulating the new Slytherin keeper," I said loudly to distract from them, feeling more confident again when the group he'd left swiveled to watch me. Alya did not look pleased with what she saw...now was my time to shine. I was sure to raise my voice. "Oh, I also came to remind you we have rounds from now until dinner."

"Before dinner? After," Malfoy corrected with a shake of his head. " Why are you done up to the nines? Do you have a date?" His voice had dropped lower at the question, but I couldn't help but hear the darkness behind his tone. I rolled my eyes.

"Not that it matters, but no," I purposefully flipped my neat and tidy red hair over my shoulder. "I was just trying out the bit of new beauty potion I ordered. Why, do you like it?"

"Like it?" He frowned, looking down as he dug his broom into the ground. "Since when do you use beauty potions?"

"Since they're on sale and so simple," I said with a smile, my eyes flickering over his shoulder to the girls behind him again. Parkinson was whispering to both Rivers and Bulstrode. "It's just so simple, how could I not have tried? I just rub it through my hair, dab it on my face and voila: instant makeover."

I had the full attention of all the girls around me, now. Lillian and Daphne were sending each other suspicious glances and having a silent conversation of some sort. Tracey was watching me just as suspiciously, but the corners of her mouth were lifted inexplicably. Had she caught on to my plan? Certainly not, but she may have got the gist of what I was trying to do. The girls behind our group were moving forward to listen a little closer, Alya leading the group and hauling Pucey behind her.

Malfoy and Theodore were watching me carefully, not sure what to make of what I was saying versus my appearance. Blinded by beauty. Boys were idiots.

"Oh really?" Theodore asked carefully, his eyes flickering over to Daphne and measuring out her response to the conversation. "Who made it?"

I frowned, gritting my teeth and trying not to give away that I had no idea who made any kind of beauty potion. His eyebrow was raised. He was going to ruin everything if the Slytherin slags saw my best friend acting so suspicious toward me. "I think someone called Queen Mab."

"Queen Mab?" Tracey asked too loudly, her voice three times louder than mine and even more animatedly fake. Still, she was sure to send me a wink when her back was turned on the girls and continue with just as much enthusiasm. "Not that fantastic potions mistress from Sweden?"

"The very same," I offered her a dramatic smile. "I only got the jar today, I hope it will last until I can get more at Christmas...I don't know what I'd do without it now that I know what it's like to be this way."

By the time I looked over Malfoy's shoulder again, Alya and her posse had disappeared. I let out a cheer, slamming my shoulder against Tracey's with a laugh before I began to pantomime dusting off my hands.

"All in a day's work, ladies and gents," I sighed dramatically. "And I do _such _fulfilling work."

Theodore was the first in the group to catch on.

"Oh no, what did you do?" He accused immediately. "Audrey, please don't tell me that you did something stupid."

"I did nothing at all, thank you very much," I lied, shoving my nose in the air like Daphne had taught me so well. "It's _them _who may or may not do something stupid."

"Audrey," Lillian groaned. I shrugged my shoulders innocently.

"I said they may or may not, it's really their choice."

"_They_?" Malfoy repeated, his face holding his characteristic frown. I couldn't help but send him a wink – I was too happy to realize how civil we were being considering just the night before I had sliced open his hand with my mind.

"Come on then, let's go back to the common room." I began to walk toward the exit of the Quidditch pitch before I felt a hand on my shoulder. It seemed that Malfoy was not through with his interrogation, considering he spun me around again.

He measured me out for a second, looking at the 'new me' that had been dolled up and probably looked loads more innocent than I really was. He shook his head, his eyes narrowing again.

"Why the common room? You said we had patrol."

"And you knew well enough to try to correct me," I said simply, blinking my eyes as innocently as I could manage. I needed to get them back to the common room before I wasn't present for my own prank. "We do have patrol after dinner, you were right, so let's go."

"But why would y-" Theodore began, but I cut him off by throwing my hands in the air to silence him. He silenced immediately.

Merlin, maybe being attractive _did _stop people in their tracks – a simple hand movement and BAM: I had people's attention.

Were this not for a prank, I would seriously consider getting used to this feeling.

"Come on, then, get showered so we can go. I don't want to miss the show, do you?"

No one understood what I was referring to, but Malfoy and Nott seemed to agree that they deserved to clean themselves before they would be smelt in public. I gave them the time to shower, screaming in the door every minute for them not to take their time. I think I made it worse by aggravating them. If they knew what they could possibly be missing, they wouldn't be so tardy...but that would require ruining the surprise.

And I _love _surprises.

On our way up to the castle, I tried to rush people as well, but it was no good. Malfoy and Nott were talking animatedly about their thoughts of this Quidditch season, Lillian swooned over Malfoy behind them, Daphne swooned over Theodore beside her...and Tracey and I busied ourselves with rude impressions of them all the way back until the concrete wall in front of the Slytherin common room moved...

"_GET IT OFF_!" The scream sounded before we even had time to look inside, but I already knew that it was music to my ears. When we crossed the threshold and entered the common room, the sight in front of us seemed to leave everyone confused – until I burst into laughter. It took a few moments for people to understand what was happening before they began to join in.

In front of us Pansy, Alya and Millicent were all piled on top of the couch, trying to climb up each other's limbs so that they could try to get away from the hundreds of rats that were trying to climb up the leather couch and get them.

The screaming continued through our laughter.

Their faces were priceless – the way they were throwing themselves over one another, none of them trying to help anyone but themselves, was something worth memorizing. And the only thing I could think of to have made the moment better would have been if someone could catch it on film. I'd hoped someone had caught a picture before we'd arrived. By the hoarseness of their screams, I could tell they'd been at it for a long while.

"_HELP, HELP US! GET THEM AWAY_!"

"Help you?" I cackled from the other side of the common room, trying not to bend over or let tears fill my eyes – though I was laughing enough to be in a fit for days, I did not want to miss a moment of this idiocy. "Why would we do that?"

"Audrey, what did you _do_?" Theodore whispered to me, not sure whether to laugh or whether to be appalled. I don't blame him – watching them try to sacrifice each other to the rodents was rather disgusting in itself.

"What?" I asked innocently, not even stalling while I moved toward them. The rats moved out of my way while I crossed my arms in front of them and let my full smile show, just feet away from the girls' flailing limbs. "Oh dears, do you need help?"

"_GET THEM OFF_, _POTTER_!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," I sighed, throwing a look over to the people behind me. While Daphne, Theodore and Lillian looked shocked, I could not ignore that both Tracey and Malfoy looked amused – it fueled the anger and satisfaction that was already pooling in my gut. "I would help, of course, were you innocent – but you aren't innocent, are you? No. You went into my things..."

I tutted as Parkinson screamed again. Another rat had gotten close to her foot. I took it off for her just so that I wouldn't be interrupted again.

"You did this?" Alya asked, her eyes furious.

"No, you did," I corrected with a smile. "That jar of Queen Mab did look like a nice jar of water, though, didn't it?"

"Audrey, what do you do?" Theodore asked again, he had walked up to my shoulder and placed his hand on it to get my attention. I spun around in his grasp to look at him with a sneer.

"Nothing more than they deserved," I hissed.

"That's not an answer," Malfoy, eyebrow raised, walked forward, his arms crossed over his chest. He stopped a few feet away, his eyes flickering to the girls on the couch before they fell back on to me.

"This summer at-" I stopped myself. "At home I had a rather unfortunate run in with a boggart. I decided to keep it. I didn't really know what I would do with it, but then again I didn't really know how to get these bints back for calling me a slag until I thought of it the other night. The jar was just waiting in my trunk, waiting for a victim – and I'd already been made such an example of..."

"_MAKE THEM GO AWAY_!"

"Oh, detention, you three," I added with a smile. "All of next week – for trying to steal another students' things."

I shuffled to the side so that I was facing Alya. I watched as one of the rats began to crawl up the front of her robes and let out a smile when she bent over to shake it off, putting the two of us face-to-face.

"By the way, next time you try to go through my things," I told her darkly, watching as her eyes widened fearfully. "I'd try remembering who I do and do not trust to throw me under the bus – off the broom – however you want to look at it."

"I'll get you for this," she hissed at me.

"Why? Why when I have a truce-present for you?" I smiled, moving my hand between our faces and not minding that my eardrums shook from the scream that emitted from her. In my fingers, fidgeting to be free – was a rat. I smiled while I shoved the rat into her hands and watched, quite pleased, when she fainted.

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><p><strong>Not my longest chapter, but<strong> **Audrey finally got her revenge – and got the attention of a certain Slytherin in the process. Yay! And what about Montague? Ugh, what a creep! To my wonderful reviewers:**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad you liked the chapter! And don't worry about the big wide world – it's wide enough you can hide in it for a while until you're ready. I can definitely write a flashback to the sorting hat when Audrey was sorting hat, but you can pretty much piece it together from the prologue of this and there is a chapter in Audrey Potter's Prelude where you can see it from Draco's POV. She was sorted first, Harry after. But I will be doing more first year flashbacks over the winter break :) The fluff starts in the next few chapters – you can already kind of see hints of it, I hope. Don't worry...it's coming! And never worry your reviews are boring me...they never are :) **

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Hi there. Yes, putting the letter "u" in favourite, colour, honour etc is Canadian/British spelling and I am Canadian. I'm glad you like the story and hope that this chapter was good, I updated pretty quickly!**

_Princesslinleigh_**: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Thought I forgot, didn't you? Of course not! I thought that this would be an exciting chapter to get out on your birthday, so I hope you like it. It had some Dreaco fluff and Montague drama! The Deathly Hallows even makes ME nervous...I don't know if I'm ready to put Audrey through everything I have planned. It's going to be so sad! Hope you liked the update and again, happy 19th!**

_Neve_**: Audrey is definitely going to try to get better with her wand! I can't let you know whether or not Audrey will be there when the DA gets caught, but I promise when that happens it will be exciting :) Thanks for the review.**

_Seers_**: Them going public for a relationship would definitely be fun, but I can't imagine Audrey going for it. I don't think you're vicious for wanting to hurt the girls that hurt Audrey at all! Did you like her revenge on them?**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Yes, Audrey can't help but think about him, can she? And look, he was even attracted to her...and she was flattered! So cute. What'd you think of her payback? Thanks for the review!**

_Novella Vialli_**: It's coming, I promise! **

_sara253xxx_**: I'm glad you liked it, thank you for the review!**

_sexichick_**: Draco is around constantly, don't you worry. I'm glad you like the 'Hoe Chang' thing and don't worry – things will come to a boiling point between those ladies. It will be fun ;) Thanks for reviewing.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like it! **

_WulfLuvr22_**: You can't kidnap Draco, he's magic! Haha. The first time I ever heard the "it's all shits and giggles until someone giggles and shits" I was in shock and then laughed two minutes later like an idiot. Oh, it still makes me laugh every time. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, thank you for reviewing!**

_J.C Jackals_**: I know you were reviewing for chapter two, but if you ever make it this far, thanks for reviewing!**

_Apple_**: Glad you liked the quick update (this one was even faster!) did you like this chapter as well? I couldn't make Audrey be all alone, she's far too awesome to have everyone hate her. It's just not realistic for someone famous and charismatic and innocent (of the rumours) to be disliked by all. Audrey going spy will keep her in the thick of things...and since Draco is on the other side, it means she'll have more time with him...and yes, they should respect Cedric! Jerks. Thanks for the review :)**

_myblacktears_**: I can't say if she'll be in the Inquisitorial squad, but I wouldn't rule it out just yet. I'm glad that you like it, thanks for the review!**

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><p><strong>Well, so begins the drama. What do you all think?<strong>

**I'd love to hear your thoughts in a **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	38. Just Like James

**Hello, lovelies! I have another update for you - this one is interesting. I got a lot of positive response for the last chapter so I'm excited to see what you think about chapter, which was edited by the fantastic **_Angel of the Night Watchers_**. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 37 – Just Like James<p>

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><p>When all was said and done, I did not feel an ounce of regret while I watched Daphne walk the girls to the hospital wing – well, I guess technically Alya had to be levitated – but I could still not make myself feel any form of remorse. Apparently whoever feared rats most had been imaginative enough to fear that they would also have very sharp teeth and would therefore be able to bite more easily through flesh than real rats were able, so it had left need for Madame Pomfrey's care.<p>

"You know I never condone you using that mind of yours to hurt people," Theodore began in his usual berating tone as he walked me down to dinner. "But good on you."

"Er – what?" I repeated with raised eyebrows.

"I don't condone what you did," he said seriously, just to make the point perfectly clear. "I think that it was over the top and bordering psychological torture, but I _do _think it's good you fought back after what Alya did to you. It wasn't right, even if the two of you weren't as close as say you and Lillian or you and Tracey."

"Thank you, Theodore," I let out a surprised and breathy smile. It was nice to have him on my side, even if he didn't really approve of my dramatic methods. "This has been a good day, hasn't it? You became Slytherin Keeper, I got revenge, and we even got to see the little gits squirm."

"Never tell anyone in our house that I initiated this," Theodore began with a sigh. "But I really think that you should go talk to some of the Gryffindors about today."

"Wait, what?" I scoffed loudly. "What's wrong with you today? Are you just throwing all of your ethics aside for my benefit? I mean, first of all, I don't really understand why anyone other than Fred and George would like to know about it. Second, why should either of us ever care what the rest of the house thinks? I'm already kin to a leper in their eyes."

"I may or may not have been referring to Malfoy, when I said that, Audrey."

"Alright, fine, then more importantly why the hell do we care what _Malfoy _thinks?" I corrected with a frown, watching him carefully after my pointed eye roll. "I know you and he are all Purebred-buddies, but I do not understand how you don't find him repulsive for the way he treats me."

"He's been treating you wonderfully this year, Audrey," he reminded. I let out a guffaw that he rolled his eyes on. Apparently he thought I was about to be dramatic – quite the opposite. I was under-dramatizing how much of an arse the boy was!

"Sure, if you include protecting me from Alya and others like her, but he's still been a git. I don't see why we should consider him when we make decisions like whether or not I should go speak to my own twin brother." I narrowed my eyes, watching Theodore heave a sigh and rub his hands on his trousers – his universally-recognized sign that he was anxious.

"He's been really on guard since those newspaper articles, Audrey," he reminded. "Cut him some slack, will you? He's trying to make this as painful as possible with the _Prophet _always snooping around and your...well..."

I stopped walking, we were near the Great Hall but I did not want whatever he was about to say to be heard by the masses. Something told me I would not enjoy what he was about to tell me. "My _what_?"

"Well, er – I mean, it's pretty much common knowledge that you aren't...quite _yourself _after what happened last June. It's not a bad thing," he added nervously, he must have seen the way I looked like I had been punched in the gut – or possibly he noticed that my fists were clenching angrily. One or the other, I'm sure. "It's just...we all want to make sure that you're comfortable and that – er – that you don't get hurt anymore. Malfoy's been doing a load to keep outsiders off your back, but as for the people in the castle...well, Alya's a good example, isn't she?"

"So really people are helping me not because they _like_ me," I mused, looking in the direction of the Great Hall with narrowed eyes. "But because they _pity _that I lost Cedric?"

It was painful saying his name, but I needed to say it to prove that I could. If people were really as perceptive as Theo had said, people had noticed that I stuttered at his name and wheezed it out as if it took all the breath out of me. I would have to start getting over these things by small feats at a time if I ever planned for things to get back to normal.

"It's not pity," he argued but I shook my head.

"Then what is it, sympathy? Empathy? Condolences? Because those, my dear Theodore, are just Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw terms for _weakness_."

I can't believe that I was quoting Dumbass Malfoy. He had said these things to me once, he had said these things when I had found out about my relations to Sirius Black, and yet I couldn't stop myself from repeating them. It's exactly what this was – people thinking I'm weak and therefore treating me as if I am weak. And I've never been weak in my life. _I'm _the strong one, _I'm _the one who saves my brother as he saves the day and _I'm _the one who lives without the credit.

_I'm _the strong one, so why am I considered the weak one after last June? It had to be pity, no one else would give a shite why I was or was not acting the way I was otherwise. Were they doing it particularly because Cedric was beloved by all? Possibly. Or maybe it was because I was Harry Potter's twin. Still, pity wasn't meant to give to weak people; pity was meant to keep you weak in people's eyes.

Pity: the silent killer.

"We're not thinking you're weak, Audrey, we're worried because you're being _too _strong sometimes," Theodore argued, placing his hands on my shoulders to draw my attention back to him. He squared his jaw before continuing, I don't know what it is in my eyes that he thought gave him the right to continue on. "In the past three months you lost Cedric, saw You-Know-Who, got a target on your head, fought off dementors this summer and had gits for dorm mates...how much more can you realistically take? You'd be nutters if you hadn't already figured out that you've gone through too much too fast."

"Your pity is sweet, Theo," I said honestly, or at least as honestly as I could considering the idea of pity was now akin to some form of acid. "But I think I'll go for Empathy and sit with my brother tonight."

I know that I shouldn't have cut Theodore off like that and walked away, but I didn't like how right he may or may not have been. I think the worst part is that I couldn't tell whether or not he was. And I know I shouldn't have cut him off specifically because it felt like – besides the companionship Lillian and Tracey offered during and between classes – Theodore was the only friend who would be there for me whenever I needed. But right now he was right, I _couldn't _take much more of what I'd gone through these past three months...and the only one who would really understand, the only one who could _truly _relate, was sitting under the gold and red banner at the other side of the Great Hall.

"Oi, Potter!" I rolled my eyes.

"Is that how everyone needs to address me, _all _the time?" I asked, turning slightly to look over at the group of redheads at the Gryffindor table. It seemed like all four of the Weasleys had decided to stick together for dinner today, but then again it helped that they were all in their Quidditch robes.

"Why do you look so nice?" Fred asked, his face screwing up in a mixture of bewilderment and resentment. It was almost as if he didn't like the makeover I had forgotten I'd given myself earlier this afternoon.

"You always think she looks nice," George pointed out loudly, making Fred frown at him.

"This is true, but not for tonight's dinner entertainment." A good point, but I was still lost in whatever way he was looking at me. I couldn't understand what the look boiled down to...and that bothered me. I was usually acutely aware of what everyone around me was thinking through expressions and interaction. I lived my life by the rules of psychology and inner monologue.

"It's true," Hermione pointed out, leaning in from beside Ginny to frown at me. "You don't usually put so much time into your appearance, Audrey, why is today so different?"

"It was for the benefit of my pride," I said vaguely, trying to keep the smile off my face. I was unsuccessful. "It made for a good day."

"Well, it must have been a right sight better than ours, then." Ron sighed, stabbing his fork into his chicken before bringing it up to his mouth. Something terrible had obviously happened because we were at dinner and Ron Weasley still had room in his mouth to make a coherent sentence – this was a rarity.

I glanced at their Quidditch robes again. "Did you have tryouts today as well?"

"Yeah, right before yours," Ron frowned. Another stab to the poor, already mutilated chicken. "Thank your house for being there, by the way, it was nice hearing about how awful I am as keeper."

"You're keeper? Congrats, you'll be playing against Nott." I raised my eyebrows, my eyes flickering to my brother and the twins. "I guess I can't tell you the outcome of the games anymore, can I, boys?"

"Not that you really help us out with much anymore," Harry mumbled, turning from his plate to look at me for the first time since I'd arrived. Well, I guess it was clear that he still felt some animosity that lingered from our performance in Umbridge's class and the detention thereafter.

"Oh, don't be so rude," I sneered at him. "I'm your sister, not your enemy."

"My _twin _sister," he reminded me with narrowed eyes. "My _little _sister. That means you should always be on my side, like I'm always on yours."

"Right," I scoffed, unable to stop myself from arguing. "You seem to forget that you're never on my side. What about that time when I argued that Snape wasn't trying to steal the stone – or the time everyone was calling me the heir of Slytherin – or the time I dated Finnegan-" Seamus looked up from the table a few seats down. I shot him my favourite fingers. "And as for the time I tried to convince you Black was not the enemy? Or you must certainly remember the time you didn't tell me about the dragons."

"That wasn't what it looked like!"

"It was exactly what it looked like," I argued, my frown deepening while I moved to sit across from him. I wedged myself between the twins, who smiled and nudged me appreciatively. "I am always on your side, it just doesn't help that you make our side the side that always loses. Besides, you should be proud of me."

"Proud of you?" Harry repeated dully, before his eyes rolled in realization. "What'd you do this time?"

"Such little faith, brother! I gave some of your transgressors detention today," I looked to both the twins beside me as innocently as I could manage. "Among other punishments that Hermione here wouldn't approve of."

"Oh, Audrey," Granger sighed right on cue. "What did you do?"

"Why do you and Theodore sound like the same broken record?" I pouted, looking over at the twins. "I'm not quite so predictable, am I?"

"Possibly it's because you've always done _something _or other to disrupt the peace," Ron snorted into his food. He seemed in a good enough mood that half of his words were distorted. He was eating again – I guess I could rule out depression.

"I resent that," I replied snootily, fixing my voice to sound like Daphne's. "I happen to be a very well mannered young lady when I want to be."

"But honestly, Audrey-"

"-what did you do?" Fred finished for his brother. Both of them had raised eyebrows and knowing smiles – I had no choice but to return it. It was infectious, particularly as the scene played against the forefront of my memory again.

"You boys know me so well!" I laughed, leaning forward so that it would seem more like we were conspiring. Which, in a way, I guess we were. "You see, after a devastating bought of humiliation in the Slytherin dorms I needed to get revenge on a certain bunk-mate who has sided with none other than Pugface _herself._"

"No!" Ginny's tone seemed as if it was joking, but she was still leaned forward to listen to me fully. Most people were. I nodded animatedly, excited that people were listening to me for once.

"I know, devastating, I tell you. So, to get revenge on her I may or may not have done myself up to look as nice as I could and made my way down to the Quidditch pitch for the tryouts so that I could set my plan into action – if you know what I'm saying."

"We don't," Granger frowned at me, her voice was accusing enough as it was. She knew that whatever it was I had done would be strictly her against morals, but even she seemed to be unable to hold back her curiosity.

"Well, I went and said that I had a new beauty potion in a jar labeled in my trunk. I just happened to say it near the perpetrators of my previous torture and they-"

"No!" Harry said loudly as he clued into what I was saying. "Audrey, you didn't!"

"I did," I laughed, not even able to hold back a smile of wrath. "I may or may not have let Parkinson, Bulstrode, and Rivers open up my jar of boggart – which apparently unleashed itself in the form of a hundred rats with very sharp teeth."

The Weasleys all burst into laughter. Harry shook his head at me. Hermione, not surprisingly, look scandalized.

"Audrey, you are a _prefect_!" She hissed at me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm also a temperamental woman," I argued back, hitting my hands against the table for emphasis. "I blame it on hormones."

"You can't do that," she argued with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, no, I can," I nodded factually. "It's my time of the month."

"Is it really?" Ron – who was now completely blanched and looking about ready to vomit – groaned out. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Either way, would you really ask me to prove it?"Each of the boys shook their heads very quickly. I guess that area of the conversation was closed, then.

"You have a responsibility as prefect to behave and punish accordingly-" Hermione began, but I didn't really want to take the time to listen to what I'm sure was a fantastically practiced lecture dedicated to me.

"Oh, I gave them each detention as well," I smiled at them. The boys, now distracted from the conversation about my womanly habits, were amused again. Hermione groaned. "The detention was for rifling through my personal belongings."

"Well done, mate!" The twins roared, wrapping their arms around me in something between a sandwich and a hug. It was uncomfortable and squished, but it was nice to feel like people agreed with what I had done to defend myself. I wonder if Harry and Hermione would feel the same annoyance if they knew all the torment that had been done to me in my own dorm. I laughed a little harder.

"Yes, I thought you may enjoy that."

"A hundred rats, eh?" George laughed, pulling away so that he could speak to me properly. Fred eventually did the same. "How'd they react?"

"There was a lot of screaming and fainting...it was as if she'd swallowed one of your fainting fancies whole!" the twins burst into laughter again and I couldn't help sending Granger the self-satisfied smile that I couldn't rip from my lips. Someone appreciated what I'd done. _Someone _appreciated me.

George even took the time to wipe a tear from his eye. "Our ickle Awdwey is all grown up and devastating the world without us!"

"Whatever will we do with our time now that she can do things on her own?" Fred asked seriously.

"Perish the thought!" I added dramatically. "I still plan to be involved in all your plots."

"All of ours?" George frowned. "We're concerned about all of yours!"

"Oh, stop worrying, George," I told him seriously, leaning toward him so that he could hear when I whispered. "Next time you'll be involved."

"And me?" Fred pretended to pout, tapping me on the shoulder. I could not believe how comfortable I was with these boys touching me, considering when most others did I felt immediately repulsed. I was getting better with human interaction, at least, even if my temper was overcharged. I rolled my eyes.

"You two are pretty much a package deal," I informed them with a smirk.

"That's not true-" Fred began with a mock sense of hurt.

"-we are individuals-"

"-and quite different-"

"-don't let the fact we finish each other's sentences fool you-" George added with a side-glance towards his brother.

"-it's all a ploy." Fred nodded.

"You're right," I sighed, looking between the boys before my gaze fell tauntingly onto Fred. "I like George better."

As he pretended to hold his hand to his heart, my brother's hand came to rest on my shoulder. I shrank away. Alright, maybe I wasn't doing the best I could have with human interaction – or maybe it was because when my brother put his hand on me like this I knew that I was in for some sort of lecture or attempt at a life-lesson he still had yet to master himself.

I looked back to Harry with a frown, still not sure how to act considering I could not tell whether or not he was still upset with me. He was always so judgemental – it was probably the reason we had ended up in such different places. I judged what I knew – Harry judged what he saw.

"You need to eat," he told me firmly. My eyes flitted to the food on the table in front of me. Had I eaten breakfast? I couldn't remember. I don't think I'd eaten dinner the night before...

"I'm fine," I frowned back to him, pulling my shoulder out of his grasp.

"Eat," the twins agreed synonymously, suddenly all the humour was lost on their faces. It was sad to see – I felt like with one sentence my brother had ripped away everything I'd tried to do since I'd sat at the table.

"Or we'll feed you something else-" Fred began warningly when he saw I hadn't moved.

"-something we've cooked up-"

"-you aren't afraid of canaries, are you?" Fred finished. I forced out a laugh.

"You won't get your canary creams past me!" I smiled, but decided to backtrack just in case. "But please don't try. I'd like what little food I do ingest to stay in my stomach and nourish me."

"Then eat fast," George winked, holding a spoon with some sort of soup in it. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You know, I am perfectly capable of feeding myself."

"But you haven't been," Harry replied simply, I gave him a glare that could have melted glaciers. I did not need him bringing things like this up in front of a group of people. Theodore was wiser, at least, but my brother? Apparently he had no brain.

Not that I didn't already know _that._

"Says who?" I challenged.

"Says your prominent collarbones," Hermione interrupted the two of us before we could start a _real _argument. "Audrey, do you know what happens if you deny yourself of food? Your body will start to break itself down so it can keep itself running..." she leaned forward. "And if you've been doing any Magnuse lately, you've been using all your energy and food stores up."

"Don't worry about that," I sighed, looking down to my hands and flexing them. "Honestly, I haven't been able to do much of anything. As much as I hate to admit it, I kind of like Umbridge's class-"

"_Evil_!" George moved away from me on the bench at the same time Fred moved away from me and shouted, "brainwashed!"

"No, it's a nice break!" I recovered with a frown. "Between my Magnuse being less than satisfactory and my wandwork being..._less _than less of satisfactory, being able to just sit and be mindless is almost a blessing."

"You should never admit to liking anything that vile woman does. Harry, have you-" Granger's eyes flickered down to my brother's hand, still red-raw from the bloodied quill.

"Oh, I know," I said quickly, not bothering with placating the conversation. "And I'm already working on it."

"Working on it?" Harry repeated, measuring me up slowly. I could only imagine what went through his mind – did he suspect what I was trying to do? Did he suspect that I was going to play spy for his cause? "Audrey, I don't want anyone to know and I don't want to give her the satisfaction of-"

"Yes, I knew you'd say that," clearly my brother suspected nothing. "Which is why I'm dealing with it in my own way."

"Your own way?"

"I swear that everyone has become a broken record," I hissed to Hermione, who had again repeated what I had already said. She kindly rolled her eyes.

"You know, you ought to have more faith in me. Have I ever let you down?"

"Constantly," Hermione stated, more factually than cruelly. I don't know if Hermione had the capacity to be cruel...stupid Gryffindors. "Your prefect status will be stri-"

"Well, you've never let us down!" Fred interrupted, grabbing my attention with a large smile and a poke to my side.

"And if you have a plan to take down Umbridge-" George continued with a wink.

"-count us in."

I took a moment to smile at the two boys – both of which were so loyal even to someone like me who was loyal to virtually no one else. It was...flattering, to say the least, that people could trust me enough to believe I'd trust them.

Surprisingly, it made me want to be loyal, too.

Ugh, I'm becoming sentimental like the rest of them.

"This is sadly more subtle work than your repertoire, gentlemen," I sighed dramatically, my eyes finding the pink clothed toad at the front of the hall. She was watching us, a small smile on her face. When she saw me looking she gave me a curt nod – I forced a smile, trying against all odds to have the wench like me. I didn't take my eyes off of her as I continued speaking to the twins. "But if I ever need assistance, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Subtle?" Harry asked again, his eyes having found that I was also looking at Umbridge. He did not sound pleased.

"Well," I broke Umbridge's gaze and leaned backward slightly, forcing my body language to read uncomfortable for the spying toad at the front of the room. I didn't want her to think I was too comfortable sitting over here with my friends – even if it was the biggest lie of all. "There's never work as fantastic as ripping things from the inside out. Like eating stuffing at Christmas."

"Audrey, no!" Hermione cried immediately. I should have known she would catch on more quickly than the others.

"Oh, stop it," I sneered at her, trying to keep my tone as lighthearted as I could – still, it came out bitterly. "Saying my name won't make me listen to you and you have no idea what I'm plotting. She's not getting away with what she did to my brother and I'm the only one she'll give the light of day to considering you guys all keep spouting out news of Voldemort's return as if you're a cherub fountain."

Fred and George high-fived me while the others were slow on the uptake. They began repeating their talk about being in on my plans and all the things they could do to help – canary creams and puking pastels were among their ideas. They hadn't delved far into their genius before someone cleared their throat and made the group of us look back over my shoulder.

I should not have been surprised to see that Malfoy was there. I was not at all surprised that he did not look pleased.

"We have patrol."

"After dinner," I argued him factually as I gestured around to my friends around me. "Can you not see that dinner is still continuing with or without your presence?"

"Well, we'd be allowed the luxury of dinner were it not for your display in the common room," he argued back with a pointed look toward the Weasleys I was sat between. "Snape is demanding us in his office."

I let out a long groan. "Can't you just say Daphne did it?"

"Everyone knows a scene like that is stamped with the _Potter _insignia," he drawled with a quick glare toward my brother. "You'll just make it worse for yourself if you're late."

I looked toward Fred hopelessly, but all he could do was shrug. Apparently he wouldn't be getting me out of this sticky situation with any of the brilliant ideas he'd had in accordance to Umbridge. I pouted for a moment before groaning again and hauling myself out of my seat.

"The things I do for my sterling reputation," I mumbled to them all. "Learn from my mistakes, friends."

"I just hope your prefect badge isn't stripped from you for that little stunt," Granger frowned while crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm sure that the professors won't be impressed. What you did was unethical and _wrong._"

Malfoy, who had turned around to lead me away already, turned back on his heel with a coolness to his glare that was reserved only for Hogwart's golden trio. It seemed to freeze her in her seat, even if her returning glare was defiant. I couldn't help raising my eyebrows and giving a side glance to Ron who was trying hard to swallow his overstuffed mouthful of food.

"Not that it's any of your concern, mudblood," my patrol partner interrupted with a hiss, "but Rivers had it coming. And not that you would care, Potter," his glare turned toward my brother once again. "But perhaps you should try to stop people from calling your sister a slag in the corridors – or on her own bed."

I widened my eyes, looking at Malfoy hopelessly for a moment before Harry made a strangled sound as if he were trying to find something to say, even though nothing was coming. Fred, always ahead of the race, let out a sound of indignation.

"She _didn't_," Fred hissed to me, sounding closer to a question. His normally dimpled smile was replaced by a red and completely appalled expression.

"She had it coming," I echoed Malfoy dully, turning my gaze toward him from the corner of my eye. Malfoy refused to look at me – it made me even more confused...was he not going to take credit for ruining my evening? Did he understand that he was telling the most overprotective nitwits in my life that I needed more looking after?

"And River's isn't the worst of them," Malfoy's eyes, finally, turned toward mine. They were a tumult of ice and understanding – an understanding that didn't make sense to me. I don't know if he had meant to say that for the others to hear, but it was quite clear by Fred's reaction that they had.

"Then who _is_?"

I didn't answer him and nor did Malfoy, but still I knew exactly who Malfoy had been talking about. So, perhaps Malfoy wasn't as obtuse as I had thought he was – apparently he knew just how dangerous Montague's stewing anger was becoming.

The question is: what did he care?

Had Theodore been right – had he really changed because of whatever articles had been released in the _Prophet_? What the bloody hell had happened to make Malfoy turn into something somewhat humane?

"I'm more than happy to leave you here to rot, Potter," Malfoy's voice was louder now, meant to be heard by everyone and a signal that our previous conversation – and a sign that the moment of bitter and horrified understanding between the two of us – had ended. "But I will not be getting detention from Snape because of another of your many muck-ups."

And he's back.

"Let's go, then," I sighed wearily, looking back over my shoulder to see Fred and George's heads pushed together darkly while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left looking shell shocked. Well, maybe some good could still come out of Malfoy's loud-mouth...somehow...

There was really nothing that Malfoy and I found necessary to say while we walked down to Snape's office, considering there had already been too much said during his dinner interruption. I knew that he had been going to extreme measures – at least extreme measures for _him_ – to keep me out of public eye so not to rub the media the wrong way. You know, considering we were deemed a couple by most social circles.

I also knew there had to be some ulterior motive for him to continue doing this – to tell the Gryffindors of what was happening behind closed doors – but I couldn't quite figure out what that ulterior motive could be. And then to warn Fred and Harry like that? To tell them about Alya and hint toward Montague...what in Salazar's name was he thinking? Clearly he was planning to have Montague killed – not that the idea hadn't crossed my mind a few dozen times – but Montague was _my _nuisance to deal with and I would not have Montague thinking that I've been asking for help against his witless threats.

'He won't always be there to save you' is what he had said on the train, wasn't it? Had Montague meant Nott as I had initially thought – or had he meant Malfoy? Suddenly, the latter didn't seem like that far of a stretch.

I did not knock on professor Snape's door before I entered, considering I was so used to going straight in and because I knew he was already expecting us. As always he was marking behind his desk, his dark eyes looked displeased when they rose to meet mine.

"Sit."

Ah, so it would be a lecture today.

Malfoy and I did as we were told and sat on the two pre-set chairs in front of his desk. Snape took the time to finish the paper he was grading before placing down his quill and sighing. He looked between the two of us carefully for a long moment.

"Would either of you honour me with an explanation on why a boggart was released in the Slytherin dormitories?" I did not feel particularly inclined to answer. "Would either of you like to explain to me why I was told my two newest prefects stood by and laughed at the scene?"

"I didn't laugh, sir," Malfoy mumbled quietly.

"I did," There was no reason to lie here, Snape already knew what I had done and I'm pretty sure the rest of the school would know once the three stooges were discharged from the hospital wing. Snape did not change expressions.

"And why, Miss Potter, did you find the situation comical?"

"It was because I took her there after she was tormented," Malfoy sighed but he had managed to answer quickly enough to interrupt whatever excuse I was going to spout out. I shook my head slightly, side-glancing at Malfoy with furrowed eyebrows.

"Mr Malfoy, I don't see why the situation-" Snape began to confront him and to berate him for his decision to take me to the scene and something _terrible _began to brew in my gut. Something _inconceivable_. It almost felt like...like _guilt_ and maybe it even mirrored something along the lines of _shame_...but certainly there was a better explanation to the dropping and clenching of my insides. Some rational explanation that held no such emotions for the arsehole sitting beside me...such as me wanting to take credit for the work I had put so much time into. Yes, that was it. So, naturally, I took over.

"That's not true, professor. Malfoy did not know what I had in store, and to be honest neither did I." Snape sat farther back in his seat, glaring at me darkly as a sign for me to continue. "I had locked a boggart in a jar after it had attacked me this summer. Some select Slytherin girls decided to rifle through my trunk and came upon it. I am in no fault for them opening the jar."

"And of course you did not facilitate a reason for them to," Snape added doubtfully. It was very difficult not to laugh at the thought: facilitate a reason? I'd created, set up, and _encouraged _it.

"Whatever reason they had to go into my trunk did not include my permission," I said in the same tone. "They went into my dormitory and went through my things – and this is not their first offence. Parkinson, Bulstrode and Rivers are all lucky I don't go to the headmaster with it. I think that detention and their own misfortune is punishment enough for the time being."

"For the time being," Snape repeated, leaning forward and folding his arms on the desk in front of him. "Am I to assume that this will happen again?"

"Only if they continue to go through my things, sir."

Do not smile, Audrey. You'll get yourself in more trouble...stop smiling...stop it...

"As punishment for your own personal possessions not being allowed within school grounds," Snape said without pausing – the bastard had preplanned my punishment! "You will both receive double patrols."

"But professor-"

"Malfoy had nothing to do with this," I said quickly. I have no clue _why _I had said it so quickly or why I had said it at all, to be frank, but I guess I owed him enough to try not to get him into trouble. "Double patrols will interfere with his Quidditch practice."

And even though I was not scared of Montague – at all...I _wasn't_– I knew that I couldn't anger him by taking his seeker away. Particularly after I'd already injured him the night before Quidditch tryouts. Besides, Theodore had just made the team, it didn't seem fair to take the opportunity away from him. Malfoy needed to be at those Quidditch practices; for Theodore's experience and my own self-preservation.

"Then you will be taking triple patrols to make up for the ones he will miss from the punishment," Snape said simply. I looked at Malfoy for a moment, watching as he wore a bemused expression, his eyes flickering from Snape to myself as if he no longer understood English. I looked at him again, his eyes clashing on mine – still cold but somehow not as steeled. I wonder if confusion was the way to make him more human?

No, because he had not been confused when he warned my brother of Montague at dinner. And he had not been confused when he had tried to hide me from all the things being said about me. And he had not been confused when he had intervened Montague's threats on the train.

No, I owed Malfoy _because _of the lack of steel in his eyes. He was helping me – some part of him, some part of him behind those icy eyes was still somewhat decent. And I owed him for protecting me from my own indecencies.

"Yes, sir, I'll take his patrols."

"Very well," Snape said slowly, looking carefully between the two of us. There was something worn in his expression that I couldn't quite figure out, but it looked almost suspicious. Possibly suspicious and anxious? No, closer to suspicious and resigned. "You will do patrol alone tonight, Potter, for four hours. You will also have to patrol four hours every night for three weeks – including weekends. Mr Malfoy will join you at your regularly appointed times."

"Yes, sir," I mumbled.

"You're excused." Considering the circumstance I didn't feel the need to thank him so Malfoy and I continued out of the office without a sound until Snape spoke again. "And Miss Potter?"

"Am I to assume I'll be grading first year papers?" I sighed, spinning around to look back at the figure leaning over his desk. He nearly smirked at me.

"Next time you come up with some bumbling, idiotic form of personally-supplied punishment – do not follow through."

"But they're always so clever," I frowned sarcastically. Snape shook his head.

"On any of them," he finished lowly. There, deep in the tone of his voice, was something so final that I was surprised by how much I wished I could listen to it.

Of course I wouldn't. But still, he looked at me strongly and there was almost a horrible moment when I thought that he had rooted through my thoughts and knew about my will-probably-fail plan to infiltrate and ruin all of Umbridge's plans...but that couldn't be possible, could it?

No, I wasn't ill – I wasn't in pain – and my head didn't ache. He had not gone through my mind today. I think.

I didn't say anything more to him while I turned around to walk out of his office again. I was not stopped this time, even while Malfoy looked at me strangely. He continued to look at me just as strangely until we came to the first intersecting corridor.

"Why did you take the punishment onto yourself?" He asked me, looking quite serious when he stopped in front of me so that he could gauge my expression. "You have to do 84 hours of patrol in the next three weeks!"

"Ugh, that is a lot," I retched, looking at the portraits next to me who had all stopped their conversations to listen in to the newest student gossip. I sent them a bit of a hiss that sent a few of the closer ones scattering into other frames.

"The question still stands."

"Well, why did you try to get the Gryffindors off my back?" I prodded in return, trying to prove my point with as little explanation as possible. But to be honest, I don't know if I could fully explain it to myself, nevertheless to him. It was like an instinct that told me I owed him this...and an instinct that warned me what would happen if I didn't pay my debt. Still, I did not like being questioned. "Actually, more importantly, why have you been keeping me away from all the people thinking ill of me? Is it really for your reputation?"

"You don't know anything, do you Potter?" Malfoy sneered, curling back his shoulders so he was no longer stooping and continuing to walk forward. I followed him – I had nothing else to do for the next four hours of patrol. "I'm not doing that for you."

"Then why is it me you've been taking the time to protect?" I snorted. He did not respond, but continued walking. So I did the same. "I don't need protection you know, I'm twice the witch of any of the bints that have been trying to harass me."

"Good, I'm glad I'll be able to stop," he sounded like the arrogant and snooty bastard again. It was both a relief and a cause for frustration. At least this Malfoy I knew how to deal with and it didn't spawn guilt that would curl in my gut as it had in Snape's office. "But know that it wasn't for you."

"Then we're even," I frowned back to him, shuffling forward a little faster so that I could walk in front of him, walking backward so that we could continue speaking face to face. "I think I'd even say thank you were your methods not so two-sided."

"And I might have even said thank you were you not so annoying," he fired back before turning down the hallway that had crossed the one we'd walked down. I watched him leave, walking down the hallway, people in portraits whispering and trailing him until he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. When he was gone and I was alone again, I let out a laugh. A genuine, ridiculous laugh.

We Slytherins had the strangest ways of saying thank you.

* * *

><p>"What you did to those girls wasn't wise tonight, Audrey," Daphne sighed as she came out of the bathroom. She watched me inspecting the charmed glass jar on the ground that had once held the boggart while she towel dried her hair. I was exhausted, considering I had walked the halls for four hours – and given out double that in detentions. The Hogwarts detention rooms would be crowded with people for the next three weeks if this mood did not let up. To make matters worse I had only just finished a quarter of the homework I'd gotten for the week as well. I hadn't really considered how much those extra patrols would weigh on my time for school work.<p>

"No, what wasn't the wisest thing to do was leaving my trunk wide open after talking about my new beauty regimen..." I smirked to myself, throwing the jar into the air and catching it again. "It's not my fault that they're petty thieves, Greengrass."

"No, of course not. But...well, don't get angry with me alright?" She asked carefully. I rolled my eyes at her, trying to make it clear _that _broom had flown ages ago. "I mean, you don't have many friends right now, should you really be starting war with the ones you could still get back?"

"Greengrass," I said with a frown. "I don't want those bints back."

"But Alya-"

"Rivers betrayed me," I finished for her, narrowing my eyes at the glass. "And I don't like when people air my dirty laundry – or lack thereof – to the public. I don't take back people like that. Ever."

The sentiment of that sentence was not lost on Daphne – you know, the fact that I was also referring to her. She nodded to herself a bit before opening her mouth to speak again, but we were interrupted by a quiet whisper of my name.

It was quiet, almost completely inaudible from where I sat, but it was obvious that it had been real, considering Daphne was also looking for its source. I turned my head around, but Tracey and Lillian seemed to still be in the common room. I looked to Daphne to see if she had found the source, but instead she had turned her gaze to me – a shell-shocked look on her face.

"Er – I'm going to...er, go..." she stuttered, moving to leave before she stopped at the door to our room and turned back around. "Just remember not to be too judgmental, Audrey. You forget, but not everyone's all good or all bad...you have family members that prove that."

And she left.

I scoffed at her, muttering to myself about how she was a hypocrite for even coming _close _to calling me judgmental. As I continued my muttering I heard a sigh from somewhere to my right.

"She's right, you know."

The voice was so familiar that I felt my eyes widening.

"_Sirius_?"

"The mirror," he whispered back. I vaulted over my bed, leaving Circe to hiss at me when I almost toppled her over. I had to scoot a little bit forward at the end so that I could see the mirror between Daphne and my bedding where Sirius' reflection stood, just like he had the year before, ready to speak to me. "When you met me, you didn't think I was all bad even when everyone said different."

"That's different, you _aren't _all bad," I pointed out with a smile I couldn't help containing. "Daphne and Alya obviously are."

"Which is why you were friends with them in the first place?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. I sighed wearily.

"Don't ruin your visit with this kind of talk," I said simply, trying to ignore the feeling of guilt that settled in my stomach when I thought about Greengrass knowing I was talking to my godfather. She had never been okay with the idea of me having an escaped convict for family; she really must be trying to get in my good graces if she didn't feel the need to rat me out and left – with wet hair, no less – so that I could speak to him . "I've mourned the lack of decent company."

"It seems you've been throwing away some of that decent company," he taunted.

"You couldn't have come here to give me a lesson on morals, Sirius," I rolled my eyes emphatically. "What's got you running around the dormitory mirrors?"

"I just had a visit with your brother," he said with a dark note to his voice. I raised my eyebrows interestedly. The tone did not indicate that he had been pleased with it and he didn't usually come to visit me – nevertheless on whim such as now.

"Sounds like it wasn't satisfactory."

"He told me that I shouldn't be coming to visit him in Hogsmeade," he crossed his arms over his chest. I had to fight back a laugh considering how much of a child he sounded, but I still took a moment to think about what had been said. Him visiting in Hogsmeade with everything that had happened – as much as I hated to admit it, my brother had a point.

"That's probably because you shouldn't," I informed with a shrug. He looked instantly and _insanely _insulted.

"So, you're on that too?"

"Hey, now," I frowned, holding up my hands defensively. "I said you 'shouldn't', I know very well that you plan to anyway. And I don't really mind as long as you play it safe. But I don't think that coming round as a dog will work anymore, Malfoy recognized you."

"That's what Harry thinks," Sirius frowned.

"Well, I know for a fact." I argued. "Lucius must have recognized you and I don't really want to take stupid risks like that. And to make it worse I know Montague did, as well. I've gotten enough threats that contain the word 'dog' referring you. If you can find another way around the fact you're a convict on the run whose main disguise is now completely recognizable, I have no qualms with you coming to visit. Oh, also on the rule that you don't do anything stupid."

"Speaking of doing something stupid," Sirius raised an eyebrow, obviously diverting attention from the serious subjects. "What were you and Daphne talking about earlier?"

The thought of earlier this afternoon spread a smile across my face. "I may or may not have released that jarred boggart on my enemies...now before you lecture me, it was completely deserved and I technically did nothing wrong other than mislabel one of my jars and talk about said mislabelled jar very loudly in a public setting."

"Lecture you? I'm impressed," Sirius smiled, looking to the side as if to check and make sure he would not be overheard. "You're just like James, sometimes."

It was a strange sensation that washed through me. Normally when someone was saying that I was like my father, it was Snape and it was meant as the ultimate insult. But right now, coming from Sirius who was known to idolize my father, it was one of the most heart-felt compliments I could receive. And as my chest warmed from the idea that Sirius saw me like he saw my parents, my stomach dropped when I realized that it was what Snape always warned me against – becoming arrogant, becoming rude, becoming just like James...

"Well, they deserved it," I cleared my throat. "Things have been very strange here at Hogwarts, Sirius. This woman Umbridge – she was the woman in my vision."

"I know," Sirius sighed. "I need you to play things safe this year, Audrey. Things are not going well for the Order."

"I have no doubts," I sighed. "And it's not me you should warn to play it safe – talk to your godson. The _Prophet _has only been continuing to go on an Anti-Dumbledore spree and after what happened with Sturgis Podmore..."

"Yes, the papers are having quite the field day with that," Sirius mumbled to himself. "You need to stay out of the spotlight."

"But it loves me so much," I said sarcastically, rolling the empty boggart-jar in my hands. "Have you heard more on Sturgis?"

"Not really any more than the _Prophet _is saying, for once they're being honest about something: and that's his sentence in Azkaban."

"Sirius, I need you to be honest with me..." I frowned before taking the time to look over my shoulder as he had, just to make sure no one was listening in on what I had to say. Because for all I know, this answer was possibly more dangerous than having an escaped convict appearing to me through my dormitory mirror. "Was he at the Ministry because of something to do with my visions?"

"Audrey," Sirius said after a long wait. "This is Order business that you don't need to worry about right now. You need to focus on your studies and on staying afloat with that woman in the school. Something terrible is going to happen, I can feel it."

"So can I," I admitted lamely, placing the jar in my lap so I could fold my hands nervously. "But I don't know how to stop it."

"I've heard differently," Sirius said slowly, twiddling his wand between his fingers casually. "Sources say that you're on Umbridge's good side."

"And who are these sources?" I narrowed my eyes.

"No matter, is it true?"

"It is, somehow," I added in confusion. "She likes me for some reason. I guess she believes the rubbish the _Prophet _is saying about me being a hero or something. I just wish I could get my hands on the old newspapers to see what was written about me. I want to play it up, I want to get right down in there and make sure that she can't do anything to anyone like she will do to me – calling me a traitor. If I'm a traitor it at least means that I was doing some good for someone else that _isn't _a right awful toad."

"Audrey, that kind of thinking is what will get you into trouble."

"I _am _trouble," I argued, throwing my hands out as if to frame me. "And if this little bit of trouble can make a difference _and _keep me meddling about and ruining things, I don't really see what the problem is. It will be like any normal day, only all the plotting will be majorly pre-emptive. I _am _destruction, Sirius, and I _like _it."

"Just be careful," Sirius sighed, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. He was a wise man. "I'll write when I know more about why Umbridge is so warm to you. I'll do some research. Nothing else to do here."

"At least you don't have four hour patrols every night as punishment for knowingly bringing a boggart onto school grounds," I sighed, leaning back on my bed. "But if you find anything, let me know."

"Will do," Sirius looked over his shoulder again. "Stay safe."

And with a flash of the mirror, Sirius was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>So, not as long but a lot happened this chapter: some Gryffindor visits, Malfoy confrontation, both Malfoy and Audrey said "thank you" (no matter how twisted it was, there were Snape visits AND Sirius visits. Hopefully you enjoyed all that! To the fantastic reviewers of the last chapter...<strong>

_Rainy2000_**: I actually did a lot of character development before I released this story because I specifically wanted Audrey to have a Slytherin persona. I think if she were very sacrificial and (for lack of better word) nice, she would be like every other Potter-twin character. Did you think that her behaviour with Malfoy and Snape was still Slytherin-y? And that is exactly what I didn't want. I will definitely pass off the birthday message to last week's birthday girl - thank you for your review, as always!**

_DiamondOfNight_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this chapter was just as interesting. I feel like there may be some strain not because of the spying - but because of who the spying brings her closer to. But that's just an assumption. My fingers have yet to bring about that reaction. Do you feel any closer to Daphne after what she did in this chapter? I won't say why or if it will work, but I can guarantee that Daphne will continue to try and prove herself. I think people will be pleasantly surprised with how. I also want to try getting faster updates out again but November is a very tough month for me - but I promise at least one a week! I'll be trying for two, though :)**

_Princess-Dixon_**: Don't worry about not reviewing last chapter, your reviews are always so wonderful that you make up for it. I feel the loss of your 4G though, I always feel like I've been cut off from myself if I don't have some form of technology to read or write on/with. It's almost painful. Montague is definitely a creep - how did you like Draco/Audrey's interaction in this chapter? It was definitely a little bit of a change than the last few. They even said "thank you" in their strange, stubborn ways to one another! You said you were making stuff up in your head about how you think Audrey and Draco would get together, do you mind sharing? I always love hearing...even though I know exactly how they're getting together. And it will be great...ah, I get giddy even thinking about it! Anyway, Audrey's powers made me nervous too - writing them made me worried that I'd lose readers, but I think I was able to pull it off. I tried giving her enough flaws to level it all out. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Novella Vialli_**: Well, I'm glad Audrey's consistent ;)**

_BlueRose22_**: Four heat strokes in three nights? I hope you're doing better! Don't worry, I love your reviews when I do get them so don't feel pressured :)**

_Princesslinleigh_**: Just to prequel my response, I got a whole bunch of people thanking you for being born because of the update. I thought I'd pass on the extra birthday wishes :) I hope you had a good one! Now, to the review, Montague and Audrey are definitely going to be interesting...drama will ensue. Promise. Did you like this chapter? Did she still seem like tough-girl-Audrey with her own flaws? Thank you for the review!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I can't tell you whether Audrey will help destroy horcruxes, but I promise that chapters like last chapter will continue - especially after the great response I got from it! I'm glad everyone loved it. Hope this chapter was enjoyable, as well.**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I will think about doing a sorting-ceremony from Audrey's point of view, you bring up good points. I'll have to wait until I'm done my other ones, though. I have to show the introduction to Sirius, still - that one has been fun to write! Do you think that the Malfoy-ness in this chapter was still satisfactory? You said it wasn't a cheesy amount last chapter - did it stay satisfactory for this one? I love your reviews, so never worry about it! Thanks :)**

_Puckabrina dreamer_**: I like your reviews, so don't worry if they're all over the place. And I'm glad you liked it...hopefully this chapter was good, too!**

_neoko-chan_**: You should have told me it was your birthday! Happy birthday, whenever it was! **

_TheForrestAgain_**: I'm glad you liked it, clearly I'll have to do more revenge chapters! Thanks for your review :)**

_HoratiosGirl101_**: I'm glad you like it, thank you for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: I'm glad you liked the updates and the last chapter. I live in awkwardness and shyness, so I feel your pain!**

_Seers_**: Montague will be staying in the story for a little bit longer, but I have to ask: do you really think with Audrey's powers, her overprotective Gryffindor boys, Snape AND Malfoy that Montague will have a chance to hurt her? I think she's tougher than she looks :)**

_SchadenFreude95_**: Smiling like an idiot in the middle of class is definitely what I was going for, so I'm glad it worked! I'm glad you enjoyed the revenge and the way that the story is headed...you'll ahve to wait for the kiss. But I promise it'lll be worth the wait! **

_Lyra_**: Don't worry - the chase between Audrey and Draco will be continuing soon :)**

_Miriam (Guest)_**: I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter! She does seem to be closer related to Voldemort than Harry sometimes, doesn't she? Thanks for the review!**

_sara253xxx_**: I hope you liked this chapter as well, thank you for reviewing!**

_Magimagus_**: Whoa, super reviews call for a super response, don't you agree? So, I have definitely missed your reviews. Yeah, when I took my laptop in the guy who repairs them was like "wow, you write a lot, the finish on your keys is completely gone! How long have you had this laptop for?" and when I responded with "Three months" he pretty much blinked at me dubiously and said "Uh, get an external keyboard or else your keyboard will just keep breaking." So...apparently I'm a writer. I know it sounds crazy but I legitmately never saw myself as a WRITER. I always figured that I just wrote a lot, not that it was actually who I am...if that makes sense. Anyway, the Dreaco is starting and it's very exciting. I'm chapters ahead (as usual) and it's always exciting to write their interactions. Plus, we're about to read the articles that we've heard so much about...that will be an interesting chapter. Particularly for poor Audrey's emotions. **

**I'm glad that you like the idea of Audrey being a spy. That will start coming into play during the next few chapters, so we'll really get to see her work her magic. And look, you were talking about liking Snape and Sirius, and I just gave you both in this chapter! Hopefully you liked that. **

**Now, just as a little bit of a secret that I wouldn't tell most people...have you ever wondered WHY Audrey is so good with animals? Not going to give you the answer...but perhaps you should start pondering it. How did you feel about Audrey and Daphne in this chapter? Daphne did help her out as she is very against Sirius...maybe she's finally coming around and realizing how terrible she's been? Oh, never worry about being fangirl-y. I LOVE seeing people be fangirly to something that I wrote...it's sooo flattering!**

**As for the boggart - the boggart would have reacted to whoever was the most afraid. The three girls don't have the same fear but it would have encouraged it if they were all partially afraid of them. But the rats were actually one girls fear and by the reactions, I think it's obvious that it was Alya's ;)**

**And I love how Draco sides with Audrey. I love how he really IS always on her side, if you really pay attention. As in, he's ALWAYS on her side.**

**I'm glad you caught on to Audrey being jealous of who Snape was protecting. And it does seem as if he knows what she's up to, doesn't it? I do love her Slytherin-ness. Good call on the spelling error, by the way. And Montague is a creep, but it will be fantastic drama. Anyway, hopefully you liked this chapter almost as much as I enjoyed your reviews...you're awesome, thank you!**

_Apple_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, the revenge was very fun to write. And I'm glad people are noticing how Slytherin-y she really is - I've been working hard to make it obvious why she was sorted there. I want her to be a real Slytherin, not just in Slytherin because it worked for the story. Good for you for being suspicious about Theodore's placement on the team...but I refuse to say anything more on that...The DA will be coming up in just a few chapters time and you will see whether or not she'll be part of it. People are catching on about the spy...but will the wrong people find out? Thank you for the review!**

_Audrey Eakman_**: This chapter wasn't as long as the last, but hopefully you still liked it. I can't tell you when the foreshadowed kiss between Audrey and Draco will be - but I promise that it will be worth the wait...and that it's coming. I'm not leading you on ;)**

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><p><strong>Well, Audrey is going spy, she's going soft, and she's going to constantly be in trouble, it looks like. I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything so please leave me a <strong>_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**


	39. Playing the Part

**I wasn't going to release this chapter yet, but we have another birthday! Happy Birthday **_Antigona_**! Hopefully you guys don't mind, but I got this out so quickly it wasn't edited by a second party. I'm sorry for any errors you may see. Luckily, you might not noticed thanks to being distracted by what happens in this chapter...**

**Enjoy ;)**

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><p>Chapter 38 – Playing the Part<p>

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><p>"I'm dying!" I moaned, falling to the Slytherin table and slamming my sensitive cranium against my hands. I let out something between a strangled cry and moan that reverberated in my ears painfully – which, naturally, made the whine worse. "I'm dying and I'm warning you all that if this life is any indication: there are no bloody golden gates. Everyone who says different are liars or idiots. And to make it worse, I do not want to spend my time in hell with the lot of you. Oh, Merlin, get it over with and kill me!"<p>

"Why is she dying?" Zabini asked conversationally, not needing to acknowledge how my whining was a common occurrence. Still, he kept his tone playful while he sat himself beside Malfoy, meaning that Blaise was now across the table from myself while Theodore and Lillian had taken to either side of me.

"Trelawney needs to stop burning those herbs, that's why!" I yelled at him, only to moan again from the volume of my own voice between my ears. I buried my eyes into the heel of my palms, favouring the pressure against my eyelids and the absence of stabbing light that tried to blind me when these headaches hit after every Divination class.

Godric, I never should have thrown that moonstone at my brother's head – I needed the relief of it now more than I could ever say.

"Why don't you stop going, then?" Tracey asked conversationally, sitting a few seats down as both Crabbe and Goyle were on Malfoy's left and she was stuck on the far side of them. I frowned but did not leave the solace of my palms.

"If I were allowed to just drop the subject, I would. I don't have enough courses and I'm not really looking into Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, or Muggle Studies." I frowned, daring to look up from my eyes and wincing at how bright the Great Hall was. "At least with me being the only real clairvoyant in the class, the old bat can't fail me on principle."

"Why not take muggle studies?" Theodore asked with a shrug, scooping himself some soup. The smell made my stomach churn thanks to the migraine. "It'd be an easy O for you, wouldn't it?"

"I don't want to be reminded of the muggle world at all, actually," I mumbled, grabbing myself some Caesar salad just to appease the looks that the three blonde purebloods sat at the table were giving me. "To be honest the minute I graduate I plan on leaving the muggle world behind me for good. I'm all for progression and equality for muggleborns and all that shite you lot hate, but I never want to have to live there again."

"Here, here," Tracey called from across the table, leaning forward so that we could clink our pumpkin juice goblets together. As Tracey was also a halfblood – though she was still tightly-tied to the pureblood circles – she felt almost the same way...well, except she had no qualms calling people mudbloods or blood traitors and tended to think she was better than most people, no matter their blood status.

"Draco," Lillian began by drawling his name with a slow smile. "Do you think we'll have any of our classes inspected by Professor Umbridge?"

Ah yes, I had nearly forgotten through the haze of pain that today we had heard the news of Umbridge's Ministry 'promotion'. I hadn't really understood what it meant at first until Tracey had pointed out just what 'class inspections' might mean for the teachers of Hogwarts. Inspections mean questions. Questions mean dirt. Dirt gets messy. And mess gets people fired. Theodore and I had hunkered down and tried to understand the rationale behind the whole idea of class inspections – but it was still just a jumble of words in my sore frontal lobe.

"Not today," Malfoy informed simply while he buttered his scone. "Today she was testing a Charms and Divination class with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. We only have to see her for class today and then for Care of Magical Creatures tomorrow – she knows which classes we like least, see? She and my father are very close."

My headache cleared for just a moment thanks to some puzzle being worked out in my head. I didn't understand it, but the sudden clearing made me know that my instinct was trying to get me to piece something together. "They are?"

"Oh yes, she comes round for dinner all the time. They like to talk about the goings on at the Ministry and how their projects are doing. Father's trying to get into the Wizengamot, he just hasn't had enough years within the Ministry to be certifiable."

The idea of Lucius Malfoy working within our judicial system was terrifying.

"Well, that makes a lot of sense," I murmured to myself. I threw my head into my hands again while I tried to ignore my mind coming up with horrifying images of Malfoy in the British parliament and eventually becoming the king of England and then getting England burnt to the ground and then the raiders would end up sinking it for good measure.

The images my migraines make.

"Yes, my father would be a valuable member of the Wizengamot. I reckon-" Malfoy began, sounding as pompous as he always did when he was bragging about his father. I cut off his self-righteous rant almost automatically.

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh? Then what makes sense?" He raised an eyebrow, eyes flickering to my forehead as I massaged my temples and frowned.

"Now it makes sense why she likes me."

And it did.

If Dolores Umbridge was really that close to Lucius Malfoy, it meant she obviously had a soft spot for his son – like most Slytherin bastards did. And if she had been well-read enough on the _Prophet's_ articles about me and Drago's apparent responses, then Umbridge would have had to think – as everyone else seemed to – that Malfoy and I were an item. How _could_ she hate me then, no matter who my brother was, if oh-so-perfect Malfoy fancied me?

Which he didn't, but perhaps that was something I'd need to play up to keep in her good graces.

Ugh, except I had no clue how to flirt or make it subtle enough so that I wasn't coercing the entire Wizarding World about it being true. Or Malfoy. Just Umbridge. I just needed _Umbridge_ to believe it.

"Well," I sighed quietly to Malfoy, who had stopped eating to examine me as my slowly building thoughts started to make sense. "You made this year much easier on me."

He hummed his response to me, obviously not really sure where my mind had gone with the realization, but I didn't really feel the need to educate him. Instead, I shrugged my shoulders. No matter how much more we were able to tolerate each other, I did not feel compelled to have him understand me – and luckily, it seemed that was reciprocated. Telling Malfoy just _how_ he'd made the year easy would have been stupid and telling him 'thanks for making it so easy for me to spy for the Order of the Phoenix' would have been suicide, so I'd just leave it with the mystery of it all.

Classes flew by quickly again, thanks to Theodore actually letting me sleep through most of them. By the time I was sat in one of the back rows Defence Against the Dark Arts with Theodore and Tracey on either side of me, however, I was near certain that I was going to vomit. I looked longingly over to the side wall where the Moonstone I'd thrown had exploded against the stone – who could tell how much better I would feel if I had not been so hasty in my decision.

As Umbridge had been watching over the Gryffindors last class – which the whispers dictated to be Divination – she'd walked them into the Defence classroom. The pink-smothered toad was humming under her breath – a horrible sign in itself. Had Harry already gotten some form of detention? Could she hand out detentions during her inspections, though he was not her student at that time? Or worse, had my brother done something ridiculous already? I had no way of knowing until after class. Well, that was of course assuming he didn't make a scene for this time-slot...

...Which seemed terribly unlikely.

"Wands away," Umbridge instructed with a smile, watching over us all while the class seemed to sigh in unison and push their wands away. I couldn't deny the smile that pulled at my lips while I did as asked – it was both a blessing and a curse to be in this class. It was nice not having to worry that someone would be blown up because of my wand's personal inefficiencies, but it was also terrifying to know that no one else was learning how to protect themselves. I had Magnuse for myself and probably couldn't have done the wandwork anyway, so I wasn't worried for me – but a sickening feeling made me worry for everyone else as I visualized watching the school burn.

"As we finished Chapter One last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and commence 'Chapter Two, Common Defensive Theories and their Derivation'. There will be no need to talk." She was very happy with herself, anyone could tell. I did not open my book. I was falling behind in all my classes – migraines and night-long patrols as culprits – but I couldn't deny that this particular class was one of the few I wasn't as worried about. Umbridge had made it very clear that the Slytherins were in her good books and I planned to ride that horse until it was dead thanks to everything else that had been going wrong in the early weeks of this year.

"What is it this time, Miss Granger?" the question was whispered, but thanks to the sensitivity caused by my headache the question was clear as day. Three rows from the front, Hermione Granger and Umbridge were face to face and both looked determined to see the other crumble. I nudged my bench-mates in the ribs so that they could pay attention to the argument, as well.

"I've already read Chapter Two," Hermione stated simply. I had no need to warn Tracey and Theodore to listen, however, because the bushy-haired witch did not feel any need to stay quiet.

"Well then, proceed to Chapter Three," Umbridge smiled and looked about ready to turn on her heel before Hermione spoke again.

"I've read that too," Umbridge's smile somewhat fell. "I've read the whole book."

"Well, then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counter-jinxes in Chapter Fifteen," Umbridge smiled again, recovering the poise she had lost for a moment and a smugness that she didn't deserve. After all, what the toad didn't realize was that she was speaking to the brightest witch of this age – and I had not one doubt that Hermione had read through the book _twice._

"He says that counter-jinxes are improperly named," Hermione had not missed a beat. "He says 'counter-jinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable. But I disagree."

"You disagree?" Her voice had an edge to it that was undeniable. It could have been my enhanced hearing thanks to the tenderness of my poor brain, but Umbridge was losing her cool. And she was losing it quickly.

"Yes, I do. Mr. Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they're used defensively." Umbridge straightened up and Granger's words, her whole body rigid.

"Oh, you do, do you? Well, I'm afraid it is Mr. Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger." Hermione began to protest instantly, but Umbridge had already begun to walk away. "That is enough. Miss Granger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor house."

Slytherins snickered. Gryffindors raged.

"What for?" Harry asked her loudly. Hermione whispered something so quiet that even I couldn't hear, but I could tell by the urgency of it that it was some kind of warning. I heard myself groan – it was so obvious that he was about to do something stupid that it was painful.

"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," Umbridge stated factually. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about that which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more licence, but as none of them – with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell," I groaned as I watched my brother bristle. I could already tell he was going to strike back before even he knew he was going to. "-who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects – would have passed a Ministry inspection-"

"Yeah, Quirrel was a great teacher," Harry hissed.

"Harry _no,_" I heard myself groan, but it seemed like he hadn't heard me as he continued.

"There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head."

I slammed my forehead against my desk loudly, probably drawing some attention onto myself, but still, it was not enough to drown out the silence that permeated my core. People were listening and no one was defending him. I was almost surprised when the silence _was _broken by a smug and croaked out "I think another week's detentions would do you some good, Mr Potter."

How the bloody hell would I ever be able to save this daft-headed ignoramus from _himself_? Saving him from others was something I had managed to do for the entirety of my Hogwarts career – but how do you save someone from their own stupidity?

I groaned again, hitting my head against the table once more.

"Audrey, Audrey get up," Theodore whispered quickly. "Audrey-"

"_Hem, hem_," It was impossible not to know who _that _was. "Do we have a problem here, Miss Potter?"

I sighed loudly, calling on all my strength to stay quiet and polite and remember what I was doing as I pulled myself upright – my stomach argued with me immediately and I found that I was still hunching to stop the nausea that was accompanied by the pain pounding against my cranium.

"No, professor," I wheezed out, ever-so-slightly more melodramatic than I felt. "I'm just sick."

"You were sick last week," she said instantly, though she did not leave her sugar-sweet tone behind for the sentence. I looked up at her, watching her carefully – the woman was surprisingly easy to read considering that everything she embodied was fake. Still, no matter how true this headache was or how fake my civility was, I needed to bring this woman farther onto my side.

"I was," I agreed with a deep scowl. "I'm sorry to say this always happens when I attend Divination, professor."

"Is this true?" Umbridge did not turn to either of my bench-mates to ask this, which confused me. When I followed her eyes, however, I noticed that she had instead questioned the people _behind_ me.

"It's been this way since third-year, professor," Malfoy agreed loudly, even though what he said was a lie – I hadn't had this since the middle of third year or for any classes last year. "Potter believes it's the herbs Professor Trelawney burns."

Well, at least now we could safely say that my theory on the _Prophet's_ influence on Umbridge was entirely accurate.

"I see," Umbridge hummed to herself slowly, her eyes gazing back to me intently. "And after two years why have you not thought to change subjects, Miss Potter?"

Uh-oh, this was one of those times I needed fast thinking to be on my side and I knew it wasn't.

"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are interesting, professor, but I am not good at them and do not want to sacrifice my grades for comfort," I said as genuinely as I could manage. I don't know how believable it sounded, considering my teeth were grinding as I said it and the blood pounding in my ears took away emphasis from my words. But technically, what I had said wasn't entirely untrue, but I knew what she would accuse me of before she spoke.

"And Muggle Studies?" She asked pointedly.

I made a face, thinking back to this afternoon at lunch and remembering how I had already defended myself against these arguments with Blaise. Then again – maybe I could keep that rationale. It wasn't exactly a muggle-loving rationale, was it?

Because, in my own way, I wasn't really a muggle-lover.

I didn't want to kill them all, obviously, but no...no, how could I be? I couldn't be a muggle lover when I look back on my life; not when I start thinking back to all the memories of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's home – thinking of all the things that muggles had done to me in the past and had tried to do to me since I was pushed into that house where I had been tortured and bullied – I'd had my nose broken and my teeth knocked out. I'd had my hair pulled and my knees skinned when people tripped me. I'd been shoved under sinks, in lockers, and kicked under desks...

No. Muggles _hadn't _been kind to me...and as wrong as it was, I used it to fuel the fire in my eyes.

"It's not something I wish to learn about, professor," I answered simply, my jaw clenched and my face warm. "At all."

"An easy grade for someone of your upbringing," she argued even more quietly.

"I would rather feel pain than sit in a class about muggles," my response was bold and it shocked even me with how much power was behind it. Did she understand the hatred she heard of my childhood memories as a hatred for muggles as I'd hoped she did?

Her small smile and her even smaller, beady eyes – which were shining brightly – somehow told me that she did.

"Mr Malfoy, would you please accompany Miss Potter to the hospital wing?" she asked, not finding a reason to look at either of us while she turned on her heel and walked back up to her desk. All around me, students were glaring. The Gryffindors looked mutinous, the Slytherins looked shocked...I didn't know how to abate the ripple of suspicion that passed through my classmates, but I hoped that Umbridge wouldn't take the time to notice. Instead, I tried to stay focused on her while she scribbled something quickly on a piece of pink parchment – her colour of choice, it seemed – before she handed it out to Malfoy, who had followed her up to the front of the room. "Give this to Madame Pomfrey, if you would, dear."

Malfoy nodded and turned back, waiting for me impatiently as I gathered my things – clumsily, until Tracey helped me pick it all up. I looked up to the front of the room, face red while I tried to ignore the stares. "Thank you, professor."

"Feel better, Miss Potter," she smiled tightly before turning to remind the class that there was a chapter to be read and ignoring both Malfoy and I. At first, I didn't feel right leaving the classroom. I felt like I should bring my brother with me or at least stop him from the glares and whispers he and Ron were pointing my way – but Malfoy cleared his throat and closed the doors the second I was outside the heavy oak doors.

At first we didn't speak. There was no reason to speak about what was said – no matter how interested I was by the slip of paper in his hand. Still, now that I didn't have to think quickly, it felt like my mind had stopped entirely. We had only walked a short distance before my fogged mind caused me to trip over a raised stone in the otherwise smooth castle floor and roughly shoulder the wall I'd been dragging my hand against.

"Are you an invalid?" Malfoy voiced loudly from behind me. I winced at the volume. "What's wrong with you?"

"I wasn't joking, Malfoy," I looked over my shoulder to him, waiting for his slow and lazy steps to catch up to my quick and uneven ones. "Something in Trelawney's classroom triggers this – it's like it clogs up my third eye and my brain is trying to push the clog out. It's painful and it's horrible."

"I always thought you were faking," he noted simply with narrowed eyes. "Trelawney burns those herbs to open our mind."

"No, it's to enhance it," I countered, giving him a deep scowl. "Which is a great philosophy unless you actually _have _the Sight...but she wouldn't know that, now would she? Since that old cow doesn't have any kind of sight at all, she thinks she's helping people when she's actually debilitating the best of us Seers."

Malfoy considered me, nodding his head slowly before it turned into a definite shake. "No, I still think you're faking."

"Think whatever you want," I grumbled back spitefully. "What's that note say?"

"It says," he flicked his hand around awkwardly to look at the slip of paper, "'Madame Pomfrey, Miss Potter is experiencing constant migraines due to her attendance in Divination class. For the fate of Audrey's education, I encourage you to find you a cure for her so that she is no longer debilitated during her class time...signed, Dolores Jane Umbridge – Hogwarts High Inquisitor'."

"Merlin's beard," I groaned emphatically. In a fit, I turned on my heel to continue the trek to the hospital wing – tripping over myself briefly. "I'm _indebted_ to her!"

Oh, what a horrifying thought.

How would she later make me repay this deed?

"Why did you answer like you did?" He asked suddenly, I looked over my shoulder only to find that he was now directly beside me. I raised an eyebrow. "About Muggle Studies?"

"Why wouldn't I have answered like I did?" I challenged, while I began to massage my temple.

"Because you'd never sound like that, Potter," he said strongly. "You sounded..."

"Like one of you?" I finished for him. His eyes flashed to me, looking at me tensely. I raised an eyebrow, which seemed to dislodge him from whatever thoughts he'd been stuck in, making him shrug and pretend to be uninterested. "Did it ever occur to you that I might not actually like having been raised a muggle?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I may know when you're lying?" He smirked back.

I couldn't help but smile tauntingly. "So, you think you can tell when I'm lying?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I know I can."

"We'll test that theory," I warned him seriously, even though any thought to do that was interrupted as we walked through the open hospital wing doors. It didn't take long before Madame Pomfrey came bustling from a student, considering she probably saw how badly I was tripping over myself.

She sighed once she got to me. "What's happened this time, Miss Potter?"

"Oh, don't be like that," I argued as playfully as I could through gritted teeth. "You can't say you didn't miss me."

"I was told to give this to you," Malfoy interrupted our banter, holding out the pink slip to the flustered woman. Madame Pomfrey took it without question, reading through it quickly before she guffawed loudly, placing her hand on my shoulder and steering me toward a hospital bed.

"That woman knows nothing of healing," she mumbled as she pushed me. "If she did, she would already know that these headaches are no simple fix!"

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, groaning as she made me hop onto the hospital bed she'd led me to. "I know they aren't really curable in my condition."

"Until you are no longer magically backed-up, Miss Potter, I do not see a situation where this could work for your benefit." I looked upon the older nurse with wide eyes. I had never told her I was magically backed-up, and I certainly didn't talk to her often about what being magically backed-up meant. So...how did she know that I was magically backed-up on my visions?

Huh.

It would seem that Madame Pomfrey was in the Order of the Phoenix, too.

"I have some numbing potions that may help, but the headache will not go away without rest and a reset," she told me earnestly, sighing exasperatedly as she did. Malfoy took his time and sat in the chair beside the bed while she took my pulse, felt around my tender scalp, and took my temperature.

When she finally left me to go try and find a solution as Umbridge had asked of her, I relaxed into my pillows...but could not ignore the nagging feeling of being watched.

"Shouldn't you head back to class?" I sighed, turning my sights over to the boy in the chair beside me.

"Why would I, you really think Umbridge will care?" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Come on, Potter. I'm above reading chapters in a book."

"You are?" I repeated with a frown. "Do you believe that?"

"Of course I do," he sneered. "Even _you _are."

"So you agree then," I raised my eyebrows. "You agree that we should be learning the spells instead of simply reading about them?"

"Of course I do," he repeated, lacking the consideration as he looked at me as if I were stupid. "You can't honestly think I want to sit around and read for an hour each day, do you? I want to perform the spells. I _can _perform the spells. Still, Umbridge has her reasons and my father agrees that-"

"That the Minister fears us, I know," I said simply. Though I still wanted to argue with him, both of us silenced while Madame Pomfrey came back with three different potions for me to try.

First she instructed me to take the purple one now as it was a sleeping draught that would let me reset and feel better when I woke. The blue potion beside it was to be taken before each Divination class and the brown one if the blue one doesn't help after the class. She told me to get some rest as there is no reason to go back to class so late. I frowned as she stood over me, watching like a hawk as I struggled to choke down the sleeping potion that tasted of bad summer memories and beans.

The effect was almost instantaneous when I felt my eyes begin to droop. Whoever had brewed the potion had decided to fair without any barley, which would have delayed the effects of the drowsiness...at least, that's all I could really focus on while my mind started to fog over with exhaustion. When she was sure it was working, Madame Pomfrey left to go back to her other patients. But before she was gone, I didn't miss the look she sent to Malfoy, considering it was very stern. Still, he looked right back at her, as if challenging her to try and send him away.

What an arse.

I turned on my side, looking at him while he turned back to look at me. He settled back in his chair, getting comfortable and finalizing the idea that he was staying with me and bunking class. I couldn't tell how I felt about this...it would have been nice that he were staying, if he was doing it simply to keep watch over me.

_But he wasn't,_ I told myself firmly. _And don't think for a second that any of this is for your benefit, Audrey._

"Why didn't you speak up with the rest of us?" I asked, blinking my eyes slowly.

"What?"

"In Defence Against the Dark Arts," I yawned loudly, but kept talking through it. "When we were all fighting about the use of wands in the classroom...you agreed with us, so why didn't you fight?"

"Because it was stupid to fight," he said simply.

"No it wasn't," I frowned, rubbing my eyes and feeling my hand trail up to rub my forehead. "It was the right thing to do. For us. For all of us. It was noble."

"And nobility is stupid," Malfoy argued seriously. "Father always told me that nobility can be bought by those stupid enough to die for it. You can't be noble and live at the same time, Potter – you have to choose between them."

He was so factual and so sure that it made it almost believable in itself. That or it was my delirious mind under-working itself. I wiggled closer to the edge of the bed, practically hanging over it so I could see him more clearly – you know, considering my vision was starting to blur while I fought off the Sleeping Draught.

"And how are you supposed to know if you chose right?" I asked him seriously, tucking my hand underneath my head so that the rumpled sheets wouldn't keep impeding my vision of him.

"I always assumed if you're alive in the morning." He told me simply, his voice low.

"Well you chose wrong," I mumbled, blinking slowly and realizing that it was for a bit too long. I opened my eyes hastily to see him shaking his head at me with a smirk.

"Yes, in your opinion I usually do, don't I?"

"Mhm," I yawned, nodding as much as I could. "Wake me before patrol."

"I don't patrol with you tonight, Potter," he reminded, I could hear the smirk in his voice. "This is my patrol you're taking over - I have Quidditch Practice."

He loved to taunt me, didn't he? I wish I could have taunted him back, but it just seemed like the intelligent parts of my brain were shutting down before my mouth was.

"Yes you will," I smiled drearily, my eyes having closed at some point that I was having problems even remembering. "You owe me."

"I _owe_ you?"

"Even if you didn't, you'd stay anyway," I said with a shrug.

I thought I heard him hum something in the background of the dreams that began trotting over my perception of consciousness and subconscious, but I could never have deciphered what it was. I was too far gone to make any comments at all and too far gone to appreciate when someone pulled the blanket over me.

Still, I couldn't stop myself from smiling deliriously.

At least in my dreams Malfoy could be sweet.

* * *

><p>"You're feeling better, looks like," Tracey raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me while I came trotting towards the Slytherin table the next morning at breakfast. I stretched dramatically a threw her a wide, uncommon smile.<p>

"I feel great," I breathed happily. "Someone must have convinced Snape to let me take a night off of prefect rounds because I woke up in the hospital wing this morning. That Sleeping Draught didn't have any barley, so it put me right to sleep and I guess it kept me out. It was just what I needed."

"Or it's because you're so tiny that she overdosed you by mistake," Malfoy commented bitingly, making sure that I didn't go even two minutes without acknowledging him at the table. "Eat something, will you, little dead girl?"

"Oh, my favourite of the nicknames," my smile formed into a sarcastic baring of my teeth at him. He narrowed his eyes at me and refused to lower them until he was pleased that I scooped some eggs on my plate. Then, his eyebrow raised and he refused to leave it alone until he saw me start eating them. When the blonde had finally looked away, I turned an eye roll toward Lillian – who was across from me – in annoyance. "You know, I _was _in a good mood."

"You usually are when I'm here," Malfoy smirked, taking another bite of his own eggs. I made sure to stuff my face – since he wanted to see me eat so badly – and show him just how many eggs I could fit in my mouth at once. He scowled and looked away from the display of my half-chewed bolus.

"I guess you didn't get any of the homework done, then?" Theodore asked carefully, looking to me with a wary expression. "The Transfiguration essay, Charms report, or the Potions notes?"

"I forgot about those," I let out a long whine, putting down my fork with a frown. "Well, now the good mood has entirely disappeared. Thank you, everyone."

"I can fix that," Malfoy said promptly, reaching deep into his rucksack and pulling out some neatly folded parchment. "I managed to acquire an extra copy of yesterday's homework. I assumed you're still behind, so I got the notes from some Ravenclaw or other."

"Do you mean stole them?" I asked with a smirk, not hesitating before I took the notes from him and began giving them a brief once-over. They didn't seem too bad; the Charms and Transfiguration notes looked like they were probably right – though to be honest, I wouldn't know either way – but there were two amateur mistakes with the Potions notes that made me nervous Malfoy had 'acquired' them from the only clueless Ravenclaw in the school.

"I never steal," Malfoy contradicted with a playful smirk toward me. "I may have threatened docking house points, however."

"From who?" I asked conversationally, still flipping through the notes. "The person's not the brightest, clearly. So my guess would be either Brocklehurst or Turpin."

"Turpin," he nodded, smirking at some memory or other.

"Oh, get a room," Tracey muttered under her breath. I turned my eyes toward her quickly, watching as she shrank away from my glare and by the look of it, Malfoy's glare as well. Daphne cleared her throat loudly.

"That was nice of you, Draco."

"Nice?" He scoffed, stabbing at his vegetables. "I did it out of pity, you should have seen the girl beg."

"Beg for points, I'd hope," I muttered back...and suddenly frowning when my own thoughts took terrible turns down disturbing detours. I tried to block my mind from imagining Malfoy holding Turpin and kissing her...but in the end, for some reason, her plain brown hair started turning into my dark red hair and for some reason that stupid brunette-turned-redhead was not pulling away.

Ew.

"Come on then, double Transfiguration before we have Care of Magical Creatures," Theodore told me, breaking my reverie and turning to me with a piece of strawberry jam toast in his hand.

"I already ate," I frowned, turning to point at the crumbs leftover from my eggs. "Ask Malfoy, he saw it pre-digestion!"

"Well, you'll be eating more Miss 'I-feel-fantastic'," Theodore shoved the toast into my hand.

"I believe I said that I feel _great _and that my mood had been ruined by Malfoy's mockery and your attentiveness to my homework-less state."

"Eat it, Audrey," Theodore said sternly. "You'll need to have a clear head; we're being inspected today."

"Oh joy," I mumbled, making another show of stuffing the toast in my mouth and showing him before turning to Malfoy, who – again – sneered and turned away from the sight. "That's what you get for not defending me from this!"

I would never know whether or not Malfoy actually understood me through my mouth full of strawberry toast because Lillian grabbed my arm and chastized me with a giggle while she, Theodore, Tracey, Daphne and I made our way all the way down to McGonagall's classroom. We were some of the first ones there, so we separated and started taking over the back desks. I did not feel bad for the Hufflepuff that sat in front of me – people should know by now not to sit in front of me for classes like this.

"Theodore," I turned to him suddenly. "Are you my friend?"

"You're about to ask me for something," he stated knowingly – and rightly, suspiciously – while his eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

"Just to know if you're my friend."

"I am," he said carefully.

"A friend who cares about me and my well-being?" I urged, watching his brown eyes become more lost and even more guarded.

"Generally, but not if it requires me moving from this seat or doing anything humiliating," he responded carefully. I smiled.

"So, it wouldn't be a problem if I were to ask you to transfigure all these notes to look like my handwriting?" I gave him a large, cheeky smile while I held out the pieces of parchment that had been given to me by Malfoy at breakfast. Theodore looked down at them and rolled his eyes – he did not care for cheating on school notes and I knew he would be against it. Still, I was surprised when he sighed and took his wand out of his robe pocket.

"Just this once, because Malfoy worked so hard to 'acquire' them."

"I doubt he worked hard," I frowned, remembering the insinuation of Turpin _begging _and having the horrible image of the brunette-gone-redhead fogging my mind again.

"Sure," he rolled his eyes. "And I'm only doing this once because you were legitimately in the hospital wing, do you understand me?"

I watched, pleased, while he tapped his wand over the parchment and whispered an incantation while McGonagall walked past us and up to her desk to begin the lesson. When he was done I smiled cheekily at him.

"You know," I told him as seriously as I could. "You should really give Harry lessons."

"In Transfiguration?"

"In being overbearing."

"Today we will be continuing our work with Vanishing spells. You two, come hand out the mice – remember that because the mouse is a mammal it will present a much more difficult challenge than the snail. When you have completed to fully vanish your mouse, you will then move to kittens..."

"Ugh," I sighed, looking at the mouse that was placed in front of me with an exaggerated pout. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"You could just try and see how it goes," Theodore told me simply, using both hands to steady his mouse before grabbing back a hold on his pristine works-all-the-time wand. I didn't say anything as he began to try and vanish his mouse – getting near immediate results. No, he did not do it perfectly the first time, but at least the tail and front feet vanished. I took a look at my own wand – still dirty and worn. The light ash wood of the stick in my hand weighed close to nothing thanks to the weightless Augurey feather core and it actually could have passed for quite a quaint looking wand...if you didn't know what a nuisance it was.

"Alright wand," I began threateningly, looking at my wand with all the seriousness I had. "We can do this, you and I. We're going for a passing grade in this class – just a one, two, tap and we can make this mouse disappear. For the grade. I know you don't like me and to be honest I'm not the fondest of your sorry excuse either – but if you can make me pass these grades until I turn seventeen – I'll get a new wand and never have to use you again. So...work. Please."

"She's gone off the deep end," Tracey sighed loudly from behind me. They were wiser than the Hufflepuffs who had dared to sit in front of me, where my wand would be pointed.

"Is she seriously talking to her wand?" Lillian asked, more as a joke than anything considering she and Tracey were already laughing behind their hands and trying to stay quiet.

"You would too, were yours so testy," I turned to give the two of them the evil eye.

"Get a new one, then." Tracey rolled her eyes.

"I've _tried_, but you don't understand how difficult it was for me to try this one. Every wand I tried would blow something up in my hands or worse, injure me. You should have seen all the gashes I had in my palm – it was as if the wands all hated me," I frowned, rubbing my palm absently as the memory played in the back of my mind. "Harry's wand had been particularly violent with me."

"Why?" Theodore frowned at me. "Wands don't normally attack handlers."

"Well, I'm a special case," I frowned, turning back to glare at my wand again. "This one may backfire but it's never left gashes in my hand – so we have come to a mutual understanding that involves me not getting hurt and its own performance anxiety."

Needless to say that after accidentally giving the Hufflepuff in front of me a vanished patch of hair at the back of her skull – there was no need to worry her about it by telling her – and almost setting Theodore's robes ablaze, I did not vanish my mouse. His ear, however, did have a nice gouge out of it. I could not tell whether or not it was vanished or had been blown off, but in the end at least the mouse liked me enough not to bite me.

Walking down to lunch was a long trek of Theodore lecturing me on my eating habits once again. Since I had missed dinner the night before, he was determined to make me eat an entire plate of food today so I could make up for it. I told him it was impossible – that even at my heaviest a whole plate of food would just make me feel ill – but he was determined to get my body mass up considering I had been _losing _weight and was even smaller than when we'd first arrived. I agreed that I weighed too little, but my appetite just wasn't what it used to be. To placate him, I ate half a plate of mash and a waffle. I fed what I could to Circe under the table while he wasn't watching. Still, the food had seemed to do a good job in boosting up my energy again. I had forgotten how much a good meal could help with energy, but I was glad I hadn't tried to eat the entire plate considering how full I felt now.

Though perhaps Theodore had a point after all, perhaps I should start eating more so I could properly start wreaking havoc to my full potential.

By the time we made it down to our afternoon stretch of Care of Magical Creatures, Umbridge was there waiting for us. Smothered in lavender today – though she donned pink accessories and parchment – she was standing beside Professor Grubbly-Plank, a pink clipboard poised in her hand, looking ready to take note of anything and everything.

"Get back to work with the Bowtruckles, everyone, and see if you can go about feeding them." Professor Grubbly-Plank ordered, sounding more stern then I had ever heard her. I was sure to go to the edge of the table and situate myself closer to the two of them so I could 'accidentally overhear' what was being said.

"You do not usually take this class, is that correct?" Umbridge asked sweetly. I grabbed a few woodlice in my hand to make it look like I was doing something and tried not to be distracted as the bowtruckles seemed to line up to come and retrieve some.

"Quite correct, I am a substitute teacher standing in for Professor Hagrid." She said plainly.

"Hmm," Umbridge still tried to seem sweet, but her voice held something that just sounded wrong. "I wonder – the Headmaster seems strangely reluctant to give me any information on the matter – can you tell me what is causing Professor Hagrid's very extended leave of absence?"

Malfoy, who had come to look at the bowtruckles beside me, looked up eagerly.

"'Fraid I can't," Professor Grubbly-Plank's voice was clipped and it seemed that she was taking any liberty she could to avoid making eye contact with Umbridge. Still, it didn't look like she was trying to hide something – it looked as if she were trying to control her temper. "Don't know anything more about it than you do. Got an owl from Dumbledore, would I like a couple of weeks' teaching work. I accepted. That's as much as I know. Well...shall I get started then?"

"Yes, please do," Umbridge smiled before turning to her clipboard and making notes. I busied myself by envisioning switching the feathers on her quill so she wouldn't realize that she was writing with the blood quill until it was too late – what would she have carved in her hand by the time she had noticed, I wonder?

'_Hagrid's a giant_', '_eradicate the giants_', '_they are all plotting_'?

Umbridge let Professor Grubbly-Plank continue to tell us what she wanted us to do for the day – she wanted us to inspect the bark armour of the bowtruckles and try to fix them as I had the day before, not that she put any emphasis on me. I was glad, I didn't really think that was information I would have wanted to share with Umbridge if I didn't have to – she may hear that I was good in this class, but I didn't want to give her any rope to talk to me about it before I did my research. Still, ignoring that we were trying to work, Umbridge continued to walk around and ask the students questions. I was standing on the Slytherin side of the clearing when I heard Umbridge head over to Grubbly-Plank again.

"Oh, yes, Dumbledore's excellent," the professor smiled broadly to the toad woman. "Yes, I'm very happy with the way things are run, very happy indeed."

Umbridge did not seem to like that answer. "And what are you planning to cover with this class this year – assuming, of course, that Professor Hagrid does not return?"

But he would, I thought to myself darkly. Hagrid would be back. He had to be – this woman taught too safely...there were never any interesting animals. My ideas were proven correct as professor Grubbly-Plank continued.

"Oh, I'll take them through the creatures that most often come up in OWL. Not much left to do – they've studied Unicorns, Kneazles and Nifflers; I thought we'd cover Porlocks, make sure they can recognise Crups and Knarls, you know..."

"Well," Professor Umbridge quite obviously made a large checkmark on her clipboard. "_You_ seem to know what you're doing, at any rate. Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?"

"That was me," Malfoy said instantly, he was only a few people away from me but I was sure that if I wanted to I could touch him with my Magnuse and sew his mouth together. It was tempting...but ultimately detrimental to my plans. "I was slashed by a hippogriff."

Surely not _too _detrimental though...

"A hippogriff?" Professor Umbridge seemed aghast, scribbling frantically on her clipboard.

"Only because he was too stupid to listen to what Hagrid told him to do," said Harry angrily, walking up a bit closer toward them. I rolled my eyes, all ideas of making myself the bad guy disappearing as I realized that Harry was playing the role for me. What a change.

"Another night's detention, I think," Umbridge smiled, scribbling on a different page of her clipboard and handing Harry a pink slip, surely informing him of his newest detention time. "Well, thank you very much, Professor Grubbly-Plank, I think that's all I need here. You will be receiving the results of your inspection within ten days."

"Jolly good," Professor Grubbly-Plank tried not to show how sarcastic it was, but as I had learned, sarcasm flew directly over Dolores Umbridge's head – and the toad walked away with a smile. I turned toward Malfoy with a dark glower.

"Will you please stop getting my brother into trouble?"

"Me?" He scoffed, turning his head to give my brother – who was now standing much closer to us – a quick glare. "He does it all on his own."

"Well there's no need to _help _him," I hissed, spinning on my heel so I could turn an accusatory finger and blazing eyes onto my brother. "And you! Stop making my life difficult!"

"Oh, Audrey, as if any of this bothers you in _any _way. You prob-" Harry began in a hiss, throwing his detention slip onto the ground toward me with a grunt.

"It _does_," I hissed to my brother, looking over and watching as Umbridge's back headed back up to the castle. She was jolly in her steps – a bad sign that something had gone well for her. "And if you don't stop making things hard for me, Harry, I won't be able to help you out of your tight spots. Stop being selfish."

"Stop being selfish, says the Slytherin," he mocked darkly before turning away from my shocked expression.

"He shouldn't have said that to you," Malfoy whispered to me, coming close as if to taunt me more. His closeness to me was distracting, but ultimately made me nervous enough to train my thoughts closer on my brother...for safety's sake. I couldn't have my mind wandering to memories of unhappened events again. "You deserve better."

"He's my brother," I argued.

"And he's going to get you in trouble. Even I don't do that."

"Anymore," I added, looking up to him with a smirk. He looked down at me, his eyes the colour of falling rain in May. My smirk fell.

"Anymore," he agreed.

I took three steps forward, taking a deep breath. Malfoy had gotten too close for comfort and these damn memories of the vision in June were just setting me up for failure. If I couldn't get the idea that I _would _kiss him out of my goddamn head, I _would _end up kissing him.

...I did not just think that.

"He'll never be able to let it go," Malfoy said from behind my back. He took a step closer and I took two more in the opposite direction. I almost felt the urge to run toward my brother and hide behind him, or run to Hermione and ask her to obliterate these thoughts from the forefront of my mind. And the forefront of my mind was where the hot embers - that never wanted to bloody die - seemed to keep burning the image of kissing him into my mind. "If he keeps this up, he'll have detention with her for the rest of the year."

"The rest of the year – with her," I repeated slowly, my eyes flickering to Malfoy's pleased smirk. Then, watching his cruel smirk and thinking of how alike mine it was branched off into a thought of Snape who...no way. Dungbomb Malfoy just inadvertently saved my brother's hide. I opened my mouth in shock before once again rounding on my brother. "Oi, Potter!"

"_What_, Drea?" He hissed back again, he had been preoccupied with the much more noticeable wound on his hand. These detentions would keep that open forever at this rate.

"Detention."

"What?" His eyes bugged, looking more like himself than he had in weeks. "What are you talking about?"

"You have detention – with Snape – all week."

His jaw clenched darkly when he realized that I was not joking. "For what?"

"Littering," I informed, looking pointedly at his crumpled detention slip that was still laying in the grass near my feet.

He glared at me darkly. "But I already have detention with Umbridge!"

Hermione, much faster to catch on to everyone else, took a deep breath of realization. I turned to her with a glint in my eye, hearing the Slytherins behind me snicker as they thought that I took their side once more. I was playing my part well, if they believed it.

Still, my brother did not catch onto my ploy – and something was making me doubt that he ever would. Would I play my part so well that even my brother would have trouble realizing which side I was on? It wouldn't doubt me, he wasn't himself – anyone could see it. I thought that Cedric's death had affected me, but clearly my brother had taken to mourning in a fashion none of us expected: he was angry, and bitter, and looking to place the blame on anyone he could.

It was like he wasn't even my brother anymore.

"That's not my problem," I gritted out, watching him with hard eyes as he stormed away. Malfoy watched me carefully, I couldn't tell if he had caught on as Hermione had or if he just happened to know that this punishment had something other than a superfluous reason.

Hopefully the power of Snape's hatred would be enough to get Harry out of detention with Umbridge – because at least Snape wouldn't rip my brother apart as Umbridge seemed so keen.

And while he was in detention, I would be doing rounds...

With Malfoy...

Who I can't stop thinking of kissing.

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><p><strong>Ahhh, it's happening! Dreaco lovin' is happening! So much goodness in this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. I've been thinking of changing the description of Green Eyed Monster to these lines from this chapter:<strong>

**"nobility is stupid, Father always told me that nobility can be bought by those stupid enough to die for it. You can't be noble and live at the same time, Potter - you have to choose between them." **

**"How do you know if you chose right?"**

**"I always assumed if you were alive in the morning."**

**Any thoughts? **

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_BlueRose22_**: I'm glad to hear you're doing better and even though I personally hate the cold, I'm glad it's here if it's helping you out...kind of. Old habits die hard ;) Don't ever think that you're a bother, I promise you that you're not. Draco and Audrey are slowly getting together, even in this chapter we're seeing signs of it – it makes me giddy just thinking about it! Thank you, as always, for your review!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I thought their "thank yous" were pretty cute – I giggled as I wrote them. I will be doing Draco POV chapters, but I won't put them into this story – I really feel like it would break the flow of the story if I started putting in other peoples POV's, but you will see some in Audrey Potter's Prelude. I already played with them over in that one and I enjoyed it, so I'll be posting differing POV's over there :) **

_SchadenFreude95_**: I'm glad you're nervous, it means you're invested and that's always a great feeling for an author! There are a lot of hints, aren't there? Which ones have you picked on, can you think of any in particular? I'm just curious as to where your thoughts go – I like seeing how people interpret what they think will happen considering it's in Audrey's first person point of view – and that means we're limited to her understanding only...so it's interesting if people pick up on the other hints I throw in from other people. I loved this review, so thank you very much!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: The "Malfoy's eyes, finally, turned toward mine. They were a tumult of ice and understanding" was one of my favourite lines, as well. I love writing lines like that – there are a lot of them in the next few chapters. Hint-hint, lots of inner monologuing about our favourite Slytherin boy – they are finally moving forward. I'm trying to put lots of Sirius into the chapters, I want to make sure we know exactly where he and Audrey stand. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter! **

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: I recalled you saying you were Audrey Eakman, I love your name! I'm actually thinking of changing mine, I feel like I've outgrown it. This chapter was about 8500 words, so hopefully it was a nice, longer one than last time. Mention of the DA is kind of coming up next chapter – which is about 12 000 words full of fluff and information. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_sara253xxx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I wish I could update more often – I really do – but I don't think it'd be as good if they did. I hope that you liked this one :)**

_DiamondofNight_**: I'm flattered that you are reviewing when you normally don't, really. I'm glad that you're liking the story enough to! Daphne does tend to ruin things thanks to her jealousy and big mouth, so hopefully she'll be able to fix that while she tries to get back into Audrey's good graces. Draco was pretty cute last chapter and I liked him a lot in this chapter, as well. Interesting that he agrees with what Audrey and the Golden Trio about their DADA classes, isn't it? Too bad he thinks that "nobility is stupid". Also, I try VERY hard to keep Draco in character – otherwise, this story would probably move a lot faster and they'd have admitted they like each other about twenty chapters ago. But I really try to be true to their characters – particularly the Slytherins.  
>I'm glad that you find Audrey's weakness and feelings believable. As I said, I try very hard to be true to characters and I really did map out Audrey and her entire personality in my mind before I started writing this...so I'm glad that all her weaknesses and flaws are believable to people, as well. Also, Audrey is constantly frustrated by how often she is dragged behind in the Golden Trio's trouble and then their fame from it – that will be elaborated in the next chapter.<br>As for the boggart: since they are fuelled by fear I thought that when the other girls had started to feed it thanks to their own panic, it would keep using that against them instead of conforming to Audrey's own fear. Considering she didn't feel anything but happiness and laughter – which as we know weakens it – I figured it wouldn't have the strength to morph into her fear when she already felt such a strong surge of happiness...really good question! Thanks so much for reviewing.**

_Novella Vialli_**: I think that the Gryffindors (save Fred and George, who we know also have their own 'bad' side when it comes to their pranks) don't understand Audrey and that's why they seem cold. I'm glad you like the Draco-ness. Hopefully you liked this one, too!**

_BloodxForxMyxRose_**: Daphne was definitely out of line, but she is trying to make it up...and maybe she'll end up doing something worth being forgiven for. Harry is a little bit out of line, but in a few chapters they'll have some bonding and a nice long talk about it – well, there may be some yelling at first, knowing Audrey, but eventually there will be bonding. And boys being confusing – amen! Then again, half the time I don't understand girls around me, either. But Malfoy is being a good boy – for the most part. I definitely put a lot of thought into Audrey's character and I'm glad that you liked how she turned out :)**

_Princesslinleigh_**: You got a tattoo? That's great! What of? I have a few myself...I'm kind of addicted to the idea of them. I realized I was pretty soon though so now I wait six months after I get an idea for one to make sure that I'm not doing anything hasty and that I still want it after six months – then it also gives me extra time to make it exactly like I want it to. I'm about to get my fourth one next month :) Anyway, I'm glad you like my take on Hermione – to be honest, Hermione Granger is almost exactly like my Mom, so I just base it off of her when I can't picture how Hermione, herself, would handle a situation. And I'm so glad that you think Audrey seems real, thank you! Again, I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter with Malfoy, Sirius, and Montague drama. Hopefully this one did the last one justice!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: You will find out just what Malfoy thinks about Audrey in the next...two or three chapters. You will find out just what Audrey thinks about Malfoy in the next...two or three, as well ;) Even though we are starting to see it in the past few chapters – but she has yet to recognize what it is. Umbridge and her relationship will be a little more defined next chapter and the chapter after (the chapter after the next is titled 'Understanding Umbridge'). And I really do think Draco's had to grow up – I think anyone who knows what's going on has had to grow up and we all know that Draco's family is fully involved with Riddle's plans. Hopefully he realizes that he and Audrey are playing for opposite prizes. **

_Princess-Dixon_**: Yes, Daphne is definitely trying to make things right in her own way – Audrey isn't going to forgive easily though. The Draco/Audrey walls are quite obviously crumbling down, and pretty quickly by the looks of it. Something tells me it won't be that simple for either of them though – they're both so pigheaded. As for the Snape thing you mentioned, you are absolutely right – but that's just a secret between you and I ;) As for the idea of Audrey being on patrol alone, you have a general idea of something that I'm planning, but I'll tell you that it's not when they'll kiss. Their kiss will be very sudden and I'm VERY excited for it. Not long now, not long...  
>As for the length of my chapters, it's not necessarily easy to make them as long as I do. Sometimes it feels like I've written forever as well and it ends up only being 3000 words – sometimes I'm okay with that (like for my Vampire Diaries story) but because this story will be so long I tend to like going for longer chapters, so sometimes I add in something that would have happened in the next chapter. My biggest secret is that I write three chapters at a time, they end up being anywhere from 3000-5000 words on average, and then when I'm almost done updating all three of those and my editor is done with the three before, I go back to those chapters that I want to update next and I fill in things I feel like I've missed such as detail or some extra dialogue. It's like I make a skeleton and then give it muscles the second time, then my editor gives it skin. By the time I've added things, it ends up being usually 2000 words more and it's usually flowing better and more descriptive. That's all I can say for tips, hope it helps!<strong>

_Kara_**: Sirius is definitely close with Audrey too, I'm glad that you like the change. Thanks for the review.**

_Jade_**: Cho and Marietta will not get out of this story unscathed, I promise you. Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing :)**

_Sasha_**: It's coming, I promise! Thanks for reviewing.**

_Nan_**: Yes, if I liked a boy who was like Audrey, I'd be afraid of rejection too. Audrey is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Thanks for the review!**

_Magimagus_**: Your reviews are EPIC. They are literally EPIC. Did you know your last review was 1554 words? EPIC, I say! And I love them. Every single one and every single word of them – truly, I do.  
>Yes, me breaking the keyboard was pretty embarrassing and even though I just got it back I can already see that the finish is starting to wear off – it's kind of crazy. I never really took the time to notice before but now I'm noticing that on my boyfriends computer and my own, the keys are all starting to get warn out...the poor space key looks like it's been rubbed raw :(<br>Yes, Dreaco is here! Subtly, yes, but it is here. And it won't be very subtle for long – Audrey and Draco aren't very subtle people. Not that I SHOULD tell you this...but we may or may not get to read the articles next chapter...just saying...and we will be doing a time skip over the patrols because this book is just so thick and it moves SO slowly, so I can promise no Montague creeping. Yet. And yes, the way they said they were thank you was pretty cute, in my opinion. Of course, I wrote it, but I still giggled with each word written. Also I love the James references from both Sirius and Snape and I was really surprised by what I came up with/how much I didn't realize what I was writing as I thought about her not knowing how to feel about it. I kind of just wrote it blindly and then went back to fix grammatical errors and was like "whoa, that's deep". As for the Sirius vs Snape, I think that would be pretty deep as well and it's interesting you would say the whole 'choose between them, thing...not that I can tell you why, but that's very interesting...  
>The Magnuse isn't the reason she's good with animals, I'll tell you that much. It was newly created and she does need to touch things to make it work – she has not mastered Magnuse, which is the ability to project it outside of oneself. It'd pretty much mean unlimited wandless magic...which would be pretty cool, but not believable for a 15 year old, temperamental girl. As for my imagination being vast, it's true...but it's also terrible because I live in my imagination for so long then come back and think "man, this world SUCKS...and back to my brain..." I grew up kind of spacey in the Luna Lovegood way because of my brain and my imagination – Highschool was rough because of it. I really relate to that girl...it sucks Audrey kind of doesn't. Yet. I'll make it work. Simply because I'd want Audrey to be friends with me :P<br>It's okay to be Anti-Daphne still because Audrey still is and we're still seeing through her POV so we won't see the good she's REALLY trying to do it as most of the others can probably see it. But you will, eventually, and then it will probably be a battle of WANTING to hate her, but not being able to. Or so I hope. And when Sirius was defending Daphne saying the whole "not all bad" thing, he was really saying that she wasn't all bad, but he was not defending Alya – particularly because he doesn't really know what's going on there.  
>As for why Audrey is in the bathroom when it is flooded, it's a good idea that she is in there as a prank by the girls. She does scream for Draco during it out of fear...<br>And I'm loving the fangirl for Dreaco. And don't tone it down! I love hearing it, it really gets me in the mood to write them being cute. Draco IS always on Audrey's side. In a twisted way, of course, but even if you look back through all the chapters, most of the time he is on her side and when he ISN'T it's usually because she's pushed him away or because he's flirting...ultimately, he's always on her side. It's a cute subtly through the entire story, I think.  
>I can honestly say that when you said "Audrey's Slytherin-ness is amazing c: Her Slytherin-ness makes me realise that I'd actually probably be in Slytherin" I actually screamed for joy. Like, <strong>_**actually. **_**I think my boyfriend almost had a heart attack. Then when I explained it, he rolled his eyes because he's a Gryffindor and always makes jokes about how I only ever write about Slytherins because "I have no heart". Sigh. Boys.  
>Whichever Weasley she kisses, it will be good. I can't tell you who, that would ruin it, but you probably won't see it coming – I really like the kinds of kisses or moments that surprise people. When I used to read fanfiction I never really was surprised by what I read, so I tend to try and change that for you guys.<br>Yes, Audrey really does act carefree around Snape. They really are very casual around each other – or maybe she's just casual around him, he IS Severus Snape. And Draco and Audrey speaking in code? I think they have to speak in code because they can't accept that they like each other. I mean, it's SO obvious that they're perfect for one another – but being against what someone else stands for makes relationships very complicated. Including the fact that Draco Malfoy is not for relationships. Sigh. Boys.  
>Anyway, thank you, as always for your FANTASTIC review! Hope you liked this chapter :)<strong>

_xxz0eyxx_**: There will be lots of Malfoy-ness next chapter...was there enough in this one for you? Montague-ness is coming up soon as well, so you won't have to wait too long. Audrey does eat, she just eats once a day or so, which is really unhealthy but can leave you totally functional. As for you fainting, that would suck – I've done it a few times. Once I was on the phone with my boyfriend because I'd come home sick and fainted while I was walking up the stairs. He came and got me – it was terrifying waking up to him calling my name. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last – thank you, as always, for reviewing!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad you like it, thank you for your review!**

_Antigona_**: Happy Birthday! I wasn't going to update until my editor gave the next few back to me, but I decided that I couldn't miss it so I'm sorry if there are mistakes or anything. Also I had it all ready to get out hours ago, but the website crashed, so I'm sorry it wasn't out earlier! I hope you have a fantastic birthday and that you liked the chapter :)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Ha, I'm glad to get a review every now and then so don't even worry about it! I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and hope that you liked this one as well – thank you!**

_VeraWhite_**: Hello, Vera it's very nice to meet you and thank you for the review! Thank you so much for liking the story and I'm so flattered to hear that it's your favourite. It's nice that you find Audrey to be a real Slytherin and that you like how she behaves. She is definitely a little firecracker and she will keep things interesting, particularly with her brother. I also love your name – Vera is beautiful and I've played Ophelia before – she was one of my favourite characters to act. I hope you liked this chapter :)**

_RandomCitizen_**: You reviewed chapter one, so hopefully if you make it to all the way to here, you'll see this! Thank you so much for reviewing. She is still close with Harry, even if they really butt heads on a lot of topics. Every now and then you see them close with each other, like during the summer, before the hearing, and even last chapter when he was warning her to eat and such. Hopefully you liked this chapter and the others you read :)**

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: I'm glad you liked chapter 26. Hopefully by the time you get to this chapter you'll like the Dreaco action here, as well :)**

_sexichick_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I tend to call them Dreaco, but any of those are good options so long as they're stuck together, haha. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

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><p><strong>I'd love to hear what you think on this chapter everyone. Will Audrey kiss Draco? Will Will they ever admit they like each other? Will Montague get punished? Will Audrey join the DA? Did Audrey save her brother from another night's detention? What are in those damn articles? <strong>

**Please leave your thoughts in a **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	40. Shift and Shite

**Happy Birthday, Punk Rocker Fairy! I'm very excited to get this chapter out to you - it's super long, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Special thanks go to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for fixing this one and being generally fantastic :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 39 - Shift and Shite<p>

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><p>I was ecstatic now that my final punishable patrol shift was nearly over. Having switched my night shift for the morning shift with the seventh year Gryffindors – as persuaded by Fred and George – I was glad to be on my final hour. These last three weeks had been hell; they were filled with Montague's innuendos, my brother constantly getting in trouble, and a lot of complaining during the rounds that Malfoy had joined me for.<p>

Then again, like most of my ill-fated detentioned patrols, Malfoy had joined me for this last stretch. It was shocking how many of my patrols he had joined me for - considering he'd been there for double, no, _more than double_ of the patrols that he was meant to be part of. What was even _more_ shocking was how civil we had been during those patrols...and though I knew it was simply because we didn't want any more punishments than necessary, a small and terrified inner voice told me that there was something more. Something more from _both _sides.

Because of this new camaraderie, I found it comforting that Malfoy joined me again this morning – only five minutes before now – while rubbing his eyes and shouting moodily at anyone he saw running.

Most people, like myself, were excited simply because it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. I was excited to get out to the town and spend time with Fred and George, who I have not really been able to spend time with as I'd been working determinedly to get on Umbridge's good side. It was working well – though I had noticed that my credibility with her decreased each time she would see me spending time at the Gryffindor table.

"I don't understand why you're so excited for morning," Malfoy grumbled, I noticed that he was having a lot of trouble keeping his eyes open. "Your excitement is exhausting."

"It's already 9:15, Malfoy," I smiled to myself. Having been patrolling since six, I'd had time to wake up - it also helped that I was excited to get out of this suffocating, giant castle. "I hate mornings as well, but this morning is the morning of freedom!"

"Yes, freedom," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Does that freedom continue when you have to come back early to serve your detention with McGonagall?"

I frowned, stopping in place to glare at him. "You ruined my good mood."

"Good," he groaned. "It was wrong to be so chipper in the morning."

"I shouldn't be in detention anyway," I ranted, walking forward again and hearing him sigh from behind me as he picked up his pace to keep up. "I _did _make the kitten invisible!"

"Potter, it was using Magnuse," he argued with a yawn. "It was cheating."

"It was not," I pointed out, pointing at him accusingly. "I did the work all on my own. She told us how to use our wands for the incantations, sure, but she never _actually _said we couldn't use cantated magic."

"Tell that to McGonagall."

"I did," I frowned, pulling in my pointing hand and crossing my arms over my chest with a huff. "She didn't listen."

"What will you be doing on the part of the day you get in the village, then?"

"I don't know, I just want to get out of here," I admitted with a sigh. "I need to get some more food for Circe and I'm down to specialty quills. I doubt I'll have time for Zonko's or Honeydukes thanks to the crowds and my detention." I couldn't stop the wrinkle of my nose. "Why, what were you planning?"

"Have a few butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks," he thought allowed. "Maybe some firewhiskey."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Are we allowed to order that?"

"Do I care?" He smirked at me, looking more awake thanks to the taunting. "Money can order you anything, Potter."

"Tell that to Greengrass, she loves that stuff." I couldn't imagine the idea of firewhiskey. I'd smelt it before and I'd been told of the burn that travels down someone's throat, but I'd never tasted it. Though I did kind of want to - just out of curiosity.

"Maybe I'll invite her out." He said suggestively, raising his eyebrows. The very insinuation made me sneer...Malfoy had left a few times so that he could go and 'spend time' with Parkinson. It had disturbed me every time he had left me alone to do it - particularly because he left me alone with my thoughts. Which tended to wander. And I did not like my thoughts wandering to what happened in his bedroom.

No matter how often they tended to venture there.

"Aren't you dating Parkinson?" I asked through my clenched jaw.

"Dating, no," he corrected, sneering at the idea himself. "I call it shagging."

My stomach clenched in disgust and I took three large steps to the side so that he was not so close to me. "Why? She's foul."

"But constantly looking to please," he argued with a smirk. "How rude would I be if I said no?"

"I know you wouldn't be diseased if you did," I bit back. My mind was already flipping to the familiar image of him and Puginson snogging in a corridor somewhere, looking disgusting and being all over each other...

And then suddenly - as it was always sudden - it wasn't Parkinson I was envisioning at all. Suddenly, it was a memory of something that hadn't happened, something that _would_ happen...a memory of Malfoy kissing someone else in a corridor somewhere...

"Don't be such a prude, Potter," Malfoy chuckled darkly. "There's no need to act stupid, it's not like you haven't shagged anyone."

I felt no urge to respond to that.

"No," and there it was - almost another smile, something I saw only on rare occasion during patrol, when he knew there was no one near us. It was quite the sight - except for right now: when he was making fun of me. "Potter, are you a _virgin_?"

"I don't see why you would be shocked if I were to say yes," I said vaguely, sticking my nose up and looking up and down the hall for unsuspecting students to punish. "I'm only fifteen."

"Yes and I lost my virginity _ages _ago," he said simply, the familiar sound of a smirk gracing his voice. "I would have thought you'd have offered it up to a Weasley by now."

I wrinkled my nose, wanting to turn around and snap at him but unwilling to see whatever expression he had right now. "Malfoy, must you always be so crude? My relationship with any and every Weasley is completely platonic."

And, on cue, my imagination took another detour, though I tried warding off the image of kissing a Weasley to the back of my mind – there was red hair and freckles but our faces were mashed together so closely that I hadn't been able to tell who it was in my vision...and then, horrifyingly, the face in my vision had changed...

"Well, you should get on that, Potter," Malfoy mumbled, looking over the portraits on the wall closer to him. "There must be some sorry sod who would do with you."

"And apparently that's you," I mumbled, frowning at the image in my head. His head snapped around to look at me, eyebrows high on his forehead and eyes as wide as saucers. I shook my head automatically - sure, my words were true to me but since I planned to stop it from happening, there was no reason to plant the idea in his head too - it was bad enough that the image wouldn't leave _me _alone. "According to the _Prophet_, that is."

"Oh, the Prophet is about as reliable as the Quibbler these days," he rolled his eyes with a sigh, looking away from me pointedly. "I wouldn't trust anyone who believed what that sack of wasted parchment says."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh, to which he raised an eyebrow. "You know, that's almost ironic."

"Ironic?" He repeated, though I don't know why. He and I had repeatedly had the conversation about why he hadn't fought with us over the use of wands in the classroom - it was one of the reasons we were so civil now, or at least now that we had come to a temporary understanding.

"Well, you're on the opposite side that I am and still, you believe in absolutely everything that I do."

He nodded his head slowly, grabbing his wand and fiddling with it as he thought. The simple nod turned into a very stern sneer and shake of his head.

"I don't know about that," he told me lowly. "I certainly have no belief in your brother."

"I don't really either," I admitted, which was nothing new to him. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of when we had first had this conversation - how excited Malfoy had seemed that I was going against my brother. I'd played along for the most part, even when I'd realized that half of what I was saying was true. "Not for what everyone else believes, anyway. We talked about me not believing he's the saviour of the Wizarding World."

"Yes, so you've been telling Umbridge," his eyes narrowed on me, stopping in his tracks to look over his shoulder at me - eventually, when he'd seemed to decide what to say, he turned back to face me. "What areyou playing at, Potter?"

"Who said I was playing at anything?" I bit back defensively.

"You're not one of us, no matter how much we've tried to turn you. You don't hate muggles or mudbloods and you especially don't hate the Gryffindors. So why are you here?" He asked, watching my eyes carefully as the image of my brothers hand moulded with the emotion from my vision where my hand was burnt by Umbridge's locket played. That's why I was here, that's why I _was _playing at this, and I needed to remember it.

"I'm here because it's where I need to be," I argued back.

His head shook. "You're lying, Potter."

"Ah," I laughed. "So we're back to you trying to prove you know when I'm lying?"

"I do know when you're lying," he shrugged back. "I just can't always tell your intentions...like now."

"Who said I have any intention at all?" I frowned. "Maybe I'm just doing what everyone expects me to."

Malfoy, shockingly, bit back a smile.

"Potter, that's precisely how I know you're lying."

There wasn't really anything to say after that, though I felt my cheeks flare up. So, he knew when I was lying because he thought that I was predictable? It was more insulting than I could say and yet, at the same time, it was something I didn't feel the need to argue.

"What could possibly have caused you to side with us 'bad guys', anyway, Potter?" He asked me after a moment. "Who are you avenging now?"

"I don't commonly avenge anyone but myself," I admitted with a smile. I couldn't stop myself from placing my arm on his so that he would turn to look at me while my repeatedly spoken words to Harry played through my mind. It was such a twisted parallel, such a strange irony that I lived with those who believed they were good - but who loved to act bad. And now, ironically, I was aligning myself with people who were believed to be bad...but I sometimes think had the capacity to be good. I raised a taunting eyebrow when Malfoy frowned down at my hand on his arm. "Besides, Malfoy...what makes you think you're one of the bad guys?"

* * *

><p>Hogsmeade was everything I remembered it being. It was fall, so it didn't look like the gingerbread village I'd always compared it too, but I was glad that it had yet to snow. I was not mentally prepared for the chill of winter, but still pleased when I could pull my navy jumper around me more tightly. At least this year I was physically prepared for the weather that greeted me – when Harry and I had first snuck out to Hogsmeade, we had not realized how cold it became in the village.<p>

Patrol had run late thanks to Malfoy being a git and leaving me alone to deal with finding two third years getting hot and heavy in an abandoned corridor – I think he left so smugly because it was proof that me being a virgin was not normal at our age. I didn't really care, at least I wasn't getting diseased by someone as disgusting as Puginson. Because I'd had to deal with the third year Gryffindors and patrol had run late, however, all my friends were already shopping and I had just arrived.

Still, I couldn't find it in me to want to go join them. Theodore was off with Daphne today to 'work out their differences' - something that I personally believe had never needed to be worked on. Since Nott had taken her side in the argument last year, I figured that they hadn't really had any other squabbles. Still, they said it was something that needed to be done and while I kept calling it a 'date', Nott had been quick to assure me it was 'bonding over facts'.

Still a date.

Tracey was out on a date herself with Zabini, a relationship that I'm sure would last the amount of time it took them to rip off each other's clothing. Though I hadn't been against it when the 'relationship' had been suggested, I was now feeling sensitive to the subject after my conversation with Malfoy.

Was I really the only virgin within my group of friends? And to add on to that question...were these people _really _my friends? They only liked me now that I was, as Malfoy put it, 'siding with the bad guys'. But did that make them selfish - or did it make me manipulative?

Probably a little bit of both.

Lillian was in the hospital wing for this trip to town. Like Tracey had been a few weeks before, Lillian had been hexed in the corridors - most likely from Anti-Audrey supporters. Ironically, the Anti-Audrey movement seemed to have shifted within the minds of Hogwarts students. Once filled with rueful Hufflepuffs and vengeful Ravenclaws, most of those who had begun to hate me were enraged Gryffindors who thought I had flipped sides...though it was terrible that they were attacking my friends, it was a good sign.

I was playing my part well.

I was sure to peek into the window at Honeydukes and instantly began to mourn the long line of third years who had not yet experienced it...I wouldn't have time to wait in line and get some Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans or Chocolate Frogs this time.

Still, I refused to be disheartened as I made my way to the next shop on my list. I was in Hogsmeade thanks to the excitement of being able to spend time with Fred and George; to me, that was worth more than something trivial like giving away my time to lines for sweets.

I was shocked, however, when I looked into the window for Zonko's only to find them not there either.

When I started really taking a mental inventory of the usual suspects, there were quite a few people I'd planned to spend time with who were missing. Now that I wasn't under Umbridge's judgemental and watchful eye I had been excited to catch up and plot with the twins, but I had also wanted to spend some quality time with Harry, Ron, Hermione or even Ginny – but it seemed as if half of the Gryffindor population had disappeared.

I grew bored quickly - I don't think my unwillingness to wait around would have surprised even a stranger - so I went about the business I knew I had to do. First I spent my time buying more quills that I could comfortably use considering I'd broken my last normal quill and was now down to a quill from Daphne that I could not use for projects - as it only wrote in purple ink - the pristine Phoenix feather quill from Theodore two years ago that I could not find a time worthy to use, and the Approquill that made everything I say sound appropriate. Harry had gotten the Appropquill for me last Christmas just last year and I was quite disturbed to realize that it made me sound like some first-class twit on paper.

My professors would _know _I was cheating, then.

After I was finished buying my quills and had stuffed them into the rucksack with my Transfiguration books - and the stolen essay I'd have to give McGonagall at the end of detention - I was quick to trek off to buy more food for Circe. Wandering through the store, which was a good distraction from wondering where all my friends had disappeared to, I decided to treat my kneazle with some catnip as well - she'd been upset when I told her she couldn't come to the village with me. And everyone knew that an unhappy Circe was an unhappy castle.

It was as I was walking out of the store that my shoulder was hit – hard – by the boy walking in.

"Malfoy," I sighed loudly. "Isn't it enough that I see you on patrol? Must you be in my way every other time of day?"

Malfoy was carrying his black eagle-owl, Heracles, on his arm. He had already turned to look at me when I had gone to confront him for running into me...his smirk did more than suggest that the lard had run into me on purpose.

"But don't my appearances brighten up your day?"

"Anyone with hair like yours could light up the night sky, Malfoy," I bit back. "I see you've left the dogs at home."

"Crabbe and Goyle are off at the Three Broomsticks, already dug into the pie and the butterbeer," he sneered, likely at a similar image conjured in my brain of the two stuffing their faces and then some.

"Interesting, and just what are you doing without their guard? Don't you know that some disease infested slug may find you alone...or is Pansy already waiting at the tavern?" There was no way to hide my smirk.

"I'm getting Heracles primped," Malfoy responded with a frown. "Father's orders."

"And do you always do what daddy says?" As always I mocked him openly. He did not seem in the best of humour, however, when his eyes narrowed at the remark.

"Some of us have that luxury," he replied silkily.

I couldn't deny the hurt, though I couldn't explain the surprise of it. Malfoy and I had been getting along well - the dead parents jokes had been put aside, like most areas concerning his own family dynamic that he was uncomfortable with. And it hurt that I had worked so hard in not asking him why his father was so..._bad_, while he no longer called my mother a mudblood. It had been a silent process that we acknowledged through our censorship, because of this I did not know if it was the surprise or the comment itself that hurt more.

He must have heard my sharp intake of breath because his eyes found his shoes while he sighed. I watched his eyes close, taking in the memory of what he had said and why it would be so insulting while I took a step away from him.

It shouldn't be this insulting, Audrey, I tried to convince myself. I needed to remember that this is how it had always been - no matter how civil our patrols had been, no matter what reporters he had lied to about our amity, he was still Draco Malfoy. And I was still a Potter.

"I was saving that one for your brother," he said lowly, his eyes not meeting mine.

"Clearly," it was hard knowing if I should walk away before the tension grew, or if I should stay to wait for him to cut through it. Surprisingly, my fight or flight reflex was telling me to run.

"What can I say?" he shrugged tightly. "Sometimes I forget who I'm speaking to."

"We may be twins, but Harry and I don't look _that _alike," I gritted back stubbornly.

"No," he agreed with a shake of his head. "Shall we be civil again?"

"Once I retaliate with an insult of my own," I hissed back, watching his reactions with narrowed eyes. I needed something to insult him with...I needed to prove that I wasn't going soft.

But, terribly, in the past few weeks of our silent patrolling, I could honestly admit that I was finding fewer and fewer flaws about him. I blamed the civility messing with my perception and the lack of friends for playing with my sense of trust, and most importantly I blamed the constant play of my vision in my brain; the three things were bubbling into a toxic concoction that tasted almost like _acceptance. _

Malfoy and I would become close. There was no denying it at this point. From everything I had seen and from the direction that things were going, it was clear that we had more in common than we would ever admit, and it would bring us together in a friendship that would be ironic and cruel. Still, instinct told me that as right as it was to accept this, there was no reason for me to make this hard on myself - or easy on him. I did not want to become what I hated and I did not want to change the antagonist of my past - and future. Though I could no longer deny it was true that when Malfoy wasn't being a complete arse - when we were alone, when we were civil, and when we had found common ground for conversation – Malfoy was actually decent company.

Still, Dragonbreath Malfoy would never kiss me.

"Well?" He jolted me out of my spiralling acceptance with an expectant tone, his jaw tight and his eyes finally daring to meet my own. They were that strange colour again - a mixture of ice and steel that mimicked melting glaciers and boiling mercury...

I frowned, tearing my eyes away from the distracting colour. "I'm working on it."

"You're slower than usual, Potter," his voice had gone back to normal now. He had gotten comfortable enough to know that I wasn't about to hex him and that comfort led him to lean against the door frame to the pet-supply store. "I'd almost think you were starting to like me."

"I'm sure you would," I bit back, my eyes narrowing. "I'll admit I enjoy insulting you."

"I think you like me on a more personal level," he smirked. "And why wouldn't you?"

"Because you're arrogant, greedy, treacherous, two-faced-"

"Not to you," he argued factually. "And as true as those facts may be, those aren't why you wouldn't."

"Then why would I?" I asked sceptically. "I just listed more flaws than flattery, Malfoy."

"I told you," Malfoy leaned forward slightly, his silver gaze danced. "Misery loves company."

"And you're miserable?" I asked sarcastically. He made a sour face at my tone.

"I'm uninvolved," he corrected. "How long until your detention?"

I frowned, picking up the wrist that was not holding Heracles to inspect his watch. It was just past two now and my detention began at three. It would be a half hour walk back to the castle and head to McGonagall's classroom – that was an upsetting amount of time lost.

"I have half an hour in the village," I groaned, looking up from his watch. I was disturbed by what I saw, yet again – the _look_ was back. The look where the steel and ice had melted completely to take on some emotion that I could not fathom. This upset me. I didn't like not knowing what everyone around me was thinking - it was what I specialized in and it was how I knew how to play my hand. Malfoy had recently learned how to block me out by being so complicated that I couldn't follow the thought process to get him to wherever it is he'd landed. Now, I was as lost by his looks as he was by whatever thoughts I could not place a name on.

At one point, Lillian had tried to convince me that the looks proved how he fancied me – but I shut that down right away. Douchebag Malfoy didn't fancied anyone, he just used them until the idea of them was dried up and could be swept under the rug. To amplify the point, I couldn't think of a way he could dare to fancy me after I had nearly castrated him with my knee in second year for the same offence.

Besides, eyes that were icy rivers turned melted glaciers were not signs I remembered when knowing people fancied me; Finnegan had obviously fancied me because of the smiles he had sent my way in third year, not to mention the attention he would suddenly give me. And Cedric - well, at first I hadn't even known he fancied me, but he made me suspect when he was so kind and trying to spend time with me.

Malfoy just had those _eyes. _And they could mean anything! In fact, the rational portion of my brain warned me they may be a sign of imminent danger.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to try and have some firewhiskey with the lot of us," he said simply, those damn eyes still on me. "You could just skive the detention."

"I could," I mumbled, my mind racing from instinct, trying to understand the impossible look he was giving me. I couldn't stop myself from trying to understand and though I felt like a Ravenclaw trying to solve a jigsaw, I couldn't equate the level of danger being this _interested _was...

I let go of his wrist, which I hadn't realized I was still holding, when I remembered just how close Malfoy and I had become and just how close we _could _be. Were Malfoy and I really being civil after all these years of torture? Had I really forgiven him for what he had said not three minutes ago?

"I wouldn't trust you not to poison me," I ground out, taking another step away.

"Oh, we're past all that," Malfoy made a point of looking around animatedly. "And no one's around to even see us be civil – you have nothing to worry about. Just a drink with your _real_ friends."

My _real_ friends: it was a definition that was lost to anyone except for Malfoy and I. The point of the term Malfoy had coined was simply a suspicion on my behaviour...a suspicion based entirely on the truth that I was playing a part that I did not agree with. Luckily the lack of foundation under his suspicion was so unstable that Malfoy had failed to bring his ideas up to anyone close with Umbridge and, luckily, had refrained from warning Umbridge, herself.

"I don't think I'd come out able to swallow _water _if I missed McGonagall's detention," I sighed dramatically, stepping backwards away from him again. I wonder if he noticed how close we had been, or if he noticed how eager I was to move away? "But thank you for the offer."

"It still stands," he said simply. "You said you'd never tried it."

"I did," I nodded a bit, starting to walk confidently backward so that I could breathe the cool air and stay saddled to the real world with it. "But now is not the day to and you are certainly not the company I should get inebriated with."

"Why not?" he frowned.

_Because we'll kiss._

"Because we'll kill each other," I altered.

He scoffed at me, waving his hand dismissively. "I doubt that."

_So do I._

"I don't," a lie out of self-preservation was always easy.

"Have it your way, then," Malfoy frowned. "Have a good weekend, Potter. You deserve some time off."

"I do," I agreed before I turned and walked away. It was all I could do not to run.

What was happening to me? One minute I'm complaining about having to be near him and the next I couldn't tear my mind away from remembering that I may have to kiss him? No. Not 'may have to', I couldn't think of things in the affirmative like that - it was basically accepting that it was going to happen. And it wouldn't. Not ever.

But to make matters worse, the entire time he was giving me that _look_ - the one I still can't wrap my head around. It didn't help with the combined turmoil of relatable thoughts, such as whether or not Lillian was right, why he had protected me, why he'd joined me for so many patrols, and what those articles may or may not have said. I mean, it couldn't be true - it couldn't be true that Malfoy felt anything other than disdain for me. And if it there was an off-chance that he had a momentary lapse of judgement and _did, _he certainly wouldn't dare to be attracted to me. He knows it would be suicide.

"That was quite a show," the sudden interruption of my thoughts stopped me in my tracks. But looking around, I could not see anyone who could have spoken. It was a familiar voice though, but not one I would have thought I'd see in a nearly abandoned part of Hogsmeade. I was near the Shrieking Shack now that I'd walked a decent length away from Malfoy but still - most students stayed away from the area.

"Who's there?"

"Don't pretend you don't recognize my voice," and I did recognize the voice. It was Sirius. I could have bet my life on it...but I wasn't about to take the chance that someone was messing with me and trying to make me admit to _expecting_ to hear the voice of my escaped-convict godfather around this particular place in Scotland. My eyes narrowed.

"And where would this recognizable voice be coming from?" I asked lowly, my eyes sweeping the street for any sign of life. I was only met with an angry voice that growled out: "shack, Drea. Now."

Oh, that was definitely Sirius. And Sirius was mad.

I walked down the dirt path that lead to the Shrieking Shack, nervously opening the door when I reached it and keeping it partially open for whatever form Sirius would take to enter. The entrance way and living room I walked into were just as I remembered it: discoloured, peeling paint on slanted, cracking walls; uneven, broken flooring and a layer of dust as thick as Christmas snowfall.

"Sirius?" I dared to whisper once I was in the middle of the room.

Sirius appeared a moment after, an invisibility cloak thrown off himself to be draped over one of the smashed couches to my right. I raised an eyebrow.

"Mundungus?" I asked knowingly.

"Of course," he mumbled. "Mundungus is disguised and watching your brother now – something about a group at the Hogshead."

"That place is open for business?" I asked with a grimace. "I always thought it was there to ward off children from underage alcoholism."

"No matter, I'm here to watch _you_," Sirius moved around the couch, leaning against the one sturdy arm of the piece of furniture and crossing his arms over his chest. "And I did not like what I saw."

"Oh?" I asked vaguely, moving to sit on a chair with a broken back and arm. "And what was that?"

"You and Malfoy," he said slowly, tilting his head in question. "What's going on there?"

"What do you mean 'what's going on there'?" I asked indignantly. "We hate each other."

"You don't," he said simply. "It's as clear as night and day."

"We hate each other, Sirius," I said firmly. He looked at me for a moment, his mouth in a thin line before shaking his head slowly. "Alright, fine, perhaps hate is not the proper word to use now. Our prefect duties has taught us to be civil - civility does not rule out us hating each other, though."

"I've seen that conversation before, the one you were having," he said softly, turning his body toward me and bowing his head. "I never realized you'd be so much like Lily."

"What about her?"

"With Malfoy," he said vaguely, hissing to himself and turning away as if he had said something painful. I didn't really follow what he was saying, but tried to shake my head of the subject.

"I'm too mean to be like Mum," I argued. He didn't answer me, just kept looking out one of the boarded-up windows as if he could see through the plywood. Uncomfortable not knowing what he was thinking, I spoke again. "Were you really here just to stalk me, Sirius? Because if that's the case, you're terrible at it and I have detention."

"No," he frowned, turning back to look at me. Sirius had gray eyes too - but they were very unlike the steel-sky of Malfoy's. Instead, Sirius' eyes reminded me of lead, or graphite - the old muggle writing tool that he would have had to use in Azkaban were he to have been willing to write his story. I could only imagine what the story would have said, with lead-gray eyes like his. "I came to give you my research."

"What research?"

"Research that I now question whether or not I should give you," he said with narrowed eyes. I looked at him incredulously.

"Alright, why does everyone think it's a good idea to be cryptic in this day and age? It's a terrible idea, all you do is leave us vulnerable to other dangers while we're busy trying to figure out your puzzles," I explained with a frown. "If this is just a game to you, Sirius, then I have other places to be. I would have thought you'd be excited to see me, but if you didn't like what you saw of us Slytherins and you'd rather go stalk _Harry..._"

"That's not what this is, Audrey," he sighed, his eyes regarding me carefully before he reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a small stack of parchment. He held it out to me expectantly. "I just don't want you to change your core."

"In English, Sirius," I demanded. He rolled his eyes.

"To change your core toward Malfoy," he elaborated bitterly, using the old expression that I'd not understood until Hermione had related it 'changing my tune'. I looked at Sirius questioningly. "Once you see this, I'm afraid you may."

"What is it?" I asked, getting out of my chair to go and inspect the stack he held out to me. Now that I was closer I could see that the stack in his hand was actually clippings...newspaperclippings. I looked up at him with my eyebrows in my hairline. "Are these the _Daily Prophet _articles?"

"The ones about you? Yes," Sirius made a sour face, taking hold of my hand carefully. "You need to remember that these people have an agenda, Audrey."

I scoffed, moving my hand away so that I could take the parchment and leaf through it. There were about half a dozen articles – my name shining through the text on every single one of them. "I know that, why wouldn't I?"

"Because half the world is as convinced as I'm afraid you may be," Sirius said again, turning away from me with his hand near his mouth – he was thinking about something or other, but I couldn't tell what it would be. "Draco Malfoy, he likes you."

"To bother," I added with a roll of my eyes. "He's moronic."

"He's love-struck," Sirius challenged, turning back to me again. "Audrey, I need you to tell me honestly – do you like him?"

"No," I said immediately. "No. We are civil because of the time we spend together, but I do not like him at all. He's annoying and conceded and a bigot."

"And Fred?" I blinked, looking behind me and wondering if Fred had just walked into the shack - it was the only way that the question could have made sense. But Fred was not behind me.

"What about Fred?"

"You two seemed pretty cozy back at Headquarters," Sirius came to stand in front of me. "Listen, Drea, it's obvious what you're doing: trying to get on Umbridge's good side, trying to do some good – it's honourable...but Audrey, it's not wise."

"I'm not usually wise anyway," I mumbled, fanning through the articles with my thumb.

"Your brother is on one side of this battle and you are on another – I understand you wanting to play the right cards, but I won't let you do it if it's at the cost of your intuition." He sounded stern, but I could not understand what he was saying to me.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean playing 'bad guy' and playing 'spy' as you have may have started messing with your perceptions. You need to remember that Malfoy is the bad guy, Umbridge is the bad guy, the Ministry are the bad guys...you are a _good_ guy. Audrey, you are not on their side."

I frowned, looking back down to the articles in my hand while my words to Malfoy rang in my ears. _What makes you think you're a bad guy? _

What really makes a bad guy?

Surely it was nothing that I didn't have in me. I was just as selfish, just as cruel, I liked all the things that Malfoy did - wanted the same things that the Ministry did - for all this to go away...I had no right to be on the 'good' side or the 'bad' side – I was on Audrey's side. I was on the side that would keep me alive and safe and well. If I could do some recon in the process, then lucky me.

What really separated me from someone like Draco Malfoy?

"I know who I am, Sirius," I told him confidently. Because I did know who I was - I was Audrey Potter. And I was for Audrey Potter. And what I was doing now was to benefit me...and anyone else who I wanted it to. Screw the Hufflepuffs, screw the Ravenclaws, screw the Slytherins and the Gryffindors and everyone who expects me to pick a side.

_I _am my side.

"I hope so," he sighed, standing. "Do you really have detention?"

"Three o'clock with McGonagall. She's upset I haven't been keeping up on my homework and at the same level as the rest of the class thanks to my other detentions."

He nodded, he seemed to find it hard to look at me...did he possibly know where my thoughts had spiraled into accusing him of heresy? Could he know that I - like the Ministry, like the Media, like the uninvolved world - was making him out to be as bad as someone like Umbridge...someone like Malfoy...someone like _me_?

"You'd best get going then," Sirius' voice was soft and the shame automatically built when I realized that maybe he really _did_.

"Yeah," I whispered back. I nodded for a long moment, not really sure how to part this meeting considering most of the words had been so judgemental and against one another. "Be careful, yeah? More and more people are suspicious of you and your whereabouts."

"I will," he nodded. "You be careful too."

"I won't," I smirked back, trying to look as much as myself as I could manage. "See you at Christmas."

He didn't say anything else to me as I left.

The walk back to the castle and to Transfiguration was plagued with thoughts on whether or not _this _is what everything had really come down to...had it really digressed to Sirius being upset with me for my decisions, the world thinking I'd fall in love with Malfoy, and detention? It seemed like it was a constant cycle of melodrama and judgement.

"Miss Potter," McGonagall nodded when I came in. There was another girl, I think she was a sixth or seventh year from Gryffindor, sitting near the front of the room. "Nice of you to join us."

"Am I late?" I asked in surprise, looking around for the time. I was. By four minutes.

"Since you and Stimpson are so behind on schoolwork, I thought it prudent to give you time to catch up. I expect four hours of silence and the essay you failed to hand in last class," she looked over her glasses at me expectantly. Maybe all my thoughts were written on my forehead today...could she tell that I already had the essay on me, the ink transfigured to look like my own writing? "If you could perform the vanishing charm by the end of it, it may severely help your grade."

I frowned, but went to sit in the row opposite Stimpson, who I realized was in seventh year with Fred and George. She was muggleborn, from what I remember Daphne informing me...besides, I was well acquainted with the muggle clothing she wore.

McGonagall went back to her desk so that she could grade student papers, but I saw her eyes flicker between the two of us every now and then. I pulled out my Transfiguration textbook, new parchment, an ink well, and one of my new hawk-feather quills before setting to work.

I was bored before I was even finished writing the title to my essay 'The Differences Between Vanishing Material and Mammals'. Even though I would not have to write anything real - I planned to write gibberish and switch this parchment for the completed essay in my rucksack - though I still did not want to pretend to pay attention.

Besides, all I could focus on was how weighed down I felt by the stack of parchment in my pocket.

I couldn't help myself as I pulled the parchment out, remembering how curiosity killed the kneazle but still being unable to stop my fingers from untying the bundle under the table. I flickered my eyes up to McGonagall, making sure she wasn't looking my way so that I could bring the first article up to rest on my textbook page. At least I wouldn't look as if I were reading something I shouldn't be.

There were eight articles in the pile, the first one easy to ignore thanks to having already read it. The first had been the article from the _Prophet _last year, the one that Voldemort had found which spoke of my brother pushing me into the background and Malfoy's quotes about me being the innocent woman I obviously am - _most_ of the time. But that article didn't interest me, I'd read it and already seen the consequences of that article: Voldemort now knew what I was capable of. Voldemort believed that I would 'intimidate' his Death Eaters. Voldemort had decided I needed to be gotten rid of.

Pushing the article to the back of the pile and taking my time to pull the second over top of the textbook page without tipping off McGonagall, I took a deep breath. The first article's title caught my eye as it was.

'_ALL IS WELL_'

_'"All is well," the Minister for Magic said confidently to _Daily Prophet _reporters at his press conference yesterday. Though the statement from Albus Dumbledore last week stated that You-Know-Who had returned for his apparent revenge, the Minister was reported as saying that these claims were 'preposterous' and that the man has 'fallen from his peak'._

'_Though the question still stands on what really happened on that fateful night in June when 17-year-old Cedric Diggory met his tragic end, the Minister maintains that it had nothing to do with You-Know-Who or any so-called 'resurrection'. "The idea is ridiculous," the minister said to reporter Alma Blapper of the _Prophet_. "Cedric Diggory's passing was a terrible tragedy and it is horrendous that Albus Dumbledore is doing this to the boy's memory." _

'_Lucius Malfoy, employee of the Improper Use of Magic office at the Ministry, states that "what happened in June was a sad loss for our kind, but we should be working to fix the problem and not make things worse with rumours made by someone unfit to make such claims". When asked why Albus Dumbledore was unfit, Lucius Malfoy was quoted to say that "the man has gone senile. He's brought on habits and conditions unfit for someone of his standing and I fear for my son if he takes these stances on things in Hogwarts"._'

I stopped reading after that considering there was nothing more to it than a bunch of lies and a bunch of lines that included Cedric's name. But, surprisingly, none that said anything more than 'The Potter Twins' and it was really only about Harry having been there when Cedric's body was brought back.

I could not really tell why Sirius would have put this in the list of 'articles about me' but was distracted by the picture of myself taken back in third year when Daphne, Theodore and I had gotten in a snowball fight with the Gryffindors - we had lost terribly, but we all looked happy and carefree...it was actually a wonderful picture. I was upset, however, by the title of the article. The words '_THE REAL HERO_' seemed to push themselves off the page in big, bold letters that made me grit my teeth. I didn't even bother to bring this one up to my textbook - thanks to the picture. Instead, I simply held it beneath the lip of my desk and hoped McGonagall was too busy to notice.

'_Harry Potter, defective winner of the Triwizard Tournament, had stolen all of our hearts since he vanquished You-Know-Who as an infant - but what has become of him now that he's grown? Anonymous sources say that Harry Potter is not all that we are told. In fact, sources are saying that Harry Potter is no other than a "spoiled, rotten brat" a student in his year quotes. "He's always starting trouble and getting points taken away from Gryffindor, he's constantly in detention and missing classes. He'd never be able to pull it off if he weren't _the _Harry Potter...but everyone's afraid of what he might do if we say anything."_

'_So perhaps Harry Potter isn't quite the saviour we've all been told? According to more sources, the same things seem to be repeated about his rudeness towards other houses and arrogance over his finite place within the school enrollment and his reputation with its teachers. "Sometimes he just leaves the school entirely, even though we're not allowed," one source says. "He thinks he's better than the rules." _

'_This is the boy who says You-Know-Who has returned? This _Prophet _reporter does not feel he is the most reliable source for the information._

'_But wait, haven't we been missing someone in these past weeks of allegation and interrogation about the happenings during the Triwizard Tournament? Whatever happened to __Audrey Potter__? The soon-to-be fifth year Slytherin is said to like staying out of the limelight and we from the _Prophet_ were surprised when we heard her peers comments about her._

'_"She's usually quite well-mannered," one student explains. "Sometimes she tries not to let it show, you know, gets defensive...but I think she's just scared. I would be too if I were related to Harry Potter...look at all the bad things that happen to him." When further asked about his sisters stance on what happened in June another source went on to say how she was "not willing to talk to anyone about it. She never had any claims like her brother did - she was just very quiet and distant. She and Diggory had a thing for a while there, I heard. I'd always thought she was dating Malfoy." Draco Malfoy, rumoured boyfriend of Audrey Potter, refused to comment._'

"Ugh," I groaned aloud, shoving the parchment back into my lap when I saw McGonagall's eyes look to me incriminatingly. To make it as convincing as possible, I scribbled down a few more words onto my fake essay, trying to look concentrated and focused while I flipped to the fourth article and held it under the table to read.

'_School Sweethearts: Young Malfoy Spills All on Potter Twins_'

Ah, so this was it. This was what started this all.

'_After Tuesday's article _The Real Hero, _this _Daily Prophet _reporter had more questions about the elusive Audrey Potter - youngest of the famed Potter twins - and this reporter decided to go right to the source of all the commotion._

'_It has long since been rumoured that Audrey Potter and Draco Malfoy (who are both going into fifth year as Slytherins at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) have been romantic with one another, but after all the allegations of Audrey Potter's relationship with Cedric Diggory before his untimely end, this reporter wanted to get all the facts. _

'_"She and Diggory were never dating," Draco Malfoy said in an exclusive interview. "But she wanted to be. He was too busy with someone else and she was keeping herself occupied with the tournament and all the trouble that came with it." When asked what trouble that may be, I was given a brief description that life as a Triwizard Champion had not been easy for Miss Potter. It seems that as a champion, some people in her own year had turned against her and rooted for her failure, but "it only made her that much more determined to win," Malfoy assured._

'_When asked how he felt about her openly fancying another schoolmate, Malfoy did not seem keen to respond. "She has her life and I have mine," Malfoy says. "I don't have any control over what she does or who she dates."_

'_But it has been difficult for Mr Malfoy who admits he and Potter "get along just great, until anything about her brother comes up. She feels the need to defend him, but anyone who's anyone can tell she doesn't want to". Which made this reporter ask 'why'? Why wouldn't Audrey Potter like to defend her own flesh and blood? Draco Malfoy seemed confident that he had the answer. _

_'"Potter's never been nice to her," Malfoy explains, sounding almost forlorn for the schoolmate he has 'no control' over. "Never lets her have her way, never lets her in on the fun, but most importantly never lets her make her own decisions. If she's not bailing him out of trouble, she's dragged into it with him. But when the going gets tough, [Harry] gets going."_

_'Mr Malfoy made his stance on Harry Potter very clear, very easily. "We do not get along. I don't like him, he doesn't like me. I don't like how he treats his sister, he doesn't like how his sister refuses to treat me. Guess he doesn't like that [Audrey] and I aren't enemies, like [Harry] and I are."_

'_When asked how he felt about Miss Potter, the young Malfoy seemed hesitant to answer even this reporter, but after a while he admitted "[Audrey] and I get along fine when we aren't being judged by her brother and his friends. We keep our interactions short so that no one gets the wrong idea and no one gets in trouble - but I can honestly say she's the best I've met._'

The best _what_?

I frowned, the article continued on with some nonsense by the author about how she has a feeling Malfoy and I may have been star-crossed lovers that were impeached by fate, but my question was never actually answered...I'm the best _what _he's ever met? I didn't really know and I didn't really care, but I found some comfort knowing that this article was probably taken out of context.

And if it was taken out of context then at least I could be confident that Malfoy didn't mean what it looked like he had said.

I scribbled on my parchment again so that McGonagall wouldn't get too suspicious. I did it for a minute or two longer than last time and turned a few pages in my textbook while my other hand flipped to the next article in the list. I was furious as soon as I read the title.

'_Audrey Potter: Past, Present and Profound...A Life's Story_'

Someone actually thought they could write my life down? I know that it was interesting enough to make a lengthy novel, but I was insulted that someone thought they knew enough about me to write it when I had never met the author in my life...though I was interested to see that Rita Skeeter's name had not been on any of the newer articles I'd yet read. Perhaps the beetle had learned her lesson?

'_Audrey Potter, the new face of a generation where we realize that maybe we are thanking the wrong person for You-Know-Who's downfall. Harry Potter, vanquisher of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and older brother of the girl in question, has fallen from the spotlight with his ravings about a returned Dark Wizard and an accident-pled-murder of Hufflepuff seventh year, Cedric Diggory._

'_But why has Audrey Potter caught our interest? After we at the _Prophet _did some digging, we are very pleased to express to you who the _real hero _of this story is._

'_The youngest Potter, who was born exactly six minutes after her twin brother Harry on July 31st, 1980, has always been of interest to reporters. She may not have the immortal lightning bolt scar_ _given to her by a dark wizard, but she was left to die in that room before her brother Harry was even touched the Halloween of 1981. And still, Audrey Potter survived with nothing more than a scar, herself. _

'_After growing up in a muggle home and being poorly educated by her muggle relatives, finding out she was a witch had been exciting for Audrey. It was said the Potters never knew about our world before they got their Hogwarts letters and even then, were not made fully aware until their first term at Hogwarts where they were divided: Harry Potter to Gryffindor and Audrey Potter to Slytherin. The first Potter in history that was placed into Slytherin, Audrey quickly began to excel in classes such as Potions and Astronomy and is said to have had quite a flare for the dramatic._

'_During her first year, Audrey Potter stayed out of the trouble her brother encountered. Though having a flare for the dramatic and being quite the little troublemaker, the Girl-Who-Lived was never heard to think herself above the rules or actually place someone in danger as her brother was reported to have done countless time in his very first year._

'_During her second year, Audrey Potter was petrified after a rogue basilisk was set on the school by a possessed student (another claim from Albus Dumbledore that You-Know-Who was trying to return). Audrey Potter was petrified for nearly half a term before her brother bent the rules again to find the snake and defeat it himself...while some people call it heroic, we at the _Daily Prophet _are now caught wondering if it was closer to planned._

'_During her third year, Audrey Potter was threatened by escaped convict Sirius Black face-to-face. Sources say that she had not known who he was at the time, but after Black had gotten into the Gryffindor common room, Audrey had been quick to give her very own pet kneazle to her brother for his protection...that, readers, finally sounds like the hero we've all heard about._

'_And just last year, Audrey Potter was forced to enter the Triwizard Tournament after a dreadful technicality that left both she and her brother as participants. It is still unproven _who _put their name in the goblet-_'

What a load of rubbish. It was Barty Crouch and the entire Wizarding World knew it. Still, I couldn't deny that the article in front of me had more interesting facts than the last. And besides that, it was now interesting to know _why _people found me interesting...

While Harry had played the hero and left me out of things, the world took it as me being _good._ Not inefficient or left out - as I had been for all those years - no, the Wizarding World thought that I was _innocent._

Cute, but _so _wrong.

I flipped to the next article, sure to squiggle some unintelligible words onto the parchment on my desk so that McGonagall wouldn't get too suspicious again before I looked down at the large, black title.

'_Audrey Potter: Hero in Hiding_'

"Oh, great," I muttered to myself, feeling the urge to start pulling at my hair.

"What was that, miss Potter?" McGonagall's voice shattered the silence that had already been broken by my mutterings, only her voice brought me back to real life. I swallowed nervously.

"Er - nothing, professor. Just a difficult question." She set her lips into a firm line - as she usually did when I was in her classroom. To avoid any more stern looks, I dared to attempt to read a few pages from my textbook - I was in entirely the wrong section of the book to make it believable - and placed more ruin-like markings on my parchment before she was distracted by her marking again. When I was positive she wouldn't be hounding me, I moved on to the next article.

'_Audrey Potter, the unsung hero of our world, has always had to live in hiding thanks to her twin, Harry Potter's, fame. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, has always been quoted of being overprotective and harshly controlling over his sister's daily life - but what is the daily life that we don't see? As stated in __Audrey Potter: Past, Present and Profound__, we know of the youngest Potter's past encounters in our world, but what has been happening since this June? Has Audrey Potter been allowed out into the world, or has she been hidden under her brother's watchful thumb?'_

It was clear that the Daily Prophet, no matter how fantastic their reporters were not, did not know what the goings on had been on my summer. The rest of the article was theories 'what will be next' and 'who will she turn to' along with questions as to why I was not using my brother's owl to send letters. In the end, it all circled back on how I was too afraid to anger him in case he disciplined me.

They made him sound like Uncle Vernon.

I tried not to scoff aloud as I read the title of the next article.

'_Audrey Potter: The Girl Who Lived in Terror_'

That article was pretty much the same thing as the article before it, referencing the '_Hero in Hiding_' article multiple times and having the reporter quote herself as if she was an actual source into my personal life. The article was sure to point out and take note of _just how much_ I 'lived under my brother's thumb' - a reference that I couldn't tell whether or not it was true. The references I couldn't tell were true or not however, were at the bottom of that page.

_'Miss Potter has also made good friends with fellow fifth year Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. Malfoy, son of the illustrious Lucius Malfoy, has given the _Prophet _quotes on Audrey Potter for weeks now and for years is said to have defended her from the atrocities of her brother's unstoppable reign...but just how far is Malfoy willing to go to protect the woman he loves? For further answer, please check in tomorrow for the article "Smitten and Spited"._'

Elaine Thatcher, Author of such works as _'Audrey Potter: Hero in Hiding'_ and _'Gilderoy Lockhart: Facts and Fakes'_...you are going to die.

I was trying hard not to scream at the top of my lungs by this point and - with an aggression that almost startled myself - I turned to the last article of the bunch. This last article made my stomach roll just from reading the title that I'd already been able to foretell thanks to Elaine's careful consideration of my feelings in her last work.

'_Draco Malfoy: Smitten and Spited_'

"Bloody hell!" I hissed, pushing away from the article as if it had burnt me. Professor McGonagall's eyes bore into my own.

"Do you have a problem miss Potter?"

"I'm sorry professor," I growled out with an intensity that raised her brow. "I don't agree with the text I'm reading."

Her eyebrow stayed raised from my tone but she seemed to find nothing more to say while she turned to her own papers with something resembling an eye roll. My eyes met with seventh year Stimpson and I gave her a good, long glare. Had she read these articles? Had she believed the idiocy that these people had convinced a majority of our world?

Stimpson looked away with a blush.

Yes. Yes she had.

'_Draco Malfoy, son of renowned Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa (Black) Malfoy, has always had a wonderful life. Coming from a well-kept family, from the enthralling Wiltshire neighbourhood, young Draco Malfoy has never known limits to his potential - still, it was quite clear that the boy was gifted._

_'From the young age of five years old, Draco Malfoy was excelling in magical theory and it was clear of his magical potential when he was only eight years old and summoning his father's wand. At seven, people were already trying to arrange marriages with their daughters and by eight it was said that Draco Malfoy could have passed his first year Hogwarts examinations. _

_'But there was a darker side to Draco Malfoy that most never knew. His father was constantly away on business and his mother grieving over the incarceration of her eldest sister Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange-'_

I stopped reading.

Ah yes, I had nearly forgotten that Malfoy was related to Bellatrix Lestrange. As in the Bellatrix who will later torture me. Fantastic.

'_-her elder sister Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange who was found guilty of multiple counts of crimes against muggles during the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "It is she who placed Lucius Malfoy under the imperius curse to do his bidding," Mrs Malfoy said emotionally during her interview. "I never would have thought my sister would betray me as she did". Because of these allegations Draco Malfoy was forced to live alone with his day-staff and learned that true friends came few and far between._

_'"Naturally he was ecstatic to go to Hogwarts," Mrs Malfoy explained. "He was excited to meet new people and being in his magical education - I never would have expected he'd become friends with the Potters." _

_'Friends may not have been the proper word for them, though. While Audrey Potter was sorted into Slytherin and Harry Potter into Gryffindor, it has been sourced that Draco tried to make friends with them both before, and after, their sorting. But Harry Potter is said to have tried to humiliate Draco on his first few attempts, making fun of his lonely childhood and his name before warning his sister away from the Slytherin boy. _

_'"I couldn't believe it when he told me," Mrs Malfoy states. "My Draco is such a sweet boy, I couldn't understand why a lonely duo like the Potter twins would not have appreciated Draco's situation and attempted a friendship with him. But as Draco kept sending owls, I realized that it wasn't the twins at all...just the boy." _

_'The boy, Harry Potter, has been said to have a stern dislike for all other houses besides his own, particularly Slytherin house. He has been said to have violent outbursts towards them all - even his own sister._

_'"I couldn't believe some of the things Draco wrote me about," Mrs Malfoy says. "How rude the Potter-boy was to his classmates and how controlling he was of his sister. I could tell immediately though that Draco was enamoured with her - I think the whole world could." _

_'And finally, last year during the Triwizard tournament, the amount he had fallen for Audrey Potter became apparent to the rest of the wizarding world. From their constant companionship during the tournament to their dances during the Yule Ball (pictures on page 7), it was clear that the two Slytherins could no longer disguise their feelings for one another._

_'"She was talking to me about how she didn't want to dance with me because of her brother - talking about how her brother hated me. She wouldn't dance with me until I convinced her that _she _didn't hate me and no one was watching or would tell him." When asked how dancing with her was Malfoy let out a small laugh. "Painful. She'd never learned and she kept stepping on my feet."_

_'When asked how Mr Malfoy felt about Miss Potter, he took a long time to answer. "She and I understand each other. She pretends we don't - she doesn't like going against her brother, you see - but we understand each other like he and she never will. She's different than he is and all she wants is for people to notice. I do. I know how smart she is and how determined and how clever...and she understands that I'm not just painted from one shade."_'

I am going to hex Draco Malfoy until he's all shades of black and blue.

_'"And how do you think Audrey would respond if she read this article?" this reporter asked Draco Malfoy. He laughed again. "She'd probably curse me."_'

Congratulations, Malfoy, maybe you _do _know me.

_'What will come of Audrey and Draco? This reporter has no idea, but she hopes that this year, with the new ideas for the school, they may be free to love each other outright. Good luck to you both!'_

I was seeing red.

I was going to _kill _him.

Everything we had worked for in the past few weeks after I had saved his arse had just been wiped away and replaced with the lies on this parchment.

I was going to murder Draco Malfoy if it was the last th-

"Miss Potter - are you incapable of completing your homework?" I gasped and hid the articles in my lap as I looked above me to where McGonagall leered over my table. I placed my hand over my textbook, shutting it on the 'essay' written in gibberish and shoving my hand into the pocket of my robes at the same time.

"Er - no, professor, I...er..."

"Is there a problem, Minerva?" The voice was so sugary-sweet I felt like my gums were already sore. I hadn't heard Professor Umbridge enter the classroom, but I was almost glad to see her walk up behind McGonagall. It gave me the reprieve I needed to shove my textbook into my rucksack bag and right the parchment in my robes so that it wasn't sticking out.

"I'm just handling my students, Dolores." McGonagall did not sound pleased and her pursed lips were an indication that she was holding back some wand handling of her own.

"You mean _my _students," Umbridge smiled sweetly, so sweetly that the smile was cruel. It was like the dentist who had invented cotton candy. "I can take her off your hands, Minerva."

"This is not your concern," McGonagall hissed, I could have sworn that a vein in her forehead was pulsing. "She is being punished by _me_."

"Miss Potter, have you finished your essay?" Umbridge said pointedly. I widened my eyes and nodded, pulling out the finished essay from my backpack - who cares whether or not the finished product was my work. Now I just had to work on not thinking about how Dragonbreath had stolen it for me. "There now, she is coming with me."

Umbridge walked away and I fumbled to get all my things packed up so that I could follow her. When everything was in my rucksack I looked back at McGonagall with wide eyes and followed Umbridge away from the classroom.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Not a problem," she smiled sickeningly. I tried to keep myself from sneering at the look. "Shall we have tea in my office? I would so love to get to know you."

This was it. This was my chance to do recon, my chance to make a difference with all the information I knew and all the information I could later protect. This was what I had been waiting for, wasn't it? I now knew what to use against her in the Malfoy department, I now knew why she was so soft towards me...I had all the weapons I needed, I just had to use them.

So why was I nervous that Malfoy would find out?

I took a deep breath, pushing all thoughts of Malfoy from my mind.

"I'd like nothing more," I finished with a smile as fake as her own.

* * *

><p><strong>YAY! So, I finally gave you those articles. Man, it was hard writing them all. So much happened in this chapter: patrol, Draco, more Draco, Sirius, articles about she and Draco, McGonagall vs. Umbridge, and now Audrey and Umbridge are going to chat! Oh, how I love Audrey Potter. <strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_kaaayyytteee_**: I'm glad you liked it, here's the next one!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: I don't think she'll be able to fight the pull for too long...she and Draco are too alike for their own good, though, so you have to know she'll try anyway. There will be more Montague next chapter, but I can't tell you whether or not he'll get his due. And just as you hoped Sirius would get the articles for Audrey: here they are! Did you enjoy them? **

_Novella Vialli_**: *Virtual hug back* So much Dreaco! Did you like?**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you, as always. I left you a PM - hope all is well!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Well, hopefully when you come home to find this update, you'll like the Dreaco in this one, too. Audrey is starting to eat - slowly, but surely. I don't want her to have an eating complex or anything, I just want to show that she's stressed and not very good at looking after herself in these kinds of situations. I cannot say why the Weasley kiss is a surprise! But you'll enjoy it, I think. So the kiss wasn't THIS chapter, but I promise that it's coming - don't you fret. Montague will be in the next chapter. Haha, thanks for the review!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked more on the wand - I plan to do a chapter in Audrey Potter's Prologue for it later on, so you get more of a feel for what I mean. And Audrey has to save Harry all the time - he is impulsive and she calculates everything: that's how the cookie crumbles, I guess. I'm going to be keeping the story description the same, but I'm glad you liked the idea of it. Someone convinced me that it's better to let people know the story plot and I agreed. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Slytherin Snake_**: Read it all in one day? That's talent, I never could have read so much in one day. Then again, I'm a very slow reader. I'm glad that you like (or in Harry's case, dislike) the characters, especially that you feel connected to Audrey. Believe it or not, I once wrote a story about a Blood Supremist. It was years ago and I got about 3/4 of the way through before I stopped writing for a couple years - but it was fun in a very dark sort of way. I had been thinking about rewriting it for here, but I don't really have the time right now. I don't plan to abandon it, I have it far too worked out in my head, but I'm glad you like it so much. Thank you for the review!**

_sara253xxx_**: If there is any addiction I can condone, I think it would be an addiction to Audrey. She's not as dangerous and she's at least productive, haha. I'm glad that you like it and thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Miriam (Guest)_**: Does that mean your birthday is on the 27th? That's my brother's birthday! I kind of want to punch Harry sometimes, as well. And tensions are only going to rise as time goes on...thanks for the review :)**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Don't worry, your reviews are always very insightful and I enjoy each one I get :) Yes, there is lots of Dreaco going on now - and it will just keep piling on chapter by chapter. Yes, I was pretty proud by the way they thanked each other without thanking each other - so prideful. Idiots. JUST KISS! But no, no, I can't do that yet. It wouldn't make sense yet...well it would, but it wouldn't be as impactful. And I'm all about timing. I have decided to keep the summary as it is, you were probably the main reason. I'm glad that you liked the chapter and thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_Susan_**: I want them to kiss too! It will happen. Promise...eventually.**

_Lola_**: Hey, you can't kiss him if he's already being kissed by me!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad you liked it, here's an update :)**

_The Orange Knight_**: I'm glad that you enjoyed it enough to read the whole thing, I know it's rather long. I'm glad you like Audrey, and her emotions over Cedric, and her with Draco. Fred will be coming in again soon - promise. I already have it planned! Thanks for reviewing.**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! What did you do today, now that you're 18? I hope that it was a good day for you. Audrey and Draco are definitely progressing romantically - whether they like it or not ;) Thank you so much for reviewing and have a wonderful birthday!**

_Fleur De Sang_**: Ha, I'm sorry to have kept you awake, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you :)**

_Apple_**: Audrey is trouble, so you have to know that there will be more soon. I'm glad you think Draco and Audrey are cute, and I agree that I like when Audrey and Harry argue...siblings don't always get along. That's just how it is. We WILL find out why the wands reacted to her that way, but it will be much later in the story. I will be doing a chapter about her getting her wand in Audrey Potter's Prologue at some point in time, as well. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_DiamondOfNight_**: I just got your PM! It's no problem at all. I hope that you are okay, funeral stuff is exhausting emotionally, mentally, and physically so I hope that you're okay. As for the review, that poor vision Audrey had in June is really messing up her emotions on Malfoy. Whether she liked Malfoy or not, if I knew I was destined to kiss somebody I didn't like, I'd constantly be wondering why, myself. Still, maybe she doesn't realize that it's becoming a more common thought because she's falling for him? Well, you'll find out the answer later :) Harry is ridiculous, I remember when I read OOTP I would yell at the pages and say "YOU'RE SO RUDE!" but I need to keep them in character...and I like the tension it creates between those two. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_WriteFF13_**: I'm sorry that you don't like these little notes I post for people. I asked once, long ago, whether or not people wanted them PM'd or on the chapter and you are the first person to vote for a PM. The chapter you reviewed only had 1661 words worth of review responses in the 10,373 words of the chapter, so I wouldn't say that it was half of it. I still think that it's a fairly long chapter, just like this one is over 11,500 words without review responses, so I'm sorry if you don't like it or agree. Thank you for the review, I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_sexichick_**: The kiss will be surprising, Montague will be in the next chapter, and you'll find out about the DA and Audrey's stance in the next chapter. Did you like the articles? I know you said that you thought it wouldn't be what anyone expected, was it at least enjoyable? Thank you for reviewing!**

_Strazza_**: Yes, that's a lot of words in one weekend - congratulations! I am truly impressed. Whoa, I can't believe she's your favourite character, I never expected that...but I am honoured! I'm glad that you find her real - and you're not alone when you say you hate Harry now. Most people say that...it's because through Audrey's eyes, he's not really someone who is meant to be loved and since you only see her (biased) point of view, you start to feel a bit of what she does. Don't worry, you'll never **_**hate-**_**hate him, because Audrey sure won't. Ha! And you called him **_**the Other Potter. **_**Good memory! Everyone has qualities of all the houses, so I bet you're a little bit Slytherin just like everyone is. And it's not a bad thing. One of the best things I've ever heard in a review was when someone started second guessing what a Slytherin really is and whether or not she had always been wrong and she was a Slytherin after all. I like humanizing them...and I'm not even a Slytherin. Well, not entirely. And oh, the sexual tension is definitely mounting. But don't worry - they'll admit they like each other soon enough and it will be SO EXCITING. Ugh, I'm excited even thinking about it! I love your long review and I love your questions...but I can't answer most of them (obviously) which means that you're on the right track! And don't think you're bad at goodbyes because this review was epically fantastic, thank you!**

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thank you, again, for being such a great reviewer on chapters that have already passed :)**

_neoko-chan_**: I'm glad you liked that part, Audrey's such a little firecracker!**

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone for your reviews, they really encourage me to keep writing. What do you think will happen next chapter? Will Audrey and Umbridge still "like" each other after their time together? What will happen during their time together? Will Audrey join the DA? Will Audrey confront Draco about the articles? How will Montague show up in the next chapter? <strong>

**Please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	41. Understanding Umbridge

**Oh, will you guys like this one! It's not my best writing, but I hope that it makes a good impact. I didn't run this through my editor because I wanted to get it out for tomorrow and I won't be on my computer because it's my brother's birthday tomorrow - yay, Happy birthday, kid! Tomorrow is also **_Miriam_**'s birthday and a few days ago was **_Emily_**'s - so HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I won't keep you from this exciting chapter anymore.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 40 - Understanding Umbridge<p>

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><p>"They like you," I should have known that Umbridge would be quick to observe that her obnoxiously cute kitten-plates, hung up on the wall in her office, were all mewing and pawing in my direction as if to get my attention. She had sat herself down in her seat and watching me closely. I stayed close to the wall cautiously, taking another quick look around the completely familiar and yet completely unfamiliar Defence Against the Dark Arts office.<p>

I could not remember a time spent in here during first year, so I do not remember what it looked like under Quirrel's rule, but I had very strong memories from all the years after. Lockhart's decorations had included multiple posters of himself, along with lavender drapery and a variety of fan mail that he had found particularly flattering. Lupin had kept it more simple: his desks strewn with paper, the wardrobe that housed a boggart, and a few other knickknacks that I still would not be able to place if I saw them. Moody - or in reality _Crouch _- had kept all of his auror specialties on display: foe glasses and thing-a-mabobs which would show all his enemies...these were all things we hadn't realized were actually to keep him in the dark about his own secrets, rather than privy to the secrets of others.

"They're adorable, professor," I donned my brightest and fakest smile, turning away from her new office renovations. It was pink and cluttered with all things cute and fluffy. The rug on the ground looked extra soft - I briefly wondered what animal she had maimed for it.

Professor Umbridge giggled girlishly while looking at the plates of mewing kittens before flicking her wand and conjuring a tea pot. It, too, was pink.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked me with raised eyebrows - it took me a long time to decide my answer. Though I didn't want to stay long enough to have a cup of tea with her, I found myself sitting down and nodding enthusiastically - she seemed quick to accommodate me, anyway. Even though I was having trouble being around her, I needed to control my urges to retch and remember that I was doing this for everyone else - and my torture would later bring about her own downfall.

But Merlin, that was hard to remember when I was being choked by her floral smelling office.

She poured me a cup of tea after she had poured her own. It was hard keeping a straight face while I was forced, in horror, to watch while she dumped three lumps into her own small tea cup. "Would you like milk or sugar?"

"I drink mine plain, thanks," I said, forcing my smile on again.

"Oh no, I insist - the flavour is quite plain. At least some milk?"

"No, thank you." I said again. Her eyes narrowed slightly, measuring something that I couldn't comprehend. I kept my gaze firm and as sincere as I could, watching as her narrowed eyes shifted to my cup again and back to me. She smiled boldly, nodding her head in a bitter understanding before she pulled both the milk and the sugar farther back on her desk, as if her withdrawing them was an insult to me. I couldn't really force myself to mind - that was, until her hand continued to draw back towards herself and her arm knocked the sugar right off of her desk.

The clatter of the dish on the hardwood reverberated around the two of us - both fighting to keep our composure while we tried to measure up how the other was going to react.

It took everything in me to try and be kind to the wench, though my eyes still narrowed instinctively while she spluttered out some kind of apology. I blinked once before shoving a smile back on my face - when was she going to realize how fake it was? - and bending down to pick up the fallen lumps of sugar. Setting them back on the desk, she smiled at me.

"Thank you, dear. You're so sweet."

"Thank you, that's not a compliment I hear often." I let myself give out a giggle that would _never _be heard from me otherwise before I took a sip of tea, just to give myself something to do. "May I ask why you helped me escape my detention?"

"Minerva's punishments are so medieval," she smiled sweetly to herself, taking another sip of her tea. "And it is not your fault that you were stuck with so many patrols this last month. Lucius wrote to tell me about the punishment you saved Draco from."

So, she was interrogating me...on Malfoy. I wasn't really shocked, but I couldn't help raise an eyebrow. She wasn't even trying to _hide _her methods, was she? Still, I couldn't help but think that her questioning me was granting me the opportunity to question her myself - not only that, but disturbingly, I was interested to hear what she had to say.

"Lucius Malfoy said that?" I used my real shock to bolster my performance for her. "I wasn't aware he'd been informed."

"Draco told him, naturally," the woman placed her tea cup down. "It was quite noble of you."

_Father always told me that nobility can be bought by those stupid enough to die for it, _Malfoy's words rang in my ears, somehow warning me of something that I couldn't quite place. _You can't be noble and live at the same time, Potter - you have to choose between them._

Perhaps Umbridge had the same ideals?

"I wouldn't call it noble," I argued carefully. "My motives weren't entirely unselfish."

"And what were your motives?" Her smile was plastered on carefully, this was a very important question to answer, I could tell, but I wasn't quite sure how to answer it. Should I go on talking about how I felt the need to protect Malfoy and play up the idea that I was infatuated with him...or instead, should I try and play coy?

"It was my mistake in the first place, he shouldn't have been punished for it-" I began slowly, but still unable to stop the answer from slipping out. It was the truthful one and the fading smile she gave me made me stop mid-sentence...perhaps that wastoo noble an answer for her. "Besides, he would have missed Quidditch. I know how much he loves it and I have multiple reasons to want him to keep at it."

Multiple reasons being for Theodore's benefit and Montague to stay distracted and away from me...but that didn't _need _to be tacked on to the end of that sentence.

Luckily, her smile had returned.

"Yes, he does like his extracurricular groups, doesn't he?" Umbridge chuckled lightly to herself, placing her tea cup down to look at me levelly. "Tell me, dear, have you heard of any other groups starting this year?"

I blinked, furrowing my brow earnestly. "Er, no I haven't. Should I have?"

"I heard rumour that earlier in Hogsmeade there was a...meeting, of sorts. It was talking about a duelling club, for lack of better term." She watched my facial expressions carefully. "Have you heard of it?"

"No," I replied honestly, not being able to stop the answer from coming out quickly. "I don't tend to keep tabs on groups like that."

"Not even if it were run by your brother?" She asked me a little more lowly. I blinked again.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your brother is taking charge of a select group of people and teaching them how to duel, Miss Potter...why, I'm surprised you don't know." Her head tilted to the side as she analyzed my response, watching as my face went red and my expression undoubtedly darkened.

Of course Harry had done something like that. Of course I was not included. "I'm not."

"Well, it's all for the best. I'm sure that you would want the freedom of your nights now that you're done patrolling. Besides, I plan to disband it immediately," she waved dismissively before her gaudy-ringed hand reached for her tea again. "Drink up."

I hesitated, but seeing that she wasn't going to speak until I did, I forced myself to take another sip of the bitter, cool tea in front of me. "Professor, how do you mean you will disband it?"

"Just enforce a rule or two," she smiled. "Sadly prefects like yourself - no matter how wonderful - can't always enforce school policies when they've yet to be created. Instead you need someone like me to have them made."

"I'm not normally the one enforcing the rules," I said honestly, grinning and holding back a snort while I thought back to how many people Malfoy had put in detention just because he was in a bad mood. Anyone who had been in the halls had been a target for his frustration. Including me and everything about me he could think to insult.

"Yes. You seem to spend a lot of time with Draco," she began sweetly. "I noticed that he joined you for quite a few of your extra patrols. That was very sweet of him."

"Very sweet," I repeated, even as memories of all the taunting and bickering flickered through my mind's eye. "He and I tend to spend a lot of time together. Or we have been this year."

"Are you two - oh, what do you children say these days? - _seeing_ one another?"

I felt my face go red and I prayed to Salazar that it was because of how harshly I was biting my own tongue. Though an answer wanted to slip from my lips immediately, I knew that I needed to think about this carefully. I needed to make her think that Malfoy and I were involved, but keep it so that she never felt inclined to talk to Malfoy about anything I was going to say.

"Er - I see him every day, professor," she laughed a little. "Well, you see - Malfoy and I have a quite complicated understanding..."

"Complicated?" Umbridge asked with a high voice, her head shook briefly as she shot me another fake grin. "Why ever would you think that?"

"We come from two very different worlds," I cleared my throat. "And his world isn't quite as accepting of my own...not that I blame them, of course."

_Not that I blame them_? What the hell was I doing? I was digging myself into a hole that I did not know how to navigate myself around. How do you escape a hole when you've dug too deep and you can't move left or right? 'Not that I blame them'? Where had _that _come from?

"Oh?"

"No, I hated growing up the way I was," I began, hoping that I could think myself out of the mess I was surely getting myself into. And yet, as I had started talking, it all slipped out more easily and quickly than my mind could keep up. "I hate every time I need to go back."

"Do you?"

I did. I did hate going back to Privet Drive...and I was almost disturbed by how true this all was.

"I was always taught that I was something horrible before Hogwarts...and when I got here, well, Malfoy was the first one to convince me otherwise."

And that...that was _also _disturbingly true...

"It must not help that he and your brother do not get along," Umbridge began slowly. But I was too distracted to agree with her or play her game. I was distracted _because _of how true each of these statements were - how true each of these arguments boiled down to being.

I cleared my throat, trying to understand what was going on and buy me some time - I could barely remember her question what with my mind racing so quickly. I cleared my throat again, it felt dry thanks to my growing nerves. Automatically, I groped and looked down to my bitter cup of tea.

And I kept it looking at it. I looked at it because it looked completely normal...

...But then again, Veritaserum was entirely undetectable.

I needed to try out a lie, I needed to try to lie just to see if I could get away with it. Something small and simple - some little lie that would let me know if I was capable of fibbing or not.

"I'd love more tea-" I began to say, but for some reason it didn't come out right. It did not come out in the sound of my voice, but rather a rogue thought that I couldn't express and I couldn't control. Instead of speaking what I had thought, I found myself coughing a little before I straightened out and told her very clearly: "I think I'm done with my tea."

Which was the truth.

Holy Helga - Professor Umbridge had given me Veritaserum! Veritaserum which was completely _illegal! _When had she gotten it into my cup without having gotten it into hers - because it was quite clear that she had been lying to me very early on into this little ratsrace we were playing.

I'd had the tea from the same pot as her. I hadn't put anything in my tea, even though she had put some sugar into hers. A _lot _of sugar into hers - could it be that she had faked sugar and put in the antidote so that it would countereact the Veritaserum already in the tea? No, that was too complicated for a simple mind like hers. So, I guess it must have been when I was picking up the sugar that had fallen.

Professor Umbridge had _drugged _me. Drugged me like some drunk in a tavern that was being taken advantage of, or like someone being poisoned for a throne...

Oh, this bitch would _pay._

"But you must have some more," she insisted with a smile, lifting her own cup up to her lips again. "You were saying about Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy not getting along?"

"I was saying they don't," I gritted out before I could stop myself, clenching my jaw tightly to stop myself from saying any more. I wasn't really sure how to play this now that I knew her strategy - a strategy that prohibited anything I had already planned for our little game here. Being unable to lie would certainly interfere with my ability to make her like me - I was not a likeable person, particularly when I didn't like the person I was warming up to and I wasn't allowed to lie about it. So how would I make it so that she trusted me without ruining myself in the process?

I felt myself try to work around it, trying to work around the fact that I couldn't lie and I would not be able to tell the truth and live to tell about it. So, would it be possible to tell an almost-truth? Those existed, surely - a little truth that made it seem as if it were something more than it really was? Because that's not lying. I could exaggerate and omit and make her assume...because that's not lying.

"Harry's very judgemental, you see. He hates Slytherins."

I had found my new process - and thank Godric it was quickly. Because even though Harry was all those things - judgemental, hates Slytherins, a general jerk - Malfoy was the one who always instigated the arguments and Malfoy hated Gryffindors more than Harry hated Slytherins. Save maybe for Malfoy himself.

So, omitting and being vague was my new process.

"But how is that possible, dear?" She asked, pretending to be shocked. "You, yourself, are a Slytherin."

"And I'm afraid sometimes my brother isn't very caring toward me," if only that _weren't_ the truth. "I always thought it would be he and I until the end - of course, how couldn't I? - we're twins. Still, I never expected we'd grow so distant. I miss him sometimes - but then..."

I stopped myself, trying not to smile when she took the bait, her head cocked interestedly. "But then?"

"But then I think about all the times he's reprimanded me, when he's humiliated me, when he plays the hero and then talks as if he's the hero of the _world. _And then I don't miss him - that's not the brother I grew up with." It was painful to admit, not only because I was saying thoughts I _never _spoke aloud, but also to know that they were being told in my most vulnerable state to the woman who could - and later _would _- try to ruin me. I had never told these thoughts to anyone, there was no need to: people understood that Harry and I did not get along and it was clear that I was jealous and he was a stuck-up brat...but to admit this to _her..._

"And how was Harry _before _Hogwarts?"

"A teased little boy stuck in a cupboard," I said immediately, finding myself genuinely frowning. "He always tried to protect me back then, to convince me that _we _were special, that _we _would get out of our Aunt and Uncle's house and that _we _would make it through everything - together. Now we couldn't be more different."

I stopped speaking because my chest felt like it had been caked with lead. Suddenly everything was hard and heavy and reluctant to move and beat and expand...it was hard to breathe and remember exactly who I was arguing. Was I arguing with Umbridge now?

Or was I arguing with myself?

"I'm so sorry, Miss Potter," she began, looking almost genuine. It appeared that Umbridge had bought my almost-truths thanks to my inner-battling and the obvious sincerity. "Particularly about the death of Cedric Diggory - were the rumours true about your...relations?"

_Yes_, I wanted to say immediately. _Yes, they were and I got him killed and my brother helped and he didn't save him like I could have and then Harry got to see him when I didn't and people like you are ruining his name because you won't let the world know how Cedric Diggory _was_ a hero and how he really died_...

But obviously that was not the answer I could give her, true or not. It was not what she wanted to hear and it was not what I _needed _to tell her so that we both got our way. So what would I say now? The articles had read that I was with Cedric because Malfoy and I were forbidden lovers and that Cedric had always been my second choice. But Cedric was always my first choice and even without the Veritaserum in my system, I couldn't say confidently whether or not I'd be able to lie well enough to betray his memory.

"I was taken with Cedric because everything about him was so _true_," I began slowly, carefully. "And it's been a very long time since I've been near something true."

"Near something true?" Her eyes narrowed, not even trying to hide the suspicion now. "What about Mr Malfoy?"

"My feelings for him are true as well," I said quickly, hiding the fact that I wasn't even sure what those feelings _were. _"But the reality with him isn't."

"The reality isn't?"

Well...what I was about to say wasn't a lie, was it? Though it was not my perception of it, but it was true. It would be Daphne's perception and Parkinson's and Alya's and even Tracey's...

"What would society think of a pureblood lowering his standards to a halfblood like me?" I said strongly, sure that this was the truth even though I didn't agree with it. "And even worse, a halfblood _Potter - _I may as well be mudblood!" I pretended to gasp. "I'm sorry professor, my language was out of line."

The language was out of line for me, but I could tell that it was not out of line for her.

She shook her head, her eyes holding a dangerous glint. "Not at all, Miss Potter...I can tell you are emotional."

"Thank you," I said fakely, almost choking out of satisfaction while I placed my hand on my chest as if to feel a stuttering heartbeat. I was too smug to have as much as an elevated pulse.

"When you say that you have not been near something true...what did you mean?"

How far could I play this role before she got suspicious? I knew I was a fantastic liar, apparently even with Veritaserum, but it would only be so long before she saw holes in my story.

"I don't have a lot of friends anymore, professor," I said honestly. "Because of my brother's words. I've been living with a lot of rumours from all sides and, if that makes any sense, it's been a long time since anyone actually asked about _me._"

"And your brother never does," she said, almost as if she understood.

"No...no he doesn't."

That was true, too.

"Do you hate him, like he hates you?" Umbridge asked me, her tone prodding and smooth as butter. I felt myself frowning just at the idea and was proud that my thoughts did not differ with what I automatically answered.

"No," I told her strongly. I couldn't keep the pride for long, however, as the Veritaserum took hold and forced me to keep talking. "I don't hate him, I just..."

"Don't love him?" She offered for me. My heart beat was definitely elevated now. The wooden chair scratched against the hardwood when I backed up instinctively, shaking my head and gripping the seat.

It's not true, Audrey. Don't listen to her.

"Your brother has humiliated you, Miss Potter," she began slowly, watching my face carefully as she saw what must have been the indecision plague it. "He has made your friends your enemies, turned the world against you all because you are different, Miss Potter, because you are _special - _just as Mr Malfoy convinced you five years ago."

Why were _her_ words so true?

I looked up at her, almost shocked as a terrible ringing began in my ears - a ringing of words that repeated over and over again...

_Harry hates you._

"Do you believe that You-Know-Who has returned?"

My stomach churned as I tried to find a way out of this. Of course I thought Voldemort had returned - he'd already adressed me and quite clearly has decided to do away with me - so yes, I knew that Voldemort had returned and I knew that I would have to run for my life as soon as he came after me...which he would. So yes, I believe he's back and yes, I believe my brother.

But she didn't want to hear that, either.

"I think there's something wrong with my brother," I said, almost out of breath from the effort to hide the rant playing inside my head and exchange for the words sliding between my gritted teeth. "I don't know what it is, but he isn't himself. Saying all this like he is, is not like himself. He's never acted like this - never. And I don't know what to think about it."

She smiled, reaching her hand across the table and reaching for my own. I gave it to her, feeling my skin try to crawl away from me as I placed my hand on her desk and she patted it - almost as if she were consoling me, almost as if she were slapping my hand for not yet fully agreeing with her. The glint in her eyes and the toad-like smile on her face almost promised me that she would be working meticulously to change my mind.

"Why your brother hates you, I will never understand," her voice was the most sincere I had ever heard it. "But I'm so glad to know that at least _you_ finally understand the truth, Miss Potter."

But suddenly...I'm not so sure that I did.

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><p>The walk to the dungeons had never seemed so long. While my brain was diligently trying to fight off every word - every <em>lie <em>- I had heard from Umbridge in her office, the truth of everything that had just happened still continued to pop from my mouth at strange intervals when I tried to speak it aloud or when I was particularly confused about something.

"Harry hates me," I repeated again, hoping for a new answer. But still, it sounded just as real in my head as it did when it bounced off of the stone walls around me.

It had to be true then, didn't it?

How long does Veritaserum last? I'd never tried brewing it, I only knew a few key ingredients in its compound, and I didn't know how 'exact' of a potion it was: was there only one way to brew it? Could it be concentrated and manipulated? It certainly knew how to manipulate others...but could it's maker manipulate it? I didn't know, but something told me that the maker of this batch of Veritaserum was Snape. I needed to find Snape for the antidote so that I could stop being so bloody honest - I couldn't image the trouble I could get into if I happened to run into someone in these blasted corridors.

"Audrey!"

Oh dear Merlin, no.

Turning around, I nearly came face to face with the boy who was tormenting my truth-hazed mind. My brother looked out of sorts; he was nearly out of breath from his jaunt to catch up to me and his hair was messier than normal, signifying that he'd been running his hair through it in frustration. He stopped when he was close to me, catching his breath.

"I have something I need to tell you."

"I'm sure you do," I said sarcastically, turning to keep walking toward the dungeons. I didn't really care whether or not he followed me - I just hoped that I could get the antidote for Snape before I felt at all inclined to belch out my inner thoughts to him in a lethally truthful way. I didn't want to talk to anyone while I was on this evil potion, nevertheless my twin. I had far too many things to hide and I was not fond of being so vulnerable.

"I do," he continued, not noticing - or not caring about - the apprehension. "See, Hermione had this great idea to start a club-"

"I know," I told him honestly - and quite simply - considering I was unable to stop myself.

"You know?" He repeated, with a furrowed brow.

"About the duelling club?" I asked, watching his eyes widen. "Yes, I know. And so does Umbridge."

"How the hell does Umbridge know?" He asked with wide eyes, taking a few steps in front of me and stopping so that we were face to face. I rolled my eyes and threw my arms up helplessly.

"Maybe because you met in the _Hogshead, _Harry?" Though I phrased it as a question, it was a statement to show my frustration with him. "If you want to do something in secret then you have to be discrete. Have I taught you nothing?"

"Wait, why were you just with Umbridge?" He asked, his eyes narrowed. I narrowed mine right back.

"I was serving out the rest of my detention...it was worse than anything I've ever had," I told him honestly. His eyes, predictably, flickered down to covertly assess the back of my hand. I held it up to show that it was unblemished. "It was nothing like that."

"What'd she do to you?" He asked me seriously. I was surprised...he hadn't acted like a big brother in quite some time. Still, the thoughts in my head - the thoughts that repeated _Harry hates you _repeated without any doubt to them.

He was doing this out of duty.

It took all I could to bite my tongue, the Veritaserum was still running strong in my veins while I shook my head and pushed past him so I could continue on my way to Snape's office. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Audrey, tell me. I need to know what she did," he told me seriously, jogging to catch up with me. "I want to tell you how we're going to-"

"She gave me Veritaserum," I interrupted with a glare, stopping in my steps while he stopped in his. I'm glad that it sparked instant recognition and that I would not have to repeat or explain myself - instead, he looked at me in shock, not moving until I began walking again. "She interrogated me under Veritaserum. You're lucky I don't know anything about this little group of yours, Harry - and if you want me to keep saving your arse, I suggest you don't say any more about it at all."

"You can't honestly think she'll do it again," Harry shook his head, his eyes still wide.

"Of course she will," I sneered to him. "I found a way to dance around certain subjects and ignore certain thoughts, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to avoid answering if she asks me a specific or direct question."

"When you say you're saving my arse..."

"Please don't make me say it," I groaned, picking up my pace a bit so that I could try to outrun the conversation. Of course, I had no such luck.

"Hermione wasn't wrong, was she?" Harry asked me seriously, dropping his voice to a whisper. "You're playing spy?"

"I'm not _playing _anything," I hissed back, just as quietly. "I'm going behind enemy lines and trying to influence things to go my way. I'm not on anyone's side but my own."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin," he mumbled under his breath, turning away from me.

_Harry hates you._

"Yes," I ground out with a sneer, turning to him again. "I _am _a true Slytherin, Harry. I look out for my own - which sadly includes _you_. I am a Slytherin and able to analyze a situation before I make it worse and I have a wicked sense of self-preservation, unlike you bloody Gryffindors who make rash decisions and try to play them off as _bravery. _Do you know what's not brave, Harry?" I asked, raising my voice to a slightly hysterical note. "Going into a detention and keeping your mouth shut while you're being maimed - that is not brave, Harry. It's reckless. It's arrogant that you think you'll be better than her simply because you keep your mouth shut...because what you don't realize is, it's not only you she's using that quill with. And you're the only one with the power to speak up and be heard - but are you doing anything? No. Because you think it's _brave. _You're hiding behind your fears like everyone else is, Harry, and if you think that's brave, then you're also _stupid._"

"What are you saying, Audrey? I'm getting in the way of your well-thought-out plans? You have _plans _to have to save me all the time?" Harry asked me with a sneer "Then you keep playing with your kind and you can write me out of them."

_Harry hates you._

Yes, it certainly did seem that way, didn't it?

"_My _kind?" I repeated, pushing my brother so hard that he nearly tripped over himself. I lowered my voice back to a whisper. "_You're_ my kind, you bigot. You are my brother and I have been trying to keep Umbridge off of _your _arse this entire term. I know you're starting a duelling group - I'll help you keep it secret, but I don't want to know a goddamn thing about it."

"So instead of being with me, you'll band with the Slytherins?"

I let out a growl of frustration. "Harry, you're being ridiculous. You know, maybe Malfoy was right...maybe I _do _deserve better than this."

"And _they _are better than I am?" Harry asked, more shocked than angry. "Audrey, I'm your brother."

"A brother who is threatening me while I'm telling you I'm going to keep you safe." I nodded.

He stood and looked at me carefully, trying to read my thoughts. I wondered if he was thinking what I was - thinking about how much the Veritaserum was affecting this conversation and how much of this argument we would be having were it not for the boost it had given the discussion in the first place.

"Audrey," he began slowly. I held up my hand to stop him.

"No," I tried hard to keep my voice firm. "You go with Granger and look up the Daily Prophet like I did. You look what people have been saying about us...and then you tell me whether or not you think it's true. Because suddenly...I'm starting to. It hurts that I can be saving you day in and day out, but you still throw me off the broom when you feel need."

"Audrey, I don't throw you o-"

"Leave me alone!" I didn't care that I was so loud I turned heads of other students in the corridors. It was nearly time for dinner, so other students had started to bleed through the castle. Most of those students were now looking at me thanks to my outburst. "I don't want you around me."

I must have sounded convincing - or maybe it was since he knew that I was on Veritaserum - because I hadn't rounded the next corner before my brother had gone and disappeared.

Well...what a day.

I shook my head to loosen all the stray thoughts that I didn't need clogging me up, running my hand through my hair as I did. I still had to go and get the damn antidote for this Veritaserum. I had to see Snape. I couldn't afford any more distractions - the longer I was like this, the more likely I'd be to completely humiliate myself and ruin all of my hard work.

While I began walking down the corridor - away from my brother and towards 'my kind', the Slytherins - I was stopped by something solid colliding with my stomach. Whatever had hit me was hard and unforgiving, knocking the wind out of me and trying to topple me over. I managed to stay on my own two feet despite the pleas of my sore abdomen, but I still gave myself a reprieve of doubling over to open my airways.

"What an interesting conversation," _oh no. _The vile, low voice sent a cold shiver of fear down the back of my neck like dripping water. Although I was not at all ready to stand, I straightened myself up. I tried to calm down my shortness of breath so that he wouldn't notice - I could not look weak in front of Montague while I was stuck in Honesty-Mode.

"Didn't take you for an eavesdropper," I said as strongly as I could manage. The simple sentence winded me and instinctively I knew that the skin on my torso was bruising from however he'd stopped me mid-step.

"Isn't that the truth?" He smirked at me widely. "So, Veritaserum, aye?"

"Get away from me, Montague," I hissed, holding my hands out in front of me as aggressively as I could manage - hoping beyond all hope that he didn't see the small shake to them. "I will hurt you far worse than last time if you make any move on _me_."

"No you won't," he smiled, hitting my hand away from him harshly. I hissed at the feeling of my skin tingling from the slap, leaving it throbbing almost immediately - Montague was on a mission. He had to have been, considering he was currently manhandling a prefect. "Your loverboys wouldn't like that."

"Loverboys?" I scoffed. "I don't date."

"Not Theodore Nott?" He asked me with a smirk. "You wouldn't want to hurt his chances in Quidditch, would you?"

"Please tell me you're joking," I asked with malice. "Are you trying to blackmail me with Nott's Keeper position for your own safety?"

"No, that's an incentive," he told me with a smile. "The world knows you don't love with Nott enough to sacrifice anything for him - save maybe a dip into the lake to impress Diggory."

My face flared red, I could feel me burning from the comment in itself. I raised my throbbing hand again.

"But Malfoy?" Montague continued with a tauntingly raised brow. "Now _that _I know you'd protect."

"Malfoy has more power on that Quidditch team than you do, Montague. Captain or not," I smirked back. "You're a nobody without Lucius Malfoy's brooms."

"And you're a nobody without all your bodyguards," he sneered. "It's been hard getting a chance to see you - Malfoy's being extra cautious now that you two are so _close._"

"Don't believe everything you read," I mumbled with a glare. "Though I'm not sure you _can _read to begin with. Listen, I got Malfoy back for your Quidditch practices those past weeks. I made good on my little melting-your-knickers incident last year."

"Made good?" He repeated furiously. "You burnt my cock!"

"Were they able to make it bigger for you when they healed you?" I asked with a self-satisfied grin. "I see they've at least enlarged your balls - you normally wouldn't have enough to confront me like you are."

"An eye for an eye, Potter."

"I don't have bollocks," I countered, before taking a step back with a roll of my eyes. "Can't you just do yourself this one favour and leave me alone before I hurt you?"

I looked around for someone to help me, but most others were in the entrance hall, or back in the corridor leading to the Great Hall for dinner - which was the one that I had just left. Harry would be too far away to help me now - not that he would have wanted to. No one else would give me the time of day if I happened to yell for help, because unless someone was looking, no one would have noticed the two of us here. Nor would they have cared.

I was on my own for this.

"Audrey," he smiled darkly, but tsked to himself animatedly. "You aren't _scared_ of me, are you?"

Never.

"_Yes_," I gritted out, made even more terrified when he smiled widely. So now the wanker knew that I was a little, tiny bit frightened of him. Great. Clenching my hands into fists, I noticed that the hand he had slapped had turned a blotched red. I spread my fingers out again to be as intimidating as I could before I held them up between he and I. "You carry diseases."

Probably not a lie. Not the reason I was somewhat scared of him, but not a lie.

"Well, it's good to know I'm intimidating," he chuckled darkly to himself. "Do you want to have sex with me, Potter?"

"Not at all," I smirked proudly when there was not even a moment's hesitation. "And that's true."

"Do you realize you'll be having sex with me, anyway?"

"It wouldn't be called sex then," I hissed at him. "And for your own sake you'd best not try to push me to do something I don't want to."

He took a step towards me and - traitorously to my pride - I took a step back. He laughed at the display, making me wince and try to take another step forward...but he only laughed and watched me back up three more times while he came toward me just as much.

So maybe Veritaserum made me realize my own, darker fears as well. This is a fact for textbooks.

"Oh, Potter, the harder you are to get, the more I'll enjoy it." He warned me with a laugh. It almost would have sounded charming coming from someone else, if you couldn't have heard what they were saying.

"Enjoy getting your balls chopped off this time?" I hissed out, taking a daring step toward him and shaking my head as tauntingly as I could. "Because I don't think there's a potion to grow _those_ back."

His face darkened. "You can't fight forever, Potter."

"I won't have to," I countered just as darkly, pushing my hands toward him again. The two of us stood, completely silent as we both wondered who was going to make the first move - who would be the first to attack and who would be the victor of this argument and everything it insinuated.

How couldn't I be a little scared?

Still, in the back of my mind I knew that I couldn't do anything too drastic to him. I needed to stay in this school - with all the visions I've had, with all of the things I know, I could not afford being expelled. And to top it off, I didn't want to lose my in with Umbridge - I was the only one from the Order who had any sort of connection with her - and, in respect, maybe one day to the Ministry itself.

Then again, I most definitely did not want whatever Montague had planned either.

"Potter!"

The voice was a godsend. It was not Montague who had screamed my name, but someone much who would intimidate Montague just with his presence. I turned around, my body beginning to shake thanks to the unspent tension and adrenaline, which made my saviours seem to rush a little bit faster.

Malfoy had apparently come to save the day, Theodore and Daphne in tow. I was almost overjoyed to see the dark glare between Montague and Malfoy - it was almost as if Malfoy knew exactly what had been going on. For all I know, maybe he did.

"Are you okay?" Theodore asked me, coming to stand beside me and take hold of my arm while Malfoy came to stand slightly in front of me on my other side. He crossed his arms over his chest, watching Montague with as dark a look as Montague regarded me.

I was almost surprised, to be honest. Normally warfare between Slytherins was subtle and manipulative - but it almost looked as if both of these boys had thrown aside our houses traditions in favour of something that looked like it would come down to something a lot more violent.

"Malfoy, looks like you came just in the nick of time," Montague did not try to keep his voice light of insinuations as I had expected. Yes, they were definitely preparing themselves for a duel of some sort.

"Seems so," Malfoy responded, he looked as if he had run all the way to this corridor - his cheeks still flushed from the cold outside. It made his eyes that much more sharp and silver by the tint of his cheeks - making them look like solid and unforgiving steel. "Did you have business with Potter, here?"

"Not as much business as you seem to," he said sarcastically, moving his glare over toward Theodore - still linked to my arm - and Daphne at his side. "Get out of here."

"Adam, come on, let's just go to dinner-" Theodore - ever the rationalist - started carefully. This was no place for him to try and be the middle man in an argument, though - not when Montague and Malfoy looked ready to kill. Still, Theodore's eyes flickering between the two of them, his grip on me tightening just as Malfoy tore his gaze away from Montague to give the full force of his glare to Nott.

"Leave."

Theodore almost looked ready to get into a separate argument himself over the idea, but I shook my arm out of his grasp and shook my head. He didn't need to get involved in this - in fact, Malfoy shouldn't have been involved in this either, but it looked as if moving him would be like trying to move a mountain. Still, Nott tried to stay rooted to the ground, but Daphne was made much more nervous by Malfoy's intensity than he had been and started pulling on his sleeve to haul him away. Nott fought against it at first, before I shook my head towards him again. He gave me a meaningful glance of warning before stalking towards the Great Hall with Greengrass, who was constantly having to pull him, considering he looked about ready to run back.

It became a whole new atmosphere the minute those two were gone. Darker, more dangerous - as if the castle itself had undergone a chill and threat that normally didn't linger in the hallways at dinnertime. It was darker and more potent than any amount of argument or hatred I had ever seen behind these walls - darker than Harry and Malfoy, darker than Montague and myself, darker than Umbridge in her office.

Malfoy and Montague were out for blood.

"If you two aren't dating, Malfoy, then I can have as much play with her as I'd like," Montague said, not managing to sound as well-raised as he normally tried to be. His accent, while posh, still dipped into something a lot deeper - he no longer sounded like the well-raised prat he convinced people he was. Montague now sounded menacing. "Potter here is learning the consequences to her actions."

"That's not what it looks like," Malfoy responded coolly. I was surprised how intimidating he sounded considering he did not lower his voice or round his accent as Montague had - his voice sounded sharp and dangerous as his eyes looked without thought. "It looks as though you're punishing her for teaching _you_ about consequences."

"Does it?" Montague repeated with a clenched jaw.

"You shouldn't have cornered Greengrass last year, Montague," Malfoy's voice was low. "Attack some other unfortunate bint, but not one of our own. You know the rules. So I think that Potter, here, had the right idea - _you _were in the wrong."

Draco Malfoy was defending me.

Holy shite.

"The right idea?" Montague's fists clenched, he took a step forward toward me and I countered by taking a step toward him as well. Malfoy, embarrassingly, held out his arm and held me back without even needing to look at me. Not only was I apparently predictable, but my bruised torso stung at the contact. Apparently Malfoy wanted this fight for himself. "Do you know how long I was in the hospital wing? Do you know how long I was using ointments? No person deserves that!"

"You're not a person, Montague," I hissed from behind Malfoy's arm. "You're a sad, pathetic excuse for a misplaced link in humanity."

Montague's eyes, that had been firmly placed on Malfoy since his arrival, shifted to me. Malfoy, in response looked over his shoulder at me with an exasperated expression that pretty much read a sarcastic 'really?' - alright, maybe not my best insult, then.

Still completely accurate and true - I wouldn't have been able to say it otherwise.

"Yes, you're so clever, Potter." Montague hissed to me. I smirked.

"I know."

"But tell me, Potter, is that how you really feel?" Montague took a step forward. Though I was tempted to take a step back, Malfoy did not move, so neither did I. Malfoy's arm did drop, however, his hand moving close to his pocket. I assume that was a precaution in case he had to quickly grab his wand. I did the same.

"With ever fiber of my being," I hissed back, but I was unnerved by the dark glint in his eyes.

"Tell me, Potter, do you feel the same way about Malfoy?"

My eyes widened as I realized what the prat was playing at. Still, before I could stop myself I shook my head and spoke, with a confident tone. "No, I don't."

Fucking Veritaserum.

"Fascinating," Montague nodded slowly, playing it out with a taunting flare for the dramatic. "Well, I guess since Prince Charming here came to your rescue, there's nothing I can do now..."

The sarcasm suited him a little better than I would have hoped, but I was still overjoyed when he began walking in the opposite direction of Malfoy and I. Still, Malfoy didn't move.

"Oh, wait," Montague said suddenly, swivelling on his heel to face us again. I hissed in another breath, caught off guard and waiting for whatever terrible thing he had planned - which I knew he had planned considering the look of innocence plastered over his features.

"What?" I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at him.

"There _is _something I can do," he nodded to himself, walking toward us again and trying to act as factual as a Ravenclaw on the way. "Malfoy, did you know that our dear Audrey is currently under the effects of truth serum?"

I could feel my face boiling with heat. "I will _kill_ you."

"I guess you truly believe that," Montague sighed with a shrug, turning again to wink at me before he began walking back towards the dungeons.

The effect of him turning the first corner was instantaneous. It was as if I could suddenly breathe again and all the effects of our encounter began to throb against my body. My head began to pulsate, my hand felt the sting of his slap again, and my poor abdomen felt as if it was vibrating from the blood rushing to bruise the skin there. The adrenaline, now not having a reason to stay, started pushing its way out of my body by use of long rounds of tremors that wracked my whole body.

There was no denying it now: Montague terrified me.

"Are you really on Veritaserum?" Malfoy asked, quite quietly. I wondered if we had spoken so quietly before, or if now I wasn't listening as closely as I had been. I didn't know. Still, I dared to glance at him from the corner of my eye, seeing that he was looking down on me emotionlessly.

"Yes. Umbridge put it in my tea," I frowned at the honest answer. Damn, this potion lasted for far too long. "Are you alright?"

Malfoy's face was still red and his fists were still clenched at his sides, but instead he chose to ignore the question. "Were you on your way to Snape, then?"

"Yes."

"Since I know you can't be lying," he trailed off - it sounded like he was trying to make a joke but fell short considering his voice was still closer to a growl than a normal tone. Moving forward without another word, it seemed that Malfoy felt the need to accompany me on my way toward the dungeons.

"Are you really alright, though?" I asked as we walked, the truth serum egging me to speak while I looked at him carefully. "You look off."

"I'm drunk," he answered simply, though he picked up his pace almost at once.

"You are?" I blinked at him. Malfoy could defend himself better against Montague drunk than I had been able to sober. How humiliating is _that?_

"I may be able to lie, but I don't really see the point to," Though I could not see it, I could practically hear Malfoy's eyes roll. "Why, how do I look 'off'?"

"Well, your cheeks are red and your hair is messed. You never have your hair so imperfect - it's actually a nice change." I hate truth serums. Passionately.

"Is it?" he asked distractedly, looking down an adjacent hallway as we walked past. I frowned at this, my mind working double-time thanks to the mix of adrenaline and curiosity.

Was he checking the corridors to see if Montague was anywhere close? And was there a reason that he was purposefully avoiding my eyes? Normally, Malfoy would have taken full advantage of something like me being on a truth serum. I found it almost unreal that he wasn't asking for embarrassing facts about my brother or his band of merry men.

"Yes, it is," I groaned out, the truth serum still forcing me to speak up. "Please stop asking questions - rhetorical or otherwise."

"Fine," simple as that. Though he had sounded angry as he said it, he kept walking beside me in silence all the way down to Snape's office. The whole time the truth serum kept trying to force to say every true thought that trotted through my mind - and I was disturbed about what those thoughts happened to be: thoughts about my brother hating me, thoughts about how Montague would try to get back at me, thoughts about Malfoy kissing me in a corridor, just like this one...

Finally, when we were just outside of Snape's office, he turned so that his back was against the door and he was facing me, prohibiting me from entering. I sighed.

"This is the moment when I humiliate myself further, isn't it?"

"What did Montague say to you?" he asked me seriously, his eyes steely and his jaw clenched.

"He said that he plans to take advantage of me since I melted his trousers to his genitals last year by any means necessary. Including blackmailing me about Nott and yourself," I winced as soon as it was out of my head. "You can't tell anyone."

"Blackmailing us in Quidditch?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, but I told him that you had more power on the team anyway and threw in some insults for my own benefit." I shrugged, looking away from him. This was not the conversation I wanted to be having after everything that had happened today.

The past three weeks had been perfect - it was exactly what both Malfoy and I needed. We both needed someone to hate, who wouldn't judge us for hating everything else. He'd joined me for all my extra patrols, he'd even been somewhat nice - or at least some derivative of it.

And then at Hogsmeade today, it was as if everything changed. All those things Sirius said to me, warning me about reading the articles - and then _reading _the articles. Then all the things Umbridge had made me say and had said herself while I was under the effects of this stupid potion...

He nodded to himself, his gaze still hard. "Why were you in Umbridge's office?"

"She invited me for tea after she saved me from McGonagall's detention," my heart began to accelerate as I realized that I could potentially give something horrid away with one badly phrased question on his part. Instead, I decided to take the conversation into my own hands and changed the subject as I dug into my robes. "What is this, Malfoy?"

I handed him the articles, each and every one. He took one glance at the one on top, which was the last I'd subjected myself to reading _'Draco Malfoy: Smitten and Spited'_ before his eyes flickered back to me.

"That would be an article from the _Daily Prophet_," he said simply.

"So I'd gathered," I tried not to let my eyes roll. "Would you like to explain why you said what you said?"

"Because you really are a terrible dancer, Potter," he said fluidly, handing the articles back to me. "I was shocked my feet weren't broken."

I closed my eyes in irritation. "Not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Why were you so keen on convincing the world that we are - are..._involved_? I just don't understand what you're playing at. Clearly, I get why you wanted to make Harry look bad - I mean, like myself you always want to make Harry look bad - but what made you want to make me look good?"

"Because you _are _good, Potter," he said, eyes narrowing as he leaned in a little bit closer. I recoiled from him almost immediately, which made him smirk smugly. What a git. "Well, you're not the worst, at least."

"Is that what you meant here?" I sorted through the articles until I came to '_School Sweethearts: Young Malfoy Spills All on Potter Twins_'. "When you said 'we keep our interactions short so that no one gets the wrong idea and no one gets in trouble - but I can honestly say she's the best I've met'...what did you mean, 'the best you've met'?"

He pulled back, looking down the hall with a smirk on his face as he leaned the back of his head against the door. I wondered if he was doing this to mock me or if he was doing this because he really was drunk. I couldn't tell, considering I wasn't really well versed in drunken antics. Still, Malfoy decided not to answer me for a very long moment, I'm sure it made both of our minds race. It was such a long moment that I found myself wishing that _he _were the one under Veritaserum. Well, I wished it were anyone but me, anyway.

"If you aren't going to answer, you can at least let me get my antidote," I said moodily, happy when the silence of the dungeon was broken.

His eyes flickered back to mine. They were no longer harsh and steely, but plagued with indecision and suspicion. They cleared for a moment before he shrugged. "I don't remember."

I narrowed my eyes at him, shaking my head. "I don't believe you."

"You don't have to." He smirked back, cockily. "Do you know what I want to know?"

"Please don't ask," I said in a monotone, knowing that I was only asking out of desperation and that he would anyway. Hell, it probably made him more curious simply because I'd asked him not to.

"What do you think of _me, _Potter?" He asked, leaning towards me with a raised brow. Amusement danced behind his eyes as he realized that I would have to give him some sort of _honest _answer. "You read those articles, you heard what everyone else heard."

"But it didn't make sense," I argued back, trying to avoid the question, even though there was a bubble in my gut telling me to answer anyway. "What you said didn't make any sense at all. It didn't explain to me what the articles meant, why you've been protecting me, why you would think of lying to the wizarding world, or-"

"Did you ever wonder if it's because I may fancy you, Potter?" he interrupted, leaning so close forward that I could smell whatever cologne he had used and smell the spice of the firewhiskey as he breathed out. He was not joking, he was drunk.

My lungs stalled out of shock.

"_What_?"

"Did you ever wonder if it's because I may fancy you?" He asked more slowly. "It'd be what most people would assume."

"Doesn't mean it's true," I said immediately, taking in the smell of firewhiskey and reminding myself that he was drunk and that was the only reason we were even dignifying ourselves with this joke of a conversation. "And no, I don't think it's because you fancy me."

"Hm," he hummed to himself, backing away and giving me some room to breathe. "Would you assault me again if I did? I'd like to think we're more mature now."

"You're drunk," I accused with a sneer.

"And you're wrong," he said in the exact same way. The adrenaline, sensing my dread, started coursing through me again - making my hands shake.

"You _are _drunk."

"Did I say that's why you're wrong?" he asked me slowly. "And maybe I _do _fancy you. You can't deny how strange it is: one moment I absolutely hate you and want to wring your neck, but the next..."

"The next?" I asked quietly, a bubble in my chest that clogged up my airways and pressed against my heart, making everything stutter and panic.

"The next I don't," he said simply. His eyes narrowed on me as if to show emphasis. "And for some reason, that moment lasts longer that the other. So, perhaps I _could _fancy you."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my spinning head. He was playing a trick with me, clearly. Potters and Malfoys have hated each other for as long as there were Potters and Malfoys to hate each other - that's just how it goes. He and my brother were enemies and he and I were...well, unlikely frienemies, but that did not make us _attracted _to one another.

Even going as far to say that Malfoy and I were friends - people could have friends they weren't attracted to, couldn't they? I'd never been attracted to Theodore in the way that Daphne was, I'd never been attracted to Ron.

Merlin, my head had begun whirling and my stomach was doing no better. Was my body turning over on itself from the Veritaserum or was it from the realization that everything I had tried doing to stop my vision from happening had not worked. That Malfoy and I _might _fancy one another?

But I didn't fancy him...did I? Just because I thought about the could-happen kiss did not mean that I actually wanted it to happen. And even if I _did _want it to happen, couldn't I want it to happen just because I wanted to kiss someone? And it could be a general 'someone', it didn't have to necessarily be Malfoy. I could have been excited for the kiss with whichever Weasley, as well. It just happened that I thought about the kiss with Malfoy most often. Because Malfoy's always around.

"Potter," Malfoy began lowly.

"Don't," I warned him, taking a step away and shaking my head.

"What do you feel about me?"

"Please don't," I whispered again, the bubbling in my stomach that was connected to the Veritaserum began again, countering the flipping of my stomach as the truth pressed itself up my esophagus as if it were vomit.

"What do you feel for me, Potter?" Malfoy asked me slowly, his gaze intent on mine as he analyzed every move I made. "Do you fancy me?"

I looked up at him, into his glacier gray eyes and his stern, guarded expression. He was trying to mask something, but I could not tell what it was. I wish I knew what I looked like right now - but I'm sure it resembled something like a deer in the headlights, right as it realized it was about to be hit.

"I don't know what I feel," I whispered back. "I don't know."

There was a long moment, a tense moment where the words sank in for both of us. While a corner of my mind was screaming in frustration that I hadn't just hexed him already, another part of me felt dread and confusion sweep over every pore on my body. And how could it not?

Obviously it was the truth.

The long silence stretched on, him searching my face and me searching his - wondering which one of us would understand the other first. Which one of us would understand what had just happened...because I know I certainly didn't. I didn't understand whether or not I had just admitted to fancying him or not - because technically I hadn't really said anything. And technically, Malfoy hadn't said he fancied me either...he just told me that he thought he had the capability to.

So what did it mean?

Malfoy seemed to understand whatever had happened first, considering he smirked and straightened up. His hair was still mussed and his eyes sharp from the contrast of his drunkenly pink cheeks - but they were not cold. His eyes didn't look to be made of steel like they had been with Montague, but now if I looked closely, they even looked a little blue. These were not the eyes he had when he was hurt or guarding himself, these were eyes that I'd only seen him have with me. And that realization took me by surprise in itself.

Still, he stood up and walked toward me, fighting back a smirk.

"Good."

"Good?" I repeated with a blink, sounding doubtful.

"You being unsure is not a 'no', Potter."

"But-"

"Am I wrong?" He asked with a confidently raised eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't fancy me?"

The truth bubbled up before I could stop it. "No, I'm not sure."

He smirked again. "Good."

Then, terrifyingly, he came toward me and bent down. My eyes closed in a mixture of terror and anticipation as he bent toward me - I was hyperaware of everything that was happening. I could feel exactly how close he was to me as if there was an electric current running between us both. He was so close to me that I could smell the firewhiskey and imagine the taste of it. And even though I had always known Malfoy to be cold, I could feel his body heat - which was unbearably high - as he leaned closer...and placed cool, smooth lips against my temple.

"Try to make up your mind quickly, won't you?"

By the time I could breathe and open my eyes again, he was gone.

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><p><strong>AH! It's so exciting! Alright, alright, you guys HAVE to let me know what you're thinking about this. To the fantastic people who shared their thoughts with me last chapter:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was good as well. You said you wanted to see Draco as her knight in shining armour - how'd you like it?**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Thank you. I wrote for my school newspaper at one point in time, so I tried to go back to that mindset to write the articles. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Ella710_**: Don't worry about not responding earlier, I always love your reviews when I get them! Harry is a bit of a poop-head, even though he did kind of make it better by trying to tell her about the DA in this chapter...which, still, didn't end well. And as for the whole 'Harry hates me' thing, what'd you think about that? Yes, the end of OotP is going to be intense - but not at all what most people think. I'm excited for you to get the chance to read it.  
>Yes, the articles in the last chapter were definitely an interesting twist on Draco's view of Audrey - and then to hear what we heard this chapter? Eek, you have to let me know what you thought of it!<br>It'll be hard to tell how Daphne will redeem herself until it happens and even then it's not going to be like "BAM! She saves Audrey's life", it'll be more "she's not a selfish bitch, aww". I have it entirely planned out, as you can see.  
>And Sirius still loves her and she loves him. I think she was just super defensive because of the "do you like Malfoy" thing and her obviously (as we know from this chapter) thinking that she may. Don't worry, Sirius will be back to normal in a few chapters :) I hope you liked it!<strong>

_TheForrestAgain_**: Well, Audrey didn't kick Draco's ass, but at least it was a good and revealing moment between them. Also, Audrey DID drink the tea! I was so excited when people caught on to what was going to happen. And Robin Hood Men in Tights? I love that movie! Oh Cary Elwes, I can't even describe how perfect he is in that and The Princess Bride. Well, hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Novella Vialli_**: The seventh book will be intense and there will be TONS of Dreaco. And there was KINDA a kiss there, wasn't there? On the temple, at least. I hope you liked it, thanks for the review!**

_sara253xxx_**: Thanks for reviewing, hope you liked the chapter!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Well, hopefully you're happy to see that I updated, and hopefully you liked what you read! Thank you very much, and don't worry because WRITING this story is my secret addiction :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Not my quickest update, but it's been a crazy month! Malfoy kinda kissed her, yay! Or well, he kinda kissed her. I think it counts. Ha, that's hilarious you read the last chapter in detention - hopefully it made it more bearable. I used to be in detention all the time...but don't tell anyone. As for which Weasley - I can't tell you yet, but it'll be worth the wait. And good call on the Malfoy saving her from Montague and kissing her. Snape and Sirius are definitely her father figures - I adore them both! Thank you for reviewing :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one too! Thanks for the review.**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: I'm glad you had a good birthday! Montague IS terrifying, are you still scared of him after this chapter? I'm glad that you appreciate Umbridge's badness and how Audrey knows who she is - I try to keep her as realistic as possible. Well, I try to keep everything as realistic as possible - even if they go to a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Thank you for reviewing!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I am uploading pretty quickly, it's because of great reviews like yours! Sirius will be coming back in a few chapters and the Dreaco fluff will only continue past this point :) Hope you liked it!**

_Kaitalyn_**: Thank you very much! Wow, your review was so sweet - I really appreciate it. I'm glad you find the story deep and thought-provoking, I try to keep it as realistic as possible (even though it's a completely fantastical world where it takes place). I'm glad that you like Audrey - she is very complicated and every now and then when I go back and read a chapter before posting it, even I have to say "nope. I'd do that, but Audrey wouldn't" and then the story changes again! She's definitely flawed, but it's what drives her to be as great as she is - or that's what I try for, anyway. And yay for Slytherin fans! I'm not even a Slytherin...but sometimes I wish I was. They just have a charisma and a "I'll do what I want" attitude that I wish I had, myself. Anyway, thank you again!**

_SAM_**: Yes, Draco was pretty much a jerk in the last chapter - but as always, he confuses her by saving her again in this one. I think it's quite clear that they will never have a normal, smooth-running relationship...but maybe he was talking about the Pansy thing to make her jealous? Okay, he definitely was - but that's just between me and you ;) I mean, he has to make her realize that she likes him somehow! Silly Audrey and silly Draco - they both need to shut up and kiss, don't they? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and that Draco kind of made up for being an idiot last time. **

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: You're awesome for reviewing to all these chapters. Thanks for your review on chapter 33! Yes, there is definitely a correlation between James/Lily and Draco/Audrey, isn't there? I'm so glad I got to write it like that! Oh, they'll be so cute when they finally stop being so silly. And don't worry, we'll find out why Harry's being an ass. Hopefully you liked this chapter when you reach it - thank you!**

_Jane_**: I'm so sorry that I missed Emily's birthday, but this chapter wasn't ready to go yet. Tell her I wish her a happy birthday and that I'm so glad you two are liking this story - particularly for you telling her about it. Thank you! Being socially awkward is something I completely understand, but know that I really appreciate your review, so thank you very, very much for it. I hope you liked the chapter!**

_sexichick_**: So, Audrey's not part of the DA...but don't worry, she'll still be having adventures and saving Harry's butt the whole way through. She IS still Audrey. Did you like the Umbridge/Audrey interaction? Did you like Draco and Montague going head-to-head? Thanks for reviewing!**

_SchadenFreude95_**: I'm glad you liked the articles and her trying to hide it from McGonagall, last chapter. Umbridge was definitely a character, slipping her Veritaserum, don't you think? And Draco IS quite confusing...boys. So simple and yet so complicated. Yes, the kiss is totally messing with Audrey's judgement and making her think about how kissing him might not be the worst thing in the world - ironic how the thing that she thinks will ruin her is what's actually leading her to want to be ruined...  
>Audrey definitely thinks she can do everything on her own. She is also very wrong, as we saw from this chapter. I'm glad you think that Audrey and Draco are perfect for each other and hopefully you still thought it after this chapter! <strong>

_Wa7sh_**: Well, I'm definitely glad you came back to read it and enjoyed it both times! That's really flattering, thank you. Don't worry, I never plan to stop writing and this story is probably my favourite of all the ones I have going on...thank you so much for enjoying it and reviewing!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm glad you feel you can relate to her, it's what I want to do more than anything else: make her relatable. She kind of lives in the dark side that everyone has - to me, it makes her relatable and at the same time brings out the best and worst of me, so I hope she does that with others as well. I'm so glad you like it, hopefully this chapter was exciting for you!**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: Audrey did get a good dose of Veritaserum! Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked it!**

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><p><strong>Wow, so it happened! I'd love to know what you all think so please, please, please <strong>**REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	42. Slates

**WOW! The response from last chapter was literally **_**epic. **_**I'm so impressed and flattered guys, thank you so much - you literally brightened what had been a horrible month. But it's a new month, so I thought I'd start it off right, particularly by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my readers, Guest! I know I left you with a bit of an emotional cliff-hanger last time, but this has skipped two weeks. You'll see why and what has transgressed...this is a nice little chapter. Mostly plot filler for the next one, which will be much more exciting! **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 41 – Slating Slytherins<p>

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><p>"Oh Merlin, you can't ignore him forever, Audrey," Greengrass pressed with a sigh. She was probably also rolling her eyes while I took the time to peek around the corner towards the common room. Lillian sighed in quite the same way, Tracey openly laughed at me.<p>

I straightened myself up at the taunt, though I did not come out from my hiding spot behind the wall to the girls' dormitories. There was no reason for anyone I didn't want speak with to be able to see me right now, which was why I was scouting out the common room to make sure the coast was clear.

"Ignore whom? I don't need to ignore anyone," I said haughtily. "If you happen to be referring to my patrol partner, then I regret to inform you that I plan on giving up my prefect privileges and henceforth any interaction with the incumbent."

"Really?" Lillian asked lowly with a raised eyebrow. "Can't you be mature about this? He is."

What a lie.

"Eventually you'll have to face Draco," Greengrass agreed heartily, waltzing past me carelessly and entering into the common room. What a wench; she didn't even wait for the 'okay' I'd been giving Tracey and Lillian most mornings – and technically since she wouldn't leave us alone, Daphne had been present for them as well. "No matter how afraid of him you are."

"I don't have to face anyone," I bit back. "And I'm not afraid!"

"Sure," Tracey snorted sarcastically, nudging me in the shoulder. "Sneaking around the castle for over two weeks really encourages that."

Had it already been two weeks? I was doing better than I thought. To be honest, I hadn't expected to survive all the way to November as I had, but something told me that today was going to bring all kinds of trouble...and it was all because of the first Quidditch game of the year.

Normally, I would be ignoring the scene all together. I was not a fan of Quidditch and I did not particularly enjoy spending my time in large crowds of people who held a general hatred for me – but now that Theodore was the Slytherin keeper, there was no avoiding the long, agonizing tradition of watching people beat each other senseless in midair.

"He's not in here," Tracey laughed, following Daphne's easy lead and walking past me into the dimly lit, green common area. "The team goes down together for breakfast. Can we go now? I'm starved."

"I don't want breakfast," I said immediately, hoping to avoid the entire Great Hall if inDecisive Malfoy was already down there and eating. What made it worse was that I _knew _he was already there, meaning that he would have already successfully sat everyone in an arrangement to give me a reserved seat very near to himself. Which was a problem as I wanted to be nowhere near him.

Apparently the feeling was not reciprocated.

Which made it a troll-tonne worse.

"Oh no you don't," Lillian argued quickly, twining her arm through my own and taking her wand out of her pocket. It would have been threatening were it not Lillian Moon who was the one holding the wand so close to my chest – she was too sweet looking for how biting she could be. "Nott warned us that you'd do this and I promised him I'd make you eat something this morning – no matter what excuse you make."

"I have mono," I tried, even taking the opportunity to cough in her face. She sneered, but did not scuttle away from me as I'd imagined she may. "What if I have shingles or tuberculosis? I might have dragon pox!"

"I wish she had an off button," Tracey threw in, rolling her eyes and placing her hands on both my shoulders to gain my attention. The dark eyed girl watched me intensely, her doesn't-give-a-shite attitude going into overdrive as she shook me lightly. "Stop being so afraid of Malfoy. You're acting like an idiot."

"I knew Draco shouldn't have told her drunk, that it would give her time to panic," Daphne sighed, catching Tracey's eyes as she backed away from me. Daphne and she didn't need to talk about leaving, instead they just began to walk and converse as if there had never been a question about whether or not we'd go to the Great Hall in the first place. Really? And Greengrass was still trying to win me over? She wasn't even acknowledging the fact that I was being manhandled. This is exactly why we are no longer friends. "I told him to wait."

This again. Yes, over the past two weeks I had been well informed – in very intimidate and vivid detailing – about how Greengrass and Malfoy had been having a drunk heart-to-heart in Hogsmeade and all the way back to the castle the day that they had found Montague and I in the first floor corridor. Apparently she had been trying to convince him of his own feelings toward me and how he should take the time to 'explore' the idea of it and 'express' how he felt about me. Even I wouldn't blame the prat for taking advantage of the situation after having a heart-to-heart like that and hearing I was on Veritaserum.

Still didn't like it. And I was not pleased with his methods to later get my attention when he had so badly handled the situation when he'd sobered.

No, him saying that he'd 'stop shagging Parkinson in case I wanted to take her place' definitely ended up helping warding off the romance of the entire cliché.

Not that I needed it, of course.

"He didn't tell me anything," I bit out informatively, feeling my body tense as the Great Hall came into sight – my fight or flight response was taking over again...and every part of me wanted to flee the bloody country. "Let's just eat quickly then go to the stupid game."

I tried to stealthily ignore all the people at the Slytherin table by examining the sky overhead in the Great Hall. It was cloudy – Harry had once told me it was good for Quidditch when it was cloudy, just so it kept the sun from your eyes. I guess it was a good day for him to beat Malfoy's broom all over the field then...I hope the ferret cried.

To be honest, it was surprising I'd been able to dodge the sneaky little toad for as long as I had been. It had taken a lot of effort, don't get me wrong. Being late for classes and purposefully giving myself detention was not my usual way of handling stressful scenarios – though somehow I seemed to get detention for all my other methods of stress-relief – but it still seemed as if the only thing in this castle that was above Malfoy were the teachers that had placed he and I on patrols together in the first place. Then again, I think he got the idea and backed off a bit after his bed had been set on fire so he would be otherwise occupied during the one patrol I _hadn't _managed to get out of...he seemed to fear for his possessions enough to give me the space I felt like I needed.

But really, there was no reason for me to have needed space. I mean, what was there really to say about what happened in October? He had been drunk and I had been on Veritaserum. There was no stopping the freight train of embarrassment that had us on the rails by that point and most importantly, all that had really been said between us was: no, we don't hate each other.

Or so I had thought.

I had thought that the next day it would be like it always was in books. That it would be brushed under the rug out of humiliation and that we would revert into ourselves, or fight even more, or hopefully change classes and seating partners to stay as far from each other as possible and ignore that our little interaction had ever happened...but no, that's not how Malfoy played things. He wanted to act on it. And he said that maybe he'd stop shagging Parkinson if I offered myself up.

Like a slag.

And I am _not_ a slag.

"You know," Lillian said conversationally as we walked toward the Slytherin table. "I think you two are really well suited for one another. I think you would have been together ages ago if you weren't as alike as you are – don't deny it, because you _are _ – and that's half the trouble. You're both just as stubborn as the other."

"I resent that," I mumbled.

"If you two would just shag already, life would be easier," Tracey agreed with a bored glance toward me. "There's so much sexual tension between the two of you that even _I _think about shagging you. Or him. Or both. It's that palpable."

"Be my guest and take him." I frowned. "Besides, it's nothing sexual as _I _am not sexual – which he knows. Which means that to him: I'm a conquest."

"Not true," Lillian stated again. "The world knows it's _passion _you two have going for you. As Tracey said, it's palpable – I wish I had that in my life. It's novel-worthy."

"Right," Daphne agreed. I glared at her openly. I did not want her in the group if she was no longer trying to get on my good side and aiding in my defence. "Besides, there's nothing stopping you now."

"Puginson is dead and gone to him, said so himself." Lillian agreed with a grin – I couldn't help joining in the girls reverie while we all stopped to smile; we took the time to appreciate the deeply ingrained memory of Parkinson's puffy, red eyes and her quiet tears. The world was very different when those two weren't sucking face – now Malfoy was a free agent.

But, he was gunning for _me._

Which was still so far-fetched! One minute we're both inebriated and proclaiming that we _may _be able to develop feelings for one another – not that either of us have feelings for one another, because neither of us actually said we did – but the next minute, he's dogging me trying to coerce me into some sort of arrangement and work to make me his new play thing.

Since when did Malfoy work at _anything_?

Like most sitting down at their house tables, I was already clad in my jacket and winter gear – the white accessories mixed with my gray coat probably looked to be supporting Slytherin more than I normally would have tried for, but I would much rather cheer for Theodore than for my brother under all the circumstances around this year – both with him being a prick and with me being a spy.

Harry had done nothing to apologize to me, either. He hadn't taken one step towards me or tried to talk to me at all, in fact. It was like he was ignoring me – but I couldn't tell if it was because I had asked him to, or if it was because he was upset with me. Either way, every time I felt the urge to talk to him it seemed like there was something holding me back; be it my own pride or Umbridge's watchful gaze. There was no time to try being sisterly in warfare such as this – I just hoped that he now understood what I was doing...and sacrificing.

But with his absence came some ease to the whole 'spy' thing. He hadn't been running his mouth as much – whether that was for my own sanity or not, I couldn't tell – and he had been doing a better job with keeping his duelling club under wraps. Even though Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four had stated that no groups or clubs could be organized without permission from the toad herself, he had not asked me to help him. And ironically because he wasn't asking me to help him, I _could _help him. It was easy getting closer to Umbridge without her wondering if I was part of the illicit activities that my brother's twisted mind concocted and considering my interactions with Umbridge were becoming more drawn out and consistent, I could dig into her own twisted mind. Particularly as she had had been inviting a lot of the students to her chambers for tea. But she never spiked the Slytherins tea as she had mine, and she never seemed to spike the tea to humiliate anyone when she invited the Slytherins for her own little 'pink parties' – so she wasn't out for the maliciousness of it.

I was lead to believe that some sick part of her actually believed that she was doing good.

Still, I would not put it past her to drug me again and not knowing anything about my brother's band of merry men would save _both _our hides.

My brother's hide was currently in his regular clothing. He had not come down in his Quidditch robes as the Slytherin team always did. The Gryffindors did not show as much house spirit as we did until they were on the pitch – but it seemed like the rest of the Great Hall was packed with people wearing the colours of whatever team they supported. As always, there was a smaller group in emerald than in red, but it was still nice to see that some of the Ravenclaws knew how much we would harass them if they didn't support our team.

I hate Quidditch.

"Oh look," Tracey said with a loud, sarcastic form of enthusiasm. "There are hardly any seats at the Slytherin table. Oh, what to do?"

Before I could protest against something I hadn't even taken the time to really look and acknowledge, I was literally being shoved until I was sitting...across from Draco Malfoy.

"You're so immature! Really, is this happening?" I asked them with an open glare, not caring that I was making public my personal opinions of our star Quidditch player. "Are the three of you always this incompetent, or have I only just started to notice?"

"They're always like that," Malfoy spoke from in front of me while buttering a scone, not looking up from the meticulous scraping. "Besides, I asked them to."

"I don't see why," I crossed my arms over my chest and looked towards the head table instead of paying any attention to him. Still, I had to turn my eyes away considering the direction I had decided to look was the direction in which Adam Montague was sitting – the maximum number of seats away from Malfoy and I that could have been possible with how high a year he was. I couldn't help wondering if the other Slytherins knew why the Slytherin Quidditch Captain was sitting the farthest from the group – still a part of the team and yet not the center of it as the captain should be. Well...maybe the other Slytherins hadn't caught on to the seating arrangement, but by the glare I was receiving, Montague certainly had. So, out of fear for my twisting stomach, I turned back to the blonde instead. "You've been doing a fine job trying to track me down on your own."

"And you've done a fine job dodging," he countered, placing down his scone and looking up at me with an aggravated, steel-walled glare. "You berate them, but how mature do you look while you're running away from me?"

"I don't care how mature I look, so long as I don't look like I'm speaking to you." I bit back with just as much distance in my eyes as his. If he wanted to have this conversation out of anger and at the Slytherin breakfast table, then that is where the argument would be. Because I was not initiating this. Not ever.

"Oh come off it," he looked away with a scoff. "You were on Veritaserum and I was on liquid courage – there was no lie between that. There's no need to be so pedantic, Potter. I never actually said that I _have _anything resembling positive feelings towards you, I said that I _could. _Luckily for you the idiocy you're displaying is a right turn off."

"Then for safety's sake I'll be doing this for the rest of the term," I raised a brow. "Consider yourself warned."

"Actually, you won't be," he said with just as much smugness as I felt – which made me immediately suspicious of why he would be digging into his Quidditch robe pockets. I was about to ask him if he were about to pull out some kind of weapon or potion, but instead he pulled a note out of his pocket. It was quite clear to see who it was from considering the pink parchment. "For you."

"What did you do?" I accused darkly, not even giving him the satisfaction of taking hold of the parchment. He waved it over the table with a taunting eyebrow raised, looking probably a spitting image of how I had only a moment before.

"I've done what you wanted, I would appreciate some respect for my efforts. _Read it._"

I snatched it from him, careful to do it quickly in case he thought of doing anything sneaky while I was leaned across the table towards him – my mind flashing back to the kiss to my temple traitorously. I felt my ears burn and took to distracting myself with unfolding the letter before he understood what my red face was in relation to.

'_Dear Miss Potter, _

_I am pleased to inform you that your detention with Professor Snape tonight has been cancelled. If you are having trouble finding time to do work between your migraines and patrols, I will give you passes to miss class for specific study sessions. I suggest a visit to St Mungos hospital during winter break to see a proper healer about your condition – it may do you some good. In the meantime, I believe that Mr Malfoy would be an excellent tutor for your academic needs. _

_Hoping all is well, _

_Dolores J. Umbridge_

_Hogwarts High Inquisitor_'

"Are you serious?" I asked, my eyes narrowed as I stared at him, mouth open and suspiciously confused. "You used all that 'money-and-mighty' charm of yours to take me out of detention?"

"You've been missing a lot of patrols," Malfoy said simply, with a disinterested look that covered up a guarded expression I couldn't read. "Umbridge took notice."

I watched him carefully, scanning his facial expression and trying to understand how he could feign so many emotions at once. It was clear he was hiding something, something that I don't believe I would have been able to understand with a thousand years to look for it. At the same time, I could see how smug he was trying to play himself off as, how disinterested he was trying to play off that in case it looked too eager.

But why would he be eager?

"She thinks that teachers are trying to break us up, doesn't she?"

"Something of the sort," he nodded. I closed my eyes, the thought paining me. If Umbridge believed that the other teachers were trying to separate us, it would be the last thing that would happen. I would no longer be able to skive time with Malfoy via detention – he was eager because there was no escaping now. I was the mouse: he was the cat. "Our patrol is from six to nine tonight."

"I know when it is," my face was still red, but now out of horror. I didn't like being backed into a corner and that was a euphemism for how I felt. The entirety of the school thought that I was with Malfoy – the one person who really _knew _how I wasn't seemed to be the one who wanted to talk to me the most about it. And I did not want to talk to him because he had kissed me on the forehead and for months I had been thinking of so much more than that...

"Oh, these are for all of you," Malfoy said suddenly, with a smirk I finally recognized. He was very pleased with himself as he threw something across the table towards the girls around myself, whatever they were skittered across the table and sounded like metal. I picked up the one that happened to land closest to me. Examining it, I couldn't really tell what it was – but I could tell it was bad, particularly when I put the pieces together: Slytherin's silver bent into a fancy crown, scrawled over it in Gryffindor red were the words "_Weasley is our King_".

"What is this?" I asked, glancing to the other side of the Great Hall where Harry, Hermione and Ginny – the boys not in their robes yet – were now trying to calm down Ron, who looked closer to hysterics than distress.

"See you in the stands. Remember to watch for Pansy." Malfoy smirked at all of us, raising his eyebrows tauntingly as he saw my eyebrows raise. I did not like that he was still working with Parkinson – he was said to be done with her, but it was obvious that she had not stopped doing his dirty work. Which meant that she was not done with him.

Which should not be any of my business.

And with a power to his nod that Montague couldn't have managed, Malfoy led the entirety of the Quidditch team as one unit out of the Great Hall. And he looked mighty pleased with that badge, as if he were Head Boy, himself.

That was not good.

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><p>The Quidditch stands were packed, as they normally were for the Slytherin-Gryffindor game. Almost the entirety of the school had shown up to see the most violent of the teams and adversaries fight against one another in midair, it was a thirst for bloodshed worthy of a vampire. The excitement that filled the stadium startled even me and made me thirst for a victory of my own. It was a violent, mob mentality that I was not used to being a part of.<p>

The teams came out looking like dangerous, arrowhead Christmas ornaments out to kill one another. Montague stood in front, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, Nott and Malfoy behind them, with Pucey and Warrington bringing up the rear of the green arrow. Across from them in a clashing scarlet was Johnson: Gryffindor team captain and uptight wench, Fred and George: the most fantastic people in the world, Ron and Harry: idiots but occasionally endearing, and Bell and Spinnet: whose first names I had difficulty bringing to mind.

Montague and Johnson shook hands roughly, a beginning display of bitter team rivalry before Madam Hooch gave the signal which began the game.

It was an intense game, as these teams always made it. It was made better by Lee Jordan commentating as he knew best: brutally. It was not quite my cup of tea, knowing facts like how Johnson had shut him down multiple times and how slimy we snakes were, but at least he kept it interesting for me – from way up here and with how fast the players were moving I could barely see anything. I needed my glasses back – perhaps when I was seventeen I'd try to fix the broken ones still in my room in Privet Drive.

Still, it was easy to distinguish the most important players. Fred and George were shocks of carroty hair engrossed in scarlet – and they were the only redheads on the team besides their brother at the goal posts. Ron stayed pretty much immobile when the quaffle wasn't headed his way, even while Theodore was sure to stay and fly back and forth between our goal posts. Malfoy was a shock of bright hair, as noticeable – if not more noticeable – as the Weasleys themselves and my brother, lastly, could be recognized by his impeccable flying.

"Look at that boy play," Tracey smiled to herself, nudging me in the ribs without taking her eye off of our seeker. "You can't tell me you don't find Malfoy attractive _now_."

Malfoy was flying around the pitch decently. At least, it was decent next to Harry's expertise. Considering Quidditch had been cancelled last year due to the Tournament, it seemed like all the players had pent up energy they were ready to release – and it was rearing its head quite violently. Bludgers were flying between beaters and players as if they had personal vendettas – which they very well may have – while players were dodging as if they were more psychic than I was. It was hard to cheer for either team when Fred and George were trying to take down Theodore and Malfoy, but the idiots were also trying to take out my brother.

Not that I cared if Malfoy was taken down by Fred and George. I just didn't want Theodore to lose his first game.

"Come on, then," someone in front of us said loudly, pointing over to the side where Puginson – swathed in a rancid green tweed jacket – had stood and held her wand to the stands as if she were the conductor to a large choir.

"On three, everyone!" She smiled, looking positively jubilant. "Join in once you learn the words; one – two – three!"

And then a very well practiced song drifted above Lee's commentary.

Considering I had been avoiding all of the places Malfoy could have been, it did not surprise me that he and Parkinson had found the time to orchestrate a song throughout the students in Slytherin house. What _did _surprise me was how the professors were allowing the broken harmony to swell and rise through the stands as if it were a work of art.

"_Weasley cannot save a thing,_

_He cannot block a single ring,_

_That's why Slytherins all sing:_

_Weasley is our King._

_Weasley was born in a bin,_

_He always lets the quaffle in,_

_Weasley will make sure we win,_

_Weasley is our King._"

The lyrics were juvenile and easy to remember; it wasn't long before Lillian and Tracey were giggling along to the verses. It was even more surprising how quickly the other houses began to turn on the Gryffindors by method of the song. What had started as a swell had become a tidal wave of chorus and it was amazing to see the effects of it on the pitch.

People were slipping on their broom handles and not paying attention to where the balls were played. Once or twice players stopped to stare, incredulously, at the crowd and it's music and people were missing passes – Slytherin and Gryffindor alike. The Gryffindors, trying to work through their shock and insult were even more distracted by the Slytherins glee; they were not doing anything to try and hide their involvement in the rendition of the song, either – some were singing along and others were laughing so hard they were distracted by the tears in their eyes.

"Were this not about Ron, I'd call it impressive," I stated, watching with eyes as narrowed into a squint so I'd be able to tell what was happening. "Also, were it not run by Parkinson."

"It's her best work!" Tracey giggled, continuing to sing the song along with Pansy's conducting.

Fred and George looked like they were insulted by the easy, simple lyrics of the song – even at the misfortune of their brother – but it seemed like their insult at the dodgy work could not outweigh their want to wring the Slytherins necks. They were the first of both teams to get back on page and start slamming the bludgers towards peoples' heads. The singing was becoming so loud that I couldn't hear Lee's commentating – no one could have. We were just running by the points on the scoreboard; Slytherin – 40, Gryffindor – 10.

Quite suddenly, Malfoy and Harry went into a dive near our side of the pitch. I almost screamed at the intense angle, thinking that the two were going to splatter themselves all over the turf by their steep and quick dive. This is why I don't like Quidditch – people died because they acted before they thought. Still, both boys pulled up in time to ride feet above the pitch and surge forward for the snitch; all the while ignoring the sounds of _Weasley is our King _which had escalated to a painful decibel.

I blinked and missed the action, because suddenly my brother was holding up his hand. And though I could not see it, I had no doubt that inside was a writing golden sphere.

Confident and relieved, my brother was at his most vulnerable which is why he didn't notice that as he was about to pull back up from the five or six feet he was off the ground, a bludger had smacked him in the ribs. He didn't notice until the pain struck and he doubled over. I think I may have screamed. Still, after catching his breath and being checked on by his captain, he got up and walked it off as if it hadn't happened at all. He was still even able to hold the snitch in his hand and wave it in front of the Slytherins.

Yes, he's so amazing.

"Sometimes I wish _he _were a Slytherin," Lillian sighed. "We hadn't lost in years until your brother got on the team. Now it's not even fun knowing he'll just out fly our best."

"What happened to 'oh, look at Malfoy on that broom'?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's one thing to be said for looks, Potter. It's another thing to be said for victory."

For that, I couldn't agree more.

When I had turned back to watch the happenings on the field below the goal posts, it appeared that the predictable had happened: Malfoy, white faced with anger had started baiting Harry. Who knew what they were saying from this distance, but Harry was engulfed in the Gryffindor team's congratulations and thanks – still, Malfoy kept yelling.

And suddenly, the entire team stopped moving. I didn't really know what to expect when they all seemed to stop moving. In reaction, many of us in the stands did as well, just waiting with baited breath to see what would happen in the next few seconds after whatever had been said or happened sank into their skin.

And in those few seconds Fred, George, and Harry had turned and looked terrifying. They wanted Malfoy's head on a platter, it was obvious. I had never seen Fred and George so ravenous for someone's life, and then-

"Harry! HARRY! GEORGE! NO!"

Harry and George ignored Johnson's screams as they ran toward Malfoy, jumping on top of the boy and punching every inch of him that they could reach. They pummeled him in a way I'm sure Malfoy had never been beaten, for I had never seen someone beaten like that. Not even when Dudley went around with his little gang – this was not a beating, this was a _vengeance_. It was almost terrifying to watch – whether or not it was Malfoy – I would not be surprised if he was not only concussed but had serious injury done to him by the two boys...I found myself on my feet, screaming at them all to stop.

Umbridge would not hear of this, not when it was done to Malfoy. If the boys kept going there would be serious injury – Harry would be expelled, George would be expelled, Malfoy would be disfigured, all of my work would be for nothing...

Someone magically shoved the boys away from Malfoy so hard that they landed on their backs. As they scrambled to get up, where I could now pay attention to Fred struggling to get into the fight as well, they were screamed at by Hooch who sent the three of them inside before they could start anything more. It wasn't until Malfoy, being hovered over by Madam Hooch was helped up by Goyle that everyone in the stadium erupted.

Slytherins started screaming at Gryffindors, trying to avenge our fallen leader. Gryffindors yelled back to us, violently defending their heroes – it looked like an entire new fight would break out between all of the houses. I felt myself being jostled as people started to run for the exit – some out of fear and some out of the lust for a fight. I tried hard not to get trampled, holding on to Tracey while we used each other to stay standing.

"Congratulations to Gryffindor on a fair win," Dumbledore said calmly, though his voice was so magnified that it hurt my ears and shocked me into a still stupor. "Now Prefects, please escort your houses back to the castle and be wary of any fights instigated. Violence will not be tolerated unless it's in a good game of Meropop."

There were seconds of people shaking their heads clear of his voice before I was able to turn to Lillian – four bodies away from me, who was righting her hair.

"Meropop?" I asked her loudly. She shook her head, her obvious displeasure for Dumbledore as obvious as her sudden bad hair day.

"It's a child's game. Came from the Merpeople."

"Fantastic," I muttered, letting go of Tracey and making sure that we were both right to walk before stepping down the stairs of the stands and turning to face what was left in this area of Slytherin house. "Oi, you lot! Thank you for the fine performance, even though it didn't help us win – now get to the castle before I hex the lot of you! I don't care what Dumbledore says, I will do it and my counterpart is in the hospital wing so there is no one to stop me-"

"Except for the sixth and seventh year prefects and the Head boy and girl," Tracey said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes.

"Except for the other prefects, true, but they don't want to be bothered with you twats, so it's all on me. Now _move!_" The younger years moved without complaint or hesitation, possibly remembering back to how serious I was about their tardiness at the beginning of term. The older years, however, were not shy about taking the time to roll their eyes and complain as they moved – in a group – towards the castle, shooting me glares and shoving into my shoulder.

"So in charge," Tracey mocked.

"I hate my job," I pouted sarcastically before turning to yell at a few slow-moving third years and following the rest of our crew out of the pitch and toward the castle. I was hardly through the castle doors, ignoring all the questions younger students asked about how Malfoy was, before I stopped what I was doing and narrowed my eyes.

Malfoy wasn't who I was worried about.

"You're not really going to go see your brother, are you?" I looked beside me to see that Daphne had stopped too and that she was giving me a look of utter disbelief. She shook her head, looking at me as seriously as she ever had.

"Why not?" I asked rhetorically. "I'm the only one he'll listen to."

A lie, but nonetheless effective considering Daphne sighed and noticeably backed away from me and her complaints.

"He's probably not allowed to see the light of day for weeks," Lillian added dismissively. "Just leave him alone. Besides, you need to take all the Slytherins to the common room and inform Snape that there were no fights – not that some of the Gryffindors didn't try to start one."

"I'm surprised Finnegan wasn't right in there," Tracey incorporated tauntingly. When we all rolled our eyes, she laughed loudly. "I'm sorry! I just can't believe you dated the git."

"Nor can I," I sighed, stopping. "Listen, I'm going to go check on everyone – Malfoy too."

That seemed to placate the girls enough to let me leave, even if they taunted me with cat calls and wolf whistles until I could no longer hear them. Whatever made them leave me alone, I would take. And though I didn't really know whether or not I planned to make a stop to see Malfoy, at least it would give me the time I needed to get away from the throngs of angry Quidditch fans for however long it took to see my brother.

I went to McGonagall's office first and could easily hear the muffled, distressed voices in the room. They were having some kind of argument in there, it was easy to hear. I could even hear my brother arguing with whoever was punishing him – but I couldn't make out any definite words. I backed up around the corner, hoping to wait out the punishment before I felt someone place their hand over my face.

Immediate panic – cold, clammy panic that made my heart race and my brain start shutting down with sense and revert to fear. Montague had found me. Montague had _caught _me. I was still wearing my scarf and hat and gloves – did Magnuse work around gloves? I did not know. I had not tried. It was worse than being a deer in the headlights – because deer could run. I was a woman tied to the train tracks. He had wanted me alone and I _was _alone – no one knew where I was, no one would guess I was here, and Malfoy wouldn't come to my rescue this time. My heart, hammering in my chest did not let me do anything but _scream._

"Sh, it's me!" I hurt my neck trying to see the voice, made unfamiliar by my heart pounding in my ears. I actually let out some strangled sound when I saw the familiar mussed head of red and mischievous eyes. He looked at me, his expression completely measured and yet terrified of my reaction. "Are you alright? What's got you so jumpy?"

"The fact the entire school's trying to duke out their arguments," I lied quickly, prying off Fred's hand and pushing it away from my face, my heart still stuttering to catch a regular rhythm. I bent over to catch my breath, trying not to seem as terrified as I was, but not able to ignore all the signs of panic that my mind had jumped to. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not quite Miss Popularity."

"Importance matters more in the real world," he shrugged. "And trust me my dear, you are important."

I tried smiling for a moment and we were quiet while I let my body respond to the fact there was no longer a threat. During that long moment, I watched his eyes flicker from me to the door of McGonagall's office fifty times. "Fred, what happened?"

"Malfoy happened," Fred sneered, backing up and hitting the back of his head against the wall. "He was talking about our mum being fat and Dad being poor and useless. And then...then he moved on to talk about _your _Mum, saying that she _stank_...asking Harry if he remembered it."

I took in what he was saying slowly. Against my will, the memory of Malfoy in Hogsmeade interrupted my thoughts – him saying he wanted to save the insult about my dad for my brother. The guilt he had felt. And then to hear him say that? Ask if my mother had smelled and insult the Weasleys...

It was..._ridiculous._

"You're joking?" I guffawed, my face going red. "Fred, what were you thinking!"

"What?" He looked completely lost in the conversation, as if he had expected me to be upset. But I was flabbergasted. Completely and utterly dumbfounded. I shook my head, looking at him and shaking my head.

"You honestly think _that _is bad? Fred, those are the insults of a five year old! And for Malfoy? Calling someone fat, smelly and ugly is tame. You shouldn't have taken that bait," I shook my head walking away from him and laughing in disbelief. "That is a _ridiculous _insult to finally decide to cash out on...that someone _smells_...really? That you're poor or that your dad's useless? Fred, I was called worse by kids in preliminary school. And Malfoy was only saying that because he was being a poor sport – Harry bested him after he had gone to all the work to make 'Weasley is our King' and he _still _was outplayed! Fred, he _wanted _you to beat him up."

"Well, whatever he planned, it was bad..." Fred said darkly, his face a shade of anger I had never seen colour his features before now. "And I imagine it worked considering Umbridge just went in."

I groaned, following his lead and slamming my head against the wall behind him. "No! She'll rip them in two..."

"Four," he corrected with a sigh. "I know, I'm waiting out here for th–SHH!"

Fred went quickly back to attacking me and placing his hand back over my mouth – really, what is it with people thinking I have such a big mouth I would blow my own operations? – before I quieted down. Umbridge walked out of McGonagall's office, pleased with herself and humming. She looked back to the office for a moment – making Fred fall back into the shadows for a moment more – before she began humming again and walking straight past us.

When she was gone, Fred let go of me and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"That's not good."

We waited the extra forty-five seconds before Harry and George came out, both walking with their shoulders sagging and their heads hung low. The boys looked completely dejected. I grabbed both their hands, not even looking back to see their reactions before I began trotting forward. Fred, knowing my idea, walked in front of me until we were a ways down the corridor with the both of them. Anticipating my thoughts, Fred opened the Transfiguration classroom door so that we had somewhere to sit. I took a seat on the McGonagall's desk, watching them carefully.

Neither spoke. So I did.

"Well?"

"Banned, for life," Harry whispered, his voice cracking as if he hadn't had water in days. The very tone of his voice sent my eyebrows to my hairline, reminding me to slip off my gloves and hat.

"Banned?" I repeated, shaking my head. "From Quidditch?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded slowly, blinking slowly as if he still didn't believe what he'd heard. "I wish she'd just expelled me."

"Don't say that," I argued with a scoff. Really, I may not have much to believe in but I knew that this was being dramatic. It's just Quidditch. Expulsion would mean that his wand would be snapped – there was really no competition here.

"You too, mate," George looked up at Fred slowly, shamefully. There was a silent and still conversation in their eyes that only twins could understand. Both Fred and my eyes bulged.

"_What_?"

"Umbridge says that if you weren't restrained, you would have beat him, too." Harry explained, shaking his head. I couldn't help but look at all three of the boys, all now silent and dry mouthed from shock and despair. It looked as if–Holy Helga, were their eyes watering? Were these boys about to _cry_?

It was inconceivable. I had never seen anything like it – the twins so broken, my brother looking as if he were about to crumble into a million pieces. His sanity, that's what Harry had once told me; Quidditch was his sanity. And Fred and George, they didn't even _like _school. They didn't want to be here and now they had lost what they loved most about it?

"I can fix this," I said determinedly, jumping off the table just to distract them from the tumult of their own thoughts. They all looked at me, slow on the uptake. "I can fix this."

"No, Drea," George shook his head. "Umbridge demanded it."

"So what?" I scoffed, pushing my hand up toward them for demonstration. "That woman is wrapped around my pinky while she thinks that I'm dating Malfoy. I can spin this: threaten Malfoy to explain what he said, spout out a few tears, say I'm scared of what the world will think of me or how you'll try to get back at me letting this happen..."

"You can't do all that," Fred shook his head, not even able to meet my eyes.

"And it wouldn't work," Harry frowned, leaning against one of the desks behind him. "Malfoy's not going to turn himself around."

"But being banned for life is _ridiculous. _People get in fights all the time." I argued immediately. "_I _get in fights all the time!"

"Not in front of Umbridge," Harry shook his head. _And not with Draco Malfoy. _

It wasn't said, but it was more than inferred.

"She's made Educational Decree Number Twenty-Five," George explained with a slow shake of his head. It was painful to see, to see the twins so out of place as they were. "It says she has power of punishment. It's horrible-"

"-terrible-" Fred agreed, nodding at the same time his twin shook his head.

"-we'll have to do something about this-"

"-we _will _do something about this." Fred seethed back, a slow building strength in his tone. It was comforting, seeing something other than despair from them. I had felt despair before and all throughout our stay at the Order's headquarters, the twins had tried not to let me dwell in it – and here I was, so perplexed by the same expression that I must have carried around all summer and still not knowing how to manage it. Not even for them.

"And I'm going to help you," I told them sternly. Because I may not be able to deal well with despair...but I could definitely spark life into an army if I could fuel it with anger. "I'm on her good side, I know everything she does, I know everything about her – I'm taking her out from the inside. And you and your little duelling group-"

"You _do _know about the DA?" George asked, his sadness dropping for a moment of shock before his face broke into something that neared a wry smile. "Why don't you come to the meetings?"

"She doesn't want to know about it," Harry mumbled, shoving his hand through his hair irritably, while his eyes flickered to me. "Umbridge gave her Veritaserum when she was tipped off about it."

Well...so glad that wasn't a secret or anything.

"Umbridge did _what_?" Fred's tone was beyond method of shock or anger. Fred was appalled.

"Veritaserum, it's not so big a deal now – I've figured out how to work my way around the questions she may ask," I explained. "I don't want to know about the club...er, the DA – just in case she does it again."

"But you can be part of it-" Fred argued quickly, walking towards me eagerly.

"-Harry, she needs to learn too-" George agreed, coming toward me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Particularly with that dodgy wand of hers-" Fred, too, wrapped his arm around me.

"-it's going to get her killed-"

"-she needs to join-"

"-green _is _a colour in the rainbow." George nodded to him, sounding very convincing if you weren't actually listening to the last words that he said. Still, I wasn't going to laugh at them and ruin the good mood they had just began again. They were back to finishing each other's sentences and they even had wide grins on their faces...

Still, I had to be realistic.

"I'm not going join," I interrupted, shrugging out of their arms so that I could face them. "The best way to keep you guys out of Umbridge's way is by keeping you out of her sight – that's what I'm doing this for. I'd make you an even bigger target to shoot for."

"You really are going under enemy lines?" Fred blinked, his expression seemed torn between being proud of me and fearing for my safety – a common argument within my own thoughts. "I thought Harry was _joking._"

"Well, he's not and I am," I informed them all proudly. "I'm doing better than I thought I would, too. Might have missed out on my calling as a con woman, to be honest."

"It isn't too late-" George shook his head with a smirk.

"-you could still invest in your own education-" Fred continued

"-the one on mischief and mayhem-"

"-it would suit you well-"

"-Fred can be your first victim-"

"-yes, I can. Seduce me into giving you my life's savings." Fred winked. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the insinuation and meeting my brother's more serious, level gaze. The boys quieted down immediately, noticing the conversation was going to take a turn thanks to my brother. It was like we had been on a break and it was now back to business.

"You really want to help us?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes. I rolled my own.

"That you think I'm doing this for fun is insulting," I said simply.

_Harry hates you._

Ah, the voice was back. Only this time, I was not on Veritaserum when I heard it. It had been playing in my subconscious since the incident with the Veritaserum and every time I would think it's gone, it would come back. Reminding me with each time it happened that time was moving faster and faster, as if it was the ticking of a clock, counting down the moment when something terrible was about to happen.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock..._

"Alright, fine. Will you give us your prefect schedule?" I furrowed my eyebrows towards my brother, not really understanding the necessity of my prefect schedule. Would he want to keep tabs on me? Watch me with Malfoy? Try to make sure he was where I would not be? "We'll start to schedule the meetings on her hours – then she can keep people away from where we meet."

"Don't tell me where it is," I said quickly, holding up my hands to stop him. "I don't want to know in case Umbridge asks and I'm _forced_ to answer. What area of the castle is it?"

"Top floors," he said carefully, clearly wondering how much information was too much information for someone who could possibly spill his secret at any time. "Will you be able to keep Malfoy in check?"

"Oh no," I frowned, lolling my head back on my shoulders as I realized what he was pretty much telling me to do. I let out a long whine. "You're asking me to actually patrol _with _him?"

"Or at least keep him out of our way," Harry continued seriously. He smiled slightly at me, still not happy thanks to being banned from Quidditch, but obviously pleased to see that the rumours were false and I still was not happy to be spending any form of 'quality time' with his nemesis. "It'd help a lot, we've had to dodge a lot of bullets."

"Bullets?" The twins asked at the same time. Harry and I rolled our eyes, waving the question away. Now was not the time to explain Muggle metaphors with Wizarding ones.

"Fine. I'll go talk to the git now, he owes me anyway." I mumbled, taking the hat, gloves, and scarf I had taken off and shoving them into the pocket of my winter jacket.

"Why does he owe you?" Fred asked immediately, almost defensively. I smirked at him.

"For not killing him already."

The boys let me leave without as much complaint as I think they normally would have. Maybe it was because they now knew I was spying, or maybe it was because they knew I was helping them and their DA – whatever that stood for – but it was nice that they trusted me to walk on my own.

It was a quick walk from the Transfiguration classroom to the third floor, down to the side of the castle I was so used to spending my time in: the hospital wing. I was surprised that there were no warring Quidditch team members trying to fight out their frustrations in the corridor. I was even more surprised when I entered the infirmary and saw that Malfoy was alone.

I walked up to his bed, entirely ready to let out a peel of laughter at the sight of the shame that I just knew would coat his features – but the laugh died at my throat when I looked down at him.

Malfoy's face was all shades of white, purple, blue and red. Blood had been cleared off his face, but still smudged it and stained his skin, his bright blonde hairline was trickled with scarlet, and one of the boys had gotten in such a good hit to his eye that there was blood in it.

"I never knew those boys could throw punches," I said carefully, making it to his bedside and trying not to wince at his appearance. It was hideous, what they had done. It completely disfigured and changed everything about him –he did not look like a Malfoy now, now he just looked like anyone else who had been beaten up when he'd talked badly about someone bigger.

Perhaps this would be a good lesson.

"Savages often can," he mumbled. Alright, perhaps he didn't _learn _the good lesson there. Still, I couldn't help but wincing at the sound of his voice – he even _sounded _in pain.

"So, what's the damage?"

"Why are you here?" He sighed, not even caring enough to be suspicious. "Plan to lecture me? Because I'm _really _not in the mood."

"Maybe after then," I said simply, sitting in the chair beside his bed. Instead of lecturing, which I surprisingly didn't feel an urge to do, I repeated my question. "What's the damage?"

"Broken nose, fractured cheek bone," he shrugged. "I've had worse."

I felt sick when I imagined who by.

"So," I said slowly, watching him as his eyes had trouble focusing on me. Apparently he had forgotten to leave out that he had a concussion – but maybe that was to be assumed. "My mother stinks, does she?"

He sneered, at first I thought it was from pain but when he looked away I took to guessing that it was probably out of some kind of misplaced guilt. "There's no way you heard that from the stands – so you went to see your precious Weasley twins, did you?"

"I'm doing damage control for everyone, nowadays," I said conversationally. "I'm very important, you see."

"Oh yeah? What's their damage?"

"Besides George's split lip?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, pushing back the taunts I felt entitled to considering he had not gotten any good hits in to the other boys. "Harry and _both _of the twins are banned from Quidditch. For life."

"Well then," he let out a sarcastic, humourless laugh. "As helpful as that is, it wasn't what I'd wanted."

"Yes it was, it's exactly what you wanted." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him and looking out the window at the overcastted sky. "Malfoy, you know – sometimes you deserve what you get."

"Do I?" He repeated, his voice lowering into a growl. I met his eyes, just as bitterly.

"Yes, you do. You're arrogant and greedy and you enjoy bringing people down to your level – one day you have to learn that not everyone can stretch that far without breaking." He raised an eyebrow, but seemed to decide that he didn't want to look at me anymore.

"So do I deserve this?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. And I didn't – what I was seeing was worse than I would have imagined and as I had said to Fred, the insult had not been nearly as bad as other things he had hissed to us before. He hadn't even called my mum a mudblood, or their mum a traitor – Fred would have mentioned if he had. So what made this time the time that they all broke? The song? Or the strain from everything else?

Because if Harry and the twins were taking out their frustrations of Umbridge out on Malfoy for calling someone _stinky_...I don't think he deserved this at all.

"Yes, you've been saying a lot of that: I don't know," he repeated, doing a terrible imitation of myself with his most pronounced sneer. "You know, you still haven't said that you _don't _fancy me."

"I also haven't said that I do," I fired back immediately, thankful that I hadn't hesitated. Still, there was no answer to be had to that – what would he have said? Argued the facts? I was on Veritaserum, there was no arguing anything I said the last night we had really spoken. "We're going to have to talk about this, aren't we?"

"I'm alright with avoiding it for longer," he said simply. "Though doing rounds alone is a bore."

"Arguing is better?" I asked him with a doubtful eyebrow raised.

"Surprisingly," he muttered bitterly. "Not that it's saying much for you, considering we argue about different things that annoy me; those few things more annoying than even your uptight habits or fondness for trouble."

"You're too kind," I spat sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"I'll be missing patrol tonight," he informed me factually.

"I'll talk to Snape, I'm sure he can have you replaced in the rotation," I said simply.

"Good."

_Good. _It was mad just how much one word could remind me of so many things..._good. _That's what he had said to me when I couldn't say whether or not I fancied him. That's what he had said when I couldn't deny that I didn't know whether or not I did. That's what he said it was that I had not said no...that it was _good _that I didn't know. That was what he said right before he kissed my temple...that it wasn't a no – that I may, somehow, find a reason to fancy him.

"Why are you still here?"

His voice startled me out of my own reverie. I had been tugging my hand through my hair but seemed to have conveniently stopped around the temple that he had kissed – I continued to tug my hand through my hair, not caring about the knots I snagged, before placing my hands firmly in my lap.

"I'm here because you're still awake," I answered simply.

"I fail to see the point."

"Well," I sighed, getting more comfortable in my seat and taking out the hat, gloves, and scarf that were in my pocket and digging into my side. "Once upon a time there was a girl who had a migraine. Then one day this absolute prat-"

"I'm ill," he interrupted me with a roll of his eyes. "Could you please tell a better story, or one that does not involve your girlish fantasies about me?"

"This absolute _prat_," I continued pointedly. "Took the girl to the hospital wing and stayed with her until she fell asleep..." I thought back to the day, back to the migraine and the hazy mind – the drowsy thoughts and conversation and I felt my cheeks go red. "And then tucked her in. And, I suspect, went to Snape and asked to take a double round that so she could stay in bed."

He looked at me for a long moment, nothing registering on his features as we watched each other. His eyes – though one was thick with red – were steely and guarded. There was something about that story he didn't like me telling and I couldn't tell if it was because I had gotten it right, or because I had interpreted it the wrong way...perhaps it was both.

Still, he watched me closely, gauging my reaction, before turning his head to look up at the ceiling.

"Your stories are appalling."

At least with the realization that Malfoy had been somewhat caring to me in a time of need, I was still able to revel in the familiarity that was his disrespect.

But it was too late, because my mind was spinning; remembering back to when he saved me on the train, back to when he sat with me for all those dinners, back to when he had taken those patrols, back to when he had joined me for the patrols and when he had stolen me the homework to help me, back to when he had tucked me in and kissed my forehead and saved me while drunk and asked me if I fancied him...

Either Malfoy had a anti-hero complex of wanting to be the dragon _and _the knight in shining armour...or Malfoy may actually like the idea of a girl with just as much bite as he had.

Maybe both.

"When you said that you _could _like me, Malfoy," I asked slowly. "Did that really mean that you do?"

"Why would I like you?" He asked me emotionlessly. "You're a redheaded menace, who causes me more grief than anyone else in the entirety of the house. You constantly challenge me, you constantly get me into dangerous situations..."

But still, his voice was not malicious. And he had not answered.

"And then there's that other moment," I said slowly, repeating his words. "That lasts longer."

He blinked, but did not look back at me. "Yes, there is."

"And in that moment, do you fancy me?"

"Why are you asking?" He snapped, turning his head again so he could look at me and wincing when some of his bruising touched the pillow. "What plan are you trying to work on now? Try to manipulate me like you're doing Umbridge?"

I raised my eyebrows. Maybe my plan wasn't as sly as I had thought. "And who said I was manipulating anyone?"

"You can't lie to me," he sneered contemptuously, looking back at the ceiling. "I see right through you."

"Fine," I huffed, crossing my arms moodily. "But I'm not doing it for what you probably think...even if I've had to lie to some others and say differently. I'm doing it for me."

"Why?" He asked again, trying to sound disinterested.

"Because I had a vision of what happens if I don't," I said bluntly. This time he did not hesitate to look at me, raising an eyebrow–or attempting to, anyway. "Listen, Malfoy, I can't fancy you. So, what's say we go back the past few weeks...forget the firewhiskey, forget the Veritaserum and pretend this never happened? I appreciated your company on patrols, when you aren't being a complete prat – which isn't often, but...there's that moment. And in that moment, it was nice to have a confidant who didn't...er..."

Judge me. Or hate me. Or use me. Or ignore me.

"You want to forget that I told you I may or may not fancy you?" He asked in a sarcastic deadpan. "At the same time, you want me to forget that you don't know whether or not you fancy me – though you apparently _can't _which seems to be an entirely different problem that means you still might anyway?"

I glared lightly. "Pretty much."

"I fail to see how that benefits me," he glared in the same way.

"I have an insurance policy for you," I countered, leaning forward with a bit of a smirk. "The bargain is that you will get to be forgiven – by me, considering I'm the only one who can offer this – for everything you've done; everything from first year to now. And you can start with a clean slate. We can be patrol buddies."

"_Buddies? _A clean slate?" He repeated shaking his head bitterly. "I don't need a clean slate, particularly with you or anyone else you deem _appropriate_."

"You don't?" I asked doubtfully and in the most condescending way I could. "You just got my twin brother and my two best friends banned from a sport that they love. I can give them the password to our prefect bathrooms, to our common room, tell them which bed is yours – your choice."

He contemplated it.

"So my safety in return for your...what?"

That was a very good question.

"For you leaving this whole _fancying _each other thing alone. I just want it to go away."

"So, safety for ignorance?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I gave him a glare and showed off my favourite fingers . "And how do I know you'll keep your end?"

"Because I'm already protecting my brother so he won't go against me, and you can start up your bit whenever you technically want," I sneered with a glower. "Try to make up your mind quickly, won't you?"

My face burned as I repeated his words, particularly when I saw a smirk stretch across his bruised and twisted face. "Are you sure you want to forget about that? You seem to think about it quite often. Perhaps you should share your thoughts with your _patrol buddy_."

"Not a chance," I sneered. "So, do we have an understanding?"

Malfoy took the time to watch me carefully, taking his time to look over every possible scenario in his mind's eye – and in mine, apparently as he wouldn't look away from them. After a long moment filled with shallow breaths and dry, unblinking eyes...he nodded his head.

"Well then," I breathed, holding my hand out for him to shake. He furrowed his eyebrows. "It's for your clean slate."

Slowly – and very carefully, considering how sore he was – Malfoy reached out and grabbed my hand. I could tell my face flushed simply by the contact. I could feel the heat radiating from my neck to my ears and the coolness of his hand soothed the difference, but did not fix the problem. No, they _were _the problem.

"The name's Audrey Potter, sister of Harry Potter – your enemy and all that, I'm sure you've heard." I said with a smirk. "Nice to meet you."

He smirked, shaking my hand again. "Draco Malfoy, the man all women fancy."

"Hey," I warned, my face going even darker red. He just smirked more and shut his mouth. "Nice to meet you, Malfoy."

"Call me Draco," he added slyly.

"Yeah," I snorted sarcastically, raising a taunting eyebrow at him while I watched as his face moulded from a frown into a tight smirk that bordered a grin...it almost looked like he would smile. I waited, waited to see whether or not he would give into himself and smile.

I was disappointed when he looked down to our hands, still clasped together in a firm handshake and lost all traces that he may have opened up to me. Still, I was distracted while his cool fingers pressed further into my skin, squeezing my hand slightly before his eyes flashed up to mine again. I swallowed thickly before I flashed him a smirk of my own.

"We're not that close, _buddy._"

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><p><strong>So kinda cute, right? Neither of them have DENIED that they have feelings for each other, they've just decided that they aren't going to act on them...yet<strong>

_RemyLupin_**: Ha, I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the review!**

_Laurafxox_**: They did kind of admit they liked each other, it's true - but now they're trying to be stubborn. Still, at least they're talking again - plus we got to see that she felt bad for him when he got beat up...and then gave him a clean slate. Silly Audrey, she can't escape this! I won't let her...and as the author of this particular Harry Potter scenario - my word is law! Haha. Seriously though. The countdown to the kiss is on. I know exactly how many chapters...**

_slytheringirl4life_**: I'm glad you like how I'm portraying the characters, thanks for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I know, the forehead! Still, feel happy because when I first wrote the chapter, that wasn't in there at all - it was just a tease on his part before he pulled away. I decided to be nice. Hopefully this wasn't that bad of a chapter. Definitely not my best, but hopefully it was a good filler for the excitement that will be next chapter!**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: JKR has competition? I don't think so, but you made me feel some intense pride when I read it - thank you! I tried to make it clear that Draco been thinking about talking to Audrey for a while, or else he wouldn't have talked to Daphne about it - firewhiskey or not. It's inevitable that they'll ACTUALLY admit they like each other, but these hard heads would never go about it easily. Sometimes I wish I would just make them. Then I remember all I have planned and think "nah, it works" and keep making their lives difficult. I'm so glad that you understood the idea of the adrenaline and that I made that realistic - I'm so glad you thought that was one of my best. I was pretty fond of it and fairly proud - I still am shocked at all the response I got for it though, it was so touching. And April 18th isn't as far away as you think - or that's what my little cousin keeps telling me, since her birthday is April 12th. As for the Harry looking cruel thing - this is only because it's from Audrey's POV and SHE finds him cruel, still in a few chapters they will be having a heart to heart about it and it will all be explained :)**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Yes, Cary Elwes is amazing in those. Even in Ella Enchanted...though I think it's kind of obvious that I have a thing for charismatic men or bad boys. It's a problem. The Veritaserum is definitely a ying-yang of good and bad considering she had her control taken away but it definitely sped things along. Montague is SUCH a creep, Harry really DOES hate Slytherins - as he did in the books - and Draco didn't punch Harry's lights out. But Harry punched out his. Don't worry...Draco will get him back...if he ever starts dating his sister ;)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I couldn't let you wait long! Montague will get what's coming to him. I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, thank you for reviewing :)**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, here's another one for you!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: It WAS so fluffy! I loved it. I even reread the last Draco part when I had a bad day on Thursday. It's pathetic, but true. I'm SUCH a girl. And I already had the twins planned out for this chapter - coincidence? Actually yes. Did I disappoint?**

_Princess-Dixon_**: It DID happen! I'm glad you didn't actually overdose on cuteness, but that it was close is sweet. Montague and Umbridge are terrifying, but I can't get enough of writing about them. And Harry and Draco will have their flip-out, but it will be much later considering everyone's trying to downgrade the whole Dreaco idea. As for the advice on the chapters, don't worry about it! You can come to me with any questions. I'm no professional or anything, but people tend to come to me because I make things relatable. I thought about being a teacher once...and then realized I'd have to do early mornings. Then the thought was gone...**

_guest21_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Here's another one for you :)**

_Ella710_**: I don't think we'll ever be at a loss for Audrey telling Harry off when he does something wrong, but it was really important to see the rift starting between them this year. That will come into play later - and for him to say that Slytherins were HER kind? That's going to come back too.  
>The Veritaserum came out soon, but not too soon. It was October and she starts using it around Christmas on children, according to what I've read. And this WAS Harry Potter's sister she was interrogating - that seems like someone to bends the rules for. As for what happens to Marietta - we'll find that out later. You have to remember that Marietta and Audrey have a history, so if Marietta decides to tell Audrey will not be happy...<br>Draco was drunk because they're fifteen year olds. I didn't start drinking until I was a little older than that, but most of my friends were and when I went to England, it was not rare to see kids having some alcohol with meals. If it's that easily accessible, I'd probably be drinking at that age too. And these are the "bad boys"...who made good decisions going to save Audrey. YAY! And don't mind caps, clearly I do them often.  
>Sirius and Audrey will fix it all up. But I cannot say whether I'll change his fate. I only get one or two people and it would have to be realistic...but then again, Audrey did get a bad feeling looking at the veil in her vision, so...<br>I'm glad you liked it. At first I was worried that people wouldn't like the beginning because I was having some trouble with making the Umbridge interrogation flow nicely, but I guess the Draco part made up for it? Either way, I was pleased with it, but I didn't think the writing was particularly good or anything. Still - I've kept people waiting so long that any interaction is probably exciting, haha.  
>And don't worry about rambling, I always appreciate your reviews. They never disappoint.<br>Oh, and PS...you're going to LOVE the next chapter!**

_A BlueHeartAttack77_**: I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Audrey and Harry will make it right, they always do. But fifth year has got to be difficult with one being a "fugitive" and the other being a "spy" that's supposed to be out to get the other. Poor Potters.**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully this one was a good read as well :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Hopefully you liked this one as well, thank you :)**

_Miriam_**: Hopefully it was a good birthday for you! It's not really a start of a romance, but it's a start of a companionship - and for these stubborn asses, it's the best I can give you...for a few chapters, anyway ;)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Umbridge is definitely going to cause drama, but I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully this one was enjoyable as well. Thanks, as always, for your review!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Audrey's a pretty sly cat. And yes, Audrey and Draco can be pretty cute. The REAL kiss will be better. It sucks that you can relate to Audrey's situation, but I'm glad that you think it's realistic - thanks!**

_LuckySock_**: I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the review :)**

_Ereglina_**: Here you go, another chapter!**

_sara253xxx_**: Yes, last chapter was definitely jam packed with drama! Yes, Malfoy really was drunk - he had talked to her earlier in the chapter about wanting to drink and their whole group seems to know about it, don't they? Hopefully you liked this chapter!**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Oh yeah. Malfoy would win a fight against Montague in any way. Or at least, in my story he will! Hope you liked the chapter.**

_Quee15th_**: Yes, I definitely try to keep the story as realistic as possible and realistically, no Slytherin would have been drugged unless they were allied with the Chosen One. Hopefully you liked this chapter.**

_Cluricaun_**: I'm glad you liked it, here's the newest chapter!**

_SchadenFreude95_**: I'm sorry, I never knew it was your birthday! I've been updating on people's birthdays whenever they leave it in a review, but happy belated birthday! It's true, in retrospect not much happened in the last chapter she pretty much went to Hogsmeade, went to detention and went to Snape's office - but all the time in between was drama. I'm glad you liked that chapter, hopefully this one was a good one too, even though it wasn't as exciting.**

_Sherry_**: I'm sorry that you don't think their romance is moving fast enough. I have three years to cover in the story and it wouldn't have been as interesting for my imagining of the plot (and Audrey's character) if they just got together without complaint. I did put in the summary that it would be an eventual Draco/OC romance and to be honest, I never expected to get so detailed in the story and detail requires more chapters. I'm sorry if it's not moving at your pace, but I don't want to risk the plot for a romance that will still happen in the time I've planned out.**

_Guest_**: Thank you so much! I try very hard to keep people in character and took a very long time pre-planning Audrey's life, past, and character. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thank you for the review :)**

_Candace_**: I also don't like when women are victimized, but I try to keep this as realistic as possible and it does happen. That does not mean that I plan to have Montague rape her, to be clear, but having it threatened is realistic and has not only happened to me, but to many of my friends. Audrey, also, is very stubborn and thinks that she can handle it on her own. To make it realistic her friends now know and she doesn't trust Dumbledore, but since I can tell you're upset by it, I will tell you that Snape will know about it as well...but that will be in later chapters. Hopefully you still like the story, and thank you for your thoughts.**

_BANEHiwatari_**: I'm so glad that you like it and REALLY glad you don't think it's cliché! I'm glad you like all the characters - hopefully you still like them after this chapter, too!**

_LaKeGiRl15_**: Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully you liked this chapter as well :)**

_booklover526_**: And I love you too! Haha, was that a fast enough update? Hope you liked it.**

_Puckabrina dreamer_**: It's okay, I'm a girl too and even when I reread it, I squeal girlishly :P**

_Guest (Birthday Guest)_**: Happy Birthday and thank you very much! I kind of wish that I was more like Audrey, too - but she has a lot of negative perceptions that wouldn't work well with my real life attitude. I update as often as I can, at least once a week save the small break between each Harry Potter book where I get a few chapters ahead. I have thought about writing years 1-3, but I would be doing that after this has finished. Because I have missed out on those years and there are important things that people should know that happened during them, I've written something called "Audrey Potter's Prelude" which gives chapters from the earlier books that I missed. I may write the earlier books when I'm done with this. Ha, thanks for the kudos. I appreciate it. I've been writing for forever but it was only recently I actually decided to take it seriously and now I'm even doing it for my own stories that I plan to send to publishers - so hopefully that creativity holds true! Thank you!**

_Ello Mate_**: Thanks a lot! Hope you liked the chapter.**

_moani-sama_**: Thank you very much - drunk Malfoy and Veritaserum-ed Audrey are definitely interesting characters. Little do you know what's coming up soon...**

_Novella Vialli_**: I can't permanently keep her on Veritaserum while Draco's around, but how about I throw in a lot of sexual tension and fluff?**

_emerly_**: Here's the next chapter, hopefully you liked it even though there wasn't any Veritaserum or kisses. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Yes, though he tried to play it off as a hypothetical - he definitely likes her. And she's not so sure that she doesn't like him anymore...so it's happening! Technically she did neither about thinking he was insincere or think he was playing a game - instead she panicked and thought about all the negatives. Don't worry - the confusion will start in about...next chapter ;)**

_AdelphiBahana_**: Yes, those two are so sexually frustrating it's wrong - just like Tracey Davis said "****There's so much sexual tension between the two of you that even **_**I **_**think about shagging one of you. It's that palpable". I'm glad you liked it though!**

_Strazza_**: Yes, but don't worry - this is not the last time we will see Draco Malfoy drunk. Or Audrey inebriated in some way. And it definitely helped her sort out her feelings - much like when she saw Draco in the hospital bed and realized everything he's done for her. Still, they were pretty cute last chapter, hopefully they were kind of cute this time. Thanks for the review!**

_Ana-Comic Fan_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you've liked the story and thank you for reviewing it. Draco hasn't kissed her yet - but they'll have to soon! You can't fight that kind of attraction forever.**

_ReddyHeady_**: I'm glad that you liked it so much, it was a very fun chapter to write and you will be seeing many more like it! It is taking a while, even longer than I thought, but I hadn't expected to get so into it and so detailed. Hopefully you liked this chapter as much and thank you so much for reviewing!**

_bubblegum_**: I love the name Draco. I would call one of my future children Draco if it weren't so obviously fangirl-y. I know a Dragon, he's Ukrainian. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hope this one enjoyable as well!**

_EveryNewDay_**: I did think Audrey through very, very carefully before I began writing, I'm glad to know it was worth the effort. If you see any similarities between your friends situation and Audrey's situation, I highly encourage you to tell her to give him a chance. And don't worry, you can only fight attraction like Audrey and Draco feel for so long! Thanks for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Wow guys, I have never gotten so many reviews. Ever. More reviews like this and I'll have to start updating twice, maybe three times a week! Hm, I wonder what will happen when they really do kiss? <strong>

**So I have to know, what do you think will happen? Do you think they'll be able to stay friends, or will something go wrong? Do you think that Draco will just kiss her anyway? When do you think it will happen? Do you think anything will stir it? I'd love to hear your thoughts with more fantastic ****REVIEWS****!**

**-Egypt**


	43. Perception

**Alright guys, definitely not my best work on a chapter but I'm literally leaving on a last-minute vacation in an five minutes from when I post this so I had to get something out for you. I will be gone for a week, but I'll have chapters out when I get back, promise! ****Happy Birthday**** goes out to **_Carojoy4210_**! This has not been edited, so I'm really sorry if you catch a lot of mistakes. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 42 – Perception<p>

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><p>"Bloody hell," I cried, collapsing noisily onto my bed and throwing my rucksack to the side. I could not bring myself to care that I had just dislodged my kneazle from her spot near my feet, or that throwing my rucksack had consequently made me hear something snap as it was crushed by a textbook. None of that was as important as my whining – I was certain of it. "Those were excruciating!"<p>

"And those are nothing in comparison to the real OWLs," Lillian groaned, falling backward onto her own bed, letting out a frustrated growl as she tugged at her pale hair. I sympathized.

We had just come back from our third round of December precursors for our upcoming OWL testing. I had not realized that this week would be as difficult as it was, and since this was a mock-testing to show us what was expected for our OWLs coming up in the spring I had – of course – not studied past skimming stolen notes. I had not even cared that each fake midterm exam, which ran two a day for the week, would take up all my time – even though this didn't count towards our final grade.

But I had just _failed_ fake-Transfiguration.

Which meant I was going to _decimate _my real exam.

"At least we got the tough ones out of the way," Greengrass said enthusiastically. It just caused the other girls and I to pretend to cry from the frustration of it all. Who cared whether or not the rest were easy; those ones had been too difficult to comprehend and I had not even _cared _about those. The next 'easy' ones were classes I was actually interested in pursuing – which I would not be able to do if I could not get a proper OWL grade. "With Defence and History of Magic, Charms and Astronomy, Herbology and Transfiguration out of the way, it'll be a breeze. All we have to worry about are Potions, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures for the next two days...and those are easy."

Her reiteration was not comforting.

"I'm sitting beside you for them," Tracey sighed, flopping onto her own bed. I knew without looking her way that she was referring to me. "And I'm going to cheat off your paper – just so you're informed."

"Don't care," I mumbled honestly. And I didn't. It's not like if we were caught, people would think I was cheating off of her in those final subjects. At least those ones I would pass, without a doubt – it was whether I would get a high enough grade to continue taking them that made me want to panic. I had never been so concerned over grades before...so who cared if someone sneakily copied off me? I had graduating to worry about. "It's nice though, isn't it? Knowing that we don't have to do anything tonight. No rigorous study-grouping, no scrambling to learn; just making up dreams and figuring out ways for you all to copy off my paper. I think tonight I may rediscover the meaning of _sleep._"

Exhaustion waved over me even as I said it. Oh, sleep would be fantastic.

"Don't you have patrol?"

"Malfoy will take over," I said confidently, though I had yet to inform him of my decision. "He was going on about how these didn't bother him at all anyway. And he owes me for taking over during the surprise Quidditch practices Montague's been scheduling."

"Malfoy _might _take over," Tracey pointed out, her voice low. "You realize he only does you favours because it means spending more time with you? Taking an entire patrol over on his own would not count for points in this whole doing-favours-for-his-crush's-"

"Don't say it," I snapped. Tracey – already having seen the consequences of speaking about that-which-is-not-to-be-said – stopped midsentence. Apparently she did not want to risk me sprinkling anymore itching powder on her sheets again.

Malfoy and I had become particularly cordial over the past month, walking the corridors and complaining about everything that annoyed us each day at breakfast – and almost any other meal considering how often everything annoyed us. It had been comfortable, which is what I enjoyed most about it. And the time spent never held any conversation about anyone fancying anyone...other than maybe once when he had talked about his own reflection. Still, we were getting along and it was shocking the entirety of the house – particularly my ever-dramatic dorm mates who insisted that we were true loves.

Malfoy had even gone as far for letting me cheat off of his – already stolen – homework when he knew I wouldn't have time to finish or steal it myself. Then again, I hadn't been getting many detentions lately, no matter what I did wrong. I had a feeling that this was thanks to Umbridge's intimidation tactics, considering professors up until this year used to favour giving me punishments over other select troublemakers. But now under Umbridge's reign and spew of her Educational Decrees, the teachers were no longer in the power they were. Luckily, the toad figured they were using their old power to break Malfoy and I apart...which made the whole arrangement for bi-nightly patrols set in stone.

It let me realize that what I was doing – spying, lying, ignoring my friends and Harry, and even spending so much time with Malfoy – was all worth the trouble it caused. It wasn't pushing the boundaries I constantly worried about. And how could it be? I couldn't be doing anything wrong when it was getting me what I needed for situations with Slytherins and Umbridge all at once.

"Shouldn't have told her drunk," Greengrass muttered to herself again. It had been her mantra every time she saw me start to pull away at the mention of Malfoy and my...friendship.

"I wish _I _were drunk," I mumbled, throwing the pillow out from under my face. "I bet even that wouldn't feel as awful as knowing I'm going to fail transfiguration."

"Hey!" Lillian cried, though I couldn't see her from how I was laying, I could hear that she had sprung up in her bed. "We should get drunk!"

"No," I turned my head toward her, though did not move my body. "I was joking."

"Well I'm not," she said, watching as we all groaned and move so we could look at her properly. It was very clear that she wasn't joking at all – her expression was set and her eyes shining.

"I could get drunk," Tracey shrugged agreeably. "I could get piss drunk, even. Haven't since Hogsmeade and it'd be nice to unwind."

"No," I said again.

"I'd love to!" Greengrass smiled, moving to sit on her legs. "I know that the boys do, too. We could use the Transfiguration room!"

"Er – no we couldn't," I argued. "We'd get caught."

"We'll put silencing charms around the door and windows. Draco even said that there are certain spells you can use to warn you when people are coming," Greengrass shook her head, a smile spreading over her face. "No one will be using Transfiguration tomorrow now that the mock-OWL is finished."

"Except for the other years," I challeneged.

"Who cares either way?" Tracey spoke loudly, she seemed assured that this was somehow a _good _idea. "We'll clean up. No one will ever know."

"Come on, Audrey, you said it yourself: we can unwind and forget about everything else that makes us feel worse." Greengrass was trying to be encouraging – she was failing.

"That's not what I said," I stated with a roll to my eyes. "I don't even like firewhiskey."

"You've never _tried_ firewhiskey," Lillian argued. "Come on, Audrey. We can have a little party – the whole group of us. It will be nice: no classes, no rules, you and Malfoy can lead us in a chorus of complaining about other people!"

"You could trademark it as a new kind of Christmas carol," Tracey snorted.

"Malfoy and I will be doing nothing," I said instantly, finally sitting up. As soon as I was upright, Circe jumped over to me from her perch at the end of my bed to come and comfort me. Circe and I had gotten back into our regular companionship this year, now that I wasn't so swamped with detentions and being sneaky. Malfoy had even encouraged me to start bring her on patrols – but I think it was for the more selfish reason of her always knowing which way to go toward someone who was breaking the rules so that he could overreact and give them a week's worth of detention.

I really need to stop thinking about the time Malfoy and I spend together.

"Come on, Audrey, please?" Lillian tried to give me puppy-dog eyes.

"Not going to work," I snorted. "And my answer is still 'no'."

"I'll drink her share," Tracey waved off my dismissal with an excited smile. "C'mon, I can owl my cousin Henry and get him to bring us some."

"No, Draco can owl and have it shipped straight from Hogsmeade as soon as they get the letter – that's what he did last year," Daphne insisted. "Let's go ask him!"

"You're all too excited over this," I rolled my eyes, turning back to Circe. "Have a good time."

"You're welcome to join if you change your mind," Lillian assured. I frowned.

"Whatever you say, drunkards."

"It'll be fun," Daphne reminded. I glared at her openly. "You've never tried it."

"Draco will be there," Tracey winked. I rolled my eyes – these women were so predictable.

"Go about your night without me, ladies. I'll try to keep traffic from the Transfiguration corridor for you. Or at least get Malfoy to when he takes over my patrol." I glared back at her. She shrugged innocently before she climbed off of her bed.

"Aw," Lillian giggled. "You're so sweet!"

"Leave before she changes her mind!" Tracey ordered, shoving both Daphne and Lillian out the door. I stayed laying on my bed for a long time; so long that I dosed off. It would have been impossible not to, considering the stress and the hours we had taken trying not to study and at the same time talking each other through the notes we had taken off of the Ravenclaws and the few smarter Hufflepuffs. I pretty much fell straight into a wave of sleep and dreams that-

"_Audrey_!" Though it was whispered, it was so out of place in whatever dream I had been having that I jolted awake. When I realized that I was sleeping in my room and remembered that the drunkards probably were just looking for my company, I groaned.

"I'm not drinking with you, go away."

There were a few seconds of pause before I heard someone clear their throat.

"Normally I don't condone Slytherin bonding, but it looks like you could use it."

"Sirius?" I gasped, registering his voice almost immediately. I opened my eyes groggily, but still forced myself to jump over my bed toward the mirror. I was glad to see my godfather stood there, smiling broadly at me. He looked good, though his eyes weren't dancing as they normally did. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been checking in for the last two days, Audrey," he rolled his eyes. "You've been completely oblivious."

"Try exhausted," I corrected with a yawn, running my hand through my hair. "Sirius, I'm going to fail out of Hogwarts."

He laughed, taking far too much pleasure in my quite realistic complaints. "I doubt that."

"The professors don't," I frowned. "Can I get by only taking Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures? Are there careers that require only those three?"

"Not particularly good ones," he smirked. "What about Herbology?"

"I don't _raise _things," I scowled distastefully. "I like them pre-dried, butchered, diced, or cracked."

"Then I can't think of anything," except apparently how hilarious this all was, considering Sirius was close to laughter. He was really underestimating how dire this situation could be.

"Fantastic," I huffed. "Why are you here?"

"To talk to you about Harry," he responded, frowning immediately and crossing his arms over his chest. It appeared Sirius was here on business. "What's been happening with him?"

"Why don't you ask him?" I asked with a sneer. It would figure that I would finally get to talk to my godfather again and he doesn't actually want to ask how I'm doing at all.

"Our line was interrupted by Umbridge last time I tried and Harry's letters are being monitored...hasn't he told you any of this?"

"We're staying on a strictly professional, need-to-know basis," I informed with a wince, trying not to show him a feeling somewhere between guilt and embarrassment that flooded through me. "It has to do with this whole 'Umbridge' situation. It's impacting our twin-bonding time together."

"Audrey..."

"Harry reaps the benefits of it!" I countered. "So don't 'Audrey' me. I'm doing this for him, mostly."

"Mostly," he repeated doubtfully.

"Ninety percent of it," I countered. "He's been taking my hours and putting his little duelling club meetings when I'll be patrolling the corridors to keep him safe. I haven't had the Maurauders Map in _months, _Sirius. I'm flying completely blind!"

Sirius uncrossed his arms, looking more shocked than angry now. "So you're still not having visions?"

"No," I ran my hands over my face in frustration. "But the headaches I get from not being able to have them has luckily gotten me a 'study session' in Divination. I don't have to attend most of the classes anymore...which is great."

"The bunking class part, or the relief?"

"Both." I smirked, feeling quite proud of myself.

"Audrey," Sirius sighed, "we don't need you to spy for the Order. Not from Hogwarts – they're not going to have the kind of information there that we need. What _you_ need is to lay low and keep yourself safe."

"Sirius, I'm safest when I'm here," I said with certainty. "Being on Umbridge's good side has kept me more safe than you could think – nothing bad happens to me while I'm on her side. And while I'm here, I happen to be able to be doing a lot of good for some other people who need a little bit of help. It's really a win-win scenario."

"You shouldn't be the one doing it," he explained sourly.

"I'm the only one who can do it," I told him. "I'm a Slytherin. It's the only good I _can _do in this bloody castle."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I can't do anything else but be in her good graces _because_ I'm a Slytherin. It doesn't matter what I do, Umbridge _loves _me. Even though it's made it so no one else beside the Slytherins trust me, at least Umbridge does. And it's because Umbridge _only _trusts Slytherins." I was so confident in my words and in my state of mind that I was immediately shocked that he didn't just agree with me. I knew exactly what I was talking about – and what I was talking about was helping people. It wasn't like Sirius to argue past there, what with his Gryffindor nobility and all that nonsense.

"You can do so much good, Audrey, Slytherin or not. You already have."

"By what, telling you about my visions two months late?" I shook my head, feeling my stomach clench bitterly. "I mean I'm doing something _real_, Sirius. I'm making a difference for once and it's...surprisingly satisfying. I fear I may even start becoming sentimental."

"Lots of good have come from Slytherins, you know," he said slowly, looking at me meaningfully. Maybe he was testing that joke about sentimentality. "You know that just because you're put in that house doesn't mean you _have _to be bad."

"I've told you before, people expect bad of me because I'm a Slytherin – and I don't like letting down my reputation. Besides, I like being bad – it means that I don't always have to be good and risk my neck. I like my neck; it keeps my head on straight."

"There are hordes of witches and wizards who have done well, even while placed in Slytherin, Drea. Felix Summerbee, Artimisia Lufkin, Bowman Wright..."

"I don't know who any of those people are," I said honestly. It only drove my point even more why people wouldn't expect anything special from me. "I don't mind being a Slytherin – I know that the house is generally misunderstood, but you can't deny that it's by the masses. _Everyone _misunderstands what we represent."

"So are you trying to say that you're doing this to show them what a Slytherin _can _do?"

"No," I said immediately, shaking my head. "I'm doing this to show what _I _can do."

"Audrey," he sighed. "I'm going to be proud of you no matter what you do. I just sometimes wish you wouldn't do certain things...such as constantly putting yourself in danger for spiteful one-ups."

"Honestly, you can't just-"

But I was distracted as the mirror flashed uncharacteristically. Sirius seemed to see it too as his brow furrowed and he looked around the frame of what must have been his own mirror. He moved forward to examine it, but drew back with wide eyes. I almost asked him what the problem was – but stopped when the colours around me flashed halphazardly – it was a warning.

Something was wrong.

Quite suddenly, it was not only Sirius I was seeing in front of me. There was not a second when I didn't know who the person was – I saw the pink swaddled mess and the plump figure before Dolores Umbridge's profile even fully materialized. My heart began to race as I dove to the side – trying to get myself out of sight before she realized just who Sirius Black had been talking to within the walls of Hogwarts. With my foot I kicked the mirror up slightly so she wouldn't be able to see the floor or decorations of my dormitory – so long as she didn't know what house, she may assume it's Harry.

Still, I couldn't do anything more than hope that me diving out of the way and the flashing of the mirror's surface had been enough to warn Sirius to move out of the way as I had. Daring to peek, I could barely see the reflections in front of me – but Sirius was still present where Umbridge had appeared. He was standing his ground. He was being _brave._

How _stupid._

Quite quickly, Umbridge's fat and gaudy-ringed hand flew to the side and smashed the mirror – making the mirror crack into a spider web over Sirius' bellowing features that rained down shards that sliced through my trousers and deep into the skin of my leg. I let out a gasp and an instinctual cry – shoving my hand over my mouth as soon as it left me and keeping my leg stationary, even as I saw shards of glass peeking from the bloodied tissue.

I can't move, I can't move, Audrey – don't move, I tried to tell myself over and over. I was too afraid to look down at the larger pieces of mirror that hadn't lodged themselves in me to see if Sirius and Umbridge had gone or if there was still some kind of connection.

I tried moving my leg – letting out a distracted cry. Bloody hell, it was painful. I couldn't tell whether or not the shards had actually dug deeply into my calf, but I could tell that there were dozens of them in there. Moving forward once the pain began to burn a cold and numbing feeling, I could see that there was no one looking at me in the shards of the Slytherin mirror – no one except a very concerned Circe.

Umbridge had just seen Sirius Black. She had just seen Sirius Black while he was speaking to _me_.

What had I done?

After another minute or so for waiting for some sort of reaction – whether it be Umbridge storming into the room or Sirius screaming from the shattered mirror that I had dived away from – I was comforted that nothing else had happened. I moved slowly, picking up my bloody leg and wiping off the smaller pieces still lodged into my skin. There were still bigger ones, I could feel them, but I had done some good. For myself, at least.

The wooden frame of the mirror looked back at me tauntingly, all the glass had shattered upon her rings cracking into it and left it bare – I would have to fix it before the girls got back and asked questions. If I didn't, they may start asking questions that would only lead back to the fact that I had been in the dorm room on my own.

But how had Umbridge gotten into our mirror conversation? What had she seen or heard? How had she known that this was Sirius and my mode of communication?

I took one of the large pieces of the mirror, staring into it questioningly. It didn't show me anything that I had expected because all I could see were my own suspicious and terrified eyes. I aimed my glare towards another shard, a bigger piece that hadn't left the frame of the mirror – and was shocked. The piece in my left hand, that I had just observed myself through was projecting the image of myself to the second shard that was still attached to the frame. It was still an open communication on my end. But considering I didn't know how Umbridge had known it was accessible, I needed to get this thing hidden.

I quickly grabbed a few pieces of the shards, shoving them into my trunk between clothes before I got one of the old jumpers from Mrs Weasley and cleaned up all the extras – shoving those into there too. I'd take these back with me at Christmas and see what Sirius thought about this whole mess.

It wasn't until I was done that the adrenaline had started to pump out of my system and made me start to shake. I let out a dry sob of horror – dear Merlin, what had Umbridge _seen_?

I closed and locked my trunk for extra comfort, just to make sure that nothing in my trunk could be seen by the shards in case Umbridge decided to look through her own little gateway again. I got up, standing and noticing that the shallow cuts in my leg were still bleeding profusely and made it difficult to put weight on it. Circe, still on my bed, mewed at me when she noticed the same thing. I took her in my hands, suddenly feeling the urge to go see Fred and George – or at least someone who would make this situation feel less terrible than it really was. Fred and George seemed the best answer – plus they always had their Skiving Snackboxes on them, which included the cure for the Nosebleed Nougat, my favourite cure for when I hurt myself or had any kind of excessive bleeding.

I held Circe carefully to my chest as I walked down the halls. She was my own protection from my own shaking – I couldn't imagine how I must have looked as I limped through the walls of Hogwarts. I probably looked terrified...I certainly _felt _terrified.

What if Umbridge came around a corner right now to have me expelled and tried for treason against the Ministry?

Nothing would surprise me now.

"Boo," Well, nothing except someone sneaking up on me. I jumped a foot in the air at the sound. Before I even had a chance to look around and see who had surprised me, Circe began to hiss and wriggle in my arms. There, in an alcove as he always loved, the very amused gaze of Adam Montague looked back at me dangerously.

"What do you want?" I hissed, trying to sound stronger than I felt after my mirror-encounter.

"You look horrible," he said slowly. When I didn't answer he smirked. "Cat got your tongue?"

"No, but she may have yours in a minute," I hissed, taking a step back. "What do you want?"

"Just to check in on you," he responded much more innocently than I knew his intentions were. "I could tell from all the way down the corridor that you were distressed. Possibly even hurt."

"I'm fine, though feeling more than ready to start a fight," I warned him with a glare. I was wonderfully surprised by how easily it was to replace my fear with anger. "Get out of my way."

"No," he said simply.

"Get out of my way before I move you myself," I gritted through my clenched teeth.

"I wouldn't do that," he said carefully, his eyes flickering down. I don't know what had caused me to humour him and drop my eyes to follow his, but I was shocked to see that he was looking down to his wand, which was fiercely gripped and pointed at Circe's throat. Circe, looking up at me thanks to the positioning of his wand, growled angrily.

My eyes met his again. "You wouldn't."

"Are you sure?" He asked with a smile.

"I will kill you," I repeated, a sentence I have said to him time and time again.

"I don't doubt you'd try," he admitted, moving his wand and making Circe's growling stop. "Now I'm going to have you drop your cat and then I'm going to have you put your hands behind your back-"

"She's a kneazle," I argued.

"I don't really care," he rolled his eyes.

"And I'm not letting go of her," I continued.

"Then I'll kill her," he smiled darkly. My eyes widened carefully before I glared.

"That would be a terrible decision on your part."

"Why?" he asked, acting as if he were humouring me. I could feel Circe adjusting herself carefully in my arms, which made me adjust myself. I didn't have time to answer him before Circe took out a paw and clawed at Montague's hand. His wand clattered from his hand as she drew blood and clawed him again. When she was sure that he would not be able to attack, she jumped out of my arms to the ground – taking his wand in her teeth and running.

When would these arseholes learn not to mess with my kneazle?

I took my hand, pulsating energy still left over from my scare in the dorm rooms, and slapped him hard against his cheek. I smiled while I watched the effect of my slap conjure more blood and searing the indent of my hand into the side of his face.

Montague let out a scream that couldn't be rivaled as he clutched as his charred skin, bending over instinctively. I bent in front of him with a smile, placing my hands on the knees and ignoring the sting from my own torn skin.

"Seems like my cat missed your tongue, but got your wand instead," I sighed. "It will have to do."

I walked to the end of the corridor and took off at a run. Calling to Circe quietly, in case Montague happened to find the energy to follow me, I was happy to see her two corridors down. She was pleased with herself, I could tell because of her eyes and her swaying tail that brushed the snow on the ground by the open window she was stationed under. The wand was in her mouth and she did not move as I came toward her – she was thinking along the lines that I was. I smiled, taking her in my arms and cooing her for a moment before taking hold of his twisted, short wand.

"Let's see if he can find that as easily as he tends to find me, shall we?" I asked Circe rhetorically before I pulled my arm back and launched his wand out the window and into the snowy grounds. I could not see where it landed – which meant he wouldn't either.

I stood there for a minute, searching to make sure that he would not be able to find it until spring – before the shaking began again. I cursed myself quietly, looking down to my injured leg and clutching my kneazle tightly to my chest.

What else could go wrong today?

I followed my instincts toward the Transfiguration room, where I knew that everyone would already be congregated and having started to drink. I just needed to talk to Theodore – I needed to have him hold Circe and keep her safe while I went to get something for my leg, which was starting to throb considering all the blood was rushing there so that it could pool in my shoe.

I couldn't hear the party I had expected by the time I reached the classroom, but the door was closed so I knew they had to be there. I took a deep breath, readying myself for the onslaught of taunting and the smell of firewhiskey before I opened the door. There were a lot of yelps and gasps as I came into the room, but it turned into cheers as they realized who had interrupted their party.

"Audrey!"

"Drea!"

"Drunkdrey!"

"Come drink!"

These people were too easily satisfied.

It seemed that the general group of fifth year Slytherins were in this Transfiguration room. The boys had joined: Theodore, Blaise, and Malfoy – which naturally meant that Crabbe and Goyle were in on the fun. Tracey, Daphne, and Lillian were already here as well – and it appeared that they already had gotten their firewhiskey. They had already begun to unwind: Crabbe and Goyle seemed to have brought enough cakes for the group of them – though I'm sure they'd consume everything themselves – Blaise and Tracey were already snogging on the couch, and Greengrass was grouped with Lillian and Theodore; the exact man I came to see.

"What's wrong?"

Oh and Malfoy was here. He had come to greet me.

"Nothing," I said immediately. He gave me a frustrated and disbelieving look that I had come to see often since our 'clean slate' talk a month before. I shrugged defensively. "What?"

"I can always tell when you're lying."

"No you can't," I argued.

"Yes, I can," he said again. "Sit down."

That I didn't want to argue with. I went to one of the tables he had led me to and sat down gracelessly – I let myself fall down and hissed at the pressure it out on my leg. I didn't look at him, even as he pulled the bench from the desk in front of me over so that we could face one another. He looked at me very carefully, sizing me up quietly before he sighed, holding out his hands.

"Give me Circe."

"No," I said quickly, pulling Circe away from him. I didn't want to think about separating myself from her when Montague had just found out what my weakness was. I coudln't believe it had happend so easily! I'd been able to stay strong through his threatening of Malfoy and Theodore and myself, even when he had attacked Greengrass in the alcove – but now he knew just how attached I was with Circe. "She's staying with me."

"I'm not putting her outside," he rolled his eyes. "Give me the cat, Potter."

"She's a kneazle," I growled. "And you can't make me."

"And you can't stop shaking," he said in the same tone. I looked down to see that the adrenaline of the past hour had made my whole body tremble. I looked up, over his shoulder to see that the others were trying not to show that they were paying full attention to us, but everyone had quieted down to hear whatever it was we were saying. Malfoy looked at me very seriously. "The kneazle?"

I looked down at Circe, who was watching me carefully as if she knew what was being asked of her. Clenching my jaw, I gently held Circe away from me – watching like a hawk when Malfoy took hold of her. I would not put it past Malfoy to go and give it to Montague as some kind of repayment for something Malfoy had done to piss him off and that kneazle was not leaving this bloody room until the same moment I did. Still, even though I expected the worst I was not surprised when Circe accepted that she was being held by Malfoy – people weren't allowed to hold Circe. Harry rarely even took hold of my kneazle – but Circe had always had a comfort around Malfoy that unnerved me.

"Come here, you," he said awkwardly to Circe, standing up and taking her over to the other side of the room. I watched, complete panic probably written over my features and I knew I was still shaking while he placed her on top of McGonagall's desk – dear Merlin, we would have to clean this up well – and went over to Crabbe and Goyle. Words were exchanged, words that I couldn't hear from where I was, before he took hold of something they had on their table of snacks and put it in front of Circe. It was some sort of meat, from what I could tell.

No wonder she loved him. He'd probably spoil her rotten if I ever gave him the chance.

Which I wouldn't.

After he was sure that she started to eat from that table, he walked over to the other table and poured a glass of firewhiskey, walking over to me and pushing it into my hands. "Drink that."

"No," I said immediately, already recoiling from the sharp smell.

"Just do it," his voice was stern. "It will calm you down."

"Did you drug this?" I asked suspiciously, leaning forward to smell it again.

"I'm not Umbridge," he sneered, I looked up at him and snorted quietly. "Just drink it, before I get even more annoyed."

I frowned, unable to stop myself from pouting while I got the drink up to my mouth and took a small sip. It burnt all the way down my throat – firewhiskey was aptly named – and I was left shivering because my skin suddenly felt cold compared to my insides. I took a deep breath, the air feeling cold as well, and realized that the aftertaste wasn't too bad...like cinnamon and spices that I couldn't name. Mostly cinnamon. I took another sip, liking how after the second my lips started to feel warm as well. I continued, trying to take note that with each sip another body part warmed: my cheeks, my fingertips, my nose, my hands...

"Better," he said factually after I had taken a few more sips. I looked down, noticing that my hands, both gripping the goblet of firewhiskey, were no longer shaking.

"Like magic," I muttered softly, holding back a smile.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

"Not particularly," I said honestly.

"We're _friends_ now," he spit the word 'friends' with a strange mix between a joke and a grimace. "You may as well start telling me before I start assuming."

"I don't tell my friends everything."

"So I've noticed," he said sourly, with a glare. "Does it have anything to do with Umbridge?"

"No," I said with a scoff, rolling my eyes and taking another sip. I looked away in case Malfoy really _did _have a talent with knowing when I was and was not lying – because that was definitely not a lie I wanted to be caught in. My toes felt warm.

"With Wonderboy?"

"It doesn't have to do with Harry," I snorted, casting my eyes down as I felt an uncharacteristic giggle pushing itself up my throat. I drank it down with another sip, glad when it silenced and my lips felt warm.

"Montague, then?"

I ground my teeth together, feeling my hand tingle as if I had slapped him even more recently than I had.

Malfoy made a sound at the back of his throat, his eyes narrowing. "I see."

"I dealt with it," I assured him just as lowly. "I'm sure he's in the hospital wing already."

"Plotting his revenge, you mean?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not that it's worked yet," I smirked. "He can't touch me."

"He'll still try," he shook his head with a black scowl. "Greengrass owes you for getting you into this mess."

"That I do," she said suddenly, having moved a little closer to us. I didn't look at her with any emotion close to guilt, but she seemed to nod to me as if it had been me who asked her for some kind of favour. "We're going to go pick up the rest of the firewhiskey and I'm planning on sending Crabbe and Goyle out for more snacks..." she trailed off and we all looked over to see that the table had been completely wiped out of treats. Disgusting. "Will you two be all right here?"

"They'll be fine," Lillian giggled, tugging on Daphne's arm. "Let's go...fast."

"We'll take our time," Tracey wiggled her eyebrows quite a few times. "Just in case you were worried when we don't show up soon, or anything."

"So subtle," I said sarcastically, narrowing my eyes on the three girls who made sure to giggle before all but running from the classroom. The boys, looking confused, followed them – Blaise throwing a wink to Malfoy before he did. I turned a suspicious glare onto him. "Did you plan this?"

"I didn't know you'd be arriving," he responded silkily.

"Doesn't mean you couldn't have planned it in case I did," I countered.

"Greengrass did," he said simply, not feeling the need to deny it. "And stop being so suspicious. I haven't plotted anything of the sort...not that you can remember thanks to our 'clean slate', anyway."

"Will you stop talking about it like that?" I mumbled, taking another sip of firewhiskey. "You agreed to go in on the clean slate thing – so stop making this new slate remind me how much of an arse you can be."

And he had been doing that quite often. Malfoy, it appeared, didn't like the idea of a 'clean slate'. Instead, he wanted to be known or everything that had happened in the past and just wanted me to accept it...and, not so subtly, he'd been saying he wanted to know if I would fancy him anyway.

Which I obviously wouldn't. Ever.

"I just don't want you thinking I'm something that I'm not," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Such as you being nice?"

"Exactly," he smirked. "Just remember I'm not nice."

"Considering we insult people for the majority of our time together, I don't think you're at risk of being labelled the 'nice guy'," I snorted. "Don't worry. I'm a grade-O bitch."

He shrugged. "Makes you less like Saint Potter."

I narrowed my eyes on him, looking watching him carefully. His cheeks were pink – he had already started drinking – and his eyes were slightly glazed. "I don't want to be like Harry."

"I don't want you to be like him either," he said immediately. "Can you imagine having more than one Chosen One walking around this castle? I'd choke on his self-satisfaction."

"You'd just hate having someone else to challenge you," I snorted, finishing the last sip of my firewhiskey. I looked at it again, deciding that even though the burn was uncomfortable, the taste was nice – and it was doing a good job with relaxing me. Without looking at Malfoy I moved toward the table with the firewhiskey, close to where Circe was still chewing away at the meat – which I now saw was some sort of a roast. Beside her was a clock which read that it was ten to nine – I had slept for two hours when I had dosed off...before Sirius had been smashed in front of my eyes.

"You're enough of a challenge, it's true," he admitted. I turned in my seat to see that he had walked up behind me, leaning close to reach for his own goblet of firewhiskey. I tried holding my breath for a minute, but he was drawing out the moment for so long that eventually I had to breathe. When I did, I could smell the firewhiskey on his breath. And when he was so close I could feel his body heat...risen compared to normal thanks to the drink.

"I'm just getting my firewhiskey," he said suddenly, a large smirk plastered on his face as he pulled back. "No need to panic."

"I'm not panicking." I answered, ignoring the fact that my voice was higher than normal by taking another sip of firewhiskey.

"You also weren't _breathing_," he smirked again. He was very pleased with himself. "You haven't had firewhiskey before, if I recall correctly."

"No, I haven't," I confirmed.

"Ah, you're in for a treat," he smirked. "I'd drink a little more slowly than you have been."

"I'm sure I can handle myself, thank you." Which may have been a lie. I was now toasty warm, which was a nice feeling but I couldn't help wondering if my face were as flushed as it felt – if I looked at all as dissheveled and warm as Malfoy in front of me did.

"You're so gaunt that you can't handle it well," he said simply. "A lower body mass means that it doesn't take as much to absorb, Potter. You should know potions well enough to understand that."

"I do, I just don't know if I really care what you think." I bit back, feeling immediately defensive. Instead of addressing it, I poured myself more firewhiskey. As I went to pour, I moved my leg in a way that made more blood pool in my shoe – I winced at the realization that it had not gotten better in the time I'd been here ignoring it.

"What's wrong?" He just has to notice everything, doesn't he?

"My leg," I shook my head. "I hurt it today."

"Let's see?" Drunken Malfoy apparently had no idea about personal boundaries because he was quick to pick up my pant leg and look at the wrecked skin there. His eyes widened right before they blazed. "Montague did that?"

"No," I would curse myself if I was blushing like I felt I was. "But it hurts like a hippogriff."

He didn't like my joke. Instead, he took out his wand.

Malfoy had to try whatever spell he was using three times, but eventually he made it so that the glass dislodged itself from my leg. Neither of us were very pleased by the dozens of shards that clattered to the wooden floor of the classroom. When he was done that I got to watch in fascination as he magically taped up the damage. When the job was done and he had inspected it, he sat back in his seat.

"I don't know how to stop the bleeding," he admitted with a frown.

"You knew more than I did," I admitted, grinning lightly. "Thank you."

He smirked at me, he must have liked me admitting that he could do something better than I could. Or maybe he liked that I was thanking him. Either way, he raised up his own goblet. " Cheers."

I clinked my glass with his, taking a sip of my own firewhiskey and trying not to cringe again at the burn, considering Malfoy didn't. Though I was able to avoid wincing at the fire going down my throat, I could not imagine taking as long of a sip as Malfoy did – he was showing off.

"You'll get drunk fast too, you know," I reminded him, upset that I couldn't come up with a good insult for how deep of a drink he had taken. My inability to come up with good insults seemed to be happening more and more considering how much time we were spending with one another.

"I'm fit," he raised a taunting eyebrow. "Don't you agree? It's the Quidditch."

"I'm sure," I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "What is so bloody great about that game, anyway? It's boring."

"You say it's boring, though you cheer every time someone gets hurt," he smirked. "I saw you at the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match on the first."

That was unfair. I had been _forced _to go to that match by Theodore because he wanted to 'see the other teams weaknesses' considering the Slytherin-Ravenclaw games were always scheduled for January. I'd gotten into it because I had wanted to see the Ravenclaw seeker get hit with a bludger and fall to her doom.

I'd at least seen her hit with a bludger.

"That's different," I argued. "Chang got hurt. I'm always happy when Chang gets hurt."

"So you don't hate Quidditch," he mused, tauntingly. "Because you like the violence. And you don't seem to actually mind the sport...does this go back to your flying incident in first year?"

"I don't like flying," I pouted. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"That's not a fair assessment," he said quickly with a snort. "You only tried once _four _years ago."

"I've tried since," I winced at the memory of our journey to Grimmauld place, but found myself furrowing my brow as I continued through the memory. "I wasn't actually that bad. And I didn't mind it...I just doubt that I'd be able to play a game and fly at the same time."

"You didn't mind it though?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "More than I expected."

"My thought exactly," I rolled my eyes. "It was admittedly liberating."

"I could teach you how to do it properly," it almost would have been kind were he not smirking obnoxiously. I knew there was some kind of catch. "I'd even let you ride my Nimbus 2001."

"Let me guess – ride it _with _you?" I bit out. His smirk widened.

Why couldn't he just leave comments like that alone?

I moved away out of the awkwardness that the silence after brought. I moved back back towards Circe – who had come to lay closer now that she was finished with her piece of meat. I looked down at her before taking another, larger, sip of the firewhiskey. Malfoy dogged my footsteps easily.

"You're not worried about the firewhiskey, then?" he asked unexpectedly. I frowned.

"Er – why should I be?"

"Because last time I had some, you didn't like the conversation."

"It didn't help that you took advantage of me while I was on Veritaserum," I glared. "Besides, I won't get as drunk as you were."

"Oh really?" he asked, clearly amused as his eyebrows raised. "Potter, do you even know what drunk feels like?"

I didn't answer, I didn't need to. Instead I moved away and went to sit down – but apparently he still felt the need to educate me.

"It feels like a head rush – your body's warmed, the world spins, and suddenly you're not afraid of the little things that always plague girlish little minds like yours-"

"Hey!"

"Then your lips and your fingers will tingle...hell, most people even become overly stimulated."

My whole body stiffened as I looked down at my drink. I already felt warm and flushed, I already felt like my lips and fingers had a slight tingling to them – but I certainly wasn't drunk. My thoughts were still my own and I had only had two glasses of the stuff – even I knew that it took more than that.

"I don't believe you," I hissed out. At that moment there was a strange, empty pang in my stomach – who knows what it was caused by. Worried that it may have been a sign of the alcohol, I decided not to mention it.

"You don't?" His smirk became dangerously smug. "Then drink up."

He raised his glass to clink it against mine again. I narrowed my eyes and touched my glass to his before pushing my glass to my lips and drinking the rest of it down.

* * *

><p>"We caught you!" The voice had surprised me but it hadn't made me jump. I turned my head to the side, enjoying the whooziness that came with the motion when I saw the group of people come back into the room. Tracey stomped her foot with a pout.<p>

"They're not even snogging!" She yelled out. All the girls pouted and let out loud sighs and whines. "Please tell me that the reason you aren't naked right now is because you have already shagged and are moving to drink more so you can do it again later?"

"We didn't shag," I growled out, my voice loud. "Didn't snog, either."

"But they did drink!" Lillian giggled. "I can hear that slur in your voice, Audrey."

"What slur?" I asked, my eyes widening in shock. I couldn't hear a slur. My eyes turned to the pink-faced and glassy-eyed Malfoy across from me. "Am I slurring?"

He smirked. And nodded.

Bastard.

Doesn't matter.

I am _not_ drunk.

"We left for an hour," Greengrass sighed, turning towards us as she stopped watching Theodore try to sound-proof the room and keep the door locked. "And they haven't even done anything. Now that I've lost my buzz, can we get on with this party?"

"Let's play a drinking game," Lillian giggled. "Never-Have-I-Ever!"

"No!" It chorused throughout everyone except for Crabbe and Goyle, who were too busy to think of drinking while they shoved their new armfuls of food into their faces.

"You _always _want to play that," Blaise complained. "Besides, we know Potter will win. She hasn't done anything."

"If you're talking about having sex, sure," Lillian countered knowledgeably. "But she has still done more adventurous things than any of us have thought of."

"But Never-Have-I-Ever _always_ turns into a sexual game," Tracey waved off. "I agree. No games."

"You just want me to chug alcohol?" Lillian pouted. "But I hate doing that!"

"Suck it up, princess," Blaise pushed a goblet full of firewhiskey under her nose. "You got your way last time. And unless you have any other games, I don't think we're in the mood to play."

"Audrey's never played a drinking game!" Lillian argued. "She has to experience this first-hand."

"Audrey's not in the mood to play a drinking game," I interrupted. "Just in case anyone was wondering, instead of making up her mind for her. Audrey just wants to sit and unwind."

I didn't really feel the need to say that enough had happened to me today that I didn't want to play some trivial game like that – even though it was probably exactly what I needed. After having to worry about whether or not I would fail out of Hogwarts, then whether or not Umbridge had caught on to the fact that Sirius Black occasionally shows up in my dormitory mirror, then to the idea that Montague had threaten Circe's life, then spending an hour with Malfoy and his innuendos – I had enough to think about, not including how drunk I would get. Have gotten.

"Alright, but we do all have to sit together and talk, Audrey," Tracey said seriously. "It's what a party is."

"That or you shag someone," Blaise lifted up his eyebrows tauntingly. "That's what a _real _party is."

"Sitting and talking it is," I said lowly, giving him a glare before I used my newly healing leg to help pull over some benches so we could all sit together. I ignored the hollow pain in my stomach and the swirl of my head – the firewhiskey was a little more potent than I thought, I guess.

I don't really know what I expected of a party where I got to drink with the Slytherins – but it was not this. I had not expected such easy conversation. Sure, it was filled with insults and bickering, making fun of other people who were not here to defend themselves, and complaining about the entirety of how the school was run – but it was all innocent enough conversation.

For once, there was no talk of Death Eaters or Voldemort, there was no talk of Umbridge and how she was taking control for the Ministry, there was no talk of how we weren't doing enough of our part...it was, strangely, completely carefree. It was so ironic that the people I'd had to manipulate and pretend to be part of were the people without the cares that I had to worry about each day. Maybe instead of pretending to be more like them, I should take a leaf from their books.

They complained about things like normal people did: Theodore complained about his father, Blaise complained about his mother and her reputation as a husband-slayer, Daphne complained about her little sisters promiscuity, Lillian complained about wanting to get out of her arranged marriage set for her eighteenth birthday, Crabbe and Goyle complained about their lack of food, Tracey complained about her halfblood status, Malfoy complained about his own father, and we all complained about Harry.

It was like a party for the misunderstood – somewhere I really belonged. We were misinterpreted because of what we did, how we dressed, and what we were known for – but with what everyone was talking about, it made me wonder just how genuine we were to each other when we walked down the halls.

Tonight we weren't in a war or picking sides: tonight we were just teenagers having fun. And I couldn't honestly say the last time I had just been a teenager having fun. Had it been with the Weasley twins, cleaning out the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix? Had it been before the Third Task?

I couldn't remember.

But it was so strange, seeing these people...for them.

Not as their parents.

I think we always kind of saw each other as our parents – that's why we call each other by our surnames, isn't it? So that we can categorize who we are related to and what those people had achieved...or not achieved.

It was almost bizarre seeing this side of them. A normal, teenage side of them that they hated people seeing or getting to know. Sure, I saw it from the girls; Tracey was always playing tough to cover up her worry about being a halfblood, Lillian was constantly trying to instill more pureblood values into her life, and Daphne always had something to complain about.

But the boys? Blaise was always too suave and usually never let anyone talk of his mother, at least not without hexing them after. Theodore never let anyone hear his complaints about his father, because his father was someone he pretended he wasn't even related to – I suspected his freedom of speech had something to do with the alcohol. And Malfoy...Well, first he would complain. And then he could brag. Then complain and then brag again.

He was the brainwashed son from hell.

"Is that why you hate him so much, your father?" I blurted. "Because he's so 'fantastic'?"

The underlay of giggling – that had been a backtrack for all conversations for an hour now – stopped as everyone turned to look to me. Malfoy's eyes sharpened on me dangerously.

"I don't hate my father."

"You don't hate your father like I don't hate Gryffindors," I snorted derisively. We all knew that as much as I didn't hate the Gryffindors, secretly I resented them and everything they stood for. That I resented everything they got in comparison to everyone else.

"Drea, the pureblood traditionalists – like the Malfoys – live in a totally different world than we do," Theodore began carefully, his eyes nervously shifting between Malfoy and I.

"And he hates his father for it," I said again. I shrugged sluggishly. "It's not a bad thing. I don't think less of you for it."

"Oh, how wonderful," he said sarcastically. "I feel so much better now that _you _don't think less of me."

"I don't," I said simply. "Your father's an arse."

Malfoy bristled immediately, but I couldn't make myself feel bad about the truth. I also couldn't make myself feel at all disturbed by how dangerous his expression was.

"Is he?"

"Yes," I turned my eyes to the circle around me, upset no one was helping me out of his glare. "Come on! Let's be serious, Lucius Malfoy thinks he's better than everyone else – including you: his own son. He's an arse."

"Much like your brother," he pointed out. It was supposed to be an insult, I could tell, but I was not bothered by it. Instead I looked at him levelly and shrugged.

"Exactly."

There was suddenly electricity in the air. Something completely lethal if you were to say something to trigger whatever it was that was ready to go off. It was like the humming of a light right before it burnt out – except somehow much more intimidating. But I wasn't about to bakc down from something I had said about Lucius Malfoy – didn't anyone remember what this man had done? Didn't anyone remember what he'd done to Ginny, or Harry, or me, or his own son?

Malfoy and I held each other's glare for a long while before Blaise let out a low whistle. "Well, my buzz is ruined."

"Mine too," Tracey said quickly. "I'm off to bed."

"I'll follow you," the connotation between she and Blaise was not lost on anyone else.

"I'm going as well," Lillian sighed. "We still have Potions and Divination exams tomorrow."

"Mock exams," I corrected immediately, ignoring the pain in my gut and spinning of my head.

"I'm not worried either way," she giggled. "As long as I'm partnered with _you._"

Everyone decided to break off to bed at that point. Apparently my little comment about Lucius Malfoy had ruined the atmosphere of the party and after we had set everything in the Transfiguration room back into pristine condition, people began filing out of the halls and towards the dungeon. I didn't hesitate to call Circe before I reached the door, waiting until she was weaving between my legs before I started following the group. The minute I was out in the corridor, I felt my head swim – the world around me burning for a moment.

Firewhiskey certainly has some kick to it.

"Potter, we may be prefects, but I doubt we'll be in the clear if we're caught drunk." His voice surprised me. I know I hadn't seen him up front with the others, but I was surprised that he wasn't too upset to speak to me. Apparently I was just too honest for his own good.

"I'm surprised you're still here," I said simply, taking myself off the wall so I could keep walking. "Thought you'd want to go to your dormitory to get away from the truth-teller."

I must be drunk. That _has _to be the reason I'm so ineloquent.

"And hear Zabini and Davis shagging all night?" he made a sound of disgust. "Not my idea of a good night's rest. Besides, someone needs to make sure the drunk one get's to bed safely."

"How sweet," I said for a moment before my world spun again, I shook my head forcefully to put the world back in place. He looked like he had a hand out to stop me from falling but I swatted at it. "I'm fine!"

"You're drunk," he corrected with a snort. "It's a good look on you."

"Me being drunk?" I snorted myself. "I'm so sure. I must be the picture of beauty."

I ran my hand through my hair – oh, it felt ratty. I bet I was the picture of drunk.

"It is," he assured, his voice low. "You look very...carefree."

"Carefree," I repeated, thinking about how I had thought the same term for the party I had just been to. How everything had been so carefree and how there hadn't been any pressures to be what the world expected us to be. I looked to him for a moment, my eyes narrowing before I grinned wryly. "You look messy."

"Messy?" he repeated, obviously unamused.

"Yeah," I moved and touched a piece of his hair near his face. "Your hair is messy. I like it."

I moved away from him quickly, realizing the position I had just put myself in. Had I just touched his _hair_? What the hell is wrong with me? Booze! Booze is dangerous!

"I seem to recall this conversation," he mused.

"I do...like it, I mean," I said simply turning away and holding my hand away, worried immediately by the feeling of beeing so close to him. "It's a nice change."

"Are you saying my hair is pretty again?"

"Did I ever actually say the word 'pretty'?" I asked, trying to remember whether or not I would have sunk to such a low level while describing him last year. I mean, it was last year, and I had no affection toward him at all at that point.

Er – not that I felt affection toward him _now._

Before I could delve further into those thoughts the world spun again. Since I was so close to the stairs to leave the seventh floor and travel down to the dungeons, I grabbed hold of the wall and stopped myself – I didn't want to chance falling down those stairs. My world spun and the colours around me burned with a severity that rivalled the firewhiskey I'd ingested. My shoulder hit the wall painfully while I fell into it.

That was _not _because of firewhiskey.

"Potter?" Malfoy's voice burnt through my reverie. He said my name a few times before I looked up at him. Circe mewed up at me nervously, knowing I was not myself. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the fog the firewhiskey left so that I could understand what my instincts were trying to tell me.

"Something's wrong," I told him immediately. My mind and body were as alert as the firewhiskey would let me be.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously, his eyes skittering left and right as if it would be standing right beside him. "Did you have a vision?"

"No," I said bitterly. But I was positive something _was _wrong. I was positive that-

"Footsteps," Malfoy said quickly. "Come on, Potter. Time to go."

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head and pushing myself off of the wall I was leaned against. I could hear the whispered voices coming my way. I listened a little bit closer. "Is that..."

_"Harry, it was just a dream – professor, tell him it was just a dream!"_

_"Mr Weasley, we should talk about this in the Headmaster's office."_

"McGonagall!" Malfoy looked completely terrified now. "Come on, Potter, let's go."

"You go," I said immediately, standing up and pushing myself so I was no longer leaning on the wall for any support at all. "I'm staying here."

"Potter, no, we have to-"

"Go," I said giving him a gentle shove towards the stairs. "I'll be alright. Something's wrong."

"Are you kidding? McGonagall will skin you when she sees-"

"I'm fine, go," I urged. He looked to me helplessly for a moment and then back to the corridor where the footsteps were coming from. I could see his indecision and the nervousness that made him change balance from foot to foot. He looked back to me again for a moment – one last time – before shaking his head. He gave me a last look of some emotion I couldn't read and dashed down the stairs.

Seconds later, a lit wand tip rounded the corridor's bend. In front of me, headed straight for me was Harry, Ron, and McGonagall...all in their night things and all looking terrible. My brother, most of all, looked horrid.

I immediately felt sobered – or at least, sober enough to be in control of myself during whatever it was that was happening. Somehow, instinctively, I knew that I had been warned about this all night. The spinning in my head, the burning of my vision all night, the pain in my gut – it had not only been from the firewhiskey.

I had been ignoring serious warning signs of something terrible that had not yet happened.

"Harry?" I asked nervously, my eyes wide. "What happened?"

"Mr Weasley," he sobbed immediately, his eyes catching mine to show me the urgency of what he was saying. "I dreamt Mr Weasley was bitten by a snake...he's dying Audrey!"

And though Harry had never been a Seer and I had turned into a shite one, I knew that he was right.

* * *

><p><strong>So, not my best chapter I know, but I'm leaving for my plane in an hour and I am not done packing! He DID flirt with her quite openly...but he was drunk, so what next? I hope that you still liked it and I promise that the next chapter will be way better. To my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_BlueRose22_**: I'm so glad you like it, hopefully this chapter was okay :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, their clean slate obviously isn't working out to well, though, is it? Silly Audrey, why would she ever think that Draco would make this easy? Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Novella Vialli_**: It's coming...quite soon...**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: The kiss will be soon. Not as soon as anyone would like, but I promise you'll see the kiss before chapter 50...but in what context, I can't say ;)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Montague got a good slap in the face! But that's only going to make him more angry...I think it was probably Harry who fractured his jaw. But it might have just been that it broke after a few hits to the same area. Hope you still liked it!**

_LuckySock_**: I know, the clean slate sucks - but obviously it's not working well ;) Not long now...**

_Happy Reader_**: I'm so glad you're liking it. Fred and Audrey do seem realistic as well, don't they? But you would prefer Fred over Draco? ;)**

_sara253xxx_**: Aw, thank you! Hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad, I know it wasn't as good as it could have been - but it did have a lot of realizations for Audrey.**

_kittyp00z_**: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

_EveryNewDay_**: Montague was definitely a bit of a trigger, did you see how defensive he was? And he even helped take the glass out of her leg! But what will happen during Christmas and after the holidays?**

_SarcasticRaven_**: There was a lot of fluff in the last one. This one, not so much. It wasn't my best because it was rushed, but I wanted to show that there was some realizations for Audrey - even if they were drunk realizations. Maybe she'll realize how profound they were when she's a little more sober :)**

_VeraWhite_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. Audrey is finally starting to realize it and the denial isn't working as well as she thinks...**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm sorry the update wasn't as quickly as normal. December is just such a crazy month! And now with this last minute trip, I've been very busy. But I promise the minute I'm home I'm going to polish up the next two chapters and send them to my editor so you can have them as soon as possible! Maybe the kiss will happen on a patrol...you'll find out soon...**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: I do plan to update more, but December has just been a hard month! But I'm working on it :) Harry doesn't really hate Audrey but she obviously believes deep down that he does. Fred has a crush and we will be finding out how strong it is some point within the next ten chapters :)**

_TheForrestAgain_**: He's definitely trying not to make the first move himself, but how long will he be able to resist? And we have already seen a little bit of protectiveness when it comes to Montague. But Malfoy's smart, so I agree that he's smart enough to figure out that if he bides his time something is going to happen. I don't think that it's a bad thing to find "Weasley is our King" funny...I even got Audrey to say 'if it wasn't about Ron, I'd think it were funny'. It's sad, but true. Hope this was okay!**

_ally0212_**: Well, it wasn't during a Christmas party (she goes to Grimmauld place next) but it won't be too far away. I promise that I have it all in my head...and half written out ;)**

_Guest_**: It is always one step forward, two steps back. But I try to keep it interesting!**

_OddPotato_**: I kinda want to smash their faces together too - but that wouldn't be as exciting as what I have planned. It'll be exciting, I promise you. Thanks so much :)**

_Rach123_**: Oh thank you so much! I'm glad you like the Audrey/Draco dynamic. We're going to find out a little bit of what Harry thinks about Draco and Audrey in the next chapter and we've seen that Sirius is not a fan...so I doubt they'd take it well. I would love to make it into an EBook, sadly I'm not really sure how and I don't really know if people would be interested in it. I'm not really knowledgeable on all the things I've heard about like Ebooks, interviews, and such. Anyway, thank you very much! **

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Haha, that TR/GEM dream is funny and I like your idea. I don't know if I can find a place to slide it in yet, but notice that I already have kind of done that with the idea of the kiss? Hehe, so it's not that farfetched! I do want to update that often, but December has been terrible for me and being able to sit down and write. Comic relief and fluff is coming...in three chapters ;) And don't worry, I don't mind criticism! **

_Osanai Yume_**: I'm so glad you like it, thank you! I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Ugh, this chapter was not at all what I wanted it to be and I didn't even get to send it to you! But it is 12:52 and I am literally leaving at 1:00, so I have to hurry! I have a rough of the next three chapters written out, but I want to look over them again before I send them to you - which will be when I get back. I swear. December is just such a busy month! And I can literally tell you what chapter the kiss is coming, it's that close...you'll be getting that one fairly soon as well. I was having a bad day and wrote the last half when it actually happens to make myself feel better :P What has your landlords empty-promised? My family Christmas was great! Honestly, it's cheesy but Christmas really is all about family for me and being able to see them all was great. I have a huge family (it has been said to rival the Weasleys) so I got to see over 100 family members that weekend. It was so fun - and there wasn't a food fight this year! It has, sadly, happened two years in a row prior to this one and the relatives had not been too fond of select cousins and I... How has the family season been treating you?**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: It's good you can't guess - but I'll give you a hint: the realization she had about the Slytherins and that they are 'normal' will play a big factor in what happens between she and Malfoy. I mean, that's kind of obvious, but it will be a BIG factor. So you think Audrey's going to kiss Draco? Interesting. I'm glad that so many people have been realizing Draco is calculating enough to know to wait it out - he's openly admitted they COULD like each other. Yes, Sirius does see a lot of Lily and James in Draco/Audrey's relationship - which is perfect. Because that's exactly what it is. You are DEFINITELY on the right path :)**

_Carojoy4210_**: Happy Birthday! Seventeen can be a great year, remember to have fun even though it's an important year for school and all that. They might start dating - but I don't think they'll just start dating all willy-nilly. I don't think Audrey would let herself...and risk everyone finding out. Thanks for the review and I hope you liked the chapter! Remember to have a great day!**

* * *

><p><strong>Well, not my best folks, but it's very important. The next chapter is at Headquarters - so more time with Sirius, a lot of thought about Malfoy, and there will be some serious heart-to-heart with Harry where we get some answers as Audrey's a little messed up about him after the Veritaserum. I'm off to catch a plane, see you in just over a week! <strong>

**Please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**


	44. Christmas

**Happy End of the Mayan Calendar, everyone! I thought that today would be a good day to update, just in case something DOES happen and I can't get this chapter out. This hasn't been edited, but I am sending chapters to the editor tomorrow so expect more soon :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 43 – Christmas<p>

* * *

><p>I knew there was no sleeping now. Despite being safely tucked away within the confines of Grimmauld Place, despite the fact that Harry had saved Ron's dad thanks to a nightmare, despite the fact we had seen Mr Weasley on the mend and despite the fact that it was Christmas morning – I felt horrid.<p>

It was upsetting me what I now knew I was missing during my infiltration of Umbridge's regime. And I was missing some very important things during my spying...things that I probably should have known to make everyone's life easier. I hadn't been privy to the fact that Dumbledore was ignoring Harry – which may have been why it came as such a shock to us to find out that Dumbledore thought Voldemort may be invading Harry's mind...at first Fred, George and I had thought that the idea was preposterous – but now, I didn't quite feel so convinced.

Harry's nightmares had been getting steadily worse all year – this was also something I hadn't known. And though none of them but the one a week ago depicted anyone's death or any noticeable form of clairvoyancy, I feared for whatever it was that Harry kept dreaming about. Something about a corridor, or being unable to open a door. I mean, who was really dreaming about it – Harry, or Riddle?

So now I had to confront Harry with my observations. My observations that he would not like. You know, because they condemned him.

The groups had separated over the past half week after we had heard about the supposed mind-rape. Fred, George and I had been closely monitoring how many minutes we spent apart and eradicating anything that tried stopping us while we made up for our lost time; Hermione – who had come at the scheduled time for all other Hogwarts students – was sticking close to Ron and Ginny; which left Harry, marginally, on his own.

Harry was _never _on his own.

I had never felt so out of the loop.

"Oh, you're awake," Ginny yawned, sitting up in her bed. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," I echoed, watching as her eyes lit up and she fully awoke upon seeing the small stack of presents at the foot of her bed. It was strange, being with the Order for Christmas. Every Christmas I spent at Hogwarts, it was embarrassing to wake up to the presents at the end of my bed; and it was embarrassing because my roommates piles ended up dwarfing my own at a 6:1 ratio. But here, I had just as many presents as everyone else. Surprisingly more than I was used to: between one and two handfuls, nothing big or fancy or expensive.

Though I still hadn't touched any of them.

"Hermione, wake up," Ginny said. "It's Christmas!"

Hermione woke up promptly, just as she always did, and the girls dug into their presents. I watched them dutifully, trying to look pleased at their surprised murmurs and lighthearted conversation over the presents they had received this year. I turned my eyes to my own pile, memorizing the wrappings and trying to enforce the idea that I should be _excited _to open my gifts: a stack of eight brightly dressed mysteries. Within the pile I could detect some form of clothing knitted by Mrs Weasley and also something big and ridiculous that could only have been from the twins.

"Audrey," Hermione's voice broke me out of trying to identify my gifts without having touched them. When I turned my eyes to her she looked concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Peachy," I said quickly. "I'm going to go check on Harry."

Both girls gave each other a look – usually when people 'checked on Harry' they were driven away by his foul mood and sharp words. They were silly to fret: no foul mood could contest with one of Audrey Potter's 'foul moods'. They seemed to realize and smiled supportively, if not nervously anyway.

The boys room was a mess as always. Ron was awake already, digging through the paper of each of his presents. He'd unwrapped almost the whole lot of them by now. He greeted me with a wave, thanking me for the sweets I'd gotten him, before going back to his gifts and ignoring my existence. Like every other Christmas morning. I didn't dawdle to watch him and instead strode over to my brother, who was just waking up. On the way to his side, I grabbed his poorly wrapped gift from me and held it out to him.

"Happy Christmas," I said to him, sitting on the edge of his bed. He smiled slightly, grabbing his glasses from the night side table.

"Happy Christmas," he returned. "Is this yours?"

"You'll like it," I assured, I didn't know how he could have expected it to be anyone else's. Who else would have wrapped his gift in a mocking silver and green? "Just don't tell Hermione I gave it to you."

He curiously tore open the wrappings, looking down on it with confusion. I don't really blame him – the oddly shaped gift had had two different gifts within it. One was a shard of the mirror broken by Umbridge just a week before, the other was two other pieces of something that looked like glass, but was spherical and split in half.

"Er – thank you?"

"I ran out of time what with missing the last part of the week, so I was scrambling a bit." I admitted, holding the shard of mirror up for his inspection. "This, is connected to Sirius and I – I can tell you the story of that later, when Sirius opens his. As for these," I held up the half-circles of glass in either hand. "These will attach to the bottom of your glasses and make them a particular type of bifocal..."

"Why do I have the feeling this is less than appropriate?"

"Because I already warned you Hermione wouldn't like them. Which she won't considering it helps you write down answers to questions that you think you'll forget during tests and later look at them during what would be a failing-grade examination." I smiled at him. "I don't know about you, but after those mock-OWLS, I know I need all the help I can get."

He smiled at me, taking them and placing them on his bedside table. "Thanks, Drea."

"Not a problem," I said with a shrug. "I haven't seen yours."

"It's not as clever," he informed me with a shrug. "Haven't you opened your own presents?"

"No," I said simply. "Haven't felt the urge."

"Why not?" Harry asked, his brows furrowing as he took another peek towards his stack of gifts: larger and more elaborately wrapped than my own.

"It doesn't feel like Christmas. I don't know why. Maybe it's because Mr Weasley isn't here, or maybe I'm buckling under the stress of being such a fantastic villain, but..."

"You're not a villain this year, Audrey," he sighed, pushing my gift a bit away from him and looking at me sternly. "Do you think it would have to do with last year?"

"Everything I'm doing this year has to do with last year," I said immediately, shaking my head dismissively.

"No," he looked at me carefully. "I mean last year at Christmas...with Cedric."

I never realized that I would go numb when I was experiencing cardiac arrest. I could all but feel my heart stop, but the cold blood that shouldn't have been able to circulate seemed to freeze me in seconds as if my heart were pounding a thousand beats per minute.

Then the guilt crept in. I had not thought of Cedric yet today. Today I had been thinking about Harry and how left out of his life I was, about how I was left out of his life because of Umbridge, about how playing to Umbridge's weaknesses had gotten me closer with my own friends, and about the eye for an eye concept: the one that made Malfoy's eyes blaze when he thought Montague had hurt me and blamed it on my past dealings with Daphne.

How could I not have thought of Cedric today?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked me quietly. Somewhere in the back of my mind I took note that Ron was no longer unwrapping gifts, but looking over to me as if he expected me to burst into tears. My scoff seemed to shock them both.

"Nothing to talk about," I lied smoothly. "I did want to ask you if you had any time to spare today, at some point or another."

"Time to spare?" Harry repeated. "For what?"

"Brother-sister bonding," I said simply. "And if it's not today then it will be some other day...this is non-negotiable. This Umbridge-spying and Duelling-club we've been in control of has been shredding our oh-so-unstable relationship."

"I couldn't agree more," he muttered bitterly, giving me the sideways glance that we had mastered. "I'm in."

"Good," I smirked. "Whenever we find time away from the mob that is the Weasleys-"

"Hey!" Ron cried indignantly.

"-then we can catch up on the more important things that _won't _get you in trouble if I'm placed under Veritaserum," my brother nodded, watching as I stood up silently and went back to my own room. Harry had the right idea of getting up and opening his presents – and Harry was the depressing one to be around nowadays. If he could put things aside and be happy on Christmas morning, so could I.

Hermione and Ginny had already sauntered down to an early lunch by the time I was back in our room. I picked through each of the name tags on the presents with interest. It seemed that I'd gotten collective gifts from Mr and Mrs Weasley, Fred and George, Sirius and Lupin, and Tracey and Lillian. Singly, it appeared I'd gotten gifts from Harry, Hermione, Theodore, and...

"_Malfoy_?" I asked, shaking my head a bit. Maybe if I shook my head hard enough I could right my vision enough to read what _real _name must have been on this package. No matter how hard I knocked my brain around my skull, however, it did not read differently. I looked carefully at the gift, peeking my head left and right – though I knew I was alone in the room – to be sure that no one had heard my own questioning of my sanity. I mean, bloody hell, wasn't there some sort of danger having a gift from Malfoy come all the way to Grimmauld Place, considering his father was an active Death Eater?

I placed the small, palm-sized gift down at the end of the bed as if I were afraid it would explode. Alright, maybe not 'as if' I were afraid – part of me _was _afraid it would explode. I would not be at all surprised if it covered me in green slime, or would coat me in some sort of permanent glitter charm. Or worse things. That gift could certainly wait in some sort of quarantine before I opened it, just in case it would have some unfavourable side effects.

Harry had supplied me a stationary set to make and send my own Howlers, given in ironic Gryffindor wrappings. Apparently we twins are like-minded. Sirius and Lupin had provided me with books particular to wand-wielding and 'becoming warm with one's wand' – apparently word had gotten back to them on my terrible mock-OWLs as well.

It is not fair that our teachers are also our roommates in this bloody house.

Hermione had gotten me a very detailed homework planner that I was certain I would never use, just like the green and silver 'A' marked scarf that Mrs Weasley had knit for me which I would never be allowed to wear. Theodore had given me a book entitled 'Herbal Ingredients: More Than For Potions' which apparently told me about simple things such as roots and berries that were safe to eat, simple healing herbs, and things that could be found in muggle and wizarding society alike with functions that were simply put to use. Fred and George had given me a box of materials that they assured me were already tested: it included canary creams, nosebleed nougats, puking pastilles, fever fudges, fainting fancies, ton-tongue toffees, and best of all multiple extendable ears.

"Merlin," I growled, holding up the gift from Tracey and Lillian. Clearly, this was some kind of sick joke. It had to have been, because they obviously knew that the green and see-through lingerie I held in front of me would never be warn. Off of the push-up bra portion of it fell a note which read: _This is not just for you. This is also for Draco. Who we aren't angry with. You bitch. Enjoy your Christmas._

_I'm _the bitch?

I could not even imagine opening Malfoy's gift now. What if he were in on the joke? What if he had gotten something else sexual and humiliating as the girls had? I looked at the charcoal packaging of his gift wearily, pushing it a little farther away with my foot before deciding to leave it and go down to breakfast.

"Oh, Audrey, dear!" Mrs Weasley smiled when I had finally pulled myself away from the horror and curiosity that was Malfoy's gift. "Good, I was just going to get Fred to fetch you."

"I'm glad I'm early, then," I smirked, sitting between my favourite Weasleys before they could scoff.

"We thought you were asleep-"

"-knew just how to wake you-"

"-guess we'll have to try tomorrow."

"You will do no such thing," I said sternly. "You forget what I got for Christmas."

"What did they get you for Christmas, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked with a smile. Fred and George both threw me desperate looks before I turned to her with an award winning smile that only a liar as expert as a Slytherin could manage.

"An alarm clock that shouts at me," I lied easily. "They think it's funny when I'm woken rudely."

"That's a terrible gift, you two," she frowned, pouring more lunch on my plate than she did either of theirs – it was her subtle way to try to and fatten me up, as she could tell I didn't like when she constantly _told _me how thin I was.

"Terrible gift," I echoed, raising my eyebrows tauntingly as we dug in.

The food was delicious as always but the entertainment was better. Like the past week, Sirius' good mood was infectious – my godfather seemed more than pleased to have people here for the holidays, considering he was constantly singing Christmas carols and telling people to get more into the spirit. I had never seen Sirius as one who was so chipper or who seemed to particularly enjoy the season...though I knew deep down that it was really the company he valued.

After lunch, the group of Weasleys – added with Harry and Hermione – decided that they would be visiting Mr Weasley in the emergency ward. I tried, as graciously as I could, to let them down easily when I told them that I was not interested in joining them in Mundungus' stolen car, but they were still confused.

"Audrey, you're more than welcome to come. It's just a quick pop by to check on him, they have shortened Christmas hours, you know. And Arthur enjoys your company," Mrs Weasley assured me with a smile. I tried to smile back but it came out strained – the last place I wanted to be was in Saint Mungos today, besides, I had business to see to.

"I think I'll stay here, but send him my best. I'm feeling a bit peaky," using her word immediately got her attention as I'd hoped. "Besides, I can't leave Sirius alone today."

After Mrs Weasley had given me ever home-remedy tip for 'peakiness' she could think of, everyone went on their way. Fred and George both ruffled my hair to make it even more of a mess than I'm sure it already was. But I couldn't get away from everyone, as I knew the minute Harry slowed down beside me.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," I said just as seriously. "I just wanted to talk to Sirius for a while. I haven't had any time with him and I wanted to chat with him more about my not having visions and what's going on with Umbridge."

"Sounds a bit like he's in on this spying thing of yours," his eyes narrowed while they moved to Sirius, who I saw was trying to look as innocent as possible back from where Mrs Weasley was leaving with the others.

"No, but if anyone knows tips for sneaking around, it's Sirius."

Accepting that, Harry gave me one last scrutinizing look before he left with the group of Weasleys, Hermione, Lupin and Mad-Eye. I took a deep breath as soon as they had disappeared, taking a moment before I swivelled around on my heel to look at Sirius.

"I have a sneaking suspicion you didn't just stay for a friendly visit," he said carefully as soon as the door was closed. When I nodded, he crossed his arms over his chest. "I've hardly seen you this week."

"It hasn't really been a 'sit down and relax' kind of week. Besides, I've had a lot on my mind," I explained vaguely. "And you've been pretty busy getting this place ready for today."

"Were the carols a tip-off?"

"A bit," I smirked back, but felt if fall when he looked at me grimly. It was like he knew that I didn't want idle chatter – he knew I wanted to get down to business while we still had the time to. Christmas was not just a holiday for people in the Order – it was another day where people went missing and Voldemort's power grew. I knew their deadlines and knew that nothing came out of beating around the bush.

"What is it, Drea?"

"I'm terrified," I said honestly. "First all this business with my visions, then I have to worry about Umbridge knowing that we've been communicating, and then-"

"You don't need to be doing this with Umbridge," he said with a frown. "You can stop this now."

"No I can't," I said firmly. He seemed to realize it was final.

"If you're already set on what you want to do, why are we chatting now?"

I breathed in deep. "Sirius, why aren't my visions working?"

He sighed, exasperatedly, as if he knew that this conversation would come up. "Harry didn't have a vision, Audrey. There's no reason for you to be upset."

"I know it wasn't a vision," I responded irritably, turning on my heel to head back to the kitchen so we could sit down and be away from the portrait of Mrs Black's sensitive ears. "He and Voldemort were connected by his scar – which is _worse_. I need to know why I didn't have a vision that would warn me of this, or a vision that could help me stop it..."

"You can't save everyone with your visions, Audrey," he said immediately, sitting down across from me. "And your visions have already helped more than you know."

"You mean to get Sturgis Podmore locked up?" I asked levelly with narrowed eyes. He narrowed his own in the same challenging way. I watched him carefully for a moment, before leaning forward. "Sirius, what was Arthur Weasley guarding?"

"Who said he was guarding anything?" he countered immediately. But he must have known the answer, he must have known that Harry would tell us all exactly what he saw and that we would dissect it until we knew exactly what had happened.

"Harry said he had been a snake and he had slid past a black door and saw shimmering objects," I said carefully, watching for any sort of reaction. "Shimmering objects, Sirius? You had to realize that I would figure this out eventually."

"Audrey..."

"First I have a vision about a room of shimmering, silver orbs – which the entire Order has a right fit about. And then people started pulling extra 'night' shifts at the Ministry – I remember that Mr Weasley had offered to take over for Tonks. And Sturgis Podmore gets caught sneaking around the Ministry of Magic and is sentenced to Azkaban? Now Arthur Weasley was mysteriously attacked while falling asleep, late at night, in the Ministry of Magic," he frowned at me. "What's going on, Sirius?"

"You know," he said after a long moment. "You are most _certainly _a Slytherin."

I blinked back, recoiling slightly from the premeditated sting of the words. I knew that hearing that from a Gryffindor was never a good thing.

"I mean that not out of prejudice, but out of what Slytherin _really _stands for. Resourcefulness, Cunning, Ambition...you know, Slytherins are as observant and calculating as Ravenclaws, they think about every variable before they act – I can tell that you have done just that."

I smiled. "You are too sweet, Sirius. But don't ignore the question."

"Drea, you know that I can't tell you Order business."

"So it _is_ Order business," I pulled back a moment, looking around the room for inspiration as to how to continue questioning him without putting him in a compromising position...or letting him know that I was putting him in a compromising position. "My last vision, the megavision, that was Order business as well?"

His eyes sparkled mischievously. "Yes."

My grin widened, but then it fell. "Sirius...what's happening to Harry?"

The mischievousness in Sirius' eyes dimmed as well as he thought about it. "I don't know."

"Is it as bad as we overheard Moody talking about?"

"You overheard Moody talking?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "With your ears, or extendable ones?"

"That's neither here nor there," I held up a hand. "Is it true? Is Voldemort seeing us through Harry's eyes?"

"Harry's scar has connected him to Voldemort for as long as we've been able to tell. What with it always burning when Voldemort is near or gaining power and of course Harry being able to feel Voldemort's more prominent emotions. So yes, Dumbledore thinks that he's accessing some of the same things from Harry, as well."

"How can he stop it?"

"Occlumency," Sirius sighed. "It's the only thing we can think of. You two are both going to be taught it during this next term at Hogwarts."

I blinked. "Both of us?"

"Audrey, you're not completely immune to all of this either," Sirius said as if I were stupid. "Though you haven't been getting glimpses into his head as Harry has, aren't you concerned about the fact that while you were in the middle of the maze having a vision of the past and present concerning him, Voldemort was able to see and acknowledge you in the present?"

"I guess," I frowned. "But that shouldn't be cause for occlumency, I don't need to block my thoughts, I just need to control my visions and my projections."

"Since you haven't been practicing your projections and your visions are currently...er," he cleared his throat apologetically. "Out of order, we decided that it would be best to block your mind from others entirely, rather than just have you control it."

"Dumbledore's going to take Harry and I under his wing?" I asked suspiciously. "Harry said he's been avoiding him all year – Moody even insinuated that he knew about it too."

Sirius' face went sour. "Actually, it won't be Dumbledore teaching you...it will be Snape."

He frowned even more when he saw my expression inevitably brighten. He did, however, look confused when I burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry, are you – saying that Snape and..." I laughed a little bit more uncontrollably. "And Harry are having _private lessons_? And you expect – expect them to be – alive at the end of it?"

Sirius let out a tight laugh of his own. "I guess we are."

I laughed harder. "Oh, I'm excited."

Sirius, after that, joined me in laughing for a while.

"So, do you really think that you're going to fail out of Hogwarts?" Sirius asked me after we had taken the time to calm down. I groaned aloud.

"Yes! Why can't they actually test me on things I'll use in the future? I don't need to do Vanishing spells, I have an invisibility cloak. And I don't need to do Summoning Charms, I can just walk and grab it myself."

"You sound like a muggle," he snorted. "Or a very inept witch."

"I _am _an inept witch," I frowned back. "Sirius, my wand doesn't work."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I knew it was bad, but what do you mean 'it doesn't work'?"

"It means that it doesn't work. It's as if..." I thought for a moment how to explain it. "One minute it hates me and the next it realizes that what I'm doing is for something important."

"So it works when you need it to?"

I frowned, thinking about all my failed attempts in class. "No, definitely not."

"Well, you should try to find a correlation between when it works and when it doesn't," Sirius said with a shrug. "Otherwise I'd advise you to get a new wand."

"Ollivander would laugh at me right before he kicked me out of his shop," I muttered, my face going red. "Surely that man hates me after my first visit."

"Why," Sirius chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "What happened?"

"Well, after Harry toppled half of his stock and shattered some of the glassware, I happened to destroy his desk and maim both Harry and myself." I rolled my eyes. "It was not a good day."

He laughed. "What do you mean you maimed yourself?"

I winced, remembering the pain that grazed my palms. "The wands basically _attacked _me – the other ones, that is. Harry's was particularly violent to me. My wand was the only one that would suit me, apparently."

"Augurey feather, right?" He asked, holding out his hand. I took my wand out of the pocket in my jumper and handed it over to him. My wand never attacked anyone like Harry's had attacked me. "What wood?"

"Ash," I answered with a sigh. "Nine and three-quarter inches, springy."

"What's it supposed to be good for?"

"Never told me," I frowned. "I think he was too distracted by healing up my palm. The man was very frustrated with Harry and I as customers."

"I believe you," he joked, handing my wand back to me. I loved my pale wooded wand – which was still scuffed and dirty, marked with the jagged X on the side that mirrored the scar covering the left side of my neck. It was a disturbing coincidence that even Sirius noticed. I saw him staring. "Does your scar ever hurt?"

"No," I said with a frown. "Dumbledore doesn't think mine was given to me by a curse. I agree, I think that it would have been more clean-cut if it were. Still, I think the real difference is that I didn't absorb what Harry did."

Sirius made a face. "What?"

"Well, Harry obviously absorbed something or other from the twat," I shrugged. "If he hadn't, I don't think we'd be worrying about occlumency lessons with Snape this term. I don't think he killed me with a curse, so I didn't absorb anything. Harry obviously absorbed the curse which caused all the little party favours he got to take away after."

Sirius was quiet for a long moment, contemplating what I said before he forced a large, painfully fake smile onto his face.

"Come on, Drea, tell me more stories that I wasn't there for."

* * *

><p>"We're back!" Ginny announced as the group walked in the door of Grimmauld place. She barely had a chance to groan in realization before Mrs Black's shrieks deafened Sirius and I from the kitchen, crying about the scum in her house and the werewolf and blood traitor who were trying to silence her.<p>

The group came in, covering their ears, to see Sirius and I exactly where they had left us at the table. Only now, we were nursing butterbeer and I was even working on a sugar quill – which Fred immediately mentioned when he saw it.

"Audrey's eating!"

"The world must be ending," George said, plopping himself down beside me, waiting for his brother to take up my other side as he always did. "It has to be ending if Audrey Petun-"

"Stop right there," I said immediately, my eyes narrowing.

"-Petunia Potter," Fred continued his brother's words with a smirk, "is eating of her own free will."

"You're a git."

"Aw, don't be like that," George pouted, taking hold of my sugar quill, even as I tried to take it back from him. "We do it out of love."

"It's true," Fred assured. "We missed you while we were in St Mungos."

"How was your dad?"

"He _was _fine," Fred said quite seriously. "He almost died today though."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Well, you see, Mum almost killed him," George continued. I looked at him suspiciously. "He got these muggle things called stitching-"

"Do you mean stitches?" I asked with a laugh. "And he didn't consult your mother beforehand?"

"Of course not, she would have said no," Fred snorted.

"But of course, they aren't working properly."

"Simply because the venom from the snake is keeping the wounds open," Hermione supplied defensively, sitting down at the table as well. "It was not actually at any fault of the stitches themselves."

"George dear, stop eating that sugar quill," Mrs Weasley scorned.

"It's not mine," George said quickly, shoving the quill back into my hands. "It's Audrey's!"

"Alright, then. Audrey, you can finish it, but know that we'll be eating soon and I don't want you to spoil your dinner." George pouted before immediately arguing with his mother about why I got to finish the quill while he wasn't allowed. Like most hidden conversations, it had to do with how thin I was and how she didn't care what I ate as long as I started to gain weight, unhealthy or not.

Still, we sat and chatted until dinner was ready. Since I had talked Sirius through some of our better – and worst – moments of the years he had missed, he had decided to talk to the others more openly about it. Once, when we were talking about the Marauders map, he was hushed by the twins – but only because Mrs Weasley was so close and obviously hovering in to listen to the more incriminating stories. Who knew what kind of trouble they would get into if she found out that they had not only gone into Filches' desk and filched the map, but that they had used it to sneak out of the castle countless times.

Dinner, as always, was delicious. I found that since I was in a better mood, I was more willing to eat – but I still wasn't willing to each as much as was piled on my plate. Mrs Weasley seemed to think that my shrunken stomach could stretch to Ron's size with only one serving – but I could barely eat a third of it before I genuinely felt full. I was glad that she didn't seem to notice the little bits I gave to Circe under the table.

"Drea," I looked up from my half finished plate of food, immediately worried that I was caught in the act of feeding my kneazle, to see my brother's eyes on me. "Can I have a talk with you?"

My eyes flickered around the table to examine everyone who tried not to pay attention to us, but who were all quite obviously listening intently. To be a little more subtle, I gave a nod of my head and tried to keep my chair from screeching across the floor as I stood. Harry was not as careful as I was, so the noise was loud and I tried to move up the stairs before any extendable ears were dug out from pockets.

"Come here, I know where we won't be disturbed," I told him quickly, moving so that he followed me up the stairs and off the hall to Mrs Black's – now Buckbeak's – chamber. Harry instinctively bowed as soon as he saw Buckbeak in the corner and I watched, quite pleased, when the hippogriff bowed his head in return. Still, the hawk eyes turned to me and I smiled politely at him – he and I had been too well acquainted over these holidays for me to display such formalities.

"Do you mind if we sit with you?" I asked him. "I'll give you the mice I hid."

Buckbeak let out a cry of approval, waiting and watching carefully as to where I had hidden them, before I tossed him two. He let out a happy squeal and caught them in midair, beginning to feast as if I hadn't been in to feed him late last night. Which I obviously had.

"He certainly still likes you," Harry observed, walking over to the broken down bed in the corner that had obviously been sat on by the hippogriff just as much as a human. "Not that I'm surprised."

"Of course he does, it's because I like him too." I smiled back toward the hippogriff but followed my brother toward the mattress. "How was St Mungos?"

"Terrible," he sighed. "We saw Lockhart...and Neville's parents."

I knew all about Neville's parents, thanks to the book I had to steal on Purebloods after I'd ripped Sirius' picture out when Montague had harassed me. I hadn't known that Harry had known as well.

"How are they?"

"Worse than I thought," he sighed. "It was really sad."

"Was Neville embarrassed?" I asked with a frown.

"No," he said. I nodded thankfully. "I think he just doesn't want to have everyone pity him."

"Neville's strong," I nodded, surprised by the sentence – I had never expected anything remotely close to 'strong' to be the word used to describe Longbottom. "It's the first Gryffindor trait I've seen from him."

"He's loyal and noble," Harry argued. "He's doing really well in the DA."

"The DA?" I questioned. "That's what you call it, you're little group?"

"The short form, yeah," he sighed. "I wish I could talk to you about it."

Was it bad that I was glad he didn't? Considering that was all I could really force to crawl through my mind as a rebuttal, I kept my mouth closed. Still, because he had expected some form of comfort, it left a long silence that I knew I would need to break. I took a breath.

"Did you have anything particular you wanted to talk about?"

"Just talk," he said simply. "We haven't been able to in ages."

"I had something particular I wanted to talk to you about," I tested out carefully, my eyes raking over his expressions warily. "It's about your connection to Voldemort."

"I didn't want to have the dream," he said immediately, reverting into the defensive, self-hating Harry he'd been all break. Typical. "I don't like that he can see through me."

"Wait," I quickly decided to intervene here, holding up my hand. "We don't know that for sure. But, we have some serious things to talk to you about in reference to it."

"Such as?"

"Such as the fact that this might not have been the only time Voldemort has been looking through you," I said seriously. "Harry, I know we haven't been talking, but why haven't you been telling me everything that's been going on with your scar? Why haven't you been talking to me about how you've been having repetitive nightmares?"

"How do you know about that?" he asked seriously. I smiled.

"Sirius is terrible with lying, I can see right through him," I snorted. "And what's more, Hermione and Ron like to talk things through aloud. No one ever thinks I listen, I have no idea why they think so highly of me."

"The nightmares aren't really nightmares, it's just confusing. And there's always something going on with my scar – it's always hurting nowadays." He was trying to shrug off what was being said but he quite obviously was confused as to where the conversation was going.

"But now you're sharing Voldemort's emotions?" I said suspiciously. "And what kind of dream is confusing?"

"It's just about a corridor. Sometimes I get to the door, sometimes I don't," he waved off. "And feeling Voldemort's emotions come with him being resurrected."

I thought about it for a long moment, so long that I even threw a few mice toward Buckbeak, who gave me an appreciative squeal in return. Or I thought he had, maybe I had imagined it.

"And you can feel his emotions all the time?"

"No," he shook his head, grabbing a mouse for himself to throw over to the hippogriff in the corner. "Just the strong ones on occasion."

I narrowed my eyes to the box of dead mice in front of me. "Are you sure about that?"

Harry looked, quite rightfully, insulted. "Why do you have so many questions?"

"Harry," I said carefully, turning my full body towards him. "Do you think that maybe you've been so...different because you're picking up on more of Voldemort's emotions than you think?"

"What do you mean 'different'? Seeing people being attacked by snakes?"

"No," my eyes flickered over to Buckbeak nervously before they narrowed on him again. "I mean you being such a git. You've been more pigheaded than usual and to top it off, you have a shorter fuse. Even you have to have noticed that."

"I do not!" He cried, making me roll my eyes.

"You're not helping prove otherwise, dolt."

"So what, you think that's because of Voldemort? You think that he's _controlling _me?" He asked disbelievingly, colouring the question with a sneer.

"I think it could be a contributor," I said in the same insulted tone. "Harry – what if you're as easily pissed off as you are because that's how Voldemort feels all the time?"

"You've got to be joking," he scoffed.

"No," I said to him seriously, nudging him when he looked away from me. "No, I'm not."

At least he seemed to think about my words, so I continued to bolster the point.

"From the very beginning you've been morose. All this summer, sure, we were separated and fighting all the time – but I'm fairly certain that was grief on my part. Maybe it was something a little extra on yours. Then, even when we came here to headquarters you were hard to be around – when you weren't angry, you were bitter...it was like me on steroids. By the time we got to Hogwarts and you had the added stress of Umbridge, it's been hard to be around you."

"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically.

"I'm saying this as your sister...and because I'm the only one brave enough to do it. You're frightening off even your Gryffindor clad friends, you know. Everyone's scared of your mood swings," I told him seriously. "Don't tell me you honestly haven't considered it could be correlated to this link you have with Voldemort."

He looked away from me, his brow furrowed. "I don't know...I guess I haven't ever thought of it."

"Do you at least admit that you've been a git?"

"Admit, no," he snorted. Apparently my bluntness was no surprise or further insult. "But I guess I can acknowledge why you'd think it."

"The first step to rehabilitation is admitting you have a problem," I told him wisely. Alright, closer to arrogantly. Where the wisdom would have come from, I have no idea – the arrogance was common. "I just want you to keep it in mind; when you feel like biting someone's head off...maybe _you _don't actually want to."

"Wait," he said suddenly, his eyes wide. "You're saying Voldemort would? That Voldemort's watching and would want to bite someone's head off?"

"Er – in episodes like in Dumbledore's office when you looked ready to slaughter him? Perhaps," I said carefully. I could already see the panic building. "But otherwise, I think that maybe you just get his negative vibes all the time. It's like...gas. When you run the gas for too long, it makes you feel sick and when you suddenly put a spark to it – things explode. That's how it is with you and Voldy – he's slowly encouraging you to see things negatively but then when something slightly negative actually does come along, you explode."

He sighed, rolling his head along his shoulders. "I owe you an apology, don't I?"

"Multiple," I corrected. "But I'll give you a bundled deal."

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "This year has been...insane."

"Why?" I asked sarcastically, tauntingly waving my hand dismissively. "Because you've started an illegal duelling club to fight against the teaching methods of the Ministry's toad, who in turn is torturing you every chance she gets and your sister happens to be playing nice to so that she can get information? What's insane about that?"

"When you put it _that_ way," he said just as sarcastically. We both took our time to laugh. When I _did _put it that way, the entire situation seemed as insane as it sounded. And much more dangerous. When the laughing died down we distracted ourselves by giving Buckbeak a little more attention via dead mice. Still, apparently we weren't done interrogating one another. "What about you, Audrey? This year can't be easy for you – I mean, Veritaserum?"

"Only the once," I assured, though I winced at the feeling that I was defending the toad. "I plan to make her pay for it in some way or another after I've found something I can use. She doesn't quite trust me yet – I don't really know what more I can do to get on her good side."

"Well, keep throwing tantrums towards me in Defence," he rolled his eyes. "She _loves_ that."

"Consider it done," I smirked back. "It's been difficult trying to keep your club a secret – I feel like she's constantly following me around during patrol."

"She is," he confirmed. "I keep a close eye on the map at all times – she hounds you like a dog."

"Sounds spectacular," I sighed. "Well, at least she's seeing how close I've gotten to Malfoy."

"You _what_?" I was surprised by how loud and upset Harry's voice rang through the dampened room. Looking at him, I could see his eyes were nearly on fire – one of his fists were even clenched. Some part of me tried to remind myself that I had _just _explained how Harry may not really be as angry as he seemed to be, but I couldn't help feeling immediately irritated by his sudden concern.

"Oh, don't you start," I chided. "He and I have come to an understanding – we can both get what we want more easily if we pretend to be friendly. Umbridge trusts me more and Malfoy isn't hounded by press – all we do is insult Parkinson the entirety of our patrolling."

Which was a lie, but who would counter it?

"And you don't think he's taking advantage of the situation?"

"Why would he do that?" I snorted.

"Malfoy's fancied you since first year, Audrey," he scolded, looking at me much less carefully than I had with him and still he was trying to strip me down as I had with him. It was like he was trying to catch any guilty look I could have had. "I mean it – sure, you put him in his place in second year, but all it did was teach him to be more subtle. He practically salivates every time you pay him any attention."

"Rubbish," I sneered. I couldn't believe that after everything people who _knew _us still believed all this. Malfoy was taunting our strange friendship, sure, but he didn't actually fancy me. He wanted to put me as a notch on his belt, if anything, which was understandable thanks to his morbid interest in my lack of sex life. What's more, Malfoy only really did it to fluster me.

Sure, he had kissed my temple, but that did not mean he fancied me.

Understanding someone did not mean that you liked them. It meant you understood them. And Malfoy and I – quite oddly – understood one another more than we liked to admit. Even if our companionship was the least understandable circumstance known to man.

"It's true," Harry continued with narrowed eyes, not caring for my arguments. "You know, I feel like I should have this conversation with you since you were so _kind _to tell me about how much of a prat I've been."

"Oh, please do me the honour," I drawled with a roll of my eyes.

"Fine; Sirius and I are worried about what you're doing," Harry growled out. "We think you need to stop before you do something stupid."

"Oh please, I've already heard this rant."

"No, not like I'm about to tell it," he countered quickly. "Sirius and I worry that you might be losing yourself a bit to the role you're playing. We're worried that you're forgetting which world is real and which is the one you're pretending to live in."

My mouth dropped. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"You _hate _Malfoy, Drea. You've always hated him – don't you remember basically neutering him in second year? And this thing with Umbridge – I know that you like not having to do work. I'm just worried that you're getting a little too comfortable pretending to be someone you're not...and that you're turning into the person you're pretending to be."

"Are you serious?" I asked, completely aghast. "You don't even know who I'm pretending to be!"

"Hey, I didn't get mad at you so you can't get mad at me," he said with just as much of a hiss. "Audrey, first you pretend to like Umbridge – then you start saying you like the class-"

"Of course I do, I'll fail a normal Defence class with this wand!"

"And then you start pretending to like Malfoy – and now you're actually _friends _with him?"

"That's all in the sake of sanity," I defended with a clenched jaw. "Can you imagine hating each other every patrol? Eventually one of us would go insane, or be hexed – I don't want to be on the receiving end of either considering _I can't defend myself because I can't use a wand_."

He sighed, pushing his glasses up so he could rub his eyes. "I just want you to remember: Umbridge is a Ministry spy who wants nothing more than to have me hanged. And you can't forget about Malfoy; he's made our lives hell for the past five years, Audrey. And his father is a Death Eater – and Draco's no better than his father because he'll be one too."

"That's not true," I hissed out, immediately regretting it. The way Harry looked at me, so smug as if his point was proven, was insulting. But I couldn't take it back. There was no reason to take that back.

My stomach was churning, remembering how Malfoy had not only defended his father, but insulted him just a week before. I remembered quite clearly my revelation on how much Malfoy was not like his father – how just because Lucius was a Death Eater, didn't mean his son was. I had realized that none of those Slytherins were their parents, that we were individuals who hated and loved them for all they represented.

Just like I loved and hated being compared to my own family.

To my own brother.

"You can't blame a child for the parent's mistake, Harry," I continued in a lethally edged whisper.

"Voldemort did."

"So you'll do what he did?" I hissed. His eyes darkened as he sneered at me. I shook my head, taking a deep breath and tried to keep myself from screaming at him. "That accusation – the Death Eater accusation – is bigger than us and our school rivalries. Those aren't words you can just toss around. These are _people_. People separate of their parents."

"Now you're _defending _them?" He asked, completely aghast.

"No one else will," I fired back. "Not even you, oh saviour of the Wizarding World, would save someone you didn't deem worthy. You're just as selfish as they are!"

"You're defending Malfoy," he shook his head, eyes wide. It was as if he hadn't heard my insult. "I can't believe this."

"I'm not just defending him," I shot back. "I'm defending everyone you're stereotyping."

He shook his head, jaw locked and eyes furious. "You like them now?"

"They're not all the same and you can't peg them to be when you don't know them," I sneered back. I couldn't stop thinking about Theodore and how much he hated his father, or thinking of Tracey who no one even realized was a halfblood. And the Slytherins – though they were taught not to like her – didn't actually care. She held herself like someone worthy of them and so she was someone worthy of them. Like I had been in the past. Like Harry would have been were he to have been one of _us._

One of _us_?

Had it really come down to such a line in the sand between my brother and I?

"You're falling into this role too much, Audrey," Harry said darkly. "Get out while you can."

"I'm not giving this up, Harry," I hissed back. "Just like you aren't giving up the DA. Someone has to keep you as far away from trouble as you can get."

"So that's going to be you and _Malfoy_?"

I sneered, standing up abruptly and wiping off my pants before sending him a glare. "I'd say come talk to me when you get that snake out of your head, Harry – but something tells me that this anger and prejudice, like always, is all you."

I began walking to the door, only to hear him sigh.

"Audrey, I'm sorry."

I rolled my eyes and stopped walking, but did not turn to him. "You're always sorry."

"But I mean it."

I relented to turning around, watching him wearily before I sighed. "I know Harry. Life isn't easy – but it'd be a lot more manageable if you were on my side."

"I am on your side."

"Right now my side co-mingles with the Slytherins," I told him, my eyes narrowing. "And it always will."

He clenched his jaw, obviously thinking something or other that would not be as kind to say before he nodded. "You're my sister and that comes first."

I tried to smile and could tell by his expression that it did not come out straight. It probably looked mutated or ruined. It seemed appropriate. "Happy Christmas, Harry."

"Happy Christmas, Audrey."

I closed the door behind me, hoping to leave him there with his thoughts as I was going to go and dissect all of mine. I hoped that leaving him in there with Buckbeak would help him calm down, but I couldn't stop myself from wishing _he _had stormed away so I could have stayed in there. It was the only room in the house I could always know I wouldn't be bothered. As I made it to my bedroom, I knew that Hermione or Ginny could come in at any moment. It did not comfort me when I was thinking about such uncomfortable things.

I mean, first of all, what was I supposed to think about the fact the Riddler was potentially seeing through my brother's eyes? It was reason enough to be excited over the upcoming Occlumency lessons – even more exciting of a reason than the fact Snape would be the one teaching us.

Secondly, my brother was afraid of my involvement with the spying. And it wasn't even just big-brother worry, it was worry that I was turning against him and into who I was pretending to be – a much greater problem in an already complicated scenario.

And thirdly, the fact that – in a way – my brother was _right. _Because in a way, I _was _suddenly getting up to defend the others...but after the other week, how could I not? Suddenly those classmates were _classmates. _They weren't Slytherins or purebloods or bullies – but people who had their own complaints and lives and expectations – and even I, who have lived with them for years, had been seeing them through a stereotype and a label that had only recently been washed off.

Was I going soft? Or was I finally understanding?

I felt relief to flop on my bed – the bed that I had stolen last night from Ginny as her Christmas gift to me – and pushed my face into the dusty comforter. I was ready to fall asleep in my clothes if I had to and, deciding the idea was better than I had thought, rolled over onto my side.

I was shocked by the loud sound that came from my foot kicking something at the corner of my bed. It sounded hollow and hadn't hurt, but the unexpected noise had broken through all the anxious thoughts taking over my mind and shocked me back to reality. Cricking my neck so that I could see what I'd kicked, I saw a charcoal covered box that made my eyes widened.

Oh no, Malfoy's gift.

My eyes flickered over to the box I'd shoved half under the bed, where I could see a bit of the lingerie from the girls poking out. I looked back to Malfoy's present nervously – I really hoped they hadn't decided to coordinate their efforts this holiday.

Taking the box, carefully, I gave it a little shake. Whatever was inside of it was solid, but it wasn't heavy – and that was enough to make me feel comfortable it wouldn't be something like a matching garter to Tracey and Lillian's gift, or a condom...did the Wizarding World even use condoms?

Not at all what I should be thinking about right now.

Shaking my head to right my thoughts, I put both hands on the outside of the charcoal box to begin pulling it open...and screamed.

Then laughed.

Out of the box had hopped an enlarged chocolate frog. It was a Christmas edition frog – one that was coloured with the green and red of a typical poison dart frog. I laughed as it jumped around me; larger than Trevor the toad and somehow with even more exuberance.

I couldn't believe that Malfoy would have gotten me a chocolate frog. Even if the joke was a gag gift, or a taunt, I never would have expected him to make it...what? Dare I even say _sentimental_? I had expected something either cruel or something expensive and gaudy.

Oddly, this was perfect.

Looking back to the box, I checked the tag – yes, that was Malfoy's writing. I could tell his neat calligraphy anywhere. Inside the box, as well, was a note in the same calligraphy that I ignored when I saw the card that had come with my particular Chocolate Frog. It was Morgana, or Morgan Le Fay – the dark sorceress and half sister of King Arthur. Also Merlin's greatest enemy.

From anyone else, that could be considered coincidental.

But not from Malfoy.

_This and the card made me think of you. And just as a warning, I'd enjoy your holiday now; Davis and Moon are furious that you left them with a hangover and no way to pass their mock-OWLs. You also owe me two patrols you missed. We're not _that _close, __buddy__._

The mirrored words "we're not that close, buddy" made me laugh aloud and push my hand to my mouth when I realized just how loud it was. I should not have gotten so much enjoyment out of such a simple card, but it was clever and I was in the mood to be cheered.

Still, the laughter died in my throat when I realized just how genuine the laugh was. A genuine laugh from a gift that a _Malfoy _had sent me...A Malfoy had sent me a gift while I sat in Order Headquarters and plotted ways to take his father down and was being lectured about how I was losing my vision when it came to him. Hadn't I just asked myself whether or not I was going soft or finally understanding him?

I asked aloud, gasping a bit in shock as the frog leapt into my lap and croaked. I couldn't stop the smile that pushed at my cheeks.

Maybe it was a little bit of both.

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><p><strong>So, not the longest chapter but certainly cute! Those two and their chocolate frogs...so sweet. Don't worry, Audrey is back at Hogwarts in the middle of next chapter and Draco is not far behind her. To my extraordinary reviewers:<strong>

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Montague won't stop pestering her, but I can promise you that she's not going to be as polite as she has been with him. Thanks for reviewing!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: The kiss is not far away, my friend. Thanks for the review :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: It's not far away at all! In fact, I'm already starting to edit it to make it perfect. I'm glad you caught on to the two-way mirrors before I even put it into this chapter. Montague is SUCH a jerk - Audrey's going to have to put him into his place a little more permanently than she puts him in the hospital wing. Something is DEFINITELY happening with Audrey's visions - but what, I cannot tell you. Thanks, the vacation was just what I needed - relaxing and totally destressed me. Plus, because I couldn't write for more than a week I'm backed up with ideas, so I hope that they'll just spill out now!**

_Novella Vialli_**: They are pretty cute. Hopefully you can wait the very few chapters until they kiss ;)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Thank you, the vacation was safe and wonderful. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, even though there was no kiss. It was certainly ugly when Umbridge broke the mirror - but Audrey and Sirius don't seem worried. Yes, there was some Fred and Sirius, but I kind of glossed over the moments with the twins because I wanted to get to the heart-to-hearts she was sharing. Fred will come more into play within a few chapters. Audrey DID realize that all Slytherins aren't their parents and she's starting to fight Harry on it. I also like the mix of Lily and James that she became, I think she's very balanced even if a little closer on the "bitter" side. Thanks for the great review :)**

_EveryNewDay_**: Thank you, the cliff hanger was fun to write. I tend to favour them over a normal ending, I think. I hope you liked this chapter and the little bit of fluff.**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Hope you liked the chapter!**

_BlueRose22_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it even if it was rushed. Harry doesn't hate her, of course not. Audrey's just so insecure that she constantly thinks he does. What did you think about her theory on why he was being such an ass? Also when he was (again) an ass and turning it around on her about how she's starting to believe the lies she's telling about being friends with the Slytherins? The kiss is so soon, it's already written ;) And thank you, the vacation was just what I needed. Hope you liked!**

_OddPotato_**: The Slytherins are pretty cool. I never thought I'd fall in love with their characters as much as I have - especially Tracey. I love how brash she is. And yes, Audrey and Draco are so similar. I find it funny how much Draco sees it and how much Audrey denies it, even though it's blatantly obvious. My vacation was very nice and left me with a lot of time to think of ideas for this, so hopefully they'll pour out of me when I start writing tonight!**

_Mrs. Trafalgar law_**: Ha, sorry for the sleep deprivation I caused, but I'm glad that you like it enough! Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**

_Kaitalyn_**: Yes, I've been updating quite a bit, but there were even more October/November. I've been slacking a bit for the past month, but I plan to be back on track and updating twice weekly again soon. Especially after the vacation (which went great, thank you). I love your reviews and I'm not at all insulted, so don't worry. Yes, the moment of Veritaserum was a lot of fun to write and the kiss on the temple was completely unplanned - my fingers just wrote it and I rolled with it. I can't believe it turned out as well as it did. I do that all the time, I'm reading something and I get so into it that I forget about the REAL world around me and start giggling or shouting or cheering - it's embarrassing. But I'm glad you liked it enough to have such a reaction. The only reason I've kept them not kissing for so long is because I don't want to sacrifice plot for fluff. And realistically, Audrey hasn't had much time for makeout sessions. Between being in the tournament, her visions going crazy, Cedric dying, and then total fear of the vision (particularly the one where they kiss) coming true has completely shut her off to the idea of romance. I don't really blame her, it's all pretty intense. And yes, he was definitely mulling over what would happen if they got together! Little does he know... ;)**

_sara253xxx_**: There was a little fluff in this one, even though there wasn't so much in the last. I'm glad you liked the last one, hopefully this one was a good read as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Audrey's going to have to do a lot of manipulating now that she worries Umbridge saw her in the mirror, so I guess you'll find out her excuse in the next chapter or two!**

_randome reader_**: Chapters away, dear reader. It's chapters away :)**

_incitanemxx_**: Well, first let me apologize for the sleep, food, and activities that all missed out on you, but let me also thank you for reading so much! Thank you for all the compliments, I try very hard to keep everyone as in-character as possible and I'm glad it shows. It's also cool that you see the original in a new light - I think. Hopefully it's a good thing, rather than a bad thing. You know, considering I obviously worship it. Like shrine-in-the-closet worship - just kidding, I have no room in my closet for a shrine...**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Haha, thank you! Staying in the house can be nice too, being able to veg out. My vacation was great, I was in the house a little bit TOO much. If it makes you feel better, I plan on getting a few chapters out this holiday season, so you'll have more Dreaco :)**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: Aw, thank you so much! She is very afraid to be open to others and she is very insecure. It's how I imagined being the sister of someone so famous would be - no one ever took that into account in other HPSister stories I'd read when I was younger, I can't believe so many people agreed with my ideas. So maybe Sirius doesn't actually like Harry more - maybe Audrey just THINKS he does. I mean, Sirius and Audrey talk just as (if not more) often and we are only seeing things from her point of view. Just food for thought :) And the Lily/James and Audrey/Draco comparison is what I thrive on, because it's actually quite a parallel. I enjoy it. The kiss is just chapters away! Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

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><p><strong>Well, it seems like Audrey's a little closer to Draco than she thinks. I mean, first she defends him and then she admits that she's going soft and understanding him. I'd love to hear what you think. Hopefully you have time to review before the world ends ;)<strong>

**-Egypt**


	45. A Promise

**The shortest chapter in a while, I know, but this is an in-between chapter that comes before a nice, long one. But this has its moments – such as Snape, Sirius, and Draco. So hopefully you enjoy this for the New Year! Happy end of 2012, everyone :)**

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><p>Chapter 44 – A Promise<p>

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><p>Things had gone back to normal – normal meaning that Harry and I were barely talking again and I was busy trying to cause trouble – while trying <em>not <em>to get into trouble – with Fred and George. Because of this normalcy I was not excited when Harry and I were called downstairs the night before we were to return to Hogwarts. Apparently we would not be taking the Express – which both made me nervous and excited. It would be a fewer few hours that I'd have to pretend I hated the Gryffindors, but a few hours lost on working my way back into my role as Audrey Potter: Slytherin Superstar.

I hadn't responded to any of my friends owls over the course of the break, nor had I thanked them for their Christmas presents. I wasn't allowed to use Hedwig to contact Slytherins in case a Death Eater hurt her, and I couldn't use a regular owl considering it could still be tracked back to headquarters. It was, also, both a relief and a hardship – it was horrible that I couldn't keep up my role, but I could easily pass it off as the fact Harry wouldn't let me use it.

Besides, I wasn't sure what to say to _some _of the people who'd sent me presents.

By the time Harry and I made it downstairs to the kitchen, we opened the door to find both Sirius and Snape nearly snarling at each other, sitting on opposite sides of the table with mutual dislike. It was almost like the one and only time I had been part of an Order meeting – where they sat so close they could strangle each other, but didn't for the sake of one Potter or another.

"Er," Harry said immediately, his eyes skipping over to Snape nervously. I was already smiling – my two favourite men in one room! It was exciting, even if they did look seconds away from hexing one another. Still, my eyes fell to the letter laying open in front of Sirius.

"What's that?"

"Sit down." Snape's voice was bored, but his eyes watched me very carefully. I narrowed them on him for a moment, before sitting down in perfect unison with my twin – he closer to Sirius, me closer to Snape.

"You know," Sirius muttered darkly, but still loudly. "I think I'd prefer it if you didn't give orders here, Snape. It's my house, you see."

Snape clenched his jaw. I took that as my cue.

"Is there something wrong, professor?"

"I was supposed to speak to you two alone," Snape sneered. "But Black-"

"I'm their godfather," Sirius said, it sounded like he had said it multiple times before Harry and I had moseyed down the staircase. In fact, I didn't doubt that he had.

"I am here on Dumbledore's orders," Snape glared holes through Sirius – I wonder if the two even really remembered that Harry and I were here? "But by all means stay, Black, I know how you like to feel...involved."

"That's unnecessary," I warned Snape, watching his eyes flicker to me. There was no denying the smug glint to them – soon matched by a smirk he felt no decency to hide.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius hissed.

"Merely that I am sure you must feel, ah – frustrated by the fact that you can do nothing useful," Snape's taunt was pleasing him as much as I loved one-upping the Ravenclaws. "For the Order."

Sirius flushed, I could pretty much feel the energy he was using to restrain himself in front of us. Harry made a sound of disbelief in the back of his throat that thankfully seemed to draw both men's attention to us again.

"The Headmaster has sent me to tell you, both of you, that it's his wish for you to study Occlumency this term." Ah yes, I'd nearly forgotten.

"Study what?" Harry blinked. I tried not to smile.

"Occlumency," I repeated. "It's a kind of cantated magic."

"I can't do cantated magic," he argued immediately, eyes wide.

"I have little doubt on that," Snape said sincerely, watching again with mirth as Sirius prickled again. "Which is why this is only a derivative – a much easier derivative that maybe even _you _can learn. Occlumency is the magical defence of the mind against external penetration, Potter. An obscure branch of cantated magic, but a highly useful one."

"One that you need," I said forcefully, looking towards him carefully. "And I think you know why."

"Because you think I'm being possessed?" he frowned. "But-"

"The Headmaster thinks it's a good idea," Snape interrupted smoothly. "You both will receive private lessons once a week, but you will not tell anyone what you are doing, least of all Dolores Umbridge." His eyes flickered to me meaningfully. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry mumbled, I only smirked a bit in return – this was going to be _fun. _"Who's going to be teaching me?"

Snape raised an unamused eyebrow, "I am."

I could see that Harry's stomach was falling through his arse at the news. I tried hard to control my laughter, much like Snape looked he was attempting. Though I could control my laughter, I could not control the look on my face which must have been a ridiculous smirk.

"Why can't Dumbledore teach them?" Sirius asked with a sneer, again it seemed like this question had been asked multiple times. "Why you?"

"Snape is the one who taught me cantated magic," I interrupted quickly. "I went to him because I knew he would be the only one who would push me like I needed to learn Magnuse. Someone else might be a bit too kind...learning cantated magic is not easy. Or pleasant."

Snape smirked at me, almost fondly, before he turned to meet Sirius' dumbfounded stare.

"Thank you, Miss Potter. In reality, I suppose I am the teacher because it is the headmaster's privilege to delegate less enjoyable tasks. I assure you I did not beg for the job," he sounded _quite _assured, but something told me that it wasn't necessarily true. I'd had to beg Snape myself to be the one to teach me and even then he had told me he would only give me three lessons – eventually he had given in to more but only because he knew it needed to be done and I was progressing. I was sure that if Snape had not wanted to teach Harry and I, he would not be.

Still, Snape got to his feet and looked down at Sirius with a sneer before turning to us again. "I will expect you two at six o'clock on Monday evening. My office. If anybody asks, you are taking remedial Potions."

"Professor!" I was horrified. No, horrified was not accurate enough. There was no word greater than terror and horror and panic that could explain the shock that ran through my body. "First, no one will believe that I am taking remedial potions, second I cannot-"

"Oh no, your brother will be said to be enrolled in remedial potions . Nobody who has seen him in my classes could deny he needs them," he smirked, looking quite a bit happier than I had seen him in months. "You will be said to be an assistant of sorts, as you are obviously well versed in the courses – though still a sloppy worker yourself, when you decide to participate in homework assignments."

"You just need to add an insult," I rolled my eyes. "But I appreciate you acknowledging that I'm the best you have."

"Wait a moment," Sirius sat straighter in his chair, interrupting our bickering.

"I am rather in a hurry, Black. Unlike you, I do not have unlimited leisure time." I was shocked. Snape could be cruel, it was true and everyone knew it, but he was not outwardly so cruel to people who were not insubordinate students who wrecked their potions – you know, like Harry. It may have had something to do with our father and Sirius being friends – but I was surprised by his coolness towards Sirius. Sirius, clearly, was not used to seeing us insulted by Snape as we were being.

"I'll get to the point then," Sirius growled, standing up. He was taller than Snape, surprisingly. I was distracted when I saw Snape ball his fist around the wand in his robe pocket. "If I hear you're using these Occlumency lessons to give Harry a hard time, you'll have me to answer to."

"Sirius, I'm not going to let him-" I began, but I was interrupted by the age-old rivalry flaring up again.

"How touching," Snape's eyes nearly rolled. "But surely you have noticed that Potter is very like his father?"

"Yes, I have," Sirius was rather proud, but he sneered almost instantly. "And I'm just as sure that you've noticed just how alike Audrey and Lily are."

Snape's face went from red with anger, to white-hot with rage.

"Like their father, both of them are so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off of them," Snape sneered, his voices extra cutting. I tried not to let it show how much the cutting tone actually wounded me. "And unlike his mother, your godson holds little talent."

"But Audrey does?" Sirius asked. "I can only imagine why you think so, Snape."

Sirius pushed his chair aside and rounded the table so that he could get to Snape, pulling his wand out as he went. They squared each other up even before I had time to push my chair out with a screech and place my hands between both of them.

"Stop it, you're acting like children!"

"Sirius!" Harry warned.

"I've warned you, Snivelus," Sirius growled, pushing against my left hand and trying to get closer to hex Snape. It was as if he forgot that wands worked long-range. "I warned you not to treat them like you do – not Harry _or _Audrey. I don't care if Audrey likes you, I don't care if Dumbledore thinks you're reformed, either. I know better-"

"Sirius, stop!" I gasped, pressing on his chest a little, even when I felt Snape lean against my right hand to put himself more in Sirius' face. Oh Merlin, why didn't Harry or I have wands on us?

"Oh, but why don't you tell Dumbledore so?" Snape whispered darkly. "Or are you afraid he might not take very seriously the advice of a man who has been hiding inside his mother's house for six months?"

"Snape!" I gasped in the same tone. "I will use Magnuse if I have to and I'm already exhausted!"

"Tell me, how is Lucius Malfoy these days?" Sirius asked, tilting his head and shoving his wand under my arm – I tried to swat it away and though I managed to keep it from pointing to Snape, he had moved closer so that it was my elbow that was now holding him back. "I expect he's delighted his lapdog's working at Hogwarts, isn't he?"

Snape seemed to bristle at the 'lapdog' comment. "Speaking of dogs, did you know that Lucius Malfoy recognised you last time you risked a little jaunt outside? Clever idea, Black, getting yourself seen on a safe station platform...gave you a cast-iron excuse not to leave your hidey-hole in future, didn't it?"

"Both of you stop!" I screamed, watching Sirius raise his wand.

"No!" Harry yelled at the same time. "Sirius, don't!"

"Are you calling me a coward?" Sirius roared, pushing me out of the way so that they could go face to face. Harry immediately stood up and wedged himself between them in my stead – when I had recovered from the shock, I went with him: he held back Sirius and I held back Snape.

"Why, yes, I suppose I am." Sirius growled, pushing his wand forward again. I hit it down and pushed him back slightly.

"Professor, stop," I said to him urgently. "Snape, this is not who we're fighting, don't forget that!"

"Harry – get – out – of – it!" Sirius was snarling behind me, I could hear him trying to push my brother aside as Harry reiterated similar words of warning to him.

"Don't do this!" I cried as Snape finally tried to push past me. Snape looked down on me and for a moment looked completely horrified to find me there, as if he had not registered that I was here at all. There was a long moment where I felt the tension leave Snape, though I could still hear Sirius fighting against Harry in the background.

"Cured!" a booming voice distracted our argument and it was only the shock of seeing the Weasleys flocking after Mr Weasley, well and in the flesh, that seemed to stop Sirius' continuing advances to kill Snape where he stood. "Completely cured!"

All the other Weasley's had followed in after him, all looking happy until their faces fell at the scene of both Harry and I fighting against our respective restrainees – wands pointed towards each other's faces.

"Merlin's beard," Mr Weasley sobered at once, "what's going on here?"

Both men lowered their wands instinctually, knowing that now the fight was pointless. Snape, his cool and indignant air fighting back again, pocketed his wand forcefully, as if he were trying to tear a hole through his robe. He didn't even pass me a look or comment before he turned on his heel, walking to the door.

"Six o'clock, Monday evening, you two."

He left without a look back.

"Wow," I said after a long moment, watching as Sirius' face remained tight and irritated, I waited until I saw the aggressiveness and urgency drain from his posture before I could speak again. "That wasn't overdramatic at _all."_

* * *

><p>The purple, overcrowded, triple-decker bus came straight to our side at Grimmauld place. Even though Hermione and I kept contesting was dangerous, it came straight up on the curve to pick us up – and it was everything I remembered and worse. I had never expected to ride the Knight Bus again and so I found it even worse than the first experience I'd endured for Harry's sake.<p>

Still, the sharp turns and swaying of the bus was oddly comforting – even for the brief period where Fred, George and I made it into a game of tackle – and the change between having beds during the evening and chairs during the morning was a welcome reminder that this time I knew better than to end up with any broken bones.

"You know, this is sad," I began with a sigh while finding a seat with Harry and Ron after the first stop in Birmingham. Ron looked amazed that I dared to stand when the bus was stationary, considering if it took off again I'd go flying int-

"_Ow_!" I screamed, falling forward as the Knight Bus came back to life and with a loud BANG! it had appeared somewhere else in Britain. I almost toppled into Ron's chair, only able to catch myself by throwing myself into the window instead. Which hurt. Badly.

"I've changed my mind," Ron said, green faced, "I never want to ride on this thing again."

"Are you alright?" Harry asked quickly once he had righted himself.

"Fine." I grumbled, rubbing my sore hip.

"That wasn't sad," my brother smirked at me. It took me a minute to understand what he was referring to, but when I realized he was making fun of my unfinished remark and my pain, I rolled my eyes.

"I was going to say it's sad that we won't be able to spend time together like we were this holiday," I said with a mocking glare. "But suddenly it's not as upsetting."

"Listen," A thick accent, almost indiscernible between words, alerted me to the fact that Stan Shunpike – who always stared with a little _too _much to be purely because we're Potters – had decided to interrupt us again, even after Tonks had pretty much ripped his face off for nearly screaming our names in the middle of the street. "It's 'Ogwarts stop after this. That bossy woman up front 'oo got on with you, she's given us a little tip to move you up the queue. We're just gonna let Madam Marsh off first, though – she's not feeling 'er best."

The sound of someone vomiting in between his sentences strengthened his argument.

He moved to the front of the bus with a grace that I didn't even understand could be had while on this death-trap. I turned back toward Harry – who was also watching Stan depart with a dark look.

"Problem?" I asked him.

"The way he looks at you makes mesick," he frowned. I snorted.

"Would you like to go join Madam Marsh?" He glared at me, only having it broken when the bus lurked to a stop. I dared to sit, realizing that I was still standing and how maybe if I sat down, the chair could take the brunt of the regular Knight Bus pains.

BANG!

My chair flew backward, right into the window again.

Well, that didn't work.

Still, even though my shoulders throbbed, I was happy to see the familiar streets of Hogsmeade rolling past us – we were home. Passing by the Hog's Head, we turned onto High street – the main road in Hogsmeade – and rolled past all my favourite shops: Zonko's, Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks. We rolled past Hogsmeade station, where the train would appear hours from now, and finally straight up to the gates of Hogwarts: the winged boars pawing at us.

"Well," I stood, looking towards my brother and taking the time to hug him before we would once again be under the High Inquisitors watchful eye. "Here we go again."

It was a long wait for everyone to get back to the castle, considering that the friends I was allowed to spend time with were all on the train and the Gryffindors were out of bounds. Even then it was still nice to see the warmth of the castle compared to the dilapidation of Grimmauld Place. I took my time to roam the castle and get the feel for it again – last time I was in it I was piss drunk and panicking about my own relationship with the Slytherins: those who I was friends with and the one I had just sent to the hospital wing with my hand imprinted in his face.

After I had had my fill of enjoying the castle and walking safely through the corridors – for the first time in months, thanks to Montague's absence – I decided to catch up on some much needed rest. My Slytherin dormitory had a much more comfortable bed than the old mattress in the girls room and the cot that I found myself stuck with.

Needless to say, I was late for dinner. Apparently I was lacking sleep more than I had previously thought and I was still ridiculously groggy by the time I made it to the feast. It was hard to imagine that I still had to patrol afterwards as well – so hard to imagine that I was nearly positive I was going to skip it.

I walked to the Slytherin table with my head held high. I got some strange looks – it was rare for a student to be late to a holiday or returning feast and Merlin knew that my hair, which I had not brushed after my nap, looked like a snidget's nest. Still, I walked with all the confidence I could radiate and sat down in the seat saved between Lillian and Theodore.

"Late, as per usual," Lillian muttered over her ginger-walnut soup. I gave it a quick look – that was usually supposed to be eaten when one felt sick. According to potions _and _the book I received for Christmas from Theodore. Still, she didn't look any more ill than I must have so I ignored it.

"I've been very good this year," I said lightly. "Tell her, Theodore."

"She's been very good this year," he repeated with a smirk and a monotone, digging into his potatoes without another word. I rolled my eyes, sadly used to my friends taunting before I served myself a helping of potatoes and the smallest pork chop I could find. I put a fork full of the diced potatoes in my mouth and chewed with energy – apparently doing a whole lot of nothing for a whole day worked up a bit of an appetite.

"Merlin's beard, she eats."

I rolled my eyes, looking across the table and into the tauntingly raised eyebrow of Malfoy, whose eyes were dancing with his own joke. He looked in a good mood, something that was hard to come by and I felt myself smirk back.

"Oh, I missed _you_," I responded sarcastically. Out of spite I put a large serving of pork chop in my mouth and chewed obnoxiously. Though he sneered at me, he still seemed amused. It was a strange sight to see from him and I decided not to mention it and have suffer through a dampened mood later on.

"Hurry up, Potter, our patrol begins before dinner's finished."

I let out a long, dramatic moan. "Does it ever end?"

"It does," he told me informatively, a smirk crawling up his face. "At nine o'clock tonight."

"Joy," I said lowly, unable to stop returning his smirk with one of my own. To distract from it, however, I took it upon myself to eat more. It seemed like it was so distracting that I was eating that no one cared to mention the fact that...that what? That I was almost _happy _to see Malfoy?

Not happy. Maybe closer to relieved. I mean, he wasn't making me take this shift alone even though I owed him two shifts that I'd missed before break.

Having been able to distract everyone from my point of view, I decided to distract myself by looking over to the side. Lillian, to my left, had a dropped jaw.

"What?"

A smile graced Tracey's face, who was sitting beside Malfoy. "Our gift will come to good use any day!"

My own jaw dropped before I sneered at the both of them. "No, it won't."

"Yes, it will." Lillian said in the same tone before both girls fell into a fit of giggles that was so witch-like I felt like I had been thrown into a cut scene from the _Wizard of Oz_. I growled at them as lethally as I could manage before looking to Malfoy, who was watching them with both suspicion and confusion.

"What Christmas gift?" Theodore asked conversationally. I shook my head quickly.

"Poison," I answered quickly. It seemed like the only way to describe it without having to _describe _it. "It was poison."

The giggling only worsened and I felt my skin glow red hot from embarrassment. I ate a little more quickly just so I could have something to keep my mind away from the two girls – both of which continued spewing out ridiculous innuendos for the rest of the meal – and get to patrol where we could venture as far away from the pair as possible.

This was what I got for not letting them cheat off of me.

"Come on, Potter," Malfoy sighed, standing from the table when he saw that I had slowed in eating. I still had some potatoes left, but I had eaten a decent amount. Theodore was not even trying to hide his smile while he looked down at my near-empty plate. He turned an almost proud smirk to me while I pulled away from the table – at least he seemed pleased with the happenings of this evening.

"See you all after patrol," I said casually, with a pointed look towards Tracey and Lillian. "Hopefully you'll have grown up by then."

"Leave it," Malfoy drawled, beginning to walk out of the Great Hall. He must have gotten the idea from the seventh year Hufflepuff prefects, who were leaving at the same time. I jogged to catch up to him, fighting not to throw a glance back to the Great Hall to see how my brother was coping with being back after the whole 'seeing his best friend's father attacked' thing. Also the fact that I was running to catch up with Malfoy after our whole 'he thinks I fancy him and I think he has a dark overlord in his head'.

We're such a strange pair.

Still, I managed to get out of the Great Hall without looking at him. It would be just my luck to have Umbridge be more suspicious after the incident with the mirror in my dorm and then to see that I have some concern for my brother's feelings. To be honest, I don't really know why I _did _care for my brother's feelings on the subject – I did not fancy Malfoy. And he'd made it clear he didn't want my help. And I'd made it even more clear that I was giving it anyway but refusing his.

A very strange pair, indeed.

"So, how was your Christmas?" I asked conversationally while we began walking through the ground floor corridors, though he knew instinctively to head towards the stairs so that we could head up to the upper levels. It had grown obvious over our various nights of patrolling that I enjoyed patrolling the top floors...not that he knew I patrolled there for my brother's own safety, of course. Still, he always humoured me with it and it seemed he didn't care where he looked so long as he caught _someone _out of bed.

"Decent," he said with a shrug. "How was yours, with your early departure?"

"Fantastic," I said awkwardly, trying not to remember the last night I had spent with him: getting drunk and realizing that he may not have been as awful and – worst of all – saving his drunk arse before McGonagall found him in his over-inebriated state. Which was still probably not as inebriated as I, myself, had been. "Filled with Weasleys, hospitals, and temper tantrums."

"So the same as every year?" he smirked mockingly.

"Something like that," I snorted with a roll of my eyes. "Thank you. For the gift, I mean."

"I thought you'd enjoy it," he said, purposely looking away from me. "Thought of you when I saw it."

"I wonder why," I said sarcastically, not even needing to play through all the memories of chocolate frogs that included him. There were at least a dozen throughout our previous four years – it seemed a pattern that would never end now. "Still, it was very...dare I say, _kind _of you?"

"I certainly hope you don't say it's _kind,_" he sneered back. "I am not _kind._"

"Maybe not today, but you certainly were on Christmas." Malfoy did not look at me but I watched his eyes narrow as if he were glaring at the stone walls ahead of us. I watched in interest, seeing his jaw clench as something or other – something probably not at all following my train of thought – took over his mind. To get him back on track and hopefully ease the stress I now found in his shoulders, I continued. "I didn't think you'd ever consider giving me a gift, or I may have looked for something for you. And I never knew they made special Christmas themed frogs. I didn't know they made non-meltable ones, either."

"They don't," he said a little more quietly, breathing in deep and shaking his head. He almost looked annoyed now. "I charmed it."

"Oh," Seeing his stiff posture and how irritated he had suddenly become, I decided that I needed to tread a little bit more carefully than I had been. So, to make it easier for him I looked away, too. He was probably only so stiff because he knew I was watching him carefully...while trying not to blush. Not that I knew why I was blushing. It was a ridiculous, giddy feeling made me antsy. I didn't like feeling antsy. "That was thoughtful."

"It happens," he said haughtily, as if he was insulted that I had just complimented him.

"What crawled up your arse and died?" I tried sneering, trying to fall more into myself even while the giddiness tried to alter it – but I didn't sound as intense as I had wanted. Instead I sounded closer to _curious. _Merlin's beard, it'd only been two weeks since I'd seen him – why did things feel...different?

"Something similar to a chocolate frog," he growled back, looking over at me quickly with a glare. I raised my eyebrows at him – glad that even though the anxiousness was still there, my brain was starting to function as it should again. Not only did I now feel insulted, I felt indignant.

Back to my old roots again.

"I hope it cleans you out, then," I said with a scowl. "You're so full of shite I'm surprised your eyes aren't brown."

Malfoy smirked, the stress in his shoulders seemed to lessen almost immediately before he snorted and looked away from me.

"You're so predictable it hurts," he bit back.

"I'm not predictable," I argued. "If I were predictable, you wouldn't be as annoyed with me all the time."

"I usually know what you'll do, Potter," he grumbled. "I just don't normally approve."

"Luckily, I don't need your approval," I shot back. "Nor do I enjoy having it."

"But you did enjoy the frog," he smirked back. We had lost the tenseness between the two of us again and had gone back to our witty repartee. Still, I couldn't help but wonder why he had gotten so annoyed so easily. Considering we had barely begun our patrol, I decided to change the subject from my gift – it seemed like that had been the catalyst of his annoyance last time and I did not want to begin some sort of pattern.

"Never said that," I argued. "Why? What did those sorry lards get you for Christmas?"

Instead of insulting me or bragging as I would have thought, he seemed to take my question seriously. Malfoy frowned in thought, looking up to the high ceilings as he ran through his memories, his pace not slowing on the stairs while we ascended to the upper floors.

"Quidditch supplies, robes, a chess set, a Wizard's Wireless, a foe glass, sweets, money, a lunascope, a trip to our winter home in France, a remembrall...I can't remember the rest." I felt my face burn. If that was what he had gotten just on the offhand, I could only imagine what else it was he'd forgotten. I had never _seen _so many presents in my life – nevertheless received even a tenth of their value. Rich people.

"Ironically if you had your remembrall, you might remember what else you got," I told him, trying not to mention how he'd likely forgotten more gifts than I had gotten.

"What'd you get?" He asked back with a roll of his eyes.

"Nothing so elaborate," I replied with a lack of enthusiasm, pretending not to be upset but rather winded from our long walk up the stairs to the seventh floor. "A few books, a few of the Weasleys' pranks, a set to send Howlers..."

Malfoy scoffed. "If you stayed around better company, you wouldn't have such lousy Christmases."

"All my gifts were specified to me," I growled back defensively. "Your robes may have been to your size, but I bet whoever got you those sweets didn't know which was your favourite or what channel you listen to on your new Wireless."

He stopped walking just past the top of the stairs, giving me a long glare. I sighed, closing my eyes and stopping with him.

"Bloody hell," I sighed, shrugging my shoulders noncommittally. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not," he argued, shaking his head to himself before he continued walking.

"You're right," I muttered, speeding up so that I could still keep in step with him. "I'm not really. But I do sympathize with the fact that people don't know those things. If you would stop being such a royal pain in the arse, it would be much easier for you."

"Why?" He asked with a dry, bitter laugh. "Would you consider returning the favour of a personalized gift?"

"I would," I growled back with a frown. "But I'd have no idea what to get you."

Malfoy let out a grunt but didn't say anything else. In fact, he didn't even deem the conversation important enough to look at me. And he continued to not look at me and ignore me for at least an hour and a half of walking up and down the upper hallways.

This was so typical. When Malfoy got annoyed, he became introverted. He started living in his mind and imagining all the ways he could get revenge and what he would have said were he to have thought it faster. I did it all the time as well, I just didn't do it so damn _often. _Still, he seemed like he wanted to say something half the time – his fists were clenched and his jaw tight. I could tell that he was restraining himself from possibly yelling at me or grabbing me and shaking me, but I couldn't really understand why he wasn't doing it.

Probably because he knew I'd rat him out to Snape.

Still, it was a long patrol when things were quiet. It's why they made us patrol in pairs – so that we could keep some form of conversation and not have to worry about some student overpower us. Like Montague. Who I still had to figure out how to deal with.

It would be painful for him. I think that's as far as I'd gotten with that thought process.

There was far too much to think about this year as it was.

"DETENTION!" Malfoy had yelled so loudly and so suddenly that I actually let out a cry and jumped. He looked at me from the corner of his eye with a smirk – making me hit him in the arm – but it didn't seem to bother him. In fact, he still seemed really pleased with himself – and it wasn't so confusing once I followed his gaze.

Two people, even after they had been found out, were trying to hide behind a suit of armour. Not the most convenient place for two fully grown people. I could see colours of dark hair and robes sticking out from the sides. There may as well have been a sign saying '_here we are!_' with an arrow pointing down on them.

Yes, those two _deserved_ detention.

Malfoy stormed towards them and I followed, rolling my eyes the entire way. Not only was he being ridiculously unreasonable – as it was not after hours and they should not have gotten a detention for whatever sneaking around they were doing – but the two idiots had hid behind a suit of _armour _for Merlin's sake. That thing could not hide two of them – it just screamed of _guilt._

"Oh, look who it is," Malfoy announced happily, pulling one of the people by the arm so that she was out from behind the armour. The other person followed soon after...and I felt my smirk raise up darkly.

Cho Chang was just climbing out from behind the suit of armour, following after Marietta Edgecombe who was still gripped by Malfoy. I watched Edgecombe – her blue eyes wide as her red-blonde curls bounced while she looked nervously from Malfoy to myself. Cho looked less than innocent as well, but her glare could never have looked so innocent when she was trying to kill me with her own eyes.

"Detention," Malfoy told them again, more smugly now. "For sneaking around. Would you like to tell them when, Potter?"

I looked at Malfoy in shock, but his eyes stayed focused and emotionless towards me...except for a mischievous glint to them. It was a glint I had seen often, but even then it was not usually matched with this scenario, or the extra quirk to his lips, or the fact he was sharing the look with _me._ I was surprised.

Malfoy was, in his own way, apologizing to me.

Apologizing for what? For ignoring me for the past hour, most likely. And I could tell this was his form of truce – because he knew that even before we had started to only patrol the top floors I had always wanted to catch these two in a guilty act. I constantly seemed to be finding myself wishing that this bloke would just learn how to actually say "I'm sorry"_..._then again, would we be able to punish these two if he did?

And I wanted them punished.

Edgecombe had snogged Finnegan while I was dating him. Chang had stolen Cedric from me and later convinced everyone of how much of a slag I was because of our interractions – insulting both myself _and _Cedric's memory. I hated them both. I wanted to see them both metaphorically – alright, maybe not_ so_ metaphorically – hanged.

But Chang was distracting me by purposefully trying to catch my eye. I wasn't heartless, I would let her have her last words before I condemned her to a lifetime of servitude cleaning Umbridge's sickly pink office – she'd wanted Chang on a spit since she'd seen him getting so close to Harry. And I wanted Chang on a spit ever since she'd been so close to Cedric and now so close to my very own twin brother.

But I'd let her beg me if she was really that desperate.

I caught her eye and couldn't fight the smirk that skewed my expression before she began moving her lips. I could not tell what she was saying, as no sound came out, so I narrowed my eyes to improve my look of discontent and improve my less-than-perfect vision.

Which didn't help.

I'd really just prefer she begged.

"D-A," I finally caught on to what she kept repeating by her mouth moving. She mouthed it once, then twice, and continued mouthing it even as my smirk fell.

Aw, hell.

If I took her to detention with Umbridge, the toad would force Veritaserum down the little know-it-all's throat and Chang would inevitably rat out the entire duelling club – the one that my brother headed. And if Umbridge finally had a reason to punish Harry, I have no doubt that it would be worse than using a blood quill. In fact, I had a feeling that it would start with him packing his trunk up again and leaving the grounds – for starters. Who knew what would happen afterward?

My mind raced over the fact that my justice on Hoe Chang would not yet be able to come. I couldn't condemn my brother just because this bint was stupid enough to hide behind a suit of armour and I couldn't punish her without Umbridge finding out why she had felt guilty enough to hide in the first place.

Still, I hadn't expected so many people to be part of this duelling club. I mean, I knew that the Gryffindors would side with their fearless leader – but the Ravenclaws? Next he'd be telling me the Hufflepuffs were involved. I knew that Harry fancied Hoe, but to invite her into such a dangerous thing?

My smirk was now gone and I could only imagine the look of annoyance that replaced it.

"Just go," I hissed to them both. "Leave. Now. If I see you in this hall again, I will not be as kind."

Chang nodded quickly, grabbing her friend's arm and pulling her away before Malfoy even knew what had happened. I turned to walk away quickly, balling my hands into fists. If I was not looking at him he would not be able to tell how much that just pissed me off.

I would never get my vengeance on those bitches.

"I am _such _a good sister," I muttered disdainfully to myself. And I _hated_ being such a good bloody sister.

When I noticed that Malfoy was not following after me, I turned around to see him standing in the same place I had left him – which made me instantly begin to worry. Malfoy had been giving me a peace offering and I had pretty much just thrown it away – not only may he become angry that I had been so ungracious, but he may be insulted that I had shoved it back into his face as I had. His narrowed eyes hit me.

"I get it," he exclaimed. But his voice didn't sound angry. It sounded enlightened. It sounded like he had come to some profound realization or discovered religion or something. I couldn't help but feel a little behind in my thought process.

"Get what?"

"I can't believe it – Chang's in Potter's little club, isn't she?" He hissed, walking towards me and speaking in a whisper-toned yell. I tried not to look so surprised that he had caught on, but I could feel my heart begin to pound in terror. "I thought that you liked patrolling here so you could catch them...but we've been doing this for the exact _opposite _reason, haven't we?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, rolling my eyes and hoping he didn't hear that I was short of breath. "Malfoy, you're insane. You really think th-"

"Don't insult my intelligence," he hissed out, pointing at me accusingly. "We've been patrolling this corridor for months so that no one else catches your brother's little club off-guard," Malfoy was sure to state it, positive that he was right. Which he was. Still, he added a very dangerous, "_haven't we?_" to intimidate me into giving in.

"I never said that." I took a step back from him, feeling overwhelmed by his sudden realization and the fact he was literally pointing fingers at me.

"You didn't have to," he hissed out. Looking up at the ceiling with a scowl to rival any I'd ever seen. I didn't dare try to say anything to him – I didn't want him to explode in the middle of the corridor and even worse I didn't want him to notice I was too defensive. So instead I waited. A long time. Less than patiently.

Had all my work been for nothing?

"What are you going to do?" I finally couldn't help asking, my jaw clenched and my eyes harsh while I prepared myself for whatever his answer may be. He looked at me carefully, his eyes the colour of a raging thunderhead while they scrutinized me. I tried not to hold my breath.

"I should tell Umbridge," he whispered after a moment, his eyes narrowing more so that he could watch my reactions. I could feel my heart stutter and freeze. I felt my face morph, but I coudlnt' begin to imagine what it looked like. Then, slowly, Malfoy leaned back, his eyes still watching my every move. "But I won't."

I blinked. "You won't?"

He didn't answer me at first. It seemed that he was thinking of something or other and I didn't want to distract him in case it set him off. I couldn't believe that something as simple as being _nice _was enough to let him know that something was wrong. I couldn't believe that I had let Edgecombe and Chang go and _that _is what ruined everything. I hadn't even wanted to let them go!

But it couldn't be ignored: the fate of my entire future at Hogwarts was now resting in Malfoy's hands. And because our relationship was already unstable enough as it was, I was going to have to play nice. We were gambling with too many important things for me to be selfish and lash out.

"No," Malfoy shook his head, watching me closely. "I won't."

I swallowed, my heart still thumping against my ribs painfully. This was too suspicious – too easy. "Why?"

He gave a humourless scoff. "Ignorance for a clean slate."

"What?"

"We traded our ignorance for my clean slate," he repeated with a sneer. "And if I'm ignorant to the fact we fancy each other, I may as well be ignorant to the fact you haven't changed a bit."

I drew back as if he'd hit me. "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"You heard me," he hissed, walking forward again. I followed him with a dropped jaw. "I mean that I've done one hell of a job following by the rules and I'm not about to ruin it because you're still so...so _good._"

"I'm not good," I said immediately, taking hold of his arm to stop him. He was walking too quickly for me to keep up and when I touched him, he whirled around to face me.

"But you're not _bad,_" he hissed out shaking his head. "This is ridiculous, I should have caught on."

"I made it so you wouldn't," I was appalled by my defensiveness – he now knew without a doubt that his assumptions were entirely correct. "But you said...about the ignorance-"

"We fancy each other," he repeated. "There's no use denying it while we're taking this little pause in morals, Potter."

"We don't fancy each other," I assured him while I recoiled. "We're friends."

"Are we?" He stepped in closer, removing the distance I'd just created between us. "Are we really?"

He was so close that I couldn't breathe. I nodded, swallowing hard.

"I like things as they are," I insisted, glaring at him. He studied me for a long moment again – it seemed that Malfoy had a lot to think about today. When he found what he seemed to be looking for, he pulled away with a scowl and a shake of his head.

"Well as long as _you _like where we are," his tone was sarcastic and biting.

"I do like it," I nodded.

"Well, I don't." He said sternly. "I'm not a fiddle, Potter."

"I'm sorry," I blinked, holding up my hand to stop him from interrupting. "Do you think I'm _playing _you?"

"Aren't you?" He asked with a sneer. "Or are you really just that naive?"

"I'm not naive!"

"Then you're playing me," he snarled. I stepped back a moment, shaking my head.

"Are you telling me you _do _fancy me?"

It was Malfoy's turn to recoil. He looked as if I had punched him in the gut – he even looked a little green.

"I'm saying we fancy each other." That was a ridiculous correction in my opinion.

"That's not what I asked," I argued. "Are you saying that _you_ fancy _me_?"

He didn't respond for a moment, but he looked as if he was about to yell at me. Instead, he turned his eyes on me – they were now as cool as steel and intense as if he were furious. Yet, he didn't look furious at all – I had never seen whatever emotion he was feeling.

"You know what, Potter," he hissed so quietly that it sounded dangerous. "Maybe you _are _just that naive."

I recoiled. For some reason, though it was one of the least insulting things he'd ever said to me, it felt like he had slapped me across the face. I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

I was mortified by how weak my voice sounded, how the sound broke off mid-word.

Dear Merlin, I didn't think it could happen...but I was _actually _sorry.

"No. You're not," he repeated it in the same way he had earlier before he began walking away. I felt like I couldn't follow him for a long moment, just waiting for the feeling to drain back into my veins and make my body functional. When it did, I sprinted after him. He didn't turn even when I called out to him.

"I _am _sorry."

"Stop saying it!" He hissed at me.

"But I am," I repeated, glad that he subconsciously seemed to slow down for me. "I can't fancy you Malfoy."

He paused, his step faltering before he turned to me – his tone no longer annoyed, but suspicious.

"Just because you _can't _doesn't mean you don't."

"Actually, it does," I argued with him as if he were stupid.

"No, it doesn't," he smirked. "It means you feel like you _can't_ because of your brother. But you still have never told me you _don't_ fancy me."

I gauged his expression for a long moment. He seemed proud of himself, as if he had found something out that I had been hiding – had I been hiding that? Had I been hiding anything at all? I felt like I was caught redhanded and yet, it was like we were both hearing something that didn't surprise us. Had he known all along that this was what would happen?

_Had I?_

"No," I told him slowly, looking up at him emotionlessly. "I have never said that."

He smirked at me, his eyes twinkling. "Good."

I drew back immediately, throwing my hands in the air just for an excuse to move away from him. "Every time you say that, something drastic happens."

"You don't expect me to kiss your temple again, do you?" he asked with a derisive snort. "Because it won't happen."

"It won't?" Even I was surprised by the disappointment that laced my tone.

All I could hope was that it was not noticeable.

His smirk told me otherwise.

"Potter, the next time we kiss I promise you it will not be so innocent." His eyes turned playful.

"Next time?" I repeated nervously, unable to bring myself to make my brain work on its own channel of thought. He must have heard the strange, conflicting emotions that were sending electrical humming through my body because he smirked. And then, for the first time ever, the smirk molded into something else. Something genuine and...dazzling.

Draco Malfoy _smiled_.

It was the first time I had never, ever seen a real smile from him. It looked wide and bright, lighting up dark contours of his face that I hadn't realized weren't actually a part of his complexion. He looked almost like a completely different person, a complete new entity within the same arrogant and yet _witty _persona. He was even – oh dear Merlin's rabbit in a hat – attractive this way.

It left me without words, which he seemed to notice because he even chuckled. A low chuckle deep in his chest that turned his dazzling smile into a grin before he winked and turned to keep walking again. Before he did, however, he looked at me pointedly.

"Next time," he confirmed simply. Then he began walking away.

And somehow, traitorously, I believed him.

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><p><strong>So, I know it's short but there's a time lapse in the next one and it will be long. It has Occlumency with Snape and Harry and will skip to Valentines Day which is full of Umbridge and Draco! I know that December wasn't a very good month for updating (once a week or so), but in the New Year I PROMISE to get back on track for people like these fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_neoko-chan_**: I wish it were that clever, but sadly that chapter was written a week before. Thought about taking credit for it and thought 'nah, not that smart' haha.**

_BlueRose22_**: I'm glad you feel like I'm close with you, I like responding to reviews. If you take the time to leave one, I figure you should get something for it :) Draco and Audrey romance is just chapters away...you wouldn't even believe how soon!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter – hopefully this one was good even though it was short. Also thank you, I try really hard to keep people in character. Hope you had a good Christmas as well, and a Happy New Year!**

_BlueLuver5000_**: I'm glad you liked it! The Montague subject is coming up next chapter again, too. Thanks for reviewing!**

_incitanemxx_**: I'm glad you liked the Christmas chapter. Yes, she definitely defended the Slytherins in front of Harry. He is prejudiced against them, it's true, so I like the clash between he and his own twin sister. I'm glad you liked the gift, I was going to give her something completely different at first so I'm glad it went over so well. Audrey definitely wouldn't want it being spread around if they start dating, but you never know. Also, the sixth book is going to be SO crazy. I get giddy just thinking about it!**

_sara253xxx_**: I'm glad you liked it, thanks!**

_EveryNewDay_**: I liked the gifts too, I've gotten stuff like that before and I remember the dread, haha. Also her wand is a fun thing to play around with – it won't be sorted out any time soon. I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well and have a Happy New Year!**

_OddPotato_**: Harry and Audrey are so forward and back, but at least she has those cute Dreaco moments! I wouldn't eat chocolate frogs if they really moved. When I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I bought one though, I refuse to eat it because it's so cool. Doesn't move, but is still cool.**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Better than the books? No way! But I'm glad you feel like she belongs in them! The theory is a pretty good one (and it's what I always thought had happened to him in the fifth book) so hopefully other people agree. And I think that they're both caught up in everything that's happening – poor Potters. The Dreaco is chapters away – can you feel it coming, yet? Because it's close ;)**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Draco is so cute in his own way. She is understanding the Slytherins better – that's Audrey's real difference. She understands things like Harry doesn't. I also believe that the Mayans stopped carving – I mean, their calendar just repeats. They were being smart. But still, just like with Y2K, I was going to make sure I left SOMETHING on the off-chance, haha. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a good New Year!**

_Strazza_**: Harry is hard to be around in this book – I hated this book because I hated him so much. Literally. Harry is a dick in this book...it's hard to regulate that but hopefully he isn't being TOO much of an ass that it's later unforgivable. And yes, Harry doesn't get the idea of Slytherins being forced into Death Eaters...but Audrey will ;)**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Wow, you finished this in a day? That's some fast reading, well done! I'm glad that you like it and thank you very much for liking this and reviewing :)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I get the prison feeling. I'm a traveller at heart but at the same time a total recluse because I'll spend my entire day writing – so it's a strange mix that usually results in me exploding randomly and saying "I NEED TO LEAVE!" haha. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter!**

_CookieBookie14_**: She did get to kiss Cedric at least, but he did die, sadly. He had to be a catalyst, just like JKR says that she needed Sirius to be a catalyst for Harry. I have given myself two people whom I can save in this series because it's realistic that Audrey's presence would change at least two people's fates – whether it's Sirius or not you'll have to wait and see. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Random reader_**: She's already back, as promised! And Snape was back already here and will be coming back in the next chapter with Occlumency :)**

_niharasubbaiah_**: I'm glad you're enjoying it, thank you! This story pretty much writes itself thanks to JKR's brilliance and Audrey's snarky comments. Thanks for signing up to follow, too, you're too kind!**

_Hanpotter_**: I'm glad you're liking the story, thanks for the reviews! Also, preliminary school is the same as primary school. I had to ask my friend from England about a lot of the difference in language. I'm Canadian so it can be hard to get into the English mindset – hope you liked the chapter!**

_loveactuallyy_**: I'm so glad that you're liking it so much – thank you! Hopefully this chapter was just as good as others!**

_Astronomicall_**: Oh wow, thank you! Snape is my favourite, as well. Seriously, I love him the most and I remember when I still read fanfiction how much I hated when people made him a villain. I knew from the beginning he wasn't bad and then when the seventh book came out I was so proud that he was really the hero. Anyway, I'm glad you like it so much and hopefully you continue to. Thanks for reviewing :)**

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><p><strong>Thank you for all your comments guys, I'm glad you're liking it. The next chapter is already longer than this one and I will have it out at some point this week. The next chapter has Occlumency, Valentine's Day and all the fun stuff that comes with a life of spying! <strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	46. A Clear Mind

**Ah, back to another long chapter, my lovely readers! I'm excited to hear what you guys think of this one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed – there's a note about some of your questions right here...**

NOTE**: I got a lot of questions as to why Audrey didn't just give Cho and Marietta detention with someone else – in the books (and ironically, you will hear in this chapter) Dolores Umbridge is in charge of all school punishments, as mandated by Educational Decree #25. If Audrey would have given them detention, it would have gotten back to Umbridge as she pretty much files all punishments to make sure that they are "suited" to the crime. Thanks for asking, I'm sorry that wasn't clearer.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 45 – A Clear Mind<p>

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><p>"Mass Breakout from Azkaban," I repeated, who knew how many times I'd said it today. Somehow, though it had been ten hours since I'd heard the news, it still seemed I was in some kind of shock. But it felt like a whole new subject when I was saying it to my brother, who was finally meeting me at the stairs to the dungeons for our first Occlumency lesson. When he reached me, I flung the Newspaper into his chest – all as if he hadn't heard the news yet. "Ten Death Eaters."<p>

"Voldemort's working fast," he muttered darkly, taking a look at the _Prophet _with a wince. "Dolohov, Rookwood, Mulciber, _three_ Lestrange's..."

I shivered when he said the final surname – how couldn't I? That woman would torture Hermione and I. The worst part was I didn't know when, or why, or what happened after. Was that my final day, when she would torture me? Did I see my final breath, or listen to my own last coherent thought?

"We need to go," I explained with a gulp, moving so that we could get towards Snape faster. For some reason, I felt like as soon as we saw Snape and got this Occlumency thing under control, it would help. I knew he wouldn't save me from the fate that time had planned for me, but at least he could comfort me – _mentor _me – before I was doomed to it.

"Yes, wouldn't want to be late," Harry mumbled bitterly to himself as he matched my pace. I gritted my teeth against his reluctance.

"No, but with a mass breakout from Azkaban and having Tom-Bloody-Riddle successfully rallying his army, I suggest we become proactive about our safety. No?" I asked intensely, feeling even more annoyed with Harry scoffed.

"Snape is not proactive for my safety," he whispered to himself. He could be such a child. Still, I knew that in his own way he was right – Snape would be hard on him today. At the same time, Harry was wrong with the idea that Snape would be easy on me...he wouldn't be. That was how he taught me and that was how I liked it. It got the best results.

"Stop worrying – this will be fun," I assured Harry half-heartedly as we walked deeper down into the dungeons. "I already told you that I'll try to keep Snape off your back. And you know that he's only doing this so that we're safe. Snape knows what he's doing, or Dumbledore wouldn't have appointed him – so just listen to him and do as he says."

"Fun," Harry repeated darkly, already having forgotten all my other words of comfort. "Yes, I'm so sure."

"Cantated magic is all about focus," I informed him. "So you need to be able to forget that it's Snape who's teaching you. You need to put all that aside, just for the lesson."

"Because I'm so sure _he'll _do that," he muttered.

"I'm going to pretend that it's the snake in your head that's being so annoying," I told him haughtily, pointing my nose in the air. "Which means that we need to hurry to the dungeon so we can get him _out, _dolt_._"

Our first Occlumency lesson with Snape; I wasn't sure how to feel about today. Though Harry seemed to think it lacked something to be desired, I was excited. And terrified. I had not really had a lot of time to spend with Snape between my spying and my prefect duties and to be honest I had some things that required his no-bullshit answers. This could be some good bonding time...

However, now I had to work harder on what he was teaching me, if not for Harry's sake than for my own. Harry had a snake in his head, sure, but I had a lot of memories that I really didn't want Snape to see. You know – me kissing Malfoy, me spying on Umbridge, me having been there when Crouch croaked...

Little things like that.

Well, at least I knew Snape would be in a good mood – because he was about to get the opportunity to mentally kick the shite out of Harry.

Alright, I can't deny: I'm a little excited too.

Harry looked like he was about to knock before he opened the door to the potions office, but I didn't feel the need. Again, I was a common visitor to this part of the school and since Snape was expecting us, it just seemed overkill to knock as well. I walked in first – I'm sure Harry was hoping that I'd warm Snape up for him but even on my best day there was no such chance – Snape had been gunning for a chance like this since first year.

"Shut the door behind you, Mr Potter."

Ah, it was already beginning.

Harry was sure to close the door behind him while I moved forward to inspect the office. It looked different. Sure, it was still shrouded in shadow and gloom – Snape's personal preference, of course. He had still put the creepiest looking ingredients on display in the store cupboard, and Snape's hair still looked like he needed a good bath, but that was all what I was used to seeing. What I was not used to seeing was the stone basin on Snape's desk, marked with runes and symbols that was shining mysteriously at the ceiling above and casting darker shadows throughout the room.

"Professor," I asked slowly. "Is that the Headmaster's Penseive?"

"Very good, Miss Potter," Snape nodded. "It is indeed."

Harry was looking at it too, I could see. He should remember it considering last time he had seen it he had dragged me into a vision of Barty Crouch JR's trial and made me an accomplice to invading Dumbledore's privacy.

No, I can't think of Crouch while I'm in this room with Snape – he'll know.

"Sit," he ordered. We both did as we were told in the two chairs that were already stationed across from his desk. When we were sat down and he was sure our attention was on him, he continued. "Well, you know why you are both here: the Headmaster has asked me to teach the two of you Occlumency. I can only hope that you, Mr Potter, prove more adept at it than at Potions and that you, Miss Potter, have not forgotten everything I've taught you."

"Right," Harry gritted out.

"I may remember a trick or two," I blinked blandly.

"This may not be an ordinary class, but I am still your teacher," Snape's eyes narrowed. "And you will therefore call me 'sir' or 'Professor' at all times."

"Yes...sir," Harry added quickly and darkly.

"Right-o, Professor," I saluted. I couldn't help smirking when I didn't get points taken away.

Oh, this _would _be fun.

"Now, Occlumency," he began, folding his hands over his desk. "As I told you back in your dear godfather's kitchen, this branch of magic seals the mind against magical intrusion and influence."

"And why does Professor Dumbledore think I need it, sir?" Harry tested, I could feel his curiosity over whether or not Snape would tell him the truth as I had. What my brother didn't seem to understand, however, is that Slytherins hardly ever felt the need to be nice and keep the truth from someone to save their feelings.

"Surely even _you _could have worked that out by now, Potter? The Dark Lord is highly skilled at Legilimency-"

"What's that, sir?" Harry asked blankly.

"He can read minds," I whispered to him, shoving my elbow into his ribs.

"It is the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind-"

"He can read minds?" He repeated nervously, looking at me instead of at Snape.

"Neither of you seem to have any subtlety," Snape sneered, his dark eyes nearly rolling towards us. "You do not understand fine distinctions. It is one of the shortcomings that makes you such a lamentable potion-maker."

"What?" I gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I am a fantastic potion-maker, or this cover-up lie would not work!"

"Yes," Snape retreated quickly, though it was a slow drawl. "Luckily for you, Miss Potter here understands _slight_ subtleties. It makes her a decent-" _decent _my arse, "potion-maker and liar."

I resented that, but there were bigger fish to fry tonight.

"So why does Dumbledore need _me _here, Professor?" I asked, leaning forward. "Riddle doesn't have a ready-made link to read my mind."

"Only Muggles talk of 'mind-reading'," Snape told me with a smirk. He seemed to know that it was a carefully tread subject with me considering none of my Slytherin friends were too keen on the idea of muggles. "The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader, the mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter – or at least, most minds are." That insult was not lost on either my brother or I. "It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. The Dark Lord, for instance, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. Only those skilled at Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so can utter falsehoods in his presence without detection."

"Sounds handy," I said carefully. "But you didn't answer my question."

Snape's eyes stayed on mine, but he did not answer. Typical.

"But he could know what we're thinking right now?" Harry asked nervously, before seeing Snape's eyes turn to glare at him and adding, "sir?"

"The Dark Lord is at a considerable distance and the walls and grounds of Hogwarts are guarded by many ancient spells and charms to ensure the bodily and mental safety of those who dwell within them," Snape, again, was avoiding both our questions. Though I could tell that what he was saying was meant to bring some small comfort to Harry. "Time and space matter in magic, Potter. Eye contact is often essential to Legilimency."

"Well then, why do I have to learn Occlumency?"

"Because he's already gotten you in a position where you were eye-to-eye before, dolt," I hissed to Harry. He sent me a glare, before we both turned back to Snape.

"The usual rules do not seem to apply with you, Potter. The curse that failed to kill you seems to have forged some kind of connection between you and the Dark Lord. The evidence suggests that at times, when your mind is most relaxed and vulnerable – when you are asleep, for instance – you are sharing the Dark Lord's thoughts and emotions. The Headmaster thinks it inadvisable for this to continue. He wishes me to teach you how to close your mind to the Dark Lord."

It was nice to hear that all my theories had been reasonable – Voldemort was connected to my brother. Fantastic. But that meant that all the bad things were right, too, and the question still stands: why am _I _here?

I didn't get a chance to ask before Harry was jumping the gun again.

"But why does Professor Dumbledore want to stop it? I don't like it much, but it's been useful, hasn't it? I mean...I saw that snake attack Mr Weasley and if I hadn't, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to save him, would he? Sir?"

Snape didn't respond for a moment, his eyes flickering between us before he spoke slowly, with a measured tone and careful words.

"It appears that the Dark Lord has been unaware of the connection between you and himself until very recently. Up till now it seems that you have been experiencing his emotions-"

"I told you!" I whispered to Harry darkly.

"-and sharing his thoughts, without his being any the wiser. However, the vision you had shortly before Christmas-"

"The one with the snake and Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Do not interrupt me, Potter," Snape hissed. I nearly snorted, having noticed that I, again, was not chastised for interrupting him just a sentence before. "As I was saying, the vision you had shortly before Christmas represented such a powerful incursion upon the Dark Lord's thoughts-"

"I saw inside the snake's head, not his!" Harry argued.

I rolled my eyes as Snape pretty much seemed to seethe.

"I thought I just told you not to interrupt me, Potter?"

"Boys," I mumbled, leaning back in my chair.

"How come I saw through the snake's eyes if it's Voldemort's thoughts I'm sharing?"

"Do not say the Dark Lord's name!" Snape hissed as if _he _were a snake, leaning back slightly as if he didn't want to share the air we breathed. I frowned, looking between the two as a pregnant silence grew between us, the light from the Penseive casting dangerous contours over our features that made us all look that much more dangerous.

"Professor Dumbledore says his name," Harry argued childishly, breaking the silence.

"Dumbledore is an extremely powerful wizard," Snape snapped. "While he may feel secure enough to use the name, the rest of us..."

Snape stopped and moved to rub his left forearm against the arm of his chair. He didn't seem to realize that he was doing it, but I did. I cast my eyes aside ashamedly, wishing that I hadn't noticed at all while my brother, however, was not as polite and watched him with narrowed eyes. I felt my jaw clench as I roughly shoved my elbow in his ribs again to make him look away.

"I just wanted to know," Harry began as nicely as he could voice, "why-"

"You seem to have visited the snake's mind because that was where the Dark Lord was at that particular moment," Snape informed irritably. "He was possessing the snake at the time and so you dreamed you were inside it, too."

"And Vol-" Harry cut himself off. "_He _realised I was there?"

"It seems so," Snape responded with a glare.

"What does that mean?" I asked, my eyes wide. "If the Riddler kn-"

"Really, Miss Potter?" Snape did not sound annoyed, but exasperated. I assumed that, as always, it had something to do with my nicknames.

"If You-Know-Who knows that Harry's connected to his mind, why hasn't he made him go kill half of Hogsmeade yet?" I asked. "I mean, it's no secret that he's a powerful git, so why isn't he using his power to bring Harry to him, or to take him over and make Harry seem like the bad guy?"

"Because Mr Potter already seems like the bad guy," Snape argued, looking at me with a strange look that almost said 'why have _you _thought so much on this?'. I almost felt tempted to tell him 'I still consider him the bad guy most days, as well'. "The _Daily Prophet _is doing The Dark Lord's work for him. The public is not seeing eye-to-eye and sympathizing with the Boy Who Lived as they once were. Until he decides to live in the open once again, that is all the Dark Lord needs."

"So why am I here?" I asked again, narrowing my eyes on him. "I haven't had any dreams about Tom Riddle or hot flashes because he's angry. I don't see any reason why I'm here other than as a cover for my brother – a cover which isn't entirely necessary."

"It would appear that there is a part of you that may also be connected to the Dark Lord, as we have discovered by a few interesting turn of events since his uprising," Snape said carefully. "Such as your lack of visions."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"It has been since the night of his resurrection that you have not been able to see into the future, which demonstrates the possibility that your futures may be closely intertwined. Because of this, there is some concern that you will need this talent as much as your brother will at some point in your own future."

I thought about it carefully, my eyebrows furrowed. So, Voldemort and I may have our very own showdown – not unlikely, but not at all preferred. Or, maybe, the connection that had damaged my Sigh had already happened...

"This all ties in to the fact that he could see me in the graveyard, doesn't it?"

Harry watched me carefully, knowing that I didn't like talking about it, but I couldn't find the urge to turn my eyes to him. Snape looked at me honestly, his dark eyes guarded and yet trying to be as sincere as possible.

"That is what we fear."

He was hiding something from me. That was the only reason his eyes would be so guarded, even if my brother was in the room. There was something that I wasn't being told – which was not okay. I had done my part for the Order, the Order had yet to uphold their bargain.

"You think because he saw me, he's somehow connected to me too." I guessed, Harry looked between the two of us while he searched for words.

"It is only a theory," Snape nodded. "But a theory strong enough to make us consider all our variables."

"But how do you _know_?" Harry cut in, still looking between us nervously. "Is this just Professor Dumbledore guessing, or-"

"I told you," Snape hissed, "to call me 'sir'."

"Yes, _sir_," Harry repeated with a growl, "but how do you know?"

Snape ignored the question entirely. "The important point is that the Dark Lord is now aware that you are gaining access to his thoughts and feelings and we fear that he may be aware that there is some connection towards your sister as well. He has also deduced that the processes are likely to work in reverse; that is to say, he has realised that he might be able to access your thoughts and feelings in return-"

"And he might try and make me do things?"

"Sir," I added quickly and flashed an innocent smile as I saw Snape's eyes narrow on my brother.

"He might," Snape grumbled. "Which brings us back to Occlumency."

"Fun," I smiled sarcastically. Watching as the two men looked at each other darkly – this would never get anywhere if these boys didn't grow up.

Snape seemed to snap out of his childish grudge first. Harry and I didn't move as Snape pulled out his wand and deposited three sets of memories into the Pensieve. He didn't give us any explanation for what memories they were, but moved the Pensieve to a shelf out of the way before walking back over to us with his wand still drawn.

"Who will be going first?"

"Audrey will," Harry said quickly, pushing my shoulder slightly forward. Oh yes, those Gryffindors are _so _brave. "She's had experience with this kind of thing."

"I could coach you on how much experience I have," I argued. "_You're _the one who can fight of the Imperius Curse – that's way more suited than my expertise at extracting my mind from my body."

"Are you even hearing yourself?" Harry asked me with a pointed look. "I don't-"

"Mr Potter, you're first," Snape hissed. "Stand up and take out your wand."

Oh, how I ever mentioned how much I love being the favourite?

Harry got to his feet, giving me a cold glare. I watched as his fist curled around the hilt of his wand, making sure that the desk stayed firmly between the two of them. Wise move. I don't know whether or not I would put it past Snape to take advantage of this situation.

No. I have no doubts: he would.

Hell, _I _would.

"You may use your wand to attempt to disarm me, or defend yourself in any other way you can think of," Snape informed him before jerking his head to the side in a way that let me know I was supposed to get out of the way. I took my chair with me as I moved towards the east wall of the classroom.

"And what are you going to do?" Harry asked nervously.

"I am about to attempt to break into your mind," Snape, surprisingly, did not sound smug or excited like I had expected while he informed him of this. "We are going to see how well you resist. As your sister said earlier, I have already been told that you have already shown aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse. You will find that similar powers are needed for this...brace yourself, now. _Legilimens_!"

Harry only had time to tense before the spell hit him. It didn't really do anything that I could see – Harry just stood there, staring at Snape. And Snape just stood there, staring at Harry. It was a long and tense moment before Harry started to sweat – and then Harry began to yell. Quite suddenly my brother shook his head and a bright flash bolted through the room towards Snape, who jolted back in shock while my brother crashed to his knees.

I rushed towards Harry, helping him up to his feet. He was breathing as if he had just run a race – I guess it was a lot more mental exertion than I had initially thought. Maybe this would be closer to Astral Projection practice than I had anticipated. Behind his desk, Snape rubbed at a welt that had appeared on his wrist.

"Did you mean to produce a Stinging Hex?" Snape asked darkly.

"No," Harry responded with gritted teeth, shrugging off my help even though he was already standing thanks to me. Jerk.

"I thought not. You let me get in too far," Snape informed with a nod. "You lost control."

"Did you see everything I saw?" Harry asked nervously.

"Flashes of it," Snape lied. It made me curious: I could only imagine what Snape had seen if he felt the need to lie about it and not rub it into my brother's face. I recalled exactly how I had felt when I found out he could see everything I had thought when he'd invaded my mind to see if I had reached an Astral state. It was humiliating. "To whom did the dog belong?"

"My Aunt Marge," Harry muttered. I felt my own face heat up as I glared at Snape.

"Well, for a first attempt that was not as poor as it might have been," I was almost sure he was only being kind because I was now giving him a death glare. Any memory that had to do with any of Aunt Marge's dogs or Aunt Marge herself was indefinitely humiliating."You managed to stop me eventually, though you wasted time and energy shouting. You must remain focused. Repel me with your brain and you will not need to resort to your wand."

"I'm trying," Harry hissed. "But you're not telling me how!"

"Energy is the key to all Cantated magic," I told Harry quickly. "You need to trade Energy for Effect. It's like Cause and Effect, but magically balanced instead of logically balanced."

"Now," Snape interrupted. "I want you to close your eyes."

"But-" I began, only to have Harry shake his head and give Snape a dark glare before closing his eyes and lightly pushing me off to the side.

Fine, if these two morons wanted to fight all night, I was more than happy to let them. It meant less time for me to be embarrassed.

"Clear your mind, Potter," Snape informed coolly. "Let go of all emotion...You're not doing it, Potter – you will need more discipline than this...focus, now."

"Harry, you have to stay calm, try to forget everything," I told him quietly, only to receive a nice, sharp glare from Snape. I glared back for a moment.

"Let's go again," Snape informed. "On the count of three: one, two, three – _Legilimens_!"

Harry didn't even stiffen that time, he didn't have time to. Snape had not counted slowly and because he was so unprepared, it wasn't long before Harry fell to his knees again, his head buried in his hands as he let out a howl.

I ran to him as quickly as I could, gathering him up so that he could stand again.

"Get up!" Snape growled. "Get up! You are not trying, you are making no effort. You are allowing me access to memories you fear, handing me weapons!"

"I – am – making – an – effort," Harry roared.

"I told you to empty yourself of emotion!" Snape hissed back.

"Yeah? Well, I'm finding that hard at the moment."

With the glare between the two, it was quite clear that he was referring to their ridiculous hatred for one another. Really, five years later and they're still no better than the first class.

"Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord," Snape hissed, leaning close to us as I helped him stand solidly on the floor again. "Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily – weak people, in other words-"

"Snape," I scolded, furrowing my eyebrows.

"-they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!" Snape yelled.

"I am not weak," Harry growled.

"Then prove it! Master yourself! Control your anger, discipline your mind! We shall try again! Get ready-" I looked at my brother, watching the sweat on his brow and his shaking knee – blood having stuck his trousers to his skin. I shook my head.

"No, it's my turn," I said immediately. Throwing my arm in front of him for emphasis.

"Miss Potter, I did not-"

"It's my turn," I ground out darkly. I gritted my teeth and looked at him spitefully – there was only so much that I could handle seeing my brother put through...and if someone was going to torture him, they should have a better reason than having not liked my parents however many years ago. I moved to the side so Harry was out of my way before taking out my wand and facing Snape. "You said that we're both at risk, so let's make the most of the lesson, shall we?"

Snape looked displeased but nodded, straightening himself out. "Clear your mind, Potter. Forget about all those annoying little things that always interfere – on three: one, two, three – _Legilimens_!"

_"He's brilliant," _I was watching myself – I could see everything as if I were a third party in my own memory. And the memory of myself was hugging my potions text closer to me. I was in First Year and it was after a potions class – sometime early in the year, I could tell as Theodore was not beside me. Instead it was just Daphne and I who walked beside one another, her blonde and exaggerated curls bouncing while her eyes bulged.

"_Brilliant?_" She gawked. "_Audrey, he's tried to humiliate you three times now!_"

"_So? He's been easier on me since he learned how I manage to make my potions,_" my younger self smiled, I remember how giddy I felt. I was talking about Snape. "_I can't wait to do our freestyle exam potion! I'm going to do something really hard to impress him – I'm going to love Potions, I can tell._"

"_Well then you can help me study for it,_" Daphne sighed. "_Old Snape may refuse to take points from Slytherins but he still won't feel bad about failing me. He's a git like that._"

"_Why do you hate him so much_?" Young-Audrey asked, looking at her with a furrowed brow. "_You made fun of him at the feast, too. He's a good teacher – we made a potion on our first day and every day since. That's not something to sneeze at._"

"_Snape is weird, Audrey – even for the Wizarding World. And he's not even well thought of, either...my Mummy said-"_

"_You're always going on about what your Mum says,_" my young self frowned, wrinkling her nose and walking a little bit faster. It seems Daphne and I had been at odds from the beginning...funny, I could hardly remember that. "_Your Mummy seems like a rude, prissy, gossiper to me._"

"_Don't say that about my Mummy!_"

"_Then don't judge people!_" Younger me hissed back at Daphne.

Oh no, I had to stop this. I had to stop this before Snape would see what had happened next – before he saw that I had played my first ever prank at the school right after that fight. Against Daphne and Pansy, who had started a rumour that I had a crush on Snape...

"Ow," I groaned, realizing that I was leaning against his desk for support, my left ankle twisted awkwardly under me as it had fallen but my other had tried to hold me up. I

"You did not clear your mind."

"You didn't give me much of a chance," I glared at Snape, straightening up and testing my ankle. It would be bruised, but it was not injured.

"The Dark Lord will not wait until you're ready," he argued. "He will attack when you're most vulnerable."

"Fine. Again. Give me a second to breathe and then again."

I tried to remember how I would make it into astral, but for some reason it didn't do anything at all but made me think of old parchment – even as I heard Snape mutter the spell.

"_Best not go to grandmother's house late_," Montague wiggled his eyebrows up and down in front of me. It was this year and we were in the library with the book of pureblood lineage in front of us. I was looking at myself again and I looked furious – not that it was surprising considering that the book had been opened to Sirius' picture. "_Or the big bad black wolf may get you_."

"_Aren't you supposed to be off to the Quidditch field so you can practice teaching others how to lose to my brother and play badly_?" It was strange seeing myself in third person, particularly because it was myself as I was not long ago. I looked the exact same – maybe even more angry than normal. Luckily I didn't look as frightened as I remembered being as soon as he had referenced Sirius as the 'big bad black wolf'.

"_Playing dirty is not the same as playing badly. I could teach __you __how to play dirty_."

"_I'm sure you could, but I'm not interested in learning._" It looked like I was getting up to leave, but he placed his hand over Sirius' face again and leaned forward to intimidate me – I was leaning back just so he was out of my face.

"_I never said you would be _interested_ in it_," oh no. I needed to pull myself out of this memory before Snape saw what Montague had been doing all year. I didn't need Snape to get worried about this. This was _my _battle to fight – Montague was _my _problem to solve. "_You know, Malfoy isn't here to save you now – you made sure of that, didn't you_?"

"_I don't need Malfoy to save me_," I watched as I nearly threatened him with the hand that had attacked him with Magnuse the year before. "_Do I_?"

"_I guess not_. _But you might want to keep him around if you have any thoughts on staying – what is it you prudes say – _innocent?"

"Stop!" I yelled, pulling away from the memory with a painful pull before Snape would have been witness to the worst of the threats. Snape raised an eyebrow when I finally saw what was happening – that I was on the ground, my knees and palms scraped as I held myself up from falling face first onto the flagstone. Snape looked towards my brother and back to me again.

"Miss Potter just demonstrated a good way of pushing one out of their thoughts," he said slowly, his eyes turning to me accusingly. "But not before the damage was done."

That insinuation was not hard to miss.

Snape knew about Montague.

"Again." I winced, standing again and catching my balance. I held my wand out in front of me when I was ready, but even then Snape did not hesitate. And because he didn't hesitate, I was taken by surprise.

I was screaming – or another version of me was screaming. This version did not look like me – she had much longer hair, it was ratty and dark – in the dim light, I could not tell what colour it was. Overtop of me was a woman – the wild woman...Bellatrix Lestrange.

"_I've never even touched it_!" I could hear the pain coating my words, I could hear the heavy sobs that tried to wrack my body even though the woman was sitting on it and making my weeping impossible. Beside me, Granger looked as worn and ratty as I did – she was crying too. I couldn't see anything else in the gloom. This was a vision and I had not been witness to whatever was around us, so I couldn't remember it even as my mind was being invaded.

"_I never touched it, leave us alone_!" I watched myself kick underneath her, but to no avail.

"_You're both lying, you filthy Mudbloods, and I know it_!" Her voice was low and raspy. She moved to get off my chest and hover between Hermione and I, holding a knife to Granger's throat. "_You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!_"

Hermione screamed again, the woman may have had the knife to her throat but her other hand held her wand. The woman's heavy lidded, dark eyes fell onto me. The worn, darker haired Audrey in the old vision cowered away from her. She was terrified of Bellatrix Lestrange – just as her fear had instilled fear in me earlier today when I had heard of her escape.

"_What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth, or I swear, I shall run you through with this knife_!" She switched the knife to my own throat, while her wand dug into ragged-Hermione's chest.

And then I watched, quite pleased with raggedy-Audrey, as she spit in the woman's face.

The woman poised over me and I heard myself start to scream – but the vision didn't continue. Instead, the scream shifted itself into another vision...Snape was rooting through more memories and he had found another that would spike his interest.

Now I was hearing someone _else _scream. It was loud and hung in the silence that followed it – a silence only broken by my own shaking breath and the sound of rustling leaves. Something squeezed my shoulder.

"_That was Fleur_," a voice whispered. I felt like I was getting whiplash as I looked over to the source of the words.

It was Cedric. And he was _alive. _This was not a memory of one of my many nightmares, this was a memory of when he had really been beside me, when he had really been within reach. And he was beautiful – more beautiful than I remembered. His voice was lower than I heard it in my dreams, his skin just as smooth and creamy. He had a blush over his cheeks that I remember well and his eyes were not haunted as I when I saw them reflected in my boggart – as I saw them in my nightmares...they were calm like water.

"_She's close,_" I watched my younger, shorter-haired self say. "_Do you reckon she's fine_?"

"_She has to be, doesn't she?_" He took my hand and started pulling me with him. I followed in their footsteps – his hands were so much larger than mine – I guess that could have to do with how many years older he was. Still, as I watched us I couldn't help but think how awkward we looked...I looked like a child next to him. "_Let's go together and if we run across her-_"

"_No. I'm sorry, no._"

NO! I wanted to scream at myself. No, go back! Stay with him!

"_No?_" He repeated.

"_Listen, I know the chances of me winning this are slim to none. I know the chances of you winning this are higher than anyone else's. Not only will I weigh you down from winning, but I want to try doing this on my own. I hate being that girl who's dragged around by other people for their adventures – my name was put in this goblet as well. This is my adventure too._"

I'm an idiot. The guilt started eating away at my stomach when I realized what was happening, what I was about to witness again.

"_You know, sometimes – just sometimes – you make a really lousy Slytherin,_" he hugged me. I wish that it were real. I wish that I could be in the body I'm remembering and feel his arms around me.

"_If I tell you to sod off and get your own Triwizard Cup, will that put me back on track_?"

He laughed at me and then he leaned forward...and kissed me. I watched myself freeze and closed my eyes as I tried to ward off the memory of what happened: remembering the flash of green that took over my Sight, the flash of green that warned me that he was going to die...

I was back on the floor of Snape's office.

I was screaming. And crying. And inconsolable.

"That's enough," Snape said sternly, lowering his wand. "You are done for tonight."

"No," I pulled myself off the ground, wiping forcefully at my sticky cheeks. "No, I didn't do _anything._"

"That's enough, Potter," he said sternly. I grimaced, a sob escaping my chest and turned towards my brother, who looked shell-shocked. Apparently he had not expected this kind of reaction – apparently Harry forgot the kinds of memories I have. Still, I didn't want to look at him – I didn't want him figuring out what Snape had just seen so I looked away before he could see the tears refill in my eyes. "On your feet, boy."

Harry didn't hesitate. It seemed he was just as ready to get the onus off of me. I watched as he attacked my brother – my brother didn't even fight back this time. Not like he should have – there was no magic or spells, only my brother falling to his knees. By that point I nearly had myself under control – at least outwardly. I was already embarrassed enough that these gits had seen me cry.

Snape lifted the spell when I was again sitting and Harry was on the ground. I did not rush to help him.

"I know, I know!" Harry growled, shaking his head of the memories Snape had dislodged.

"What happened then, Potter?" Snape asked, moving around the desk. It seemed he'd had enough of torturing us for tonight because he had pocketed his wand.

"I saw – I remembered. I've just realized..."

"Realized what?" Snape sneered while he crossed his arms over his chest.

But Harry didn't answer him. He just thought, for a long moment.

"What's in the Department of Mysteries?"

I felt my blood cool all over again. It was as if I had been hit in the gut and insulted – my body was steeling itself for something to go wrong, it was preparing itself to ignore all the instincts that told me to attack or run away from something unpleasant.

How the hell did Harry know that there was some kind of correlation to the Department of Mysteries?

"What did you say?" Snape asked quietly. He was unnerved and Harry knew it.

"I said, what's in the Department of Mysteries, _sir_?"

"And why would you ask such a thing?" Snape hissed, again taking out his wand and playing with it as if preparing to look through my brother's mind for a true answer instead of whatever lie Harry may tell him.

"Harry," I started, trying to sway his thoughts. "We're supposed to be learning Occlumency."

"No, Audrey," he shook his head. Oh dear Merlin, why did he look so determined? "I'm asking because that corridor I've just seen – I've been dreaming about it for months. I've just recognized it – it leads to the Department of Mysteries...and I think Voldemort wants something from-"

"I have told you not to say the Dark Lord's name!" Snape howled. They both glared at one another, Harry looked about ready to take out his own wand to duel him.

Time to defuse this bomb.

"No one really knows what's in there, Harry," I said quietly. "That's why it's named like it is. And why do you think you've been dreaming about the Department of Mysteries anyway? It's not like you've seen it."

"You're wrong," Harry grumbled to me, his eyes still on Snape.

"There are many things in the Department of Mysteries, Potter," Snape hissed without much of an elaboration. "Few of which you would understand and none of which concern you. Do I make myself plain?"

If Snape meant 'plain' in the way that Harry and I could both see right through him and his lousy excuses, then he was plain as day.

"Yes," Harry grumbled.

"I want you back here same time on Wednesday. We will continue work then. Miss Potter, I need a word."

"Fine," Harry grumbled again, as if he were stuck on some annoying track of a broken record. Harry just wanted to leave, that I could tell – I just couldn't tell why he wanted to leave so badly. Normally Harry was the one sticking around and bugging people for answers – so what had he discovered that we hadn't meant him to find out? It was when he left that I rounded on Snape.

"You let him know!"

"I did no such thing," Snape frowned bitterly. "He figured it out on his own; I couldn't have stopped him. I'm surprised he has been so in tune with his dreams – a problem in itself that I will need to inform the Headmaster of."

"He understood it with help from you," I growled back. "This is supposed to be between privileged members of the Order, sir. Even _I'm _not supposed to know. I know because I already know too much..."

"Speaking of knowing too much," Snape's eyebrows rose. "Adam Montague-"

"Adam Montague is a pest," I interrupted irritably, pointing a finger at him. "But not a problem."

"He seems like an overdeveloped problem," Snape corrected with a glare. "Why didn't you tell a professor that things between you and the Slytherins had escalated so badly?"

"The Slytherins and I are fine," I informed with a sigh, throwing my arms helplessly. "Better than fine, actually. It is Montague and I that are at odds – _because _I'm getting on so well with the others. Please, sir, it's really no concern."

"That is a lie," he said bluntly.

"Not a lie, but possibly a understatement," I agreed hesitantly. "But it's my battle, sir, and I'm not letting him win because _you're _worried."

"I'm not letting him hurt you," he told me lowly. I took the time to glare at him, the only way I could show him how ridiculous he was being. It took a long glare and a lot of thinking for each of us before he seemed to nod to himself.

"I will accept what Montague has done thus far," he made that last point quite clear. "But he will do no more wrong to you. If he does, I expect a full report so he can be punished accordingly."

I smiled gratefully. "Yes, sir."

"When you leave this office, you will need to be careful to keep this a secret. We do not need people to know what we are up to," he informed me. I nodded, not even needing to guess at who he may be referring to.

"Sir, does Professor Umbridge know how to use Legilimency?"

"She is not gifted in it," he shook his head. "Which is why she uses other methods of dislodging one's secrets. Do not let yourself think that she is unwilling to use those methods on you again."

"I know," I nodded. "Will this be harder than Astral Projection or Magnuse?"

"It should be easier, particularly now that you know the methods," he mumbled to himself, moving back toward his desk. "Your brother is less talented with cantated magic than I previously believed he'd be. He has no focus."

"He's trying," I argued. "Having someone in your head is hard enough, but Harry already has a lot of his mind."

"Precisely why he needs to learn to fight now," Snape said pointedly. "The Dark Lord should not have it be so simple to slip into his thoughts."

"I know," I agreed with a frown. "Do you really believe he can get into my own mind, professor?"

"No," he sighed wearily. "But I do believe he has some kind of connection with you. Were he not to have one, he would not have realized that you were present during the Third Task. Speaking of which-"

"Please, no," I interrupted quickly. "Don't bring it up-"

"We can't ignore what I saw, Audrey," he told me with a shake of his head. "The Dark Lord-"

"Does not have a direct and constant link to _me,_" I said pointedly. "It's Harry we have to worry about – so would you please leave my memories alone?"

"I worry about your safety," he said seriously. I frowned.

"I worry about my sanity," I countered. "Do you think he'll kill me?"

"I think if he attacked you mentally, you would have a fighting chance to dispel him from your subconscious," he said carefully.

"Then teach me to do that," I said pointedly. "For now, let the rest go."

"Miss Potter, your memories-"

"Are memories," I said simply and a little more harshly than I meant to. Still, I couldn't back down now. "Cantated magic will block them."

"No, Potter, they won't," he said seriously and – _terrifyingly_ – he sounded morose. "Take it from an expert: nothing stops the memories."

"Then make them only recognizable to me," I begged. "No one else needs to know my weaknesses."

He watched me for a moment, as if trying to understand something. He did this so often at this point that it didn't worry me and it didn't scare me as it once did – now I knew not to avoid him. I knew he was divvying up whether or not he thought I would be able to do what he asked of me.

"You need to practice clearing your mind again," he told me, as if it was a business lesson. "As you did with Astral Projection."

"Okay," I agreed. "After that?"

"After that, it's blocking me away from thoughts you don't want seen. You cannot practice until you get to that point."

"Well," I smiled. "I guess that's the next step then, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>When I look back on my time at Hogwarts, I could probably tell you about each exam and each test, a load of different papers I'd been forced to write and a number of times that I had been forced to do magic that I ended up not being able to perform. But even when I look back on all those things, I can still confidently say that Magnuse was the hardest thing I had ever learned at Hogwarts. It was hard and it was exhausting – much like Occlumency was.<p>

And since my Magnuse was still not as Magnuse was supposed to be, I'm sure an idiot could imagine how well Occlumency was coming along.

To clear my mind seemed easy, in theory, but with everything that was going on it was impossible to accomplish. I couldn't get my visions out of my head, I couldn't get the idea of the mass breakout out of my head, and I couldn't get _people _out of my head – Malfoy, Montague, Umbridge; Malfoy, Montague, Umbridge – it was like a constant cycle that permeated every conscious and subconscious thought.

Because of this, January's six lessons were a bust. And the next two in February yielded more training for Harry than myself; not that either of us got any positive results from the long nights of practice.

So, when it finally came to Valentine's Day, I couldn't deny I was happy.

Alright, usually Valentine's Day was a bust for me. I didn't have a boyfriend to go on a date with, even though it was a Saturday and what should have been a Hogsmeade weekend – but as I had no date and since everyone else did there was no reason to leave. I would rather avoid the classic winter-romance scenes in the village...particularly when I had a chance to do some spy work.

And it was perfect timing considering Professor Umbridge was hosting a "Tickled Pink Party". More horrifying than it even sounded, it required pink robes and a discriminatory personality...luckily I was willing to fake both for her company.

"Do I look as horrid as I feel?" I asked Theodore, Daphne and Malfoy as they walked up towards Umbridge's office with me. Daphne was wearing a pair of her own hot-pink robes – which I would admit would have looked fashionable in any other colour, and as boys neither Theodore nor Malfoy had to wear pink...stupid lards. So again, I pulled at the hem of the pastel pink robe Lillian had leant me. It was crazy how much taller she was than me and yet how short these robes were on me – it made me wonder how on earth she wore them out to parties, herself.

"You look about as comfortable as a fish out of water," Theodore snorted to me. "You'll never fool Umbridge that way."

"I'm not trying to fool her," I rolled my eyes. "I'm trying to pacify her."

"Then don't ruin her Valentine's day party," Daphne told me seriously. When she ignored the glare I gave her – I mean, who told this wench she could walk with us anyway? We were still not friends – I decided to look the other way.

"Why is she having this party anyway?" I asked the general group of us.

"It's her favourite holiday," Malfoy informed, with no trace of any smile like I had seen weeks ago.

Sadly I had only seen that smile once since that night and it was when I had made a joke at my brother's expense. But at least the smirk on his face was comforting; at least I knew what it meant. And I knew that it meant he would be in the mood to be an arsehole along with me for this ridiculous, overzealous party. Still...

"There has to be an ulterior motive," I thought aloud.

"I think it's just that she likes pink," Daphne giggled to Theodore, who shot her a grin.

"Well, I don't," I muttered, pulling at the hem of the robes again. "I wish Tracey would have had better robes to borrow-"

"I would have given you mine," Daphne muttered. "I offered."

"Well, I didn't want to take them, did I?" I asked snidely. "We aren't friends."

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't have leant them," she muttered to herself.

"Bull," I pointed my nose in the air, just as she had taught me to. "Were I anyone else, or were you still mad at me, you would have rather vomited on them than let me borrow them. So no, I didn't want to wear your guilt-robes."

"You're being ridiculous," Malfoy's eyes rolled while he leaned over and pulled at the sleeve of the robes. "You look better in these robes than anyone else invited to this party would have."

"Er, I-" Stumbling over my words, and nearly my feet, I willed myself not to smile or blush. "Was that a compliment?"

"Not at all," he grinned with a raised eyebrow. "As lovely as you look in those robes, your hair still clashes with everything."

Malfoy strikes again; another compliment hidden within an insult.

And now I was sure that the colour of my face matched my hair – which apparently clashed with my robes. Fantastic.

I gave him as much of a glare as I could, but apparently my red face made it all the more comical considering how Malfoy was still grinning by the time he knocked on Umbridge's office door. It opened almost immediately and we were greeted by a pink-swathed monster; newly decorated in gaudy pink lipstick and blush. Around her neck was a necklace – it looked like it was on a gold chain I saw her wear on special occasions.

I couldn't help but wonder if that was it: the locket that would later maim me. I couldn't see whether or not it was, considering she was hiding it deep in the already-low neck of her Valentine's robes. I wasn't about to look to find out if it was there; I might be blinded.

"Hello, students!" She cheered, looking as bubbly as ever. "Happy Valentine's, dears."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Professor," I had been working on my fakest smile all week especially for this event. "Are we the first to arrive?"

"Oh no," she moved aside to let us into her office. "The rest of your Quidditch team is here, along with Mr Zabini and Miss Parkinson."

Oh dear Merlin, would I make it out alive? Would I make it out without killing someone?

The chances were slim.

It seemed like the entirety of Slytherin house was here – no one younger than we fifth years, but everyone with a reputable name in higher years. There were no other houses represented in this little dinner that she was hosting for we 'popular' favourites. Crabbe and Goyle weren't even here, but the rest of the Quidditch team was; as were Bulstrode, Parkinson, Zabini, and Daphne.

I made sure to glare at those I disliked – which was most of the room. I even lingered my glare on both Montague and Parkinson, whose arms were around each other for the event. It seemed that Montague's standards could lower themselves even more than I had initially thought. I mean, sexual assault was bad but dating _Parkinson_? He'd hit a new low.

"I thought that we would start off with some tea before our meal, how does that sound?"

Horrid. I seem to recall last time I had tea with you, you roofied me...

"That sounds wonderful," I edited with a smile, finally walking into the room and sitting as far from both Montague and Parkinson as I could manage. Malfoy was sure to sit beside me – as he had taken to doing every time we ate – and Theodore, as always, occupied my left-hand side. I could tell both boys were just waitingfor when they would have to hold me back from slaughtering the room.

Who knew these boys were psychics, too?

"It seems like your sister won't be joining us," Umbridge said to Daphne, who immediately spouted out an elaborate apology for her younger sister's absence. I was glad she hadn't come. As evidenced by the fact she was Daphne's younger sister, Astoria Greengrass was tactless, ruthless, and manipulative and that little brat was only in third year! Astoria Greengrass would only add fuel to my temper.

"_Hem, hem_. Thank you all for coming! Now, to begin the celebration, I have a little ritual that I perform each and every Valentine's Day," Umbridge began with a giggle. Beside me, I heard Malfoy groan as if he knew pre-emptively what was about to be said. "I like to go around and have everyone say who they wish was here with us – shall we start with you, Miss Greengrass?"

"I wish my sister had shown up," Daphne smiled, though from years of experience I could hear in her voice that she was holding back her own annoyance. I tried not to snicker.

"Yes, it is quite a pity," Umbridge agreed. "And you?"

Oh this was hell. And I was only two minutes in. It didn't get any better as she went through every single person in the circle, asking the ridiculous question of 'who they wished were here'. If she had wanted us to bring dates, she would have told us that we could. And if she had wanted a larger party, she would have invited other people besides the Slytherins – but I didn't complain considering I felt like this could be part of whatever ulterior motive she had for bringing us here. Was she trying to spy on _us_? Was she trying to find out who we were close to?

The circle of Slytherins were all modest with their answers. Most people said old boyfriends and girlfriends, or friends who had graduated. Blaise dared to say a celebrity's name – he got away with it thanks to his charm, of course – while Montague and Parkinson had the nerve to say each other's names and _glare _at me. Pathetic.

"And Audrey, dear?" Umbridge asked. I raised my eyebrow – not only had she called me by my first name, but she had completely skipped Theodore beside me. How was I supposed to answer? Something told me 'I don't wish someone were here, I wish I were _anywhere else_' wouldn't fly_. _I mean, my brother was on a date with his crush of a year in Hogsmeade right now and I was in this office with the people I want to hex most in the entire Wizarding World? How the bloody hell is that fair? Just as I was about to hiss something so sarcastic even _she _would know I was being a bitch – Malfoy jabbed his elbow into my ribs.

"I have everyone I _like_ the most here," I smiled, hoping the sarcasm still wouldn't be too obvious. I mean, I had many other people I could have said – such as Sirius, Snape, or even Satan – but it seemed the safest bet to keep on Umbridge's more sentimental side.

Umbridge made a sound in the back of her throat. "That is quite sweet."

"Isn't it?" I asked, clenching my teeth into a smile. My eyes slipped to the locket around her neck and I could almost see the light bulb flash above my own head. "What about you, Professor? Perhaps whoever gave you that wonderful necklace?"

"Oh, this?" Umbridge giggled and immediately tugged on the heavy golden chain to pull the locket from under her shirt.

I felt my body react to its presence instantly. I immediately felt ill, a shiver running through my body that felt close to a vision and close to a convulsion, but somehow felt completely foreign and poisonous. All too suddenly my brain felt too large for my skull as it pounded against my temples – it was an angry drum that somehow screamed of blood and war.

That was it; that was the locket.

It was exactly as I remembered it: heavy and basic, crafted of tarnished gold. It looked too old to be something she wore often and looked too important for her to be wearing it as a daily habit. Across its front was an ornate and serpentine 'S' carved in a sheath of emerald. It radiated danger_._

"This is a Selwyn family heirloom," she informed me with a smile. "It comes from many generations of Selwyn women – do you like it?"

"I've never seen anything like it," I gritted out, my nails biting into the wood of my chair. Could she really not see that I was near convulsing and ready to vomit? The pounding in my skull felt like war drums and the shivers trickling up and down my spine made me want to fall limp and useless. How was no one realizing what was happening?

But I thought it too soon, because almost as soon as I thought it, Malfoy placed his hand around my wrist. He pulled it towards him slightly, prying my grip from the wood of the table, before he squeezed my wrist slightly, comfortingly. It took all my will to pull my eyes away from the locket that seemed to be singing a song for my demise, but when I was able to pull my eyes away I felt like I could breathe again. My eyes found him and his eyes widened slightly, almost as if to ask me if I were insane.

That was his form of concern, checking my sanity. What a gentleman.

"Maybe one day you can have someone buy you such a memento," she smiled, her many chins multiplying as she turned to look at Malfoy. "Speaking of which, who do you miss, Draco?"

Subtle, but I was glad that the attention was off of me considering my eyes were glued to the locket again, and I was feeling ill. I couldn't stop myself from looking at the S, carved of emerald and the heavy pull it had on that chain – why was it so heavy? Why was it pulling so harshly on that chain? Why could I see that the hinges were rusted closed?

A moment later, the toad shoved her locket back under her robes and I was amazed by how quickly I felt all right again – the cold sweat started to disappear, my chest no longer felt compressed.

_What the hell was in that locket?_

"I'm quite happy here," Malfoy squeezed my wrist again, warningly. "Though I do wish I had more tea."

His cup was empty. Smooth.

"Oh, why didn't you say earlier?" She waved her wand and the few drops that had spilled were refilled for him. He nodded his head in thanks but did not drink from the mug. It seemed that he was as paranoid about being drugged as I was. "Draco dear, I meant to ask – how is your father dealing with the escape of those from Azkaban?"

Ah, yes. Malfoy's dad had been helping with the hunt for his fellow Death Eaters, thanks to his place in the Misuse of Magic office that was trying to use the Trace to find the escaped convicts.

"He's having a hard time," Malfoy sounded nearly as annoyed as I felt and because of this, I returned the favour he had given me. Wriggling my wrist out of his grip, I moved my hand to grip his own wrist and squeezed, trying to have it come off as supportively as you can make a squeeze to someone's wrist. I knew that he did not like talking about his father and his father's work on the case of escaped convicts – though it went unspoken between the two of us, it was because we both knew that he was actually deflecting them from being caught. And, what had been brought up more than once, was how much his own son hated it. Then again, who wouldn't hate a group of Death Eaters who couldn't feel remorse even if they ran over their own puppy? "It seems like they had help outside before they escaped, because their wands have been taken off of the registry. My father is of course trying to think ways around this and help put up protective wards around fragile communities-"

What a load of bull.

But it was nice every time I heard Malfoy's own small rebellion against his father – against what his father stood for. He would support the fact that his father was a public figure and hence could never be linked to the Death eaters...but he didn't have to like the fact that it was all a lie. And the fact he was so annoyed about being asked – and the fact that he had somehow, in the time he was speaking, gripped my hand in his own under the table – told me that now was one of those times.

Holy Helga, are we really _holding_ _hands _now?

I should pull my hand away.

Then again, if it comforts him, I'll leave it be. Just so long as he doesn't do anything to embarrass me or make me blush while we were like this.

There's something wrong with me.

"The help was probably Black," Montague said, his eyes flickering to me tauntingly. "The _Prophet _seems to agree. And Merlin knows that as an escaped convict himself, he'd know the ropes to hide."

Montague was trying to bait me, it was obvious. Malfoy squeezed my hand again, but I was not fazed by the baboon's shallow jabs.

"I completely agree," I lied smoothly. "Since Black was the only one ever recorded to break out of Azkaban, it only makes sense that he's helping them."

Not that it was the case or any of that sentence was true, but I wasn't about to start defending my godfather when all the evidence _was _against him and I was in a room of people who hated him. That would be the dumb thing to do – also possibly the noble thing, though I had no choice but to digress.

"Well, it's interesting to think that they've pinpointed Black to London and now all those convicted Death Eaters may be housed so close to the Ministry itself," Parkinson sighed. "I fear for my family's safety, even with our Auror department at top notch."

"So would I," I told her, not even hiding the malicious glint in my eye. "Your father did help sentence a few of them to Azkaban, didn't he? I would fear retaliation."

"_Hem, hem_," Umbridge interrupted, right as Malfoy had twisted our hands so that he would be able to elbow me in the ribs again. "This is hardly Valentine's Day conversation, children-" I am not a _child! _"-how about we move on to a different area of conversation? I was wondering how interested the group of you would be tightening our own security around the school."

"I'm sorry?" Theodore asked, furrowing his brows and leaning forward over his full cup of tea. Ah, Theodore had taken my words of warning to heart as well.

"Well, I've been noticing a lack of order around the halls. Our prefects have been doing splendidly," she made a point of gesturing towards Malfoy and I almost graciously. "But there are just too many unruly students for so few prefects to handle."

"So many troublemakers," I agreed with a sarcastic and overdramatic sigh. "It's as if they just suddenly started acting out this year, for some strange-_ow..._"

I glared at Malfoy and Theodore in turn. Now both sides of my ribs were going to be bruised.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I should start my own team of students – responsible ones, such as yourselves – to monitor the school and look for troublemakers," Umbridge smiled, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she took a sip of her tea. "How does that sound?"

"But some of us are already prefects," Adrien Pucey – who was a seventh year prefect, himself – said slowly.

"Which is why my personal picks would be given special privileges – all the regular prefect privileges and then some extra...fun ones," she smiled that toad-like grin. "What kind of things do you think would help you do your duties better?"

"Taking away points!" Parkinson almost jumped over the table, she was so excited. "People sometimes just pretend that they didn't get the detentions they are given-" she was only saying that because I'd done it. "But taking away points would have instant results!"

"Very good, very good," Umbridge grinned. "What else?"

"Inspecting mail," Montague nodded. "I've seen some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs with mysterious packages – I think that's how they're telling each other when their secret meetings are."

"I see," Umbridge thought aloud, taking another sip of her tea. "Anything else?"

"Being allowed into restricted areas," Malfoy agreed while he tried to hold back a smirk. "There have been times when I see people leave the castle, but I can't follow them outside to punish them."

Right, because he, himself, _always _followed the rules.

"Of course," Umbridge smiled at him, she probably thought that in some way the smile looked kind.

"I want to be allowed to detain someone," I said quickly, watching while everyone looked confused. "Parkinson said so herself: sometimes people run away or fight. I want to be allowed to disarm and immobilize someone who I think will try to get the upper hand on me."

This was a test, of course. As much as I would love the ability to do that, everyone would know that it was a ridiculous request. But the question was: was Umbridge given so much power that she could allow me to do something that would likely be unwarranted every time I used it? Was this woman really so bloodthirsty that she would allow me to attack other students?

"Excellent idea, Miss Potter."

I guess she was.

"How will you make all this advisable, Professor?" Theodore asked nervously, his eyes flickering to me instinctively. "Do you have this kind of authority?"

Umbridge's eyes seemed to blaze at the suggestion. "Educational Decree Number Twenty-Five states that 'the High Inquisitor will henceforth have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges pertaining to students of Hogwarts, and the power to alter such punishments, sanctions and removals of privileges as may have been ordered by other staff members'," oh she had that memorized, I could tell. "Because you will be disciples of my own service, you will be given those particular amenities."

I was about to argue everything she had just said, when I felt Malfoy squeeze my hand again. I turned my eyes to him and watched as he slowly, minutely, shook his head from side to side. To make the point even clearer, he squeezed my hand again.

I took a deep breath and put on my most sarcastic and fake smile of the night. "Fantastic. When do we start?"

Umbridge giggled and even though it sounded demonic, it was good to have her evil eye looking away from Theodore. She stood up and almost seemed to dance her way toward the cupboard near her desk; opening the drawer and rifling through, she pulled out a parcel wrapped in pink paper. Unwrapping the parcel a little to check its contents, she hummed pleasantly to herself and placed it on her desk – it clinked as it was set down. Whatever was in there was metal. She held up one of the pieces of metal from the package and held it in front of her for us all to see.

"Now," she smiled. In her hand, held up for us all to see, was a shiny silver badge in the shape of the letter 'I'. I raised my eyebrows. So, she had had this planned the entire time – I knew there was an ulterior motive for a party such as this. "Welcome to the Inquisitorial Squad."

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><p><strong>Yay, the Inquisitorial Squad is here! That means more Audrey and Draco time. Also, let's not forget their cute little conversation – he thinks she's pretty...alright, he didn't technically say it, but as the author I'll let you in on that secret...and he even held her hand! So cute. Also, Occlumency is going to be a bitch – but will Audrey be able to figure it out considering she's practiced Cantated magic before? And what the hell was up with that locket? I'd love to hear your thoughts! To the lovely reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_Novella Vialli_**: So am I! And it won't be as innocent, knowing those two...**

_DiamondOfNight_**: Don't worry, it's nice that you review at all! Hopefully you're feeling better and the mono is leaving you alone, I know that mono is terrible. Yes, Harry shouldn't get as mad when she stands up for the Slytherins but I always noticed in the books that for someone who is fighting for equality, he really has a prejudice against Slytherins (except at the very end of book 7, of course). I'm glad that you liked the gifts from Christmas and all the Sirius-ness. I'm glad that you're liking how it's going and hope that you liked this chapter, as well!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad that you're liking it, and if you take the time to review it seems rude not to respond! I love getting them, so I want you to know it :)**

_incitanemxx_**: Poor Malfoy is just waiting it out – will they ever just get along? Probably not. They're both so stubborn. And yes, she realizes that she doesn't not fancy him – double negatives are fun, aren't they? Hope you liked this chapter!**

_Strazza_**: Yes, book 5 was hard to read through because of how much Harry annoyed me. Every time I wanted to be like "YOU SELF-RICHEOUS A-HOLE!" but I am finding it a fun twist to put on this story. I also wouldn't be surprised if she became a Death Eater to spy behind enemy lines – and I fooled around with the idea of it for a bit, but realized that Voldemort would never let her in on it. She will do some drastic things in the next few books though. Happy New Year, hope you liked the chapter!**

_Cookie Krisp_**: I'm so glad you think they're cute, I tried to make them well-suited for one another and worked really hard to make Audrey realistic, so I'm glad you think it shows! My process for creating characters involves weeks of initial planning. I do a lot of name research and plot research, then make my characters according to how I want it to fade out. For instance, I couldn't make Audrey be shy, insecure, but secretly brave because realistically that would not work out with how I see Draco Malfoy and she would not have been a Slytherin like I needed her to be. I write down every bit of information I think is important (or that I may forget) and then I start off by writing a few mock chapters to get the character's personal voice, quirks, personality to see what I need to keep and change. I actually wrote down a few of the "Audrey Potter's Prelude" scenes before I ever posted this story to begin with. Hope that answered your question :)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I used to live in a small town too, I think that's half the reason I'm so bipolar on what I want. It's as if I have heat flashes of "cold and alone" or "hot and on the move". I always highly advise travelling – I couldn't image who I would be if I didn't take the time to do it. It's terrifying and amazing all at once! Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one struck your fancy, too :)**

_DancerForver_**: I guess dying is a good reason to stop a review, but I hope that you were resurrected by this chapter ;)**

_kaaayyytteee_**: They are kind of cute, aren't they? I'm glad you liked it!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: That fight between Snape and Sirius always upset me two, as they are two of my favourite characters – but I also like the twist it puts on the idea of Audrey being there. And it's always fun to throw in the little jabs Sirius makes about Audrey looking like Lily. Hopefully you liked my non-romantic version of Valentine's Day. Your birthday is the 17th of January or February? I'll have to be sure to have a chapter out for you!**

_kittyp00z_**: Happy New Year! Hope you liked the chapter.**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: It's okay, I liked this review anyway. The kiss is coming, I promise, and I think people are going to like it. I hope they are. I rewrote it three times and I think I finally have it just like I want it. Did you like the Occlumency lesson? Here's to 2013 having more updates than 2012!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Ha, Umbridge's party was fun to write. Especially all Draco and Audrey's little moments of trying to shut each other up or insult one another subtly. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year as well! Hope you liked it.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Long time no talk! We need to stop doing this. I have chapters for you. I plan on sending the next chapter tomorrow, if you want to look over it. If not, just send me a message so I know and I'll look over it again myself. And your dog chewed your laptop cord? I've had it happen. They're expensive to buy on their own! Sigh. The life of a dog-owner...My vacation was wonderful, thank you, though I ended up being disgustingly sick for Christmas and missed out on all my family's festivities. It was so sad. Your landlords sound kind of lazy, I'm sorry for that. Hope to hear from you soon!**

_99terminater_**: Sorry. Sometimes I wish this story was already finished and I could just release one chapter a day...but sadly that is not the case. Yes, the shipping is finally happening – it's so exciting! Every time I get to write a moment where they're flirting, I giggle as well. Thanks for the review :)**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Yes, 8000 words was a short chapter for me, though I was reminded by a reader that my old chapters used to be long at 6000 words – so I don't feel as bad anymore. I tend to make up with it by having really long chapters every other time. I wish I could have dreams where Audrey boxed with Jack the Ripper! I just have stories about what I'm going to write in future chapters – sadly I don't think boxing with Jack The Ripper is as realistic...for a witch...in a fantasy world...hm. I may need to change some ideas, haha.**

_BlueRose22_**: The romance is coming soon, can you feel it? Sirius is one of my favourite characters as well – I still have the power to save him (as I have given myself the ability to save two characters in this series), but you will not know until it happens whether or not I do. Even I'm still going back and forth a little bit. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Carojoy4210_**: Ha, thank you for reviewing – your wish will be granted soon!**

_niharasubbaiah_**: Aw, thank you! You're really too kind. Audrey is a really fun character to write and it's so nice to see her so popular through the site. I'm also glad you find her more sensible – I try to make her that way, considering Harry is impulsive and she is calculating (much like a Slytherin is said to be). Happy New Year, thanks for the review :)**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Audrey won't be giving Malfoy a gift, but they are close again. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_BloodxForxMyxRose_**: I'm glad that you're liking it and you like the progression of Audrey and Draco falling for one another. I also don't believe in love at first sight (though I do believe in lust at first sight, but that's a whole different story), so I'm glad there are others out there that agree! **

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad you liked it, hopefully you liked this chapter as well!**

_Ergelina_**: Sadly Umbridge oversees all punishments in this part of OotP, so even if Audrey sent them to Snape, she still would have found out. So sad. But don't worry – Audrey has time to get them. And it will be great. Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Apple_**: I'm glad you're liking it, I refuse to make Draco sappy. He won't be. Because he's not. And even though he's a pansy and I've made him a little more tough than Harry portrays him, I took a little bit of artistic liberty to see past all his cowardice to the moments when he's actually kind of brave. I'm glad you think they're cute – the kiss is soon, I swear – and Draco won't try to use that information against her. He wouldn't have a chance with her then and he won't risk it. If Audrey sent the girls to Snape, Umbridge would still know as she heads all punishments at this point of the novel – sad but true. Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_EveryNewDay_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully you enjoyed this one too :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Yes, he smiled! Ugh, too cute. Thank you so much for the compliments, I'm glad you like my style of writing. The kiss is coming super soon – hopefully even with all my hinting it still takes you by surprise, though. And she is now a member of the Inquisitorial Squad which is who takes down the DA...the question is: will she be there? You'll have to wait and see!**

_loveactuallyy_**: The kiss is soon, don't worry. Hopefully that's exciting for you. Hopefully you liked the chapter – thanks for the review.**

_Ella710_**: You're back! Oh, I've missed you and your fantastically detailed reviews. Seriously. Don't feel guilty – every time I get a review from you I get excited. Quality vs Quantity and all that. How CAN fictional characters be so attractive? Seriously, I need to have a word with some authors, because I feel like some kind of creep with the way I obsess over them.  
>I'm glad you see the Slytherin-ness in everything Audrey does. I try to do it. Every now and then I have to rewrite parts of a chapter because I'm like "No! I'm thinking like a Gryffindor!" and then the chapter suddenly morphs into something completely different. I'm glad that extra thought is noticeable. And yes, both the Slytherin and Gryffindor fought dirty in that fight between Sirius and Snape. They're my two favourite men, too...<strong>

**I was kind of shocked when she let her the girls go, as well – but I needed Malfoy to be in the loop as to what was going on and it seemed more reasonable that he would find out that way than by any other way. I mean, what else would Audrey have been able to do to tip him off? Giving up her nemesis was the only way to make the point plain and realistic...sadly. I also think it's a sign of maturity on her part, though I was really happy and thought it was more fitting when I added her line of "I'm SUCH a good sister" after she let them go. Because she's still a Slytherin. And she's still very proud.**

**I can tell you this much – she will be kissing Draco before a Weasley. Because it's happening super soon. And it will be great. And hopefully surprising. I'm excited over it already! Hopefully I can get another review from you when it happens – there will probably be a lot of opinion to share on it.**

**Happy New Year!**

_sara253xxx_**: I'm glad you loved it, haha! It's great that you get so excited when I update. I pretty much feel the same way when I get notifications about reviews because in my head I do a dance and am like "ah, I did something right!" it's true. Hopefully you liked this chapter!**

_hpgrl95_**: I didn't leave you hanging for too long! I'm glad that you're liking it so much and hopefully you liked this installment as well. Thanks so much for reviewing!**

_ziba10_**: I'm glad that you're liking it and Audrey's flaws. Thanks for reviewing, hopefully you liked this chapter :)**

_Kazza Gills_**: Two and a half days?! Wow, good on you! That's so impressive! Thank you very much for taking the time to read and review, I'm glad that you're liking it so far. I also think that Draco and Audrey are cute – Audrey kissing whichever Weasley she does will be fun, don't worry. It won't be a big plot twist or anything...it will be a surprise, but not a major kink in the Dreaco storyline. Hopefully you can wait the few chapters until Draco and Audrey kiss! **

_OddPotato_**: He did smile AND wink. What a guy – I would fall in a heap to his feet if I met someone like him. Seriously; I'd fall hard. I'm glad that you think it's addicting – particularly because I find writing it addicting, so that will work out nicely ;)**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Ha, I've had a few people say that me saying it was a "short chapter" is pretty ridiculous. Looking back, 9000 words isn't anything to sniff at. I'm still happy with how it turned out. I'm glad that you're liking it so much – I do try to make it precise, as you said. I wish she would have used it too – but I'm already planning out how she'll get back at those two at another point in time – don't worry, she will have her revenge! Happy New Year, thanks for the review!**

_the corridor hogger_**: I'm glad that you've been liking it so much – thank you for reviewing!**

_Amber Rose Black_**: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you've been enjoying it and that you like Audrey and Draco :)**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: I wish she would have gotten back at Cho and Marietta as well, but Umbridge is in charge of all punishments so if they would have been put in detention, she would have found out. Don't worry – she'll get back at them! Thanks for the review.**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Thank you, I'm glad it's believable! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_simslovr1_**: Yes, the next kiss will be a lot of fun to write! I almost wish it would have been here, on Valentine's, but I figure that's a little too cliché for this heroine. Hope that you enjoyed the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Wow, a lot of great reviews for the last chapter – hopefully there are some more for this one! I'd love to hear your thoughts on Draco's sweet hand-grabs, Snape's conversation with her after the lesson, Occlumency in itself, the fact Audrey seemed a little bit more preoccupied with Draco, and the locket!<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**


	47. You're Wrong

**Hello Readers! Man, I've mapped out the rest of OotP and it is about 6-8 chapters. I didn't think this book would be so long, but there's so much I still need to incorporate for later books! Sigh. Don't worry, it won't be boring. Thank you to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for editing this chapter. This one has a lot of things going on, some Harry confrontation, Occlumency, skipping classes and Draco wanting to kill Harry, not unusual, right? Read and find out.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 46 – You're Wrong<p>

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><p>I wasn't woken up nicely on Monday morning; Tracey had decided that she needed to smack me with a pillow as I wasn't moving fast enough for her tastes. Considering I was late, it was understandable...but still completely unfair. So with a promise for revenge, I had gotten ready for the day in a rush.<p>

Who knew that I would feel something close to gratefulness towards Greengrass thanks to the brush she'd given me to straighten my hair the year before. The charm never stuck for the twelve hours it guaranteed, but at least it would tide me over until the end of classes when I would have time to shower properly.

I still had plenty of time for making it to my first class, but if I had tried to make it to breakfast as well, it would have been a stretch. It didn't help that I felt languid. I blamed that on both my late patrol with Malfoy and the unavoidable feeling gnawing in the pit of my stomach that made me not want to get out of bed. Of course, as this particular Monday had not signed itself up to be an interesting day, I forced myself to get up anyway.

The lack of excitement did not last long.

I should have known by now that there was no simple day in the life of a Potter, but I still could have been coloured surprised when Professor Umbridge came bustling up to Lillian, Tracey and I before our first class. She looked devastatingly affright. Her hair was mussed and her eyes bulging from her pudgy cheeks – I started just at the sight of her.

"Er – is everything alright, Professor?"

"Everything is not!" She sounded like she was ready to keel over, or more likely have some form of nervous breakdown. Her hand moved to claw at the locket around her neck for comfort. I watched her pull on the chain harshly and watched it fall heavily against her chest as she released it again. Just looking at the gold made me feel ill again...

"What's wrong, Professor Umbridge?" Lillian broke me out of my reverie using a more polite voice than when she regularly spoke of Umbridge. Umbridge tucked her necklace back underneath her robes, straightening herself out as if she just realized how she may look. When the spell was broken and I could look away from the locket, I could have sworn that the professor looked _worse _than when I'd been entranced. Lillian looked at me with a mischievous glint to her eye. "Has someone clogged the first floor toilets again?"

Someone being me, of course. I had done it, again, just yesterday. Having this much authority was bad for me.

Well, technically it was bad for everyone else. I was having the time of my life.

"No," her face was nearly purple as she spat the word. Her eyes turned to me, her right had a pulsating twitch that must have been annoying. "Your brother did an interview for _The Quibbler_ – haven't you heard?"

"No," I snorted, rolling my eyes towards Tracey. "I didn't know he'd done it – I don't know why he would, either. No one takes that magazine seriously..." But when I saw her face I realized just how important Umbridge thought this was. "Er – he didn't happen to be giving his opinion on Crumple-Horned Snorkacks or Lightwooded Bowtruckles, did he?"

"No," that seemed to be her word of today. "He spouted more lies about He Who Must Not Be Named! I can't have people reading this, Miss Potter. As members of the Inquisitorial Squad-"

"We aren't members of the Inquisitorial Squad," Tracey frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. It had been a sore spot for her for the past week and a bit since the Tickled Pink Party. "We haven't been invited."

"Then here," Umbridge took out her short wand and waved it, making silver 'I' badges appear on their robes. "Miss Rivers, Miss Davis, consider yourselves newly appointed. Now, as members of the Inquisitorial Squad, if you see anyone with the newest edition of _The Quibbler, _I want you to bring them straight to me for expulsion."

"Expulsion?" I was certain that my eyebrows had shot all the way up to my hairline. "Professor, it's just an article."

"Clearly you have yet to read it," she ground out bitterly. "And if you do – expect yourselves to be expelled as well. I will have none of it – I will not have this boy slandering all the work we have done! Now stop the spread of this madness while I write up Educational Decree Number Twenty-Seven."

And with that the old toad bustled away.

I looked to both Tracey and Lillian and I was sure the shock was still readable on my face. Had that really just happened? She walked in, gave them badges, told us to expel students, and walked away? Thankfully, both girls seemed as shell-shocked as I was, so at least I knew I wasn't overreacting.

"We have to read that article," I told them.

"Let's start confiscating them now – tell the student that we won't rat them to Umbridge if they hand it over and walk away," Tracey agreed. Luckily it normally didn't take much to convince Tracey to do something that was frowned upon by rules or regulations. Usually it was Lillian who posed that problem – but even she was nodding her head enthusiastically. So, we put our heads closer together to whisper as we moved towards our next class – Divination with Hufflepuff.

"What could be written in that article that has her so spooked?" I asked with a frown. "It's not like Harry could do a sketch-composite of what he saw."

"Anything that has to do with You-Know-Who is going to be controversial," Lillian informed with a nod. "Oh, I can just imagine what the Gryffindors are going to say. I'm glad we skipped breakfast – there's going to be a riot."

"We could still go join," Tracey joked, pointing back to the stairs that we would have used to go to the Great Hall. I shook my head.

"As tempting as that is, I think I'm going to go and find my brother. I want to hear first-hand just what he said in this article of his, and what the hell he thought he was doing." I rolled my eyes. "If she's expelling students for reading it, I can only imagine what his punishment will be."

"Audrey, we have class," Lillian sighed, though she sounded resolved in the fact I would not be joining them.

"We have _Divination_, I would hardly consider that class," I informed with a shake of my head. "Besides, this is much more important. I need to warn him that he's about to be expelled-"

"Yeah, find him before Umbridge does," Tracey agreed, stopping to emphasize the point that I didn't need to walk any farther. "We'll cover for you – go."

I ran off quickly, a part of me glad that I could bunk class and another part of me too worried to care that I was bunking class. I didn't have class with the Gryffindors until Potions, which was after Divination, so I didn't know where he would be during his first block. Still, I planned to hunt him down and find him anyway. I needed to find him before Umbridge did and I had no doubts that she would be lurking in his first period, ready to corner him.

When I was a floor down and on my way back to the Great Hall, I was glad to see that there were other stragglers who had not decided to go to breakfast and still hadn't made it to their classes. I was also glad when I realized that someone, moving in the same direction that I was, was a Gryffindor.

"Oi!" I yelled out to the retreating boy – the red on the robes was my only tip off he was a Gryffindor. I could only hope that he had friends, or he himself was in our year. When he turned around I almost groaned at the face that greeted me.

Seamus Finnegan. Of course.

"What do you want, Potter?" He mumbled with a frown, shoving his hands in his pockets. A part of me, a violent instinct instilled from years of being a Slytherin, warned me that this may have been a move for his wand. The likely part of me remembered that Seamus Finnegan was a nervous prat who wouldn't dare attack me, or would blow himself up if he tried.

"I want to know what class you have first," I answered back, crossing my arms with a glare. "And be quick about it."

"And to think I used to enjoy your company," he mimicked me and crossed his arms across his own chest.

"I'm surprised you remember my company at all – I thought you were too distracted with sticking your tongue down Marietta Edgecombe's throat," I informed with a smile. "Now tell me where my brother is: it's urgent."

"I don't want to," he mumbled, narrowing his eyes briefly before turning on his heel to walk away from me. I rolled my eyes, wanting nothing more than for him to give in and not have to waste my breath with a threat – but he was making it difficult.

"Listen," I told him seriously, catching up to him with a few quick steps. "As part of the Inquisitorial Squad, I can make your life a living hell," I was sure to point out my silver 'I' badge, placed right above my green and silver prefect badge. "So if you want any chance of me leaving you without detention for the rest of the school year, I would answer my question."

"We start with History of Magic on Mondays," he growled, his fists clenching at his sides. "What's so important that you feel the need to threaten me?"

"Oh, I would have threatened you whether it were important or not," I informed with a smile. "But Harry wrote an article in _The Quibbler_. It was very provocative – all about how horrid you are. Quite a good read. I wanted to congratulate him on it."

"Whatever," he mumbled, turning around to head off towards his class.

Well, this left me in an awkward scenario.

I wanted to get to Harry's class, but my ex-boyfriend was currently walking along the corridor that I would need to take to get to him. Considering I wanted to get there faster and also because I did not want to walk beside the Irish bastard, I rushed there ahead of him, only slowing down when I was short of breath three corridors over.

Finding Harry was easy, once I knew where I was headed. He was on his way to class as Seamus had been, both Hermione and Ron in tow as they always were. Predictably the trio were talking quietly to one another as they walked.

"You – are – an – idiot!" I yelled when I rounded the corner and saw them. All three seemed to stop mid-step to turn and watch me approach. When I finally came to them, short on breath, my brother's eyebrows rose.

"What did I do?"

"Don't be daft. You wrote an article in _The Quibbler_?" I asked aghast, shaking my head and throwing my arms helplessly. "Are you new? Umbridge is gunning for your expulsion – and anyone else who's daring enough to read the article!"

"Are you serious?" Hermione asked, her eyes lighting. "Has she banned it?"

"She's writing up the newest Decree now," I informed, looking at Granger with narrowed eyes. She was far too happy about these happenings, considering what I had just told her. "Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, don't you see?" She smiled, looking at Harry with a laugh. "If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read your interview, it was banning it!"

"As true as that is," I countered with a small glare. "She's out for blood, I've seen her. She's already recruiting more to the Inquisitorial Squad and probably waiting to confront you in class. What the hell did you write?"

"I wrote all about that night, every detail," he informed me, smiling and adjusting his rucksack. "It was Hermione's idea."

"Well, Hermione may have just gotten a group of unsuspecting students kicked out of Hogwarts," I informed with a glare. "What did you say about June?"

"Everything," he informed with a shrug, watching while Hermione pulled out a copy of _The Quibbler_ from between her books and handing it over to me. On the front page was his face grinning up at me, with large block-red letters reading '_HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN._'

I gaped at him, my eyes raking his face and noticing how much more arrogant his smile looked now than it did on the cover of the magazine. "Are you stupid?"

"No, I'm sick and tired of people being in the dark," he explained while I flipped through the magazine to find the largest, center article.

'_Harry Potter, age 15, confronted a fate worse than his demons on the night of June 24th. It was the final night of the Triwizard Tournament – it was the night that He Who Must Not Be Named was resurrected and the first innocent was killed._

_'"I saw it all," Harry Potter informs me over a steaming cup of tea, which lay shaking in his hands. "I was there when he was resurrected and I was there when he ordered his followers back to him – and they came. Now with this breakout from Azkaban, he has his army again."_

_'The Mass Breakout from Azkaban in January released some of the worst criminals known to the cells of the Wizarding prison: Antonin Dolohov, Gacrux Jugson, and Alcor Gibson, who were convicted for the murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett; Augustus Rookwood, who spied against the Ministry for Magic; Sarin Travers, responsible for the murder of the McKinnons; Roman Mulciber, responsible for the enslavement of countless witches and wizards with the work of the Imperius Curse; Thorfinn Rowle, convicted for half a dozen murders all over Britain; Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange, Rabastan, and Rodolphus Lestrange, present and participants of the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom and the murders of countless muggles._

_'But this is not all the news that is to be brought to you with this article. For the first time, Harry Potter is speaking out about what happened the night of Cedric Diggory's attack. And who was there._

_'Harry Potter is the first to name Death Eaters who have not conformed to the life they say they lead. He says he does not have any trouble remembering who showed up when He Who Must Not Be Named called for them. "Avery, Macnair, Yaxley, Peter Pettigrew...and then there were even a few of them who are fathers of people in my classes: Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and Malfoy."'_

I looked up at my brother with wide eyes, my jaw slack.

"You didn't."

"Didn't what? Rat out the Death Eaters?" Harry smiled cheekily, but not arrogantly. He _really _didn't see the problem with what he had done. "I did."

"Harry," I started breathlessly, shaking the article in my hand so it would grab his attention. "Harry, my friends-"

"Your friends are the sons of Death Eaters," Harry's eyebrows furrowed. The idiot had the audacity to actually be shocked by my reaction to this. "That's not my fault."

"They shouldn't be punished just because you hate their fathers," I hissed back, slapping the article against my leg for emphasis. "Harry, these are people's _lives _you're playing with!"

"Like their dad's played with Cedric Diggory?" He growled out. I instantly recoiled, feeling as if he had slapped me. I took a step back from him, clenching my fists just to distract from how cool and glassy my eyes felt.

I would not cry in front of him.

"Don't," I started, shaking my head.

"Did you keep reading? Did you read about how they laughed at Cedric's body?" Harry started, looking at me with wide, sincere eyes. "They did, your friends' fathers."

"Harry," my throat was starting to close up as I fought back the emotions that wanted to bubble up into sobs. I couldn't stop my imagination from taking that image and mutating it, watching as the people he'd accused pointed and laughed at him – watching as their children did it...no. I would not let him do this to me, too. This was exactly why I had a point to be made. "What do you think is going to happen to them now? Those men, they're powerful men – you don't think that they'll be shipped to Azkaban do you? The only people you've punished are their families!"

"That's not true," he argued, scowling darkly. "I punished them."

But he hadn't. He hadn't punished those men at all. He had punished everyone around them. Everyone who had ever bore witness to their crimes, and who had been punished by their own inability to act against them. People like Theodore, who could not even speak of his father; or Malfoy, who's only solace were the few moments of rebellion when he dared to speak against him.

Harry had only punished them by speaking out about his own prejudices.

Just like him talking about Voldemort had punished the Weasleys, the Order...and me.

He was punishing me.

And it was true, wasn't it? Wasn't he punishing me? He was punishing my friends and their fathers, he was turning my friends against me – because, let's be serious, they would be sure to hate me for my unavoidable relation to him – and most importantly he was punishing me to make me choose sides.

"You," I hissed, an angry tear escaping my thus-far impressive self-control. "You are just as bad as them."

"As who? Your Slytherin buddies?" He guffawed. "You're joking."

"You're _worse,_" I pointed _The Quibbler_ at him as if it were a sword. "You just want to ruin their lives."

"Like they ruined Cedric's?" He growled, stepping closer to me. "Audrey, remember what they did!"

"Just like what _you _did?" I yelled, throwing _The Quibbler_ back at his chest. He didn't fumble to catch it, thanks to his Seeker reflexes – which only pissed me off more. "You like what you've done – which means you're just as bad as them. You're just as bad as the people you hate."

"Audrey," Hermione frowned. "Their children won't be punished: they will be."

"How can you be so smart," I let out a humourless scoff. "And so utterly clueless?"

"Oi, Drea," Ron frowned, looking left and right as if he were worried we'd be overheard. "Back off, mate."

"Back off? Back off," I laughed, taking a step back from my brother and his group. "I hope you realize what you've done, Harry."

"I told the world the truth," he shrugged helplessly.

"No," I argued. "You just threw an entire generation of students off a broom."

"Stop defending them!" Harry hissed. "Remember why we're doing this, Audrey."

"You're trying to get me to pick sides," I hissed back just as lowly, leaning in so he could feel the full effect of my glare. "You're going to be very disappointed."

I skived off Divination. I didn't think that there was any strength left in me to willingly attend a class that would destroy my ability to think – and I suddenly had a lot of thinking to do.

First, I needed to find a way to keep my brother from getting kicked out of the school. There had to be some loophole in the school policies that would make it impossible for his opinions to be an offense worthy of expulsion. Luckily, if it came down to it, I was fairly certain I could rely on Granger for that. Plus I could use whatever sliver of pull I had with Umbridge to my advantage.

Speaking of the idealist herself, I also had to come to the realization that Granger had gotten one thing right: as soon as students found out that _The Quibbler_ was banned, everyone was reading it. Hell, it's exactly what Tracey, Lillian and I had been determined to do ourselves. But even as Umbridge and the other members of our Inquisitorial Squad went to look for their own to-be-stolen copies of the article, they were nowhere to be found. Students were hiding up their discrepancies well – though they were brave enough to quote the articles in the middle of the corridors.

As easy as it was to skive Divination, I knew I wouldn't have the same luck if I tried to bunk potions. Still, even as I went I was going with low expectations. I had to be on high-guard – who knew when the Slytherins would get their hand on that article. I had no idea who would be the first to realize that they should take out their anger on me.

Because of my highly-evolved sense of self preservation, I ignored my friends when we were in Potions. Which was no easy feat, let me tell you. The step to purposely sit away from them was hard enough. They hadn't heard yet, but I wasn't going to be the idiot who was around when they did. Though Theodore looked confused when I walked in late and went to a seat near the Gryffindors, I didn't stop to see anyone else's reaction.

Malfoy was going to be furious.

It did not help comfort me at all when I listened to him threatening the Gryffindor in front of him for their copy of the article. He would know soon enough – and he would turn on me with the rest of them.

"Today," Snape began, glancing over each of his students' with a scowl. "You will be finishing the final stages of your independent Strengthening Solutions. You should be done with approximately half an hour left of class, where you will then give me a labelled vial of your concoctions and take a second vial to test on the mice provided."

I could not be any more glad that today we were doing independent projects – I felt distracted enough that even _I_ may screw something up. At least if that happened to me, it would only screw me over instead of screwing over Theodore, my usual partner.

I'd say that I'd screwed him over enough for the day.

I got to work quickly. The final stages of my Strengthening Solution involved an infusion of pomegranate juice and cider – which I got to work on first. It was placating being able to focus on something else besides my own nerves and it was humiliating to see how my hands shook as I worked. I nearly miss-measured the pomegranate juice because of it.

While that began to boil down into a concentrate, I was quick to work on powdering half an ounce worth of unicorn horn. Unicorn horn was solid and hard to grate, which made it a nice outlet for a bit of my frustration. I was focused on grating the horn – meanwhile trying not to destroy my fingertips – but I was sadly not focused enough to not realize when someone dropped in the seat beside me.

"Have you read it?" I raised an eyebrow as I looked over at Greengrass, who had sat beside me but refused look at me. She was still trying to ensure that her pomegranate and cider infusion didn't burn, or she was using it as a reason to avoid eye contact.

"Why?"

"I have," she whispered, squeezing the pomegranate into the beaker with both hands. "I haven't been able to talk to Theodore about it yet. He doesn't know..."

"I've already reamed out Harry," I admitted quietly, cringing at the idea that right now my confidant was one of my enemies. "You're sure he hasn't read it?"

"Of course I'm sure," she snapped, her eyes meeting mine darkly. "He's going to be devastated, Audrey."

I was tempted to remind her that it's not as if what was said would come as a surprise to him. Theodore and I'd had only a few conversations about his father, true, but every time we had he made sure to mention how much he hated his father's beliefs. Though it was never actually spoken, I didn't need to read between the lines to know that he was referring to the beliefs of a Death Eater.

"I can't believe Harry would do this," I sighed, grinding the unicorn horn a little more fiercely while Daphne scoffed loudly.

"I can," she argued, not feeling the need to be as quiet about that. "He hates us Slytherins. He'll do anything to make us look bad."

"That's not true," I argued lamely. She sent another glare my way.

"It is. And now no one can deny it," she whispered, sending a glare towards him up at the front of the class. "Your brother discriminates just as badly as everyone he fights against."

Hermione looked back at us with wide eyes, it seemed that she had been eavesdropping and was shocked by what she heard. I couldn't stop myself from glaring back at her – somehow, I knew that this was her fault. Particularly because Harry had said it was her idea.

Some time's I regret being the smart one and having to keep my brother in line.

Daphne and I worked in silence for the rest of the class. As always, I was done earlier than everyone else and was happy when I could take my finished vial of Strengthening Solution up to the front so that Snape could inspect it. Obviously, my potion worked as it should and my mouse was able to break through the plastic tube he was being kept in to get to the cheese – an easy O and a silver-lining to an otherwise terrible day.

"You're dismissed," Snape informed me easily. I nodded, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "Do not forget about tonight."

Fantastic; along with everything else I would get to face today, I would also get to have my mind picked through during Occlumency lessons.

" I'll be here...probably early," I admitted lowly to myself, quickly turning to leave the room.

But I couldn't leave without catching Malfoy's eyes.

My eyes were drawn to his, noticing that there was some level of concern and even a higher concentration of confusion. He didn't understand why I had not sat with the group and I didn't understand how he couldn't know that I was feeling guilty.

His eyes, the colour of evasive smoke, watched me the entire way to the door. I could feel them on my back as I left and didn't breathe until the oak doors closed behind me. Would he look at me with this kind of concern in a few hours, when he read the article that condemned his own family?

No, probably not.

I shook my head, trying to get the worry over how he'd react tonight out of my head. He was going to be furious – I should nip it in the bud and just confront him. Warn him about what he was about to read...

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. I was not a coward and I was certainly not a martyr. I did not want to be around during the madness that would be lunch and classes, not with this article flying around.

And if Harry got beaten up by some Slytherins in my absence, it would serve him right.

* * *

><p>"You skived all your classes," I didn't even need to turn around to know that Harry had caught up with me in the corridor. He was the only one who had spoken to me today – everyone else had just whispered, talking about parts of the article that I hadn't gotten to read. To avoid temptation, I had locked myself back up in the dorm room – at least until I knew the girls were about to come back. Then I made a mad dash down to the owlery with Circe so that she could play with Hedwig.<p>

When Harry caught up with me, I had to bite back a crude comment about how unexcited he looked for our upcoming Occlumency lesson. Circe, weaving between my legs intermittently, gave him a soft growl.

Ah, it seemed even my kneazle saw the injustice my brother ignored.

"Didn't feel up for sitting in the middle of a riot," I told him plainly, refusing to give him the courtesy of a glance. "Was it as terrible as I anticipated?"

"Well, when I saw Malfoy and his goons in the library, they seemed ready to kill me," I could hear his smile. "So it was probably worse."

"I'm not defending you if they beat you," I informed him scornfully. "I think you have it coming."

"Oh, come on – I only told the truth," he told me, having no problem trying to catch up to me when I sped up out of annoyance. Again, quite maturely, I increased my speed.

"Yes, at the risk of everyone else. You are so bloody impulsive, Harry," I shook my head at him. "You never think your actions through before you act. It's brash and brash means stupid."

"And you don't why? Because you're a Slytherin?" I was shocked, normally he wouldn't pull that out in an argument so quickly, or he'd at least have the decency to hide the venom in his voice for a little bit longer when he was talking about the Slytherins. Maybe he was just fast-tracking it as this wasn't our first arguing today.

"Yes, I suppose so," I said with a spiteful glare. "I'd much rather be smart than _impulsive._"

"I'd much rather be brave than a sneak," he growled back.

"Some big brother you are. Aren't you supposed to protect me, or something?" I bit back, ignoring him as I rapped angrily on Snape's door and walked in without hesitation. He didn't look up from his papers when I came in, because it seemed he was ready for whatever temper tantrum I planned on throwing. He held his wand out.

"We're starting quickly," he told us. "Recent events have made us need to speed the process."

"I wonder what those could be," I slipped my rucksack off my back, setting it on the table closest to Snape's desk. "Could it have anything to do with that new article – the one which I have not read – about the Riddler – of whom I do not believe in – that happened to be printed today – which I had no part of? "

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"If you wouldn't mind, Professor, I'd like to go first." I stepped towards his desk and took out my wand. "I'm afraid this idiot is going to give me some infectious disease that causes one to lose their mind. I'd like to avoid further contamination."

"Audrey, come on," Harry groaned. "It's not that bad!"

Snape, of course, humoured me immediately. With a quirk to his lips, he set about walking the Pensieve to the corner book shelf so it was out of the way. Once that was secure, he came to stand in position and raised his wand to my face.

"Remember to clear your mind, Potter; three, two, one-"

"_What the bloody hell are you talking about?_" I was watching myself as Harry and I sat in Buckbeak's room in Grimmauld Place. It was just this past Christmas and as I seemed to recall, we were about to fight. You know, again.

"_You _hate _Malfoy, Drea. You've always hated him – don't you remember basically neutering him in second year? And this thing with Umbridge – I know that you like not having to do work. I'm just worried that you're getting a little too comfortable pretending to be someone you're not...and that you're turning into the person you're pretending to be._"

"_Are you serious?_" So, it seems that my brother is _always_ this annoying. "_You don't even know who I'm pretending to be!_"

"_Hey, I didn't get mad at you so you can't get mad at me. Audrey, first you pretend to like Umbridge – then you start saying you like the class-_"

"_Of course I do, I'll fail a normal Defence class with this wand!_" My hands were starting to itch and ache – maybe it was to attack him. Maybe it was to hurt him after everything he had done today, since Christmas, since I had been sorted into Slytherin during first year...

"_And then you start pretending to like Malfoy – and now you're actually _friends _with him_?"

"_That's all in the sake of sanity: can you imagine hating each other every patrol? Eventually one of us would go insane, or be hexed – I don't want to be on the receiving end of either considering I can't defend myself because I can't use a wand..._"

"_I just want you to remember,_" he growled to me. "_Umbridge is a Ministry spy who wants nothing more than to have me hanged. And you can't forget about Malfoy; he's made our lives hell for the past five years, Audrey. And his father is a Death Eater – and Draco's no better than his father because he'll be one too._"

"_That's not true!_" I couldn't believe how defensive I was over Malfoy. I can't believe that I was so defensive over Malfoy two months ago – hadn't we only just started really getting along? Had so much time gone by when I actually felt close to him? "_You can't blame a child for the parent's mistake, Harry._"

"_Voldemort did._"

"_So you'll do what he did? That accusation – the Death Eater accusation – is bigger than us and our school rivalries. Those aren't words you can just toss around. These are _people. _People separate of their parents-_"

"_Now you're _defending _them?_" A part of me, the conscious part of me, argued that I was almost positive I'd always fight for them – probably something I should have brought up at the time.

"_No one else will! Not even you, oh saviour of the Wizarding World, would save someone you didn't deem worthy. You're just as selfish as they are!_"

"_You're defending Malfoy. I can't believe it,_" he was shell shocked and I closed my eyes, waiting and feeling as my mind was sifted through so that I could catch another memory I didn't want to relive.

I was walking through the halls – it was this year again, I could tell because of the shiny green and silver Prefect badge pinned to my robes. Beside me, Malfoy was trying to catch up to me – he looked shell-shocked.

"_Why did you take the punishment onto yourself? You have to do 84 hours of patrol in the next three weeks_!" Ah, it was the day I had gotten him out of the detentions with Snape. The very first time when he and I had let bygones be bygones and started working together and getting along.

"_Ugh, that is a lot_," I watched myself give a little wretch and continue walking. My palms were aching during this vision too – which didn't make sense considering I didn't use Magnuse and this memory didn't make me upset. Still, I could tell that past-Audrey I was trying to play it cool, but I couldn't remember why I was trying so hard and – on that same point – failing so badly.

"_The question still stands_."

"_Well, why did you try to get the Gryffindors off my back_? _Actually, more importantly, why have you been keeping me away from all the people thinking ill of me? Is it really for your reputation_?" Oh yes, I was playing it cool because he had just hinted about all the shite going on with the Slytherins to my Gryffindor comrades. I was feeling indebted and admittedly flattered by his concern.

"_You don't know anything, do you Potter_? _I'm not doing that for you._"

Even months later, I still did not understand what he was saying here. What didn't I understand and why was he lying to the media, then?

Why was I still so bloody curious?

"_Then why is it me you've been taking the time to protect_? _I don't need protection you know, I'm twice the witch of any of the bints that have been trying to harass me_."

"_Good, I'm glad I'll be able to stop_," he didn't sound angry like I remembered thinking he was at the time. I thought he was being haughty, but he almost sounded marred. "_But know that it wasn't for you_."

"Enough," Snape's voice reverberated in my mind and pulled me out of the fog of my own memory. "You didn't even try to fight the memories, you let yourself became emotional: the exact opposite of clearing your mind."

Having woken from my memories, I now saw that the reason my palms had ached was because I was on the floor again, and they had stopped my fall. I felt more dazed now than I had last week, which may have accounted for the stray thought of how the charm from my hairbrush had worn off. The curtain of red tangles that blocked my view from Snape and Harry comforted me, but didn't save me from Snape's grand resolve.

"Again," Snape ordered. "Up! Clear your mind – clear your mind from your body and the pain you feel, the emotions that are distracting you...Potter, prepare yourself."

I didn't hear his countdown this time, perhaps I was too distracted by those emotions he had been talking about.

"_Well, it's just one question and then I'll leave you be. In any of the many books you've read, did you ever learn the difference between mind and body magic? Where does our magic actually come from?_" I was watching myself as I spent time in the library, researching for the second task. In front of me was Hermione Granger, who was studying and taking a break to explain to me the theory of magic. I remember it well – the long-debated question that still confused me.

"_Well, it's never really been proven as either, to be honest. If it were something in our body, then that would mean it would be hereditary – but then the scholars presume there wouldn't be muggleborns or squibs. On the other hand, it's been argued that it can't be from the mind because of things that happen in hospitals: magic happening to those in a coma or those who are brain dead. Sometimes they see that graves have flowers growing years after the person has died, but the body is gone at that point._"

"_Creepy,_" Suddenly it didn't sound creepy though. It sounded like something I needed to do more research on. It could be the hidden piece to my Occlumency problems – and all my other magical deficiencies, at that. "_So what do _you _think_?"

"_Neither, I believe magic is life. I believe that our magic is an essence all its own – closely linked with the soul._" I couldn't stop wanting to roll my eyes. I could tell that fourth-year Audrey wanted to as well.

"_You think magic comes from our _souls_?_" Even my memories sounded condescending. What a ridiculous notion.

"_Yes, the soul. But if I must say between body and mind, then I'd have to say I believe it to be something from the mind. We are only in classes to hone our abilities and before any of us came here we were showing signs of magical talents without our wands. It seems as if it's only related to our bodies because our bodies is what holds the magic in, but no, I don't think that's where it comes from."_

"Wait!" I pushed through the memory and managed to come out on top, though I was kneeled on one knee in the middle of his office. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Very good, you pushed me out simply with your mind. Not fast enough, but an improvement."

"No, wait. Is this – is Occlumency the same process as Astral Projection?" I interrupted, placing a hand on my forehead when I felt a little light headed. I waited until it passed, as did he, before I stood and spoke again. "Can I go through the same process as we did when I was getting ready for the Second Task?"

"Clearing your mind of thoughts so you can push out another's presence is the same idea as calming your mind to clear yourself of your own, yes," he agreed with a nod. "Shall we try again?"

"Yes," I agreed, getting up and dusting off my knee. I winced when I felt dirt go into the crescent shaped cuts in my palms – gross. "Alright, give me a minute; a longer minute..."

"Very well," he told, though he sounded upset that he would have to wait for my mark. Still, I remembered how to go into an Astral state – and to do that, I sat down. Even if it didn't work, at least I wouldn't ruin my knees when I fell to the ground again.

I remember the tip I had heard, the tip from Cedric – to visualize a blank piece of parchment. I had to tack it over the sides of my vision and try to ignore the world beyond it. I tried to drown out the sounds of Harry's breathing, Snape's robes that were making small sounds each time he moved them across the floor, the sound of my own heartbeat that thumped somewhere near my eardrums...

_Concentrate._

Well, Snape was already in my mind. Fantastic.

But still, I must be making progress, or he must have been giving me more time because I was not having memories replayed in my subconscious like some old home movie.

Focus, Audrey. Stop thinking about not thinking.

How redundant.

I tacked the parchment right back up in mind's eye, stretching it all the way to my peripheral vision where I would be able to not be bothered with whatever it is I was holding it up with. I could feel a tugging at my mind, I could feel Snape's intrusion before the memory even started – but I was thrown off by the feeling of him literally rifling through my thoughts – as if it were a file cabinet and he was leafing through to see a title that he specifically wanted to see.

Today, it seemed that he was interested in reliving the memory of my mega-vision.

It was only a section of it – it was the section where I was looking at the Malfoys in Borgin and Burkes. I watched myself as I lay flat on my stomach, my brother and his Gryffindor duo beside me, as we looked through something with cupped hands. Remembering the vision, I knew that Vision-Audrey could barely see them through some sort of film of dust and I could feel my heart speed up just at the sight of it. Something about this vision made me become anxious – not that I knew why yet. I suppose I would whenever the vision came to pass.

And then came the horrible feeling of falling – watching as I started to slide down whatever the group of us were sitting on. This was the moment in the vision when I was falling and I couldn't stop myself as I fell from wherever I was – into someone else's arms.

Oh no.

Oh dear Merlin, _no_.

Someone's lips were against mine – I knew what I was seeing before I actually saw it. This was the moment of the vision when I was kissing some Weasley or another, not that even when I was a third party person I could tell which Weasley it was. All I could see were Gryffindor robes and red hair – neither really a telling sign when it came to any member of that family.

What was worse? I knew what happened next.

_You can't see this._

I don't know if he heard me think it, but I had tried to project it so he would. I didn't want Snape to see this – no, Snape couldn't see this. There was no want, it was a need for him not to. If he did, he would know that I was going to kiss Malfoy and if he knew I was going to kiss Malfoy...

_Then push me out._

But I couldn't push him out, the vision was already happening, I could see and feel it shifting. No! But I could feel the lips changing and becoming as I remembered Malfoy's lips on my temple – soft and urgent. No. He could not see this vision as I remembered it.

But I could change it.

Snape already knew that I would end up kissing a Weasley – I'd already told him at the meeting with the Order and he'd now seen it, so that damage was done. But I could alter what I was seeing. This was _my _brain. It was myvision and my perception and I still had control over my imagination, didn't I? Isn't that something that you always had control over?

So instead of the dreaded kiss that I could already feel happening with Malfoy, I started to think about kissing a famous actor – one that I had seen in one of Dudley's movies. He had red hair, too. He was some kind of dramatic actor from Scotland in some movie about drugs...

I could feel the lips become smoother and less urgent, like I'd always imagined the movie star would have. I could feel that the hands changed and see that the hair stayed red, even if it was more of a carroty colour than a ginger.

But I was not kissing Draco Malfoy.

Thank Merlin, I was not caught kissing Draco Malfoy.

"Well done," I pulled myself out of the state I was in and found that I was short of breath. A simple switch of my perception had taken a lot more effort than I had thought and I was not only winded, but tired. "Were you to have manipulated your memory with something more believable, I wouldn't have been too aware of the rift between reality and imagination."

I smiled. "I did it?"

"It was a good first step," I frowned at him. There was never room for celebration with this man. "You were still slow to realize that you could change the perception, you did not have a smooth transition between memory and imagination, not to mention that I still got a lot of information from the memory itself – but you did. Don't be arrogant, Potter; you still have a long way to go."

But he hadn't seen me kiss Malfoy, thank Merlin.

Salazar's shit, I forgot about Malfoy!

"Professor, can I leave?" I asked quickly, not waiting for permission before I threw my rucksack over my shoulder and winced at the books hitting my ribs. He looked at me, trying to hide his confusion.

"Yes, you are done for the day. I expect you here on Wednesday."

"Of course, bye," I didn't cast anything back towards them – other than a quick glare at my brother, of course – before bursting out into the dungeon corridor. The air was less damp here and it gave me a clearer frame of mind.

I had to find Malfoy. I had to find my friends. I know I should have ignored them for as long as I did. I also knew that it would come back and bite me...but after remembering the argument I'd had with Harry on Christmas and then seeing myself kiss Malfoy. It threw off my survival plan.

I was worried for them.

My Slytherin confidants were easier to find than I would have thought, thanks to the fact that I could hear Daphne's shrill cries when I rounded the corner to the Slytherin common room. She was standing in front of Malfoy, Nott, and Zabini and she was weeping. She had taken to grabbing onto Theodore's arm while he talked darkly to Blaise. He looked darker than I had ever seen him. His eyes looked harder and more dangerous...it was not the Theo I knew and loved.

It was angry Theo.

I guess that was my cue to start damage control.

"Please, Theodore," Daphne's sobs were so loud that they were echoing against the stone walls around us. I was surprised I hadn't heard her down by the Potion's room. "It's not that big of a deal – no one believes Potter, remember? He's a crackpot!"

"The entire school has read it, Greengrass," Malfoy growled. "It doesn't matter what they think if they've all read it!"

Malfoy looked even more angry than I had initially imagined. His fists were clenched and his hair was mussed. He looked like he had either been in a scrap, or he'd been held back from starting one. Neither seemed unlikely.

"That's not true," Blaise said, trying to be the smooth voice of reason as Theodore fumed, himself. "Potter still isn't credible. And the world knows that you and he have a feud because of his sister-"

"He's an idiot," I agreed, walking into sight, gripping the strap of my bag nervously. I was surprised by the fire in both Nott and Malfoy's eyes when they looked at me. Apparently my idea for self-preservation had been a better idea than I'd thought."But the lard had a point: there's no taking it back now, so we have to deal with it as it is. Which is that the school has read it – but most people still think he's nutters."

"You didn't want to give us a heads-up, Potter?" Malfoy hissed, taking a step towards me. "Didn't want to warn us that your brother had gone off the deep end and decided to sign his death warrant?"

"I didn't know until this morning when Umbridge asked me to start confiscating," I held my hands up defensively.

"So that's why you were avoiding us?" Nott growled with a shake of his head. "You didn't think to _warn_ us?"

"I figured you'd already know and that you'd be mad at me by proxy," I answered honestly, shrugging my shoulders. "Apparently I wasn't quite wrong. Still, my brother's an idiot, but I promise that I had no idea this had happened. I wasn't even with him – I was here, with you, for Valentine's."

"I'm going to kill him," Malfoy hissed, balling a blank piece of parchment – which I guessed was a well-disguised copy of _The Quibbler – _in his fist. "This is the last straw – I'm going to fucking kill him!"

"Malfoy!" Everyone gasped, not knowing what to expect as he moved to walk where I'd come from. I placed my hands on his chest when he came close to me, pushing him back as well as I could. I doubted that I could hold that much rage off for long, though, particularly with his size against mine.

"Malfoy, beating him up isn't going to help at all – it will only make things worse!"

"Not only, it will make me _feel_ better," he argued, placing his hands around my wrists and moving them off his chest. I shook my head and pushed my shoulder against him until he moved his hands to my shoulders to move them – where I then went about putting my hands to hold him back again.

"But it will make you look guilty," I argued. "Please, don't do this."

"Draco, please," Daphne, still in tears, nodded. "Let's go back into the common room-"

"No, I'm sick of talking!" He pushed past me and I watched him go with wide eyes, before they swivelled back to the others.

"I'll get him-" Blaise started. I shook my head, tossing my bag at him.

"I've got this," I assured. "I have my wand and my Magnuse – besides, I'm going to try and distract him from where my brother really is. You'll lead him right to him."

"Audrey-" Blaise sighed, grabbing my bag from the floor.

"I've got it," I assured, running after Malfoy. I was pleased to see he'd only made it one corridor over. He looked like some kind of predator on the hunt – his posture stooped and his eyes wild. It wasn't often you found Malfoy so out of control of himself. Then again, it wasn't often that Malfoy felt like he was placed behind bars. "Malfoy, stop!"

"You're not stopping this," he informed me with a snarl. He looked back at me to say it, which I took to be a good sign. If he were really upset with me, he would have hexed me or ignored me – neither happened meant that I was in a good in-between stage where I had a chance of talking him down from. "I'm going to beat your brother until he stops breathing..."

"And though I warned him that I would let you," I started, he looked at me with a raised brow. "I can't actually let you do that – for your good, more than for his."

"The only good I'll get is if he really _does _stop breathing," he argued, stuttering in his step and halting when I took a grip on his arm and stopped.

"Malfoy, please," I shook my head. "You'll make it worse – if the school finds out you beat my brother up after this article came out, reporters will be on you in seconds. They'll accuse everyone and you know it. Both Harry and Hermione were counting on that. Listen, we'll get him back, I promise you that. But this isn't the time for you to-"

"Why do you care?" He snarled at me.

It made me stop. I didn't realize that my mind and body would have this kind of reaction; the reaction that made my thoughts spin and spiral, but my heart beat stutter and stop. When it started up again, it only gave more oxygen to my brain to let it race faster.

Why _did_ I care? Was it because I had been fighting against my brother's prejudices since before Christmas, or was it because I'd gotten closer to the Slytherins? To _him_?

It didn't help that I had just witnessed the start of my fighting for Malfoy, the start of my friendship with him and – more importantly – the effect it would have when we one day kissed.

Could it be that Malfoy was making me grow soft? Or, as I've asked myself all year, was I finally beginning to understand him?

Did this actually have anything to do with my brother and his well-being at all?

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" He continued, waving the article in my face even when I couldn't read it. "For my father to be blacklisted?"

"That's not what I wanted for you," I argued, taking a step back to give him his space. "I've always argued that you shouldn't be punished for your parents mistakes – and you shouldn't...but you were. And yes, Harry did it. I'm sorry, Malfoy, but if you go to fight him, I promise that you'll only be making it worse."

"I don't believe you. And either way, I don't really see how this is your problem, Potter," he hissed at me. It felt like he was spitting some kind of poison and I felt myself cringe away from it. "You go back and forth – protecting your brother, protecting us – you can't be on both sides. Eventually you'll have to choose – and you're never going to pick the son of a Death Eater-"

"That doesn't make _you _a Death Eater," I argued immediately, though I was surprised by the parallel his argument was making to my brother's. Hadn't my brother and I argued today over how I would eventually have to choose sides?

Hadn't I argued that I would not choose Harry? I never said that I wouldn't choose the son of a Death Eater. I said that I could choose Nott...if I could choose my best friend, couldn't I choose Malfoy?

"Yes, all fantastic theories, but that doesn't mean you believe them," he argued with a sneer. "You believe all this rubbish as much as your brother does. You're here so you can protect him, not because you give a shite about any of us. You've been doing everything – including being friends with us – because of him!"

"That's not true," I shook my head. I shook my head. My chest felt like it was constricting as I thought about just how untrue it _really _was. After the infiltration of my mind when I remembered just how long and passionately I had been fighting against all this; of the kiss with Malfoy that I had immediately panicked about, I was surprised by how much and how honestly I _had _been fighting for him. And the strangest part is, it was not just because of what had happened today. I had been fighting for him long before today.

"It is," he argued, his eyes harsh, but not cold.

I shook my head. "I haven't been taking Harry's side at all. Keeping him out of trouble, sure, but I've never taken his side."

"So what, you're saying you've been on mine?" He laughed humourlessly. "Oh come on, Potter, don't use my own words against me."

That was also true, Malfoy had been arguing that he had been on my side before I even knew that sides had been picked. And maybe, in a way, he had been. Maybe he'd always been just waiting for this moment – this separation between my twin and I – before he would really let it come to light.

"You're wrong," I tried to show him how sincere I was with my eyes – but apparently I was not as easy to read when he was pumped up on hate and adrenaline. And I couldn't blame him for that...I didn't want to blame him for anything. I just wanted to make it right. But how do you make it right with someone like him after something like this had been done?

"_You're _wrong, so stop pretending to give a fuck, Potter." His eyes looked unlike the steel they did when he had been talking to the others, now they looked as vulnerable as ash, flaking away with each whisper. "It's not-"

He didn't finish. He couldn't...because suddenly I was in his arms, holding him back and holding him close. I was trying to provide some sort of comfort and make sure he understood just how much I did care, just how sincere I was.

And just as suddenly, I was kissing him.

It was passionate and urgent, because the kiss had something to prove. It had to prove something passionate, and something urgent – it had to prove for some reason just how it _wasn't _true. I needed him to know that I believed him, and more importantly, that he should believe me. I needed him to know that everything that article had said was a lie: he was not his father, he was not a stereotype, he was not what everyone said about him...and I alone knew it.

Then, he was kissing me back. Once he was over the shock and confusion that I hadn't had time to register, he was reacting with the same passion I was. His arms were wrapped around me, holding me up from where I must have fallen into him – or perhaps I had jumped onto him. I couldn't remember it either way. His lips moved just as urgently, his breath was just as laboured as he gripped me to him and I ran my fingers through his hair. It was like I was holding him so that he wouldn't leave, so that everything else he had been thinking of would disappear. So that, for once, it could just be about us - with no extras, no ulterior moments, no manipulation. And in those everlasting seconds of feverish movements, it was like I knew he understood that. That _we _understood. That this – whatever _this _was – was okay.

I pulled away when I could no longer breathe and looked at him, looking for any glimmer of emotion in his eyes so that I could know what he was thinking now that I'd given him time to. Jumping on him may not have been my best decision, but his eyes – still the colour of ash – looked unlocked and vulnerable.

"You're wrong," I told him again. It was stern and certain, as certain as if I were telling him that we had just kissed – the sincerity vibrated through my voice like the electric current danced between us.

I didn't move as he watched me, scrutinized me for a long moment – in that moment, I wonder what he saw. Did he see a diversion from whatever it was I had been distracting him from? Or did he see that I was finally being honest? I knew that he would have seen my heavy breaths, or possibly my shaking knees, maybe he saw whatever it was I was seeing in his own eyes; the eyes that looked like molten mercury and chained up demons.

"I believe you." He whispered, his voice raspy and thick with whatever electric sensation that was locked between us and causing my skin to tingle.

I nodded, my heart hammering while I leaned back against the wall and hoped for more air.

"Good."

And suddenly - as everything today happened suddenly - my back was pressed against the wall. I smiled looked up to him, not wanting to make the next move again and not able to stop myself from wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Good," he repeated breathlessly.

And then he kissed me again.

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><p><strong>AHH, FINALLY! Audrey kissed him first! Who expected it? Man, I have been waiting for that since I started writing OOTP. I'm so excited to hear what you all think about this chapter - this has been a long time coming and I hope I did it justice!<strong>

**To the amazing reviewers of the last chapter: **

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, Snape has finally figured out what's going on between Montague and Audrey - but he won't interfere yet. And I'm glad you're liking the "Dreaco" moments - this chapter had some nice ones ;) I did a lot of research into the time frame of the locket and Umbridge could have gotten it any time between the summer and seventh year as it was thrown away while they were cleaning the house in August. For purpose of Audrey's story, I made her start wearing it earlier. Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

_Novella Vialli_**: Pretty fast update, I think. The necklace is a horcrux, but why is Audrey reacting to it as she is? Hope you liked the chapter.**

_Colette Hyuga: _**I'm glad you liked the hand holding, hopefully this chapter was sweet, too!**

_OddPotato_**: They're doing more than holding hands now! And Audrey definitely knows there's something wrong with the locket. She will definitely be suspicious of the locket when she sees the fake, but what will she do when she finally gets her hand on the horcrux? Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.**

_TheForrestAgain_**: That's alright, I'll make sure there's a chapter out for your birthday then! Audrey did have a vision of being tortured, it was part of the mega-vision during the third task and this was just a reminder, considering Bellatrix is now on the loose (which is so exciting. She's one of my favourites, I love crazy bad guys like her that have no redeeming moments of "what I'm doing is wrong". It's more realistic). Snape does know about Montague, but knowing him he wouldn't do anything until he sees him doing it again - Snape will want her to work out her own problems and respect the fact that she thinks the same. And about the fact Draco was throwing in jibes? It's so true - she kissed him while he was insulting her! Typical. Hope you liked it!**

_Ella710_**: I told you it would be soon! Haha, did you expect it, or was it a surprise? Dare I ask if it was a surprise because it happened a little TOO suddenly? Ugh, I've been waiting for this chapter even longer than you have. Do you know how hard it is writing chapters, just waiting to get to that moment but not being able to do it until the right time? It was torture, I assure you.**

**Snape is too amazing for words. And Astoria will of course be trouble later on, but Audrey and Draco have officially begun! Oh the things I have planned for those two...the sixth book is more than just them kissing. There is going to be so much going down...I kinda wish I could just skip it all and be like "Chapter 47: this, this and this happened. You're caught up, congrats...and now for the Halfblood Prince!" but I don't think that would go over well. Plus it will be important information that I'm hiding within chapters - hint, hint - so I guess I'll have to endure.**

**I did a fair bit of research before writing all the stuff about the locket, and Mundungus stole it from the Black house in August and later sold it on the street where it was given to Umbridge. Technically when he sells it isn't given a time-frame, only when it's stolen, so I decided to make it so that she wore it earlier than we ever technically saw it on Umbridge in the books - but it was for the benefit and the timeline technically is still correct. **

**Anyway, never worry about your reviews, I love them! Thanks :)**

_Bitterglass_**: First of all, thanks for the reviews and the PMs. In response to your reviews, I'm glad you're liking all the Draco and Drea fluff. And never worry about fangirl-ing, haha, that's good! Hopefully you liked this chapter!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you for editing this and getting it back to me so quickly. I won't deny, I still felt upset with that ending so I went and redid the last little bit. I feel a lot better about it now, hopefully there aren't a lot of mistakes. Are you excited to move? I didn't hear that your husband was going to be deployed, where is he going? He's in my thoughts, you both are.**

_incitanemxx_**: Things would have been a lot more complicated if he hadn't died, and I used Cedric's death as a catalyst for her kind of "going to the dark side" so I'm kind of glad I did it. Hopefully the development you were talking about last chapter got you ready for what happened this chapter - and hopefully you enjoyed it. I did, haha. It's alright to be obsessed, I am too. Literally, when I'm not writing this story, I'm planning what I'm going to write for this story. It's kind of sad. I do want to update twice a week, but I'm behind in my updates so I'm now writing chapter by chapter - but I plan to get ahead in HBP like I was at the beginning of this! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Audrey might not exactly keep the locket a secret, but will the right people find out? We'll have to wait and see! There will be lots of Occlumency lessons, I promise. Hope you liked the chapter.**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Hello, Kazza Gills! It's okay, I've thought of changing my username too. I still kind of want to. Anyway, Audrey has not quite forgot about the Legilimency, she just doesn't think much of it like Harry did. She kind of lived in denial about it - but don't worry, it will be coming up in conversation very soon. It was slightly similar to the negative reaction Harry and Ron had to it and that is a good idea, that she is similar to a horcrux. You're very right, Audrey did not have magic used on her like Harry did...you'll have to wait and see. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_BlueRose22_**: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm glad that you like the chapter length and such, I'm always a little worried. The romance was closer than you thought, wasn't it? Did you like it. I've thought of tons of ways around Sirius' death, it's true, but the question is if he would realistically be someone Audrey'd have the capability to save. I told myself I can save two people who would normally die, so I want to make it believable. I'm a fan of the Blacks (particularly Sirius and the Black sisters: Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda), the Malfoys, the Lestranges and the Weasleys. They're just the most realistic of the characters, I think.**

_99terminater_**: Yes, Snape is protective and wonderful. He's going to let her try her own way first, he's respectful like that. And if he really does have the snake in his head like she thought, then he might be better once he learns Occlumency. If he ever can. I would hate if someone used Legilimency on me (hence causing me to use Occlumency) - I'd be pretty pissed if someone read my thoughts. Though I couldn't see why anyone would want to, my thoughts are pretty you liked this chapter and their overwhelming cuteness. Thanks for the review, hope you liked the new chapter. **

_simslovr1_**: Snape is a softy. I love the paternal instinct he has for Audrey. I'm glad you think Audrey and Draco are sweet - what do you think of them after this chapter?**

_booklover526_**: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. Hope you liked this chapter, too :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Haha, hand holding seems kind of lame after this chapter, doesn't it? Was the anticipation worth it, did you it? I hope so! I'm glad you like the Snape moments as well, as do I - he's so great. Sirius is great, too. I love them both, I'm glad I get to incorporate them both. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review!**

_TessaBriane94_**: Thank you, I like that she isn't perfect as well. I hope that you liked this chapter - fighting and kissing, how could it go wrong?**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Audrey will figure out Occlumency eventually. Hope you liked this chapter!**

_EveryNewDay_**: I'm glad! Good for you for remembering Cedric's trick with the paper. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for the review.**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Snape is totally protecting them - oh how I love him. Draco is also all for saving Audrey - he's so sweet in his own way. Not the traditional way, either. Maybe that's why I like him so much. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review.**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad you liked it. Yes, the Inquisitorial Squad has arrived! As has the fluff! Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing. **

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: I'm glad you're liking the story - even if people look at you like you've lost your mind. Know that all the way over here in Canada, I appreciate it. She probably will get Occlumency, but will she be able to help Harry with it. And hating Umbridge is pretty much a law of the Harry Potter universe, so I'm glad that I'm portraying her well enough to make it continue. As for her dreaming it, maybe. I do have a moment planned where she will be having crazy dreams...hm...**

_Valerie Michaelis_**: I'm very glad you took the time to read it. Thank you very much for the review, I hope you like the new chapter.**

_sexichick_**: The Inquisitorial Squad is a pretty fun concept. Audrey will definitely have an opinion of the DA being caught, let me tell you. Do you think Harry will involve her in the Department of Mysteries fiasco? All those moments you've thought of are moments I planned out for a long time before I even started writing. The Ron and Audrey leaving together idea is a very good one - but you'll have to wait and see. **

**Draco and Audrey are pretty cute to me, too. The locket will definitely make a ruckus. Does she have a connection to Voldemort, or maybe Voldemort planned it all...Occlumency is full of memories, and her brother is being a bit of a jerk. We'll see if he makes up for it or not. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter and thanks for reviewing :)**

_Carojoy4210_**: I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: No, no one noticed they were holding hands. It was under the table and even though Theodore was beside her, Draco's sneaky and Theodore had no reason to pay attention. Hope that you liked the chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and the Occlumency. He won't do anything to stop Montague, because he'll respect Audrey's wishes...to a point. You'll have to wait and see...it'll be fun. Ha, I'm glad that you liked the last chapter so much - hopefully you liked how they kissed. Also the locket is stolen by Mundungus in August when they are clearing the house, I just sped up the process on when Umbridge took it from him :)**

_sara253xxx_**: The reviews definitely mean the world. I love each and every one, I swear! Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter - Audrey and Draco are definitely coming along, especially after this chapter! Did you like how it was done? Thanks for the review.**

_myblacktears_**: When I see you next week, I now expect that hug. You can't go back on that now!**

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><p><strong>So, how did you all like it? Surprised, excited, hated it? I'd love to hear what you thought! <strong>

**Please ****REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**


	48. Knuckles Deep

**Wow, so many great reviews everyone, thank you so much! Here's the aftermath of the first kiss – hope that you guys like what you read...I certainly liked writing it. I'd like to warn you ahead of time that in this chapter I have messed with a bit of the timeline. I never do this; I'm all about staying on point and normally the class scene we see here happens in November, but I wanted it to happen after the kiss. **

**Please take a look at the ****note at the bottom****!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Chapter 47 – Knuckles Deep<p>

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><p>I couldn't tell if I was awake or asleep by the time life began the next day. Every time I had slept I'd replayed the night before in my head, but every time I was awake I was pretty much imagining the exact same thing. I don't know which brought on more vivid re-enactments and which brought on the more abstract recreations of the day before. It wasn't until my friends started waking and getting ready for class as if nothing had happened that I realized it truly was morning.<p>

I didn't speak to anyone as I moved to start my day, luckily the others didn't speak to me either. I hadn't made it back in time for before they all went to bed and I knew that until they saw how Malfoy and I were interacting, they wouldn't ask how running interference on the destruction of my brother had gone. What they didn't know was that Malfoy hadn't gotten to Harry at all. In fact, we'd only gone over a handful of corridors, where we had then proceeded to snog until our lips felt raw and then separated when we realized what had happened.

Yeah, to be honest I still wasn't sure what happened.

I do, however, distinctly remember running away.

I got ready in a daze, it took me minutes after stepping out of the shower to realize that everyone was gone. Shaking my head to clear it, I deftly pulled on my uniform and packed my rucksack for my classes today, textbooks and winter-gear. It was going to be a long day today, particularly if I couldn't start thinking clearly.

My head was cleared of fantasies and memories the closer I got to the Great Hall, however. Even the numbness of my imagination seemed to chip away as the worry and the dread kicked in...why was no one walking with me? Where was everyone? What had they heard? What would happen when I got to the Great Hall?

For all I knew I could be walking straight into my own personal Hell. Malfoy could be beating up my brother in the center of a riot, while Parkinson orchestrated a song about how I'd finally given in and kissed my brother's enemy, and all my friends could be laughing at the lyrics while quietly hissing threats about the article my brother had released only the day before.

Wow, that scenario was almost too realistic to think about again.

"How'd you do it?"

I almost jumped when the voice ripped me from my reveries. Craning my neck to look over my shoulder, I felt my body seize up at my first interaction of the day. Zabini was running to catch up to me, looking as if he wasn't even winded by the run and smiling smugly. My nerves started immediately – they vibrated through me and made my palms sticky, warning me that if Malfoy were to have let anyone in on the secret; it would have been one of his dorm mates.

"Do what?" I asked stiffly, willing my limbs to move casually as I walked along side him once he'd caught up. I didn't look at him for fear that he'd see all the classic signs of anxiety and instead watched where I was going, counting the corridors until we would reach the Great Hall – where everything would only worsen.

"How'd you keep Malfoy from getting himself expelled?" He asked as if I were stupid. "He didn't say anything to me when he got in last night, but he was up and out of the dorm this morning and ready for classes. He even woke up first. So, how'd you keep him in line?"

"I didn't," I swallowed thickly. "He must have seen reason on his own."

"I doubt that," he scoffed. "Come on, let's get to breakfast before all your hard work is put to shame."

I almost wanted to groan at the idea that soon, when I walked through the doors to the Great Hall – which was suddenly a shorter walk from the dungeons than it had ever been before – I would be seeing Malfoy. And seeing Malfoy meant that I would be witnessing the shame of what I _had _done.

I mean, who would Malfoy tell if he hadn't told Blaise? Would he tell Theodore and would that make my best friend hate me? Would Malfoy tell my brother?

Oh dear Merlin, _would someone tell my brother_?

I could already hear it now: "_Audrey, I knew you were turning to their side! Why don't you just side with Voldemort and leave me alone? You've disgraced the Order and you're a traitor_!"

Fantastic. Now I feel sick.

When we finally made it all the way to the Great Hall I couldn't stop myself from stopping outside of the large oak doors. Instead I stood there hopelessly, shifting my weight from foot to foot and dreading whatever was about to happen when I finally walked through those doors. Blaise turned around to look at me, his dark eyes suspicious as he raised a brow.

"All right, Potter?"

"Fine," I lied, I even tried adding a tight grin – but by Blaise's reaction, I could tell it probably looked more like a grimace. Trying to make him forget it, I walked forward to catch up to him and stayed next to him as we walked into the bright and bustling hall.

There were no choruses of "Potter is a slag" or "I Kissed My Brother's Nemesis" as I would have feared – but I wasn't yet comforted. My eyes skimmed over toward my brother at the Gryffindor table – Harry wasn't glaring at me or even offering me any sort of acknowledgement; so he did not yet know. If there was ever a time my brother would pay attention to me, it would be when he was blaming me for anything wrong in his own life.

Slowly I let my eyes drift toward the Slytherin table: Parkinson was still housed under Montague's arm and she was glaring at me – that wasn't surprising no matter the situation. Over to the side, my group of friends weren't paying Blaise or I any special glances while we walked forward – an even more comforting sign. Instead of watching as we came to the table, Greengrass and Nott were thoroughly examining _the Prophet_, Lillian was scorning Crabbe and Goyle while Tracey laughed at her...and Malfoy had his backed turned to us.

My stomach seemed to drop just seeing the back of his head. He was eating – probably having stolen my jelly for his own toast, as he liked to do – and he seemed not to be making conversation with anyone. Well, not yet – which Blaise seemed ready to change as he moved forward. He was moving to sit across from him, I could tell, and I couldn't help but panic. Even though my regular seat would have been beside Malfoy so we could insult our peers, today was not a day to uphold tradition. Surging forward, I rushed so that I was sitting between Theodore and Tracey – yes, I was now across from Malfoy, but at least I wouldn't be forced to sit beside him.

"You seem in a better mood," Blaise greeted Malfoy carefully while he took the seat at his side. Malfoy looked up from his toast, it seemed he was surprised to hear Blaise speaking to him – or maybe it was surprise that it was not me who had taken that seat. No, Potter – don't be so hopeful. Still, I couldn't help but feel my stomach flip when he noticeably flickered his eyes toward me and back down to his toast.

I don't know what it was I was seeing when he looked at me like that. It didn't necessarily comfort me that his eyes were steely and guarded – as they were not warm like I had hoped they would be – but I was glad that he had at least looked to make sure I had come to the table. Maybe he was upset that I wasn't sitting beside him – maybe he was upset for the second he thought I hadn't come to breakfast?

"Well, I didn't get to beat up Boy Wonder," he drawled, not looking at Blaise. Apparently his toast was being difficult. "But Potter made her point. And who would I have been to fight against it? Besides, she pretty much had me up against the wall."

My face started to burn, it wasn't hard to understand what he was referring to there. Fight against kissing me, had him up against the wall? Were I to want everyone to know what we had done the night before, I would have corrected him: he had _me _against a wall. So, he was just going to toy with me then – he would quietly hint toward it until I went insane, or he would tell everyone when I wasn't there to defend myself. That was just the way of a Malfoy.

I busied myself by taking some eggs and stealing the jam from him to put it on my toast. He could do whatever he wanted, just so long as he kept my indiscretions out of the spotlight.

"She must have made a good argument," Theodore said, looking between the two of us. "You looked ready to kill last night."

"I was," he said simply. Oh, he wanted to _continue _the conversation now. "She made her argument and that was it."

By then I was fairly certain I'd stopped breathing.

Now, I didn't really know what I had expected from Malfoy – sure, I'd imagined all possible scenarios, particularly the disastrous ones – but I hadn't imagined that 'that was it'. I knew I'd be a girl he'd snogged – he made it very clear, very often, just how many of those girls there were – but had he really not cared about what had happened last night at all? Was he really going to pretend that it never happened, unless he wanted to hold it over me?

"Well, good for you, Audrey," Daphne said with a smile. "If anyone could convince him, I knew it'd be you."

"Yeah," I muttered quietly, stabbing into my eggs. "Good for me."

Everyone was quick to catch onto my mood and I was thankful how they ended the conversation just as quickly. Daphne and Theodore deterred to informing the group of us that the article that was in _The Quibbler _hadn't gathered any attention or been mentioned in _the Prophet, _so there was still hope that it could be contained.

"Oh, yes," Malfoy said suddenly, pulling something from under his plate out and holding it out for me. "This came for you this morning."

"For me?" I asked dumbly, reaching forward and taking it. There was no possible way to ignore the way that our hands lingered on the parchment, grazing each other's fingers for just a second too long before I recoiled as if he had burnt me. "From who?"

"You can't guess?" He asked with a scoff. Looking down at the message, it was easy to see what he meant: the parchment was written in pink ink. Umbridge.

'_Dear Miss Potter,_

_It has been brought to my attention that yesterday, February the 23rd, you missed three of your four classes. Being as you were not seen on patrol as given by me that morning, I have been forced to assign punishment for your truancy._

_Be advised that your prefect rounds have been extended for the next two weeks. Professor Snape has been informed that you will be absent from your remedial potions with your brother. You will find that the schedule in your dorm room will reflect these new times._

_Signed,_

_Dolores Jane Umbridge_

_Hogwarts High Inquisitor'_

"Salazar's spit," I cursed quietly, rolling my eyes as I balled up the parchment irritably. "Extended patrol for bunking class."

"I warned you," Lillian sang quietly. I shook my head and started eating when no one else dared to make fun of me. I had a terrifying feeling that if I wasn't eating I would be rambling nervously – and nothing was more suspicious than nervous rambling.

"Let's go to class," Theodore started, folding _the Prophet _and placing it in his bag.

"Who knows how much longer Hagrid will be teaching, anyway," I mumbled darkly, finishing my toast and leaving the majority of my eggs for the elves to clean. Malfoy smirked and snorted, trying to hold back a laugh in front of me and when I turned my eyes to him, he quieted so that his shoulders shook with the effort. His eyes caught mine and we held it for a second, held it long enough so that I could notice how bright his silver eyes looked today, before we both looked away.

Oh Merlin, this was bad. And so, _so _noticeable.

"Let's go see who he'll injure today," Malfoy agreed to the others of the group, before we all moved to get from the table and put on our assorted winter things. As always, I only put on my white hat, gloves and scarf before asking Theodore to insulate my robes with some spell he'd picked up somewhere or other. It was easy for him, Transfiguration was usually easy for him, and he was glad to place it on most people in the group. The other boys, of course, felt too manly to ask.

The walk down to Hagrid's hut was as it had always been – since his reinstatement as Care of Magical Creatures professor in late November, he'd been having a lot of troubles. His classes were constantly monitored by Umbridge now, just as Trelawney's were, but I was happy to see that today was a rare day where the toad wasn't on patrol.

Which meant today, we'd be learning something dangerous.

I couldn't help but smile and walk a little faster – good. Danger, distraction, something _different_. This was exactly what I needed to make today bearable.

"C'mon, we're workin' in here today!" Hagrid was almost beaming at us as we came towards his hut – but I hesitated as soon as he pointed into the Forbidden Forest. Also for the fact that hanging over his shoulders was a limp cow...that did not provide confidence. I had to look away considering the cow's eyes were open. I also noticed that like any well-mannered and terrified Slytherin, each person in my group of friends had done the same did the same. "Nothin' to fear, now, they prefer the dark is all."

"What prefers the dark?" Malfoy hissed at us while we all faltered in our step. "What did he say prefers the dark – did you hear?"

"It'll be fine," I assured quietly, not looking back at him as I spoke. "Hagrid wouldn't teach us about anything that he couldn't control."

"Like the Hippogriff?" Malfoy scoffed.

"I could have told you that Buckbeak would have attacked you," I mumbled, glad that he couldn't see that my face was going red. "You were an arse and you deserved it."

"If you're so brave, you go first," Crabbe grumbled, giving me a little nudge towards the shadows of the trees and I threw him a sharp glare, watching happily as Malfoy hit him upside the head and growled lowly at him.

"Fine," I sounded much more confident than I felt, "I will."

I was glad to see that Hagrid was making us move far into the trees – that meant that we would be seeing something great – but I still maintained that being in the trees at all was too far into them. The creatures in the Forbidden Forest had never been the kindest to humans and even with me being so close with animals, I still tended to butt heads with them in accordance to my later survival.

"Ready?" Hagrid asked, clapping his hands loudly. "Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em."

"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" Malfoy asked sharply from behind me. I elbowed him pointedly, not even needing to look at him to know he had hidden behind me. Most of my friends seemed to be positioned slightly behind me – as if my allure to animals may save their hides. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?"

"Take a walk on the wild side, Malfoy," I mumbled with a snort, crossing my arms in front of me. "You might like it."

"We know you do," he snorted back. I went rigid, not missing the _second_ insinuation of the day. I quickly looked out of the corner of my eye to ensure that none of my friends had understood the implication, no one made any indication they had. He was lucky.

"Course they're trained," Hagrid said simply, but he still hoisted the dead cow on his shoulder as if he were nervous. Hagrid didn't really know how to reassure people.

"So what happened to your face, then?" Hagrid, as he had all year, looked like he had been beaten by an ogre. Or worse, whatever he was leading us towards. Again I elbowed Malfoy in the ribs and was pleased when I heard him hiss out in pain.

"Mind yer own business! Now, if yeh've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!" Malfoy did not seem any more comforted by Hagrid's sure steps into the thick of the forest, but I did. So, leading the pack of nervous Slytherins – though staying behind the Gryffindors in case whatever we were approaching felt threatened – I followed the Professor deeper into the thicket.

I could see my brother at the head of the group, probably leading the Gryffindors as I was leading the Slytherins. I couldn't help but wonder whether or not my brother would ever know what had happened last night...whether there would ever be a reason for him to. My eyes traitorously flickered their way to Malfoy, whose eyes immediately seemed to seek mine out. I held his gaze for a moment, trying to see if I could decipher anything within it, before taking a deep breath and turning to watch my step again. The snow was thick and I did not want to drown in it if I fell...but really I knew I just couldn't look at him.

I'd need to focus in this class or that boy would drive me mental before the bloody day was through.

We walked for a needlessly long time, considering it was through fairly deep snow. I made sure to trek in everyone else's footfalls so that the snow wouldn't permeate my robes, but even then I still felt chilled through Nott's insulation charm. Right when I was about to ask him to apply some other kind of warming spell, Hagrid stopped us by sign of throwing the cow carcass into the snow at his feet.

Around us were thick and unidentifiable trees, so close together and so heavily wooded that even in the winter it was hard to see through the gloom they left so close to ground. We were well into the Forbidden Forest now – there would be no escaping if something were to go wrong.

I shivered. It was not because of the cold.

"Gather roun', gather roun'," Hagrid beckoned us forward with his hand. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell 'o the meat but I'm going ter give em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me."

Hm. If that was true, maybe they were slightly trained then.

Hagrid gave a long, gross shriek into the wood – calling for a monstrous bird that I assumed had to be an Augurey. After all my research on my wand and the Augurey, it was the only creature that came to mind which would have had a call that sounded of death, like the one Hagrid had aimed into the trees. Everyone around me seemed frozen as I had been, not from the cold but from the fear.

Hagrid gave the shriek again, calling for whatever he was bringing close to us – a banshee, an Augurey, some other omen of death? Even I was not familiar with this cry. I didn't know what was more terrifying: that I was looking to see whatever would come towards us, that I couldn't yet see what he was calling, or that I wasn't already running away. Still, I watched on, waiting for something to come out and grab the lot that stayed at the back of the class and those brave enough to be near the front.

"H-Holy," someone in the crowd of students whispered, and I watched where his hand pointed as something drew near.

I knew what it was immediately; the eyes, the skeletal body, the hooves crunching the snow. The white eyes peered at us all, hauntingly memorable from their pupil-less state and glossy look of nothingness. It's body, desiccated and disturbing seemed like it could break at the slightest touch and yet the long, leathery wings that rustled as it walked left it looking strong and dangerous.

It was a Thestral.

Everyone around me was looking at it, but I knew most were not seeing it. Most people wouldn't even be able to know it was there. Still, whether it minded being seen or not, it moved right up to the cow and began shredding through its skin with sharper teeth than I had expected it to have.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid beamed, pointing into the darkness where another, a smaller female, folded her wings closer to her body to maneuver through the trees. She gave a look over the crowd of us before joining the larger Thestral in tearing apart the cow. Theodore gave a grimace of revulsion but he could not tear his eyes away. Daphne's eyes widened dramatically as she saw – or rather as she _didn't_ see – the carcass being eaten.

"What the hell?" someone beside me gasped when they realized that the cow was being eaten.

"Now...put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

I raised my hand, though not as high and energetically as my brother did. I took a deep breath when I noticed just how few of the students _could _see it. Longbottom could, too. Beside me, Theodore took my hand with his right and raised his left.

"Yeah...yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry," Hagrid did not seemed pleased when he said this. It was not hard to imagine why. "An' you too, Neville, eh? An' Th-"

"Excuse me," Malfoy sneered, moving closer to Hagrid as he spoke. While he moved forward to be seen by Hagrid, he forcefully walked straight in between Theodore and I, breaking our conjoined hands and making me hiss out. "But what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

Harry pointed to the ground while I turned to glare at him.

"What is your problem?" I growled out, looking to Theodore and back to Malfoy, himself. He just turned cool, steely eyes back at me.

It seemed that Malfoy didn't care about what had happened last night at _all. _

"What's doing it? What's eating it?" The Gryffindor Patil sister screamed loudly. Hm. Maybe if Parvati was like her sister Padma and in Ravenclaw, she wouldn't sound so stupid.

"Thestrals," Hagrid smiled. Malfoy's eyes widened slightly in realization before he looked to Nott, then to me, and took some sort of step back. I glared at him the entire way while he shrank back behind us, not really understanding what that was supposed to symbolize before I took Theodore's hand again. "Hogwarts got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows-"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" Ugh, I almost wish Parvati's know-it-all sister was here. So long as we didn't have the annoying one to deal with. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once-"

"Professor Trelawney doesn't know anything about Thestrals," I said loudly. "And anyone who believe _anything_ that old bat says is asking for something 'unlucky'."

"Tha's jus' superstition, that is," Hagrid agreed with a nod. "They aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate – an' here's another couple, look."

Two more Thestrals had come from between the trees, it looked like these were both males. Both of them walked near Parvati to get to what was left of the cow and she jumped back as if she could actually see them.

"I think I felt something," she cried. "I think it's near me!"

"Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh," Hagrid was much more patient with her than I was. The Thestrals may not hurt her – but I was more than willing. "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?"

Hermione raised her hand. As always.

"Go on then," Hagrid smiled.

"The only people who can see Thestrals are people who have seen death."

"Tha's exactly right," Hagrid nodded, though he was no longer smiling. "Ten points ter Gryffindor. Now Thestrals-"

"Can anyone else see them?" I asked while he began explaining further about what they looked like for the people who could not see them. I watched for people who were looking directly above the cow, but it was hard to tell as most people were only glancing back at them every now and then now that Hagrid was explaining them to the class.

"_Hem, hem._"

"Oh no," I whispered, closing my eyes to calm myself before looking to the side. It seemed that Professor Umbridge had decided not to skip this class after all. She was wearing a green hat and cloak today – a strange deviation from her regular pinks and purples. Her clipboard was at the ready and her fakest, sharpest smile was pointed directly to the giant man at the front of the class.

"Oh, hello," Hagrid did not smile – I bet he was as happy as I had been at the thought of dodging her.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" Umbridge asked slowly and in a high pitch voice that could crack glass, "telling you I would be late for your Final Inspection today?"

"Oh, yeah," Hagrid said vaguely. "Glad yeh found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see – or, I dunno – can you? We're doin' Thestrals today..."

"Oh no," I said again, rolling my head to massage my neck.

"I'm sorry?" Umbridge pantomimed not being able to hear him – she did this often and it was as ridiculous now as it was the first time I had seen it. She did this all the time, not realizing that he was a giant man whose voice was as loud as my screams. "What did you say?"

"Er – Thestrals!" Great. Now he's screaming. "Big – er – winged horses, yeh know!"

Oh no, now he's pantomiming a Thestral flying. This would be a final evaluation with flying colours. Like putrid pinks and phony purples.

Umbridge was quick to smirk and write on her clipboard while Hagrid turned to his class again.

"Well, anyway – erm, what was I sayin'?" Umbridge scribbled again. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one," the big male that had come first. "Name o' Tenebrus, he's my special favourite, firs' one born here in the Forest-"

"And Professor Hagrid, are you aware that the Ministry of Magic has classified Thestrals as 'dangerous'?" Umbridge asked sweetly, already poising her quill back over the clipboard.

"Thestrals aren't dangerous," I hissed over my shoulder to Tracey who was scoffing in the back of her throat. "They aren't."

"They're an omen of death, Audrey."

"No, they're a _victim_ of death; their camouflage is ruined as soon as someone's seen death and then they can be hunted more easily. That makes them as much victims as those of us who have a reason to see them."

"Our activist, Audrey Potter," Blaise snickered. I smirked myself, but hit him anyway.

"I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it – but Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing – people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"

Though I totally agreed with him, Hagrid was being stupid. His well worded speech was falling on deaf ears and making things worse. He should just shut up and give us our assignment for the day so that he could distract Umbridge with his intimidating size – she seemed to be afraid of him. Then again, since she hated half breeds, I wasn't surprised.

"Please continue teaching as usual. I'm going to walk among the students and ask them questions," she smiled what she must have thought was sweetly. Behind me, Malfoy was snickering – along with many of the other Slytherins – but at least Theodore, Daphne, and Lillian were able to hold it back for my own sake.

"Erm..." Hagrid began, obviously feeling nervous now as he watched Umbridge head toward Parkinson. Of course she would choose the most pathetic of the fakes.

"Do you find that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?" Umbridge asked.

"No," Pansy continued to giggle, tears shining in her eyes. "Because...well...it sounds...like grunting a lot of the time..."

"Er, yeah – good stuff abou' Thestrals," Hagrid was noticeably trying to tame down his thick accent now. "Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' sense o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go-"

"Assuming they understand you, of course," Malfoy snickered loudly. Pansy, who had somehow dared to move closer to our group, giggled more loudly. I turned my back to Hagrid to glare at them both while Umbridge moved toward Neville.

"If you two don't stop trying to ruin his final examination, I will hex _your _OWL examinations to ensure you both fail out of Hogwarts." I hissed, my eyes glaring at Malfoy, finally feeling angry enough to force away the humiliation that was yesterday. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Malfoy said quietly, moving his eyes to Umbridge so that he could avoid looking at me. Once the anger faded a little, I felt my face flush when I realized I was basically staring at him. Instead I turned and followed his own stare.

"You can see the Thestrals, Longbottom, can you?" Umbridge asked, watching as he nodded. "Who did you see die?"

She did not seem concerned about the fact he had seen someone die, but Neville certainly seemed concerned to talk about it. "My...my grandad."

"And what do you think of them?" She asked, waving her hand towards the winged horses, who had almost stripped the carcass to the bone by now.

"Erm, well, they're – er – okay..." She muttered to herself as she scribbled on her clipboard. Neville shook his head nervously. "No! No, I'm not scared of them!"

"It's quite all right," Umbridge said.

"I can see them," I said loudly, drawing Umbridge's attention over to me. Even though I wanted to argue outwardly for Hagrid, I knew from experience that I would have to be more subtle. I would probably also have to use a lot more sarcasm.

"Can you, dear?" She asked, moving toward me. "And what do you think of them?"

"They're upsetting," I said simply. She smiled, going to write on her board.

"They're...upsetting..." she wrote on her clipboard.

"Oh, no," I shook my head. "That's not how I meant it – I meant that they're an upsetting reminder – it reminds me of who I've lost and how selfish I am by not remembering them for who they were. You know, sometimes I just feel like I take my time for granted."

If she couldn't tell I was faking, then I have no faith in the Wizarding World.

"Who did you see die, Miss Potter?" She asked, frowning sympathetically.

I guess I have no faith in the Wizarding World. Still, even with that knowledge, I smiled. "No one."

Everyone's eyes were drawn to me now, but I wasn't ashamed. I did not draw my eyes away from Umbridge as I watched her fake forms of emotion turn into an unravelling confusion. She quirked her head to the side. "I'm sorry?"

"I haven't seen anyone die," I repeated slowly, smiling at my own honestly. "Maybe that's why it's so upsetting to me. Apparently, they think that I know death in another way. Tragic, isn't it?"

There was a long silence where everyone seemed to consider this.

"So yes, I think they're upsetting," I repeated honestly. "But I think they're a wonderful lesson, don't you? How would I have known otherwise?"

"_Hem, hem_." She was obviously uncomfortable and I had a great feeling of pride before she walked away, speaking as she went. "Well, Hagrid, I think I've got enough to be getting along with. You will receive the results of your final inspection in ten days' time."

I watched her exaggerated pantomime with narrowed eyes and watched lowly the entire time that she walked away. I could feel myself seething and was comforted, if only a little, by Nott's hand finding its way to my shoulder.

"All right?"

"No," I said honestly, watching as she disappeared into the darkness between the trees. I turned away once she had disappeared, but did not want to look at anyone. Theodore would read me like a book, Malfoy would make me more angry, and everyone else would ask questions: today was a day to be alone.

"Alrigh'," Hagrid began shakily. "Can those of yeh tha' can see 'em come up ter the front? The class'll be wantin' to have yeh point 'em out."

From my peripheral, I watched him look at me nervously and I nodded as encouragingly as I could before both Theo and I walked up to the front of the class. There were four of us up front now: Theodore, Longbottom, my brother and myself. As soon as I got up there, Harry looked at me with a stern expression.

"You can see Thestrals?" He whispered with a frown. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You never asked," it was an easy lie. I had told him in second year, vaguely, when I had first been introduced to the Thestrals. He hadn't believed me. And considering no one else in the group I had been with could see them, I thought that it was one of my weird habits – which I later learned to be my talents as a Seer. Until I had done research, I'd just thought I was insane...and then I continued to think I was insane when I realized that I had never seen anyone die, as required to be able to see Thestrals in the first place.

"Yeah, c'mon up an' see 'em closer. Audrey, Harry," he beamed. It seemed to comfort him that his favourite student (obviously Harry) and his most talented student (obviously _me_) were both up and willing to help him. Nott and Longbottom were noticeably less appreciative and receptive to all the information that came with Thestrals – but I was excited to see them.

In all my time at Hogwarts, I had never been brave enough to touch one of these creatures. Now, besides rats – thanks to obvious events in third year – I was usually never judgemental of animals; but Thestrals were always something beyond even my standards.

It was because Thestrals had always scared me. They didn't scare me because of their macabre appearance and the superstitions that surrounded them, but it was as if acknowledging them and touching them and admitting that I could see them would mean that I was admitting to the fact there was something wrong with me. Something worse that we already knew, that is. I was now admitting that I had seen death...when I had never been witness to it. But even as I stared into their ghostly eyes, all I could think about was just how much I didn't want to touch it – to be witness to it.

The first born male to Hogwarts, Tenebrus, nuzzled into my bicep. I looked at him nervously, my eyes catching onto the ghostly sclera if his eye and holding his gaze. Tenebrus nudged me again. I smiled nervously before taking my hand and placing it on his long muzzle and rubbing it. The skin was not soft in the way of a horse's, but rather smooth and artifical feeling, like leather or like snake skin. Theodore's eyes widened as he watched me pet it. After a moment, when I was more comfortable, I slowly walked in front of him, vaguely hearing Hagrid explaining the class what I was doing and how surprised he was that Tenebrus seemed to like me so much, before I was standing face to face with it.

Tenebrus flared his wings dramatically, making himself look bigger and all three boys who could see it took a step back and gasp. Hagrid, who I assume must have seen someone die as well, seemed to know what was happening but I just smiled. Tenebrus was showing off, how sweet.

"Are you trying to impress me?" I asked with a smile. "Well, you're much more polite about it than most boys here."

"Audrey," Harry whispered. "It's staring at you."

"Of course he is," I smiled, looking to my brother with a wink. "I'm the only one here not afraid of him."

Hagrid decided after that to call it a day – probably knowing that he wasn't getting much more out of the other students. He probably also knew that neither Harry nor I wouldn't be going for a fly any time soon, so he started his trek back to the castle.

Harry met back up with Ron and Hermione, who were quick to start questioning Harry on whether or not it was true that I'd never seen death. Harry seemed as unsure as everyone else had looked – he should know by now that I haven't, but I didn't blame him for doubting. Either way, Malfoy seemed annoyed by the very conversation while Theodore and I trailed behind the group.

"Are you okay?" I asked him quietly. Daphne, who was walking slightly in front of us, seemed to give us our space. For once the priss seemed to understand that this was not the time for Theodore's attention to be on anyone but himself, which meant that this was not her area of expertise.

"Peachy," he said sarcastically. "I love being reminded I watched my mother die."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, keeping my voice even lower. "Sometimes I forget about other people's reminders, too. It's one thing thinking I'm a freak, but it's another for people like you to have to remember something so tragic."

"Well, at least you're my favourite freak," he smiled, nudging me a little. "Thanks for not drawing attention to me."

"You didn't have to come up front, you know," I told him seriously. "You didn't have to raise your hand. I would have kept your secret."

"The Slytherins all knew about my mother anyway," he shrugged. "You got all the eyes today."

"Hopefully it was enough to distract Umbridge," I sighed, about to go into a rant about her when Malfoy decided to take the day into his own hands.

"Yeah, Weasley, we were wondering: d'you reckon if you saw someone snuff it you'd be able to see the Quaffle better?" He asked snidely, moving forward while Tracey tried to keep in her own laughter. I had a lot of respect for Tracey, but sometimes it was hard dealing with her negativity and cynicism – and that was coming from _me. _That should be proof enough of how bad she could be.

"Are you serious?" I rolled my eyes.

"Dead serious," Malfoy joked, looking over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow at me. "I just wonder whether or not he'll present a challenge at all this year or if I should get the stands singing again."

"You're a twat," I hissed, glaring daggers at him. "You are _such _a waste."

It was insulting that he could put aside everything to kiss me yesterday, but today after I had defended how good he could be, he went against it all. Today, the day after I had protected him and kissed him and made the point of...well...whatever point I had made.

It was like he was throwing it all away, just so he could be nasty.

And it _was _a waste. Yesterday, obviously, was a waste.

He glared at me for a long moment before shaking his head to himself and climbing up the hill. As always, Crabbe and Goyle followed him, huffing and puffing and asking him to slow down – which he didn't. I don't know if he was mad that I had stopped him from being rude to my brother or because I had been rude to him but even Blaise kept back with me, looking with raised eyebrows.

"What crawled up his arse and died?"

"I'm assuming his ego," I mumbled lowly, my face going red at the lie.

* * *

><p>"Did you and Draco have a fight or something?" Theodore asked me, his voice drawling in a way I had grown to understand as suspicion. I continued walking into his dorm room, placing my rucksack on his bed to busy myself.<p>

"A fight? Why would you ask that?" To further my innocence, I didn't look at him. He would know straight away if he saw how nervous I was automatically getting – though I wouldn't be lying if I denied it. What we had done yesterday, by the end, would not have constituted a fight...but I didn't really want to get into specifics with him about _that. _

I felt that he was still watching me – apparently I was too nervous to even fool my own body into behaving accordingly. I chucked my books on his bed and leafed through the jot-notes on my parchment, pretending to remind myself of all the homework. For better measure, I even leafed through Hermione's Christmas gift – a still empty homework planner. The entire time Theodore watched me carefully, analyzing my every avoidance.

"Well, first he wouldn't speak about last night. Then you two were oddly distant today – I mean, you didn't even join forces to harp on Parkinson, I don't remember the last time she was free from that. Now you're just leaving for patrol before he gets back from dinner?"

"I'm leaving early because my patrols were lengthened," I argued, sticking up my index finger as if that would clear all the facts.

"But you know he'd walk it with you," Theodore disagreed, shaking his head at me as if I were a specimen that was growing too slowly. "He always does. And what about when he actually does start his own patrol?"

"Then I'm sure he'll catch up," I muttered, even rolling my eyes to add dramatic effect. "He's a big boy, Nott."

"Well, if you two did get a fight know that you're acting like children. And deal with it quickly; you two are better as a united front." he said simply, fanning out his own homework with a sigh. If only he understood that last night we had acted like anything _but _children – hence the problem. We were now beyond schoolyard bullying and pointless jibes at those who annoyed us...now we were _complicated_. Possibly even worse, I may even have been engaged in something..._emotional. _

I hummed distractedly, running my fingers through my hair and feeling the knots pull against my fingers rebelliously. "Are you sure you don't want to come walk with me? We can talk about today."

"I'd rather not," he said with a wince. It was a good way to change conversation topic – he was no longer looking like the one doing the analyzing, but rather the one who was trying to avoid being analyzed. "There's nothing to talk about. My mother had dragon pox, then she died – end of story."

"No it's not," I said lowly, shaking my head. "If it were, you wouldn't still be afraid of the hospital wing or healers."

"You jumped into a lake," he snapped back. "Does that mean you forgot all about being locked under a sink?"

I took a step back, nodding my head and biting my tongue. I knew that Theodore was just being defensive because it _was _a bigger deal than he was letting on. I also knew, from years of experience, that he didn't like talking about how he felt about...well, anything...so I needed to be the one to back down first.

"Alright, subject dropped," I said, holding up my hands defensively. "I'll see you after patrol."

He grumbled something in response while I left his dormitory. I didn't turn back to hear what it was, but I'm sure that it was something biting. That, or it was something in the form of an apology. I wouldn't end up using the biting comment or the apology; his apologies meant nothing when I was the one who had more to apologize for and his biting comments were lousy when it came to me.

Albeit his sarcastic comments in class entertained me, I still had a sharper tongue than he did.

But at least something good came of that little tiff: he had pretty much let himself know how sensitive he still was about it – opening the door for future conversations whether he liked it or not – and he would now feel guilty enough to give me all the answers to the homework.

No stealing from the Ravenclaws tonight!

With the basic creature comfort of laziness guaranteed, it was nice to defy it by getting excersize. I took my time walking around the castle, but I decided to meander in other places than I normally did – I had the extra time to spare and since I didn't want to be caught by Malfoy any time soon, staying out of my regular trails seemed like a good idea.

Malfoy – an issue in itself. He'd always been an issue, of course, but now it was of a totally different calibre. I didn't realize just how much a kiss could change – I mean, when I had been kissed before it had changed things, but that was because Cedric and I planned to date...

Oh, dear Merlin, I could not think about Cedric right now. I might do something ridiculous like cry or something as embarrassing.

But Malfoy and I didn't plan to date. In fact, I'd never even considered the idea of Malfoy and I dating. Sure, we were friends now and I did enjoy spending my time with him – he understood me for my cynicism and I respected the fact that he had higher walls than the Berlin Wall. So what happened now that I had seen him without those walls and he had seen me _trust _him?

"I knew you'd be up here."

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

I didn't need to turn at the sound of the voice, but I did anyway. Montague stood at the corner of an intercepting corridor, leaning against the wall and smirking. Behind him I could see that the sun had set and knew that it was long past when I had left the dungeons – apparently Malfoy didn't get winded from running around in my mind for so long. Still, I couldn't help but feel my instincts immediately spike and coil in reaction to Montague's presence.

I rolled my eyes at him, trying to show how annoyed I was, but my body instinctively slowed down my steps so that I could keep as much distance between us as possible. Thanks to his newly appointed role in the Inquisitorial Squad, he and Umbridge had gotten on much better terms and I did not want to have to take steps back in my own relationship with her because of this dolt. I didn't want to have to explain sending him to the hospital wing again, or get more detention simply because he couldn't control what little manhood he thought he had. He couldn't control that and I couldn't control my temper: we were clearly a match made in hell.

"I thought I was the Seer," I said back to him, sticking to my place at the opposite end of the corridor. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought you were the Seer?" He mocked, pushing himself off the wall so he could stand up straight. "And I'm looking for you. Heard Greengrass telling Malfoy that you had an extended patrol tonight and I know being around Ravenclaw's nest is your favourite place to linger."

"Clever," I said mechanically, shaking my head and crossing my arms. "Let's just get this over with, shall we? Have you come here to try something stupid again?"

"Not today," somehow he actually had the nerve to chuckle. And as he chuckled, he had the gall to try to walk closer to me. "Today, I'm going to tell you exactly what to expect."

"You're going to tell me what to expect?" When he only nodded, I rolled my eyes and decided to humour him. "Alright, when?"

"You see, I've been doing a lot of research. Been researching Magnuse and Astral Projection and, of course, all your personal experiments with it," he said simply, twirling his wand in his hand as he walked closer. "And I found out some really interesting information."

"Would this happen to be the fact that I could literally castrate you with only a thought?" I asked, making a face while I uncrossed my arms. I wanted to be ready in case he came at me, in case he tried to catch me off-guard. "Because I didn't want to publicize it – thought I'd leave that as a surprise."

"No, no, you made that clear enough," he said taking a few steps closer. I watched in confusion as he made a show about putting his wand back in his pocket. He even patted the pocket as if to prove to both of us that it was really there. He was bucking on something – he had to be. "I noticed that your Magnuse only ever works with skin to skin contact."

Shite.

"You sure about that?" I asked, gritting my teeth against my body and my instincts screaming at me to run. I clenched my fists as my stomach started to follow in the worry, clenching and twisting anxiously.

I should never have left the dungeons without Malfoy.

"I'm almost completely sure," Montague said with a sickening smile. "Oh – but before I finish, I may as well tell your knight in shining armour as well...Hello Malfoy."

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

I don't know whether or not I was happy or terrified to hear his name, but idiotically I did turn. Montague could have cursed me while I was distracted, he could have grabbed me while I was turned, but Malfoy really _was _there, stopped in the middle of the corridor running perpendicular to the one that Montague and I were now standing in.

It seemed like he had been a little lost in thought and seeing both Montague and I in the middle of the intercepting corridor had thrown him off. Maybe he was as confused as I was – maybe that's how we had caught him by surprise just as Montague had done to me. His eyes flickered from Montague to me, once – twice – three times, before his brow set in a glare toward the taller boy.

"Montague," he said stiffly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

His voice was rough and low, he was trying to show Montauge with those few words just what dangerous ground he was treading on. It was so comforting that I felt the urge to smile – Malfoy was going to protect me again. Maybe that had been Malfoy's sign to me all along, his moment of weakness and softness...

But he hadn't been weak or soft today. In fact, Malfoy's eyes were hard and steely again, both when he looked at Montague and when he looked at me. The walls were back up and it seemed he'd reinforced them with titanium after the mistakes in these corridors last night.

"I thought I would tell you both the flaw in your little plan to stay safe," the slimy git said with a smile. The smile was scary enough as it was, even if he hadn't been about to threaten me. "See, I've figured it out – thought my way around you both. You see, Malfoy, you won't be around to protect her forever. Like today, you were only forty minutes from finding her, but she was still alone. And I don't need forty minutes to make my mark..."

"I don't need him to protect me," I growled at him. "I am more than happy to hurt you on my own."

"But you won't," Montague shook his head, sighing dramatically as he took a few steps forward. "You won't hurt me because you won't be able to, Audrey. You see when you're walking, late at night – after you two fight, or perhaps after you come back from your remedial potions with Snape, maybe even on your way back from dinner – I'm going to stun you."

I clenched my fists, glaring darkly at him.

"Just stun you – that clean, fast, simple. See, a stun is something you won't be able to stop, because your Magnuse isn't able to transcend your own body. And then I'm going to drag you in a corner – and then I'm going to do whatever the hell I want. Except make you scream, of course – you won't be able to." He smiled. "Do you think that's fair, Audrey?"

"I think you're really taking a gamble on whether or not I can use Magnuse on you in that position," I growled, trying to make it sound fluid. My fists were not shaking because of how tightly they were clenched now, they were shaking because of how easy that tactic was. And how true it was that it would work. The quiver in my hands could even be detected in my voice as I spoke again. "Even if that was true, as soon as you tried to touch me I'd be able to hurt you."

"Maybe," he shrugged, taking a menacing step forward and smiling. It would almost have been a charming smile to a girl who didn't know what this maniac was capable of. "Maybe I wouldn't need to touch you, maybe I could use magic. Maybe I'd take the risk and try anyhow. Either way, I'd get to do my damage."

"Skin to skin contact," I started, taking a step back to get away from him. "It's not required."

"But it is for _you_," he almost sang he was so excited. "You're not as great as everyone thinks you are, you know. You're supposed to be able to do Astral Projection, but you couldn't hold it together for the task. You're supposed to be able to do Magnuse, but you can't project it past your own body – so amateur, Audrey. And you're supposed to be the other _saviour _next to your brother, but all you are is a waste of space."

Montague took another step closer to me, still leering when he noticed how I was faltering. "Skin to skin contact is necessary for you, but I can assure you that you'll be wanting out of your own skin when I'm through with you."

Then Montague was pushed away from me. I turned to the side to see that Malfoy had rushed forward and pushed him, hard, to put the distance between us that I had craved. It was like I could breathe again, now that Montague wasn't infecting my air. I took a deep breath, trying to seem calm while I watched Malfoy, who was apparently too angry for words, while the two sized each other up.

I saw Montague reach for his wand only a second before he had grabbed it, but Malfoy was faster than that. But he had not reacted with his wand. Instead, Malfoy took one step forward and let his fist fly forward and against Montague's nose. Then, as soon as Montague's hand dropped his wand so that he could grasp his nose, Malfoy hit him in the jaw. And the cheek. And the jaw again.

Montague tried to take a few steps back and get out of range, but only ended up landing on his arse. That only made it easier for Malfoy to get the edge on him and hit the wanker while he was down. Montague had no defense; perhaps he'd never actually been in a fight, or perhaps he was blinded by the blood flowing over his face, but he didn't even try to punch back. Instead, Malfoy's fists flew everywhere – his left, his right, his right again – the ring on his hand cutting open a nice gash on Montague's forehead, crushing his nose more deeply, splitting his lip...

After what felt like an eternity of watching Malfoy pummel my arch-nemesis in stunned silence, I finally got my bearings again as he pulled back. Montague's blood coated his knuckles, but I could tell that Malfoy had not been unaffected by the hard skull he'd been beating. It was time to end this. So, as quickly as I could, I made my way toward the two boys brawling on the ground and placed my hand on the winner's shoulder.

"Malfoy?" I whispered, shaking his shoulder lightly when he went to punch again. It took a moment but he stopped. He relaxed under my hand, his back loosening under my fingers while his heart stopped pumping adrenaline to his system. The knuckles on his right hand were swollen, one of them looked out of place – it was noticeable enough that as soon as the excitement wore off, it would be painful. After a few deep breaths, Malfoy looked back over his shoulder at me. "Are you okay?"

He looked at me, his eyes steely for a moment before he shook his head. He didn't say a word for a breath before he looked back to Montague's bruised and bloodied face. He took a moment of looking at him before laying another brutal punch to his nose, making Montague cry out again.

"I am now," he snarled, getting up off the floor with a hiss so he could stand up. After he stood, he took the time to spit on Montague's broken body, shaking his head. "How's _that _for skin to skin contact?"

Montague let out a howl of pain, causing Malfoy's jaw to tighten.

"If you _ever _come near Potter again, I will personally see to it that you are _ruined,_" Malfoy's voice held a careful waver, the anger brimming over the surface with each spit out consonant and growled vowel that made his words terrifying. "First, I'll have you expelled and then I'll own your reputation, do you hear that? I will have your parents sacked, I will drain what little funds you have, and I will happily watch you writhe in the dirt of your own name. When the time comes when no one will even care you're dead, I will finally end your misery, using every curse you have ever threatened her with. Do you understand me?"

Montague did nothing but let out a sob. It was all he could have done, I wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy had knocked out half of his teeth. My hand, still on Malfoy's shoulder, lowered to his arm.

"Come on, we need to leave before this is connected to you."

"I don't care," he hissed, shaking his head. "No one would blame me."

"I don't want to take that chance," I said, grabbing his arm and yanking him to follow me. I lead him down a few corridors so that we could follow the stairs to the fifth floor – where I then locked us in the Prefects bathroom. I looked around nervously, ready for someone else to be in there, but was glad to find that it was empty and the great pool where I had practiced for the second task had not been filled with water.

"Let me see," I said quietly, taking a look at his hand. Malfoy's eyes were harsh on me, burning me with their intensity – but I didn't look at him. Instead, I focused the energy I had – and I was so amped up that I seemed to have a lot of it – on his knuckles. I tried remembering how they sat, remembering how the bones moved and how they must have chipped and shifted under the pressure of his striking. After a few moments, I felt the bone shift back into place, earning a hiss from Malfoy. I looked up nervously. "Are you okay?"

"Am _I _okay?" He laughed darkly, shaking his head and pulling his hand away. "Is what he said true? Can you not project your Magnuse past yourself?"

I frowned. "What does it matter?"

"It means you're even more stupid than I thought!" He said immediately, he was yelling already. "And this whole time I've been letting you wander the halls, listening when people say 'no don't worry, she can protect herself' and 'Draco, stop worrying, remember who you're talking about'!"

Er...was I terrible for not being able to get past the fact he talked to people about me?

"And that's not even the best part," he laughed to himself darkly. "You've been _encouraging _it! Walking the halls on your own, not killing him when you have the chance, not reporting it to the professors-"

"Professor Snape knows," I argued.

"Oh, I'm sure. But let me guess," he hissed back venomously. "You told him to butt out; told him it was your own battle to fight."

Ouch, he'd quoted that near perfectly.

"Typical," he barked, taking my silence for answer. "And Snape of course did it – he'd do anything for you, too. Bet he didn't know it was this bad, I bet he didn't realize that sick bastard has been _describing _the things he was going to do to you!"

"Malfoy, this isn't a big deal..."

"It's a huge deal!" He bellowed. "When are you going to realize that you're not all-mighty, Potter? When are you going to realize that you've been through enough?" He shook his head darkly. "You know, for someone who resents her brother so much, you sure act a lot like him."

I blinked, my jaw dropping. "What the hell does _that _mean?"

"It means that you're stupid, that's what! It means that you put yourself in unnecessary danger just to prove a point, or try to look better. You don't care whether or not you may die from it, so long as you get the last bloody word!"

"I'm not stupid, I just don't like people in my business!" I growled back. "If I want to deal with something on my own, I should be allowed to do it. I don't see what makes me more special than everyone else who gets to face their own problems!"

"Because other people's problems don't get them killed, you moron," he growled back. "You constantly have trouble following you; dark wizards, basilisks, werewolves, convicts, dragons, killers, and now we can add a sexual deviant to the list, yet all you worry about is who knows you couldn't handle it yourself. When will you feel self assured, Potter? When you're dead?"

"What's wrong with you?" I yelled back, shaking my head. "You've been a complete arse to me all day and now you feel like you have the right to teach me a life lesson? Who the bloody hell gave you the right to play a friend?"

"Oh, _I've _been the arse," he fired back sarcastically. "I was not the one snapping at you all day and giving you these looks as if you expect _more _of me just because we snogged!"

"I don't expect _more _of you," I fired back. "I expected some sort of acknowledgement about what happened! Just because you're used to all those little tramps falling to your feet doesn't mean that every girl who kisses you falls into that category. I don't fall into that category and you _played _me."

He stopped for a minute, finally taking a break to breath. Still, even as he breathed it seemed he couldn't stop looking at me with a dumbfounded expression. "_That's _why you're angry?"

"Who said I was angry?" I fired back irritably. "I never said I was angry."

And suddenly, Malfoy burst into loud laughter. I crossed my arms, feeling my face heat up. Was there actually a reason for him to be laughing? Not that I could think of during this conversation. Was he laughing at me, or the situation?

"What?" I hissed.

"We kissed, I gave you your space, I laughed at your 'friends', I followed you, I beat up your enemy, and you're upset with me because I didn't confront you about us _kissing_?"

My face felt like it was blistering red now. "Don't forget you acted ridiculously around Theodore and I today with the Thestrals."

He pulled back immediately with a grimace. "Ah. Well, that was a misunderstanding."

"Oh was it?" He shrugged as if I had asked him how his day went.

"I didn't think you were the kind of prat who moved from one git to the next, but seeing you holding Nott's hand today threw me off," he admitted before he smirked at me again. "But _you _were mad because you thought I was using you – ha!"

"Weren't you?" I asked again, my eyes narrowing.

"Oh, bloody hell," he groaned, taking a few steps forward to come closer to me. I backed away nervously, not liking his mood swings. First he was screaming, then he was laughing, and now he was exasperated with me? I didn't feel like flying a rogue broom with either of our emotions. "Listen up, Potter: I fancy you. I have pretty much been informing you that I fancy you since October. Even if I was _faking _fancying you, do you really think I would stop this with just a kiss?"

"Oh, that instills confidence."

"I didn't talk to you about it because I knew you'd want your space," he rolled his eyes, walking over to me and taking hold of both my arms with a smirk. "And above that, I didn't really think you'd enjoy the idea of a public relationship. I saw you come into the Great Hall: big, emerald eyes looking ready for some sort of disaster, looking over to your brother to see if he'd heard the dreadful news...so no, I didn't bring it up with our mealtime conversation. By the time I found you for patrol, I seem to recall being otherwise occupied."

It made sense, I guess, that he would think about that. And it definitely made sense to keep it quiet. But still, something about it seemed wrong and made me suspicious – was it that it seemed too good to be true, or because it seemed too bad to be wrong?

"You wanted to keep it quiet?" I repeated, my voice softer than I'd intended.

"I knew you would," he shrugged, throwing a smirk my way. "I won't deny I wouldn't be opposed bragging that I've tamed the wild beast."

"Of course not," I said quietly, my eyes still narrowed. I watched him carefully, looking at his movements and how much more relaxed he seemed now that he wasn't beating the life out of someone or screaming. He was calm now and he seemed amused – still, I didn't trust that he wasn't about to go off again. "So...you really fancy me, then?"

"From your messed up hair to your reckless personality," he sighed with a frown. "It's horrible."

"I bet," I snorted, smiling a little. He smirked, seemingly pleased that I was warming up to him.

"And you fancy me, then?" He asked, taking a step forward and resting each hand on one of my elbows. He pulled me a little closer to him, smirking the entire time.

"From your tactless low-blows to your tragically hard head," I sent his own smirk back at him.

He raised a taunting eyebrow. "The hard head with pretty hair."

"The hard head with pretty hair," I conceded with a smile. It caused him to smiled too – one of those real smiles that I had only seen three times now. It lit up his face, warming his eyes from silver to the warm gray of murky water. Soon, it turned into a mischievous waggle of his eyebrows as he took his step forward.

"Why don't you show me how you like my hair again while I thank you properly for fixing my wand-hand?"

I smiled, moving forward so that we were nearly touching as I moved my hands into his hair to mess it up. Just as I moved closer to him, he pulled me closer to him – his lips were crushed against mine.

As I said: We Slytherins have the strangest ways of saying thank you.

* * *

><p><strong>Aw, I think they are so cute! So, this chapter you got to see some Thestrals, Umbridge-rebellion, kissing, admitting they like each other, fighting, and Montague getting his face beat in! How do you think Montague is going to react to this latest threat from Draco? Hmm...tricky tricky. Now: <strong>_**IMPORTANT NOTE**_**: by request of a few people who have been asking for hints and sneak-peeks a place to "interview" and ask questions and other such fun things, I have created a TWITTER account to keep you updated on stories and of course have a few extra goodies. So, if you're interested, add me to Twitter so you can ask questions, get sneak-peaks, and hear all about updates. I am registered under **EgyptsLegend** so I hope to see you on there!**

**Now, to my fanastic reivewers:**

_Novella vialli_**: Glad you liked it!**

_19irene96_**: Thank you, glad you enjoyed :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Yes, they were dancing around each other for a long time before it happened and he was totally waiting for her move. It'd be hard to wait, but Draco never ceases to amaze me.**

_BlueRose22_**: Ha, I'm glad you loved it! Yes, that was a really important fact: the difference between she and Harry is that she won't judge the Slytherins on their parents. Harry obviously does – and I remember it immediately in the books. I was young when I read it but even then I was like "that's not fair". Also picking who will live and who will die is really difficult for me – I mean, naturally I want to save Snape and Fred (because those deaths were most painful for me in the books. Sirius was bad as well, but when Snape came after, it just destroyed me), but I don't know if it's realistic that Audrey will be able to save her personal favourites. And Sirius is a real catalyst for everything that happens to Harry later on...it's a hard decision. Hopefully I do everything justice.**

_Bloodformyrose_**: I'm glad you liked it :)**

_Strazza_**: Harry can be a dick, it's true. I think he's just a little oblivious right now of what effect his selling-out would have on other people. A lot of people have mentioned how they never thought about the article from the Slytherins' point of view, but as you said in the books they are 'the bad guys' which is why I put such a reaction in. Because in my book, I'm making the point they're just spoiled rich kids ;) Joking! Kind of. Anyway, Voldemort DID kill two people so that is very possible – a good idea actually. But not quite where I'm going with it ;) The fact she can use Magnuse and have visions is also a good idea that it's to do with Voldy, but you'll have to wait and see for more of that. There you go! Super hints! **

_TessaBriane94_**: I'm glad that you think Draco and Audrey are so good together. I try to show Harry's fault in a different way, I'm glad you're noticing. Thank you.**

_BANEHiwatari_**: Audrey did start it! Hopefully this was a good following chapter.**

_Prongsie1213_**: I'm glad it was a surprise and that you liked it. Thanks!**

_booklover526_**: Finally, I know! Harry will definitely throw a fit when he finds out, but he won't be finding out for now. I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the review.**

_slytheringirl4life_**: Thank you! Glad you liked it.**

_Courtneyfan14_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it so much, hopefully this chapter was a good follow-up.**

_Ella710_**: Alright, so your first review was great. Yours are usually my favourite...but your SECOND review? Oh, I read the first part of it out loud to my friend and laughed out of happiness, talking to her about what was going to happen and then continued reading to the next line which read "**(Of course, I'm sure you're sitting there, laughing, because you probably have it exactly planned out)**." Oh dear god, I had to go to the bathroom because I was going to pee myself. Thank you! Alright, so where to start, where to start?  
>It's good that Daphne is growing on you, she's going to be making her move soon, the one that will get her back in to Audrey's good books.<br>I hope that the level of shock you felt about the kiss was a good level of shock, not the "that literally came out of nowhere and had no cause or build up" kind of shock. Because that's not cool. And I would then rewrite the chapter five times until I liked it (as I did before I posted it). And no, I don't think that it's arrogant to say that you can predict things like that - it's more common than you think. My mother is an English major and she passed the gift to me. Sometimes it actually sucks, I watch movies and say "ugh, I know the end!" because of one line or read a book and was like "ugh, they mentioned that twice now. Clearly it's the thingy that will do this and then she'll die because this was already said...damn you mother!" It's just because stories follow a basic structure. If you don't follow it, you run the risk of a disjointed and unrelatable plot line - then people might not like it. So most people stick to it - wow. I sound like my mother. Moving on...  
>(Side note: I also feel stupid calling a fanfic about witches and wizards "believable" but it's all you can say sometimes, eh?)<br>Snape will know about what's happening between Audrey and Draco eventually. I mean, it's Snape. The question is, what will he do about it? Hehe, I can tell you it will be fun. And kind of cute. Oh Snape, how I love him. There will be smut in the sixth book as much as there can be smut in the sixth book when Draco is a Death Eater, afraid of being killed and fixing a cabinet that he knows will end up resulting in people's deaths. So will it be smut or angst? I don't know...I'm going to try to make parts of it lighthearted, but the books just get so dark...sigh. There will have to be sacrifices of fluffiness at some point. Seventh book 0_0 oh the things I have planned for that...that is not going to be fun at all. It will be dark. And Deathly (hahaha oh, it is seven in the morning and I haven't gone to sleep yet, this is so not funny to anyone else but to sleep deprived me? Hilarious!)  
>I promise that at some point we WILL see Harry's reaction to she and Draco. WhoWhat/When/Where/Why/How I will not say - but it will be good. Oh, it will be so great - I'm already excited but even I have to wait for that one...which is so lame.  
>Onto your second review: Yes. Audrey is tortured by Bellatrix. At Malfoy Manor. And Draco will be present. How he will react (and how she will react) I cannot say, obviously, but it will be so dramatic. And it'll pull at your heartstrings. In fact, when the DA is caught sneaking to the Department of Mysteries...part of the Malfoy Manor scene will have that flare to it. That was a super hint, warning, thing. I'm still contemplating my powers in who to save and who to let die. It's just...ugh, it's actually so difficult. Because at one point it's like "this character's death drives this, this characters death drives that" so I need to balance it. I guess we'll have to wait and see! And as much as you love me, I don't think you realize I also love you. Like, a lot.<strong>

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: I wish I got 200 reviews! This is the most I've gotten though and I'm very happy with it, so thou shalt not complain! The kiss did happen in the last chapter, but we don't really find out about Audrey and Draco yet (as Draco said, though he'd like to brag, he knew she wouldn't), but that doesn't mean there won't be lots of drama to accompany a romance such as theirs. The idea of the dream is very true, but with how fast I'm pushing this part of the story I don't think I can fit it in. There is a part in HBP I may be able to see it happening, however...anyway, I'm glad that you liked it and thank you. **

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Oh, I'm so glad you liked the scene around the kiss! They haven't really talked about whether or not they're a couple, but they are definitely not being public. I didn't think it was realistic for either character...plus it means more drama to come. Also, there was already a little drama this chapter, did you see that little power-play that Malfoy made when Theodore and Audrey held hands? Oh, I love writing this story.**

_OddPotato_**: Yeah, it was pretty obvious as soon as she decided to go after him alone. I thought about making it so that someone went with her, but then she wouldn't have kissed him. No, they are not officially dating and they are certainly not public – mostly because of Harry's reaction, on Audrey's part. I wish I were in Hogwarts with them too...Audrey would probably hate me, but I would still be a pretty happy camper!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: I'm glad you like the Occlumency, it's actually a lot of fun to write. It takes time to go through and find the perfect memory that I want to put in there for purpose of the story, but it tends to have a good effect, so it's worth the effort. Harry is only going to be this much of an ass in this book, he's going to sober up a little bit in the next one. Well, maybe that's not the right way to put it – he's still going to be a jerk, but he and Audrey won't be distant in HBP thanks to Umbridge being gone. And yes, Audrey kissed him! I was pretty fond of Dreaco as a ship name. It rolls off my fingers nicely. Thanks for the review!**

_Rejected-Starr_**: It DID take forever to happen. I had to keep reminding myself that I was writing the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows so I had the time to make them wait – but there were points where I almost crumbled. Hope you liked this next installment of the story and thank you for reviewing :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: It's okay. My cat used to sleep in my hamper. Now my dogs sleep on me or my pillows, causing me to then use them as pillows. It's a cycle. And yes, she did kiss him :) Most people seemed surprised, which is good – it was exactly what I was going for. Once you plant a seed like that and think about it obsessively, it's only a matter of time before you make it come true – Audrey is proof! I never actually wrote out why Circe doesn't hate Malfoy, but it's just supposed to be assumed that she doesn't hate Malfoy because Audrey doesn't hate him. It was almost a subconscious push to show you all that they would get together :)**

_incitanemxx_**: I'm glad you thought it was set up well, I wrote it a few times to get it right. "Good" has become their word, it will be coming back later, as well. I thought about making Draco kiss her way back, but I thought that in the end if he happened to do it too early, Audrey would just end up resenting him for it. And realistically, considering how well Draco knows her, he would have figured that out and waited (as he did) for her to make the first move. He's cunning like that. And it worked! It doesn't always have to be the girl on the receiving end, even if we like it to be :P Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

_xxz0eyxx_**: No one saw, it was just the two of them. I'm glad that you liked it! Thanks for the review.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I'm really glad I wrote about this from the Slytherins' point of view because most people seem to be saying that they never thought about how it affected them and how harsh it was for the kids. I'm really glad I added it. I'm glad that you liked the kiss too!**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review.**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Well, I got you the drama with Montague. The drama with Harry (at least with Harry finding out about Draco and Audrey) will have to wait for a bit. Thank you for the review and compliments :)**

_AkaMizu-chan_**: I'm glad that you liked it, hopefully this was a good chapter about the worry of Harry finding out and what happens after a first kiss.**

_myblacktears_**: Aw, I love you too! I love that you're starting to review, you're too sweet. PS good call, I can't believe you remembered that it was Neville, Harry and Theo who saw Thestrals in the original. Brilliance.**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Your review not only made me smile, but also giggle girlishly. So thank you. Hope you liked this chapter, particularly the Montague-ness!**

_Carojoy4210_**: Yes, it was definitely still awkward – but that's because Audrey was over thinking it. Yes, this will end up being a secret-romance type thing for a while...but will it be forever? You'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reviewing!**

_EveryNewDay_**: They kissed! I'm glad you didn't think it was clichéd, I tried to make it realistic. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks as always for reviewing!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: No, no; fangirlishness is good! I'm so glad that you felt so empathetic towards Audrey earlier in the chapter and that you liked the kiss so much. Thank you so much for the review :)**

_alwaysxlove_**: Thank you, glad you liked it!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Yes, two kisses – they couldn't get enough. And then more this chapter! Yes, the end of OotP and beginning of HBP will be exciting...I am so excited for HBP that I wish I could skip the rest of it and just be like "Chapter 47: A whole bunch of crap happens. Chapter 48: What happens in the Department of Mysteries. Chapter 49: Debriefing of the Department of Mysteries. Chapter 50: HALF BLOOD PRINCE!" Sadly, these next few chapters are important for later in the story. I also love Bellatrix (I agree, Helena Bonham Carter was fantastic) so I'm excited to write her in.**

_xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx_**: Though you were only on the first and second chapter and I don't know if you will make it all the way to here, thank you very much for taking the time to review. Audrey wasn't attacked by the basilisk because she was on the "target list" as one could call it. Audrey was targeted because she had taken the diary from Ginny Weasley, if that helps you clear it up at all. Kind of like how Tom Riddle didn't really care who had the diary (in terms of blood status) so long as he could control them and later use their life to regain his own. Hope that helps :) Thank you so much for your review! **

_Cluricaun_**: Thanks, I'm so glad you liked it!**

_sara253xxx_**: Aw, thank you. I'm glad that you liked it enough to read it so many times. No, they aren't really dating, but they definitely aren't pretending it didn't happen now :)**

_rosesxBubblegum_**: I have thought really hard about who I'm going to save. I'd love to be able to save Fred Weasley, but I'm not sure if that's realistic. To be honest, who I will be saving is still up in the air, for the most part - I guess I'll just see how the story writes itself. Thanks for reviewing!**

_sexichick_**: I know, it was a long wait, but I liked the kiss! I'm glad it made your day, thanks for reviewing :)**

_Amaya-hime_**: They're not public yet, but will they be? You'll have to wait and see!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thank you, hope this chapter was what you wanted!**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: Yes, they had to fight to kiss. They did in this chapter too - those two are just so stubborn. I'm glad that you liked the kiss, hopefully this was a good follow-up.**

_niharasubbaiah_**: They did finally kiss! Audrey does fancy him, as she said "from his tactless low-blows to his hard head". Can't you tell that it will one day attest to love? Hope you liked the update!**

_ally0212_**: Thank you! Malfoy definitely knows that the kiss was legitimate and I thought it was realistic that in the end a guy like him (particularly a guy who is a player, as he's been made out to be) would understand that a girl always freaks out about a kiss. I even asked one of my guy friends who is a player and also very self-involved like Draco is and he said: "even then, the guy gives her time to process" (he later followed it up with "she always comes back", but that seemed redundant). Hope you liked the chapter!**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Malfoy kept his image pretty well here, I'd say. I liked writing the whole "I'll ruin you" thing because I really thought that even more than punching someone, that was really how Malfoy would intimidate someone. Hopefully it came across!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Ha, I'm sorry your family thinks you're nuts, but I'm glad you liked it! Ugh, even rereading the books I still cry when Snape and Sirius die - those are the worst ones for me. Dobby hurts badly, Fred KILLS me and Hedwig gets me too, actually. **

_Nico'sGirl333_**: Thank you! I know you're only on Chapter 6, but if you make it this far thanks for the review and I hope you still like the story :)**

_the corridor hogger_**: Thank you!**

_Anonymous_**: Thank you for reviewing, I'm so glad that you like it! The kiss was definitely long awaited, but I'm glad that it made you so excited you squealed :)**

_Green-NaNa-Neko89_**: I'm happy this happened, too! I have a lot of books to cover, so rushing the romance was at the top of my "do not do" list. Besides, with these two characters they were so stubborn it wouldn't be realistic to make it a sudden hit-and-run-with-it kind of romance. It had a lot to build up to, hopefully you like what this chapter had to offer. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Kaitalyn_**: Ha, I'm glad you liked it! Of course I had to make Draco taunt Audrey and then her kiss him - that's pretty much their entire relationship. I wanted to incorporate it. I like proving that Audrey can take the good and the bad of him - because that's really what makes them compatible, how much good and bad they both have in them. I'm glad that you got so much out of it though, and never worry about not reviewing constantly: I still like them when I get them. I think I've ended up making Snape more fatherly than Sirius too, which is crazy because that kind of just wrote itself. Oh well! I have been thinking about writing the entire Quibbler scene from Draco's point of view - that entire day. Maybe the day after (this chapter) as well - now I just need to wait for time to do it!**

_Lil Ol Me_**: Thank you! I did just get twitter. You aren't the first one to ask me, but you were the catalyst for it, you can find it in the Authors note above this and at the bottom. Thanks for the review!**

_anna_**: Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: More space is always nice in a house. And sounds nice! Also if you get the chance to go visit, I say do it. I will always support a decision like that. I'm pro-traveling. You never know when you won't get to anymore. My grandparents (they're very young for grandparents) went on five different vacations this year because my grandpa is 65 and running out of health insurance for travelling. He's not really the healthiest so they aren't sure if they'll be able to get him overseas insurance for after his birthday, so they pretty much said "well, let's go everywhere we want to now and then if we can't go overseas again, we still have all of Canada for later". I'm really proud of them. And envy them. Though I just found out that my friend and I are officially going to be backpacking across Europe and the UK this summer...I'm so excited I can barely make coherent sentences when the subject comes up. Even now, just mentioning it, I'm getting giddy!**

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><p><strong>Whew! Lots of fantastic reviews, thank you everyone! Hopefully I get a bunch of good response for this chapter as well. The more I hear, the more encouragement I get to write and update!<strong>

**Please REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**

**Add me on twitter at**EgyptsLegend**


	49. What You See

**Over 13,500 words in this chapter's bulk alone – it's a long one. It's not the most exciting of chapters either, but it has its moments and I put in a little bit of Slytherin interaction between friends in here. We're about to be getting into some dark themes soon, so I figured that I may as well stick as many relaxed and fun moments in there as I can before everything turns upside down...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 48 – What you See<p>

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><p>"So, are you going to miss a third lesson today?" I jumped, not having noticed that my brother had begun walking beside me during my walk to dinner. I was surprised none of the Slytherins I was walking with had noticed him either, but their eyebrows raised now that he had announced himself. Normally it was an unspoken rule between my brother and I that we would stay away from each other during weekdays and wherever people could see us interact, so I glared at him. I had a reputation to uphold and being nice to him was not on my step-by-step guide.<p>

"Oh, lectures," I said with fake enthusiasm. "I'm so glad you're here to offer one. Having a day full of classes just wasn't enough for me."

"All right, Potter?" Tracey asked with a pointed look toward my brother. Tracey didn't like being nice if she didn't have to and I knew that in her mind my brother didn't warrant that effort.

"It's fine," I responded, waving the group of them forward. "I'll be there in a minute."

Malfoy looked at me carefully before giving a sharp glare to my brother. The two sized each other up, looking about ready to duel with insults alone – but without saying anything else Malfoy stalked into the Great Hall to get us seats. I was impressed; he hadn't started a fight. I'd have to commend him on his self-control later.

"Snape's been tearing me apart because you aren't there!" My brother hissed before I had even turned around from watching my friends go into the Great Hall. I turned around, barely fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Oh dear, you have to do your own work," I mocked, placing my hand over my heart. "This must feel new to you."

"I'm being serious," he frowned, looking over both shoulders quickly before lowering his voice. "What's been going on, Drea?"

"I've been busy," I lied easily. Over the past week I had been getting increasingly talented with making these little white lies flow smoothly. "Snape knows my patrols have been extended, it's one of the perks of being one of Umbridge's little bitches. I've been doing Prefect rounds nonstop."

"Well, have you stopped patrolling the seventh floor?" Harry asked even more quietly. "I never see you up there on the map when I need you – we had to camp out for an extra hour last night because Parkinson and Montague were fishing around Gryffindor tower."

"I can't be everywhere at once, Harry," I threw my arms up for emphasis. "I have my own rebellion to lead, my own little army of minions, my own battle tactics... Not all of us decide to make illegal duelling clubs, Harry. Some of us have to be a tad more subtle."

"Like doing rounds with Malfoy and spending quality time with Umbridge every other night?" Harry asked bitterly, fixing his glasses which had gone askew when he had bent forward to conspire with me. "That's your idea of subtle?"

I almost hesitated, but luckily was able to put a look on my face that resembled the oh-so-natural expression used when telling him he's a moron. "Er – to get on the Slytherins good side? _Yes._"

"Well, can you please try to get on their good side without having me skinned alive?" That sounded a little bit redundant, considering he was asking me to skin _myself _for his little group of friends. "Hermione's on your side, telling me to be patient and all that, but Snape is-"

"Teaching you," I interrupted with a frown. "He's _teaching _you, Harry. It's not my fault that you don't listen and do as he says. His methods may be harsh, but he always gets the work done."

"He's nicer to you than he is to me," he basically whined. "He likes you!"

"He wasn't nicer when he was teaching me Astral or Magnuse," I argued with a growl, pulling him a little farther to the side to let a group of Hufflepuffs pass us. "He's nicer to me now because I've _done _this work before and I've earned a sliver of respect for having survived it. Aside from that, I actually listen to what he says and do it, unlike you."

"I'm sorry, can you block people from your head yet?" He asked me with a dark taunt.

"No," I gritted out.

"Well, neither can I. And I'm the only one who thinks I don't need to," he explained, shrugging helplessly. "Just, find a way to help me with this, Audrey. You can keep him off my back and if you get it first, maybe you can help me somehow."

"How can I help keep people out of _your _head?" I asked him back with a tone that rang with just how stupid the idea was. It was a natural facial expression for me, but I wasn't quite used to displaying it so many times in so few sentences.

"I don't know," he muttered back. "Maybe the same way you get into other people's heads?"

I blinked, feeling my defenses shoot up like a steel cage. "Pardon me?"

"Snape, he tried putting an idea into my mind the other day – it worked. And I realized it was the exact same process that you went through in the summer," he looked around. "You know, with the Dementors."

It was not as if I had forgotten about the Dementors, but I had certainly not been thinking about them lately. I had other things on my mind – such as saving my brother's hide and distracting Ministry spies sent to destroy my reputation. Still, it was strange hearing it again and remembering just how far I've come from the beginning of the year – that had been so important to me then, now it was hardly a fleeting thought.

"So, what? We never proved that was me," I argued, looking over my shoulder and hoping that one of my friends would be here to save me. If I was going to have this conversation with anyone, it would not be with my brother. He didn't get what had happened that day anymore than I did and I could only imagine the fight we'd get into if he pretended he understood.

"But we can assume," he argued back. When I just glared at him, he seemed to realize it was a pointless argument and sighed. "Just find a way to get out of patrol, alright?"

"Malfoy won't like that," I mumbled, my eyes flickering toward the Great Hall again.

"Who cares what Malfoy wants?" Harry hissed, his own eyes looking over my shoulder as if he could see him through the wall that separated us. "I'm your brother and I need your help."

"I won't be able to sway Umbridge," I explained with a shrug, trying to keep my face from going pink just at the idea. I hated it when people told me I had to choose sides – I particularly didn't like it when one was family and I fancied the other. "But I'll talk to Snape tomorrow and see what he can do."

"But we have Occlumency today-"

"Which I'll be missing," I told him sternly, patting his shoulder with my hand condescendingly. "Try to avoid embarrassing the both of us, won't you? Snape gets overprotective of me when he sees something he doesn't approve of. Which is likely any memory you have of me."

With a roll of his eyes, the conversation was over. Giving him a brief nod to acknowledge him again, I turned on my heel and left him in the corridor. I walked into the Great Hall with my head held high but couldn't deny myself a scoff when my friends overdramatically gestured to show their curiosity. It's not like it was abnormal for a brother to pull her sister aside to talk to her – then again, when you're talking about us Potters, I guess it wasn't common.

Walking over to the table, I was sure to give my dues. A glare to the Slytherin-Slags, a nod to a few of the upper Slytherins who thought they were important enough that they wouldn't be harassed by acknowledging me, and giving a short wink to Alya Rivers – which seemed to intimidate my old dorm mate much more than a glare would have. I went to sit next to Malfoy, my regular seat now, and helped myself to the plates of food piled in front of me.

"Well, with Gryffindor losing to Hufflepuff we need to beat the do-gooders," Malfoy was saying to Theodore. These boys were always all-Quidditch. "If we don't, we may as well say goodbye to that cup."

"Isn't Gryffindor in the lead?" Lillian asked. Theo shook his head, pointing over to the yellow-bannered table.

"Not after their loss to Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff got a lot of points in the match, even if the little Weasel caught the snitch," Malfoy explained, shooting a dark look toward the Gryffindor table. "If we don't win this next match against Ravenclaw, we don't have a chance at winning the Quidditch Cup."

"Not that Montague's been any help," Theodore grumbled, resting his chin on his hand. He got a far away look on his face, thinking over something before sighing. "Why has he been cancelling practices?"

It was at that moment when Malfoy decided to place his hand on my knee. He tended to like doing little things like this, just to make me sweat – he liked the reactions that he got from me. Which was ridiculous – but even as I thought about how unnecessary it was, I could feel my face start to burn. I didn't need to look at him to know that he was smirking – he always did. Still, it always made me somewhat giddy to see it.

"Apparently his vision still isn't what it used to be," he explained, there was no way to miss the acidic tone to his words. "That tumble down the staircases really did a number on him."

By that, he of course meant 'that tumble into his fists'. But considering our involvement in Montague's extended stay in the hospital wing, I didn't feel the need to correct him.

"Why don't you just call your own practice? All you need is the pitch and the Quaffle...maybe the bludgers and the snitch if you're feeling ambitious." I offered, shrugging and taking the time to sip my pumpkin juice. "I mean, he's just a chaser. You have two others."

"You know nothing about Quidditch, do you, Potter?" Malfoy asked. As he did, he took the time to squeeze my knee – the pressure and the surprise of it made me jump back a bit. Arse. I made sure no one noticed before stepping – quite heavily – on his foot. "The captain makes the strategies."

"And if his eyesight isn't better by the time you need to play?" I asked, slapping his hand lightly under the table as he mockingly tried to slide it up my leg. "I think someone else should do it so that you don't all go down with him. That arsehole will probably just pull out before the match and leave you all high and dry."

Both Malfoy and Nott frowned – I guess the thought hadn't occurred to them. I was just glad that it was distraction enough for Malfoy not to be trying to use the fact his hand was under the table to make me nervous anymore. Still, both boys looked at each other carefully and had a silent conversation before they nodded.

"It's not the worst idea," Theodore said carefully. "Maybe we should start looking for a replacement."

"It's a great idea," I corrected, smirking and popping an olive in my mouth. "Like all of mine are."

"Yeah," I don't know why, but everyone had joined into the conversation again with that sarcastic remark. They all seemed to snicker to themselves as well – watching their food and moving it around their plates to avoid the fact they were all chuckling. How unfair. Still, I was glad to snub the conversation for a while so that I could eat – when I was about to give up on the battle of the full stomach, I got a good glare from Theodore. And then from Malfoy.

I rolled my eyes, giving in and scooping a small portion of potatoes on my plate just to appease them.

After finishing the potatoes in relative silence, I was glad for an excuse to remove Malfoy's rather distracting hand from my leg so that I could stand and stretch. Malfoy gave me an expression fit for the most sarcastic of martyrs when I did.

"You don't have to walk with me all the time Malfoy," I shrugged innocently. "But I still have extended patrol, so I have to leave."

"You'll just complain if I leave you alone," he sighed. He was lying, but no one seemed to be paying enough attention to realize just how obvious it was.

"Complain?" I mocked, forcing myself to frown. If I kept up with idiosyncrasies like that, people wouldn't know just how much I was lying and just how much I was enjoying doing it. No one needed to know that our own bitterness was our strange way of flirting – hell, it had taken me months to figure it out, myself. "I'd have no reason to complain if you stopped stalking my footsteps."

"Right," he rolled his eyes but stood up with me anyway, shifting his plate over towards Crabbe and Goyle so they would finish it for him. "See you lot later."

"Oi," Blaise called quickly, turning us around before we had gotten more than a few steps away from the table. "If you happen to 'find' a 'template' for the essay that's due tomorrow, will you pick it up for the group of us?"

"Some of us finished ours," Theodore said vaguely, smiling down at his plate.

"And some of us haven't," Tracey pointed out – her smile was more sarcastic.

"Yes, so we'd love a template," Greengrass agreed. Though I felt the urge to snap that she wouldn't be getting it from me, I was saved by my prefect-partner.

"We'll see what we can do," Malfoy said, smirking before he walked out. Naturally I followed him, though I kept my distance – there was no reason to make anyone suspicious.

Neither one of us spoke or made so much as a move to look at each other while we began walking the halls. Each corridor seemed to have someone in it and even then, I wouldn't feel safe to talk limitlessly until we were somewhere that we wouldn't be overheard. Besides the regular 'stop running in the corridor' or 'hand over your homework', there was nothing that either of us really wanted to be said.

And then we made it to the third floor.

The third floor was not exactly where I needed to be to help out my brother but considering I knew that Harry was going to his Occlumency lesson, I was happy to ignore responsibility for another night. Malfoy was onto me as soon as we were around the corner – his lips crushed against mine and his hands gripping at my waist so he could push me further out of sight.

This was how we had been spending all our nights for the past week and a bit: hiding in dimly lit corridors and snogging until our lips were sore – and then another hour of snogging after that. Of course, Malfoy had tried to push things a little bit further – what with his track record and all – but he was an idiot if he actually thought something like that would work on me. I had told him that earlier on that we would take it at my pace or I'd just stop moving; of course when it was said he had made fun of me being a virgin again. After telling him that making fun of me would only slow things down further, we had gone back to kissing and sneaking around the castle.

Sneaking around the castle to snog in dark corridors was as much fun as the snogging itself. Maybe that's why we did it as often as we did – that or because there was nowhere else to do it and keep our little affair a secret. The dorm rooms were out of bounds so instead we just took the risk to kiss in dimly lit public places. It was exciting having to worry about being seen more than worrying about everything else going wrong within the castle walls.

Still, no matter how exciting it was and how distracted I was by my fingers in his hair, there was no way I could have missed the piercing scream that came from somewhere on a lower floor. It was loud and cut off quickly, but it was still something that made my skin crawl. I looked at Malfoy, both of us instinctively stopping our snogging to look at each other with wide eyes.

"Should we go look?"

"No," he said immediately, looking at me as if I were stupid.

"Well, we _are _prefects..." I said slowly, trailing my eyes back in the direction of the staircase. "We should go look."

"Aren't those famous last words?" He asked me sceptically. Of course, I agreed with him – we shouldn't go check something that dangerous out at all. But it had come from one of the lower floors – by the time we got there, someone else would have checked it out and cornered the danger first.

Besides, Harry's on the lower levels.

"There aren't any other screams, it could be something harmless." My try at justification was not the best of my lies and he seemed to see that automatically. He shook his head with a scowl.

"Or someone could be dead," Malfoy countered. "In which case, I don't want to go."

"Don't be such a ferret," I argued, snorting to myself while I grabbed his wrist and tugged him out of the dark. He naturally resisted me the entire time.

"Don't be such a Gryffindor," he snapped back at me. I narrowed my eyes and stopped walking.

"I resent that."

"And I resent whatever possibility there is of getting myself killed," he smirked at me, taking advantage of our grip on one another before he dragged me back to the dimly lit part of the corridor again. Just to distract me, he wrapped his arms around me as soon as we were hidden in the shadows and leaned in to kiss me again. There was a long moment where I let myself get lost in it...and then the moment ended. Coming near us, at increasing speed, were rushed footsteps.

"Alright. No, stop it, Dragonbreath," I said firmly, pushing Malfoy away from me and taking a few steps back so that he couldn't distract me again. "People are rushing to see what's going on: if people will die, it won't be us because we waited and let other people go first. Now we have to go."

"Why?" he was really close to whining. "Why are you so bloody proactive?"

"Why are you so bloody lazy?" I grumbled, walking backward and gesturing for him to follow my lead. "Let's go."

"Fine," he sighed, manoeuvring himself back out of tonight's little hiding spot and following me to start headed down the stairs. "You owe me a feel-up later."

"I dare you to try," I smirked – this was an argument we had quite often for his regularly quick-speed dating. "But if you try to grope me, you may as well pack your bags to join Montague in the infirmary."

He sneered to himself at both the mention of Montague and not getting his way before following me when I picked up my pace down the stairs. We followed the trickling of students down the staircases and moving down toward the Entrance Hall. Around us, students had formed a group encircling the cause of all the commotion. Seeing that no spectators had died, I was quick to start shoving forward.

"Oi, move it! I will take off points! We are Prefects...we're in the Inquisitorial Squad. Get out of my bloody way!" I told, pushing through pairs of students and groups of friends all trying to talk about continuing on.

"Umbridge's bitches, she means," someone behind me whispered to friends that began to chuckle. I looked over my shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Cormac McLaggen, as soon as he caught my eyes he stopped chuckling – not so brave, was he?

"Thirty points from Gryffindor, McLaggen," I smiled at him boldly. He began to retort that prefect's couldn't take points, but he stopped when he followed my lead and turned to the large hourglasses at the other side of the hall. I watched with a smirk when the corner hourglass had thirty movies rocket backwards in its case. I tilted my head to the side while I looked at McLaggen's dumbfounded expression. "I guess that makes you _my _bitch now."

After I was bored of watching him splutter, I continued to walk forward unable to stop myself from smirking in the same malevolent way that Malfoy was, beside me. I could tell he was pleased with the work I'd done, he usually was pleased when I would tell off people he thought unworthy of Slytherins. Still, I tried not to feel too proud simply because he, himself, was proud.

Is this how it always was when someone fancied someone else? Or was I just letting all this snogging get to my head? I mean, it's not like we ever did anything else _but _snog. Sometimes we would sneak in some hand-holding or some subtle touches – but we never actually did anything like a _couple _did. This was purely physical...which is why him making me blush this much was a bad thing.

We stopped when we got near the edge of the mob and in the middle of our ring of students stood Professor Trelawney. She was standing in the epicenter of the hall, holding both her wand and an empty bottle of sherry. Her hair stuck in more directions than mine possibly ever had, her glasses sat lopsidedly, and her rainbow wardrobe looked as if it had been vomited onto her by how they hung haphazardly. She looked worse than I had ever seen her – and considering how Trelawney usually looked, that was saying something. At the foot of the stairs across from her was the pink swathed pig, looking more proud than I had ever seen her – and that was saying something, too.

"No!" Trelawney shrieked, nearly tripping over one of the two large trunks that seemed to have been thrown at her feet. "No! This cannot be happening – it cannot. I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realize this was coming?" Umbridge asked, sounding amused and nearly ready to giggle. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrows weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"

Trelawney lost her defiant demeanor as the tears began to flow. "You c-cant, you c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"

"It was your home until an hour ago, when the Minister for Magic countersigned your Order of Dismissal," Umbridge corrected, trying unsuccessfully to withhold a thin smile. "Now kindly remove yourself from this Hall. You're embarrassing us."

Professor Trelawney valiantly decided not give her the satisfaction of moving. Instead, she continued to embarrass herself by beginning to moan and weep, rocking back and forth as she sat on her trunk with grief and horror. There were no other sounds around the students crammed in the Entrance Hall – no one could think of anything to say.

I looked over at Malfoy to see that as he watched the scene his expression was tight and guarded. He looked somewhat close to stern – well, at least it was a slight improvement from looking amused, considering that was what I had expected from him.

Soon, Professor McGonagall broke away from the ring of students to comfort Trelawney, handing her a handkerchief and patting her back, whispering some sort of reassurance – somehow McGonagall managed to still look stern as she did it.

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge asked in a deadly voice. I wish I would have been able to hear what she had said to provoke such an immediate, dark response from Umbridge. "And your authority for that statement is?"

"That would be mine," Dumbledore, as always, had come to save the day. The students who were blocking his way moved instinctively to let him pass while the headmaster made his way from the oak doors that led outside to stand protectively in front of Trelawney and McGonagall. How the hell would he know to save the day if he was outside?

"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" Umbridge asked, no longer able to restrain her hysterical giggle. She continued giggling proudly while waving the parchment she had already displayed to Trelawney. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she – that is to say, I – feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

But oddly – and somewhat eerily, in my opinion – Dumbledore smiled. Looking down at the withering mass that was still sat and blubbering on her trunk, he nodded. "You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid that the power to do that still resides with the Headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."

Were I not so shocked, I probably would have laughed outrageously at the expression on Umbridge's face.

"No-no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore," Trelawney hiccupped, shaking her head. "I sh-shall leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere-"

"No," Dumbledore interrupted her sharply, as if he were saying that a child could not play with knives. "It is my wish that you remain, Sybill. Might I ask you to escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"

"Of course," McGonagall nodded, she seemed quite pleased as well. "Up you get, Sybill..."

It seemed that Professor Trelawney could not walk on her own because after a long process of trying to stand her up, Professor Sprout scurried from the depths of the crowd to take hold of her other arm and lift her up the staircase. Professor Flitwick joined in the rebellion on Umbridge by levitating Trelawney's luggage behind them as they made their way to what must have been her chambers.

Umbridge looked ready to slaughter.

"And what," she began slowly, her voice carried through the Entrance Hall startlingly considering how low it was. "Are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Dumbledore smiled pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found..._you've_ found?" Umbridge had officially lost her cool while her voice became shrill. "Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-two-"

"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if – and only if – the Headmaster is unable to find one. And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?" He turned to face the front doors as if to invite someone inside. There was a shocked murmur of students that hastily moved out of the way from whatever was causing the sound of horses hooves.

Oh, please tell me someone would come riding in on an ass named Dolores...

Instead of some scathing joke against her, however, I was almost stunned silly to see what had come from outside. Towering over the students was a pale man with shockingly blue eyes and inhuman features. They were inhuman because the man was a centaur. And more strange, I _knew _this centaur.

"This is Firenze," Dumbledore moved his arm to present the pale and palomino horseman. "I think you'll find him suitable."

"Suitable," Umbridge squeaked, looking noticeably less confident now. "He is a centaur!"

"I assure you, Professor Umbridge, that he will meet and surpass the curriculum set by the Ministry of Magic and further is able to take over and continue with Professor Trelawney's schedule as of tomorrow morning." Dumbledore assured, looking over his shoulder and bowing in greeting of the centaur. "I will show you to your lodgings."

And without further word, Firenze nodded his head – his astonishingly royal-blue eyes swept over the crowd – before he followed after Dumbledore, students moving aside for him as he passed. I looked over to Malfoy, waiting until he caught my eyes.

"All hell is about to break loose," I predicted looking at him with as meaningful a stare as I could fix on someone. He decided to do nothing else but nod.

With a quick glare of encouragement from Umbridge, we were quick to usher students away with other prefects and members of the Inquisitorial Squad. Students tried fighting against us as if they were battling Umbridge and from myself alone, the three other houses ended up losing over twenty points each for their rudeness and defiance. When the last students were leaving I turned to look at Professor Umbridge, still stood on the stairs, glaring in the direction Dumbledore had gone.

"Potter!" I was so shocked by how she barked my name that at first I thought she was talking to Harry, but when I looked to see that it was only select members of the Inquisitorial Squad left in the entrance hall, I ran to her.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Your remedial potions lessons," she said slowly, still watching past me as if continuing to replay Dumbledore's fading footsteps. "They were mandated by the Headmaster?"

"Yes, Professor," I said again.

"What do you think about the Headmaster, Potter?"

"I think he's old and chooses his favourites," I said simply, not quite lying and definitely not telling the truth. "It's unfair that Professor Snape and I get bolstered with the responsibility of teaching my brother remedial potions while other students fail without our help. I am definitely not one of his favourites either. But my twin is – though he's _everyone's _favourite, isn't he? Dumbledore thinks he's all powerful – he lost the power long ago."

Umbridge nodded stiffly, finally turning her eyes to me. I was amazed by how they blazed, a dark and bitter anger that I had never seen in her eyes and a ruthlessness that I was sure I had never seen in any one else's.

"Your brother is his favourite," she acknowledged. "He always brags of him, always defends him – he's been defending the little club your brother has been hiding as well. Tell me, Potter, do you want to catch your brother?"

She was lying, I could tell. Dumbledore would never be stupid enough to brag about what Harry was doing even if he _did _know the specifics. Instead, hoping this was a sign that she was barking up the wrong tree, I felt myself smile. "Of course I do."

"Then I want you to go to remedial potions from now on and ask your brother everything he knows about Dumbledore. We are going to start trying to catch the weak link in that little group and find them. Then I can see just why Dumbledore protects them – why he always protects your brother. I want you to learn _exactly_ what Dumbledore's agenda is, do you understand me?"

I blinked, my jaw falling. "Professor, are you asking me to spy on the Headmaster?"

"Yes, Miss Potter. That's _exactly _what I'm asking you to do."

* * *

><p>Every fifth year was buzzing with excitement the next Wednesday morning. Today was the day that the entirety of my year got to meet our new Divination teacher – one who just so happened to be a centaur – and after hearing the seventh years blabber on about him yesterday, I couldn't deny that even <em>I <em>was excited.

"Are you going to come to this class, Audrey?" Lillian asked excitedly as she loaded her plate with breakfast, ignoring my frantic scribbling of the Charms essay due after Divination. "Perhaps he won't burn those herbs Trelawney did."

"You think that I'm missing the first Divination teacher from a teacher who might actually be able to help me control the things I See?" I snorted, moving the parchment that I was copying over so that I could copy onto my own essay below it. Then, looking back and forth again, I scratched out the mistake I had made thanks to the other students idiocy. It was quite clear why Hufflepuffs weren't considered the intelligent bunch. "You're mad."

"I'm so excited!" Lillian gushed, almost giggling she was so anxious. "Did you see him? Who knew a centaur could be so dreamy?"

"How can you think a horse is dreamy?" Tracey asked with a hysterical looking frown. "She _is _mad."

"I warned you," I hummed, continuing on with my essay.

"Didn't you see him? Have you ever seen someone with eyes as blue?" Lillian giggled, Daphne giggled as well. Fantastic, another to add onto the fan-girl train.

"I've never seen someone, no," Tracey pointed out with a frown. "Then again, he's not human, so I'm not really breaking any barriers there."

"Oh, nonsense. It's not like I want to sleep with him," Lillian said, though even then she couldn't stop smiling dreamily. These women were distracting me from copying my homework and for ridiculous reasons, no less. "Don't you think he's attractive, Audrey?"

"No," I said, probably not with as much certainty as I had to thanks to the essay. "I do not think any professors are attractive. Because that would be gross."

"Well, you're no fun," she pouted. "But if he came and gave you flowers, would you?"

I felt myself starting to go red. It would have been impossible not to feel Malfoy's eyes and how they watched me from my peripheral. "Who the hell would bring _me _flowers?"

"Fred did," Tracey snorted, looking over to Daphne who giggled just at the memory. There was no stopping my body from stiffening, coiling as I readied myself to hear Malfoy's crude and likely jealous opinion on this new information.

"Audrey, just admit you think he's attractive," Lillian leaned in teasingly, her voice going low while her eyes flickered over my shoulder toward Malfoy. "Or are you trying to hide your affliction for blonde haired, blue eyed men?"

I looked up at Lillian darkly, biting my tongue against correcting her on the colour of his eyes. That was an injustice to get that wrong. Instead, I gave her a glare that made her lean back. Tracey just laughed.

"Blondes?" Tracey asked loudly. "No, Audrey loves gingers!"

"Audrey doesn't 'love' anything," I spit out, giving everyone a cool glare. "Now let me copy my homework like the good little school-girl I am."

"If you were a good little school girl you wouldn't be copying," Theodore pointed out. I rolled my eyes, going back to my essay anyway while Lillian and Daphne continued talking about the 'dreamy' centaur that would be teaching us Divination right after breakfast.

"What did you say his name was, Audrey?" Daphne asked me.

"Firenze," perhaps if I hadn't have been so distracted, I would have known not to answer off-the-cuff as I had. Maybe then I wouldn't feel Malfoy's glare on me intensify.

"You _know _him?" Malfoy sneered, his eyes narrowed. When I looked up at him, I could see just how icy and defensive they were – who knew someone like him would be so jealous and insecure? I sighed, knowing that I would have to nip this in the bud now before he became too upset, putting down my quill and deciding to wait and copy the essay after this had been dealt with.

"Remember that time we were in the Forbidden Forest and you ran away like a coward, leaving Harry, Circe and I to rot when we came upon something killing the unicorn?" He glared at me, apparently he didn't like me publicizing embarrassing moments of his heroics. "That would be when we met."

"Firenze saved you?" Lillian swooned again. "My hero!"

"Merlin, let's just go before she makes a mess," Blaise snorted, flinching just out of the way before he was hit by Lillian. Chuckling at her expense, we all stood and gathered our things so that we could go – Malfoy less than adamant about being beside me than usual. If he turned into some jealous prat again, I swear I would go up and kiss someone right in front of his bloody face. Merlin knew that if he got angry enough, he'd do the same to me.

By the time we finally got toward the Divination classroom, Daphne and Lillian were almost vibrating with excitement. Class had been moved from the North tower to Classroom Eleven, which was on the ground floor between the Entrance Hall and Great Hall – exactly where Firenze had walked with Dumbledore in the midst of yesterday's commotion. Still, even if he was a centaur and couldn't get up the stairs I was surprised Dumbledore would give him such poor accommodation – the classrooms here were usually only used for nonsense work and hiding out when you've done something you don't want to be caught for.

It was because of that very state of mind that I was shocked when I moved towards the classroom and entered, my senses immediately buzzing with delight. All around us, the classroom had been transformed to look like a clearing in the depths of the Forbidden Forest. Maybe it had been molded to look like a particular clearing, or maybe it was just the magic of the room that made it look so realistic – but I was left awe-struck. The moss covering the floor made it soft and all around us students – Slytherin and Gryffindor alike – were leaning against trees and boulders, looking about ready to piss themselves with excitement and fear.

"Audrey Potter," Firenze greeted, holding out his hand from the middle of the clearing. I raised my eyebrows, walking forward to shake his hand. His hands were rough and cold, something I hadn't quite expected from him. He didn't know human sociability enough to know to release my hand after a few shakes, but I didn't have the heart to correct this. My eyes turned over to my brother, who was not paying attention. It seemed he had gotten the same welcome and didn't seem to want to look at my own reactions to it.

"I didn't expect to see you again," I told the centaur simply. He nodded.

"I was foretold that we would meet again," he countered, finally letting go of my hand. "It has been said that you have the Sight, Audrey Potter."

"When I'm not blinded," I mumbled back to him, not really wanting to tell him the whole story in front of multiple people, but still feeling the need to elaborate. "It hasn't been behaving lately."

"The Fates have reasons if they wish to keep destiny hidden from those like you," he explained, bowing his head thoughtfully. "Just as you have reasons to try and change Fate's design."

I blinked, my mind already racing to understand what he had just said. "Pardon?"

He smiled at me thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head. "Take a seat, Miss Potter – Miss Potter's ally."

I immediately followed Firenze's line of vision and looked behind me. I was surprised to see that Malfoy was standing there, looking at me with intense eyes. Silver eyes. I looked at him carefully as we moved to stand away from the new Professor, his silver eyes shining in a way that let me knew he had something to say – his stiff jaw telling me that he was fighting against saying it.

"What?"

"Just wondering if your love for animals would include _half breeds,_" he growled, shooting a look over his shoulder to the pale palomino. No wonder he had been clenching his jaw against saying anything – I felt my own jaw drop while I gaped at him.

"Please tell me your joking," I begged.

"I'm laughing on the inside," he drawled out. I shook my head at him with a sneer.

"Wow, this is low – even for you," I hissed, lowering my voice. "Need I remind you that we are not dating, we are not serious, and every time we talk about it we just fight and save ourselves from hexing one another by snogging?"

He glared at me.

"Would you rather me not snog?"

"I know you'd rather not only be snogging me," I growled back, my eyes slipping over the people around the room. I couldn't help but wonder who he _had _kissed in here – I know he'd snogged with Parkinson, Alya, and Lillian. Who knew who else he had been able to seduce...and who knew how often he did it.

"I don't like relationships," he agreed with a tight nod. "I also don't like the idea of you whoring it up to some half breed..."

"You're not allowed to play jealous boyfriend," I whisper-yelled at him. "Not when you've whored it up ten times more than me and ten times as often!"

Without a second glance at him I moved over toward Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, Lillian, Tracey, Daphne and Theodore – there was no need to see if he'd followed in my footsteps. Since when had my group of allies grown to such size? It was strange to think that I was one of the forerunners of the group; without me we wouldn't have Tracey, Lillian, and Theodore – which also meant Daphne by proxy – in our little mob. But without Malfoy; Blaise, Crabbe or Goyle wouldn't be here either.

"Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us in imitation of my natural habitat," Firenze began once we had all settled down. I frowned when Malfoy ignored our quiet argument so he could come and sit beside me. "I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was – until Monday – my home...but that is no longer possible."

"Please – er – sir," Parvati raised her hand nervously. "Why not? We've been in there with Hagrid, we're not frightened!"

Bull. I seem to recall her screaming quite a few times during our last jaunt in there to see the Thestrals.

"It is not a question of your bravery," Firenze explained, "but of my position. I cannot return to the Forest. My herd has banished me."

I alone gasped, looking up at the centaur with something akin to horror. Did no one else realize the implications of what he was saying? He was banned from his herd: his family, his friends, his home. Had no one ever heard of a centaur herd? Did they not know that if he were to re-enter the Forest, he would be killed?

"There are more of you?" Parvati blinked.

"No, Patil, he's a lone-wolf of his own centaur herd," I hoped my sarcasm was as biting as I'd aimed for. "Are you not listening to what he actually just told us?"

"Did Hagrid breed your herd, like the Thestrals?" Dean asked eagerly.

Firenze turned to face Dean with a look on his face that spelt offense, even I blinked at him darkly – I couldn't dare to dignify him with some biting remark. It would only fuel his stupidity. At least Dean seemed to automatically see his mistake.

"I didn't – I meant – sorry," he finished lamely.

"Centaurs are not the servants or playthings of humans," Firenze explained. Parvati raised her hand.

"Please, sir...why have the other centaurs banished you?"

"Because they hate humans," I answered for him, shaking my head condescendingly at Patil. "Have you never read a book in your life?"

"It is because I have agreed to work for Professor Dumbledore," Firenze elaborated. "They see this as a betrayal of our kind."

"Poor Firenze," I sighed, only to feel a good and sharp glare from both Draco and Theodore.

"Not you too," Theodore pled. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm allowed to feel sorry for him," I countered simply before pointing with my thumb over toward Daphne and Lillian. "At least I'm not drooling."

"Let us begin," Firenze moved his hands to the enchanted ceiling, forcing the lights to dim and the stars to shine as they would on a regular night – maybe even a little more brightly. The sky had the stars magnified so that they looked closer, or maybe it was because they actually _were _closer thanks to the ceiling – I couldn't tell where the magic started and fact ended.

"I think I have a new favourite class," I whispered to Theodore, who smirked at me.

"No headache then?" he asked me, smiling himself when I grinned and shook my head.

"Not yet."

"Lie back on the floor," Firenze began in a calm voice, "and observe the heavens. Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races."

I was excited to lay on my back and look up at the stars. This was even better than Astronomy – which was saying something as I'd always been fond of parts of it. Not really the maths and graphing and charting, but I did enjoy some of the more mysterious parts of it. But at least here in the new Divination room it wasn't cold like it was on the Astronomy tower.

"I know you have learned the names of the planets and their moons in Astronomy," Firenze explained, I listened to his hooves against the soft moss as he walked around the class. "And that you have mapped the stars' progress through the heavens. Centaurs have unravelled the mysteries of these movements over centuries. Our findings teach us that the future may be glimpsed in the sky above us..."

"Professor Trelawney did Astrology with us!" Parvati said excitedly. I can't believe this little brat has made it to fifth year with that one-track mind of hers. "Mars causes accidents and burns and things like that, and when it makes an angle to Saturn, like now, that means people need to be extra careful when handling hot things-"

"That," said Firenze slowly, "is human nonsense."

"I lied," I said immediately, looking to Theodore on my right-hand side with a smile. "I might also love him."

Nott snorted and Malfoy, beside me, scoffed loudly.

"Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," Firenze explained, "these are of no more significant than the scurryings of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements."

"Professor Trelawney-" began Parvati defiantly.

"-is a human," Firenze interrupted. "And is therefore blinkered and fettered by the limitations of your kind."

"She's also a fraud," I said quietly, though most people would have been able to hear me in the quiet of the fake-forest. "And she had no idea what she was seeing, considering she can't _See_ anything."

That was a lie as I knew that Trelawney had actually given Prophecies in the past, but giving Prophecies did not mean you had the Sight that could be used on regular basis and though she faked that she could, if she was lucid, Trelawney couldn't See any better than Harry could see without his glasses.

"Sybill Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know," Firenze argued with me. "But she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense humans call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial. We watch the skies for great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing.

"In the past decade the indications have been that wizardkind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars," he explained, pointing to the prominent red star – which I knew to be Mars – above our heads. "Mars, brighter of battle, shines brightly above us, suggesting that the fight must soon break out again. How soon, centaurs may attempt to divine by the burning of certain herbs and leaves, by the observation of fume and flame..."

"Oh no," I mumbled, frowning. "That will _definitely _cause a headache."

Over to my left, I felt a ruffling of my robe before I felt someone's fingers weave into my own and squeeze. I raised my eyebrows, looking over to Malfoy with surprise – normally when we were arguing it lasted longer than ten minutes as it just had. When I took a good look at him I noticed that he was particularly closer to me than he had been. I also took note of the fact that both of our large, bell-like robe sleeves hid the fact that we were actually holding hands – even though if someone were to pay attention it'd be hard to miss that we were reaching out in the same direction. He was taking a risk, being so close to me near so many people. He also was not looking at me, but rather up at the stars as if nothing had happened at all.

I felt myself blush. He was not only taking a risk at being caught being intimidate with me, he was risking the idea of being caught being _sweet._

Who the hell would have guessed he was _sweet?_

"I'm supposed to be mad at you," I whispered, not looking over at him again.

"Me?" Theodore asked from my other side. I turned my head to him and winked.

"Well, I'm _always _mad at you," I told him sarcastically, it made him grin and turn to look back up at the stars. Firenze let us spend time analyzing them for a while and walked around to examine us as we did. Naturally, as Slytherins, we used this 'work' time for more wasteful ways to spend our time.

"That's the big dipper," Goyle said dumbly, pointing up to the sky just to the left of our heads. I felt the entire group turn to look at him, all of us seemed to have the same annoyed expression.

"Are you _really _that dumb?" I asked him carefully.

"He is," Malfoy sighed. "Goyle, pick up a book before you speak. Free-thought clearly doesn't work for you."

"Well, there can't be free-thought if he can't think," I muttered back, taking another look at the constellation he had pointed to.

"Goyle, that's Ursa _minor,_" Malfoy explained with a condescending tone. "As in the _little _dipper. That's why it's so small."

"It's not like we're speaking Greek," I told him sarcastically. Goyle, of course, did not understand the reference. Luckily everyone else sitting in our group of friends laughed.

"Mine's Greek for water nymph," Daphne smiled, deciding to take the conversation of Greek constellations and mythology farther. "Mum hoped it'd make me beautiful."

I couldn't ignore the fact that she was digging for compliments, but I could certainly correct her on her choice of topic. "The Naiads don't have constellations about them."

"Naiad?" Daphne repeated.

"Naiads are the water nymphs," I said, rolling my eyes. How could she feel so much pride about being named after a water nymph and then not even know what a water nymph _was?_ "Broken down into three classes: Naiades, Nereides, Oceanides? Anyone?"

"She is right," I heard Firenze say when he passed us a moment later. I smiled up at the sky.

"See? I'm right."

"Mine's Greek too," Theodore shrugged, quickly coming to play damage control between Greengrass and I again. "But I don't think mine has to do with mythology."

"Mine's a derivative of a Greek name," Tracey offered with a smirk. "Mine means _Reaper_."

I don't know why everyone else began to laugh, but the image of Tracey with a scythe walking around and trying to take people's lives certainly made me want to laugh. I had no doubts that Tracey seriously wished she were so bad ass.

"How fitting," Blaise snorted, trying to keep his voice from wavering. "I think mine kind of explains itself, no matter what background it's taken from."

"But Blaise," I turned to look at him with sarcastic dramatics. "However could I undersatnd what your name means?"

"It means water," he said back in the same mocking tone. "A large body of wet water."

"Mine's Greek," Crabbe informed the group lowly. "Means Watcher."

"I'm surprised he knew that," Tracey said bluntly.

"Does he mean to watch over his food?" Malfoy said lowly.

"Probably." I heard Goyle throw in – I guess he wanted to pass on the buck after we had accused him of being so stupid. Rightly so, I guess.

"Well, we know where _yours _comes from, Draco," Blaise snorted, moving on without a second thought to the two oafs in the corner. "Can you see the constellation from here?"

"You mean while we're in a _classroom_?" Tracey pointed out slowly. "I doubt it."

"No, you can," I told her, still laying down and pointing directly above Malfoy himself. "Right there, where Goyle so helpfully pointed out the little dipper – Draco's stomach cradles it."

I felt Malfoy tug on my hand tightly. I was about to look over when I heard snickering.

"Good eye, Miss I'm-So-Blind-I-Can't-Read-The-Board," Tracey snorted. I rolled my eyes.

"Who wants to read a blackboard?" I smirked. "If I want to see something, I make myself see it – it's a general rule."

"You want to see Draco?" Daphne asked with a giggle. My smirk dropped off my face as I moved to take my hand away from Malfoy before they saw, but he held on to it tightly, still squeezing it from whatever had made him do so a moment before. "Why don't you two just snog and get it over with?"

"Because there's nothing to get it over with," Malfoy answered lowly.

"We've finally reached a truce," I agreed with a nod, unable to look at anyone. "Just let it go, you psycho women."

"I think once you admit your eternal love for one-another, I would be able to go about my day more cheerfully," Lillian told the group simply. "It's undeniable, you know."

"Everyone sees it," Tracey agreed.

I wanted to snap at them and tell them clearly they didn't see _anything _or else they would know that Malfoy and I had been snogging in abandoned corridors for the past week and a half, or that we were even more noticeably holding hand at this very moment...but then I figured: why ruin my day?

"Great," I said firmly, resisting insulting them too badly – if I made too big a deal out of it, they may see it as too defensive and know something was up. "Well, unlike you sorry lot, I don't think my name means anything in Greek."

"It doesn't," Malfoy said from beside me. I gave him a sharp look, trying to know how he knew the etymology behind my name, but let it alone. I didn't want to draw any more attention to the fact that we were already holding hands in the middle of a classroom that happened to be decorated as a romantic clearing in the Forbidden Forest. "And if you knew as much about Greek as you just pretended you did, Potter, you'd already have known that."

Ah, back to normal. Perfect.

"Please organize yourselves into groups, no more than four in a group, and we will try to decipher what the bright burning of Mars indicates," Firenze told us. I frowned, sitting up and releasing Malfoy's hand as I did so.

"Who's in my group?" I asked, not accepting the idea of asking around or scrambling. Theodore, Daphne, and Malfoy ended up being in my group. Firenze came trotting over to hand us the materials we needed for the next step. It included kindling, matches, and both sage and mallowsweet to burn on the floor and with it we were supposed to look for symbols in the smoke and signs in the fumes – but I couldn't see anything other than my vision blurring with pain. The headache hit fast, just as it always did, and didn't relent when I moved away from our little fire.

"Fantastic," I groaned, holding my pulsing forehead in my hands. "It's never going to bloody end!"

After a few more minutes of no one being able to see anything from the smoke, Firenze told the class to start packing things up. He also warned us not to be put-off by the fact no one could see any of the symbols he had encouraged upon us considering that it apparently took Centaurs years to learn how to see them and even then, they could be read wrong.

I helped put out our fire, nearly burning myself in the process, when I heard the bell toll throughout the room. It was time to go to our next class – I'd nearly forgotten we were still within the walls of the school and was upset even around my headache that the illusion of the Forest had been broken.

"Harry Potter, Audrey Potter – a word with you both, if you'd please."

I turned to my friends, explaining that I would meet them at Herbology. They all seemed reluctant to leave – particularly the two fawning girls and the ever-possessive ferret – but eventually they left me there with the centaur and my twin brother. Ron, who of course was never parted from Harry, hesitated at the door.

"You may stay," Firenze told him. "But close the door, please."

My friends were locked away as soon as the doors crashed shut.

"You are both friends of Hagrid's, are you not?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "I visit him all the time."

"I've been slacking in my friendship duties of late," I winced, both from guilt and my pounding cranium. The guilt, however, was what made me look away from Firenze's unnerving gaze. "Why do you ask?"

"I would like you to give him a warning from me," Firenze told us, bending down slightly to come closer to our height. "His attempt is not working. He would do better to abandon it."

"His attempt is not working?" Harry repeated.

"And he would do better to abandon it," Firenze nodded. "I would warn Hagrid myself, but I am banished-"

"You can't even go _near _the forest?" I asked, aghast.

"It would be unwise for me to go too near the Forest now," Firenze nodded again. "Hagrid has troubles enough, without a centaurs' battle."

"But – what's Hagrid attempting to do?" Harry asked, looking as confused as I felt. Firenze seemed to study the two of us, for what reason I couldn't tell, before he shook his head having made some sort of decision.

"Hagrid has recently rendered me a great service," Firenze said slowly, "and he has long since earned my respect for the care he shows all living creatures. I shall not betray his secret. But he must be brought to his senses. His attempt is not working. Tell him, Harry Potter. Good-day to you."

Harry frowned and moved to leave so I followed him, but the horseman behind me cleared his throat. "Not you, Audrey Potter. I must still speak with you."

"Oh," I said dumbly, spinning back around and wincing when my brain seemed to crash against the side of my skull. "I figured you just wanted to speak to the both of us about Hagrid."

"Not today," he said simply, looking at me carefully with narrowed eyes. "Your Sight is blocked – it is the reason for your migraines. The burning herbs are trying to trigger your third eye and it is being strained as eyes are strained when trying to see through the dark. It causes pain."

"I know," I mumbled, running my hand over my forehead and pushing back against the throbbing. "Do you know any herbs or natural remedy?"

"To help the pain, yes, to unblock your Sight, no." He said simply, frowning while he watched my hand rake through my hair and touch some more of the tender areas of m cranium. "To unblock your Sight, you must diagnose the problem."

"It's a magical back-up, there's a block," I shrugged, blinking a few times. "Who's to know the cause? Grief, trauma, a natural progression of me knowing too much and doing too little?"

"You have done more than the average person, Audrey Potter – you See things and change them, that is not a natural progression." He told me sternly. I watched him carefully, trying to see through the fog in my brain to understand the red flags he had just set off. Natural progression...seeing and changing things...

This centaur knew things that he shouldn't.

"Who told you that?" I asked, unable to keep the accusation from my voice.

"Professor Dumbledore explained it to me," he said carefully, he seemed able to tell that I was upset. "He told me that if I were to come teach, I would be able to help you harness and regain control over your Sight and the things that will help you in future. I see that no one else here is able."

"You didn't take this job for me, though?" I asked with wide eyes. "You didn't leave your herd for me?"

"I left it for the good of wizarding kind," he shook his head solemnly. "All humans. My herd does not agree with my sympathy toward your kind."

"I don't blame them," I told him honestly. "We aren't exactly known for our kindness toward other species."

"Not all," he shook his head with a frown. "Your headaches, do they occur any time besides when the herbs burn?"

"No," I said with a frown, trying to think back and remember anything more specific. "Sometimes there are moments of pain – like I should be having a vision right _then, _but it doesn't last like these ones do."

"You have to take the time to separate yourself to analyze the problems," Firenze explained. "Separating yourself from outside problems and the outside world – separation is always what leads to the answer. Self-identity is the thing most commonly lost from worldly-understandings."

"Thank you," he gave me a curt nod before opening the door, separating me from his world and back into my own.

* * *

><p>"I'm astonished that you have decided to grace us with your presence," Snape drawled, looking at me with a raised eyebrow as I entered his office after dinner. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"<p>

"Umbridge set me free," I told him in the same taunting tone. "I'm ready to have my head explored, but if my headache passes to you: it's not my fault."

"Yes, I have already been educated about your first Divination lesson with Firenze. He said you were quite apt."

"I'm quite apt?" I repeated, looking at him as if he had just told me I was the queen. "How would he know that? I was pretty much useless as soon as he started burning the herbs."

"He said you were very knowledgeable about myths and constellations," he said simply, looking down to his papers with a taunting smirk. "He believes your boyfriend to be the same."

I looked around nervously, noticing Harry was not yet in the room with a long breath of relief. "I don't have a boyfriend, Professor."

"The centaur thought otherwise," Snape said slowly and – I really should not have been as shocked as I was about this – tauntingly.

"If I had a boyfriend, don't you think you'd have seen it when you probe through my brain?" I asked him nervously. I was pretty much egging him on to search through those memories later on. "Seriously, you're so nosey."

"And you're stubborn," he acknowledged unblinkingly, walking behind his desk and opening a drawer. "I was warned you may need this during dinner tonight."

He placed another moonstone on his desk in front of him, I felt myself smile. "Thank you, sir."

"I won't have moonstones forever, Potter," he bit back simply, brushing off my thanks. "You need to learn to live without them, or to not use them all up. Remember to place them on your windowsill during a new moon, it will help charge it."

"Sure," I said vaguely, "I'll try to remember."

Sticking the moonstone to my temple, I shivered as I felt my body start to immediately relax. As always, it didn't necessarily take away the pain, but it numbed it and pushed it to the back of my mind, like you try to push a nightmare so that you can sleep again. I was relaxed by it and a relaxed mind meant a less tender mind – even if it did risk making me sound less intelligent.

"Mr Potter," Snape greeted once my brother walked in the room, his eyes flickered to me.

"You made it," Harry breathed happily.

"You're up first," Snape ordered almost immediately. Harry's jaw slackened.

"But Audrey's more behind!"

"And she understands that I will be testing her at her weakest," he snapped back at my brother. "The Dark Lord will not give you breaks and will not attack when you are ready – it is time you understood that, Potter."

"So let her go first," Harry said, pointing a finger to me. "I've been practicing ten times harder than she has!"

"If I wished to hear your excuses, I would ask for them," Snape drawled to him, standing behind his desk with his wand extended toward my brother. "And if your excuses were legitimate, you wouldn't still be practicing with me, would you? Now, prepare yourself."

I knew Snape was making Harry go first simply to give me a head start on calming down my raging headache. I could only imagine how painful it would be when he started to intrude on my thoughts while they were already in such a delicate state – it seemed he was thinking along those lines as well. Besides, if my mind was so tender when he decided to go exploring, who knew what kind of memories he would have access to – who knew if I would be able to push him out before he knew everything I was hiding?

I let Harry's mind be invaded without a second thought, sitting on top of the desk at the side of the room and pressing the moonstone to my forehead as forcefully as I could manage. I tried to imagine that the headache was gone, but the more I happened to focus on it, the more painful it became.

It was just like every time we practiced Canated magic – there was always some sort of price. For Magnuse it sucked your energy, for Astral projection it was removing yourself from your body and the later threat of getting lost on your way back, and now for Occlumency it seemed that it was the threat of further headaches like this one – oh and the total invasion of privacy. But that went without saying.

Then again, I wasn't the greatest at any of them, now was I? If there was anything I had ever believed Montague for saying, it was all his talk about how overrated I was. He was right: those who mastered Magnuse were able to project it past their bodies and those who could project themselves Astrally were able to hold the form – I couldn't do either one. Now, to top it all off, my blasted glimpses into the future were dysfunctional. It was like Canated magic was slapping me in the face and showing everyone it's glossy red handprint on my reputation.

If I couldn't duel using Incantational magic, one would think I'd be a theory-witch. Since I'm shite at theory, you'd think that I would have been able to harness my Cantated magic by now...so what was there left but the idea that I was not a very good witch at all?

Harry screamed loudly, breaking me out of my reverie and making me screw my face up in pain from the sound that echoed around the stone walls. When I was able to open my eyes again, I saw that my brother had fallen to his knees and was panting. From the look of it, it seemed I hadn't missed anything in my week and a half away from Snape's lessons.

"More _dreams,_ Potter?" Snape hissed darkly. "The Dark Lord is planting things inside your mind and you don't feel the need to learn how to defend yourself?"

"I'm trying!" Harry yelled back at him.

"Try _harder,_" Snape growled back at him. "Now, again."

I closed my eyes as I watched Snape intrude on Harry's thoughts once again. This time he did not count down for my brother to be ready. It appeared that Snape was really losing what little effort he would put in to caring about how much he hurt us during these lessons.

I closed my eyes against the vibrations the moonstone was sending through my brain tissue and pulled out my wand, knowing that I should take over soon and get it over with. Harry shouldn't have to keep going just because Snape tended to go slightly more easily on us Slytherins. Still, I wasn't about to interrupt them – could you even interrupt someone while they performed Legilimency? – so I sat there, hoping that I could magically become better and wishing that I had no need to.

Eventually I began to fiddle with the wand in my hands, my thoughts playing back to Montague's biting words: I can't do Astral Projection. I can't do Magnuse. So amateur. Waste of space...

I cried out as an electric current seemed to push its way through my wand and back into the arm it had happened to be facing – the arm that held the moonstone. The moonstone fell from my hand and cracked on the floor while I slammed my wand down on the table beside me, feeling so frustrated that tears threatened to blossom.

"Salazar's spit!" I cursed, examining my arm painfully. There was no mark there, but I wasn't surprised that my wand had decided to randomly go off again. It was worse than a set bear trap or a loaded gun, sometimes.

"Language, Potter," Snape hissed. It appeared that he had broken his probing in Harry's mind to make sure I was alright. I guess maybe you _could _distract someone filing through other people's thoughts. "Is there a problem?"

"Besides my faulty wand and a newly cracked moonstone?" I asked, holding the moonstone up for his examination – it was now cracked with a clouded line following the fissure and surging through its center. "None at all."

Snape gave me an exasperated look before instructing Harry that he would go once more. I placed the moonstone on the desk beside me, feeling more than frustrated as I dared to pick up my wand. I turned it around in my hands, examining the surface of it: there didn't seem to be anything the matter with it. It still looked the exact same as it always had – only now it had annoyed me. I sat back on the table, fiddling with my wand between my hands.

It looked as it always did – light wooded, scuffed, dirty and with the ominous _X _carved into its hilt. It didn't look like it had been stressed or would have a reason to spark me as it did. Then again, when did it ever need a reason for doing any of the ridiculous things it tended to? I put the wand between both hands, making sure that I wasn't missing anything as I turned it between my palms...and jumped. There was no denying the shock of the electric current that seemed to run through me, as if I were an open circuit when it was held between both hands.

I remembered the sensation easily, it was hard to compare it to anything but what the sensation itself was: the same sensation you got when attempting Astral Projection. But I didn't have the energy to do Astral Projection _and_ Occlumency today, what with my headache and the general late patrols I had been taking with Malfoy for the past week.

Snogging could be exhausting, who knew?

Still, I was afraid to take my wand from between both of my hands now that it was stuck there, I didn't want to get shocked again and I didn't feel like explaining to Snape that I was too frightened to let go of the stick of death. Besides, a part of me kind of felt the urge to try Astral Projection again – I wanted to prove I could do it. To prove Montague wrong.

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to concentrate – but no amount of force could overcome a headache and no amount of want could overrule the fact that Astral Projection was not simple. I tried picturing the parchment that Cedric had told me to envision so long ago, once upon a time: but even that blurred in and out of my imagination thanks to the throbbing in my skull. I rode the pain, trying to just let myself fall asleep – maybe Snape would go easy on me if I could pretend to be trying Astral projection but was really catching up on some much-needed sleep.

Then, quietly, voices started to reverberate between my ears – as if bouncing off of every nerve ending in my brain. Montague's voice, Malfoy's voice, Snape's voice, Firenze's voice, Snape's voice, and then again to more common words...

_"You have to take the time to separate yourself to analyze the problems. Separating yourself from outside problems and the outside world – separation is always what leads to the answer. Self-identity is the thing most commonly lost from worldly-understandings."_

Firenze's words. Was there some way for him to have known that saying that, saying to separate myself, would be something that would push me towards Astral projection again? It couldn't have been a coincidence all the talk about 'separating yourself' and being 'lost' to the world...

I focused more on the waves of peoples voices – Snape telling me to focus, Firenze telling me to separate, Sirius warning me to be careful...

But I didn't feel myself split into Astral. No, I felt something much, much more unexpected: cold water leaking down my senses. The cool water immediately seemed to numb my headache and begin freezing my body. I had not felt this sensation in months – it was the sensation of having a vision.

I was thrown forward into a web of time and consequence – the web of the future that I had been blind to for so long. It was almost as if I were doing this all for the first time again, I didn't remember the footing on how to remember going through visions anymore. Did I need to urge them on, or would they flow naturally? Would they end on their own, or like with pushing Snape from my mind would I have to pull out when things got too confusing?

In front of me, painted in vivid colours, I saw myself sitting on the ground. I watched myself, my dark red hair looked messier than normal and I had deep bags under my eyes – I was exhausted. The purple of the bags under my eyes was more pronounced, I could not remember having such vivid colours in my visions even when I was seeing something that would happen the next day. Still, I looked in my lap to see my brother, looking up at me. His eyes were closed, his hair a mess as well and I watched him breathe – we were silent, my hand on his forehead, my Hogwarts robe threatening to fall over his face. I would have thought that I was seeing a tableau of something were it not for our steady breathing and the rare blink from myself while I looked down on him.

The scene flipped itself, a tumble of swirling and dulling colours that were still extraordinarily bright. I could see something in front of us – the room with the orbs. There were millions of them, but they were not floating seamlessly as I had once thought they'd been, I now saw that they were stacked on shelves as I ran past and that they were very solid. They were made of glass. And as we were running past all different sizes, I was reading the numbers on the shelves: 92 – 93 – 94 – 95 – 96 – 97...

The colours shifted around me once again, and this time when the colours stopped their whirlwind, I was standing in the middle of a dimly lit room – the vivid colours dulled, but no less impactful. There was a great stone pit that I was walking down and at the bottom, past the stone benches that ran the perimeter of the room, there was a towering stone archway. The archway looked old, cracked and seemed ready to crumble, but hanging over the center was a nearly transparent black veil that fluttered in a non-existent breeze. I walked toward it, arm outstretched, watching my own hand tremble...

"Audrey!"

I opened my eyes, my wand clattering to the ground as I jerked violently – I had just been about to touch the veil and being woken from a vision so suddenly that it was painful. My head was still aching, but it was a different kind of ache than before. This ache was being overloaded with information and effort – the effort from escaping worlds as I had, from expending the energy I was already lacking. I was also out of breath – why, I had no idea, but I was willing to let that slide to the back of my mind with everything that had just happened. Both Snape and Harry were watching me warily when I was able to focus on the room around me.

"Audrey," Harry said again. It had been his voice that had knocked me from my state. "What's wrong?"

"I did it," I whispered, looking to Snape with wide eyes. "I cleared my mind."

He narrowed his eyes. "And how do you think you know that?"

I shook my head, placing my hand to my forehead and sliding off the table. My knees shook, but I was too full of adrenaline to have fallen. "Because when I clear my mind – I have visions. Oh my Merlin, why didn't I realize it before? It's what happened every time I went Astral – it forces my visions!"

"Audrey, what are you talking about?" Harry asked, speaking to me as if I were insane.

"I had a vision Harry!" I said getting up and grabbing his wrists to shake them for emphasis. "I had a vision, they're back!"

"What was your vision of?"

I thought hard, trying to remember the images that had been placed into my head. It was improtant that I remember as much detail from them as I could, that I tried to remember their order and just how bright the colours would be. I didn't have my Visionary that Sirius had gotten me, so I coudln't write them down – I would just have to remember them until I could get my hands on it again. Still, I needed to remember details: details about the glass globes on shelves, the crumbling stone archway, my hand on Harry's forehead...

"You're doing it again," Harry gasped, tugging away from me and shaking his head. "You're putting things into my head again!"

Snape walked forward swiftly, taking me by the arm and breaking my grip on my brother. He turned to me, his dark eyes sharp as a hawk's. "_What_ did he say you are doing?"

"I didn't mean to," I said with wide eyes, looking to Harry. I shook my head. "I didn't pass anything on to you, Harry."

"You did," he encouraged, I could just imagine that my eyes looked as wild as his currently did. "I know you did – I've never seen what you just saw, I've never seen it like you saw it: you had a vision of my dream! You had a vision of me and the glass balls!"

"Potter," Snape said lowly, looking between the two of us with disturbing intensity. "Explain."

"In the summer," Harry looked at me nervously as he started, as if he was wondering if he should tell Snape and if we were about to get in trouble. "Audrey was able to force an image into my head so I could fight off the Dementors...it was just a memory but-"

"We don't know that was me," I argued, shaking my head. "You could have thought of it yourself."

"It was you," he assured me. "It was from your point of view, I was seeing myself in the compartment, Audrey. And now she just showed me what she saw in her vision!"

"Show me," Snape ordered immediately, I shook my head.

"I didn't do it."

"Let's say for the sake of argument that you did," Snape said again, his voice dripping with condescension. "Show me how did it just now."

"Professor, I don't know what I did."

"What made you think to try Astral projection, Potter?" He asked with narrowed eyes. I shook my head, my brain still tender but still feeling like I had to deny how ridiculous this all was.

"Montague had been teasing me about it – then Firenze, today, told me to separate myself to figure things out and my wand it-it _shocked _me..." I told, looking at the wand that had fallen out of my hand. I looked back at Snape, begging him to believe me without daring to speak a word.

"You two," he said carefully, his eyes narrowing down on me. "Explain everything to me from the very beginning."

* * *

><p><strong>THEY'RE BACK! Who's excited? Audrey's finally figured it out...man, I knew that was going to happen since I first wrote about Astral Projection. Sometimes I surprise myself by how patient I can be for plot points like that one. So, this one had a lot of stuff happen in it: what did you think? To the fantastic reviewers who told me what they thought of the last chapter:<strong>

_Ergelina_**: Yes, that moment with Montague is approaching and will be a good read – or so I hope. I liked how I mapped it out. I'm glad that you're enjoying it, there will never be an end of Drea/Draco now that it's begun! The sixth and seventh books are going to be intense...I can't wait!**

_Novella Vialli_**: One step at a time, but they've been pretty big steps, I'd say ;)**

_niharasubbaiah_**: Ha, I'm glad that you think they're good together. I tried to make them suit each other, personality-wise. The L-bomb is going to be an INTENSE moment...but you won't be getting it soon. It's alright if you aren't on Twitter, you don't have to join just for me! Anyway, I'm glad that you're enjoying it – thanks for reviewing!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: The Occlumency scenes were pretty hard, but I'm hoping that I got away with it – particularly with what happened at the end of this chapter. Harry and Audrey will make up eventually, but with everything that happens in the next few chapters, it won't exactly be "soon". Yes, the Thestrals are going to come up much more often than just in this book. Hopefully you liked all the kissing between them – I think they're so cute. Also, thanks for following me on Twitter! I'm really liking being able to interact with people :)**

_Ella710_**: Oh, how I adore your super long, fantastic, 1000 word reviews. No, their relationship certainly isn't going backwards but it won't be a stable relationship for very long. How can it be when he's so jealous, she's so worried about being seen with him and all the while there is a war brewing? They aren't meant for a typical relationship - not yet. And if/when it does happen, it's still going to be a huge "world is collapsing around me" kind of scenario. I don't see how a Potter dating a Malfoy could go any other way.  
>If Audrey and Draco do last, they will be fighting the whole way. And if Audrey makes it out of these books and they happen to be together afterwards: they'll still be fighting. I think that's almost how they flirt: Audrey and Draco are not nice people. And they like it that way. It's half the reason I like them. Which brings us to the Malfoy Manor scene in the seventh book: yes, it will be epic. Yes, I hope to cause tears and pain and make people just cry for them. It is going to be so amazing. OH what I have planned...I wish I could tell you, but I don't want to ruin it. It is THAT exciting.<br>Did you end up going to reread the description of Audrey's vision of Umbridge? I'd be interested to see what you make of it. There was a moment when I was going to say "this won't work" but I remembered I have a bit of artistic liberty, so I plan to use that.  
>Snape's reaction is definitely going to be somewhat cute - I mean, it's mirroring he and Lily, isn't it? For readers (as you know that parallel) it's going to be an "aw" moment but Audrey's pretty much going to be like "wtf?". I'm going to try for humour. You said you were looking forward to Daphne's redemption (which is quickly approaching), Harry finding out (not for a while, but will be good), Snape finding out (sooner than Harry, but not necessarily 'soon'), and Hermione...sadly we won't see her initial reaction, but it's Hermione so of course we'll get her input. I KNOW. And did you know that it was Arthur (during this book with the snake) or Fred? Ugh, it makes me tear up just thinking about it. I mean I get it...but...really? Like...really? I have decided that with the two lives I get to save, I will have to kill at least one character that didn't previously die. It's balance. Sad, but true. So now I need to start making my list there...<br>You're really the only one who brought up how strange it is that Audrey can see the Thestrals. Which made me squeal, PS. I remember you writing about her ability to see them before now, so you just forgot :P You can't come up with ANY theories? I doubt that! When you do, let me know. I'm interested to see if I'm going to end up coming too far out of left field...I doubt it, this was a plot point from the prologue...but I'm curious.  
>And YES Montague being beaten up by Draco was sexy. I have a thing for bad boys (look at my list of stories, I think it's pretty clear) and even as I was writing it I was giggling and blushing like a fool. I'm older than Malfoy at any point during these books and watching movies pre HBP makes me feel like a pedophile...but I can't stop! I'm glad you thought his reaction was funny to the whole "that's why you're mad" part.<br>Harry will be sneaking into the Pensieve soon, Audrey won't be omitted from the scene...but if she'll see it with Harry, I won't say. Cho and Harry's relationship will be questioned within the next few chapters - I've already written part of it. I think it's funny...she is definitely not my favourite. And at some point pre DOM and post this chapter, Audrey's going to play hero. Twice, actually. That was a super-hint. Be excited :P  
>So I'm super looking forward to hearing what you think about Firenze, about Draco and Audrey (obviously), about Snape now knowing about her Legilimency (and if it is Legilimency she's doing) as well as what you think happens now. I mean, we know what happens in Harry's world...but what about in Audrey's little side story? :)<strong>

_Bitterglass_**: I'm glad you liked it!**

_anna_**: Montague will be dealt with, don't worry. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, Draco's definitely unsure of where he stands with Audrey, but at least they're still 'together'. There is definitely going to be a showdown between Audrey and Montague, hopefully I do it justice! Hope you liked the chapter, thanks as always!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Yes, I'm trying really hard not to change their personalities, so I hope it's still working in this chapter. Even if they are a little out of character, in a few chapters I know they get bakc to normal so hopefully people can stand it that long. Draco is SUPER protective, but also possessive. I figured someone so entitled for his whole life was denied something and now he has it, he'd be super sensitive about the idea of losing it – hopefully that comes across. As for Sirius, you're not the only one to have asked...but you'll have to wait and see.**

_Guest_**: You'll have to read and find out.**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: I'm glad you liked the chapter – Audrey and Draco have a secret kind of affair going on, but they are certainly not public. Harry will get his moment of realizing that Audrey and Draco are into each other, but it won't be for quite some time. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Aw, I'm so glad you get the yo-yo effect of loving and disliking Malfoy. Because that's pretty much what Audrey's feeling, so hopefully that means I'm doing it justice. Montague is a creeper and Snape won't take her abuse sitting down, I promise. I always pronounced Montague as "Mawn-tag-iew" like in Romeo and Juliet, but I guess it could be the French way. I never really considered it...which is funny, as I speak French. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Thank you! Haha, Montague definitely isn't just going to let that abuse slide...but what will happen, I cannot say. Draco does seem to always be there for her, doesn't he? Also yes, those deaths are super harsh on me...even thinking about them depresses me.**

_incitanemxx_**: You are not a moron, it's nice that you remember! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully you enjoyed this one as well. I am considering writing a conversation between Malfoy and admitting that he likes Audrey in Audrey Potter's Prelude (where I have also written Audrey's sorting from Malfoy's POV), so keep a look out for that when I start updating that again. Also, I won't be posting anything from Malfoy's POV on here, but I will on APP. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_booklover526_**: These revelations definitely won't end any time soon! I'm glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing :)**

_vmarslovahhh18_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you agree with the story being about way more than her romance with Malfoy and that you think they're well suited. Harry's reaction is going to be pretty dramatic when he finds out about them and they will have a lot of things to go through, but it will all be worth it for those little moments in between, I hope. It's definitely not the last time we'll see Montague – Audrey isn't that lucky!**

_sara253xxx_**: I'm glad you liked her paranoia, I know I can get like that after a boy and I first start that weird "what happens next" stage, so I wanted to incorporate her girly, still-young perceptions. Daphne and Theodore are certainly warming up, but if they will date...you'll have to see. I think Daphne still has a bit more growing up to do before she can really mesh with Theo. Thank you for reviewing and liking the chapter, here's the next one!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Montague got beaten up – but he will be back...thanks for reviewing.**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Dreaco is addictive to me, too. I can't stop thinking about them and everything I have planned! HBP is going to be extremely dramatic and I will not be changing Draco being a Death Eater...not unless Audrey somehow affects what happens in the Department of Mysteries...if she goes. So much to think about!**

_ziva10_**: Ha, I'm glad you fangirled – I love hearing people fangirl! Thanks for the review.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Aw, thanks! I think so too :)**

_simslovr1_**: Ha, he definitely did come to her rescue, didn't he? Harry will find out and when he does it will be a pretty big deal...**

_Carojoy4210_**: I'm glad you enjoyed it, thank you. It's not quite young-love yet, they are just pretty much in the "I can't get enough of making out with you" stage. They aren't in love...yet. I don't really want to create a Facebook profile as I am never on Facebook as it is, but twitter seems like less effort. Hope that still works!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Ha, Malfoy is a bit emotionally unstable. Then again, so is Audrey. Malfoy won't be going to Snape about anything, considering for now he thinks the problem has been handled...hint, hint: totally hasn't been...but Snape WILL later be involved (I can't pass up a moment like that! He will have his own little way of getting back at Montague...it's Snape. I spoil him because I love him so much). I have decided that because Audrey will naturally sway things (an extra person always does) I will get to save two people. I have also recently decided that I will kill ****at least**** one person for the sake of balance. Which will be difficult. I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the great review!**

_Cost of the Crown_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you think their personalities are well-rounded and that Audrey fits into their universe. I tried to make Audrey have realistic characteristics: first as the sister of Harry Potter, then as a Slytherin, then as someone who would be suited for Malfoy. It was a lot of layers and a lot of weeks of deciding who I wanted to make her into. And I love (I really, really love) how you termed her as an Anti-hero. Because that's exactly what she is. Thank you for acknowledging that.  
>Slytherins were my favourite house for a while growing up. I was very young when I read the books for the first time, so young that my mother read them to me in my "Slytherin Dorm Room" as my room, bed frame, and the draping of my 'princess bed' were all green – even though I later changed house loyalties a million times when I tried to find out which I was. Still, they are a very misunderstood house and because of my initial love for them, I like looking at things from their point of view (such as how they felt about the article, and Harry Potter's stunts, and Trelawney's leave, etc). You're right, you only ever hear about evil Slytherins, never about the Gryffindors who go bad or the Slytherins who inevitably turn a new leaf.<br>I doubt that Harry would take everything Audrey says completely to heart: they're fifteen year olds. When I was fifteen I was headstrong and my own brother seemed to have that mindset as well. Right now, he's confused and they really have abandoned each other this year (even if it is for the good intentions they argue over) and I can only imagine that has to sting.  
>Certain characters will be saved, but I've recently decided that I will also have to get rid of another character for balance. Realistically Audrey can't just save two people and not lose someone else for some other reason. I've been doing a lot of thinking on it, whatever I do for both saving and killing, I will try to make completely realistic and justified. Anyway, thank you so much for this review, I really loved reading it!<strong>

_SarcasticRaven_**: Montague will be back, don't you fear, also Malfoy won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one is enjoyable, too!**

_InvincibleShadow_**: Snowed in while in England? There's not much to complain about there! England is pretty nice, I went once. But people were mean to me, they thought I was American and were actually rude. But I was twelve...and being rude to a twelve year old at any point in time is just not cool. So I put on an English accent and people were nice again :) Yes, they have kissed and are (kind of) seeing each other...it's not going to end so easily. They like each other and I don't know about you, but neither Audrey or Draco seem the kind to let something like that go very easily...**

_Green-NaNa-Neko89_**: I'm glad you liked it, thanks! Hopefully this chapter put you in as good of a mood as you were for the last. I like long chapters because I like feeling like this is an actual book I am writing...even if I am borrowing the world, the characters, and the general plot. Thanks for liking the writing as well, I'd like to think I'm a decent writer – or at least that I'm better at writing than some of the other things I try for. If not...I may have a very sad bundle of nothing, haha. **

_Ana-Comic Fan_**: Thank you, I think they're pretty cute together as well. Harry will find out eventually, but not for quite some time. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

_lifethroughanotherseyes_**: Snapping Montague's wand? I've considered it, but I once read that snapping someone else's wand without Ministry officials present is illegal. Besides, secretly there is a part of Audrey that likes the fight. She likes proving that he can't have his way with her and that she's stronger than he is...even if she's not always saving herself. **

_Tweedle Dum_**: The drama is always brewing somewhere in this story! I'm glad you like my style of writing, I read one of my older chapters and was pleased to see that I've matured more than I thought – and my mother said writing fanfiction wouldn't let me grow! I proved her wrong ;)**

_SarahHEARTSBooks_**: I'm glad you like it! They aren't boyfriend and girlfriend, but they are "seeing" each other secretly. Hope you liked this chapter :)**

_BallaSiebenaler_**: Yes, there was a lot of fun stuff last chapter. This chapter was a bit more to build toward another plot point. But hopefully it was still enjoyable. Thanks for reviewing!**

_maraluvsyou_**: Ha, you blessed the chapter? I feel honoured! Snape is a fantastic fatherly figure, particularly because he's the kind that Audrey needs – she's rough around the edges and he not only is as well, but he accommodates it and works with it. I love him. Harry is prejudiced, particularly in this book (and the next when it comes to Malfoy). I remember quite clearly thinking "man, what a jerk" when I read it and even reading it now as I borrow from JKR, I still think he's just rude. Then again, it really could be because the snake in his head – I like to think so. Also, thanks for following me on Twitter! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Amber Rose Black_**: I'm glad you liked the chapter, here's the next one!**

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><p><strong>I loved the response from the last chapter everyone, thank you so much! The next chapter is an exciting one, so the more reviews I get the faster I'll post - I already have the rough draft done! Also, if you have started following me on twitter, thank you! I've loved being able to interact with you guys and I've been giving away lots of hints for those who haven't added me yet. My twitter friends now know the titles of the next four chapters, they hear some clips from each chapter before it comes out, and I love when you guys ask questions! <strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**On Twitter: **EgyptsLegend


	50. Fine Lines

**So, I owe everyone an apology. I promised this chapter would be out two weeks ago and I'm all for keeping up with what I promise but I sadly got one of those calls that no one ever wants to get in January. It pretty much has left me in a bad state of mind which involved a lot of tears and a lot of horrid realizations. I could not pick up a computer – for the first time in my memory, I went a day without writing. And then I went a second. And then I went a week. And then I went a second week... so I'm very, very sorry for making you all wait, I hope that it will never happen again.**

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><p>Chapter 49 – Fine Lines<p>

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><p>"Wow," Theodore whistled lowly under his breath while we finally escaped History of Magic. It was luckily our last class of the day and considering how boring it was, we had spoken all about my new 'Remedial Potions' lessons for the entirety of the class block. Needless to say, Nott had been surprised when I had told him about everything that had happened a week before: Occlumency, spying on Dumbledore, finding out I can do Legilimency. Of course I left out the unimportant facts, such as initially I only became close friends with the rest of our Slytherin gang for purpose of my spying and, most importantly, that Malfoy and I snogging every night behind tapestries and suits of armour.<p>

It was a few days after April Fools: the Weasley twins birthday – where, for their birthday, I hadn't ratted them out on a few of the pranks they'd pulled. I promised that I'd get them something more substantial when I wasn't playing spy and being watched by the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad, but I was pleased that I was able to let them get away with their pranks for the meantime.

"I know," I said to Theodore, shoving my History of Magic textbook into my rucksack.

"You're a Legilimens," he repeated for the third time, shaking his head with mild disbelief. "How the hell do you pull all this off, Audrey?"

"I have no idea," I responded honestly, pushing my bag farther up on my shoulder now that the thick textbook was weighing it down. "I don't even know what happened – one minute I was trying to do Astral Projection, the next minute I was having a vision, and the moment after I was Projecting it to Harry."

"Still, that's so hard," he muttered, with a frown. "Legilimency is really _hard, _Audrey."

"So I've heard," I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't matter, though: I couldn't do it again when Snape asked me to."

"Doesn't matter," Nott shook his head. "You projected your own thoughts twice now and that isn't normal. Have you ever been able to look into thoughts? I thought that's what regular Legilimency was."

"So did I," I mumbled, pushing my hands through my hair to try and tame it. I had thrown my enchanted hairbrush into my trunk and hadn't been able to find it this morning, so naturally my hair was a mess. "But apparently being able to infiltrate anyone's mind is Legilimency and technically I broke into Harry's mind to show him what I wanted him to see – Snape said it counts."

"I guess so," he sighed, shaking his head as he tried to work it all out. I could see his mind turning the facts over and over, trying to make sense of it all. "Drea, what are we going to do with you?"

"Hopefully not send me to St Mungo's psychiatric ward," I snorted, pushing the bag up on my shoulder again. It was too heavy with all the textbooks in it. When I had tried to charm it to be lighter, all that had happened was having the strap rip – I'd tied it for the time being, but I'd have to remember to mend it later. "How is it I can do all these different forms of Cantated magic, but I still can't use a Vanishing spell?"

Both of us took a look at my wand as I held it out in front of me. The pale wand caught the light oddly, it was a little too scuffed to look nice and the glaring X on the hilt still warned me just how much this wand and I didn't get along. Still, as we watched it and nothing happened we couldn't help but shrug in sync.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But there has to be a reason."

"There's always a reason," I nodded. "At least there isn't Occlumency today."

"There isn't Occlumency?" Theodore raised his eyebrow. "I highly doubt that Snape would find out you can do all this and then decide not to have you hone in on it."

"Wasn't his choice," I told him with a smirk before I playfully poked at my Inquisitorial Squad badge. "Filch got a sign of Fred and George running back to the DA after some of the pranks they pulled on their birthday – Umbridge is pulling rank and setting us all out on watch."

"Why wasn't I told?"

"You'll be with the big group," I explained, scuffing at the stone floor with my shoe. "Umbridge wants a few of us, the ones she thinks hates Harry most, to split into smaller groups. Since I'm his twin, I'm clearly first pick. She figures I'll know exactly where they're hiding and hopes that I'll be angry enough with him to give them up."

"And you do know where they are," he clarified.

"Of course I do," I rolled my eyes dramatically. "So I'm running interference."

"Where should I try to get them to avoid?" Theodore asked seriously. I turned to him and gave him a broad smile, but still shook my head.

"Thanks, but I don't want you getting caught up in all this. You do what Umbridge says so that you have plausible deniability, alright?" He frowned, but seemed to agree with me. Theodore wasn't one for breaking rules and even when he did, he liked doing it for the right reason. If I was already running interference, there shouldn't have been a reason for him to do it as well. "Besides, I don't even know where they are. Just a general location."

I turned away from him then, digging back into my broken rucksack and taking hold of my mittens and hat. I was just about to put them on when Theodore stepped in front of me, his eyes narrowed.

"Where are you headed?"

"To my private life as a concubine," I told him with a dry smirk. He winced just at the thought and took a step away. I laughed at his expression before shaking my head. "Where do you think? I'm going to see Hagrid."

"Ah yes," he nodded. "He sent you that owl this morning."

"He just asked me to come and speak with him before dinner," I explained, shoving my hands into my knitted mittens. "He doesn't usually conference with me, so I'm suspicious. Don't look at me like that, there's no reason not to go see him – Umbridge wants to know what he's up to. Besides, I may have to deal with some dangerous animals, if you're interested."

"I think I'll pass," he mumbled, moving to the side to let me through. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"Tell Malfoy I'll be down at Hagrid's if he needs me to help patrol earlier than planned, otherwise I'll meet him outside of the Great Hall after dinner." Theodore's face decorated itself with a black scowl as he glanced at me. "What?"

"You're skipping all of dinner?"

"Oh, get over yourself," I sneered, already hearing the lecture I was about to receive. "I've been eating every meal since you lot have been hounding me about it. Even you skip a meal every now and then."

"I do not have a weight percentage under ten," he argued. What a lie, I was thin but I was not _that _thin anymore. Since the boys at the table had been force-feeding me during meals I had gained all my regular weight back and I looked like I was supposed to during the year – give or take a bad hair day or seven. "I'm telling Malfoy to meet you by the kitchens."

"Nott, I swear-"

"That, or you can come back early to catch the end of dinner."

I glared at him irritably. "I hate you."

"Love you too," he snorted back to me before turning and headed back to the Great Hall. I sighed, shoving my hat over my matted hair before sighing determined to head out. It was refreshing once I made it outside; the air was crisp, but it wasn't cold. I was chilled thanks to having no other insulation besides my school robes, hat, and gloves but the snow had melted over the past two weeks – so at least I was dry. The clouds above me looked like they would open at any second and let out a downpour to begin the famed April showers, so I picked up my pace to get to the oversized hut on the edge of the forest.

"Hagrid?" I asked, knocking on the wood door. I heard the floor boards shift while he got up from what I assumed was his giant chair and heard his footsteps cross the threshold before he answered. Today, his face was more green than purple and his eye, which had been completely swollen shut during my last Care of Magical Creatures class, had almost shrunk back to it's regular size.

"'Ello, Audrey," he smiled.

"You know, if you don't start getting your bruises under control, people are going to think you're being abused." I took a quick look around his house, noticing that there wasn't anyone in the house besides Fang who – as always – was asleep and drooling on the rug. "So, which animal are you being abused by that you came to tell me about?"

"Er – no, no, nothin' like tha'," Hagrid said quickly walking back so that he could put down the cold slab of meat he must have been holding over his face. "I need ter ask yeh a favour."

"Does this have to do with whatever is abusing you?" I asked, my eyes switching from side to side dramatically. "Do I need to call the Aurors?"

"No!" Hagrid said it so loudly and so quickly that my eyebrows rose to my hairline. Him answering like that wasn't suspicious like this isn't sarcasm... "I'm not bein' abused."

"Alright, it was a joke," I said defensively, taking off my mittens and throwing them onto his table. "Do you want to tell me what this is about?"

"Well, dunno if it'd su'prise yeh, but I'll pro'ly be gettin' the sack any day," he said slowly, his eyes welling up at the thought. "And yer one o' my best stud'nts, Audrey. Th' animals, they all like yer..."

"Oh, Hagrid," I said sadly, frowning when his voice trailed off. "Are you asking me to take care of them?"

"Well, I reck'n that Umbridge likes yer, too, so if yeh ask she might let yer keep feedin' 'em and makin' sure they're alrigh'. I'm tryin' ter find homes fer the ones that can, but I dunno if they'll all be able ter leave."

"Of course I'll look after them, Hagrid," I said seriously. It was the first act against Umbridge I felt I would really take a stand on – I'd already abandoned my friends for this year, I'd already conformed to what she wanted me to be – but this favour, for Hagrid and his animals – was a promise I would not think of breaking. "Which ones do you think will need the most work?"

"Well, the Thestrals can handle 'emselves, but if yeh wanna check on 'em every week 'r so..." I nodded, watching as he pulled out a great, dirty handkerchief and gave a long blow of his nose. "An' the Bowtruckles're just comin' out of hibernat'in so they need a bit o' lookin' after. The Knarls, too."

"Of course I can, Hagrid." I told him again, watching his expressions carefully. It wasn't a secret that Umbridge wanted Hagrid gone, but it was sad to think that Hagrid actually thought it would happen considering how Dumbledore always seemed to come to his aid. Had things in Hogwarts really gotten so out of control that even Dumbledore's most trusted allies had no power? "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Nah," he waved his giant hand. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at the smell of raw meat that wafted from him thanks to the steak he'd been holding earlier. "Jus' in case. An' if yeh can, try t' find Harry an' tell him that I need his help too. Some'in else."

I nodded, watching Hagrid go back to blowing his nose a bit and crying. There was something nearly pathetic about it – no, not nearly pathetic, it _was _pathetic – but another part of me argued over the fact that this was Hagrid – and that it was Hagrid who knew what was coming anyway. I warred with myself, knowing that some things weren't necessary to say, but I still felt my lips moving before I had even come to a decision.

"I'm going to be frank with you Hagrid," I began in a stronger voice than needed. He looked up at me with his large, beetle black eyes still watering. "You're Umbridge's next target, you know that, don't you? You have to know that she wants you gone by now. I don't even know if it's really anything to do with you; she doesn't like Halfbloods. Halfbreeds are even worse. She's already livid about Firenze – she's on a warpath."

"I know," he sighed loudly, mucus rattling in his throat. "Only a matter o' time, I s'pose."

"I'm sorry, Hagrid," I told him, not really sure how to comfort him any more than telling him the truth. At least now he knew what was coming – but how else was I supposed to comfort him from something there was no stopping? "If it makes you feel better – she'll be gone by next year?"

"What makes yeh say tha'?" He asked, unable to stop himself from chuckling a bit. I felt myself brighten with a smile as my mind began to imagine all the possible scenarios that would answer his question.

"Because no Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher lasts more than a year," I laughed, nodding my head as if to further convince him. Still, he only seemed able to blow his nose past his chuckle. It seemed that even taking the mickey out on Umbridge was not enough to remind him that he would soon lose his job and be kicked out of the grounds, as well. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Sure, oh!" He stood up, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling of his hut because of how fast he did it. "I got some meat wit' me. Gunna go feed th' Thestrals – would yeh like ter come?"

I looked up at Hagrid nervously, trying not to think about just how nervous the Thestrals made me. I couldn't help myself, it made me nervous because it meant that I was a freak...more of a freak than a witch who went to magic school already would have been considered in polite society. And to exacerbate that problem, I couldn't stop comparing the fact I'd just found out I was naturally gifted in Legilimency as well – something a freaky witch like myself was already hard to come by; then again, maybe being able to see Thestrals was slight in comparison to _that._

I nodded my head stiffly, following in Hagrid's heavy steps outside of the hut. I paused and waited, trying not to fidget while he grabbed a large, partially gutted pig and hoisted it over his shoulder. I continued forward when he did, shadowing him over the soggy grounds. I was glad that I didn't have to tromp through snow this time, in the very least. And not only that, but apparently it was not as far of a walk into the woods as it had been last time before Hagrid put the pig down.

"See 'im, there?" Hagrid whispered, jerking his head over to the woods. I could not see a Thestral at all, but I could see two, disturbingly white eyes – no pupils, no iris, just a clear white sclera. It was like what all children saw in their nightmares, what all muggle movies made out to go bump in the night. My inner child cowered. "Tha's Tenebrus – he likes protectin' the lot of 'em. Yeh'll always see 'im firs'."

"Hi there Tenebrus," I said quietly, recalling that this was the Thestral that I had already taken a slight liking to earlier on. "Do you remember me? We met during class."

I had no need to feel insecure about the fact I was talking to animals again – like all my friends always mocked me over – because Hagrid was more kind than my friends and because Tenebrus was not a shy Thestral. Instead of waiting for trust, Tenebrus came right out of the trees to fix me with his aimless stare. I held it with as much strength as I could: I couldn't tell if it was a challenge or not, but I knew backing down would be a bad idea either way. After a moment, Tenebrus' hooves thumped the soil until we were only feet away from each other. Then, slowly he bowed his head to me. It was not a bow like one would give to Buckbeak, but rather an invitation to touch him.

I smiled, placing my hand on his leathery muzzle and thankfully feeling him lean into it. "See? You're not scary at all."

"He likes yer," I was appalled to hear that Hagrid was crying. Surely enough, when I dared to look over my shoulder, the giant was sniffling. "Tha's good, he'll let yer near th' herd if yeh stay like tha'. Yeh're a good handl'r, Audrey."

"Thanks, Hagrid," I said awkwardly, not able to take that as the compliment it really was. I was not good with people who cried, usually I'd just tell them to suck it up and walk away – but that was not really a tactic I could use with my teacher. "I'll take really good care of them. All of them."

"I know yeh will," he sniffled again and pulled out a large, dirty handkerchief from his pocket and blew into it loudly. Tenebrus, under my hand, whinnied. "Yer a good kid, Audrey. Very good lass."

Hagrid didn't speak again when he saw the other Thestrals come to interact and feed on the pig carcass. I was glad that I had come down to meet him now – even though I had been wary at the beginning, it was good to meet the herd and learn to get used to their looks. Even people like me – hell, even people like _Harry – _still rely on appearance to make an opinion on someone. And I had to say, being made of leather and a symbol for death didn't do Thestrals any favours.

Still, they were a peaceful bunch. Once I had gotten on Tenebrus' good side and spent the time warming up to them – or cooling down, they were more chilled than most animals – I spent the time getting some of the others to trust me. I made sure to pet each one who was curious enough to get close and interacted with them so they could get used to me before they _had _to be used to me. After a while the cool air began seeping through my robes and the air became humid with the foretelling of rain. I looked in the direction of the sun, noticing that it had started to dip low in the sky. It was time to leave. I sighed dramatically as a sign to Hagrid that I was ready to leave. I gave one last pet to one of the smaller males, Phaethon, before turning to my professor – who was sitting on a stump petting one of the females, Ariadne.

"I have to go back, Hagrid," I said slowly, trying to avoid triggering him erupting into tears again. "Umbridge is hosting a hunt for Harry tonight and I need to be there, I'm leading a group."

Hagrid looked at me for a minute with his watery eyes before shaking his head. "Audrey, yeh can just say no."

"Nuh-uh, I like what I'm doing," I argued shaking my head and brushing off my school trousers. "This way everyone wins: I get to stay in the safest areas and I get to keep Harry out of the most dangerous ones. Since he clearly doesn't care which ones he puts himself into."

"Alrigh'," Hagrid sighed to himself, pointing behind him to the path we had taken into the forest. "Be safe."

"Never," I smirked, giving him a nod before turning on my heel to head back up to the castle. It was a chilled trek and I was thanking my stars for the hat and mittens I had brought with me. Maybe I should really start practicing my wand-weilding again. Eventually I would have to take my examinations – which I was bound to fail – and besides, it would be beneficial to be able to insolate my robes like Theodore always does.

I was lost in my thoughts about wondering if Theodore could teach me himself before I was yanked harshly aside by Malfoy, just outside the castle doors.

"You missed dinner," he stated, his eyes hard on me. I rolled my eyes, throwing my hands up helplessly.

"Seriously? When will you and Nott give me a break, it was one meal!"

"Not what I meant," he muttered lowly, peeking over his shoulder for a second before leaning closer to me. For a moment I wondered if it was for a quick snog – but something was off. Normally he would have insulted me by now, or pulled me off into a corner. Why was this so urgent and why were his eyes so cold? "You need to go to the dungeons."

"Er-" I said carefully, making a face at him. "Why? We have patrol."

"You need to go to the dungeons, Potter," he said again, his voice more firm this time. "Patrol has been called off for you."

"I'll take her," another voice announced. Both Malfoy and I looked to the doors and I was shocked to see Malfoy juggle me so that Theodore, who had magically appeared, was hidden from my view. I opened my mouth to say something to him but was only more shocked when he moved forward and grabbed me by my wrist. "You go, I know you have other things to do."

"She'll do something stupid if you-"

"Leave, Draco," Nott said more seriously. I was shocked – I could not remember a time when my best friend was so dark or when he was so authoritative, nevertheless to a Malfoy. I was not only impressed, but immediately suspicious. "I'll handle this."

"Nott-"

"I'll handle this," Theodore repeated, a new edge to his words. I looked between them carefully, my eyes taking in everything from their silent glaring-argument to their rigid postures.

"Er – someone care to explain this little lovers spat?" I asked them, but neither of them moved. They didn't acknowledge I had spoken at all. Instead they just continued to glare at one another, impassioned by some mystery I hadn't solved.

"Follow me," Theodore told me lowly, moving past Malfoy and not waiting to throw him a second look. He also did not let go of my arm as he pulled me back into the castle and down from the Entrance Hall to the flight of stairs to lead us down to the dungeons. Once we were directly under the Great Hall – which was not at the dungeons and sub-levels that housed our Slytherin chambers, but closer to the Hufflepuff common room – my best friend let go of my arm and moved toward the kitchens.

"Please tell me you were not speaking in code just because you wanted me to have dinner," I told him with a click of my tongue. "That is such a waste of your talents."

"There's an old friend of ours in here that we should have a chat with," Theodore explained, even though it was still cryptic. I gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Who the hell do I want to chat with in the kitchens?"

"Just open it, Audrey." The finality of his tone made me hesitant to be my regular bitchy self, so instead I just shrugged my shoulders and turned toward the wall of photos that held the painting I needed.

"Fine then. No peaking," I told him jokingly, Theodore had been with me loads of times to the kitchen. Still, he didn't smile and having a feeling that there was some sort of bad news coming, I moved toward the art I needed: the painting of the giant fruit bowl. I stretched out my hand, using two fingers to tickle the pear in the corner and watched it giggle and sputter before it turned into a green, three-dimensional handle. Before I pulled the door open I turned to look over my shoulder at the Slytherin behind me. "You're going to explain this all, right?"

"Just get in before we're seen," he said quickly, more nervously than he had been just seconds before. He even looked over his shoulder. I knew he couldn't keep up the tough act for long. I rolled my eyes and yanked on the handle, anticipating how the portrait would move so that we could climb through the familiar archway to the kitchens.

All around us, House Elves were scampering around, cleaning up after the dinner that had just finished. With the number of them, I'm surprised when went an entire minute before we were recognized.

"Audrey Potter, miss!" In front of me with his big, green eyes stood Dobby in his mix-matched clothing, half a dozen woolly hats, and his high, florescent socks. "Dobby is so happy to see you, Audrey Potter, he is. And her bestest friend, Mr Nott, sir! What is you doing here?"

"I don't really know, Dobby," I said, casting a glare to said friend. "That's a question I'm asking myself."

"Will someone please get her something to eat? And Dobby," he said, leaning down so that he was a little closer to the elf's giant ears. Dobby looked amazed that someone was nearly bowing down for him, but Theodore was still all business. "Can you stay here until Audrey tells you not to?"

"I does not understand, sir," Dobby said, suddenly standing up a bit taller and looking very proud of himself. "Dobby is a free elf!"

"Dobby," I said, leaning down and trying to stay polite. This little elf was nice and all, but he was quick to grate on my nerves. "Please stay here until I understand what Theodore is asking – I have a feeling he's about to want a favour of us."

"Anything you say, Missus Audrey Potter, miss!"

I straightened up, looking at the brunette with a raised eyebrow. "Go on."

"Malfoy was going to hide you in the dungeons to try to keep you from finding out," he began, shaking his head as if he was remembering something that severely upset him. "But I couldn't let him. You are the only one I can think of that has any idea... if anyone could get a message through to him, it'd be you."

"I need to get a message through to Malfoy?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows, though my heart started to pound. Anything could be the problem right now: Malfoy could have started shagging Parkinson again, he could have done something awful for Umbridge, or worse – much worse – he could have let the secret slip about our meetings during patrol...

"Today, Umbridge interrogated Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe about your brother's duelling club – Edgecombe burst like a deck of Exploding Snap," Theodore told me seriously, waiting a moment to let what he was saying sink in. "He's in something called the Room of Requirement upstairs – and the Inquisitorial Squad, headed by Malfoy and Umbridge, are headed there at seven to get them."

"_What_?" I barked. "And Malfoy was just going to let me think nothing was happening?"

"I know you've been doing all this to protect Harry, Drea," Theodore told me, taking hold of my shoulders while he shook me a bit to get his point across. "You need to get a message to him before we get there – try to get as many out as they can. And I can't send that message, neither can you."

"How do I get a message to him that I can't send?" I asked him with a frown, watching as his eyes flickered down. I followed the direction he was looking in to see that at our feet still stood the large, green eyed house elf who was watching us nervously.

Well, that could work.

I bent down, calling all the house-elves closer toward us.

"Alright, listen you lot. Many of you just heard something that you shouldn't and by order of both Albus Dumbledore and Dolores Umbridge, you're not allowed to repeat anything you just heard," I told them all in my business voice while I pointed to both my Prefect and Inquisitorial Squad badges. "If anyone asks, we were not here and you did not know anything was happening – am I clear?"

"Yes, Missus Potter, yes!" They all seemed to chorus, before averting their eyes as if Theodore and I were suddenly invisible before they got right back to their work. I got down on my knee to look straight at Dobby again.

"Dobby," I told him while trying to sound nicer than I normally cared to. For effect I even took one of his little, bony shoulders in my hand. "I need you to go warn Harry, right now."

"You just made me say I wouldn't, missus!" Dobby squeaked.

"Then find a way around it and warn Harry that we're coming – tell them they have to run," I said quickly before turning to Theodore. "I'm going to go and try to help as many escape as I can. If Umbridge catches Harry, he'll be expelled in a heartbeat."

"Audrey, you can't!" Theodore said quickly, reaching forward as if to grab me if I tried to make a move for the door. "If Umbridge finds out you helped him you'll be expelled yourself, or worse, set in front of the court for treason against the Ministry ordinances!"

"Bollocks!" I cursed under my breath, slamming my fist down on the low counter for the house elves. "I am going to _slaughter _Marietta Edgecombe!"

"You can do that later," Theodore said quickly. "He needs to go."

That I agreed with.

"Dobby," I turned to the house elf quickly. "Go, now!"

The little elf did not hesitate before he disappeared with a _pop!_

"Audrey, we need to either join the Inquisitorial Squad, or you need to join your brother – now is the time to pick a side."

I gritted my teeth, shoving a hand through my hair and messing it up even more than I knew it already must have looked. I wasn't about to do something as stupid as lose the security I had while straddling the lines – not when I finally got to make a difference like today. "I don't pick sides, Theodore."

"Then you need to pretend to," he ordered while he opened the painting's exit that lead back into the corridor. "Either way, we'd better hurry!"

I agreed with that too and dashed out behind him. We ran up the staircases as fast as we could, up each floor stair by stair, trying to get there before any damage had been done. I couldn't imagine what would happen if we got there too late: what would Harry do if he was expelled from Hogwarts? He'd already had the ridiculous idea this summer that he would run away from Privet Drive and try to become a rogue – what would he think to do now? He couldn't just live with Sirius at Headquarters and he couldn't have his wand snapped with Voldemort still lurking in our shadows.

I was so lost in thoughts about what may happen that I nearly continued running past the sixth floor and missed the group of Slytherins waiting there. They had not gotten to the Room of Requirement yet – which I only knew because there were no hostages and they still looked far too excited – but they were not excited enough to ignore Theodore and I rushing to meet with them. Professor Umbridge watched us approach with raised eyebrows.

"Where have you two been?" her voice was higher than normal, a natural sign of her excitement. I tried not to cringe while my ears felt ready to bleed.

"I was out on the grounds," I huffed, out of breath. "I ran here as quickly as I could – Theodore told me what happened. Did someone really tell us where a group is hiding?"

"Yes," She told me carefully, her eyes wisely suspicious. "Yes, someone did."

"Is it my brother's group?" I asked, trying to make myself seem as excited as the Slytherins in front of me. They looked like hounds expecting a steak. "Is there finally proof?"

"We know where your brother is meeting," she explained carefully, her suspicion still on high alert even though she looked about ready to skip the final steps to the seventh floor. "I assume you'll want to go with your friends to see who you can capture?"

This was a trick question, I could tell.

"Anywhere you want me, Professor." I told her honestly, knowing that the duelling club was probably already running. Even then, I knew that if Harry was going to run he'd go far away from Umbridge and if he was about to be caught, the toad would need to see him herself. Maybe then, if it happened, I could run some kind of interference. "I'd really like to get my chance to use my new ability to detain..."

She smiled her ugly toad-like smile, her eyes gleaming happily at my words. I can't believe this woman really trusted me so easily. "Good! Then you'll stay by me."

Ah, she didn't trust me _that _much.

But it was something I could handle, because anyone who found my brother would come to her first – I needed to be near her to know exactly what damage had been done to my brother's and his idiotic friends. I mean _really, _how many times have I warned them off Chang and Edgecombe – had they listened to me this never would have happened!

By the time the group of us reached the landing on the seventh floor, all we could hear were the scattering footfalls of people running away. The Slytherins went into action quickly – hexing, cursing and jinxing anyone that was close enough to see. I won't deny that I was happy to trip Zacharias Smith, even though he ended up getting up again. And I mysteriously missed when I saw Ginny running away – but Umbridge was too distracted.

"Professor! PROFESSOR – I've got one!" I heard someone nearly sing and it was not hard to discern the voice. Professor Umbridge bustled around the corner and I followed obediently, trying not to show how surprised and upset I was that my brother was on his back looking up at us from the floor.

"It's him!" Umbridge couldn't even begin to hide her pleasure while she clapped to herself. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good – fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here...stand up, Potter!"

"You're an idiot, Harry," I hissed, narrowing my eyes. Hopefully Umbridge didn't realize that I wasn't taunting him, but proving a point to him that was lost to our audience. "I always warned you that you'd go too far."

"Very true, it's very true," Umbridge was almost delirious in her own excitement. Harry got up slowly, glaring at all three of us. She went forward and grabbed him, quickly turning to back to Malfoy who was beaming like a kid taught to potty train.

When she turned to look at Malfoy, Harry's eyes quickly softened and he gave me a quick nod. Did he know that I had sent Dobby, or was he acknowledging that I had not tripped Ginny as she ran? Either way, it was good that he knew this was not my doing.

"You hop along and see if you can round up any more of them, Draco," she said. "Audrey, go with him. Tell the others to look in the library – anybody out of breath – check in the bathrooms, Audrey you can do the girls' ones. Of you go!"

Though there was no part of me that wanted to do what she said and look for more people who I may potentially be friends with, I ran forward. It was mostly so that I could get away from Malfoy and save whoever else happened to be running around – particularly the Weasleys. They didn't need any more trouble than what Fred and George brewed up for them – that was all that was needed. Just as I was running toward the Gryffindor common room to see if anyone had gotten caught on their way back, Malfoy grabbed my arm.

"What the hell do _you _want?" I sneered, giving him a hard glare. If he wanted to lie to me and be as cold as he had been earlier, that was fine. He better know, however, that I was going to fight fire with fire.

"Audrey, you knew this was going to happen," it sounded like he was trying to reason but his voice was so hard and stern that I felt like I was being scolded.

"Yeah," I said, ripping my arm out of his grip with a grunt. "Apparently so did you."

"You were the one to tip them off, weren't you?" He asked me with a glare, shaking his head while he tried not to sneer at me. "I knew that I should have taken you to the common room."

"Who said I didn't go there?" I asked with a shrug. "You weren't there to argue I didn't."

"Well I would have made you _stay _there," he said further, glaring at me for a moment before looking around as if to find any more Gryffindors on the loose.

"You're such a bastard," I snarled, giving him a scowl even darker than his own. "Are you really incapable of seeing the big picture in anything? Or are you really so immature you will just dwell on age-old school rivalries?"

"I've seen the big picture, Potter," he explained, his voice rising while he face turned pink. He turned to point his wand in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. "And it doesn't involve them _and _us. You have to pick a side, Potter!"

"Why does everyone say that?" I growled, shrugging helplessly. "Why does everyone keep putting themselves on _sides? _How about we just survive – why is that not on the top of everyone's lists? I didn't think I was insane, but apparently no one cares about life as much as I seem to."

"You want to survive?" He asked me darkly, trying to seem menacing by taking a step toward me and lowering his voice again. "Then you stay with the ones who fight for themselves. And you won't fight for yourself if you're with them."

"But you won't fight for me if I'm with you," I told him just as darkly. I never expected him to fight for me – that wasn't how whatever it was we were doing worked. I did not, however, like him playing all 'holier than thou' when he was really just more selfish.

"And you think _they_ would?"

"Yeah," I said back forcefully, nodding my head with vigor. "I knowthey would. I know they _have. _Malfoy, I've said this to my brother and apparently I'm going to have to say it to you-"

"Don't compare me to him, I'm noth-"

"Listen closely," I interrupted with a snarl, leaning in close so that he could see just how serious I was. "Do not make me pick sides. Never, ever make me pick sides. Because no matter how it turns out, I promise you, you will be disappointed."

He let that sink in for a long moment, his eyes hardening to mirror impenetrable steel.

"You would pick them over us?"

"I will pick me over anyone," I argued, my tone biting while I tried not to hiss venom at him. "And in the end, you'll all lose me."

Without warning, Malfoy grabbed the side of my face, roughly tangling his fingers into my hair and crashed his lips against mine, moving them eagerly. There was a moment while my body reacted before my mind allowed it – my chest naturally worked against me and still burst from the sensation of his lips on mine. I couldn't stop myself when my hands gripped his robes and dragged him closer to me...and then my brain kicked in. My brain which reminded me of what he had just said, of what _I _had just said.

As forcefully as I could manage, I pushed him off of me.

"You can't always kiss me like that and then me you wouldn't pick me," Malfoy panted, looking at me seriously, his eyes as cool as ice on steel.

I couldn't stop myself from pulling him toward me again, for a moment where our lips clashed against one another's again before I pushed him back. It looked wrong, him being out of breath and yet him staying so calm and so collected. There was something synthetic about the entire thing, which made me remember just how angry I was. Which made me look at him with what I'm sure were dangerous, toxic eyes.

"I wouldn't pick you."

I could tell that my words stung him and he seemed to wince before he pulled me to kiss him again. This time, I fought against him, trying to push him and hitting my fist against his chest before he let go, panting. I pushed him away from me, but then, suddenly his eyes flickered over to the side and following his gaze, I was so shocked that I actually dropped my wand.

Standing not ten feet away from us was Daphne Greengrass. And if her dropped jaw and wide eyes were any indication: she had just seen everything.

"Daphne," I said, my eyes wide while I took a careful step toward her. "Daphne, please don't-"

But Daphne shook her head and ran away.

I turned to look at Malfoy, first angry and then somehow terrified. When he looked at me like that, he looked like his father and somehow, horrifyingly, I felt used. I felt like he had kissed me not only out of spite because we had been angry, but he had done it in front of Daphne to undermine everything I had worked for these past weeks. He had kissed me to mark me, to lay claim on me, for himself.

I shook my head, my eyes watering. It felt worse than all of Montague's threats – because somehow, Malfoy had wormed his way into my subconscious and a part of me trusted him. Holding his hand at dinners or during Divination, sitting with him at dinners and kissing him in corners...I had given him a trust that I had not shared with anyone else.

And he had just exploited it.

He seemed to see that my eyes were watering and he recoiled, his eyes still cold but it seemed that there was some certain realization to what he had just forced upon me. Even the great Draco Malfoy did not like to force girls into doing things they didn't want. Perhaps he was just starting to realize what he had just done.

"Stay away from me," I whispered, my voice shaking – I couldn't tell if it was from fear or from rage. Who knew that those two emotions could be so closely entwined? Malfoy dared to take a step forward and I screamed, picking up my wand and aiming it straight for his chest. He stopped immediately, holding his hands out in front of him nervously. "I said stay away."

"I'm shouldn't have done that," he said slowly, his voice not grief stricken at all, but measured and calculated as if he knew just how to handle the situation. Naturally, that made me more angry.

"You shouldn't have," I agreed darkly.

"I apologize," he said carefully, taking a careful step forward. The word didn't even sound right coming from him – it was clearly not something he said often because it didn't flick off his tongue as simply as it would have for anyone else. I thrashed my wand again threateningly and he stopped moving toward me again. "I said I'm sorry, Potter."

"You're not," I shook my head and gripped my wand more tightly. "But you will be."

* * *

><p><strong>Not smart to kiss a girl after you've wronged her, or to out a relationship that's supposed to stay quiet. What will Audrey do now, will she be able to stay mad at him? What happens to the DA now that they have been caught? How will Audrey keep Harry safe now that Umbridge is about to get everything she's ever wanted?<strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Draco does have it in him to be sweet – even if he messed it all up again. I think everyone was expecting some or other, considering who Malfoy is and just how much he hates Harry though – still, it was sad to write. Don't worry, they'll get together again...eventually. It is always fun to write a scene between the Slytherins – I plan to do more of them, but not during this section of the book. There's too much about to happen now. And yes, Occlumency is back! Whenever Audrey goes into that meditative state, her visions force themselves on her. And who knows with that crazy wand – okay, I know, but if I told you it would ruin things! Hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_OddPotato_**: He went from being sweet to an ass. Man, his hatred for Harry really messed things up, didn't they? No, she is just a legilimens – Voldy puts thoughts in Harry's mind too, so it's still legilimency, just a different action of it. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I could totally see Snape being the overprotective father figure who gives the "if you hurt her, I hurt you" speech. I have thought about killing off Circe, but even if she does die, I would not consider her one of the 'big' characters to die. It will be very sad if she does, and very impactful, but I don't think it would have the balance that there needs to be. Thanks for the review!**

_maraluvsyou_**: I am older than Draco, and was born in 91. I'm glad that you think that everyone is in character, thank you! Oh, when I watched the movies, I did a lot of that. That "was better in the books" or "wasn't even IN the books", the books are just far superior in my mind. Dreaco will be threatened, more than this, but it won't happen for a little while. Poor Draco and Audrey have to go through some other things first. Thanks for reviewing.**

_Ella710_**: I think I may have heard once or twice that you're a fan of GEM. But it may have been a rumour. Either way, I'm still surprised you went through all that effort to review chapter 24 again as well. Crazy. I would have gone the lazy way and not done it, haha. Yes, definitely overlook the fact that Audrey and Draco are fifteen – I try to. I remember how mature I thought I was at fifteen...now that I'm twenty-one, it's like "man, I was SO LITTLE". So just...don't think about it.  
>No, Audrey and Draco haven't worked everything out. They're too stubborn and what Draco did, in my mind, is unforgivable. Actually, when I went back to edit it again, I read it and I was like "man, that pretty much happened in 10 things I hate about you" and as that is one of my favourite movies from my childhood, I probably stole it. But I liked the idea of him trying to force something on her and then realizing how upset it made her – it was over the line and Audrey won't let him forget it. Besides, I was feeling a little bitchier and darker than normal thanks to things in my own life. Oh, and I got a flame! Hopefully I wasn't too mean, what I said definitely wasn't civil...I shouldn't feel bad, but I do. I am Canadian, after all.<br>I don't actually blame Harry for being afraid of Snape: Snape hates him. And with his Worst Memory coming up...eek, it's going to be messy. Harry has already beaten up Malfoy and been banned – that was a while back, but I couldn't tell you which chapter off the top of my head. Also Firenze is pretty cool, but I also don't know if I'd find him attractive. I think I'd be intimidated by him. But I am a sucker for blue eyes, so...  
>And yes, now Snape knows about her Legilimency. And now she's going to start working on it. Oh Audrey, just when people think they understand your little powers...<br>Audrey and Draco will be together again, but I can't tell you if both will survive the battle or if they'll later be together. I do like being able to make them so passionate – they can be so cute! Urgh, why can't I lead such an exciting life (hopefully lacking so much death and murder, of course). No you aren't reading too much into my excitement of the Malfoy Manor scene, I am just THAT excited. And the visions were crazy, eh? How many of them do you think you were able to identify? Man, I worked so hard on that chapter and had to think so far ahead, even I have to go back and read how I wrote them sometimes. I remember which ones I put in, but not the details I wrote into it, you know?  
>No, Harry will find out but not within the next two chapters. Not for a while, sadly. But he will find out eventually. And it will be dramatic as only the Potter twins can be. You did call that we would see Daphne's reaction – but how is she about to take knowing about the two of them, now that she's seen them? And I did know about George's patronus...Oh god, I might cry again...<br>You may of course call me Egypt and I have been struggling with the "save and kill" scenario. But I think I have it roughly mapped out. I think. I hope...we'll see. If I could save everyone, I would...but that would make me a bad author and to me that may even be worse than having to kill them again.  
>You weren't the only one to mention the Thestrals, but you were the only one who really dove into the thought process of it. Audrey will play some part in the Pensieve scene, also did you notice how I told you that Audrey would play hero TWICE before the DA goes to the Department of Mysteries? Well, this was the first time. Yay! She warned the DA!<br>Yeah, there are a lot of little visions in there too that will come in later. Such as Audrey crying for Draco and the possible 'ploy'. I'm excited to hear what you think of these next few chapters...  
>And what have I told you about apologizing for the length of your reviews? I told you, I adore them, so stop it! <strong>

_TheForrestAgain_**: Harry has seen Audrey and Draco on the map – he made a reference to it earlier saying that she was always "with Draco" and "seeing Umbridge every other night" so he has been watching her, but he doesn't realize there's more going on. He thinks they're just patrolling. He hasn't been watching too closely, it seems. Umbridge is definitely going to be pissed when she finds out that Audrey was the one to warn Harry, even if they did manage to get him. The archway has made its appearance – but what does it mean? I'm still deciding who to kill off – I think I've come to a decision on one person to die, but the people I'm saving are still a little up in the air...we'll see...**

_anns_**: I'm glad you liked the chapter and the fluff that happened during it. Thanks for the review!**

_Magimagus_**: You're back! Oh, I've missed you and you are completely forgiven! I hope that you liked all the chapters that I've released since we last spoke – hopefully it's still entertaining. Then again, you probably wouldn't be reviewing if you weren't liking it, so...hopefully that's a good sign. Ha, Audrey's kind of like me in that way: I totally am like "ah, too intense" and then run away when feelings come into play. I'm such a boy. Also, Draco didn't really hide from Firenze the fact that he was jealous over Audrey's attention being on him – but Draco's pretty possessive, considering he's a spoiled brat who gets whatever he wants – so I think it suits his personality well. The Harry-Bashing is going to be less and less now that OOTP is coming to an end – particularly during the next chapter. Daphne still has yet to prove herself, but it will happen. Who knew her wand would help her do something? She should stop complaining about it, clearly it likes her more than she thinks it does...now if only it would work properly ;) **

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, her visions are back. Your idea about why she can see Thestrals does make sense but I won't be able to deny or verify until it's explained later. Audrey and Draco already have had a little argument, but it is far from the last, haha. Those two always fight – it's half their charm. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_EveryNewDay_**: I'm glad you liked them! Audrey isn't quite sure why she couldn't see anything yet, but it's obvious that when she relaxes and meditates (such as going Astral) she can force them to the surface. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Becoming fluent in French can be difficult, but once you learn one romantic language, it's much easier to learn the rest of them (because generally the same rules apply for grammar, tenses and such) so good luck! Firenze definitely knew what he was talking about – the question is, did he realize exactly what the problem was to begin with? Draco may have acted like a boyfriend in the last chapter, but he certainly was a bad one here. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_hurricanegirl933_**: Well, thank you for neglecting sleep for it! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you continue to like the story :)**

_incitanemxx_**: First, let me apologize for the disturbingly late update and also thank you for sticking up for me. It's been a hard couple of weeks and I didn't write a word – which is more abnormal for me than shutting myself in to write for two weeks, heh. To your review, Audrey doesn't like when she isn't in control of the situation, I think that's why she's constantly being like "whoa, Malfoy, no way. My way or the highway". Neither one are the kind of characters to talk about their feelings and how things actually affect them – they're stubborn and Slytheirns, after all. Ha, yes, I did see what you did there and I'm glad you agree with my sights on Malfoy – what a guy. And if she does kiss a Weasley – oh, he'll be pissed. Royally. **

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Sorry for the wait, really! Yeah, I did all the research for the names and such before I posted the chapter. I'm a huge Mythology and Astronomy freak so it was fun being able to write some of that in. I used "Tracey" as a short form for "Teresa" for her translation and Daphne is linked to water-nymphs in some mythologies. I research every name before I use it, for all my OCs. I'm all for hidden symbolism ;) hope you liked the chapter!**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Of course the visions are back – man, I can't believe she survived so long without them! Remember that in Audrey's super-mega vision in GOF she did see things that would happen during HBP. But yes, she will be seeing more snippets now that her visions have made a comeback. **

_BloodxForxMyxRose_**: Aw, thank you! I encourage you to do it, it's fun!**

_BallaSiebenaler_**: Yes, Draco is totally jealous and I think it's cute, too. He can be sweet, even if he wasn't in this chapter. Thanks for the review :)**

_Prongsie1213_**: Don't worry about when you review, I'm just honoured that you do! I'm glad that you liked the chapter – thanks for reviewing again!**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: Aw, thank you! Hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Yes, she'll have a better chance with being more in control now that she has her visions back. Yes, she's been docking points from everyone with her new Inquisitorial Squad badge, she deserves to have some fun with it, I'd say. I'm glad you think it's realistic (for a magic school full of witches and wizards, anyway). Thanks.**

_Green-NaNa-Neko89_**: Thank you very much, for the compliments and the review. Draco will be showing a little more jealousy in the next few chapters – particularly now that Audrey's mad with him. Harry won't find out about them for a while, but it will be a good one when it finally comes around! Hope you liked the newest update.**

_RandomPerson_**: Thank you :) My favourite quote from Snape would probably be: "yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are Transparent'." or of course "I have soied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter..."Aw, I'm tearing up just thinking about it!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Ha, that's not all we'll see of Montague! Hope you liked the chapter.**

_blackrain99_**: I'm so glad you like it, thank you!**

_Strazza_**: Don't worry about missing a chapter, I'm glad for all the reviews I do get :) it's not weird that you sit and try to think about what will/could happen next – I do it every day for my own stories, haha. I do understand what you're saying about the balance between Fred dying or Draco dying, because of the love gained-love lost and portraying the ruthlessness and unforgiving nature of war. Draco dying could be a fantastic eye-opener for the Gryffindors and of course, could push Audrey to the drastic measures she will have to take in the battle itself. I can promise you that who I have chosen to die (and consequently, whom I have chosen to live) will be devastating. I'm morbidly excited for it...**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you for reviewing now, I don't have any qualms with people who review when they catch up – it's nice to get any at all. I'm so glad that you like Audrey and her portrayal as well as her interaction with the original cast. Particularly Draco – it's hard keeping him so jerky without making him seem too mean like he was to Harry in the books...there is a fine line I am trying to tip-toe, but not cross. I hope you liked this newest chapter and thank you again :)**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Possessive-Draco is pretty amusing – I'm glad you liked the last chapter. As Audrey said in this chapter: she doesn't want to choose sides at all...but eventually we all know she will have to. And it's very hard to know which she'll pick when that time comes. There will be some Harry/Audrey bonding in the next chapter, so hopefully you can last til then! **

_Anna122_**: Thank you! I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Ha, hopefully you don't get a C. I am horrid in math and I can tell you that low marks in math end up catching up with you. I wish they didn't, but there were a whole bunch of things I wanted to do and then couldn't because of my pretty much failing grades in math. Who knew EVERYTHING has to do with numbers? Not me. I totally did not know. Anyway, thanks for the review and hopefully you liked this chapter as well!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm glad you're liking the new place; does it feel like home yet? Backpacking is pretty much what I think of every day at this point – some days I'm having a bad day and someone will just turn to me and say "hey, what did you plan to do when you get to Italy?" and I can't even remember why I'm angry after I rant about all my plans, haha. Otherwise, I am doing alright. I'm trying to fit in as much writing as I can but it's been a little bit harder. Suddenly I became busy...but when people ask me what is making me busy, it doesn't sound like anything at all. How else have you been besides the move?**

_Bitterglass_**: Usually I write people long replies because they leave me long reviews so I have more to respond to – you haven't really given me much to go off of: still I'll try! Um, I'm glad that it plays in your head like a film; sometimes it does that for me as well. But I have a mixture of the characters I always imagined more so than the people we saw in the movies. Sometimes particular actors sneak their way in for a few moments, but it's usually how I pictured them before the movies came out. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_sexichick_**: Seeing thestrals could definitely have something to do with the night her parents died, particularly because she was too young to consciously remember the experience. But, to play devil's advocate, why wouldn't Harry have always been able to see them, then? ;) Montague is definitely a lot of drama and it can be fun to write and that was not the last we would see of him. Was this chapter as exciting as I made you anticipate? It DID have something to do with someone finding out about the Dreaco-romance going on. That's a good idea, about it not being the Weasley we expect – but you'll only know when it happens! Also, I'm really glad that your perspective on Slytherins have changed – they really aren't given their proper dues. We'll be seeing some Fred and George in the next few chapters, promise! Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_lisistrataantigona_**: Snape gave an example early on about how her visions stopped the night he was resurrected, but it was never said for sure why she stopped having visions...everyone was explaining how she was "magically backed up". Her wand will be seen in all it's glory at a few points during this story, but it's still going to be a jerk most of the time. Audrey was in the room when Lily died, but Voldemort cut her throat (in the infamous 'X') before he turned his wand on Harry. As for how Audrey and Voldy might share a connection...that's for me to know and you to find out ;)**

_simslovr1_**: Firenze is a pretty cool character. It is possible that Audrey's scar has something to do with the horcrux, but remember hers was not caused by a curse. It was pretty much cut into the side of her neck. Draco does seem like the jealous type, doesn't he? Hopefully I'm portraying it well! Thanks for the review!**

_Guest (who doesn't like the story)_**: Though your criticisms were less than constructive and you are clearly mocking everything about Audrey that you – in your review – seemed to try to embody, I thank you for being honest. I do apologize over the fact that you took 49 chapters to realize everything you hate about my story and that instead of wasting your time reading past the point where I "hid" my characters deficiencies well, you decided to continue to read all the facts and take in everything you think I could do better. Hopefully you've decided not to waste any of your further time to read this response at all, otherwise I beg you to stop butchering yourself as I apparently butcher the characters. Thanks for the review :)**

_Kago of the Funk_**: Aw, thank you so much! That's a great idea as to why Audrey can see the Thestrals – that they drop their camouflage out of comfort – but it is not the reason. There are definitely more secrets to be revealed and I promise to keep writing! Thank you for reviewing.**

_Guest_**: I'm so glad, thank you for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watcher_**: Thank you as always! Once I get into the flow of writing again, I'll be sure to send you some :) How is everything having moved? How is your husband?**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Yes, normally I wouldn't have made people wait like this, I feel so bad! Hopefully the chapter was still enjoyable, even with the wait.**

_Treble15_**: Don't slam your head into a wall! I'll just keep updating and give you more to read, instead.**

_MaryKeat_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story's progression and that you want to keep reading. Hopefully I do your own imagination justice with what I write :)**

_britstar4_**: Thank you so much!**

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><p><strong>So again I'm sorry for the wait. This should not happen again, I just needed the time to get my bearings. I still hope that you guys liked the chapter, the next one's going to be quite dramatic...<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter: ** EgyptsLegend


	51. Expect the Unexpected

**Alright, this is not my best chapter and it is both chapter 50 and a monster chapter. So much happens in it, I don't even know how to introduce it. I was planning on breaking this into two chapters, but considering there are five more chapters in the OotP portion, I figured I'd just whip it up and serve it. Hopefully it's a good taste! Also, super happy birthday to **_TheForrestAgain _**who probably thought I forgot, but that's just silly. So everyone thank her and my cousin (who is coming over and I know I won't get to write with him here) for rushing this chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 50 - Expect the Unexpected<p>

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><p>"Daphne...Oi! Daphne," I said loudly, running as fast I could so that I could catch her on the way to the Great Hall. There had to be another half hour left of breakfast and even though my heart was about ready to stop because it had been beating so fast for so long, I was determined to reach Daphne before she reached the masses. She hadn't been in the dorm room last night and after I'd fallen asleep waiting for her in the common room, I was just glad that I had seen her wheat-blonde curls...hopefully before she decided to do anything stupid.<p>

Daphne turned around right in front of one of the large notices posted over the wall. It was one of the many littered around the school which read that our new Headmistress was Professor Umbridge. It also announced how Albus Dumbledore had been sacked. This was not breaking news to me, considering I'd been on the hunt for Daphne all night but it was still disturbing each time I crossed in front of one. Still, I was too distracted to grimace when I caught up with both Greengrass and Nott, my heart still racing. It only got worse when I noticed Nott's blank expression - was I too late? Did Theodore already know?

"Morning," the simple word from Theo was not enough to tell me whether or not I was in trouble. Still, I had hope that his lack of anger was a sign he didn't know anything was amiss. Realistically I think he would be more angry if I were secretly seeing my brother's nemesis, his childhood friend, and my bitching-buddy. After all, Theodore hated drama.

"I wanted to know if I could talk to Greengrass," I watched Theodore's eyes flicker between us nervously before adding a quick, "alone."

"Er - you're not about to kill her, are you?" he asked me seriously, not even able to mask his suspicion. "Because we don't have time to kill anyone, today."

"First of all, we're early to breakfast," I told him with a roll of my eyes. "And even at my angriest I wouldn't have _killed _her. How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to kill people? I slowly torture them and suck their will to live...like a spider. It's different."

"Well, doesn't that make it all better?" Theodore asked sarcastically. Still, I looked at Greengrass - trying to dig deep into her brown eyes so that she would see the urgency that we needed to talk what she had seen out. She gazed at me for a long moment before sighing and nodding to Theodore and forcing on a smile.

"It's fine," she told him, patting his shoulder. "You'd have to be a girl to stay."

He looked at me carefully before turning to her. "Are you positive she's not going to kill you?"

"I resent that."

"I'm positive," she grinned more widely, holding back a laugh at his rather rude remarks. "We'll meet you in the Great Hall."

"Alright," he said with a sigh, watching us while he walked backwards. "If you're sure."

"Goodbye, Theodore..." I was blatantly shooing him away from us, but he didn't seem insulted by it. Perhaps Daphne had gotten everything she had wanted after all - he seemed actually nervous by my sudden choice in conversation. Perhaps Theodore fancied Daphne back like she had wanted him to last year. Perhaps her little fit had really let her have her way...

"We need to talk about what you saw yesterday," I said, feeling my calm demeanor shatter the moment that Nott had rounded the corner to the Great Hall. When she didn't respond in any way, I felt the nervous rambling begin to spew out of me as if it were vomit. "It hasn't been going on long and he did it just because he wanted to prove that I was his - or some other nonsense. Really, I'm not sure - I can never understand that prat, no matter how much I try. No, it doesn't matter. I've ended it, it's not happening again, but I need this to stay quiet..."

I trailed off as she stared at me, her lips pursed and her face forced to look bored. Still, there was an intensity behind her expression that let me know that she was following along with every word I had managed to fumble out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she finally said vaguely. I closed my eyes, groaning at her stubbornness.

"Come on, Daphne," I said seriously. I'd hoped that she would have grown up a bit more in the matter of a year. "You know what will happen if this gets out. And if Harry found out..."

"Found out what?" She said, looking at me with a blank expression that looked anything but confused. She looked emotionless, but not at all questioning. "I didn't see anything."

I eyed her, watching to see if she was just mucking around with me. Her eyes were still intense and her expression was still blank but she didn't look lost and she didn't look like she was mocking me - she didn't have that annoying sneer she usually wore when she was making fun of someone and she didn't have that sparkle in her eye that came when she tried to hide something...something usually being laughter. At that, she didn't seem like she was about to throw in some inappropriate joke about what happened at all - in fact, she seemed very stern.

"Er - you didn't see anything?" I repeated. She blinked.

"Nothing," she said in the same vague tone. "Unless you're talking about the argument with Malfoy that looked nothing at all like you two anger-snogging in the corridor. Because I certainly didn't see that."

Alright, so she'd seen everything.

"You didn't see that?" I repeated, dumbly.

"I didn't see any snogging," she said factually. "Just you and Draco arguing."

I blinked slowly, unable to make my mind work faster while it tried to register everything that I was hearing. Was it possible that she was playing me, that she was playing dumb, or was this really something that she was about to keep quiet?

I hadn't known Daphne Greengrass to be good with secrets within the five years we had been dorm mates. I had never known her able to keep juicy gossip to herself...then again, I wouldn't really know if she had a secret that she didn't want anyone to know, would I?

Could it be that as Malfoy had given me Edgecombe and Chang as a peace offering, Greengrass was offering me secrecy? Was this some kind of trade; a trade where she kept my secret so long as I forgave her for the arguments that had happened over last year?

It seemed the most likely; I didn't know any Slytherin who did something for nothing. I know I certainly didn't. And I didn't become friends with Daphne because she was what most would consider 'nice'.

Still, I couldn't help myself from blinking and repeating her words again. "We were arguing."

"I know, I saw," she said simply, a smile pulling at the one side of her mouth. she looked at me for a second, the smile falling before shaking her head. "He was in the wrong."

"Yes, he was."

"That's why I'm taking your side," she told me seriously, her eyes reading me a different message again. "Because we're friends."

"Friends," I repeated. The normal gritting of my teeth was not as difficult now, not now that I was so relieved that my brother wouldn't know about my trysts in the dark corners of the castle or Umbridge to know that those trysts had ended. "Thank you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she repeated with a shrug. Without another word she turned towards the Great Hall again, as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said between the two of us, while she picked up in conversation as if we hadn't been estranged for a year. "Did you hear that Dumbledore fought off two Aurors, Fudge, Weasley _and_ Umbridge? Your brother and Edgecombe were the only ones there."

"I heard," I found myself rolling my eyes as we walked past another one of the large Ministry notices. "Then again, I also heard that Umbridge was turned into a pumpkin and squashed during the squabble - I'm trying not to get my hopes up."

Once both of us entered the Great Hall, I sat down between she and Theodore. My best friend looked like his eyes were going to burst out from his head, but it appeared that he didn't have the nerve to say anything - I think it was because he feared saying something would break the magic. Across from us, Malfoy had not saved the seat beside him today. Instead he had sat himself between his two oafs - it was good to know that my anger wasn't one-sided.

If it was one-sided I had a chance at relapse. And that was not an option.

Up at the Head Table, Professor Umbridge sat in the Headmaster's seat. She seemed so proud that she sat taller than I'd ever seen her stand, even though she was dwarfed by the throne-of-a-chair. She looked quite pleased with herself, too.

"I wouldn't be surprised if pretty much all the teachers are sacked," I said simply. I knew that even though I had not said hello to anyone, everyone would click into regular conversation again now that the tension of Daphne and my friendship had been broken.

"Not all of them," Blaise frowned, looking up at the front of the Hall and investigating the line up of teachers at the table.

"Over half, I'd bet," I countered. "Hagrid is already on the chopping block and both Firenze and Flitwick aren't all human - you know how she hates part-humans. I guess she can't really can Binns as he's a ghost and can't be made to leave. Filch? She's using him now because he's loyal to his own needs - but he's still a Squib. What are the chances she'll allow that for long?"

"So who's safe?" Blaise continued, looking up at the table intently. "Snape is good, isn't he? He's all for the downfall of Potter, so I figure they'd get on fine - no offense, Audrey."

"None taken," I said with a snort. "It's not like Harry isn't horrible to Snape anyway."

"And Sinistra's alright, so is Blabbling, Burbage, Sprout and Vector."

"What about McGonagall?" Daphne asked, her eyebrows furrowed. "She and Umbridge loathe each other."

"But she's still a Ministry approved teacher..." I frowned. "I guess it depends on how she plays her card. Technically there's nothing wrong with her besides the fact she was Dumbledore's right hand."

"She'll be sacked," Blaise shrugged. "She'll talk down to Umbridge and that will be that."

"So Divination, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and Transfiguration are done for." I said, pointing at each of the teachers in turn with my fork before shrugging. It was hard not trying to defend some of them. "So long as they don't change our OWL requirements, I don't think I'd mind."

"Goody," Daphne sighed loudly, pouring some pumpkin juice. "Being up so early with all the rumours flying around has set off my stomach."

"The truth behind the rumours has set off mine," I agreed with a mutter, looking adown t my plate which was still piled with untouched scrambled egg. I shook my head slightly, standing up.

"Nice try," Theodore told me seriously, pointing back down to my breakfast. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to the loo," I pointed to the doors of the Great Hall. "Do you think you'll be able to manage two minutes without me?"

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. As I turned to leave I accidentally seemed to catch Malfoy's eyes for the shortest moment - or maybe I was just so used to searching them out that it was habit by now, but either way he was looking my way. He was giving me one of his unreadable expressions again, but his clenched jaw was enough to let me know that he was feeling the stress of last night just as much as I was. Good. We both seemed to turn away at the same time, breaking the eye contact and the silent assessment of one another before I headed out of the Great Hall.

From Dumbledore making his big escape to Edgecombe giving up the duelling club and again to Malfoy and my...breakup? would it be a breakup? then to the fact Daphne wasn't telling everyone about said breakup...it had been a long twenty-four hours that I had a feeling was only going to get longer under Umbridge's new regime.

After using the loo, I busied myself in front of the mirror. The purple bags under my eyes were not appealing and I drenched my hands in the sink to wet my hair and try to right it before I went back into public. I looked like complete shite, which wasn't surprising considering I'd slept on a couch and done nothing more than change my robes before dashing to find Daphne this morning. After having wet my hair to the point it might dry to stand in only two directions rather than four, I wiped my hands and face with the hem of my robes while I walked out of the bathroom.

In front of me, headed into the Great Hall, were two identical red heads. I raised my hand to my mouth, ready to shout at them and get their attention before they were under Umbridge's all-seeing-eye...until I felt myself falling forward.

Instinct told me to stick my hands out in front of me to try to protect my face, but they wouldn't move properly and I felt my weight shift forward in slow motion before spots splattered my vision while I smashed against the floor. My cheek seemed to slide against the flagstone, grating itself and nearly distracting me from my nose that was spilling blood down my face and the back of my throat.

I tried letting out a cry of pain, only to find that my voice didn't want to work either. I tried moving and screaming, trying to cough out the blood that was starting to flow more quickly down the back of my throat and get attention from people who would be walking in to breakfast, but I couldn't do anything at all. Though I could not make any sound or move, the most terrifying part was when I heard someone shush me.

"Now, Audrey, you wouldn't want to give us away would you?"

Oh no.

Oh dear Godric, _no._

The voice was impossible not to recognize. It was a voice that had haunted my footsteps all year and it was a voice I should have been expecting. Even though I was face down, breathing in my own blood, I could clearly visualize Montague standing over me, his wand held in front of him.

"I wish you would take me more serious, Potter," he sighed dramatically. "I told you weeks ago this would happen. You're just too arrogant."

I tried to move again, but it was useless. I wish I could have screamed at him. Or cried. Or kill. I wish that I could kill him before he tried to return the favour.

"It didn't have to come to this, you know," he told me, feigning a tortured tone. "I offered all last year to make things easy - but no, you had to be _strong. _You wanted to be _brave._"

Montague used the tip of his wand to poke me and when he felt I was stiff as a board, he roughly turned me around by the collar of my robes. He was smart by not daring to touch my skin. By the time I was all the way around I was able to see him. It was hard to ignore the wide, sinister smile that had crawled up his face when he saw what was obviously me at my most vulnerable.

"Do you feel brave _now, _Potter?"

No. I didn't feel brave at all.

"I'm going to tell you what's going to happen," he said slowly, smirking at me and making himself comfortable as he balanced sitting on his heels. "I'm about to take you down to the dungeons. You're going to come with me simply because you won't be able to stop me. And then I'm going to hurt you, just like you hurt me. And then, when I'm done, I'm going to take my wand - put it to my temple - and get your little boyfriend to watch it all."

I tried to scream, tried to will my body to move for me. My Magnuse may have been embedded to my skin, but as much as I focused on my own body I was not able to get myself to move - no amount of counter-jinxwas working and no amount of energy was helping. It didn't matter what I tried, I was still stiff as a board.

"_Oi_!" The sound was as blissful as angels singing me to heaven. Montague's head shot up and I watched him let out a snarl before shoving my shoulder roughly to the side. Following the force of the push, I rolled so that my face was at the crease between the wall and the floor. It helped the blood that was running down my throat pour out of my mouth and luckily moved me away from the monster himself.

"What do you want, Weasleys?" Montague's voice hissed somewhere farther away from where he had been standing. "I'm busy."

"Who's the unsuspecting kid you've got there, Montague?" one of the twins asked. I couldn't tell which, but the voice was wonderful. The irritation within it was nearly mesmerizing.

"I'd run along before you get in more trouble, Weasel," Montague hissed back. "Don't give me another reason to give Dumbledore's Army more detention."

"Detention for what?" a twin snorted. "Being better looking?"

"For talking back to your superiors," Montague argued. "And for that, I'm going to take points away, too."

"You can't take points away, even if you _are _a prefect," a twin scowled.

"Actually, I can. This here, this lets me do whatever I bloody well please. So I'm going to take fifty points _each_ for getting in my way and not letting me go about my business..."

There was a gasp, I could only imagine that the twins were looking down toward the Entrance Hall to see the giant hourglass filled with ruby's having them taken away from Gryffindors tally.

"Unless you want more points taken and fewer free nights: I suggest you leave."

I could feel myself crying, even if I couldn't move it was impossible to stop the tears from pouring. It felt like crying was the only thing I could have done. But what I wanted to beg the twins to stay. What I wanted was to run.

I heard Montague yell out in surprise, letting out a howl.

"Put your wand down!"

"I will not," a twin said simply. "_Expelliarmus!_"

"_Protego!_" Montague screamed. "_Fernunculus!_"

"Ha! _Impedimenta!_"

There was a long, drawn out moment. I didn't know whose spell had hit and whose had been dodged. Maybe they had kamikazed. I heard someone walk back over to me, my breath hitching as the tears fell again.

"_Ennervate,_" it was not the voice I had been expecting and as soon as I could move, it was an immediate thrashing. I was coughing just to get the blood out that had dripped down my throat and covering my nose as more sprayed when I started.

"Audrey? What are you...hey, Fred, it's Audrey!"

"Audrey?" Fred, who seemed to be the one to have frozen all movement from Montague - or so I assumed as he was still in a duelling position in the middle of the corridor - moved over to me. "What happened to you?"

"Montague happened," I choked out, coughing again and squeezing my eyes shut from the pain. There was no doubt tear-tracks in the blood smudged around my face and while my nose hurt with sharp pain, my cheek throbbed painfully. "I think my nose is broken."

"Why the hell did he attack you-"

"-you're one of them." Fred finished with a look toward him, his eyes burning. George moved toward me and quickly fixed my broken nose. It still bled, but it was clear that it had righted it's position. As soon as I could touch it I moved away from both the boys.

"Because he's been threatening to rape me all year," I hissed, moving forward so I could stand in front of the fool. He looked like he always did: a manicured, pretty boy that was falsely tanned and prim. It was his eyes that were different. Furious and frightened and wild. I couldn't help wondering if that's what he had seen when he'd looked down at me.

"WHAT?"

"You heard," I mumbled back to the twins, still taking my sweet time to examine Montague. Fred and George stayed over in the corner, right in my peripheral vision, where I could see them whispering conspiratorially.

"Hey Montague," I said quietly, feeling myself smile as I watched his horror stricken eyes. "Do _you _feel brave, now?"

"Audrey, if you'd allow us-"

"-we'd like to take over-"

"-we have the best place for people like him-"

"-a broken home for a broken man, you see-"

"-we'll lead you there and see if it's satisfactory."

Without another word, George moved to levitate Montague to follow us while Fred led me with a dramatic bow down the corridor and into Classroom Eight, close to our new Divination room. The entire room was covered in a layer of dust, as most of the classrooms down here were. The old and unused classroom was filled with old, broken-down furniture. Both of the redheaded twins moved forward and opened the door of a cabinet that may have once been a wardrobe. It was old and falling apart, it's sides lined with splinters and cracks, it's door nearly off it's hinges.

"We'll stick him in here-"

"-he'll like the trip."

"What is it?" I asked, looking over it carefully before taking a step back as my head began to pound. This was not just a wardrobe. This was much _more_ than wardrobe; it was a memory. I remembered this - this was in my vision. I remembered it being surrounded by garbage, or random objects. It had been the center of the vision...and Malfoy, something to do with Malfoy...but I couldn't remember what. And I couldn't remember what it had to do with this.

Maybe Malfoy would find him.

"It's a Vanishing Cabinet," George explained.

"A _broken_ Vanishing Cabinet," Fred explained, wiggling his eyebrows at me before throwing another glare toward Montague. "Could take him anywhere-"

"-we don't really know-"

"-don't really care, either-"

"-so if you'll agree, we'll help you-"

"-yeah, help you shove him in it head first and lock the door behind him."

Not that the door I was looking at could lock anyone in; it was falling off the hinges. I looked at the twins, before my eyes flickered back to the cabinet. I couldn't ignore the ominous feeling that flowed through me. Why the hell was Malfoy in front of this cabinet?

Who cares. "Let's shove him in."

With a smirk, George levitated him the last few feet to be right in front of the door which Fred opened, taking the time to fix the hinge so that it could close properly later.

"We'll let you do the honours, Audrey."

But something was still missing. Looking at him, standing there with his wand pointed in the direction he had been duelling the twins, I shook my head.

"Wait," I took a moment and moved to stand in front of him again. I plucked his wand from his outstretched hand and - making sure that his eyes were still peeled on my movements - stepped on it, watching his eyes bug open in horror. He made a sound like a scream at the back of his throat. The spell was wearing off.

"It didn't have to come to this you know," I said dramatically, mimicking his words with a smile. "I tried to give you an out last year. But no, you wanted to be _strong. _You had to be _brave. _Look where it got you."

Without further ado, I pushed the broken pieces of his wand back into his hand and waved to him as condescendingly as I could make myself. After that, I walked behind Montague's stiff figure and with a hard kick to his arse I sent him flying face first into the Vanishing Cabinet. Once he had toppled in, the twins helped shove the door closed behind him while he started to scream. I guess the spell must have worn off when I had moved him from his initial frozen position, or he had been under it for longer than I'd thought. Who knows how long I had glared at him, how long my imagination had gone through all the worst scenarios. There was a moment of screaming, where we held the door shut before it stopped altogether.

Nervously, both twins guarded me with their wands up while I opened the door: Montague was gone.

The relief was instantaneous.

"Where do you think he went?" I asked lightly, still appreciating the feeling in my chest. It felt like I could breathe again, even though my heart was pounding in my ribs as if I couldn't. My fingers tingled with excitement and anticipation to find out how long it would take for him to be found.

"Hopefully to Snape's underwear drawer," Fred answered in a hiss.

"Here," George threw his arm over my shoulder and I jumped at the sensation. I was jittery, still. "Are you alright?"

I shrugged, but Fred did not seem satisfied. "Drea, what the hell was he doing to you?"

"What he always does. Did," I corrected after a moment. "He was just being a pig."

"Audrey, why didn't you tell us this was happening-"

"-we would have dealt with it sooner-"

"-we would have come up with a better punishment-"

"-we would have made it last longer." Fred finished with a menacing glare toward the Vanishing Cabinet. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at the both of them.

"You guys did fantastically," I told them truthfully, walking to the door and having both of them follow me. Fred threw his arm around me as well while we walked. "It was more than I expected of you."

"Still would have done more," both pouted a little and I forced out a laugh.

"It's alright now, let's hope he's not back for quite some time."

"And if he is, let's hope we find him first," George said with a mischievous glint to his eye. I tried to smile for them but I'm not sure it worked with my sore nose and cheek.

"I don't know what I'd do without you boys," I said honestly.

"And we don't know what we'd do without you," Fred said seriously. "We love you, you git. So stop getting yourself in trouble, yeah?"

"If I didn't get in trouble, you wouldn't love me." I countered with a laugh. Still, I nodded my head. "I'll try to behave."

"Try harder," both the twins said in unison as we closed the door to the classroom. Over in the corner, I heard someone shout my name. I jumped at the sound, my adrenaline still pumping. Both the twins grip on me tightened slightly as they watched both Theodore and Malfoy walk toward us. Malfoy's eyes were hard as steel and his fists were clenched. Both boys rushed toward me when they saw me.

"What did you Weasels do to her?" Malfoy raged. "Move."

"I don't think we will," Fred said instantly, moving to measure up against Malfoy. "And we didn't do anything to her - your good pal Montague did."

Theodore's face dropped. "Montague did that?"

"It's not a big deal," I said plainly, moving to try and make my hair cover a bit more of my face which I knew must have looked horrid. "I'm fine."

"You are not," Theodore said carefully, stepping around the twins to examine me more closely. "We need to go to the hospital wing."

"Where is he?" Malfoy growled.

"We got rid of him," both twins said together. George elaborated quickly, "guess you'll have to find a new Quidditch captain. Too bad."

"Potter," Malfoy said sharply. I turned toward him right as he moved around Fred and regarded my face with hawk-like precision. I watched as he looked at each pore on my face for every sign of injury that was scrawled across it. "You look like shit."

"Thanks so much," I said sarcastically. "Fred, George, I'm going up to the hospital wing. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

Both boys looked uneasy, but all I could think was to get away from Malfoy's eyes that were trying to melt me with their intensity. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Classes are starting soon and I don't want to be the center of attention when people start filing out." They looked unconvinced but still nodded and tried to look as encouraging as they could manage. They both turned to leave until I called them back. "Oi! Thanks for saving me."

"Anytime," both smiled before high-fiving and turning away to go back to the Great Hall. I smiled after them before looking at Theodore, who looked very stern.

"Where is Adam?"

"Not a clue," I said honestly, shrugging and ignoring my tight shoulders. "He could be anywhere by now."

"What does that mean?" He asked carefully, his eyes flickering around the corridor as if he would just walk out to announce himself. I shrugged again, trying to look as innocent as I could.

"It means that Montague might no longer be in the castle - don't know when he'll come back."

"You didn't kill him, right?" He asked me seriously. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on," I muttered. "Stop accusing me of murder."

"It's not _that _out of the question for you," Nott said simply, shaking his head and flexing his own fingers out of frustration. "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital wing."

"Hold on," Malfoy said quickly, shoving his arm in front of Theodore to stop him dead in his tracks. "I'll do it."

"You most certainly won't," I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him. "Go away."

"I want to know exactly what happened," Malfoy said clearly, pointing to my face. The boy had no tact, so I felt no guilt in glaring at him.

"I don't think that's any of your concern."

"How did you get a bloody nose and have your cheek scraped?" He asked, ignoring my question with his face fading to white in his frustration. I threw my arms to the side frustratingly while I answered.

"When he immobilized me and I fell," I answered vaguely. "Fred and George found me before anything more threatening could happen."

"Yes, why _did _the twins of trouble find you?" Malfoy asked me, taking a menacing step forward. "Did you come out here to meet them?"

"No, I came out here to use the loo and they happened to be near enough to hear Montague jinx me," I answered back. "What does that matter?"

"It matters why the Weasley twins are always your first pick," he said darkly.

"I didn't _choose _to be attacked and have them save me," I argued immediately, feeling my face starting to burn. "But I'm glad they did - who knows whether or not you'd decide to or whether you'd lie about it!"

"Come on, Audrey," Theodore said carefully. "You can argue later."

"No, he needs to hear this," I hissed, moving up to Malfoy so that we were as face-to-face as we could get with our height difference. I glared up at him, watching his steely eyes glare down at me while I lowered my voice so that Theodore couldn't distinguish what I was saying. "We are not together. We aren't even what we were. You - cannot - play - jealous - boyfriend."

Malfoy didn't deem that important enough to respond to and instead decided he wanted to continue to glare at me. As I turned around and let Theodore lead me toward Madame Pomfrey's care, I could feel his silver eyes follow me the entire time the castle's floor plan would let him see me on my way to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>By the next day at lunch, everything was healed as it should have been and I was allowed back to classes. No one really questioned why I was gone and most people didn't ask, but certain boys - namely Nott, Malfoy, and the twins - couldn't seem to take their eyes off me all day. It was like I was under some sort of surveillance. It distracted me enough that I couldn't pay much attention to anything during classes.<p>

By the time dinner came around, I was glad that Umbridge's worry over my condition excused me from her search for Montague. Apparently he had mysteriously gone missing the day before...who knew? But at least with the ongoing search for him, I was free to go to Occlumency.

"I can't believe you missed the Whiz-Bangs," Harry beamed as he walked toward me. "Umbridge didn't know what to do about it. All the professors made her get rid of them too - she was running from room to room. It was brilliant."

"Fred and George usually are," I said quietly as we walked toward the stairs. It seemed that he hadn't been told what had happened the day before, considering all anyone could talk about were the prank fireworks Fred and George had decided were necessary the afternoon before. "What else happened?"

"Well, Umbridge interrogated me with Veritaserum," he said slowly. "Or so she thought. I remembered what you told me about Umbridge doing it to you, so I only pretended to drink the tea."

"Good boy," I smirked as we walked. "I've taught you well."

"But you haven't told me much," he said heavily. I looked toward him because his voice was suddenly so stern. "Is it true Montague's been harassing you all year?"

"Oh, that," so he had heard. I waved my hand dismissively. "Not a problem. It's been handled."

"Yeah, but not on your own," he said with a frown, his eyes narrowing. "What if Fred and George hadn't come to save you?"

Ah, it seemed he knew more than I thought he did.

"Then I would have had to do a lot more work," I told him, trying to make it sound simple. "Really, I don't want to talk about it."

"I think we should," he said with an edge to his voice. "I think we should have a heart-to-heart about it, even. Why do the twins think that Nott and Malfoy knew about it?"

"Because they did happen to know about my interactions with the lard," I said wearily. "They also agreed that I could handle it. And it's been handled. There really isn't anymore to say."

"Harry!" Though I was glad for some kind of distraction, I was not happy when we turned to see that Hoe Chang had spotted us. She was off by the Great Hall, not far from us where we were just beginning to head to the lower dungeons. I frowned.

"Over here," Harry waved to her a little, she slowed down before she approached with a nervous glance at me. I hoped I did make the bint nervous considering she regularly made me feel furious. "Are you okay? Umbridge hasn't been asking you about the DA, has she?"

Ah yes, Hoe Chang hadn't been caught that night. Pity.

"Oh, no," Cho said with another nervous flickering of her eyes to me. I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. "Should we be talking about this to-"

"The entire school knows anyway, Chang," I said flatly. "You lot decided to leave us a pretty piece of parchment with all your names on it - it's not like it's a secret anymore."

"Right," she said slowly, pulling her hair over the side of her face so that she could better ignore my glaring. "Well, I just wanted to say - er, Harry, I never dreamed Marietta would tell..."

"Really? I could have called that first year," I said flatly.

"She's a lovely person, really," Cho gave me a glare. I couldn't help the unlady-like snort that forced itself out my nose.

"Really? Because I heard she's horribly disfigured," I said flatly. "And that is generally not considered 'lovely'."

"She just made a mistake-"

"A lovely person who made a mistake?" Harry repeated incredulously. I was glad that he seemed insulted by the idea. "She sold us all out, including you!"

"Well...we all got away, didn't we?" She asked pleadingly.

"No, you didn't." I reminded my brother firmly. Harry looked like he was choking on the words himself - maybe I didn't need to encourage his anger. "We caught quite a few of you - my brother included."

"Yeah, _you _caught us," Cho said with a glare. "How do we know that it wasn't you who sold us out? Or you who convinced Marietta to?"

"She couldn't have told because Audrey never knew where we were," Harry said immediately. I turned to him with a smile, surprised by how quick he was to stand up for me. This was new...and strangely appreciated. "This was all on Marietta."

"You know, her mum works for the Ministry, it's really difficult for her-"

"Ron's dad works for the Ministry too!" Harry growled, even more insulted than before. "And in case you hadn't noticed, he hasn't got SNEAK written across his face-"

"_That's _how she's disfigured?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "With what?"

"Pimples," Harry said, the corner of his mouth twitching toward me. I let out a bubble of laughter, hitting my knee for emphasis.

"It's not funny! That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Granger's. She should have told us she'd jinxed that list-"

"You mean the contract that you all signed?" I asked with a smug look. "I guess you should have asked for the fine print."

"There wasn't any and it was terrible of her!" She told me with a clenching of her fists.

"I think it was a brilliant idea," Harry said coldly, gaining my raised eyebrows and a flash of Chang's eyes.

"Oh yes, I forgot - of course, if it was darling Hermione's idea-"

"Are you jealous she and Harry are so close," I asked, turning my head quizzically. "Or are you jealous that she's smarter than you?"

"I'm not jealous!"

"Sure," I snorted, watching as her eyes rolled in frustration.

"Don't start crying again," Harry warned, his jaw tightening. I couldn't hold in the next bubble of laughter while she blinked furiously and tried to stop her emotions from getting the best of her.

"I wasn't about to!"

"Yeah...well...good. I've got enough to cope with at the moment," Harry muttered, moving to walk away. I couldn't resist making her misery stretch on for a little bit longer, however.

"If you wanted to cry, I could help you," I said instantly with a smile. "I'd be more than happy to help you release all those pent up tears - let's start off with charms and gradually move forward to curses, shall we?"

"Your sister," she pointed to me accusingly, her voice breaking. "Has been threatening me all year! She kept sucking up to C-Cedric last year and now she's trying to threaten me every time I get close to you-"

"If you weren't such a two-faced cow, I wouldn't have to explain the consequences that happen when you hurt my brother," I told her without any emphasis. I pointed over to my brother with a scowl. "Which you already have."

"I didn't know Marietta would tell!" Her eyes were watering passionately.

"I didn't know Ravenclaws were so stupid," I countered with a scoff. "Can't you just leave? Don't you think that you've done enough?"

"Harry," she choked, turning to him with furious eyes. "She's working with the Slytherins - do you really trust her?"

"Yeah. Yeah, actually, I do." My brother shook his head from the idea of her before he turned to keep walking toward the dungeons. "Bye, Cho."

"She's going to sell you out worse than Marietta did!"

"Fifty points from Ravenclaw," I hissed, my eyes narrowing. "Don't make me test out my new privileges to detain you, Hoe."

"Hoe?" She asked, her eyes widening before they teared up. She looked at Harry as if hoping that he was going to help her, but instead he glared at her in the same way that I was. She nodded mournfully, understanding that the conversation was over before turning on her heel and marching off in the opposite direction.

I looked toward my brother with a raised eyebrow. "Too much?"

He smiled at me and chuckled to himself before continuing on our trek down toward Snape's office. I felt very smug after my encounter with the bitch, but I could tell that Harry was still trying to manage his anger...which would only make Occlumency worse for him tonight.

"You're both late," Snape hissed as soon as we stepped inside his office. I closed the door behind us simply so he wouldn't watch as I rolled my eyes. When I turned back around, I noticed that he was again removing memories and placing them into Dumbledore's Pensieve - apparently he had more faith in us than I thought, because if he kept removing memories, I was certain that he thought one of us would actually be able to penetrate _his _mind.

"So," he drawled, turning to face us both with a raised brow. "Have you been practising?"

"Yes," Harry said almost instantly. I knew, from experience, that meant he hadn't.

"No," I told my professor honestly.

"Well, we'll soon find out, won't we?" Snape asked with a smirk. "Wand out, Potter."

"Which Potter?" I asked pointing between Harry and I. "Because technically we're _both _Potters..."

"I'll go," Harry sighed, moving sluggishly to grab his wand and face Snape. I sighed, leaning back on the desk to watch them. I probably should have been preparing for my own turn - or at least practicing my Astral Projection and mind-clearing as instructed...but that was a lot of effort that I would have to be forced into later.

"On the count of three then," Snape told Harry. "One - two-"

"Professor Snape, sir-" the door slammed against the stone wall behind it as someone rushed in. Kinking my neck to get a look at our visitor, I watched Malfoy jog in, his steps and words faltering as he looked at the three of us; Snape and my brother looking ready to duel, and me sitting there watching. "Oh...sorry..."

"It's all right, Draco," Snape said simply, his wand lowered as he acknowledged the Slytherin. "Potter is here for some remedial Potions with his sister and I."

Malfoy couldn't even hold back his elation as he looked between the three of us.

"I didn't know," he lied, his eyes landing on me for a moment longer than necessary.

"Well, Draco, what is it?"

"It's Professor Umbridge, sir - she needs your help." He said, pointing up as if we could see through the floors and understand the problem.

"More Veritaserum?" I asked a little disdainfully. Malfoy's looked at me briefly, his eyes had a meaningful intensity while he shook his head.

"They've found Montague," he said carefully, making the meaningful glint in his eyes make sense before he seemed to reluctantly drag his eyes back to Snape. "Sir, he's turned up jammed inside a toilet on the fourth floor."

"How did he get in there?" Snape demanded, his eyes automatically locking on me.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it!"

I am such a great liar.

"I don't know, sir," Malfoy shook his head slightly. "He's a bit confused."

"Very well, very well. You two," Snape said carefully. "We shall resume this lesson tomorrow evening. Miss Potter, you can come with us."

I let out a loud and dramatic groan of displeasure before I followed Snape's swishing robes from the potions room. Malfoy closed the door after us, leading the way through the dungeons and up the stairs to the fourth floor boys toilets.

When we finally made it to the bathroom, Montague was sitting with his back against a closed stall. He looked beaten up, but in rather better condition than I would have hoped. Still, he was holding his head as if he had hit it and couldn't seem to answer Umbridge's questions properly. He also looked considerably dazed. Madam Pomfrey was buzzing around the boy lodged in the toilet, trying to mend what was broken - perhaps he had been in worse shape than he looked now. Or so I could hope. Still, when I walked into the bathroom, his eyes seemed to widen before they turned to look at Snape, who was stood beside me.

"Ah, Severus!" Umbridge said quickly, waddling over toward us with relief etched across her features. "I've been trying to get to the bottom of this, but he seems reluctant to speak. Perhaps he'll talk better with you."

"Of course, Headmistress," Snape said lowly, before talking a few swooping steps forward. I walked after him, hovering over his shoulder so that I could watch and critique whatever it was that Montague was about to say. Malfoy instinctively moved with me, looking over the shoulder as well to make sure that nothing was said that he didn't want it to be. I didn't try to shrug him off - not in front of Umbridge. And not when I was so worried about other things.

"Mr Montague," Snape started slowly. "How did you find yourself in the toilet?"

"I apparated," Montague started slowly, his eyes flickering to me carefully. "I was in a broken Vanishing Cabinet and I could hear what was happening here in the school...but at the same time, I could hear what was happening in Diagon Alley. In Borgin and Burkes, I think...but no one could hear me. I tried screaming and tried asking them to bring me back..."

"Them?" Umbridge asked shrilly. "Who did this to you, Adam?"

Montague's eyes flickered to Snape and then over his shoulder towards Malfoy and I. I'll give the bloke some credit for being brave enough to try and hold my gaze for a moment before he shook his head.

"I couldn't see them," Montague said quickly. "I was attacked from behind."

"Then how do you know there was more than one?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. He looked at me as if the sound of my voice terrified him. I took the time to flex my suddenly _very _stiff fingers.

"I don't, really. It could have been anyone."

"Where is this broken Vanishing Cabinet?" Umbridge asked. "Let's see if we can get more clues from it."

"I doubt you would, Professor," Malfoy said slyly. "If it's already so broken."

"We'll still look for clues," Umbridge insisted. "Then we'll get rid of it, it's clearly a hazard."

"Very well," Snape said simply. He looked back over to Montague. "And you are sure you didn't see who did this to you?"

Montague's eyes moved over to me once again. If he didn't stop doing that soon, the boy was going to give me away from fear alone. I kept my face as straight as possible, trying not to show weakness in case he was about to point the finger on to me. I could fight anything he could say, surely - but did I even _want _to deny what I had done to defend myself? That, I wasn't so sure of.

"N-No."

"Good," he said lowly, Snape's eyes flickered to me before they moved to rest on the Headmistress once again. "I think we're done here."

"But, Serevus!" Umbridge said quickly. "The boy is clearly confused-"

"He is not confused, Dolores, he is a fool. I assume that this was either a ploy for attention or some sort of ridiculous spell gone wrong, otherwise he would have been able to identify his attackers if he really was thrown in the way that he said. Isn't that right, boy?"

Montague looked between Umbridge, Malfoy, Snape and I carefully.

"I-I don't know."

"I don't know, _sir._" Snape corrected with a sneer.

"Sorry...sir," he added quickly.

"Even if it were by any means someone else's fault, it is clear that either before or during the incident he was hit on the head," Snape continued, moving away from him with a snarl. "Look at him, he barely knows how to treat his superiors. I suggest that when you go to heal whatever brain damage he has _clearly _succumbed, Poppy, that you delve a little bit deeper into his former signs of idiocy."

There was no holding back my snicker even as everyone turned to look at my horribly disguised laugh-cough.

"And detention, Montague," Snape added. "For wasting my time."

Umbridge looked aghast, but she didn't seem to want to argue with him. Maybe she liked anyone getting punished, whether or not they deserved it. Still, she didn't bother with Malfoy, Snape or I any more while she hovered over Montague and Poppy while everyone helped him up to the infirmary. Snape, subtly motioned with his eyes that I should leave as they took the crippled student out, but I was surprised when he followed after me. Apparently he had nothing more to say to the Headmistress.

We walked slowly behind the procession of students following Montague to the hospital wing, letting Malfoy and Parkinson walk past us and lingering at a slower pace until they had gone far enough ahead of us so that we could avoid them and walk back to his office. Naturally I followed.

"A lucky escape," Snape said smoothly. "Apparating back out of a toilet."

"I thought that you couldn't Apparate in and out of Hogwarts?" I asked with a furrowed brow. "I thought it was impossible."

"That was half the trouble," Snape thought, seemingly to himself. "Poppy was muttering something about him turning up in the pipes. I assumed he used his wand pieces to try to expand the pipes. Of course, that would just ended up hurting him more."

"I see," I thought to myself, grinding my teeth at the thought. I had thought that throwing in his broken wand would be taunting, not that it would _help _him escape his own punishment.

"Whoever threw him into that cabinet was quite intelligent," Snape said vaguely. "Elementary, perhaps, but it was clever."

"They'd probably be in a lot of trouble," I mumbled to myself, wondering whether or not the twins might be ratted out. As much as I loved them, it was their final year. I'd rather it be them than me.

"Quite," Snape said vaguely. "But I doubt that the culprit will be punished."

"Why not?"

"Because he'll never tell," Snape said again. He stopped walking at the bottom of the stairs, quite near his office to look at me with a hard expression. "He'll never tell because he deserved what he got."

I looked at him, wondering how he would have _known _that he had deserved what he had gotten and within his eyes I could tell that somehow he knew _exactly _what had happened to Montague before and during his ride in that Vanishing Cabinet.

"Yes," I said with a slow nod. "Yes, he did."

"I have Murtlap Essence in my desk for that cut on your cheek, Potter," he said after a long moment before turning and walking forward again. I tried holding back a proud smile and when I couldn't I stayed a step behind him so he wouldn't see it.

He opened the door to his office and stopped. He stopped so suddenly that I nearly ran into him. Right when I let out a yelp and nearly let slip an obscenity, I was able to see under his arm. Harry was gripping Snape's desk...his head shoved into the Pensieve.

Snape's knuckles, still gripped on the door, had grown white. I could feel the anger rolling off him in dangerous waves while he stormed over toward Harry and stuck his hand into the Pensieve as well. It took a moment before his other hand grabbed onto Harry's upper arm and tugged him out of whichever memory my twin had barged in on.

"So," Snape hissed, sounding more outraged than I had heard all year. His face was white, his teeth bared dangerously. "So...been enjoying yourself, Potter?"

"N-no," Harry looked horrified, I couldn't help but wonder what Harry had just seen that would make Snape so furious and him so frightened. A Death Eater mission? Voldemort?

"Amusing man, your father, wasn't he?" Snape asked, shaking my brother. I took a step forward as Harry's glasses slipped down his nose. What the hell had Harry just seen?

"I - I didn't-" Snape shoved my brother away from him with an unexpected force. Harry stumbled away from him happily, coming toward me. I took hold of his shoulders, looking in his eyes with confusion. I was frightened by the fear reflected in his eyes.

"You will not repeat what you saw to anybody!" Snape bellowed.

"But-" I began.

"No," Harry interrupted me, shaking his head energetically. "No, of course I w-"

My brother was going _along _with Snape's threats? What the bloody hell was in that Pensieve?

"Get out, get out," Snape howled, pointing his finger to the door behind me. "I don't want to see you in this office ever again!"

"You can't just kick him out," I objected, but Harry shook his head and ripped himself from my grip, moving to leave the room. "Harry, wait!"

"Get out!" Snape screamed again. On a shelf above our heads, a jar of cockroaches exploded and I moved away from the waterfall while Harry bolted out of the room. I had never seen Snape so mad, not when he had spoken to Sirius and not when he had cornered Sirius in third year - and here was the proof. Snape had never, ever let his anger slip like this.

"Professor," I said quietly, afraid of coaxing his frustration more.

"Get out," he repeated, his voice still shaking with anger. "I've had enough for the day."

"I didn't do anything," I defended. "And you're overreacting. Nothing he could have just seen could have been _that _bad..."

"You wouldn't know," he hissed. "And you never will."

"Dumbledore told you that he had to learn Occlumency before he fled, sir. Harry has to learn to control the link th-"

"I do not care," Snape told me, his eyes smoldering. "He is no longer welcome here."

"You can't just do that," I exclaimed, pointing toward the door that Harry had slammed behind him. "He needs help!"

"Not from me."

It was final, even if a lie. Harry needed to be able to control his connection with Voldemort and both Snape and I knew it. If Dumbledore had told him to do it, than it had to be done. No one was stupid enough to argue that...

But it seemed that Snape was angry enough to ignore it.

"He can't learn it alone."

"Luckily for him he has a bookworm, a cheerleader, and a weakly-versed Canator to come to his aid," he said bitterly, something crossing through his eyes at the words. "Perhaps you will have more luck than I."

"I can't teach him Occlumency," I said with wide eyes. "Professor, he shouldn't be-"

"What he shouldn't be is arrogant! He's gotten enough from me," he hissed, moving toward his desk so that his back was toward me. "Now leave."

And out of respect for him, rather than respect for his wishes, I did as I was asked.

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><p><strong>Not my best writing, I know. But hopefully it was still good. So, a lot happened, eh? I thought of splitting it in half, as I said, but I just couldn't justify by word count, even if a ton of things happened. Here are the responses to my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_anna_**: I'm glad that you're liking it, thanks for the review.**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. Hopefully you liked this one just as much :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, Draco was a little shit in the last chapter and then he was so awkward in this one: one minute he was all jealous, the next protective? He needs to pick an emotion. But Daphne doesn't seem to be telling anyone about what she saw - do you think it will keep up?**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, I don't often hear that the writing is beautifully scripted! Audrey and Draco will make up, but we had to see just how destructive Draco could be. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_sexichick_**: Thank you, I am feeling a little better. I've had a lot of company and people who are helping with everything so I am feeling more calm. How do you feel about Daphne not telling anyone, do you think she can keep it up? Audrey is certainly going to have to work her magic after this chapter to keep Harry in the clear, don't you think?**

_incitanemxx_**: Thank you, things are calming down here for a bit, so hopefully it all works out and agrees with the state of mind I need to write :P And don't say that, I like that you care! I care about you, as well. Don't think any different! The last chapter was definitely dramatic, but I don't think it had anything in comparison to this one. Draco may start snogging Parkinson, but this is not the last we will see of jealous Draco...definitely not :)**

_Biterglass_**: I did take a while last chapter, sorry. And that's not bad that you want to hit him, Audrey does too.**

_OddPotato_**: Things are calming down a little, thank you. She didn't spread the news, I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Ella710_**: So I totally forced the writing and as you said it turned out shitty, however I really wanted to get something out. Hopefully it starts getting better. Ugh. It was such a dense chapter as it was and it was just hard to sit down when there's so much going on in my brain, but I did want to write even if it felt wrong to sit down...does that make sense? Anyway, things aren't better, per se, but it's getting easier to deal with now so things should slowly start finding a new routine.  
>I'm glad you liked the Dobby thing. I read through the chapter and as soon as I remembered it was Dobby who told them I was like "AH! YES!". Harry does know about Audrey's involvement. I won't deny as nice as it is to be like "bash the hero!" I am so excited for them to be able to be close again. Ugh, as soon as OotP ends...<br>Well, if you like protective Draco then you are going to continue liking this story because Draco is possessive. He's a spoiled brat and spoiled brats don't share. I know because I'm related to some. And I babysit them. If someone feels entitled, that feeling rarely goes away without a dramatic reality check and our lovely Dragon has yet to have one. I think Audrey would have felt better if it was Crabbe or Goyle or someone who was stupid and insignificant, but it was Daphne: rumour queen. Not that she'll ever say why she ran, but I made Daphne run just out of a "oh my god, I shouldn't be here and seeing this!" and then as she thought about spreading it, she realized that this is a test. We'll see if she can prove herself.  
>If Hogwarts were real, I would not be sitting here writing fanfiction. I would be the Colin Creevey, documenting every. Single. Thing. And yes, the Malfoy Manor scene will kill you with happiness and terror. I am so excited. Sometimes I want to rush forward and write it but I'm like "NO! If you write all the good parts, you might get restless". Life is so hard when you're writing a prewritten literary fantasy.<br>The list did help! Your reviews always help. I get too excited for them. And yeah, I do have it all mapped out. But I still do change things. I don't know if you have my twitter, but you totally should. Cause I had three hours the other day where people could ask any questions they wanted so long as it had nothing to do with who would live or die. You missed out!  
>And yes, Audrey WILL play a part in the Pensieve scene...I mean did :P Oh, tricky me. And the flame! haha, well, they didn't come back this time so maybe they really did see sense and not torture themselves more.<br>And you owned that message. Naturally.  
>I expect a long review for this one, there was so much that happened that I am actually SUPER excited to hear your opinions. Ugh, it was SO DENSE. I wanted to just cut it in half but I was like "it's not actually enough WORDS for that" and also at the same time I was like "URGH I just want to get to when everything falls apart!" so I kept it in one. Did it flow? I hope. I know you'll let me know with vivid detail. It's why you're my favourite.<strong>

_Green-NaNa-Neko89_**: I'm back and I'm sorry for having you worried! Thank you for reading and thank you for the review, don't worry, I'm not giving this story up!**

_Cluricaun_**: Writing does bring comfort but it's hard to sit down and make myself do it in the first place. Once I start, I'm able to really calm down though, so thank you :) Hope you liked the new chapter!**

_DiamondOfNight_**: Don't worry, you leave great reviews and I'm always glad to get the ones that I do :) Things are definitely different around here, but it's all getting easier to deal with so thank you. I hope you got to be in the twitter 3 hours of questions! That was a lot of fun. I might do it again, to be honest. But I don't want to give too many things away...but it was so fun...  
>Anyway, as soon as you got excited about Occlumency it ended again! I'm sorry. But it's not entirely gone...and there will be lots of Snape during HBP, so don't fret. Her wand is definitely a mystery - it's really intricate and the clues I've given you are barely noticeable. But I will be writing about her time in Ollivander's in Audrey Potter's Prelude, so maybe you can pick up more hints there ;) Also the visions are pretty complicated too. Hopefully when you read these answers you go "why didn't I see it before?!" and then go look into old chapters and see it all.<br>Audrey will definitely be impacting it. I've already started writing snippets of the big chapters just so I don't forget how I'm going to make everything work. It will definitely be exciting. And Harry and she won't be as bad as they are during sixth year. It's mostly the Umbridge and playing-spy thing that has them so distant. Draco, however, he's just an asshat. But we love him. They will be getting closer during HBP, that's where some romance will come in rather than just snogging in corridors, but that's still five chapters away! Did Daphne redeem herself in this chapter, or are you still wary of her? It's not that Theo doesn't understand why Audrey's mad at Daphne, but he is obviously quite close with both of them so he's kind of being pulled from both sides and it's really obvious Theo is not good with that kind of confrontation. He's a quiet lad.  
>Thanks for the great review and hope you liked the new chapter!<strong>

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. Hopefully this one was as enjoyable as well. Thanks for the review :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Ha, yes they did. And I love that you used Muggle as an adjective. I'm glad you liked the story and that you like Audrey paired with Draco. I think they're cute together, too. Thanks for the review!**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: The news isn't spreading yet, do you think it will? I also think they're cute. They will definitely get past it at some point, but I wonder how long they'll be able to hold back? Thank you, things are getting easier at home. I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was enjoyable too. They're relationship is non-existent in Audrey's eyes...but how long will she want it to be? **

_TheForrestAgain_**: *Virtual hug back* thank you and a VERY happy birthday! How has it been so far? I bet you think I forgot. But I didn't. And I promised you an update, so here it is! I love the V8 slap. I give them to my one cousin all the time, but because he's coming over at some point today we won't do it because you and he are the reason I'm updating now :) Yes, that death was the one that crippled me. I actually had to put the book down for four hours when Fred died. My mom was like "are you okay?" (because we had this tradition of reading them together as we started reading them when I was six, the final book came out when I was 16, it's just our thing) and I just cried out "NO! STOP READING!" Anyway, hope you liked this chapter; there was lots of excitement. And I hope you have a fantastic birthday!**

_Amber Rose Black_**: Thank you :) Daphne hasn't told everyone thus far, but do you think she will? Also, Sirius and his death will have to be read. There's only five chapters left in this section...so you'll find out soon...**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Audrey is very misunderstood, I like the thestrals too. Her big thing is trying to understand the misunderstood so I thought the thestrals were some of the perfect creatures to share her time with. Slytherins are so different, aren't they? So subtle, just like Daphne saying "I didn't see anything". That was her apology. I don't know why these guys can't just say "I'm sorry. Let's be friends again. Awesome". So stubborn! Harry and Drea will be closer by HBP, I promise, but Umbridge makes it hard for them to talk. I love that you happened to talk about Montague making a surprise visit - did that surprise you? Haha, I hope you liked it! **

_Prongsie1213_**: The twitter previews are so fun to write! I love searching through a chapter and wondering "what is a good 140 character hook..." Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review!**

_Apple_**: Thank you, I really appreciate it. I know! I'm near 1000 reviews! It doesn't even seem real. When I finally cross it, I will be doing a happy dance. Without a doubt. Daphne ran away out of shock and a feeling of "I shouldn't be seeing this!" Hope you liked this chapter, thank you :)**

_Kaitalyn_**: Things are slowly starting to make more sense, so nothing is as much of a shock anymore. Hopefully that means it will be better soon. Thank you. Audrey and Draco are a Defy the Odds couple, and I hope they can do just that. They have a lot of crap I'm going to be throwing their way. And they are both completely emotionally unbalanced - but that's why it works out so well :) Draco did catch Harry on purpose and he very purposefully tried to keep Audrey from finding out about it because she knew that she would try to stop it from happening (and she did try). Draco definitely isn't over their grudge and I can tell you he won't be any time soon. I won't tell you when Audrey kisses a Weasley, but Draco will definitely know about it. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_MaryKeat_**: Yes, lots of drama, always! He did it to lay claim on Audrey in front of other people. He's a silly boy. Hope you liked the new chapter and I promise that this story won't stop being updated until it's finished :)**

_Random Person_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! And maybe she will...I guess you're going to have to wait and see!**

_Skylar97_**: Well, I'm glad you think it's awesome, so I don't care what the odd flamer may say! I'll have to PM you tomorrow as I'm pretending to be doing a job resume right now, but I'll get to it! What do you want to talk about?**

_Novella Vialli_**: Malfoy is just a tool. But don't worry, things will go back to normal...eventually.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: This was definitely not my best chapter, I know. I'm not really happy with it, but I really wanted to get it out today. Maybe I could have a talk with you? I just need a little bit more inspiration, I've been thrown off with everything going on at home and it'd be nice to have someone's opinion on the end of OotP and how I end up working it out. Anyway, I heard that Obama's healthcare plans are fantastic but you pay a lot in taxes. We Canadian's do too, but I love the healthcare we get. It saves lives each day, you know? And I'm glad your house is a home, I'm happy for you! What kind of job were you thinking of getting? I'm not at my best, admittedly, but I know I could be far worse. I'm working on it :)**

_Tweedle Dum_**: It's always super dramatic! But Audrey will have more things to be preoccupied with in the next few chapters than just Draco being an idiot. Harry and Audrey will be closer again after OotP ends, I promise. It's actually very important for the plot. Hope you liked the moment with Montague, I know you were looking forward to it!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: I hope you liked the chapter, it was fun to write, even if I wasn't happy with the last part. There was a lot of drama, don't you agree? Audrey and Draco will have more things to worry about than Daphne soon, so you won't have to wait TOO long. Thanks for reviewing.**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Yeah, I wanted to be a vet as well, but I suck at math so much that it's just not a realistic option for me. When you say you want to do Profiling do you mean Criminal Profiling? I was going to get into that for a while (that or Forensics) but ended up going in a completely opposite direction. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. It was definitely jam-packed! Thanks for the review :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Harry won't know everything yet, but eventually he will. No, Snape will find out in a different way, you know how he does creepy stuff like that, haha. Hope you didn't mind this chapter, thanks so much for reviewing.**

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><p><strong>Well, sorry if this chapter wasn't the best but I really wanted to get something out for you. I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can! <strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter **EgyptsLegend


	52. Mending the Marring

**Well, this chapter is better than the last one...and I think everyone will like it. Please read the bottom note before the Review Responses, it's ****VERY IMPORTANT****. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me during everything in my own life, I'm appreciating your patience!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 51 – Mending the Marring<p>

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><p>Today was the day.<p>

Over the course of getting ready that morning and walking down to breakfast both Theodore and Daphne had both asked me, multiple times, why I was acting so strangely. Of course, I couldn't answer them – not only would it ruin the surprise, but it could get me in trouble if anyone tried to stop me. And there was no doubt in my mind that people would.

Still, if anyone had enough sense to take a look at me, a stranger would have been able to see the excitement thrumming through the air around me in thick currents. I was giddy and vibrating in anticipation, like the butterflies before a rollercoaster, or the tremors before a tsunami. Tsunami was probably a better comparison, of course, considering it gave you the image of total destruction...

"What are you up to, Audrey?" Theodore asked carefully as the group of us sat down to breakfast. It probably worried him more because I wasn't even trying to hide my smile today...there was no reason to hide my genius when everyone would be witness to it.

"Why do you constantly assume my happiness is linked to someone else's misery?"

"Because it is," not that I was surprised that our entire section of the Slytherin table seemed to chorus it, but I was still taken aback enough to scoff.

"Well, clearly I'm in no place to deny that." I shrugged sarcastically, looking around the Great Hall again. There was no reason to tell them just how correct they were – or just how soon they would know it. Still, I tried to look around for any sign that my genius had paid off, but to no avail. It was still quite early, earlier than I had woken all year. My excitement to wake up and see my artistry only fuelled my anticipation, it was a vicious circle.

"Fantastic," Malfoy's drawl broke me out of my suspicious glances around the Hall while he took his seat across from me. Though we had still refused to speak civilly, it seemed impossible to switch seating arrangements. It appeared that he liked other's misery as much as I. "Something horrible is about to happen."

"Horrible?" I asked indignantly, scooping scrambled eggs onto my plate. "Nothing I ever do is _horrible_."

"I beg to differ," Blaise raised an eyebrow – these people judged far too harshly. At least, that was my judgement on them.

"I know this is asking too much of you," Malfoy asked slowly, leaning forward to prove his point while his eyes narrowed. "But can you not do anything stupid today?"

"I won't, since you asked so nicely," I said with an innocent shrug before looking away. "However, it's a pity you didn't ask that five minutes ago."

That did not seem to comfort him. Instead, he continued to eye my behaviour wearily before buttering his toast and going about his day of ignoring me again. It was our newest routine.

And so I waited – less than patiently – for the gunshot to start my day. I continually had to remind myself that I was early to breakfast just so I could handle my nerves enough to wait until everyone had entered the Great Hall before I finished my work. It was just too easy to get myself worked up and excited; after seeing so many people being put through the ringer, being put under the curse of the Blood Quill and Veritaserum and threats from my very own enemies...it was nice to know that someone was finally planning on giving back to them.

It was even nicer to know that person was _me_.

My first victim walked into the Great Hall and she was followed closely by my second. The two Ravenclaws were gossiping quietly to themselves, one of which was trying to hide behind her ridiculously permed hair. Then again, it wouldn't have seemed so ridiculous to me if I would have had an equally ridiculous array of pimples sprout across my face that couldn't be gotten rid of.

As everyone else began trickling into the Great Hall to start their days, I could feel my palms itching to let the world see my beautiful artist's canvas...but it wasn't ready yet. There was still one victim missing...

"Alright, she looks mental," Tracey finally announced, pointing her fork to me accusingly. I couldn't really stand to pay attention to her as I watched Montague walk in and take a tentative seat beside Parkinson. The two had broken it off soon after his accident in the toilet, but knowing how much I hated her, he tended to enjoy her company simply to avoid mine. "What are you up to, Potter?"

"Payback," I smirked, pulling out a vial filled with my newest gelatinous, pink substance. Everyone leaned forward as I displayed it to them, they were probably confused by it's strange consistency – made of pink bubbles, toppling over one another and constantly moving. It was not a liquid at all, but an exponentially built suds that would bring upon Hogwart's vainest apocalypse. "Who wants to do the honours?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Blaise smirked, immediately stretching out to take the vial from me. I pulled it away from him minutely and shook my head.

"Not so fast," I nearly sang. "Take out your wand."

"My wand?" Even as he frowned he barely hesitated to pull his wand out of his robe pocket and display it for me. I smirked down at the dark, spindly wood.

"Now, you're going to want to put this on the floor behind you," I told him while placing the vial in his hand, "and then you have to blow it up. Don't worry, this won't affect us."

"Don't do it," Crabbe mumbled quickly, his eyes skirting over to me while his head shook. "Don't trust 'er."

"You have to admit, Audrey, it is a tad suspicious that you want something to blow up around us..." Lillian pointed out, her eyes glued to the vial.

"And she does look mad with excitement," Tracey added, her eyes glued suspiciously on me.

"It would affect me too, you prats. Clearly I would have made a Gryffindor do it after I walked away, otherwise." My friends, along with Malfoy and his goons, looked around at each other pensively. I could tell that they wanted some kind of anarchy, but at the same time they did not want to be the people that were affected by it.

"And this will be funny?" Blaise said after a moment, trying not to show how nervous he was. I was nearly proud of him, he was testing my friendship by considering this prank anyway. I grinned to comfort him, even if it seemed to worry him farther.

"Hilarious."

"Good enough for me," he shrugged, placing the vial on the flagstone behind him. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst. "_Confringo!_"

Blaise had perfect aim. It was immediate, just as I knew it would be, when the entire Great Hall was filled with a rush of cerise bubbles that had everyone gasping and coughing. If they had taken the time and not panicked, people would have noticed that they didn't smell or taste badly at all, but I understood that the shock was enough to leave the masses of students confused. Once my friends had stopped hacking away, I could almost feel their disbelief.

"Really?" Lillian asked me doubtfully. "_This_ is your great plan?"

"Surely you can't think so little of me," I responded just as doubtfully, going ahead and eating my first bite of my eggs. My work had been done.

"_Scourgify!_" I heard the teachers began to chorus. The pink bubbles disappeared nearly instantaneously when they put in their combined effort. I hadn't made them so that they were difficult to manage, but it was still a problem because they multiplied so rapidly. I almost wish that Umbridge would have taken the time to try and do it on her own.

Professor McGonagall did not seem pleased with my early morning pleasantries.

"Who did that?" She demanded, her eyes immediately landing over at the Slytherin table. Honestly, she always blames us... "Who did that – well? I expect answers!"

And then it began: the screams.

It seemed that the Ravenclaws had noticed the effects of the bubbles first, considering that both Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe were squealing like pigs being gutted. And then, over to my left, more screams...it seemed that Alya Rivers had realized her own deformity, as well.

"Professor, help!" Someone gasped, running up to the front of the room. I was surprised, momentarily, to see the yellow Hufflepuff robes and their mad dash to the Head table – it was Summerby, the Hufflepuff Seeker, and he every bit as upset as the others around me.

"Audrey," Theodore gasped, looking around to identify everyone who was screaming. "What did you _do_?"

All around us the screams were escalating. Rivers had stood up at this point, followed quickly by Montague. Parkinson and Bulstrode were both trying to help cover their faces which seemed too sensitive to touch – or that's what I assumed from Montague's cries of agony. That was an unexpected surprise that I won't deny I enjoyed. Chang, Edgecombe, and Summerby were also clutching at their faces, crying in humiliation – I had expected one or two more victims, but I was sure that the effect would not be lost. As River's screams died out enough for Parkinson to inspect the damage, a new soundoverpowered the sobbing while the Great Hall lit with laughter.

The whole Hall seemed to burst into cackles and pointing, clapping and gasping while everyone realized – or struggled to keep up to – the terror that was scrawled over the students' faces..._literally_.

The active ingredient in my newest concoction, which had formed into the airborne bubbles that Blaise had just released, had triggered a beautiful chemical reaction in everyone I had decided deserved it. And of course, Alya Bitchers deserved every petty prank I could pull after her own attempts at the beginning of the year. Scrawled across her face in large, bubbling boils – reminiscent to what Hermione had charmed onto Edgecombe weeks before – was an undeniable pattern that formed the word _SLAG._

I couldn't help but smile at my handiwork...it really did have a nice circular touch to it.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, I was one of the many fighting to see the words that had scrawled themselves on the skin there. I knew that Wretchcombe would still only have _SNEAK _but I was glad that it appeared to be squeaky clean and noticeable as if the pimples and boils were newly applied. Looking over her mane of fake curls, I was happy to see that Hoe Chang seemed to have been embroidered with the word _SCHEMER. _Montague, who was still panicking beside his Parkinson, was adorned with the word _SICK _and surprisingly it seemed like the Hufflepuff Seeker who had run off to the teachers seemed to have the word _SKUNK _across his features_._

"Interesting," I said lightly to myself, my eyes scacnning around the Great Hall for more reactions.

"Interesting?" Blaise howled. "Potter, it's fantastic!"

It seemed that everyone agreed with him, considering the Great Hall was still tremoring with the peels of students' laughter. I shook my head at him, unable to stop myself from smirking.

"Not what I meant," I elaborated. "Interesting meaning that I think Summerby and Edgecombe are shagging. Or possibly Summerby and Chang."

"What?" Daphne asked through her laughter, her face somewhat dropping. Even if Daphne had become smarter over the past year, she could not hold back her taste for gossip. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, he showered with one of them," I said vaguely, pointing up to the boy who was trying quite unsuccessfully to get the word _SKUNK _charmed off his skin. "If he hadn't showered with them he wouldn't have a word on his face, would he?"

"You put it in people's _showers_?" Malfoy asked with a scowl.

"Of course not!" I asked, nearly appalled. "Too many things could go wrong."

"So, what do you mean?" Tracey asked.

"I put it into their separate shampoos," I elaborated with a smile, before turning back to look at Malfoy with narrowed eyes. "I take it you didn't shower today, then?"

The threat was not lost on him. While the rest of the Great Hall reverberated with laughter, Malfoy's face grew hot and his fists clenched themselves and relaxed over and over again. Even his anger, however, would not be able to get me off the high of my prank. Watching as my enemies waddled over to the Professors, their humiliation and discrepancy written for the _world _to see, I couldn't help but feel so...proud.

It was like I felt as I should have again. This time there were no circumstantial worries about who _else _would be proud of what I had done, or how _Malfoy _was going to take it, or worse: if I would need to hide this from my brother. This prank was mine and it was an essence of me – something cruel, unusual and oddly unexpected.

It was something that I would have done before everything had fallen apart last year, and it was nice to feel like me again...nevertheless to feel so vindicated.

Screams and smiles...who knew they worked together so well?

The group of emblazoned idiots were whisked off to the hospital wing with their heads of house at their heels. Snape was sure not to give me as much as a parting glance as he passed the table, but I couldn't help wondering whether or not he could tell that this was my handiwork. I wasn't even surprised when the Headmistress huffed over to the Slytherin table and gathered up her forces; better known as the Inquisitorial Squad.

"A horrible, terrible prank," she began, shaking her head with pursed lips. The job of Headmistress had started getting to her, the power was fantastic but the rebellion was proving too much for her to handle. She didn't look as well kept as she tried to portray. She was starting to rip at the seams and I was enjoying pulling at the innards. "How dare someone play a prank like this on a Slytherin. And to think, they attacked poor Mr Montague again!"

"It seems someone has a lesson they want Montague to learn," I frowned dramatically, my sarcasm so obvious that it was dripping from my words. "Since _he's_ the one who's been attacked all year."

"A lesson," Malfoy repeated darkly, his eyes narrowing to me. Theodore elbowed me in the ribs, effectively shutting me up while Umbridge drew her wand.

"Clearly those Gryffindors have not learned _their_ lesson-"

"Headmistress," I said with a frown. I couldn't tell what was more upsetting, not understanding her or having to call her _Headmistress._ I may as well call her 'your highness'. "What makes you think it was the Gryffindors?"

"Who else would it have been?" She barked, looking quickly over her shoulder at the red-bannered table with a glare. "It was that Dumbledore's Army, it had to have been."

"But there's no proof of that," Theodore said quickly, his eyes flickering to me nervously. I'm sure that just as easily as me, he see the bloodlust in the fat toad's eyes.

"Gryffindor was the only house that wasn't effected," Warrington sneered, looking to the other Slytherins who slowly nodded their heads as if his words alone convinced them. He may be on the Quidditch team, but that boy is daft. Then again, perhaps being hit by too many Bludgers was what made him daft in the first place. "It had to be them."

It seemed that everyone was that easily convinced, because people already started thinking of punishments and taking off points. I could hear the rubies falling from the large hourglasses out in the Entrance Hall, I could see the Gryffindors – wiped of laughter – as they realized that we were hunting for them, now.

I cursed to myself, knowing that this is something I should have foreseen. Of course, it was only supposed to be select Slytherin and Ravenclaws that were taken under the effects of the potion; I hadn't expected the Hufflepuff Seeker to be shagging a girl as vile as Edgecombe or Chang. Still, with his addition it meant that Gryffindor _was_ the only group left clean faced...and therefore looking quite red-handed.

With my twisted form of justice, I'd just succeeded in making everything worse.

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><p>The OWLs were starting to consume my soul. Alright, perhaps not my soul – that may be a little heavy handed – but they had certainly taken over every other part of me. When my mind wasn't going through every incantation I knew and cataloguing every plant I knew for both Herbology <em>and <em>Potions, my arm was physically breaking down because all of the essays or my eyes were burning from all the pages I had to continuously read. It was never ending. And the teachers giving us homework? That was no help.

To make matters worse, I had taken to attending regimented meetings with my brother so that I could try to help him clear his mind and learn _some _form of Occlumency.

Needless to say, that was proving more difficult than either of us would have hoped.

Since we were making little to virtually _no _process whatsoever, the two of us had decided to meeting both in the mornings before breakfast and at night before bed. Coupling that with the piles of work from OWLs that were only two weeks away, I was about ready to collapse.

"Thank Salazar _one _of us made Prefect," I told him when he met me near the entrance to the sub-dungeons, this is where I daily waited for him and fought to stay upright with the assistance of the wall. "Or else our meetings may be suspicious."

"As if it isn't already," he frowned, pulling the door to the broom cupboard open and closing it behind him. In the mornings – as anyone was allowed out of bed and I was a monster if I had to wake any earlier than I must – we took to meeting in the cupboard because it saved us time. At night – as I was allowed to do whatever I wanted given both Prefect and Inquisitorial status – we had taken to meeting closer to the Gryffindor common room so that he wouldn't be caught out of bed. It was a pattern that we had learned only from trial and error...and an enchanted map and cloak.

"Alright, sit down," I encouraged, unable to stifle this yawn as we both sat on the cool stone that lined the closet. I scrubbed my hands over my face, trying to wake up enough to focus. "Let's get this over with and start the day."

"You could be a little more supportive," he sighed, making sure he was sitting cross-legged and comfortably in front of me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"_I _could be more supportive? _You _are the one that mucked everything up with Snape and butchering my sleep schedule. And _I _am the one who is working her arse off to keep you at your best so y-"

"And failing to keep me at my best," he countered with a bitter laugh. I snorted in response, too tired to argue.

"Well, we can't all be the Harry Potter's of the world, now can we?" I asked sarcastically, moving so that my hands were placed on his head. He closed his eyes, as he always did, and tried to clear his mind. I placed my hands on either side of his head, trying to use whatever push I had used in the past to shove some sort of ethereal calm and an emotionlessness that I, myself, did not feel at all.

Instead all I got back was the usual pushing.

I saw visions of Hermione scolding him about something or other, the room full of glass orbs, Harry speaking to Sirius, Snape's newest tyrannies over Harry during potions, my father – who looked strangely young – as he hexed someone from behind, watching as the victims of my prank couldn't figure out how to clear their faces, the word _SCHEMER _scrawled across Hoe's face, how sweetly Hoe kissed him when-

"Oi!" I ripped my hands away from my brother's head, immediately wiping them on my skirt before the gagging began. "Oh, no. Oh, please tell me you didn't..."

"Audrey, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Oh, you did!" I gasped, scooting away from him because suddenly the air in the closet felt heavier. "You did, you snogged her! Oh, her tongue was in your mouth...Salazar's spit, you kissed her. Oh no, oh – I'm going to vomit. Don't come near me, I'm going to vomit!"

"Audrey, it was just a kiss," he groaned, his face turning red.

"That was not _just a kiss_! It was _just a kiss _with Hoe Chang; my nemesis!" And it was. That had not just been a kiss to him, he had put his all into it. He had _liked _it, even if it had been absolutely horrible – a girl should never know how horrid her brother is at snogging, but now I did. And it was to _Chang._ "I'm going to vomit, I swear..."

"Drea, quiet down."

"I need to wash my brain," I scrubbed at my face hopelessly, trying to scrape the image from the forefront of my mind. "Could you please stop thinking about things I don't want to see?"

There was no need to even bring up what I had seen two nights ago. Ever.

"Trust me, I didn't want you to see that either."

"Well you can't clear your mind if you're being a pervert," I hissed at him, pushing the arm that was anchored on his knee and holding his chin up. "And I am _certainly _not going to keep helping you if I have to witness it."

He rolled his eyes, apparently deciding that this was enough for the day before standing up. He offered me a hand, which I took, so that we were both standing in the broom cupboard. He looked at me carefully, with one of those looks that I knew to avoid or else I would get stuck in some deep and important conversation I likely didn't want to have.

"How are _you _doing?"

"Me?" I shrugged, brushing my hands off on my skirt and straightening up my robes. "I'm fine."

"Montague's been staying away?" He asked, his glare harsh.

"Of course, he wouldn't even try it." And I could say that with confidence. Not only had Montague taken to spending time with his ex, Parkinson, simply to avoid my company but he had also taken to longer Quidditch practices and avoiding the halls when he knew I was patrolling. There was no threat from him now that he knew I had an army – or at the least, two vagabond twins – to defend me.

"I don't know," Harry drew out the phrase, sounding like he was about to argue. "What with Malfoy hovering around you like he's been, I'm surprised he's not around more often."

I tried harshly not to blush. "Malfoy's hardly around me besides patrol nowadays. Our truce is over. And if he were around me, Montague would stay away even more often. They loathe each other."

"Slytherins loathe each other?"

"Slytherins loathe just about everyone," I said with a grin. "_Particularly _each other."

He smiled for a moment and I was glad that he seemed comforted when he went to open the door, but he hesitated. I took that for a bad sign. My twin swivelled back to look at me, a pensive look in his eye, before he seemed to decide something.

"When Snape insults Dad in front of you," I raised my eyebrows at the unprecedented question, "what do you say?"

"Usually I roll my eyes and tell him he's a hard-arse," I shrugged. "He doesn't normally say it about _me, _he normally says it about _you_."

Harry frowned for a moment, taking in what I said. "Do you think I'm like Dad?"

"How the hell would _I _know?" I laughed aloud, even if it was somewhat more bitter than I had meant to let on. "You're the git who's gotten to see him twice."

"From stories then," he pushed. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why are you so interested?"

"I'm just curious." He said, shrugging his shoulders and looking away as if that would stop me from being suspicious. At times like this my brother always seemed to forget the little detail that we were sorted into different houses and that we were sorted into different houses because we had different strengths: Harry was constantly ready to defend everyone and lay his life down to do it; he was rash and impulsive and powerful. I was a Slytherin – this meant that I defended myself and made sure that I never got myself into the situation where I had to be rash or impulsive or powerful. And I did that by being calculating. A talent of which I was currently using on him.

"Obviously I am too," I continued suspiciously. He said nothing back but looked at me so pleadingly I felt like it somehow this was a life or death question. So, naturally, I rolled my eyes and gave in. "Oh, I don't know, Harry. Obviously you look more like him, but apparently I act more like him."

He shoved his hands deep into his robe pockets. "Do you really think that?"

"I wouldn't know, would I?" I said with another frown. "Why are you interrogating me on this?"

"I don't know, it's just..." he shook his head, crossing his arms as if he didn't know what else to say about it. I wasn't near done questioning him about his own questioning, but I figured that he was a little bit too aware of my intentions to get much out of him right now. "Keep an eye on Umbridge today, alright? Try to keep her with the masses."

Another unexpected twist.

"Keep her with the masses?" I repeated. I was unable to silence my surprise while my eyes narrowed. "Why, what are you up to?"

"Trouble," he admitted with a shrug. I laughed as he went to reach for the door again.

"Hey, Harry?" He turned. "_That_ sounds exactly like Dad."

But it didn't comfort him like I would have thought it would and my brother left looking just as tormented as when he came in.

I don't know what upset me so much about his method of questioning – he asked me ridiculous questions all the time, but never before had it ever felt like it meant so much to him. It made me a little bit extra aware of everything that was going on that day and everything that was flying through my mind – which was lucky for him because a lot of it was about my own skills of deflection. All day I tried to do as my brother said, keeping Umbridge 'near the masses'...not that I really knew what that meant, of course, but it was one of those things that I hoped I'd be able to figure out when the time came.

During the morning classes it was impossible, but I supposed that after I had her for the final Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson of the day I would be able to try and tell her I saw something fishy and lead her on a wild goose chase during my prefect rounds. It would do both my brother and I a favour – it would keep me from having more time where I may have to encounter Malfoy on patrol and it would keep him out of the trouble my twin was apparently bound to cause.

I kept an eagle-eye out for the first half of the day, just in case. It was interesting feeling like all this spying and lying had an ultimate purpose again. She seemed in a foul mood today, who knew what the reason could be this time...but I still kept an eye out during the classes I had without her and the one I had with her. Even in her classroom while I was forced to read through our textbooks at 'Chapter Thirty-four, Non-Retaliation and Negotiation', I was sure to keep alert...

But nothing happened during class either. I had expected for him to make another scene and gain more detentions with the Blood Quill or be fed into the forest – but it was as silent as the classroom had ever been. Students truly wanted the time to study, now that we were so busy. I sighed, feeling a little bit used while I gathered up my books and tried to think quickly for a reason to have Umbridge follow me around. I was going to go up to her now and say something or other, I would have to...maybe I could say that I found evidence that someone was going to attack more Slytherins as someone – someone being myself, of course – had done the week before?

I didn't need to make up an excuse, though. There was no point when the entire school nearly shook with the unmistakeable sounds of _trouble. _

Harry had hardly gotten himself out of the classroom by the time the bellowing began, so it was doubtful that he was making the commotion that sounded to be floors above the classroom we were in, but the screaming emanating throughout the floors and the people who seemed to be cramming into the corridors to see what was wrong...that seemed like a little bit more than Harry had bargained for. Could this really be part of his trouble? Or was this _real _trouble?

Then again, weren't they usually one in the same?

Unpocketting my wand, I followed the Headmistress as she started running up towards the commotion. There were students everywhere, flocking to the stairwells so they could see the newest subject of excitement. I kept my eyes on the pink-swathed demon, keeping behind her and pushing any student that thought to get in my way. If my brother needed my help, then he needed my help, and if this distraction didn't work I felt more than confident that I could improvise.

But I probably wouldn't need to. And I knew this thanks to what we came to in the middle of the sixth floor corridor. I looked curiously across the expanse of hallway that should have been available to us, but instead it was covered in a long and winding mess of _goo. _Well, it wasn't a goo, it was something like a habitat in the middle of the castle: filled with swamp water and moss, lily pads and cat tails. Was that...dear Merlin, was that a crocodile?

"What is this?" Umbridge gasped, taking a step toward it. No one muttered as much as a warning to her when she dared to stick her shoe in the substance. It immediately stuck in the flubber, sucking at her foot as it tried to take her mass under and take over her. She let out a shriek, taking off her pink pump before conjuring it back into her hand with her wand.

"Argus!" She began shouting, pointing at the swamp accusingly. "Argus, come here! What is this?"

"It's a swamp, professor," a fifth year Ravenclaw said from her side. The Ravenclaw looked across the top of it and at the very few students who had appeared on the opposite end of it – it had taken too much of the corridor to get around it. On the other side I knew there to be a set of stairs, but there were so many trick stairs no one ever took that set. "It looks to be from the North American region judging by the wildlife. And if you-"

"Thank you, Miss Brocklehurst." She growled. The toad was barely containing her rage, now. It seemed so fitting that she nearly be pulled into a swamp as her face turned a reptilian blush in her anger. She turned her wand to the swamp. "I'll make quick work of this..._Scourgify!_"

That was an awful idea, because all it proceeded to do was creep along the corridor another foot towards the group of us. Students screamed out while it crawled towards them, sucking for their shoes.

"I wouldn't have done that," a voice called out playfully.

"What a terrible idea," another agreed.

Out of the scrimmage of students on the other side of the swamp, my favourite red-headed twins walked in front of what I was sure was their creation. They had their arms crossed, no longer wearing their Hogwarts robes.

"You see, every time you try to clean it – it grows."

"But try again, by all means," the other twin smiled cheekily. "Crocodiles need room to swim."

"You two, I should have known," Umbridge hissed, her face turning red. "_Scourgify_!"

Fred and George seemed to know just how much their swamp would grow because it nearly lapped at their shoes but stopped just short. They had planned this moment for days, if not weeks – it was impossible not to know from the smug looks on their faces. I felt just as much pride for them as I had for my own prank – finally, someone playing justice. Umbridge, in response, looked about ready to attack.

"Was this your doing?" Her voice was wavering the line of rage and madness, she was gripping her wand so tightly that I was surprised it was snapping in her chubby fingers. The twins did not look at all intimidated by her aggressive stance.

"Yes, it was. Wasn't it, Fred?"

"And some of our finer work, I'd say-" Fred nodded, shooting a thumb at the swamp as if we didn't know what they were talking about.

"-I agree, I think we've really got this one down-"

"-I think we're seeing proof of it now, George." Fred said lightly, making George nod enthusiastically.

"Filch!" she barked. "Get them!"

"Oh yes," Fred started with a gleefully sarcastic glint to his eye. "Please come wade through the swamp to get to the other side of the corridor to catch us-"

"-I'd love to watch you sink-"

"-I wonder if the crocodile would get him?" Fred looked over to George in a thoughtful tone.

"I _hope_ the crocodile would get him," George rephrased for him, both boys nodding in a new agreement.

"Detention!" She barked. "Detention for the rest of the year! And-and suspension, no _expulsion! _I will owl your parents and-"

"Oh, there will be no need."

"Definitely not, we can tell them on our own." George raised his hand to stop her

"That's what I'd planned anyway, what about you, George?"

"Me too, Fred."

"Shall we go down to the grounds?" Fred asked as if he were asking George to go out for tea.

"Let's," George said with a smile before pointing to Umbridge. "Oh, do watch your step, won't you?"

And as they said it, Fred flicked his wand our way. A burst of explosions lit up the corridor behind us – Weasley's Wildfire Whiz-bangs. A few students ducked into the nearest classrooms to avoid it, but Umbridge just glared after the twins while they dashed toward the side staircase – the one that Peeves had left too many marks on for anyone to go down safely. Umbridge went about trying to remove the Whiz-bangs and I sadly was forced to help her – it was sad seeing the decorations go, they were quite stunning, but if this kept Umbridge with the masses and out of the Weasleys hair, I would take my sweet time doing it.

By the time the Whiz-bangs were gone enough so that we could at least force through them, Umbridge shoved through the crowd of students so that she could head toward the main moving staircases and get to Fred and George first. Students rebelled quietly as they followed us – getting in her way, jostling her as she stepped, moving too slowly – even the stairs seemed to form a mutiny while they moved more slowly and erratically than I had ever encountered. There were also more trick stairs than I had ever encountered – one of which I got caught in and nearly broke my ankle thanks to.

By the time we got toward the first floor, she was barking orders left and right: "Argus, go get the new forms from my office! Members of the Inquisitorial Squad, I want you to head them off – go! Detain as you must!"

Oh, shite.

I pushed my way in front of Umbridge, screw my brother – there was no doubt in my mind that whatever he was up to, he would not be in the limelight in comparison to what Fred and George were. And not only that, but he was not the one who needed the most help from me, as a double-agent. I surged forward with the Slytherins, bumping as many of them as I could, trying to throw off every person who would soon try to send a curse toward my beloved Weasley twins. Maybe I could snap their wands or trample them – but I wouldn't be able to get everyone on the Squad on my side.

I heard them before I saw them. The Weasley twins were in the Entrance Hall – it was quite clear that they weren't going anywhere and they had no intention to. They wanted to give a show. The inquisitorial Squad worked quickly to circle them, but it seemed like no one else had the urge to use anything besides trying to immobilize them. Malfoy used a stunner that Fred blocked, Montague used more than a few curses that I was certain were not allowed on school grounds.

"_Stupefy_!" I cried, amazed when my wand actually wielded for me and shot my stunner over toward Montague – who just so happened to be placed behind George. Convenient. George looked at Montague with a sneer and looked back to me, smirking when I winked at him and called out a simple, "sorry Montague! This blasted wand never works as I'd like it to..."

The entire school was starting to gather around us – circling the redheads like prey. I was actually nervous when I saw just how cornered they really were. Did they expect to get out of this unscathed? Because even I didn't have enough sway or power with Umbridge to prevent that.

Umbridge walked forward, triumphant and messy: her clothes rumpled, her hair mussed.

"So," she said from a higher stair that I'm sure made her feel superior. "So – you think it's amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," Fred nodded, still not looking at all intimidated by the lot of us circling them. He felt a lot more calm than I did, that was for sure.

"I've got the form, Headmistress!" Filch called, nearly weeping he was so excited. He elbowed his way through students that subtly tried to block his way and waved a piece of parchment like a trophy when he reached her. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting...oh, let me do it now..."

Whips? Are you joking? I knew that he'd always wanted it and I knew we had joked about it, but surely the Ministry wouldn't allow physical abuse and leave a paper trail about it?

"Very good, Argus," or perhaps they would. "You two are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

"You know what? I don't think we are." Fred said looking at George with a smirk. "George, I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," George sighed dramatically, as if it wasn't a real shame at all. I shook my head, not understanding what they meant. They couldn't just _leave _Hogwarts! Not only would their mother skin them alive, but they wouldn't be able to get out the doors with all the Slytherins blocking their way. They were cornered.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?"

"Definitely," George agreed. Both of them raised their wands, but the Inquisitorial Squad just moved closer to them, wands already drawn and aimed. Hesitantly, I followed the groups lead, looking at them pleadingly. However they were going to make their escape I certainly hoped that they were about to do it quickly. And safely.

"You're not going anywhere," Umbridge shrieked. "Detain them! _Detain them_!"

"_Accio brooms_!" Fred and George shouted, flicking their wands toward the stairs. There was a loud crash in the distance and a thunder that nearly shook the floor of the castle which made a few of us lose our balance. Even I took a step forward nervously...and then took two more so that I could avoid the two brooms, equipped with swinging chains that tried to decapitate me.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred told, swinging his leg over the broom. "Not that we would want to."

"I certainly hope not," George frowned. "Have you ever seen something more vile than that toad?"

"That's something I never want to see," Fred sneared, the thought seeming to actually sicken him. His eyes swept over the Entrance Hall one last time, almost as if he would miss the place. I caught his eye and gave him as small of a smile as I felt safe to, it made him smirk. "But you know what I have always wanted to do?"

"What's that Fred?" George asked, already smiling as if he knew the answer.

Suddenly, there was a broom racing for me. I screamed and nearly ducked out of the way, not wanting to get in the way of Fred rushing toward Umbridge...but gasped when I felt someone grab my arm and pull me back the way I had moved to duck. Fred looked at me for a quick moment, that fantastic mischief in his eyes, before he crashed his lips onto mine.

It was a strange sensation, being kissed in front of so many people. Every time I had been kissed before now had been secret. And every time before now I had certainly been sure there would be no eyes to witness it – but this was in front of everyone. People were cheering and clapping and booing, making noise and whispering because _everyone knew it was happening. _My last kisses had always been exciting _because _they had been private and forbidden...but this was what everyone had expected, wasn't it? For me to be kissing Fred?

Holy Helga, I'm kissing Fred Weasley!

I pulled away, admittedly more out of shock than distaste, my jaw still limp while he winked at me.

"Always wanted to tame the savage beast," I knew he was saying it to throw off the other Slytherins and as a joke to remember years from now, but it made my face heat up traitorously. "Keep in touch, Potter."

"Don't you bother to keep in touch, Dolores," George announced with a smirk, he was biting back a smile quite obviously and winked at me as well.

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley – Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes," Fred said loudly. "Our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwart's students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," George added, pointing to Umbridge with his free hand.

"See you later, Potter," Fred looked at me and his eyes flickered up – possibly to my brother who could have been behind me. I was still in too much shock to tell. "Manage some mischief, yeah?"

"STOP THEM!"

But it was too late. While the Squad closed in on the twins – even though I was still rooted to the spot – both Fred and George kicked off from the flagstone and shot fifteen feet into the air. Fred looked sternly at the ghosts gathered in the corner and singled out his most beloved.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves."

Peeves, as graciously as only a ghost could, swept his belled hat from his head and saluted both Fred and George Weasley as the crowd burst into applause to serenade their ride out into the sunset.

"Enough!" Umbridge screamed. "Enough!"

The students weren't able to quiet down quickly enough for her, however, and she only continued to scream while chaos rained down. The decrees were being knocked off walls, the portraits were howling, the students were ransacking the castle in support of their newest heroes...and through all of it all I could make out were the cold, steely eyes across the hall.

I had never seen Malfoy so livid. His eyes were digging into me as if I had somehow betrayed him – as if Fred kissing me had been my fault and as if he were allowed to place the blame either way. He was so angry that he was shaking, immobile in the mêlée, just as I was. He was furious. And oddly...I kind of liked it. Because for once, I knew it was because I had won.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

><p>"It will go down in history," Theodore sighed exhaustedly. He shrugged off his robe as we walked down the corridor, slowly making our way back to the Slytherin common room. It had been a long evening and night full of righting the Entrance Hall that had been ruined by the riot and divvying out as many punishments as possible. "What they did...it's unheard of."<p>

"It's brilliant," I corrected. He, Daphne and I were exhausted by this point and it was much later than I had hoped it would be. The others had already left while I disappeared to clear my brother's mind – we had almost managed, this time, until he thought about Fred kissing me and freaked out – but Theodore and Daphne had stayed behind. It was just like old times...which seemed like a thousand years ago.

"I didn't know what to do when she told us to detain them," Daphne admitted. "I thought that they were going to be stunned when they were on their brooms, why didn't anyone do anything?"

"Probably all shocked," Theodore shrugged. "When something amazes you, sometimes you just can't move...take Audrey being kissed, for example."

My face immediately started to burn. I growled. "I am not an example."

"Oh come on, Audrey," he chuckled. "It was priceless! And it's not like you didn't know that this would happen."

"I can assure you, I did not expect this would happen."

But had I known? I had been privy to the fact that I would end up kissing a Weasley and even though I had always remembered the vision differently...I did know that eventually it would come true. Could I have taken steps to avoid it?

It had always seemed like a joke that Fred had fancied me. It always seemed like something Mrs Weasley wanted – Ginny with Harry, Fred with me – just so that we could all be together, permanently. But had there ever been a moment where I had considered it seriously?

"I don't care either way," I huffed, standing in front of the wall that would open to the common room.

"You certainly don't look like you care," said Augustus, the nearest portrait that rested on the end of the moving wall. He always liked to poke his nose where it didn't belong and fool the stupid students who thought _he _was the one you said the password to.

"Just like you don't care that you weren't important enough to guard the entrance?" I asked acidly. He scoffed, turning his nose away from me while Theodore said the password. I was about to continue my defensive rant, but a gasp silenced me.

"Oh, _no..._" Daphne's voice held so much dread that I looked at her before I looked for the cause of it. Her eyes were as large as plates, her jaw clenched. When I looked to see the reason, it didn't take me long to figure out why.

Something _disgusting _was happening in the common room. And not only was it disgusting but it was...shattering. On the couch, hands moving everywhere, were a blonde and a brunette. It wasn't hard to tell Malfoy's hair – like always, I was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. In front of him – no, in front of him wasn't an accurate description. _All over him – _was Pansy Parkinson.

This was not something I had never seen – sadly, whenever Parkinson and Malfoy were dating, these were regular acts of common room desecration – but somehow it was more crippling. It was not just sickening, it was destructive. It made me feel terrible, like I had swallowed some kind of stone that dropped my stomach.

And then I couldn't see anymore – the scene was so vile it was blinding me, but I couldn't admit to myself that I was blinded by tears. And when I could finally move, all I wanted to do was go up and tear the two of them apart and hex and torture and make them feel this decaying sickness that was settling in my gut...

"Oh, Audrey..." Daphne began. Her voice startled the couple on the couch, ripping them apart so they could look at their new audience. I turned away when they saw where we were standing. I couldn't stand the thought that they could see my reaction, that they could see how ridiculously weak I felt when I had felt so powerful moments before. I didn't want them to know that they were the reason everything suddenly felt as if it had shifted. So I shifted and ran back out of the common room.

"Audrey! Audrey, wait!"

But I didn't want to turn around and face her. She was just going to mock me, or throw my words back in my face – I know that I had ended it. But I hadn't ended it so that he could be with _Parkinson. _I had ended it because he clearly didn't care about being with me.

And quite clearly, he didn't.

"Stop," I felt Daphne turn me around by my shoulders and I whirled around, trying to keep her from seeing my torment. She shook me a bit. "Audrey, Draco's just jealous."

"This isn't a joke, Daph," I hissed out.

"I know," she said, her voice sounding more sincere than I'd heard it all year. "I'm sorry. He's not used to hearing no. I'd worried after what Fred did that he'd do something daft..."

"Don't defend him," I hissed out. "It's not like it matters anyway. We aren't together."

"Then what are you? You can tell me, Audrey." She asked me doubtfully. "Because it's clearly something."

I frowned, looking at her for a moment. And then I tried to explain...everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, Draco, why are you so stupid? After such a nice and light chapter, too. Thank you for the reviews last chapter and all the new readers, it was so good to hear from them all! Also, <strong>**if you have twitter and like spoilers****, you may want to add me because when I reach 1000 reviews I will be giving away THREE big spoilers: one for OotP, one for HBP, and one for DH. You don't want to miss out!**

**To my lovely reviewers: **

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Ha, I'm glad that you liked the last one. It was great being able to get some revenge on Montague after how much of a creep he had been. There will be more Theo/Drea time a little later and obviously we have seen lots of possessiveness. But he messed up again, didn't he? That boy is ridiculous. It was also great getting more revenge this one – hopefully you enjoyed it as well! **

_Lizzy B_**: Hey! First, thank you for messaging so many chapters as you read through. I think it was something like just over fifteen? Wow, thank you! I'm glad that you've been liking it enough to let me know. Yes, I adore cliff hangers, but I also like Harry...they aren't going to be at odds for much longer. Hopefully that doesn't deter you from the story. I am also a huge fan of Shakespeare, so that was the Queen Mab reference; but Montague is an original character from Harry Potter. In fact, besides Audrey, every character I write within the walls of Hogwarts is a character that has been affirmed by JKR. I just do a lot of research, haha. **

_TheForrestAgain_**: I'm glad you had a good birthday! I have been wanting to start Once Upon a Time but just haven't found the time (ironically), but I do watch Walking Dead. What a great show. Yes, Hoe Chang is a lot of fun to write just because Audrey has such intense dislike for her. And I couldn't tell you if I'm more excited for book 6 or 7...probably 7, as it's the epicenter of everything and everything will be answered...but there's SO much Draco in 6... I am really hoping that she'll get to see Sirius again, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to organize it. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Montague won't bother her intensely, he'll be far too afraid. It's to be assumed that Snape went into Montague's mind so he knows what was happening, but I think that either way Snape wouldn't have been mad from what he knew about the situation already. We may find out more about Snape's memory later on...**

_Prongsie1213_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was a good one as well. There was a lot more of Harry and Audrey in this chapter again, so hopefully you enjoyed that!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Don't worry about missing a review or two, I'm just glad you review at all! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was exciting...lots of angst, as only Audrey can handle! Thanks for reviewing.**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: No, Daphne's definitely not ratting them out. In fact, she's helping them! Too cute. Yes, Montague was fun to put in his place...hopefully you liked the chapter!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thanks for the review, I hope you liked the newest chapter. Lots of angst, Gryffindors, and classic pranks :)**

_Beesy_**: I'm glad that you like the story and Audrey, I'm honoured that you think she is so complicated. I happen to be planning a trip to Europe, and parts of Germany, right now! It's very nice to have that area represented when I'm so excited to be visiting it for the first time :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked the last chapter – also that you like this story so much in general! Thank you for the Get-Well wishes, I really appreciate them :)**

_incitanemxx_**: I love hearing that my characters are subtle and Slytherinish, it means that I'm doing my job right! It's true that Daphne was always around even while Audrey was mad, but obviously there has been a mending in their friendship because she now feels free to talk to her and be comforted by her. Daphne's sister will be making more of an appearance in the next book rather than this one, there's just no time to properly introduce her and I still think she's a little young (she is only a third year) but she will pop up a bit in Halfblood Prince. And I guess Draco had a right to be a little jealous of the twins last chapter, didn't he? I mean, he obviously foresaw something that even Audrey couldn't. Thanks so much for everything! **

_xxz0eyxx_**: Ha, Montague was too scared to rat her out. Which was obviously a good idea, because look what she did even though he didn't! And it's totally all sexual tension in the Dreaco atmosphere. Those two just need to jump each other. She did just kiss a Weasley! But was it the kiss she envisioned? Also, how did you like the reaction to it? Cheers and a bit of revenge on Malfoy's part. What a jealous boy!**

_EveryNewDay_**: I'm glad that you liked why he was pushed into the Vanishing Cabinet! Hopefully you liked the little addition to the twins leaving and Audrey's complicated love-life. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: You know a part of me was thinking of letting Montague get away with more than he did, but the way it played itself out when my fingers started typing saved her. There was still lots of drama in this chapter including the twins and our favourite blonde Slytherins, however, so I hope you enjoyed it!**

_Ella710_**: Ha, don't worry. I didn't think you'd said the chapter was shitty, but I remember how you said that when you force work it FEELS shitty and the last chapter really felt shitty for me. This one was better, I think. I felt a lot more like myself while I was writing.  
>So, how did you like Daphne's reaction to everything that happened this chapter? I think she's finally proven herself, being an ear and a friend again. It's nice having that trio back as it should be, even if it always takes something bad happening to make it work, haha.<br>I thought about making Draco the one to throw her in the cabinet, but then it wouldn't have been as powerful that he learned it BECAUSE of Audrey...if you know what I mean. Think down the road, what would have been more powerful? And I'm all about the kick in the gut realizations. In case you hadn't figured that out yet. There's going to be a big one before the end of this book, I assure you.  
>And of course I stick to the book! But I love that I don't necessarily have to. For instance, I skipped a whole bunch of events in Harry's year (like Snape being so rude to him and such) because that's really not part of Audrey's life right now. It's nice to be able to ignore the 'unimportant' things.<strong>

**I am going to again tell you that you should join me on twitter if you haven't...cause there are HUGE spoilers and stuff coming up (I'm about to get to 1k reviews...oh my God, how is that possible?!) and you shouldn't miss it. It's going to be awesome. Plus there are tons that you've already missed and I always feel like you would let me know what you think of them.**

**I don't know if waiting to write each scene is considered dedication or if it's actually me worrying if I write all the best parts that I'll get bored and ignore the rest, haha. Maybe a bit of both, I guess. So you know, Snape has nothing against Audrey – he just needed to be alone after everything happened. Poor guy.  
>So what did you think of this chapter? It was fun letting it be so light hearted again. And the Weasley kiss – ta da! Did I incorporate that well? Malfoy...well, what a douche. He'll have a lot to make up for later...douche. Hopefully I'm not taking him too far into the jerk zone that he can't come back. He will, but I have a plan! I just need to make sure I don't taint him enough before I can fulfil it...<br>As always, I'm looking forward for your review :)**

_XxBookXxWormXx_**: I'm glad that you liked the first few chapters, hopefully you enjoyed whichever other ones you read and if you made it all the way to this chapter, congratulations! Thanks for all your reviews, I really appreciate it !**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Thank you, hopefully you liked this one as well.**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I thought about doing Criminal Profiling as well, so I totally know what you mean. I think the only reason I didn't was BECAUSE it wasn't like Criminal Minds. I don't like the idea of sitting in an office or in front of a computer all day...Not unless I'm writing a book, haha. Do you like Daphne any more now? She was very compassionate.**

_Saraeli_**: Hopefully you're still enjoying it, thank you for the review!**

_Littlemissvengeance_**: Wow, your review actually made me blush! Thank you so much! You signed up for me? Wow. Again...blushing even as I respond, haha! And don't worry, I will never finish this...well, not until it actually finishes, at least. And as for writing, the only way you can ever know what people will say is if you start publishing – or get people to read it ahead of time (such as betas and editors) because then you can get feedback. I always make sure to get lots of feedback before I start a story, then spend weeks thinking about it, and then start. I write the prologue and the timeline and then I ask for feedback on the general idea. So, needless to repeat, ask for feedback. I bet you are better than you think you are if you love it so much. I hope you liked the new chapter, thank you for reviewing!**

_Magimagus_**: Don't worry, I am ridiculously lazy as well. Draco is ridiculously self-destructive when it comes to Audrey, isn't he? He is so possessive because (as Daphne said) he just doesn't like the word no...and Audrey lives off of saying it. Daphne has definitely tried fixing things and if Audrey doesn't see that, she's blind. But she will...because I'll make her, haha. She is ridiculously stubborn and he is possessive – it happens.  
>Harry bashing will be ending shortly, you can already see that it's ending now. And I guess that I already answered your question on the Weasley kiss and Draco's reaction...needless to say, he was not pleased.<br>Yes, her wand...it is quite a mystery. In this chapter it was kind. In the next...well, you'll have to wait and see! Audrey is a proud Slytherin, that is for sure. And I'm proud that she's such a proud Slytherin. Yes, the idea is that she gets the Thestrals and other animals while the Gryffindors get Grawp.  
>Hopefully you liked this chapter – lots of Slytherin Trio loving here. And of course, Weasley twin love. And Draco being stupid...but that goes without saying. Thank you for your review, I always love them!<strong>

_Bitterglass_**: I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one – or at least parts of it. Draco is still ridiculous, but at least it got Audrey and Daphne over that final hurdle to being friends again!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you so, so, so much for everything; the reassurance and the . I really needed to hear thoughts on everything. Have you thought more on your opinion about that plot twist? I'm still worried about how it may or may not go over. How has your week been? Hopefully it's been a good one! The weather has been horrible, here. How is it down there?**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Daphne had more than enough sense to keep quiet. It's nice that she's also being a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. The twins (as in Harry and Drea) are definitely interacting more. I plan on doing the sorting hat again from Audrey's point of view, so your questions will be answered then!**

_crisis what crisis_**: Thank you for sitting down and reading it all, it is definitely a long read – but I'm glad that you enjoyed it! You don't need to aspire to be like me, you just need to be able to sit down and spend a lot of time on it, haha. I also kind of wish she were in the series, she would definitely shake things up. Thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: Thank you, I appreciate it. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Haha, I'm glad that you liked it! Yes, Cho definitely got told in this chapter. A few characters did. Draco didn't stop being a douche in this chapter, but hopefully he'll learn his lesson soon...Audrey and Draco are slowly growing together once again and they will be back to normal eventually, I promise. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_She who poisoned with Thyme_**: Ha, I love you too! I don't know if you can marry both of us as I also plan on marrying him. It could get a little bit complicated...  
>I worked hard on the storyline, so I'm glad that it's appreciated. I also worked hard on making Audrey as realistic as Harry Potter's twin sister could be – so that is appreciated as well. Harry will be back to his regular cannon character in the next story, but I needed to cause a rift between them for this book. And I love the Slytherins. I always remember thinking "what about them?" and my mom telling me (I was very young when we began reading these, I couldn't read them on my own) that the story wasn't about them. I always thought that it should be...or we should at least know their side. It's nice that I can actually defend it 15 years later. I'm so glad that the story is powerful enough to you to make you emote with it in the way you do, particularly if it's in the middle of a bus! Haha. Sorry. I've had those moments too. But I'm glad you like it and thank you, so much, for the reviews!<strong>

_LearnToFly02_**: Oh my gosh, so first this was late because I didn't see I had gotten this review and THEN after I wrote it all out, it deleted itself and I had to start again! How dramatic! First off, let me say thank you so much for your review. It is the most detailed and long review that I have ever gotten and it really made me smile the entire time I was reading it. Now, to the answers:  
>If Audrey goes to the DOM it will definitely change the outcome. Keep in mind, however, that Audrey has proven she can change the future of her visions and this can play part in osmething like that. Maybe she can change the entire situation - maybe she won't go at all, knowing that something dreadful is about to occur. Still, she is definitely not the type to blindly fly into anything, as you say, so it will be interesting to see her rationalization to do this if she decides to go. I fully agree with you.<br>She is obviouslly connected to the horcruxes. She has already been drawn to the Diary and she obviously knows something is wrong with the locket, but why is still a mystery to the readers. It will definitely have a reason by the end, but for now I'm afraid I can only drop hints. I wouldn't want to ruin the next however many chapters for you.  
>HBP is going to be so exciting. Thinking about it always makes me giddy - things are definitely going to change during that book and it is always exciting to think about it. Just like with the Malfoy Manor scene. It's going to be so intense...uasdflkj. I can't say anything more, ruining it would just be blasphemy, if it turns out anything like it plays out in my head.<br>Audrey's wand is certainly a mystery, as well. It may be loyal to her, but why does it flicker in and out of use? Sometimes I tihnk that she asks herself the wrong questions about it. One day, it will all clear over, though.  
>Audrey interacting with Voldemort is going to be terrifying. Even if Voldemort weren't a murderer hell-bent on trying to destroy the Potter twins, having two powerful Slytherins like them in the same room, who detest having people think that they are better than themselves, would be dangerous enough as it is. Add their special powers and the fact that both of them don't have as much general compassion as other characters and it just turns into a ticking time bomb. It will be fun.<br>I have taken the liberty of being able to save two characters and killing off one character who previously would not have died (for balance's sake). It is not so much the question as who I WANT to save as much as it is: how will it affect the story? How will it affect the ending? and most importantly: would it be possible with Audrey involved? As much as I would love to save everyone, I have not given myself that power. And realistically, I do not want to.  
>The moment that Audrey and Malfoy realize they love each other is going to be devastating. I mean that within the literal meaning of the word: not necessarily that it will be heartbreaking, but that it will be earth-shattering and life altering. Nothing will ever be the same again, and there will be no turning back...it's going to be so fantastic! I'm excited even thinking about it.<br>Never worry about writing too much, I absolutely adored this review. I love that you took the time to read this all and I completely appreciate both the dedication to reading and the effort on reviewing each plot point you thought was important. I adored this, really! Thank you so, so, so much. I hope you liked the new chapter!**

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><p><strong>Well, I think I may end up going over 1000 reviews after this chapter, everyone. If you're on my twitter, expect some spoilers...maybe even another three hours of "ask any question"...I might be giddy enough again. I hope you liked the chapter and look forward to the next one: it'll be a fun one!<strong>

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at ** EgyptsLegend


	53. OWL Droppings

**This will be a nice long chapter of the exam week and a few events during it. I don't really have a lot to say besides thank you for all the fantastic reviews and support I've been getting these past few weeks – I really appreciate it guys, thank you so much! **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 52 – OWL Droppings<p>

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><p>"If I were to die tomorrow, do you think I'd be exempted from the OWLs?" I asked my brother when he met me at the broom cupboard in the dungeons. "Because it's a distinct possibility. I think that if my brain expands with any more information, it will explode. That's usually a cause of death, isn't it?"<p>

"Usually," Harry nodded, sighing dismally. "To be honest I don't know if I want you to clear my mind...if you take out everything I've already learned, I'm going to fail tomorrow."

"Theoretically clearing your mind should help," I informed him with a frown. "But then again, we've never really been one to follow regular methods and predictions, have we?"

He grunted his approval, sitting down heavily onto the cool flagstone in front of me. I didn't ask permission and I didn't wait for him to prepare himself – this was such a ritual now that there was no need for such formalities. Still, no matter how well things had been going with our morning and evening meetings in broom closets, I couldn't say that I was ever excited while spending my energy draining my brother of his own headstrong emotions. I loved him and all, but I didn't like being in his head. And even more, I didn't like having to be because he still couldn't figure out the process for himself.

I saw a younger version of myself calming down one of Marge's dogs after it had chased Harry up a tree...Gryffindors studying for the OWLs...the Dementors attacking us last summer...the graveyard...Umbridge telling my brother that he'd never be an auror...Tom Riddle's diary writing back to him...Hermione's disturbingly organized study-guide for the OWLs...seeing all of us petrified in the hospital wing...

"You're not focusing," I told him in a huff, taking my hands off his head and rubbing them irritably. He sighed, shaking his head hopelessly.

"I'm telling you: my brain's too full."

"Well empty it," I told him moodily. "I know you're good at that. Besides, I have places to be."

I placed my hands on either side of his head again, feeling all his memories as they began to fade into the background of his consciousness, becoming less of an issue and more of a passing thought, almost as if...it weren't a big deal that Ron had won them the last Gryffindor game, or it wasn't an issue that he had words carved into the back of his hand...

Finally, after minutes of him mastering and numbing his worries about Umbridge, exams, and the orbed room from his dreams, my brother's mind was clear. And it was not due to him calming himself, may I add. It was due to my magical coersion that life wasn't _actually _that bad. I should have a career in talking people off the edge of bridges, considering how well I can make my brother forget his problems each morning and night.

He looked almost drowsy, as he usually did after our sessions, and all I could hope was it would last longer than a few hours this time – even though I doubted it.

"How do you feel?"

He blinked at me slowly, looking at me and taking a longer moment than usual to register what I had asked him before shrugging. "Tired."

"Perfect," not really, but it was better than feeling anxious. "Now, what's the incantation used to silence someone?"

He blinked again. "_Silencio_?"

"Good, seems like you're still smart enough to get through the exams today," I told him seriously. He smiled to himself a little and I could almost see him begin to run his spells over in his mind before I stood. "I have to go."

"Wait, why?" He asked, scrambling clumsily to stand as I was already on my feet.

"I finally have my careers session. You know how Snape and Umbridge are about tardiness," I sighed, dusting off my skirt. Not that they should have gotten mad at me for tardiness; my careers advice had been rescheduled twice thanks to Inquisitorial Business that I barely had any part of besides barking off numbers and houses to lose points. "So I have to go."

"Don't you want to talk about exams, or your own problems?"

"That's one of the sweetest things you've ever offered, but I really have to go," I assured him before I took the time to rush off and head up one floor to get out of the subdungeons and up to the regular dungeon level that held Snape's office. I knocked three times before I entered – normally I would not have bothered, but with Umbridge around I didn't want to seem too comfortable in any particular person's presence.

"Enter," Snape's voice sounded, echoing through the dusty corridor. I took a deep breath before entering, my rucksack bouncing oddly against my hip. It was virtually empty today besides multiple extra quills and ink bottles; there was no need for parchment or textbooks today. Not for the first day of our OWLs.

"Right on time," Umbridge smiled as I entered. She was wearing a powdered blue today – a strange deviation in her regular ensemble and the hat – which looked of dyed, dead minx – sat unsteadily on top of her head. It was a ghastly effect. "Thank you for meeting with us before your first examination, Miss Potter. It's very nice of you to fit us into your schedule."

"I don't think my mind can stretch much more than it already has, professor," I said as sweetly – yet still honestly as I could – before I nearly fell into the seat across from the Head of house and Headmistress. Umbridge didn't seem pleased by my casual behaviour, but she seemed to think better than to mention it.

"Yes, I know that it's been a very busy time, studying for all your OWLs these coming weeks," she sighed, I think she was trying to be sympathetic but the warty smile on her face did not give off the same impression. "But I would like to talk to you about your options for next term."

"Yes," I said slowly. This was not really my favourite topic of conversation – my marks weren't as impressive as most and I didn't like when teachers spoke to other teachers about them and compared. Sadly, that was all this quarter hour was supposed to be. Snape caught the anxious glance that I casted him, but was working hard to look impassive, so I tried to redirect my nervousness. "About the NEWT level courses to begin next year, correct?"

"Correct," Snape decided to take over for the toad and I was thankful. Even with the toad looking over his shoulder, I felt much more at ease with the illusion that it was just he and I having our bi-daily lecture of my future endeavours. Even if he tells me that I'm hopeless, at least I knew he was being honest about it. Umbridge had ulterior motives coming out her toes. "I'm going to hope with every fiber of my being that you will not be daft and wish to doom us as your brother does?"

"Er," I muttered, furrowing my brow. "Depends what he wants to be."

"An auror," Umbridge answered with a scoff.

"Harry wants to be an auror?" I asked, raising my eyebrows skeptically. "He wants to drag on the idea that he's the saviour of the wizarding world post-education and for the rest of his life?"

"That is what he informed Minerva and I," Umbridge said bitterly, nodding her head down to her clipboard. "Though I assured him he would not be accepted into the program."

"Well, I don't have any interest being an auror," I said and though the thought of saying that I did passed through my mind just to spite her, quite honestly besides those last seconds that career had never crossed my mind. In fact, no career really had. I'd always thought that something terrible was going to happen ahead of time, or worse, that I'd never be able to figure out how to use my magic and would be cast out of this kind of criteria. It was still a likely risk. "I don't really know what would be a good fit for me."

"Well, Miss Potter," Umbridge said, flipping over a piece of parchment on her clipboard. "Your potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy marks are exemplary. Your Divination and Defence Against the Dark Arts, of course, also hover at a decent height. Marks such as Herbology, History of Magic, Charms and Transfiguration, however..." she paused, giving a sour look at the sheet in front of her. "Are dragging down your possibilities."

This, of course, was a load of shite. But not in a positive atmosphere; as soon as I was forced to take these examinations the true nature of my inability towards magic would come to light: my Defence marks would plummet, and all the marks that were already 'dragging my possibilities' would cross out entire categories of later work. I'd be left with low marks and a Longbottom's chance in hell at some sort of magical career.

"Well, I really like Potions, Headmistress. Also Care of Magical Creatures...or at least," I stuttered when I saw her lips purse as she thought of Hagrid. "The _idea _behind Care of Magical Creatures. As much as I enjoy other classes, I'm not as well equipped to them as I am to those."

"After looking after test scores and – of course – your personality traits, Miss Potter," Umbridge began with a disgustingly faux-grin. "I would highly encourage you to consider a job with the Ministry of Magic."

"The Ministry?" I repeated, trying hard not to laugh. What a joke – was this some sort of prank, or game that she was playing? My intention with the Ministry was not hidden, even if my relationship with her seemed strong. I would consider working for the Ministry when magic was dead. That was a more likely that scenario than me ever working in some desk job with a bunch of political, Potter-hating ponces.

"Miss Potter," Snape began slowly, almost as if he could hear the laughter I was trying to cover. "I would rather encourage you towards the idea of becoming a Potions Mistress."

My inner laughter died at that as I blinked at him. "Er – what?"

"You show decent enough skill; though your methods and lack of discipline are regrettable, you also show the potential needed for someone of a high calibre job such as brewing. I would consider that a viable option, if you have no others in mind."

"A Potion Mistress?" I repeated again, trying it on the tip of my tongue. It felt light and almost as if it weren't there, weren't _real_. "What kind of jobs come with that?"

"You could always work at the Ministry," Umbridge poked in again. Snape rightfully spoke over her.

"The Ministry is always looking for Masters to create new potions. As we have seen that you have that ability, you could test and create new products or work for hire. There is always teaching, a route I obviously pursued. And you could, of course, work for yourself as a private inventor – but that comes with instability in job offers and payment."

"I never really considered it an option," I said honestly, looking between the two of them with a frown. "But thank you...you've given me a lot to think of."

"Any time my dear," Umbridge smiled, standing as Snape and I did so. She was hardly taller standing than she had been when we were sitting down. "And please remember that the Ministry would be glad to have someone of your credentials."

Harry-hater with insider-information was clearly what she meant. You know, as my grades are shite.

"Well thank you, I think that I'm going to head to breakfast before my Charms OWL."

"Good luck today, Potter," Snape said as the door opened with a flick of his wand. It was almost like the end of his sentence rang with an unsaid _you'll need it..._and oh Lord, did I know it.

Today was my first Ordinary Wizarding Level test and I was glad that my careers advice had given me reason to skip breakfast. By the time I made it into the Great Hall, it was already set up for the first half of examinations: rows of single desks, all facing toward the large windows behind where the head table stood an hour before. Our names were on our desks – we were to sit in alphabetical order. I sat to the left of my brother, to the right of Parvarti – the less annoying of the Patil twins – and prepared my ink and quills for a long morning of writing. My hands were already starting to shake and I was anxiously running through the entirety of my Charms textbook in my head.

Oh, I was getting a _troll_ on this one...

_Question One_:

I nearly read it aloud when we were allowed to flip the exam over. The parchment was thicker than regular parchment: Ministry paper. More crisp and thick to show all your mistakes and make it look official. As if you were officially condemning your soul if you fail the theory or practical examinations as I was...

_Focus, Audrey!_

Clenching my fists I forced myself to take another deep breath and continued reading.

_A) Give the incantation and B) Describe the movement to make objects fly._

I smirked. Then again, maybe I really was a theory-witch after all...

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><p>"So, the theory wasn't terrible," I said as soon as the House tables had been replaced and we were all sitting and eating as quickly as we could. All any of us seemed to want to do was try to get some form of revision in before the Practical portion of our Charms exam at 1:00.<p>

"Speak for yourself," Daphne groaned, holding her head in her hands. Her curls looked more messy than I had ever seen them – she was as stressed as every fifth year, it seemed. "Did you even remember that there was a charm for hiccoughs? Oh, please tell me it was a trick question..."

"It's not," Tracey said with a sigh. "But I forgot it too."

"I feel like my brain is going to explode," I growled, cradling my head in my hands as well. "How hard do you think the Practical will be?"

"Imagine the theory exam," Theodore said slowly. "Multiply it by five."

"Ten for Audrey," Lillian corrected. "Since she's shite with a wand."

I made a face at her but didn't bother trying to defend myself in any way. It would have been a waste of breath and everyone knew it – even me. I didn't say anything for the rest of Lunch, or while we filed out to the Entrance Hall to wait to be called in to the same side-chamber that I had been called into last year – as a Triwizard champion. I tried focusing, thinking of charms and little, old Flitwick going through all the different wand movements.

"..._Hopkins, Wayne...Granger, Hermione...Goldstein, Anthony...Goyle, Gregory...Greengrass, Daphne_..."

"Good luck," I mumbled to her while she walked mechanically into line behind Goyle. Luckily for her, no matter how horribly she did she would look good in comparison to the dunderhead in front of her – but I'm sure if I told her that it wouldn't be of much comfort. They didn't come back out the same door they had left, so we did not see them by the time the next names were called. And another group after that, where again our group was splintered.

"..._Li, Su...McDougal, Morag...MacMillan, Ernie...Malfoy, Draco...Nott, Theodore..._"

"You can do this," I told Theodore while he and Malfoy began forward. My eyes traitorously looked over to Malfoy, who didn't look the least bit concerned with the circumstances. His eyes caught me looking – they _always _caught me looking – and as I was too nervous to feel bitter, I nodded as supportively as I could. He acknowledged it, but otherwise ignored me as he walked into line.

Typical.

I couldn't hear the spells being shouted in the next room while my whole being vibrated. I had more energy than ever thanks to my nervousness – but of course, that wouldn't help whatsoever with my wand-work. This nervous energy was perfect for Magnuse. The only problem was that Magnuse was not to be used during examinations...I'd asked.

"..._Parkinson, Pansy...Patil, Padma...Patil, Parvati...Potter, Audrey...Potter, Harry..._"

I went and stood in line with my fellow alphabetized students. We were to wait while the others who had been called in front of us finished their tests and an examiner was freed.

"Professor Kegg can take you, Miss Potter," Professor Sinistra called when we had entered the chamber. In front of me I could see that others were finishing up their own examinations – Nott and Malfoy were both up and performing some Charm that I couldn't see from my placement in line. MacMillan had just finished and was passing to the other end of the Hall with a horrified look on his face – I was immediately worried over whether that was due more from his performance or if it had to do with his particular examination judge.

"Potter, is it?" The man – Professor Kegg – looked up over his notes to raise his eyebrows upon seeing me. He had greying brown hair and a fully gray goatee. He also had strangely purple eyes that were boring their way toward my infamous scar. Subtly I tried to turn so that he wouldn't be gawking at my deformed neck – I had a feeling I would be doing this for a majority of the next two weeks.

"I've heard all about you..." He said to himself, sounding not only arrogant but upsettingly interested, despite himself. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I walked past him to the section marked off for me to perform my charms in. As I was walking forward, something two sections down from me crashed. It was loud enough to make me jump and I turned my head in shock to see that Malfoy was sending my brother the eye of death with something shattered at his feet. Harry looked smug.

They were so juvenile. All the time.

"Now, can you take this egg cup and make it do some cartwheels for me?" he asked, pointing off in the general direction of an egg cup in the middle of my section. He didn't bother looking at it, but rather down at his paper before meeting my eyes again.

"Er – no," I said simply. "I mean, you could ask, but I wouldn't perform the spell. Shall we move on to the next?"

He raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed. I wondered if it had more to do with the fact I had already written off a mark, or the fact I had been rude about it. He held up his clipboard as a sturdy surface, looking at me expectantly.

"Could you levitate the egg cup to land on my clipboard, please?"

At least this I could do. I was able to perform it on the first try, even though I wasn't able to put it down on his clipboard, but rather half a foot from his knees. It was easier when he told me to focus on the incantations as I pleased – meaning that I didn't speak the incantations at all. It was a little bit closer to Canated magic rather than Incantated magic, and that little boost of preciseness helped me more than a few times. Overall, it wasn't as terrible as I thought, even though most people around me did better and took much less time.

Harry and my meeting was quick that night and to be honest, I doubt I did much good. Tomorrow was Transfiguration and we were both worried about our markings. I cleared his mind as best I could – though not entirely thanks to both of us being so worked up with nerves – and eventually I headed back to start reading through my Transfiguration textbook from the beginning...just in case.

The only saving grace from my studying was the fact that the group of us Slytherins were never bothered by anyone. No one would dare what with my reputation and any of the others. Also, thanks to my own silent form of sacrifice, Malfoy was sure to keep the others away. It meant that I was forced to be in the same room with him as he and Parkinson were glued by the mouth – but it made it much easier to keep my eyes on my notes.

I woke up with the textbook over my face and my hair somewhat reminiscent of a bird's nest. I did as best I could with it: combing it through with the enchanted brush Daphne had given me, patting it down with product, and finally throwing it into a disorganized ponytail before I rushed off to meet my brother. It was always easier clearing his mind in the mornings, thanks to the help of exhaustion and today was no exception; even though I still felt anxious for my first, indefinite, fail.

It was much the same process that day – during the Transfiguration theory, I would have bet I'd done decently. Even though I mixed two answers – I mean, the heart should be the first thing to vanish because it pumps blood through the body, not the last! The questions hardly made sense in the first place – and though I was sure my writing was barely legible, I was sure I would pass that portion.

For the Practical I was not so certain. I unable to fully vanish my eguana – I'd hoped that it would just close its eyes and lay on its unvanished foot, but I had no such luck – and by the time I was asked to turn Circe back into a kneazle from a bat, she turned into some very volatile rodent-mix who wouldn't stop hissing and pawing at me until she was set straight by the examiner.

Herbology the next day had been horrendous – I tried to convince the judge, Professor Tofty, that I worked with dead, dried, or dismembered plants only. He didn't really agree. Apparently he believed that my being a Potter meant I should have been better in my examinations – and I proved him wrong. Oops.

I had cleared my brother's mind with a bit of resentment that night.

And then, on Thursday, came Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry, that morning, had not been nervous at all. And once I easily squashed the smugness radiating off of him, he was able to clear his mind more easily than ever before.

The written questions were a breeze – they had been taken right out of the textbook and were in the exact order of our exam questions – but by the time I was sent off to my area for the Practical, I was not so easily assured. It was a good thing that Umbridge was too busy watching Harry to pay any attention to me, considering I was sure I would fail these spells I'd never performed. Malfoy and Nott, however, were watching me – and likely Parkinson – intently. They had just finished their examinations and taking their time to walk out of the hall.

For this Practical I had a more enthusiastic examiner, Professor Crook – an enthusiastic woman with plump, rosy cheeks, who was much more patient with my inability to do all the counter-jinxes and defensive spells properly, even if she was a little too sweet about it. I managed to achieve a good banishing of a boggart – which I had managed to get rid of before I could tell whose drowned body it was about to take form of – and also a rather impressive stunning spell after two tries, but that was nearly the extent of my skills.

Right as I was about to finish off with my multiple failed attempts at a protective shield, I was distracted – and in consequence hit with a round of flying rubber balls – by the silver misted stag that was galloping around the room. It seemed that my brother, who was standing quite proudly, had decided to cast his patronus charm for all the judges to see. Of course.

_Calm down,_ a voice that sounded much like Snape's said in my head. My eyes flickered to the side of the hall to see him ushering in the next row of students at the door. _Focus._

I was warmed by the sentiment, right before...

"Oh, look! Look! Well done," Professor Crook, my own instructor, congratulated my brother from afar with rather ridiculous applause. His instructor was doing the same. "Can you do that?"

Suddenly my round-faced examiner was not as appealing to me. And my anxiety was replaced with a searing bitterness. Still, I smiled at her as sweetly as I could.

"No, only my brother can."

"Pity," she nearly pouted, moving to give me an exaggerated _X _somewhere on my examination paper. A Patronus charm wasn't even supposed to be in a NEWT level – how the bloody hell did I get an _X_ on my sheet by refusing to cast it? I clenched my fists together, a flagstone under my foot seemed to groan under the power and pressure of my frustration as I tapped my toes.

"Yes. But if it would impress you, I can make your quill stab you without touching it," I said with the same viciously sweet smile. The witch blinked at me completely dumbfounded and unsure of how to respond for a long moment. I shrugged innocently. "Would that get me bonus marks?"

"I think we're finished here," she said nervously, shifting in her seat and folding up my exam as if that was what made her words final. I shrugged.

"Pity," I echoed, giving her another smile – which I hoped was unnerving – before I trotted out to join my finished friends and interpret how we think it had gone: if I had managed a passing grade after that performance, I would think of being a con-woman before a Potion Mistress.

Friday held no examination for me, so I was sure to sleep through until lunch and only ended up clearing my brother's mind before we went to bed. The weekend was supposed to be full of studying as well, so said Theodore, but it found the group of us Slytherins trying to relax in the common room and avoid anything to have to do with work. I'd had to work hard to convince Theodore that I was past the point of learning and at this point, trying to drill more answers into me may be more jeopardizing than anything. He had let me off on the condition that I quiz him once a day on Potions. It was an easy trade.

Harry, so sure that he would perish during the Potions exam, looked about ready to piss himself as met that morning and walked into the Theory portion in the Great Hall. It was not as simple for me as I would have hoped, only because I didn't think in the same step-by-step way the exam was written – but I know I fared better than most. It was during the 94th question, however, that an examiner – Kegg – looked down on me with an exaggerated frown.

"Miss Potter, do you have a question?"

"Er," I looked up at him and around at the other students – all of which were trying to ignore me so taht they could continue scribbling. "No."

"Then why do you keep looking up?" He asked me. I simply shook my head in confusion, ready to deny that I had been before he continued. "I've been noticing your eyes wander off the page and around the room. Do I need to worry about you cheating off of other's papers?"

I blinked, jaw slacked before I actually laughed bitterly. This was _not _happening.

"Are you joking?"

"I feel no reason to joke. Do I need to speak to the Headmistress about this?" He asked, looking between the people I was standing near. Clearly I had offended him during my Charms exam when I refused to try certain things. Or maybe he just expected that I was doing so well on this exam because if I was bad in one subject I had to be bad in them all – either way, I was beyond insulted. "Do any of you believe she may be cheating?"

I let out another bitter snort.

"I know I seem a likely candidate," I said with as much condescension as I could manage. "But I'm fairly certain that if anyone's cheating, it's those sneaking peaks at _my _paper."

"What?"

"I've seen eyes looking toward _my _paper all class, which you would have missed because you would rather pay attention to Professor Sinistra, over there," I nodded up to the front where the stern witch was standing. "And potions happens to be my best subject. So, maybe you should look at other people...not me. Or, maybe you should just stop looking at Professor Sinistra. Can I get back to my exam, now?"

By the time we got to the Practical that afternoon, it was like Professor Kegg had made sure that he was free to watch me brew a Draught of Peace. He seemed pleased every time I didn't follow the step-by-step way to brew it and almost looked ready to curse me by the time I handed him a perfect, textbook-example vial of the finished potion, 20 minutes before any other students had theirs brewed.

Care of Magical Creatures that next day was as much of a joke as Potions had been. It didn't even have a theory part of the exam, but rather was all hands-on work that I not only thrived in, but was able to give some of my friends helpful hints as we weren't all separated as we would have been in the castle. Instead of sitting in desks, we walked down to Hagrid's hut that afternoon to identify the Knarl hidden in a pile of hedgehogs, before we worked on handling a Bowtruckle, then properly cleaning a Fire Crab, and lastly choosing the proper diet used to nurse a sick unicorn foal.

I'm sure I passed that with as many colours as Neville was burnt by his improper cleaning of the Crab.

"How do you think you did yesterday?" Harry asked me as I met him at our dungeon-broom cupboard. I shrugged my shoulders. He had decided to miss last night's meeting in a pointless preparation for our Astronomy and Divination OWLs this morning, evening, and night.

"Saying I received a passing grade would probably be an understatement," I told him honestly, feeling just as smug as he must hafve done during his Defence Against the Dark Arts Practical. "By the way, you handled your Bowtruckle all wrong."

"I caught that," he mumbled bitterly. "I think everyone did when it took a swipe at me."

"Hopefully Professor Crook wasn't paying attention," I told him lightly. "And at least you dodged it."

"Yeah," he sighed, moving to sit on the flagstone. "Are you ready for today?"

"I memorized my star charts and planetary movements," I nodded, also melting to the ground. "But I'm sure to fail all the math questions...'If Venus has just orbited a year around its own orbit, when will it cross with Mars and how many days into Mar's year will that be'? I'll fail all those. I don't really care about orbits. I know how many days there are in a year on earth and that's all I really care about."

"And the events of the orbits during leap years?"

"I'm saving all those dandy leap-year omens for my Divination essay," I smirked, placing my hands on his head. "I'm saying I'll die on a leap year, so that it could be once every four years and she won't be able to prove me wrong until I'm already out of here. And no, you can't steal that."

"Fine," he huffed, picking at the hem of his shirt. "Let's just finish this. I suddenly don't think I remember how many days are in Venus' orbit."

"Alright," I answered strongly, digging through his mind again. I sighed, looking at the bright white orbs on shelves that seemed to be permeating all of his thoughts, even more so than all the exam preparation from the night before. "You haven't been doing your exercises before bed."

"I have!" He argued, more defensively than he normally sounded. I quirked a brow at him, accusing him silently before he shrugged guiltily. "It's just because we didn't do it last night, I had a bit more of the dream than usual. It's not a big deal, I've gotten farther in the room before."

"Still," I said carefully, trying to remember what I had seen through his mind, the black floor, the rows of white orbs, the eerie feeling that we were being watched... "That's probably a bad sign. Maybe I should try and have a word with Snape before th-"

"No!" He said quickly. He was always nervous as hell when the Potions Professor's name was even mentioned – it had been fun at first, but now it was just frustrating. Whatever he had seen could not have been bad enough that these two could not converse, even bitterly. Particularly if it meant that it would keep Harry's mind safe. Even I had to admit that I could only do so much. "No, it's okay. What you've been doing is great. Don't worry about it."

"All right," I said slowly, my eyes narrowing. "But I'm going to take a bit longer at night to make sure I get it all. And I'm going to grab you some sleeping draught, I want you to take it until exams are over and we can focus on this a little more, alright?"

"Agreed," he told me with a nod. "Now clear out my mind before I panic about how I'm supposed to die for an essay. I think it has to be something really epic..."

Astronomy was a more difficult paper than I would have initially thought. While I got the history of the planets, stars, and constellations with ease I was positive that I messed up on Uranus' orbit and the length of a year on each of Jupiter's separate moons. After grabbing a quick sleeping draught from Madam Pomfrey and delivering it from my hand, to Hermione's, then to Harry's during lunch, we headed off to our Divination exam.

Divination was all theory and I was sure that I had flunked a portion of it. Not that I cared, the entire thing was a joke. Really, who really uses a Crystal Ball in the 20th century, anyway? And that I had premeditated my death to be the most ridiculous it could be was a sign that this exam was shite. I did decently with my tea-leaf reading, my palm reading – though I did briefly confuse which palm told what – and did well with Firenze's portions of the testing which focused on telling which stars read about the Great Wars...I was even able to identify how a new star, brightened by the light of Mars, insinuated something brewing on the horizon.

I groaned dramatically, multiple times, as we walked up toward our Astronomy practical at eleven at night. My feet were dragging on the ground mercilessly and though Theodore warmed me more than once that I was going to wear holes in my shoes, I couldn't manage the energy to do anything more to help it. I was so exhausted I didn't think I would be able to lift my feet the extra two inches for the safety of my soles – it of course didn't help that we were going to the highest tower in the castle.

"We're almost done, Audrey," Theodore encouraged as we walked. "We just have History of Magic tomorrow and the Free Session on Friday..."

"I don't even think I'll go to the Free Session Practical," Daphne yawned. "It's just not worth it."

"If I go, I certainly won't study for it," Blaise agreed, clenching his jaw against the very idea of extra work. "Let's get this part of our lives over with, I say."

"Cheers," I agreed, shaking my head and continuing on our way up the staircases.

Astronomy was a boring exam. Though the theory and the Practical were meant to be different in some ways, it really was much the same thing. Only now, we were lucky enough to have the stars in front of us to diagram, instead of answering questions and trying to remember what the night sky looked like. The blank star chart was easy enough – it was one of the things I did know, and I didn't need to look through my scope to start recording what I knew was there.

Over an hour into the exam, a roar interrupted the process. The sound was crippling – even though it was loud it was somehow distant: an echo on the horizon that did not numb the impact. I swivelled my head, turning in the direction everyone else had, only to see that Hagrid's cabin seemed to have visitors.

"Try and concentrate, now, boys and girls," Professor Tofty, the man who was all but enamoured with my brother, told us all. People tried to return to their telescopes, but it was hard to keep focused what with the voices blurring in the background of the night. "Ahem – twenty minutes to go."

Twenty minutes? I had hardly finished my details on the constellations around Draco...

My eyes instinctually jumped to the person who matched the name and shockingly he was facing my direction. He was looking past me, down towards Hagrid's cabin, but when he saw me gazing at him our eyes met. He always seemed to catch me looking and like always, the look was tense and electric.

The BANG that shattered the silence also shattered our eye contact. Several people jabbed themselves in the eye with their telescope, but I was already watching the action as they complained. Multiple witches and wizards – at least half a dozen – were trying to stun the giant in his own hut. And in his own defence he was brandishing his fists and roaring at them all.

"No!" A girl – it may have been Hermione – screamed.

"My dear, this is an examination!"

"_Be reasonable, Hagrid_!"

"_Reasonable be damned, yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish_!"

Their voices echoed over the empty landscape between the tower and the hut, easily making every word intelligible. Down near the hut you could barely see when Fang was stunned in the scuffle. More noticeably, you could see Hagrid throw the man who did it.

"Now, really!" Professor Tofty seemed as anxious as we students did. "Only sixteen minutes left, you know!"

"_How dare you! How dare you!_"

"That's McGonagall!" Hermione gasped.

Indeed it was Old McGonagall, her robes were billowing behind her as she stormed out of the castle toward the cabin in the dead of night as the others must have. She was lit only by the waxing moon, considering they had stopped trying to stun Hagrid after he had launched the man who had cursed Fang.

"_Leave him alone! Alone, I say! On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-_"

As if in sync, no fewer than four stunners hit Professor McGonagall straight in the chest. I was not particularly fond of the old woman, but even I gasped at the impact before she fell stiffly to the ground, still growing a toxic red from the radiating spell through her veins.

"Galloping gargoyles!" It seemed Professor Tofty no longer cared about our fourteen minutes. "Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behaviour!"

"_Cowards!_" Hagrid bellowed. "_Ruddy cowards! Have some o' that – an' that_!"

Hagrid was fighting with brawn rather than magic, something they would not have expected from the thick-skinned giant who took more than a few stunners to placate. And he was able to knock down nearly all of the people in his way. He grabbed Fang, slung over his back like a sack of potatoes, before he took off running toward the castle gates.

"_Get him, get him_!" Umbridge squealed, but he was long gone. I should have known the toad had led the squad of cowards to his hut in the middle of the night. I should have known she was not afraid to fight dirty.

By the time I was able to focus again, the exam only had five minutes left. I no longer really cared about the two missing constellations next to Draco, either. I was disgusted, disgusted by the scene in front of me where those cowards had tried to attack my friends – again. As if they couldn't do that enough to people I favoured this year – the duelling club, my brother, the twins, now Hagrid? When would this end?

As I watched the Headmistress start to wake up her unconscious colleagues, something white hot seemed to force its way beneath my eyelids so it could stab through the tender skin there. I let out a gasp thanks to the unexpected pain – it was almost as if I was smelling the horrid herbs from Trelawney or was splitting from myself to become Astral, without the ethereal balance of mind, body and magic...

I was being warned.

"Audrey?" I heard my brother ask nervously, he even placed a hand on my shoulder. It would have been impossible for him not to be able to identify what was happening right now, but I was too afraid to open my eyes or to tell him I was okay. I didn't feel okay. I felt horrid, I felt dread and pain as if my brain was trying to break free of my skull...

"The examination isn't over, young man," Professor Tofty scolded.

"I'm finished," another voice said. The voice was lower than normal, probably from not speaking in so long, or maybe because he hadn't actually spoken to _me _for longer. But I was still surprised to hear Malfoy's voice respond rather than anyone other. "So is she. Can we go?"

"Are you feeling ill, Miss Potter?" Professor Tofty asked me. I could do nothing more than nod, even though my tender thoughts were trying to sway towards an understanding as to why Malfoy was answering for me. "Mr Malfoy, will you assist her back to the dormitories, or to the hospital wing if you feel it appropriate?"

"Yes, sir," he said simply. I felt his grip on my forearm, followed the momentum he pulled me to stand. He lead me, silently, back to the lower floors. He did not say a word until we were back in the castle and I took this in blind trust that he wasn't killing me, so I wouldn't have to open my eyes. They still felt like they were being burned and my head was pounding so painfully that I wouldn't know if he actually _had _decided to speak to me, thanks to the blood rushing in my ears.

"Hospital wing, or dormitories?" His voice was still low and as I expected, it was blurred by the force of my migraine, but I was still able to shake my head.

"Dormitories," I answered weakly. "I just need to lay down."

"Fine," he didn't seem to want to say any more than that. And I was glad. As nice as his voice could be, it was not nice when it felt like I was being stabbed through my eardrums with it. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little insulted. If he didn't want to do it, why the bloody hell had he offered? There was no need to be short with me. I hadn't done anything to exacerbate our little battle of wills.

He took me through the wall that separated the Slytherin common room from the dungeons and through the corridor which lead to the girls' dormitories. He seemed to remember the difference between Pansy and my dormitory because I could smell Daphne's lavender as soon as he opened the door. He stayed immobile once it was open so I used my own legs and ebbing strength to make it to my bed – which I flopped on hopelessly. I writhed, unable to pull the covers from under me now that I had fallen on them but too weak to think of standing to it properly.

"You'll be fine here?"

"Yeah," I panted, nearly exhausted from the pain in my cranium and the movement required to get under my own sheets. "I feel sorry for your upcoming lecture from Pugface."

"She'll get over it," he informed tightly. I could just imagine how his jaw was clenching at the thought of someone trying to tell him what to do. He was even more stubborn than I was.

"And will you get over it?" I asked with a groan, turning on my side. "Or will you hold this over my head?"

"I have no reason to," he told me snootily. "I'm over this year. As are you, so I saw."

"Is that some jab at Fred?" I asked with a snort. "Because there's no need."

"No need," he scoffed. "Yes, I guess I should have expected it."

"Well then you would have done better at it than I would have," I told him sarcastically, closing my eyes so that I didn't have to look at his sillhouette against the light from the hall behind him. "He kissed me and I didn't expect it. He's never kissed me in his life."

"Sure," he was rolling his eyes, I could hear it in his voice.

"You know, him kissing me was unpredictable – but you? You're _completely _predictable. As soon as you thought you could hurt me more than I hurt you-"

"You didn't hurt me, Potter," he sneered.

"As soon as you thought it, you ran right into the arms of my enemy. It's not like I kissed _your _enemy," I wrinkled my nose as I thought about it. "Because that would be my brother. Oh, that's rancid."

There was a long silence and I didn't have the energy to look at him. Either I fell asleep with him watching me, or he walked away. I guess that I'd never know which it was.

The next morning I hardly felt better. My brain still felt tender and by the time I was headed out of my dormitory, I was already prepared to fall right back into bed. I was less excited for this examination than any: History of Magic. Filled with so much information and so many facts, even Hermione Granger had little chance of doing well. Who could memorize all those dates anyway? No, more importantly, who would _want _to?

I had slept in, glad that Harry had allowed me to sleep until lunch today so that I could try to ward off my migraine, but it barely did any good. Until I would have time to separate myself and let whichever vision push itself into the forefront of my consciousness, I wouldn't have any release from this blockage. And there was no clearing my mind and separating my mind, body, and magic right now – not under this kind of stress.

It was just half twelve when I pulled myself into the lake-tinted common room and was forced to stop short.

"Er-" I began, looking around nervously to see that the common room was distinctly vacated – save for a certain blonde haired snake. "What do _you_ want?"

"It's been a while since we've had a chat, Potter," he told me, standing up from the couch he had been seat on so that he could look at me face to face. It felt nearly as if he was planning to corner me, which I didn't like at all.

"Haven't really had time for one," I answered coolly. "You're mouth has been busy with other things."

"That can be said for us both, Potter," he said just as venomously.

"One surprise kiss doesn't even out with constantly snogging a pig in snake's clothing," I answered in a hiss. "I've also seriously begun to doubt your eyesight. Though I can't deny that I commend your stomach."

"Of course you do," he rolled his eyes, taking a few steps forward.

"I do," I said moodily, the proximity was getting closer again and I was in no state to try and have a manipulative mental war right now. I'd have to take a rain check. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have places to go.

I went to walk past him but he moved, irritably, right in front of the exit of the common room. I gave him the best annoyed glare that I could muster with my vision slightly blurred before I moved to pass him again...this time I bumped into his chest thanks to his quick movement.

"Argh, shove off!" I groaned. "I have somewhere to be."

"Not somewhere important," he told me with a clenched jaw. I looked up at him with narrowed eyes while he shook his head. "So tell me, did you enjoy snogging Weasley?"

"Oh, Salazar help me – what do you care?" I asked, flailing my arms in emphasis. "He kissed me. There was no snogging. And you've made it perfectly clear that it's none of your business, either way."

"You didn't answer," he accused darkly.

"Because you don't deserve one," I retorted. "And until you start being someone half the arse you have been – or maybe a quart of the bloke you were a month ago – there is nothing more to discuss."

I moved to walk past him again, but he still moved to the right to block my way. Normally I would have tried to trick him, but I was not in the mood nor did I have the energy. Instead I heaved a sigh and rolled my head back on my neck to try and release some of the building pressure.

"Did you like it?" he repeated, his voice lower and more dangerous.

"It was a kiss!" I said exasperatedly. "That's all."

"Was it better than mine?" He asked me, taking a step closer. I took a step back intuitively, knowing that look in his eye and the darkness to his tone. I was not in any condition to be attacked by him in any way – whether it be sexual or verbal.

"I don't think that matters," I answered carefully. I tried to sound haughty, but I'm not sure how well I managed it.

"It does," he said seriously. "Did you like snogging him more than me?"

"I don't have time to try to remember right now, Malfoy," I told him honestly, moving to pass him again.

"Let's make time," he ordered, his hands gripping the sides of my face to pull me into his chest and up on my toes. His lips crashed against mine, cool and dripping with bitterness – a flavour I missed in my time away from it. It was just as I remembered it; still raw and passionate and full of greed. There was a fervour to it that no one else had ever kissed me with and a hunger that built itself up inside of me that wouldn't let me end it. I had no choice but to kiss him back.

When we finally pulled away, I was not only short of breath but confused as to how we had somehow found ourselves on the couch. I tried righting my hair – which was surely a mess – and checked the time over the mantle...it was nearly half one now. I had missed my time with Harry to clear his mind and by the time we made it up to the Great Hall, we would have no time for lunch before our History of Magic exam.

"Should we be going?"

"Shouldn't we elaborate on what just happened?" I asked nervously, looking from the time and back to him. Maybe, if he said no, I would still be able to catch my brother and apologize. Clear his mind with a little more force than normal to make it quick. But that was only if Malfoy and I had nothing to talk about here...and I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to talk about it. I mean, it was nice to finally be able to help my twin – who was so much better at magic than me regularly – but it'd be even nicer if I could spend some of that time to help myself out of my own messes. Such as fancying his arch-nemesis.

"We can talk about this after our exam," he said shortly, straightening his robes before standing. "We'll be distracted enough as it is."

That could have been an insult or a compliment. I tried not to concentrate on which.

We both walked to the Great Hall, trying to keep our wits about us and offof '_us'_. People were already outside and pacing, waiting for the more laborious examination of the week. I tried not to look guilty as I took my seat next to my brother who shot me a look that I was sure he simply practiced to make me feel guilty before we were allowed to begin our paper. It all was a blur – the questions didn't make sense and what made less sense was the amount that everything weighed down on my mind. Silver eyes were looking back at me at all times, that's what it felt like. And these questions, they were surely from a subject I had never taken. And the pain in my head, it was to an extreme I had never felt before. I could hardly focus between the throbbing in my skull and the distraction this morning had created.

Then, white-hot pain that coursed through my skull, in the back of my eyes, and down my throat as if I had swallowed acid or it had been dumped over my skull. A white hot pain that I had never endured that made me feel like I was boiling from the inside out, melting from inside my very skin...

My brother screamed before I had a chance to. I wasn't able to react as I should have, but when the pain began to die down, I was able to crowd around him just as everyone else tried to – like the examiners and the students who were close. I tried swallowing the fear that the pain would return and after I was sure that it had faded enough to move, I dropped to the ground near my brother.

"Harry? What's wrong?" I asked over and over, but instead he shook his head, looking at the floor. He came-to quickly, shaking his head and looking more dazed and frightened than I dared to remember having ever seen him. And that was saying a lot in itself.

"Let's take him to the hospital wing," Professor Tofty said. "Shall we levitate him?"

"I'm not going...I don't need the hospital wing – I don't want..." Harry began, but he was hardly making coherent sentences. I put my hand on his arm, trying to shake some sense into him, but his eyes were still wide as he scanned the room.

"I'm-I'm fine, sir," Harry assured. "Really...I just fell asleep...had a nightmare..."

"Pressure of examinations!" the old wizard agreed with a sigh, helping my brother up. It looked like he was about to lead him out of the Great Hall. "It happens, young man, it happens! Now a cooling drink of water, and perhaps you will be ready to return to the Great Hall? The examination is nearly over, but you may be able to round off your last answer nicely?"

"Yes...I mean, no, I've done – done as much as I can, I think..."

"Very well, very well," he said, clapping my brother's shoulder gently. "I shall go and collect your examination paper. I suggest that you go and have a nice lie down."

"I'll do that," Harry assured. "Thanks very much."

"Harry, I-"

"You need to finish your paper, Miss Potter," Professor Tofty said with a quick glance at my nearly empty third page. "You'll need that time."

"But-"

"No buts," he wagged his finger. "You can see him in a half hours' time."

I grumbled to myself but got back into my seat while my brother was free to leave. I finished my question but could not focus on anything more. I was certain I had failed this OWL, but probably not by much more than I already would have without the distractions of the entire afternoon.

By the time we were released everyone was whispering about Harry's display in the exam. I didn't have much time for them and while I was on my way to find him, Theodore informed me that Umbridge had called on us all – apparently Peeves had begun smearing ink on the school telescopes for the Seventh Year NEWTs tonight and Montague had been attacked by a student that morning.

Surprisingly, today, that student had not been me.

Since I couldn't find my brother anyway I was quick to head in the direction of Peeves. There was no way I could stop him and all I needed was for people to see me there. There would be no denying I was trying to help the toad, then.

Still, it was quickly that I felt my Inquisitorial Badge vibrate before I heard a quick "_all Inquisitorial Members to my office, IMMEDIATELY!_" in Umbridge's high-pitched, panicked voice. It was rare that her heard her so out of sorts and so perturbed – it must have meant that something serious was up. And after her display with Hagrid last night, I was not sure if I was excited or terrified to know what it was.

I nearly ran all the way to the office, Malfoy and Nott both hot on my heels before we entered. I stopped dead in my tracks, one of the boys ended up bumping into me because of it. It was a sight unlike anything I had ever wanted to see. It was a sight that I had tried avoiding all year: Umbridge was dragging my brother's head out of the fireplace, covered with ash and coughing.

"You think that after two Nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge? I had Stealth Sensoring Spells placed all around my doorway after the last one got in, you foolish boy. Take his wand!"

Quickly, I surged forward to grab my brother's wand. As much as I tried to stay away from the Phoenix feather wand, it was better me to have it than anyone else. As I took hold of it, the wand prickled against my palm, sending a sharp jolt of electricity through it as if it was trying to make me drop it. It almost succeeded, but instead I shoved it deep into my robe pocket. I hated his ruddy wand. My palm, as it had been the few times I'd wielded it, was covered in shallow gashes. I clenched my fist to avoid questions from the Headmistress while Granger's wand was stripped from her as well.

"I want to know why you are in my office," Umbridge said slowly, pulling Harry up by his hair to stand.

"I was – trying to get my Firebolt!" It was a horrid lie.

"Liar," she hissed, shaking him by his hair again. "Your Firebolt is under strict guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fire. With whom have you been communicating?"

"No one-" Harry said immediately, his eyes flickering to me worriedly.

"Liar!" She threw Harry down. I nearly felt guilty that I was watching this done to my brother, but a little bit of abuse was something I knew he could live through – particularly if he was talking to someone like Dumbledore or Sirius. Oh, what had he done? My heart stopped just at the look, the look that told me just how bad it was. My grip hardened on him as I held him as agressively as I could – still, I tried to hold him close. Maybe I could drag him out, or gather enough energy so we both became invisible by my Magnuse...

Behind me, the door opened and Crabbe, Goyle, Warrington, and Parkinson entered with gagged victims of a gagging-jinx to keep them silent. Longbottom was losing air thanks to Crabbe's headlock, Lovegood looked quite bored with Warrington, Ron looked like he was ready to bite Goyle if he had to, and Ginny was trying to kick at Parkinson's shins.

"Got 'em all," Warrington told while he explained that Neville had tried to stop him from taking Ginny, so they had brought him as well. I felt the urge to hug the podgy boy, but refrained as I plastered on my most impeccable sneer.

"Good, good," Umbridge smiled over at Ginny's struggles. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"

That would never happen on my watch, even though Malfoy laughed from behind me. I looked over my shoulder shooting him a look – I tried to keep it as blank as I could, but I was too annoyed to make it seem harmless. Umbridge ignored the look, though she must have seen it, when she called Malfoy over to hold my brother. While grabbed hold of my brother in the most painful way he deemed appropriate, Umbridge lowered herself into her armchair.

"So, Potter, you stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon," she pointed to Ron, making Malfoy snort derisively. "To tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes – Mr. Filch having just informed me so."

"Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone." Even I couldn't stop myself from raising my eyebrows. A few Inquisitorial Squad members laughed – Parkinson cackled in a way that hurt my ears. My brother, shook against Malfoy's grip.

"It's none of your business who I talk to," Harry spit back. I clenched my jaw.

"It's her fire, Harry," I told him my voice low. "You were stupid enough to think she wouldn't know?"

It was a real question, even if it was said with more malice than it needed. How could he be stupid enough to come and use Umbridge's fireplace to talk to someone and not expect something like this to happen? He must have been more stupid than I ever imagined if he didn't expect to be caught.

"Indeed," Umbridge smiled to me in her most dangerous, sweet tone. "Very well, Mr Potter...I offered you the chance to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Audrey – fetch Professor Snape."

I nodded, trying hard not to show how my stomach felt ready to jump out of my mouth. I left the room as quickly as I could and dashed for the dungeons as quickly as my legs would carry me – I barely had the energy for this, between my pounding skull and my nervousness it was creating some kind of dangerous concoction that didn't give me energy but took it away from me.

Snape was still furious with Harry, that must be why Umbridge was asking. Or she was going to try and force him to take Veritaserum – a fate possibly worse than Snape's wrath.

"Professor," I began, barging into his office and ignoring the roll of his eyes as he looked up from his paper. "I need your help."

"My help?" He resonded slowly with an unamused raised eyebrow. "And what would you deem appropriate enough to interrupt me as I grade your OWLs?"

"Professor Umbridge found Harry in her office," I told him honestly. "Everything could be ruined if she finds out the truth. I need you to help, somehow – he can ruin me. And you. And the Order."

Snape did not respond. His face, which had held annoyance suddenly melted into a mask of disinterest – a magnificent talent held by all high-class Slytherin arseholes, it seemed – before he left his desk and walked up the stairs. He barely slowed his pace for me and when we got there in record time, I was glad to see that no one had killed anyone else.

"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Snape asked as soon as he entered the room. I filed in behind him, shutting the door and examining the scene. Ginny was still kicking at Parkinson's shins – and sadly missing, what a shame – while Hermione was now being detained by Bulstrode, who was enjoying it in a sadistic way.

"How quick! Thank you, Audrey, dear," Umbridge smiled. "Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please."

"You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter," he answered with a raised eyebrow, his eyes flickering over to my brother. "Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient."

Umbridge seemed to turn pink before she shook her head.

"You can make some more, can't you?" She sounded about ready to crack if he said no. Snape looked around the room for another moment, his eyes quickly meeting mine before he turned to her with his lip curling.

"Certainly, it takes a full moon-cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month." I couldn't tell whether or not he was telling the truth – Veritaserum did take a full moon cycle, but whether he had more of not was a mystery. Was he being honest, or was he really helping me as I had asked him to?

"A month? A month!" Umbridge squeaked, beside herself. "But I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!"

"Really?" Snape raised his eyebrow as if this was the first he'd heard of it. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules."

I really hoped that Snape knew what he was doing. It was one thing to hate my brother and another thing to feed him to the wolves – or rather in this case, the toad...

"I wish to interrogate him!" Umbridge huffed like a small child that was denied a toy. "I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!"

"I have already told you that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter – and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did – I cannot help you." Something told me that was not for my benefit or hers. I had a feeling that was all truthful and for Harry, himself. "The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much lime for truth-telling."

What a load of idiocy.

Then again, this man was a genius for denying her any method to interrogate him.

"You are on probation!" Umbridge shrieked. My eyebrows raised in shock, watching as her face reddened and she began to shake furiously. "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!"

Snape, furious, gave an ironic bow and turned to leave. I moved to get out of his way before the both of us seemed to freeze in our movements...

"He's got Padfoot!" Harry shouted, the words stopping both of us from breathing. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

My mind whirred as I tried to catch up – how would Harry know that Sirius was in the Department of Mysteries – surely that couldn't be right. Why would Sirius be there? And who had him – Voldemort? That was impossible. Sirius was safe in Grimmauld Place, where had been force to be all year thanks to being too recognizable.

Snape's eyes locked with mine and in a moment he seemed to register my panic.

_Do nothing._

It was a command. And in response, all I could do was breathe.

"Padfoot?" Umbridge repeated, completely oblivious to the panic rising in the room at exponential speeds. "What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"

Snape turned from me to address my brother, his tone cold.

"I have no idea," he told Umbridge simply. "Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little. If Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if ever you apply for a job."

The door closed behind his billowing robes with a sound like a gunshot. Umbridge looked at me carefully.

"You! Do you know what a Padfoot is?" she asked me. "Yes, yes, you're his sister! Surely you would know!"

"His imaginary friend was named Paddy when he was six," I lied easily, giving her an eye roll. "Otherwise, I have no idea. Maybe we should take him to more healers about it."

"That's no help, no help at all! Surely you've heard the name!" She told, slamming her hand on the desk for emphasis, I shrugged my shoulders.

"Professor, I've never heard it. Not unless it is the long form of Paddy."

"Is it? Hm?" Umbridge asked. Harry remained silent, making her breathe heavily with rage. "Very well. Very well...I am left with no alternative – this is more than a matter of school discipline...this is an issue of Ministry security – yes, yes..."

I did not like the sound of this. She sounded mad, as if she were gone off the deep end and was speaking to dolls at a tea party. Something was very wrong with her voice and the way she was speaking to herself – _convincing _herself – about how everything was alright.

"Professor?"

"No, no, he is forcing me, Miss Potter...perhaps you should leave..."

"No," I said immediately, plastering on a sneer as I kicked at my brother's shin. He let out a hiss that I tried not to feel guilty over. "I want to stay."

"Good, good," she nodded to herself before shaking her head. "I do not want to do this...but sometimes circumstances justify the use – I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice. The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue."

My whole body went rigid while Hermione argued with her in the background of my thoughts. Had she gone that mad with power that she was willing to hurt students to get her means to an end?

No, she'd always been that mad. She had been building up to this all year – the Blood Quills, the documents for whipping, the ability to detain, the power to do whatever she wanted...

This was not out of need – this was out of _hunger._

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," Umbridge said to herself, while she began to point her wand at my brother. Malfoy instinctively moved and backed up toward me. Umbridge shook her head back and forth with a wicked grin on her face. "He never knew I ordered Dementors to go after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same."

"You?" I asked, unable to stop myself. "You sent the Dementors after us?"

"Not you, Miss Potter, your brother!" She laughed as if that cleared the air. "Somebody had to act, you said so yourself! They were all bleating about silencing him somehow – discrediting him – but I was the one who actually did something about it...only you wriggled out of that one, didn't you, Potter? Lucky you had your sister there, weren't you? But not today. Today, she is with me!"

"Audrey, do something!" Hermione screamed at me. I didn't know what to do – was I supposed to blow my cover and get the Cruciatus curse myself? She had sent Dementors after me, nearly killed my cousin, nearly took my soul and my brother's. She had maimed him and hurt him and she had ruined the year...

But was that worth the pain of the Cruciatus curse?

Umbridge took a deep breath, ready to say the word. Malfoy took a grip of my hand and squeezed it encouragingly – but I didn't know what he was encouraging me to do. Was he telling me to step forward, to defend my brother? Or was he telling me to stay silent...to protect myself?

"Cruc-"

"_NO_!"

Had it been me who screamed? Had I ruined everything by speaking?

No, my throat didn't hurt from the deafening screams. It hadn't been me who had screamed at all.

"No, Harry – we'll have to tell her!" Hermione hiccoughed, her voice raw from her scream. She had defended my brother before I had – but she was going to be just as cowardly now. She was going to be as much of a coward as I had been and tell Umbridge what they had been up to.

"No way!" Harry yelled.

"We'll have to, Harry, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's – what's the point?" She sobbed, crying weakly into Bulstrode's robes as the ugly girl continue to restrain her. Umbridge pulled the Slytherin off of her, moving so that Hermione was given better treatment now that she was cooperating.

"Well, well, well," Umbridge mumbled triumphantly. "Little Miss Question-all is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!"

"Er-my-nee-no!" Ron mumbled through his gag. Everyone looked shocked and devastated – did they all know that Sirius had apparently been taken? Or were they shocked that she was as much of a coward as I was? That she was willing to be spineless for safety?

"I'm-I'm sorry everyone. But – I can't stand it-"

"That's right, that's right, girl! Now then..." Umbridge smiled, leading Hermione by the shoulders until she pushed the bushy haired Gryffindor down into her over-plushed chair. "With whom was Potter communicating just now?"

"Well," Hermione still couldn't look up at us, her classmates, as she betrayed us all. What would she wsay about Sirius? Would she actually say his name – or would he remain as 'Padfoot', a member of the renegade Order of the Phoenix against Voldemort – the man Umbridge swore did not exist? "Well, he was speaking to Professor Dumbledore."

Everyone looked surprised – how could we not be. Dumbledore had been on the run for months and he had been accessible just through some kind of Floo system? The story seemed too good to be true.

"Dumbledore?" Umbridge asked eagerly, her energy spiking with excitement. "You know where Dumbledore is, then?"

"Well...no!" Hermione sobbed. "We've tried the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and the Three Broomsticks and even the Hog's Head-"

"Idiot girl! Dumbledore won't be sitting in a pub when the whole Ministry's looking for him!" Umbridge frowned, her head shaking animatedly.

"But – but we needed to tell him something important!"

"Yes?" Umbridge asked, her excitement at full power once again. "What was it you wanted to tell him?"

"We – we wanted to tell him it's r-ready!" Hermione choked.

"What's ready?" Umbridge demanded, holding onto Hermione's shoulders and holding her straight in the chair she'd been forced into. Hermione sobbed again. "What's ready, girl?"

"The-the weapon..."

You know, I've always said that it takes a liar to know a liar...and I just so happen to be a fantastic liar.

So clearly, I can confidently say, that something was wrong with this story.

Umbridge as manipulative as she was, however, seemed not to be a liar. Because she ate it up as if it were candy.

"Weapon? Weapon? You have been developing some method of resistance? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? On Professor Dumbledore's orders, of course?"

"Y-y-yes," Hermione gasped, the tears suddenly seeming so fake I can't believe that I had believed them in the first place. "but he had to leave before it was finished and n-now we've finished it for him, and we c-c-can't find him t-to tell him!"

"What kind of weapon is it?" Umbridge asked, shaking Hermione roughly.

"We don't r-r-really understand it. We j-just did what P-P-Professor Dumbledore told us t-to do."

'What kind of weapon is it?' said Umbridge harshly, her stubby hands still tight on Hermione's shoulders.

"Lead me to the weapon," Umbridge said confidently. Hermione looked around the room, giving each of us Slytherins a shrivelling glare.

"I'm not showing t-them."

"It'[s not for you to set conditions," Umbridge hissed back.

"Fine! Fine – let them see it, I hope they use it on you! In fact, I wish you'd invite loads and loads of people to come and see! Th-that would serve you right – oh, I'd love it if the wh-whole school knew where it was, and how to u-use it, and then if you annoy any of them they'll, be able to s-sort you out!"

Umbridge, predictably, did not like the idea of the weapon being something that could be used on her. Her eyes moved across the room to rest on each of us, her Inquisitorial Squad, and for the first time she looked as if she didn't trust any one of them – not even Malfoy, who was still holding my hand. Her eyes moved from our joined hands, to him, to me, then back to my brother: putting the pieces together.

What if Malfoy was actually on our side because of how he and I were?

Who was against her, really?

Who would try to use a weapon against _her?_

"All right, dear, let's make it just you and me...and we'll take Potter, too, shall we? Get up, now."

"Professor," I said quickly, breaking away from Malfoy's grip to pull my brother up by his hair and his one arm. He let out a grunt – which must have been fake, or he was in much more pain than he looked – as he stood. "Professor Umbridge, I think some of the Squad should come with you to look after-"

"I am a fully qualified Ministry official, Miss Potter, do you really think I cannot manage two wandless teenagers alone?" She asked me with a glare. I swallowed thickly, shaking my head. I didn't want to let her be with my brother alone – if they didn't have a plan, even Hermione couldn't get away with anything when she didn't have a wand. "In any case, it does not sound as though this weapon is something that schoolchildren should see. You will remain here until I return and make sure none of these escape."

She pointed to the others and as she did that, I dropped the hand that was in my brothers hair. I pulled his other arm behind him and squeezed them briefly before taking both his wrists into my one hand, squeezing them weakly once more, and dipping my free hand into my robe pocket.

I winced against the new cuts slicing into my hand through a current of pain and electricity before dropping the wand in my brother's back pocket. I jabbed him lightly in the back with the hilt of it before letting go of his hands so he could cover it with his shirt.

"Lead on," Umbridge told Hermione and Harry as she moved to let them go through the rest of the room. I could do nothing to stop them or join them: but Harry had his wand. So I guess Umbridge would finally learn a thing or two about _real _Defence Against the Dark Arts now.

* * *

><p><strong>Ha-ha! That's a little bit different, isn't it! So, this was a long chapter, but it was pretty exciting, don't you think? Exams were a bummer and Audrey obviously isn't the great student that most people seem to expect her to be. But, she still proved herself where she needed to. And what was with her not saving Harry of the Cruciatus curse? And why did Harry's wand scratch her? Oh, I'd love to hear your thoughts!<strong>

**T****o my fantastic reviewers of Chapter 51:**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: A lot of people noticed that it was not how I initially wrote the Weasley kiss...I guess you will have to wait and see. Glad you liked the chapter, hopefully you enjoyed this one, too!**

_slytheringirl4life_**: I am definitely more of a Draco fan than Fred fan when it comes to this ship, but either Weasley twin pretty much makes me happy just when they're mentioned. I'm glad that you like it, thank you :) if you don't think you can already write well, just sell your time and social life to your word document: that's my secret!**

_Bitterglass_**: I'm glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!**

_kaaayyyttteee_**: I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully this one was enjoyable as well :)**

_Lizzy B Malfoy_**: Draco is so ridiculous, but at least there was some cuteness this chapter! Firenze wasn't really in this chapter, but hopefully you still liked it!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Pansy and Draco are so gross throughout the whole series, I remember thinking it as I read through the books. Hopefully this was an enjoyable chapter!**

_OddPotato_**: Do you still ship Fraudrey? Or have you wandered back towards Dreaco? ;)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Draco is ridiculous, but at the same time there was definitely a miscommunication there. Those two will always be butting heads. That's a good point, the kiss was described **_**very **_**differently in her vision than the kiss she shared with Fred...I guess you'll have to wait and see! Thanks for the review.**

_Prongsie1213_**: The twins are so much fun to write, whether it be something JKR wrote herself, or incorporating them in my own way. They are so fantastic. And yes, Draco is very jealous – but it was quite obviously a big misunderstanding. Hope that you liked the new chapter!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: No big moment of realization for Harry about his sister and Malfoy yet, but it will have to happen eventually...you still think her vision was of Ron or Ginny, eh? Well, I guess only time will tell – because I'm certainly not saying! Draco and Audrey do just need to get jiggy with it. I think it would make everything easier...but then it wouldn't be as fun for me to manipulate their lives! And I do have fun with it, I won't die. Maybe I'll post the spoilers somewhere else, I'll have to see what I can do. You ARE pretty nice to me :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Yes, Dreaco is a good ship, but I was glad that Fred finally kissed her as well. Yes, she and Daphne are mending a very rocky relationship – which is good, cause as we all know: things are about to get worse. Poor Audrey, I am so mean to her. Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully the same goes for this one! Thanks for the review.**

_RandomPerson3.14_**: Who were you before you were going by this Username? And I'm glad that you liked it, it was a lot of fun to write. This one was really fun as well, so hopefully you liked it just as much. Audrey Potter's Prelude will be updated soon, I tend to update that when I'm taking a pause at updating between books. Thank you!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review :)**

_onebaddesire_**: Thanks for the review, hope you liked it!**

_EveryNewDay_**: It's really fun trying to figure out what kind of pranks Audrey would do. I had to think about it for a while before I thought of the perfect one. It went through a whole process, haha. Hope you liked the OWL sequence, thank you for reviewing :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I think I am going to go for the plot twist, I think it could be a really profound moment if I do it the justice it gets when it plays through my head. How is everything going over there in the States? **

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad that you're liking it so much :)**

_May_**: Well first, thank you for randomly deciding to speak up. It's always nice to hear from readers! And I'm glad that you feel so connected to the story (and Audrey). It's really nice to hear that I'm doing her some justice. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter.**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thank you, hope you liked the chapter!**

_Magimagus_**: Have you made it to this chapter yet? Hopefully you liked the last one and this one, too. It sucks that your laptop got a virus – I feel like my world implodes when that happens. I try to back up my stories once a week, just in case. I'm so nervous about it after the last time everything was wiped! Did you get a new laptop, or are you working from the same one?  
>Anyway, I'm glad you liked that Daphne and Audrey have gotten back together. If you read the last chapter, you'll see that it has only been intensified. Montague definitely got what he deserved, it was nice to know that every time I wrote him being such a creeper that he would be punished for it. I think it's the only reason I didn't kill him chapters before.<br>I think that all in all, Draco is a sweet character. He just doesn't know how to be classically sweet because he's never been around that kind of treatment. He is cute though and I am always happy to see Audrey put people in her place, whether it be him or anyone else, haha.  
>Poor Snape is such a good man. I'm glad that Audrey respected him enough to do what he asked, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Obviously by now you know she is tutoring Harry instead, how do you like this twist? Anyway, hope you liked the chapter!<strong>

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: I'm glad that you're still true to the Dreaco ship, I still think they're pretty damn cute. Cute in a passionate I-need-your-mouth kind of way. I agree that Audrey had a reason to be upset, but Draco did too. He obviously thought she'd just moved on to some other guy...and he's not one to be outplayed. Thank you, 1k reviews feels amazing! **

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: 1) Draco is such a possessive idiot. Poor kid just doesn't know how to handle his emotions. 2) I'm glad you liked Fred's kiss. I liked it, too. 3) I don't think Audrey's being hypocritical about kissing Chang. She wasn't as upset that it happened as she was that she had to witness it through his thoughts. I definitely would freak if I had to witness my brother kissing my dating nemesis! 4) Daphne's getting much better. Hopefully you liked this chapter as well!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, Draco is a jealous mess. What a boy! I'm glad you enjoyed the pranking and jealousy of the last chapter – hopefully you enjoyed all the drama in this one! Thanks for the review :)**

_britstar4_**: Yes, Audrey always gets the short end of the stick. But I'm glad that you liked Audrey and Fred's kiss as well as Daphne and Audrey's make up. Hopefully the making out with Draco was enjoyable, as well!**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: It's alright! I like your reviews even if they aren't chapter-to-chapter. Yes, Fred and she finally kissed – that was a lot of fun to write. Draco definitely plays jealous boyfriend more than he needs to and secretly, I think Audrey likes it...you know, when he's not kissing Parkinson. Audrey is always very dramatic, but it's different: Harry hasn't **_**SEEN **_**her kiss Draco – she sadly had to witness it. And no sister should see a brother making out with their nemesis. Not cool.  
>You make good points about her being more of a "Dark Side" character, but she definitely doesn't like authority. And I don't think she could ever realistically bow to Voldemort. But maybe she could were she a spy. She will probably get in many fights with Harry over Draco, I think that's only realistic, but I guess you'll have to see in due time. Also the twitter is always at the bottom, but it's <strong>EgyptsLegend**. Hope you liked the new chapter!**

_incitanemxx_**: Many don't think that was the Weasley kiss I described in her vision...very interesting. Well, I guess you'll have to wait and see if you're right – but you probably won't know for a long time either way. I'm glad that you liked how Audrey dealt with the idea that Malfoy was getting even with her enemy. Hopefully you liked this chapter!**

_Skylar97_**: I'm glad that you're liking it! I will definitely be continuing this through until the series is over – I'm too excited about what's to happen for it to stop in between. The next book will be updated more quickly than this one was, I will have it a lot more organized than these chapters were. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you!**

_rosesxBubblegum_**: Aw, thank you! I hope you can still read the books or watch the movies, Audrey is nice to be in there but the originals trump my little story any day! I'm glad that you can envision her and place her in your mind so easily – it lets me know I'm doing something right! I am slowly writing my own fiction/sci-fi book. It's a struggle, but eventually I'll manage to get it writen!**

_Alice_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much (and super impressed that it only took you two days. I wish I could read that quickly)! Hopefully this chapter met your expectations!**

_LearnToFly02_**: Haha, thank you. I'm glad you like the chapters and hope that your window is closed! It's slowly warming up where I am but it is still not warm enough for that. When Audrey and Draco realize they love each other, it will be epic. Their whole relationship will be, but that moment in general will be earth shattering.  
>And thank you again: I also think Audrey definitely has the edge. I spent weeks moulding her character into something believable of "Harry Potter's sister" but also someone worthy of an arrogant ass such as Draco Malfoy. Also someone who could balance the sister act with being a Slytherin. I put a lot of time to find the balance before her character moulded itself into what you read now. I also agree that Audrey would be devastated if she saw something she could not change.<br>Character deaths will be an interesting turn of events in the series and I've made my decisions. It will definitely be different. You also have very good ideas about her wand, but I can't tell you if you are right or not.  
>And Draco's possessiveness? Ah, I love it. I also figured he would feel entitled, as he has been entitled his whole adolescence. It will definitely be interesting during the Malfoy Manor scene – his pureblood entitlement vs his feelings for Audrey. I'm very excited...in a jack the ripper kind of way, haha.<br>I love the long reviews, so never worry about that. I also love how detailed they are, so thank you!**

_Guest_**: Hope you liked the chapter!**

_TheForrestAgain_**: Aw, thank you! I hope that you get internet back soon, not just for the sake of loving your reviews but also because an internet-less life sucks. Good luck!**

_Apple_**: Yes, they kissed! And then in this chapter, she and Draco kissed, too. Yes, 1k reviews: it feels amazing! Thank you so much for your reviews, you always help. Everything starts next chapter!**

_Ella710_**: I know, Draco has to raise his standards if he goes from kissing Awesome-Audrey to Pugface-Parkinson. Ew. Besides, he DID think that she had moved on thanks to Fred's little display and then to find out she wasn't expecting it? Well, as you see, it leads to more making out. So is it REALLY that bad? Haha.  
>I also thought the Fred kiss was nice. A different take on a kiss for her, hence her little inner monologue that delayed her thought process. and a lot of people noticed just how different the kiss was than the kiss in her vision...I guess you'll have to wait and see, though.<br>I'm glad that you like Audrey though. I feel pretty connected with her at this point, even more than I thought I would. She's my favourite antihero I have ever written. Actually, my favourite character I've ever written in general.  
>I'm glad that you feel better about Daphne. And am SO impressed that you got twitter. I'm honoured. Truly. I saw you added me and was like "AH! YAY!" and did a dance. My mom looked at me like I was stupid. Have you liked the spoilers and such thus far? What have you thought about those?<br>Yes, OOTP only has three chapters left. Possibly four, depending how long they end up being. There was a tidbit of Snape in this chapter, but sadly he won't have as big a role in the next few. Which is actually quite sad. You made some good predictions about what's to come, but obviously I'm not going to ruin it and tell you whether or not you're right. Any other guesses for the next few chapters? :)**

_liz2cute4u_**: I'm happy that you're liking it, thank you! And you read it all in one day? I'm so impressed. I must be a really slow reader, because when I hear about people reading this whole story I think "man, it'd take me over a week" so well done! Thank you for all your compliments. If you want to be a writer, I assure you that all it takes is time. Time to keep writing and editing over and over again. The more you write something, the better it will be :)**

_Kaitalyn_**: I'm glad that I surprise you, if I didn't this would become boring after 52 chapters! The Fred kiss was pretty sponeous, I'm glad you appreciated it. Draco's moodswings are annoying, but necessary because sadly, it is his character. At least he kind of made up for it in this chapter, what with the kissing and such. The prank was a lot of fun to write, so I'm glad that it made you laugh! Hopefully all the ruckus caused by the OWLS amused you for this chapter. Thanks for the review.**

_MaryKeat_**: Hope that you liked the newest chapter, no Fred or George here but lots of drama and some satisfying Draco :)**

_Saraeli_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully you like Draco a bit more after this chapter...maybe even more after the next. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Annaismyname_**: Haha, well I'm sorry for the consummation of your life, but hopefully I revived you with the update! Thanks for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Well, thank you everyone for your fantastic reviews. I really appreciated getting all of them. I hope that a lot of you have a lot to say after this chapter, it was pretty exciting – no? <strong>

**PLEASE **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Add me on twitter: **_EgyptsLegend_


	54. Mistaking the Mysteries

**Another chapter, another adventure. This is a pretty exciting chapter so I hope that you all enjoy it. Thank you for all the great reviews for the last installment - I'm loving all the feedback! If you find the time, please check out the new poll on my profile :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 53 – Mistaking the Mysteries<p>

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><p>Umbridge bustled while she left, holding both my twin and Hermione at wand point while she ushered them from the room. It seemed that she no longer cared for subtleties when it came to her blatant abuse of her own students – she didn't care who knew she was in control now: not now that she was so close to finding Dumbledore's weakness.<p>

Having already confiscated everyone's wands, Umbridge had placed them on the desk before she left. I felt naked now, having switched Harry's wand with my own – even someone as dumb as a toad would have realized that she had six captives and five wands. Now I was forced to watch my wand sit mockingly on her desk with the others – and even though my wand and I did not regularly get on, it felt wrong not to have it with me. A wand without it's handler was nothing at all; even if the witch in question, such as myself, was hardly anything at all when she was wielding it.

"What should we do with them, now?" Crabbe asked mere seconds after Umbridge had gone. "Can we tie 'em up for dinner?"

"We can't just leave them to go down to dinner, you dolt," Malfoy hissed, shaking his head at Crabbe irritably. "We're detaining them."

"But now I'm bored," Bulstrode whined, rubbing her back absentmindedly against the wall she was leaning on. She was no longer holding Hermione and had taken to crossing her arms and pouting. "Who knows how long they'll be gone?"

"Who knows if they're coming back?" Parkinson added with a sneer. "Once they find that weapon, there will be no need to detain these ponces. Draco, let's just leave."

"And take them where, the dungeons?" Malfoy scoffed in sync with my eye roll. "Whoever gave you license to think, make sure they take it away from you."

"Well I'm not just going to stay here!" Parkinson bit out, stomping her foot childishly. "Let's you and I leave and let Potter take care of her brother's little friends."

"I'm not staying and dealing with them alone," I argued, my eyes narrowed on her. "Just because you want to stick your tongue into Malfoy's mouth doesn't give you the right to flap it around, calling the shots."

"I have more right than you do!" She argued, looking over toward Malfoy with a frown. "Right, Draco?"

"We're not leaving, Pansy," he grumbled, leaning back against the desk for a moment before he pointed lazily toward the office door. "So help, or get out. But I won't cover for you."

"Fine," she hissed, letting go of Ginny and shoving her, quite roughly, into my arms. I gave her shoulders a light squeeze and was pleased when she didn't try to kick my shins, as she had been ruthlessly trying to do to Parkinson. "Come on, Millicent, we're leaving."

Bulstrode – always the blind and loyal follower – nearly propelled herself from the wall and to Parkinson's side. "Where are we going, Pansy?"

"Anywhere we want," her eyes narrowed on Malfoy and then back to me. "I can see these two need to talk. _Again._"

"It's not like he can talk to you," I spit back. "It'd be like talking to a rock."

"Better a rock than mud," Parkinson hissed with a smirk. "We all know your mother passed that trait on."

"Your concern for her is flattering," Malfoy snapped at them, giving them a harsh snarl and standing from the desk so that he could look more intimidating. "Now leave if you won't be any help."

"I will!" The pug cried indignantly before she turned up her nose and slammed the door behind her. I rolled my eyes – that prat was such a...a _pug._ Still, she had given me the exact distraction I needed, and while everyone watched her little temper tantrum and took the time to scoff at her childishness, I was free to back up the three necessary steps to get to the desk where Umbridge had placed our confiscated wands. While Warrington took the mickey out on Malfoy for dating Parkinson in the first place, I picked up a wand – which I could only hope was Ginny's – and shoved it into her pocket, just as I had done for my brother.

"Can we leave too, Draco?" Goyle asked, looking over to Malfoy nervously. Both Ginny and I stopped moving at once, just in case we were found out but luckily Malfoy still seemed annoyed by Warrington's earlier comments and Goyle's general presence. "Dinner's already started..."

"Can you stop thinking for your stomachs for just a moment?" Malfoy snapped again, taking an angry step forward. "We have work to do."

I quickly squeezed Ginny's shoulder, trying to tell her silently not to move. When she didn't run away after I had taken my hands away from her, I quickly took hold of the remaining wands on Umbridge's desk and shoved them up the sleeve of my robe. Taking as inconspicuous a look I could, the desk – now devoid of wands was noticeably bare. To buy myself a few more seconds, I moved one of the pictures over to block where they were seen before.

"But I'm hungry!" Goyle was still complaining.

"And I'm annoyed," I hissed, moving forward slightly so that I could draw attention away from the desk. I moved Ginny a little closer to Malfoy so that he could grab hold of her if he wanted. It would make the whole thing less noticeable if I played along with the Slytherins...at first. "And will you lighten up on Longbottom? You heard what Snape said."

"He's trying to get away!" Crabbe moaned while I grabbed his arm and yanked it lightly away from Neville's neck. As I did this I pushed my other hand, equipped with all the wands up my sleeve, toward his pocket. "He moves every time I do."

I rolled my eyes, trying to give myself a reason not to move from Neville until I had given him his wand. "If you two were any slower, you'd be moving backward."

Finally, I felt a wand drop into his pocket – and then a second.

I could have cursed out loud if it wouldn't have gotten me caught – someone was goign to be missing out on a wand and it sure as hell wouldn't be me by the time these Gryffindors thought of some offensive plan.

"I'm not slow," Crabbe mumbled lowly. I raised an eyebrow.

"You're certainly not quick," I told him seriously, then paused to rethink that statement. "Well, not unless you're on your way to dinner."

Ron let out a snort, I couldn't tell if it was a laugh or some form of disgust – maybe I was playing my part well and had him fooled, too. Everyone knew that Ron was the hardest to convince of innocence, particularly with me being in Slytherin. It had taken him a long time to forgive me for my placement in First Year – I wouldn't be surprised if he was now starting to blame me for him having been caught today.

Still, that noise was something I could use to my advantage – as I had for Ginny being thrown to me and Neville being choked. Pretending to be annoyed by the sound Ron made, I walked over to him – he was held tightly by Goyle – and gave him a dark stare before grabbing him from Goyle myself. The fat gargoyle put up a fight at first, but eventually gave in when my glare turned from Ron to him.

Goyle, now displaced, looked around anxiously before shifting over to stand closer to Malfoy again. He genuinely did not understand what to do with himself when he wasn't being told how to do it – I would have felt bad were it not so pathetic. I would have to be a little nicer to him later on though, his idiocy was the exact thing I needed to slip another wand from my sleeve and shove it into one of Ron's hands which had been tied behind his back.

"We were said to detain them, not to save them," Warrington shot to me darkly. For a moment I froze, nervous that he had seen my little movements and passing of the wands – but it seemed he was referring to the fact I wasn't being as rough with the Gryffindors, which he demonstrated by giving Loony Lovegood a nice shove to the side before he caught her again. Neville roared through his gag.

"Potter," Malfoy began, waiting for everyone's eyes to focus on him. He particularly seemed to wait patiently for my glare and gave a slight shake to Ginny to show me he had a hold on her. "Aren't _you_ going to try to save the day?"

"What?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

"Isn't that what you regularly do: save your brother from trouble?" He sneered, gesturing toward Ginny with disgust. "You're running a bit behind."

"I don't think I am," I told him, narrowing my eyes and walking toward him. I ignored as Goyle scrambled back to take a hold of Ron. "And I don't quite like your tone, Malfoy."

"Of course you don't," he replied with a long drawl. "But you'll still do it anyway."

"I haven't put my effort into saving Harry," I told him seriously, my eyes flickering around the room to each of the captives being held by Slytherins. "I put my effort into giving the Gryffindors their wands."

"You wh-"

A chorus of spells and jinxes lit up the office around us like a display of fireworks. I ducked instinctively, hoping that it would be enough to avoid the onslaught of violence – I could hear spells flying past my ears and feel them fluttering my hair. It seemed like the Slytherins were trying to put up a fight – but not a very good one in comparison to the Gryffindors. After the shouts had died down I looked up to see that Ginny had her wand pointed straight into Malfoy's face. He had been knocked to the ground at some point and his wand was knocked feet away from him – he looked shocked, or perhaps as if he were just falling out of being stunned.

"Wait!" I shouted quickly, scrambling to my feet and throwing myself onto Ginny's arm, knocking off her aim. She looked over at me with a frown, her eyes flashing back to Malfoy angrily. "There's been enough, don't you think? We have to hurry before we lose track of Harry and Hermione."

"They're headed into the Forbidden Forest now," Lovegood said dreamily while she gazed out the window. I would have to take her word for it, because I was too nervous about the look in Ginny's eyes to move away from her wand pointed at Malfoy's throat.

"He'll follow us," Ginny growled, readjusting her aim onto Malfoy again.

"No, he won't," I told her confidently, offering him a hand without even looking at him. Malfoy hesitated before he took it and by the time he was standing, I felt confident enough to tear my eyes from Ginny and watch him look at the others with wary eyes. "He won't tell a soul."

"Right," Ron barked out a bitter laugh, taking a step forward. "He'll send the rest of the Squad after us as soon as we're out of sight!"

"You wouldn't do that," I said quietly, my eyes flickering back to Malfoy's steely silver one's meaningfully. "Would you?"

"I can't keep you safe forever Potter," he hissed to me. He was keeping his voice quiet as well and leaning forward slightly as if that would stop the other's from hearing us. I think we both knew it wouldn't, but after keeping our strange relationship a secret for so long, it felt unnatural to speak of our camaraderie so openly. "If you leave with them, there's no doubt you'll be caught by Umbridge."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," I told him, taking a deep breath. "But are you?"

He looked at me for a long moment, not saying anything. I don't think he knew what to say – I was backing him into a corner that I knew he didn't like, but at the same time I wasn't in the place to give him the options he normally expected from me. Still, I watched his fists clench and unclench, his jaw tense, his eyes flicker around the room as he assessed just what the consequences of his actions may be...

Finally, Malfoy gave a curt nod before his eyes flickered away from all of us. "Warrington's coming to. You'd better leave now."

"Say you got stunned," I informed him, taking a moment to grab his wand from the floor and offering it to him. "Deny everything else."

He looked down at his wand for a moment, before he grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze. I took a deep breath, oddly reassured by this small and subtle comfort before he pulled the hand he had a grip on and bent down – crashing his lips to mine.

If it wasn't enough to hear the gasps behind me, I could feel the energy spike in the room. It wasn't just confusion or anger either, but also a smugness that radiated from Malfoy as he pulled away – his silver eyes taunting.

"Well," he said with his infamous and most devious smirk. "I guess we can't deny _everything, _can we?"

I glared at him, only able to imagine the looks from the others before I turned and ran for the door to the office – I was glad when I heard the other's follow me, even if I dreaded whoever would dare to speak.

"What was that?" Ron yelled as we ran down the hall. I should have assumed that he would be the first to find his bearings. "Drea, what the bloody hell _was _that?"

"I'll explain that when you explain what's going on," I informed him as we skidded over the flagstone. At the end of the hall, I saw a strange and comforting sight – Circe was sitting, watching us all. Her tail was flipping in the air, she was nearly vibrating with energy. She must ahve known something was wrong and had come to investigate and now her bright eyes watched as we drew closer. It was comforting to know she'd follow me into whatever was about to happen.

"No!" Ron, of course, ruined that moment. "You kissed Malfoy – you can't just avoid this subject!"

"Run faster, Ron," I growled at him, moving a little more quickly and keeping my eyes on Circe who had stood to anticipate running with us. Just as we were about to turn the corner toward the staircases, a voice rang loud and clear through the corridors.

"_POTTER'S WITH THE GRYFFINDORS! SHE'S WITH THE GRYFFINDORS! GET THEM!_"

"Run faster, Ron," I repeated, my eyes widening at the sound of Warrington's voice. No one hesitated or made another comment about what had happened back in Umbridge's office before we surged down the stairs and out into the courtyard. The way toward Hagrid's cabin had never felt so long – even while we were running I felt like it was taking hours to get across the grounds and to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Circe wove through my legs as I slowed, meowing at me until I picked her up and hugged her.

"How are we going to find them now?" I asked hopelessly. My eyes flickered to Luna, who had watched them disappear into the trees but she seemed to have no answers for us now. Circe wriggled in my arms, letting out a mewl before squeezing out of my grip and landing on the ground again.

"What's wrong?" I asked Circe curiously, watching as she calmly blinked at me and turned to walk straight into the trees. I watched her for a long moment, trying to understand what was happening – could Circe really understand what we were looking for? Or did she just happen to know that there would be rats to hunt there?

"Follow the Kneazle," Luna said with a airy certainty. As if it was as easy as that, the oddball walked into the thicket to follow Circe and left us to gape after her.

I looked at the others with a confounded glance. "Is this normal for her?"

"Completely," Ginny sighed.

"And she's usually right," Neville said with a nod. None of us had to speak what we knew: this was the closest we could come to having some sort of answer. As crazy as it seemed: we would have to follow my kneazle and Loony Lovegood into the thick of the Forbidden Forest and hope not to be killed on the way.

I hate adventures.

We walked for a long time, climbing over roots and rushing when we heard sounds that were quite obviously not human. I was starting to get more and more nervous thanks to those sounds and the fact that we were following a kneazle and the least sane person in the group – this was one of those times where I should have stopped and recalculated things, but just as I was thinking of voicing this, we began to hear snapping twigs.

I held out my hand nervously, making everyone stop and snapped my fingers to gain Circe's attention. She began pointing, like a hunting dog would do, toward where the twigs were snapping however far in front of us. When I was sure that it wasn't any of us and it was still some distance away, I drew out my wand and pointed it into the woods in front of us. Ron and Ginny went forward first.

"And he might kill them all," a familiar voice gasped. It was a relief to hear the voice, even if I was still on high alert. The female voice was certainly not nasal enough to be Umbridge, which left me to know that it was Hermione; and she sounded like she was panting.

"I'm not that fussed, to be honest," my brother's voice sounded. It was sarcastic and bitter, but it didn't give any indication whether or not Umbridge was with them. Still, I wasn't about to race forward and find out the hard way that I was wrong. "Well, smart plan. Really smart plan. Where do we go from here?"

"We need to get back up to the castle," Hermione informed faintly. I nodded to Ginny, lowering my wand with a sigh of relief.

"They're alone," I breathed, glad that they had somehow lost Umbridge in the maze of wilderness around us. If she was still lost somewhere, it meant that she could find them at any moment – so we would have to hurry to get out of range.

"By the time we've done that, Sirius'll probably be dead!" Harry yelled, there was a loud thunk that sounded close to the sound of him attacking a tree before we started walking in their direction. I picked up Circe as I passed her, kissing her on the head and promising her treats whenever we had time to get them.

"Well, I can't do anything without my wand," Hermione said hopelessly. "Anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"

"Yeah, we were just wondering that," Ron voiced when we could finally see them.

Both of them looked around at us, their expressions slack-jawed and shocked. Both of them stumbled forward a bit, but stopped as if they were afraid we were some sort of illusion. Still, it was good to see them both dirtied, but unscathed.

"So," Ron continued, grinning at the looks on their faces. "Had any ideas?"

"How did you get away?"

"Couple of Stunners, a Disarming charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment Jinx – but your sister," he began. "She was the most surprising. She-"

"I have my own questions," I interrupted, quick to try and make Ron forget about what he had seen Umbridge's office. "Such as: what the bloody hell is happening? I just gave up my front because you started ranting about Sirius in the middle of Umbridge's wrath!"

"Voldemort has Sirius," Harry told me, his voice confident and terrified. "He's in the Department of Mysteries – he's supposed to get one of the orbs. I saw it during the exam."

"You saw it?" I repeated with narrowed eyes. "And did you clear your mind this morning?"

"You disappeared, Audrey," He hissed, his hand moving up to rub against the scar on his forehead. "So no, I didn't. But it's a good thing, isn't it? Now we know where Sirius is, we can go save him!"

"Wait," Ginny interrupted, looking around the forest nervously. "Where's Umbridge?"

"She got carried away by a herd of centaurs," Harry waved off lightly.

"She _what_?" I asked, I couldn't even imagine what emotion coated my features. "Are you joking?"

"There's no reason to joke about it," Harry said simply. "I tried to stun her once we were in the forest, but she was able to disarm me right around the time our 'friends' came to the rescue."

"So she was carried away by centaurs?" I asked again, giving him a skeptical look.

"Yes, I don't know where they took her."

"Probably to be raped or tortured," I told him honestly, sighing and feeling much more at ease now that I knew we wouldn't have to worry about Umbridge _or _centaurs during our traipse through the woods. "I only wished I'd seen her taken away. Did she scream?"

"Don't Audrey," Hermione frowned, looking nearly teary-eyed. "It was horrid."

"_She _was horrid," I corrected. "Call me heartless for wanting to see her punished for it."

"Fine," she scolded. "You're heartless."

"Not as heartless as wizard-hating centaurs can apparently be," I told her sarcastically and bitingly. She winced away from me. "Why'd they leave you behind, anyway? They hate all witches and wizards."

"Yeah, but they hate giants more," Harry nearly scoffed. "Such as Grawp."

"What's a Grawp?" I asked pointedly, looking around the forest with a sneer. "Is a Grawp something we should hate, too?"

"_Who_ is Grawp?" Luna corrected interestedly, as if she were taking a walk along the Black Lake, rather than being in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

"Hagrid's little brother," Ron explained in an off-hand way. "Anyway, never mind that now – Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know-Who really got Sirius, or-"

"Yes," Harry nodded, looking at me as meaningfully as he could. "I checked and everything, Audrey. But I'm sure that Sirius is still alive."

"Wait, wait, wait," I said immediately, putting Circe down so that I could raise my hands to stop him before he continued any farther. "How are you so sure?"

"Kreature was very clear about how happy he was to be alone," Harry explained bitterly.

"Harry, that could mean anything!" I argued, my eyes narrowing.

"He's there, alright?" Harry's voice raised irritably. "And if you don't believe me, then go back to the castle and do something useful, like keeping the Slytherins off our trail."

"Oh, she already has that covered," Ron said, his voice somewhat hysteric again. "By snogging Malfoy."

"You _what_?" Harry's voice bounced off the trees as if they were made of rubber and suddenly, it seemed that Sirius' disappearance was not an issue at all. "Audrey, you didn't!"

"I did," I said stubbornly, crossing my arms across my chest. "I find it's the best way to keep him quiet."

His eyes widened and he stuttered multiple times before he was finally able to form a coherent thought. "You-you mean you've done it _before_?"

"We have bigger problems than who I decide to snog, Harry!" I interrupted, placing my hand over his face to stop his blathering. "You just said our Godfather is in the Ministry of Magic with the man out to kill us. I'd say that's a tad more urgent."

"Yeah, he's captured by sods like Malfoy's dad, I'm sure," Harry hissed, shoving my wrist away from his face and glowering at me. "Drea, what were you _thinking_?"

"It worked, didn't it?" I asked, Circe meowed warningly at him. "Do you see _anyone _following us?"

"We're getting off topic!" Hermione blurted, taking a step forward. "Yes, Audrey kissed Malfoy. We can decide what to do with that information _after _we save Sirius."

"Please tell me _you _are more curious about all this," I said to Hermione, looking at her pleadingly. "You know that Voldemort can get in his head – this could be a farce. Snape told me not to do anything and-"

"Of course Snape would tell you that," Harry hissed. "He's working _with _Voldemort!"

"As a _spy_!" I snapped back immediately, it was synced by Circe hissing and pawing at Harry threateningly. "And he told me that so that we wouldn't do anything stupid. Stupid, you know, such as breaking into the Department of Mysteries when we have no proof!"

"Kreature said-"

"Kreature hates us!" I yelled back.

"-that Sirius is gone-"

"He never said he was kidnapped!"

"-and since I saw him with Voldemort-"

"You honestly think that Voldemort would give Sirius the time of day?" I asked brusquely, cutting him off. "If Voldemort really wanted Sirius, then he would have gotten his henchmen to do it. And Voldemort is trying to keep a low profile – he wouldn't go to break into the Ministry of Magic and give you time to tell someone about it unless it was a fake!"

"Audrey," he told me, grabbing me by the shoulders. "Drea, _please. _I need you to trust me. This wasn't Voldemort digging into my head – this happened. He has Sirius. I saw it...I have to save him."

I had never seen my brother more sure of anything in his entire life. He had never looked more sure about Snape being on the dark side, or Malfoy being the heir of Slytherin, about Sirius having killed our parents, or about Karkaroff being Voldemort's henchman...

For once, my brother was certain. And it was not necessarily something that made me believe him, but it was something that made me _want _to believe him. If something _was _happening with Sirius, I didn't want to just sit here and let it happen – I wanted to save him too.

"Then I'm coming with you," I told him with a note of finality. "I'm not leaving you alone without any voice of reason."

"Fine," he nodded. I think he was just glad that I wasn't going to drag him back to the castle by his ear.

"I still don't see how we're going to get there to help him," I sighed, slapping my arms against my hips. Harry looked at me hopelessly. "See? Clearly you _need _a voice of reason."

"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" Lovegood asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I turned my eyes to her, trying to show how stupid it sounded – but she didn't seem to catch on. In fact, she looked on to us all as if we were about to agree with her.

"Okay, first of all 'we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that. And second of all, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so-"

"I can steal some of the Slytherins' Nimbus 2001s." I told my brother, even though I couldn't stop my nose from wrinkling at the idea of flying anywhere at all.

"I've got a broom, too," Ginny added enthusiastically.

"Yeah, but you're not coming," Ron pointed out sternly. Naturally, Ginny was quick to argue.

"Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!"

"You're too-"

"I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Philosophers Stone," she countered, looking at each of us frostily. "And it's because of us that we were here to give Hermione's wand back."

"Yeah, but-"

"We were all in the DA together," Neville said quietly. I ignored correcting him for my own part. "It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real – or was that all just a game or something?"

"No, of course not-"

"Fighting Voldemort is more than _something real_," I informed Neville with a clenched jaw. "It's something dangerous."

"Exactly," Neville jumped at the end of the sentence so I couldn't counter with anything else. "Then we should come too. We want to help."

"That's right," Luna smiled.

Harry's eyes skittered to mine nervously. I could see his hesitation – I wouldn't want Neville No-Aim or Loony Lovegood coming to a battle where the Dark Bored Voldemort might be waiting either. They wouldn't be my first choice and they certainly wouldn't make me feel comforted or defended.

This is what we Slytherins would call 'pulling a Gryffindork' – this term could of course be interchanged with 'Huffleklutz' or 'Ravendumb'. We may have been young when we came up with the stupid term, but it suddenly seemed quite appropriate...

"It doesn't matter, anyway," Harry gritted out. "We still don't know how to get there..."

"I thought we'd settled that," Luna sighed exaggeratedly. "We're flying."

"Look," Ron barely contained his anger. "You might be able to fly without a broomstick, but the rest of us can't sprout wings whenever we want. We'd all die, and if we die we have no chance of seeing Sirius again anyway, so-"

"There are more ways of flying than with broomsticks," Luna countered thoughtfully, she didn't seem insulted or angered at all.

"I s'pose we're going to ride on the back of a Kacky Snorgle or whatever it is?" Ron asked sarcastically. Normally I would have joined in his banter, but now my mind was whirring – flags having raised at his sarcastic remarks.

"Seeing him again after we die," I repeated slowly, my eyes raking the forest around us carefully. "Wait!"

"What is it, Audrey?" I put my hand out, taking a few steps closer to the darkness of the trees that swallowed us.

"I've got it," I turned away from the group and cleared my throat loudly. After a moment of reminiscing, I tried duplicating the horrid shriek that Hagrid used to yell into these woods. The one he had done for class and when he told me that these animals were my responsibility when he was gone: well, he was gone now. So I guess I could take care of them and take them for granted all at the same time.

I tried the shriek three different times in three different ways – I couldn't replicate exactly what Hagrid had done, but I was hoping that it was close enough to reverberate over the trees in the same way and at least make the creatures curious.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked loudly, his hands over his ears.

"Calling a cab," I told him simply. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"The Flying car disappeared years ago," he began slowly.

"I was thinking of them," I elaborated, pointing into the trees. Everyone looked and I watched as Harry and Neville's eyes widened upon seeing them. Lovegood, who it appeared could also see them, beamed and clapped excitedly as they came close enough that I could see the endless whites of their eyes.

"Yes!" Harry whispered, moving toward the Thestral in front. In was Tenebrus, the protector of the heard, come to inspect the sound first. Behind him I could also see another, smaller one – I couldn't quite tell who from its place in the shadows.

"Is it those mad horse things?" Ron asked nervously, his eyes flickering through the trees to try and find the cause of Lovegood's excitement. Ginny and Hermione looked just as confused. "Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?"

"Yeah," I said to Ron.

"How many?"

"Two," Harry answered for me, going forward carefully and petting Tenebrus' mane.

"Well, we need three," Hermione said carefully. She looked nearly as nervous as I felt over the idea of riding with them, but she also seemed determined nonetheless.

"Four, Hermione," I argued with a sneer.

"I think there are seven of us, actually," Lovegood corrected, still as dreadfully calm and thoughtful as before. I can't believe Ravenclaw would let in a nut...weren't they supposed to be smart?

"Don't be stupid, we can't all go!" Harry argued. "Look, you three, you aren't involved in this. You're not-"

And so began a wave of more protests. Eventually I held up my hands to silence them, shaking my head waiting until they all stopped to listen to someone finally take charge.

"They're coming, clearly nothing is going to stop them."

"Thank you!" Ginny sighed exasperatedly before she smirked at her brother. "See?"

"Audrey," Ron began to argue.

"Wait. Not everyone can come. Someone still needs to send a message back to the castle," I explained. Everyone looked confused, so I rolled my eyes. "Listen, I refuse to leave and go on this death-trap of a mission without making a last will and testament first."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sending a letter to Snape," people seriously didn't understand my sarcasm outside of Slytherin house. These Gryffindors – and Loony – really didn't understand the dark art that could be associated with humour. "If we're leaving, I'm not going to make it so no one knows where we are."

"Circe can send the message!" Ginny said quickly, bending down to pet Circe. My kneazle just mewed contentedly and pushed into Ginny's hand. "Hermione, transfigure a note she can carry."

I wanted to protest – even though Ginny was a good witch, I didn't want her to be involved in something that could go so far over her head – but it was too late; Hermione was writing a note off of a piece of transfigured bark and her wand. She wrapped it around Circe's collar before looking back at me – as if I knew what to do from this point on.

"Er," I mumbled, bending down to Circe's level and taking her furry face in my hands. "Alright, sweetie. I need you to take this note to Snape. Only he can read it and don't leave until he does. Don't be seen until I come back, alright? Hide under my bed, or through the dormitories. Now that our cover's blown, someone might try to hurt you."

Circe gave me no indication she understood other than blinking her wide, wise eyes. With another mewl and a quick rub against me, she disappeared into the shadows of the trees. I watched after her for a long moment, waiting for some sort of sound – some warning that we had been followed and they had found Circe, or that Snape had come after us and we wouldn't have to go through with what we were now planning, nevertheless considering.

"More Thestrals have come," Luna said vaguely, as if the conversation had not stopped at all. "I think it's because you're covered in blood."

"Why _are _you covered in blood?" I asked Harry, wrinkling my nose again.

"It's Grawp's," he explained, as if that made any sense to me.

"Well, there are enough of them now." Neville said with a smile.

Ginny looked to me with a smile. "Audrey, care to make the introductions to our ferrymen?"

"All right," I sighed. "I call Tenebrus. Everyone else pick one and I'll lead the way."

I loved Sirius, I really did. But Salazar's spit, I hated flying.

* * *

><p>"No!" I screamed as soon as my Thestral hit the pavement in London. I gave him a pat as I slid off, falling painfully on my left side as I misjudged the distance between the ground and Tenebrus' back. I hissed against the sting of the pavement while Ron helped me up. "No more!"<p>

"Never again," Ron agreed, wiping off his hand which had touched my bleeding palm. "Never, ever again...that was the worst-"

"I am never helping you with these ridiculous missions again!" I shrieked as soon as I was standing and Harry had dismounted his own Thestral. I gave him a harsh push back toward the winged horse. "Your stupid ideas always put me in these outrageous situations that nearly give me a heart attack – if you want to get rid of me that badly why don't you j-"

"Where do we go from here, then?" Luna asked politely, though she had still interrupted me so I gave her a cool glare that she pointedly ignored. Or maybe she genuinely didn't notice it. I don't think that I'd ever know or be able to tell with that girl.

"We get into the Ministry over here," Harry said, giving his thestral a pat as he started toward the telephone booth at the corner. I ignored him to tend to Tenebrus, who had been a fair leader and flyer for the journey – even if I thought I was going to die from the speed and the nature of flying in general.

"Thank you so much," I told him quietly. "You can leave. I'm sure help will come soon and put Harry right in his place. You did so well – if I had some meat, I'd give it to you."

He did nothing but stare at me with those aimless eyes of his.

"Audrey, come on and get in!" Harry yelled from the booth. I gave Tenebrus a kiss on the snout before I followed the group to the red telephone box. They had all crowded in at this point and there was certainly no room for me, even though I was the smallest next to Lovegood. Still, I half smashed against Neville's back and half climbed on Ron's foot to make sure that I was in the booth with them.

"Whoever's nearest the reciever," Harry called to the lot of us. "Dial six-two-four-four-two!"

Ron, the tallest in the group, was the only one who stood a chance with reaching the phone and we all jumped – painfully crashing into each other even more – when a cool, female voice reverberated through the box.

"_Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business._"

"Harry Potter, Audrey Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood-" Harry began quickly. I scoffed.

"Is it really a good idea to use our real names while announcing we're entering the Ministry unbeknownst to anyone?"

"Too late," Hermione muttered back. At least I could be comforted that the smart-one seemed to think it was a bad idea, too.

"-we're here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first." Harry finished. I scoffed.

"And now you're being condescending. Oh, please keep the felonies coming."

"_Thank you,_" the female voice responded. "_Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes._"

Half a dozen badges slid out where the coin return was usually used. Hermione took them and handed them out as quickly as she could with our awkward position. It was lucky that I was first. Still, I poked myself at least four times when trying to put it on my robes in the cramped box.

_Audrey Potter, _it read. _Rescue Mission._

I'm keeping this badge _forever._ It would sit right beside my Prefect badge and my Inquisitorial Squad badge. Maybe if we made it out of this alive, I could call myself the greatest Anti-Hero of all time...

"_Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium._"

"Hell no!" I muttered, turning my head in Harry's general direction. "I'm not trusting any of this Ministry scum with-"

"Hush!" Hermione hissed warningly. I huffed irritably.

Harry yelled at the box impatiently and as if his anger were the power it needed, the floor of the booth shuttered and the pavement rose past the glass windows. The Thestrals slid from sight, plunging us into darkness as we sank down into the Ministry of Magic. After a moment, the telephone box's floor slid into position on the ground of a large expanse.

The Ministry was empty, which was not at all what I had expected. The dozens of fireplaces lining the walls were not glowing green thanks to the floo network. I had expected it to be constantly bustling with witches and wizards, even if it was late evening – but I could have heard a pin drop in all the empty space.

The cool, female voice said something to us, but I was too busy scrambling out of the phone booth to give her any mind. There was a giant fountain in the middle of the room depicting a witch, wizard, goblin, house elf, and centaur. It was made of gold and the rushing water was the only thing to break the deafening silence of the building.

Harry ushered us forward. Assuming that he knew where he was going, we all followed at a sprint. As we went past what must have been the security desk, I was shocked to see that there wasn't even a guard on duty. This rang of bad news – even on Christmas I would assume someone would be working at the Ministry of Magic and tonight was any regular Thursday. Something was clearly wrong.

Still, we ignored the eeriness of the scene and flooded into a golden grilled elevator. It seems I was right: Harry did know where he was going, which means that his dreams had been much more vivid than I had thought. He pushed a button in the elevator and we shot down so quickly that I thought I was going to smack against the ceiling of our confined space. We came to a very sudden stop, making me hit into Hermione painfully.

"_Department of Mysteries_," the same, cool female voice from the telephone box informed us. The golden grills of the elevator opened, more loudly then they had closed, and we spilled out to see Harry turn to a plain, black door at the end of the hall. Naturally, my impulsively idiotic brother rushed for it.

"Harry, wait!" I said quickly, grabbing hold of his hand with reflexes I probably would never use again. He turned to look at me with wild, panicked eyes.

"Audrey, we don't have time-"

"Just wait, please...just..." I said again. I looked at him seriously, tugging his hand again when he looked about ready to leave. "This could be a trap. We need to think this out."

"He could be dying right now, Drea," he whispered to me, looking at me pleadingly. "Please..."

I looked back at the black door, feeling Harry's hand tightly clasp mine. This was the reason I had come, wasn't it? Because I had _wanted _to believe my brother so badly – because I had wanted to know that Sirius would be safe, even if it meant that we had to put ourselves in danger to ensure it. This is what I had wanted, because it was what Harry said was needed...I couldn't just turn back now.

I looked back at him and nodded, Harry gripped my hand more tightly.

"Okay, listen," Harry began, stopping just feet from the door and not releasing my hand. "Maybe...maybe a couple of people should stay here as a – as a look out, and-"

"And how are we going to let you know something's coming?" Ginny asked skeptically. "You could be miles away."

"We're coming with you, Harry," Neville nodded.

"Let's get on with it," Ron agreed. Harry still looked nervous but he opened the door anyway. It did not open on its own as I had thought it would, but somehow I was not shocked when we were lead into a circular room surrounded by unmarked, handless black doors that sat equally between one another in the black room lit by blue torches.

"No," I whispered, my brain giving a painful tug at the memories that filled it. Of course I would have expected the door to open on its own – it had done so in my vision a year ago. But now I was really here: holding Harry's hand as I had forced him to, as I _remembered _doing.

"Someone shut the door," Harry whispered.

"No, wait!" I gasped out, but Neville had already swung it shut behind him and suddenly the whole room shifted. The doors around us blurred and confused themselves as a harsh line of blue fire distorted everything until we were left facing a room full of black doors – but I was certain that they were no longer in the same order. I closed my eyes and everyone looked at me in shock. "I've Seen this."

"Do you mean..." Hermione began nervously. "That you have _Seen _it? Psychically?"

"Yeah," I sighed, letting go of Harry's hand to press my fingertips to my temples. "Behind each door is something different – I should have seen this coming, but it was so long ago and jumbled..."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked carefully.

"It was in my vision from the Third Task," I told him. He seemed to understand and appreciate the sentiment behind it and why it was so hard to remember it. If I had my visionary with me, it would be easy to read through – but now it was hard to remember just what had happened last June. There had been so many memories piling on top of each other that now it was a tumult of colour and unrecognizable confusion.

"That's a bad thing, isn't it?" Ron asked me loudly. "That you've Seen it?"

"Probably," I answered with an honest sigh. "Alright..."

I walked into the center of the room, but none of the doors opened themselves for me as I remembered they had in my vision. I wouldn't even be able to distinguish which door we had come through now – I needed to concentrate and remember what was behind each of these doors. There were some I remembered I needed to avoid – that dread was not something forgotten, even if I couldn't picture what had caused it.

There were doors here that needed to be avoided. But which ones?

"We need to open these all individually. The door we want has white orbs in it. We're also going to see some other ones that will distract us, but we have to ignore them." I told them as if I were briefing an army. "I mean it, if you want to save time, ignore them. Some of these rooms – they're just...just ignore them."

"Let's get this over with," Harry agreed.

"But how're we going to get back out?" Neville squeaked.

"We'll figure it out," I assured him.

"It doesn't matter now, anyway," Harry said forcefully. "We won't need to get out until we've found Sirius-"

"Don't go calling for him, though!" Hermione said urgently.

"We won't need to," I said quietly. "I had that vision for a reason. He's in the orb room."

"See?" Harry said immediately, turning from me to Hermione and pointing to me triumphantly. "See!"

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron asked, moving his arms to indicate the dozen doors surrounding us. I frowned just at the sight of them all.

"I don't-" Harry stuttered before shaking his head. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room – that's this one – and then I went through another door into the room that...glitters. The orbs. We should try a few doors."

"I'll know right away when I see it," I assured them. "C'mon, then."

Harry marched right up to the door that was directly across from the door we had entered from, obviously we all followed behind him. I may know which rooms were which – vaguely – but I was not stupid enough to be the first to enter any of them. Harry pushed on the door and it seemed to give no resistance.

This room I could recognize – it was not something easily forgotten, no matter how far you dig it into the back of your mind. The long room was bigger than the first room – as I happened to know they all were. The low lamps burnt my eyes compared to the dim lighting of the rotating room behind us. Lining the room were giant glass tanks of deep green liquid, the size of a swimming pool – white objects drifted lazily through the viscous slime in the glass.

"What are those things?" Ron breathed.

"Dunno," Harry shook his head, moving to look closer. I grabbed his hand and shook my head, urging him not to go forward. I was pleased that he obeyed.

"Are they fish?"

"No, we should go." I said sternly.

"Aquavirius Maggots!" Luna smiled giddily. "Dad said the Ministry were breeding-"

"No," Hermione sounded as stern as me, but she sounded much more disturbed. "They're brains."

"Brains?" Everyone echoed, I wrinkled my nose as I stared at the white objects again – they were indeed brains, not fish. They looked larger than regular human brains and the fact they were white had thrown me off – but that was exactly what they were. And they were disgusting and...and _moving_.

"Yes...I wonder what they're doing with them?"

"This is not a good room," I told, looking up at the ceiling to see if any of the goo would drop onto us and make our brains join with those already floating in the tanks. I also eyed that there were more doors in this room – but I knew that if the doors really held the things I remembered, we needed to go back to the rotating room to find the orbs we were looking for. "We need to leave."

"Yes," everyone seemed to agree easily, which I was very thankful for. We backed up as a group, too afraid to completely turn our backs on the brains, until the door we had entered closed behind us.

"Wait!" Hermione said quickly, when we felt the room was beginning to shift. "_Flagrate!_"

She drew a fiery _X _in the air with her wand and it appeared on the door just as it began to shift to the left. If the _X _would stay there, it would be a relief not to have to double back on doors. The room continued revolving again and I closed my eyes so the dim, blue lanterns glowing and shifting on the wall wouldn't make me feel ill.

When I opened my eyes again and the room was still, and the _X _was still there on a door to our far right.

"Good thinking," Harry nodded. "Alright, let's try this one..."

He moved to the door directly in front of him once more, his wand at the ready, and the door opened itself for him with ease. When the room opened my body immediately reacted – my stomach turned over on itself and all the hair on my arms raised in an instinctual and terrifying kind of warning.

"Get away from that room!" I hissed as soon as it was open, but there was no stopping my curious-as-a-cat brother. He still walked forward toward the room, as did the group – and stupidly enough...I followed them.

This room was set in a deep pit, made of rock and lined by stone benches as if it had been carved out when the building was being built and never furbished. Maybe they did it to make it look as creepy as it felt. I might resign myself to that just so I could feel better.

In the middle of the stone pit was a large, raised archway carved with intricate, ancient runes and designs that made me want to run away on precedent. It looked like some ritual slaughtering arch – all that was missing was the stone slab where you would cut into your prey. Instead of that stone slab underneath the arch, there was a black, tattered veil which fluttered in the nonexistent breeze of the arch – as if it were a stage and hiding its players from us.

"Who's there?" Harry demanded, jumping down so that he was at the bottom of the pit. No voice answered him. I jumped down as the others did, moving to grab his arm and yank him back.

"Harry, get away from it," I whispered instantly. "We need to stay out of this room!"

"Why?" He asked me, looking over to the others and dropping his voice to a whisper for only the group of us to hear. "Is there someone there?"

He pointed to the veil with his wand. I shook my head, but that didn't seem to be enough proof for my brother, who continued to walk forward.

Biting through my fear and swallowing the instinct to run and leave them all behind, I walked with him. My wand drawn, my other hand shaking as I held in front of me, I could feel the negative energy emanating from this veil in waves. Like in my OWLs the nervousness helped the energy for Magnuse flow easily. I felt like I had enough nervous energy to keep me going for decades...so long as I didn't have to fight against that negative energy, itself.

"Sirius?" Harry whispered as he moved farther to the other side of the veil. I shook my head.

"That's not Sirius, Harry."

"Stop him, Audrey!" I turned back to look at Ginny, Hermione and Luna and put my finger to my lips to hush them. I didn't want anyone knowing that I was here if they didn't have to and. I didn't want anyone to know that any of us were here. But if I was about to find someone hiding behind this stupid veil, I didn't want them to know just how many armed witches and wizards we had here – we had power in numbers right now. And this veil may give me the creeps, but I was far too logical to ignore my advantages.

I turned back to the veil.

"Stop, Audrey. Stop..." I did stop. My eyes were almost watering from how wide they were by the time Harry had moved around the veil again and shrugged his shoulders to tell me no one was there.

That had not been Harry's voice.

"Audrey," there it was again. And it was a woman's voice...but it was not any of the girls as I originally thought when I had hushed them...this woman's voice was whispered and unfamiliar – so unfamiliar and unearthly I couldn't believe I had mistaken it for one of the girls in the first place. "Audrey, _listen..._"

"What's going on?" I whispered, my eyes having honed in on the cause of the noise. It was coming from the veil itself – the one Harry had told me there was no one behind.

"Listen, Audrey...we're here, Audrey..."

I moved toward the veil, my arm extended. I could see my hand shaking and that all the hair was standing on end – I was so scared that I couldn't move. I needed to keep this arm out, my Magnuse arm, in case I needed it...for something...

"Audrey..."

How could Harry not have seen anyone behind that veil? Someone was there, they had to be. I could hear them, I could _feel _them. They were right there – it was almost as if they were standing right beside me, as if they were watching me and beckoning me to the veil.

"Audrey..."

They must have been right there, Harry had missed them – the voices. The women and men and the voices that were whispering my name over and over in a round that collapsed over itself and created a clumsy cacophony that deafened everything else in my mind...

"Audrey!"

This was a voice I recognized, and I yelped as Harry smacked my hand away from the veil and shook my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes with wide ones of his own. He shook me again when I didn't say anything.

"Audrey," he said again, his voice sounding panicked. "What are you doing?"

"The voices," I said quietly, my whole body shaking as I looked over my shoulder to the veil again. "Can't you hear them?"

They were still whispering my name, I could hear them – they were more urgent now. Beckoning me, _begging _me...but for what?

"No one's there, Audrey."

"I can hear them too," Loony said factually. "There are people in there."

My eyes snapped back to Harry's and the worry was as noticeable in his as if I were looking at my own eyes. Knowing that they looked they exact same, not just in look but in the fear displayed in them. It was not a good thing that only Loony Lovegood and I could hear those voices...

But they were there, I knew it. I could hear them.

And they knew my _name._

"We're supposed to be here for Sirius," Hermione said carefully, sounding almost scared of whatever response she would receive.

"Yeah," both my brother and I breathed, looking back at her – I could almost hear his heart pounding – or maybe that was my heart still pounding blood in my ears. She looked at me worriedly, as if I had just told her I'd contracted some kind of disease. "Let's go."

We all moved back to the door – before it was closed all the way behind us, Hermione marked it as she had the one before and we took a moment to breathe before closing the door and bracing ourselves while the room shifted again.

"What d'you reckon the arch was?" Harry asked Hermione quietly.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was dangerous." She said firmly.

"Yes it was. I knew it was, but I..." I couldn't finish whispering to them. How would I go and explain what I heard without sounding just as mental as Lovegood?

Silently, the group of us seemed to agree not to mention that room again and instead we moved to the next door in front of us – this door did not open.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"It's locked..." Harry growled, turning to ram his shoulder against it. It didn't budge.

"This is it, then, isn't it?" Ron asked with a smile. "Bound to be!"

"Get out of the way," Hermione shoved her way through. "_Aloh_-"

"Stop!" I shouted. They both stopped. "That door is not supposed to open. It's not the door."

"But-"

"It's not the door," I said just as firmly as Hermione had shoved through them. They all looked at each other for a moment before Harry's eyebrows rose and a smile etched across his face.

"Sirius' knife!" He proclaimed, reaching into his robes and brandishing it like a sword. I placed my hand on his wrist, shoving it down from the way of the door.

"Harry – it's not the door."

"You don't know," he argued. "You aren't sure!"

"I am," I told him. "Because we get into it."

"But you don't know how or when. Maybe it's because of this-" against my quite obviously better judgement, Harry shoved his knife between the wall and the door and immediately the blade of the knife had melted in his hand, showering the side of the door with molten silver that cooled to look like tear tracks over the paint.

"Right," Hermione nodded and cleared her throat. "Sorry to have doubted you."

"Sure," I said bitterly, giving the handle of Harry's melted knife a sharp look. "Try not to do that as often, yeah?"

Harry, ignoring me and now very annoyed, moved toward another door across from the one that wouldn't open. It opened easily and nearly blinded me by the sharp, blue-white light that permeated the darkness of the spinning room.

"This is it!" Harry gasped.

It would have been impossible not to recognize it immediately. The dancing light, like a silvery-white aurora borealis, was confined into spheres that littered the room in an organized chaos. The glowing in the orbs I had seen seemed to actually be made of glass and there were hundreds of thousands...possibly _millions _of them. Each looked like a different level of brightness, some more dim and some more bright as the danced around us. In the middle of the endless room was a giant bell jar, it seemed to be made of crystal and glittered.

"This way," at least Harry was not as distracted as I was, each of the glowing glass spheres were dancing as we ran past them. Clocks were lining each surface that the glass orbs didn't touch – the ticking seemed to be too slow, slower than my heartbeat and my feet pounding against the black, seamless floor.

"Oh, look!" At the heart of the bell jar, where a bright egg rose into the air and cracked open. Out spilled a hummingbird – it's wings moving as quickly as my heart. The hummingbird rose to the top of the jar, it's feathers dampening again and by the time it flittered back down to the bottom, it was cocooned in an egg once more.

"Don't get distracted," I snapped, tearing my own eyes away from the hummingbird's life cycle before we began moving again.

"Yes, you two dawdled enough by that old arch," Hermione agreed with a huff. Were it not so true, I would have snapped back at her, but I had time to be sarcastic later – when Sirius may or may not be around to help with it. We walked to the end of the room where there was another door – the maze in the middle of the Department of Mysteries seemed to have proven itself larger than the Ministry of Magic itself, for when we opened the door there were more glass orbs than ever.

It had a cathedral-high ceiling, too tall to see if there were support beams. The candles lining the walls were the same blue as the rotating room and this place was so cold that even it seemed to shiver around us, the orbs dancing from the movement.

"You said it was row ninety-seven," Hermione whispered, shocking all of us out of our astonishment.

"Yeah," Harry breathed back.

"We need to go right, I think," Hermione squinted to the next row. "Yes, that's fifty-four..."

I could not see the numbers she was pointing to, but I assumed that was because my sight was so poor. Harry raised his wand again, as if he just realized how close to danger we might be.

"Keep your wands ready," he reminded us all. Everyone, in sync, copied his movement.

We crept forward, moving past thousands of orbs per footstep and unable to see the end of each row until we came upon it. No matter how bright the orbs glittered, they were still too soft to light the monstrous room.

Row eighty-four...eighty-five...

We past each row and Harry and I both counted under our breath...we moved faster and faster the closer we came, our nerves overpowering my instinct to beware. If Sirius _was _in here, we had to get out before something horrible happened. The cold in this room was not natural and it was starting to permeate my being, and who knew when it would cloud my instincts or sense of dread. But still, my instincts were telling me to beware even though there was no sound but our shoes slapping against the ceramic.

Row ninety-one...ninety-two...

What were we about to find? Was Sirius really going to be here? What condition were we about to find him in?

"Ninety-seven," Hermione whispered when we all came to a dead stop at the end of the row. Like all the others, you could not see all the way down the aisle in the dim-lighting, but I could tell that there was no one there. I looked at Harry, shaking my head.

"He's right down at the end," Harry told me, not willing to listen to the idea that I may have been right about this. "You can't see properly from here."

"Then lead the way," I said icily, my eyes narrowed.

He lead us down the aisle, his steps slower now – more nervous. We walked past the orbs that glowed with our nearness, but didn't light up where our Godfather might be. I half expected to see him there sprawled on the ground, or having him rush out of the darkness and telling us to run...

"He should be here," Harry whispered, his steps slowing near the end of the aisle. "Anywhere here...really close..."

"Harry," Hermione said quietly, her eyes looking to me nervously before shifting back to him.

"Somewhere about...here..." my brother continued hurriedly, taking another few steps forward and tossing his head this way and that to look for any sign that Sirius had been here. But he wasn't here. We had gotten to the end of the aisle and there was no one in sight.

"He might be..." Harry moved to the end of the aisle and looked on the left side toward ninety-eight before he shook his head. "Or maybe..."

But it seemed that ninety-six was empty as well.

"Harry?" Hermione tried again.

"What?"

"I...I don't think Sirius is here."

There was a moment of silence as the reality sank in – we had come here for nothing. I had ruined my months of spying, I had given myself up, I had revealed my strange-relationship with Malfoy, I had ridden on damn Thestrals, I had broken into the Ministry of Magic...

"You _idiot!_" I hissed, going toward my brother and pushing him backward so that he nearly toppled into the shelf of glass orbs behind him. "Congratulations, you did it again! Ruining _everything _that I'd worked for because you couldn't stop and think about the consequences before you needed to spring into action and be the hero that you always feel you need to be. You couldn't just wait for an adult or an Order member, oh no, you needed to go and risk everyone else's safety because you're as impulsive as a bloody aneurism!"

"Audrey," Hermione whispered, her voice sounding worried.

"Don't defend him!" I snapped at her darkly, turning over my shoulder to glare at her. "He needs to know just how selfish and short-sighted he was, leading us all down here when I said that we needed to think and calculate this before we-"

"Harry," Ron began slowly.

"Don't defend him," I repeated, my eyes not even flickering towards Ron while I turned back to my brother. "And another thing, the way you've been treating us – as if _we _are the stupid ones? Well clearly that is just ridiculous, isn't it, because you-"

"Harry," Ron began again.

"What, Ron?" Harry snapped, sounding just as frustrated as I did.

"Have you seen this?" Ron asked, his voice not sounding nearly as angry as ours. In fact, he sounded upset, or possibly nervous.

"What?" Harry asked again, stepping past me toward the others.

"It's-" Ron stopped, clearing his throat. "It's got your name on it."

"_What_?" I asked lowly, spinning around to inspect what Loony and the Gryffindors had gathered around.

"My name?" Harry asked again, looking at one of the small, glass orbs on the shelf. This one, in particular, had less bright of a light than some of the others. It seemed to be caused by the caked over dust – layers and layers of it that made it clear it had not been touched in years. It was sitting on the shelf, with a small plaque below it.

_January 4th, 1980_

_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D._

_Dark Lord_

_and (?) Harry Potter_

"What is it?" Ron asked, his voice awed. "What's your name doing down here?"

"Bloody hell," I hissed, pressing my palm harshly against my forehead and pushing against the irritation and headache that threatened to make it burst.

"I'm not here," Ron continued, his voice confused. "None of the rest of us are here."

"And you can't tell what that is?" I asked sarcastically, slapping Harry's hand as he went to touch the dust-covered orb.

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," Hermione agreed.

"Why not?" my brother asked, frowning at me. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?"

"Don't, Harry," Neville said suddenly. I shook my head, looking at my brother as his eyes caught mine.

"I'll tell you what it is: it is what we're _really _here for," I hissed. "And if you touch that, something awful is going to happen."

"It has to do with me," Harry said again.

"Of course it has to do with you," I hissed, slapping his hand again. "Why do you think you saw Sirius in this row? Why do you think you saw Sirius _right there _and your name happens to be _right here_?"

"She's right Harry," Hermione told, placing her hand on his wrist. "Please."

"Don't," I warned him angrily, watching his hand shake off Hermione. He clenched his jaw, took a deep breath, and grasped the orb in his hand.

I expected some kind of immediate reaction – something exploding, the light becoming blinding, the earth starting to crumble around us...but nothing happened at all. It seemed Harry had the same expectations because his brow furrowed and he held it up higher, as if trying to inspect it in the dim light of the blue candles that were still too far away. When that didn't help, he brushed off the dust – making me close my eyes from the difference when I could see just how bright the glowing silvery-white orb was.

We all moved closer to inspect it before it clicked, before I realized exactly what I was seeing.

"That's a memory," I whispered, my jaw dropping. "Like in the Pensieve. Harry, you're holding a memory."

"Very good, Potter," a low, drawling voice spoke. My whole body burst into chills at the familiar sound. The lilt of my name, the condescension in the compliment. Not knowing that voice was like not knowing myself – because I had spent so much time with a voice that sounded just like this one for the entire year. "Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

I was right. It was a trap.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew, I love excitement! First you have Audrey helping the DA, then everyone finding out about her and Malfoy, then that strange reaction to the veil, and now they're trapped! I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger. I wanted to stop somewhere else, but the chapter would have been ridiculously long...so instead, the NEXT one will be that long, haha. <strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was a good one as well. You'll find out about Sirius' fate next chapter, so stay tuned :)**

_LokiLova_**: Thank you, hopefully you liked this chapter as well!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm glad you like Audrey's spit-fire nature, she is a lot of fun to write. Pansy had a little bit of a jab at Draco and Audrey earlier on in this chapter, I don't know if you caught it. They are so cute, particularly when fighting against stupid people such as Parkinson, Bulstrode, Crabbe and Goyle. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and thank you for the review!**

_OddPotato_**: Fred and Draco are both great characters, it's true. I had this great idea for a George/OC story in my head, but I don't think I have time to write it currently. If I could just publish all the stories in my head without having to take the time to actually sit and write them - I'd have thousands on here, haha. Hope you liked this chapter!**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you're enjoying it. Hopefully this chapter was exciting for you and the writing as satisfying :)**

_Annaismyname_**: Thank you! Hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint :)**

_Ella-Starstruck_**: I first helped write a Harry Potter twin fanfic years ago (nearly a decade ago, actually! I feel so old.) with a friend and the character was a lot like Harry. But when I look back on it, she was not only Mary-Sue'd, but boring, lacklustre, and kind of typical...and I'm not saying that for all Harry-twins stories, but it certainly was for the one I helped write. So I worked for a really long time making her character suit both Harry (the darker parts of Harry) AND Draco - because if this is a Draco romance with his original character, Audrey wouldn't have been able to be like Harry at all. It would never work. So really, it was Draco that made her the character who she is :) Hope that answers your question well enough!**

_Anna122_**: Thanks for the review, hope you liked the chapter.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, Draco definitely did help last chapter. He helped in this one too, even if he also decided to prance around the fact that he and Audrey were kind of a "thing", per se. You'll have to wait and see about the horcrux - it may even be in the seventh book, rather than this one. There aren't many chapters left for chapter five, so you won't have to wait too long!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Ha, I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully this chapter measured up well.**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Aw, you're too nice to me. Honestly. Audrey and Draco aren't really on right now, they won't really have time before the end of the school year - but they definitely aren't off, haha. I made her have the conversation twice because she was a little bit out of sorts thanks to her headache, but looking back it was a little bit choppier than I had meant it to be, so I'm sorry. I did write a little bit about Harry's wand scratching her earlier on in the story. During the break between OOTP and HBP I'm going to elaborate on it during Audrey Potter's Prelude, as well. It's important and stuff :) Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I pretty much have a basic calendar scribbled out for what I want to happen and when during HBP. I'm still a bit confused over some of the smaller details, but I think I it all figured out. The first part of DH will be the hard one for me, I think. And yes, I loved the Hobbit! I'm excited to get to see it again.  
>Did you get an email back from the bureaucrats about how to do your taxes? I also just finished mine, which was a lot more complicated thanks to all the healthcare resources I've used lately. It took a lot longer than I was used to and frustrated me to the point of tears and three breaks equipped with ice cream.<br>It's exciting that your friend is having a baby boy! Have you started working on the invitations? I love doing artsy things like that - I used to be that kid in all the art classes and extracurricular activities when I was in school. If I only had that time again!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Don't worry about not reviewing every time! I like the reviews I get when you find time. I get what it's like to have a busy life, sadly. Criminal Profiling is pretty cool, though - I agree with your career choice, haha. Hopefully you liked this chapter, particularly after all your feels from the last one :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: It's true, the drama never stops when the Potter twins are around! Audrey doesn't have to make a choice between them yet, if she does. She did go to the Ministry as well! Hope you liked it :)**

_Colette Hyuga_**: You will have to wait for next chapter to find out about Sirius, but hopefully this one was a nice start to the drama that you know will soon come! Thanks for reviewing.**

_sexichick_**: Happy belated Birthday! If I had known it was coming, I would have put a note on it for you, so I'm sorry! Yes, Audrey did change the outcome with the scuffle in the office - he was kissed instead of hexed. I think it was a good trade. How did you like that interpretation of what happened? Hopefully it met your expectations! Haha, thanks for reviewing.**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Thanks for the follow on Twitter, hopefully you liked all the cool tidbits that I release. More of those little arguments like the whole "I need to wash my brain" moment will definitely happen in the next book - Audrey won't have to hide her relationship with her brother then, so it will all calm down on that point. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_taramegareader_**: If you end up reaching all the way to this chapter, I hope you still like it!**

_Bitterglass_**: What had you confused? Hopefully this chapter cleared whatever it was up :)**

**: Thank you! I'm glad that you're liking Draco being jealous and Audrey as a character. I tried to make her different and I'm glad that people took to just how independent she is. Thanks for the review and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Lizzy B_**: Draco is always a bit of a dick, but sometimes it's in a cute way - such as kissing her and showing everyone they fancied one another, haha. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_The King in White_**: Yes, over the course of the story Audrey has grown increasingly talented which can certainly manifest itself into Mary-Sue qualities. Audrey has, however, come to those new developments for very specific reasons to the story - the only problem is, you won't be able to know what those are until you get to the end of the story and they are finally explained. There is more than a correlation between the kinds of magic she can do and the kinds that she cannot, just like there is a correlation to when her wand decides to behave and when it challenges her. Keep in mind even those speshul powers have their limits and she cannot do those perfectly either, while I've tried to make it clear that Harry still is a much better wizard in the traditional and 'powerful' sense...but I'm sorry you don't like the direction I've taken. Sadly there's no way to comfort you about it without revealing very important parts from the end of the story, so I hope you enjoy the parts you can.**

_rosesxBubblegum_**: Haha, I'm glad that I was able to keep your initial hatred for the toad and build on it even more - it's fun to write someone so bad, honestly. You are about to see Padfoot in the next chapter, I know everyone is getting a little nervous for that. Hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked it. It is really nice being able to make the siblings come closer again, it was hard having them apart for so long. Audrey will eventually pick a side, I agree, but knowing her she'll be quite stubborn about when she does it, ha.**

_lifethroughanotherseyes_**: It's alright, I pick apart my own writing as well. But I'm almost positive I have mentioned before how the Slytherin common rooms don't have the "no boys in girls dorms" rule as the Gryffindors do. This is because they don't have stairs to slide down (it's a straight hallway) and also the Slytherins aren't as morally strict. I mostly remember because Audrey made a little joke about how corrupt she said the house was, haha. Anyway, thanks!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: This was a pretty exciting chapter, but the next one will be even better. Draco only seems to give possessive kisses - he's such an arrogant boy. But at the same time, how can you not love it? Anyway, hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_Evil's Horcrux_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you like it. Finding out about the wands and her connection to animals will definitely come in time - hopefully the drama of the next few chapters will keep you occupied until then!**

_Ella710_**: You totally reminded me to upload those sneak-peaks, so thank you. I did it pretty much as soon as I read your review. Hopefully you've been liking the whole twitter-thing. I plan on more fun posts there after the next chapter.  
>Draco is...just...gah, he is so fun to write. He's such an ass. I have to go through my head and pull out every boy I've ever met who was that arrogant and terrible, then put in a little bit of romance so that he's still forgivable. It's a lot of fun - it's always more fun to write bad guys rather than good guys, I find, and Draco is definitely more bad than good. I can't wait to hear what you think about the kiss that just happened, it was definitely interesting and a twist. Now everyone knows - poor Drea just can't catch a break.<br>Parkinson is disgusting, I think my stance on that is clear, and at least Audrey decided to send a note to Snape, even if she wasn't quite sure it was an act. And don't worry, I think 'cunning little snake' is quite the compliment for her. And I think she'd take it as a compliment were she to hear it, too.  
>Yes, Draco grabbing her hand was pretty cute. I actually wrote it in just before I posted the chapter because I felt like it was missing something - I'm glad it was such a hit. Oh god, if you thought that moment was intimate and it made you turn to mush...you're just going to melt during HBP. Holy crap. I can see it now...<br>I actually once had a teacher say that I made things too difficult with my constant deviations from "he said," and "she said," with their alternatives. And I thought about it for a really long time and tried to change it, but I was like "meh, you're not really a writing teacher anyway". When I finally did get to a creative writing course, my prof said that it was a good thing and it showed that I was an actor because I wanted people to see it as I would act it - I guess that makes sense. Maybe I should write screenplays instead, haha.  
>I think you'll be surprised about how Draco and Audrey are about to take their relationship after the whole Department of Mysteries fiasco - but that's because of what's about to happen. I can't REALLY explain without ruining it, so I won't delve any farther. I think you'll like it. And it will be angsty-goodness.<br>I really warred with whether or not I would kill Audrey, believe it or not. And if I do end up doing it, she would not count within my 'kill off two' because she is not an original. And I have the best reasons to do it and not to do it...I guess it really depends on how I want the story to ultimately end. I plan for both to be powerful, I just can't decide which one is more appropriate. I'm still too emotionally involved with her to make that decision, haha.  
>I'm excited for Audrey's reaction to Teddy as well - I think it could be really cute in a "oh my god, keep it away from me!" kind of way. For some reason, I imagine it as the final scene in the Incredibles with Jack-Jack and Syndrome...<br>Anyway SOOO excited to hear what you have to say about this past chapter. Particularly with the veil and Harry kinda knowing about Draco and Audrey's clever remarks...P.S. It totally kills me to put down Luna as much as I do. I adore Luna. She's actually one of my favourite characters in the entire series...but Audrey hates nonsense like that...so I bash one of my own favourites. Sigh. The things I do for that girl!  
>Anyway, hope you liked the chapter even more than you liked the last one. As always, I liked your review :)<strong>

_Lady Shagging Godiva_**: I don't know if you will make it to this chapter, but I started putting in scenes from both, depending on which one worked for my plot more. But after the first five chapters or so, I ended up sticking to the books save for a few specific scenes :)**

_DGfleetfox_**: Sadly fourteen-year-olds are that dramatic. I have two siblings that straddle that age...that kind of stuff actually happens, ha!**

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><p><strong>Thank you for all your reviews, favourites, and follows everyone. Hopefully you liked the chapter - there are only two (possibly three, depending on length) left in this segment, so I would love to hear your thoughts! Also, please note that I have a <strong>**new poll**** out. Please check that out if you have time!**

**PLEASE **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend


	55. Beyond the Veil

**Happy Long Weekend, everyone! So this chapter is really intense. Really, ****really**** intense. As in this will either have an "I hate what you've done" reaction or "I love what you've done" reaction. I doubt there will be an in-between. That's all I'm giving you for this chapter, friends.**

**Enjoy.  
><strong>

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><p>Chapter 54 – Beyond the Veil<p>

* * *

><p>I was right. It was a trap.<p>

Around us, dozens of black figures were emerging from the shadows as if they were one with the shadows themselves. They were in a strategic formation, one which blocked each direction and each way of escape. They were wearing the same disturbing silver masks I remembered and though I could not see them, I happened to know that those masks happened to match their Dark Marks burnt into their forearms. Each Death Eater was also equipped with a wand and every single tip was aimed at each of our hearts.

"To me, Potter," the voice would have been impossible not to recognize and even though he was wearing a hood, it was quite clear who it was.

"Don't give Malevolent Malfoy anything, Harry. That's our ticket out," I whispered to my brother, my eyes raking over the dark formation around us. We were easily outnumbered two to one and considering I couldn't vouch for how well some of those in our group were with a wand, I was thinking that we were also mercilessly outgunned.

"To me," Malfoy said again, his voice lower.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice strong but I watched as his expression wavered under the scrutiny and peeling laughter from the Death Eaters that surrounded us.

"The Dark Lord always knows!" A high, cackling voice said proudly from the center of the crowd. Instinctively, I took a step back – I had heard that mad cackle before and all that it meant was danger for me.

"Always," Malfoy echoed. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"_I want to know where Sirius is_!" The cackling witch mimicked in the most condescending voice she could manage. The sound of her voice made me hiss and step back again, it was hard not to notice that the Death Eaters had closed in nearly silently which made her voice much closer.

"He's not here, Harry," I whispered to him. "We're here for that orb, not Sirius."

"They've got him," Harry said, his teeth gritted. "He's here. I know he is."

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," the mad and wild witch giggled again – I had never imagined that a giggle could sound so similar to a cackle – but somehow it did and it held itself dangerously.

"Don't do anything," Harry whispered. "Not yet-"

"You hear him?" The wild-eyed woman screamed in laughter. "You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," Malfoy drawled slowly. I could hear the smirk on his voice. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

"He's not giving you anything," I hissed, taking a small step forward so I could be seen over my brother's shoulder. "Smash it, Harry."

"But if they want it shouldn't we-"

"They want us dead, too," I hissed, my eyes raking over the crowd of black hoods around us. "Do you think we should just lay down and let them."

"That would not be wise, Potter," Malfoy sneered to me. "Without that prophecy, you have nothing to barter with for your lives."

"If your Lord knows that Harry favours heroics, he should know that I favour common sense. You'll kill us the moment you have that memory." I frowned at him. Lucius Malfoy did not move or disagree with me – not that I expected him to.

"And I _know_ Sirius is here," Harry shook his head looking to Malfoy with a sneer. "This isn't heroics: I know you've got him!"

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," Malfoy said, turning his masked face slightly toward me. "Your sister tried to help you, but you would trust your enemy before her. Pity. It may have done you some good...now, give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

I guess it didn't matter which Malfoy happened to be fighting for me at the time – it was still weird. And I didn't like it. Then again, I wasn't much a fan of Lucius to begin with.

"Go on, then," Harry growled, raising his own wand. Around me, everyone else did the same so I raised both hands: one with my wand and the other with my real store of magic. Malfoy's hand, the one wielding his wand, twitched infinitesimally toward the Death Eaters...who did not strike.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," Malfoy said again.

I let out a cold laugh. "You really expect us to believe that?"

"Yeah, right," Harry agreed bitterly. "I give you this – prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"

But the cackling witch in the crowd had ideas of her own. "_Accio proph_-"

"No!" I screamed, flinging my hand out for the prophecy. Harry was faster, of course, and threw up a shield around us to block the prophecy from leaving his hand while I instinctively grabbed onto it as a lifeline.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty, baby Potter," the witch said, taking a step toward me. I took one back instinctively, her mad eyes were terrifying and I held the prophecy to my chest. "Very well, then. I'm sure your sister will see sense after I-"

"I told you, no!" Malfoy roared to Lestrange, turning around as if to glare at her through her mask. "If you smash it-"

"If _she _smashes it?" I repeated skeptically. "One more move from any of you and _I'll _smash it!"

It only made sense that if they didn't want it smashed, this thing would have to be smashed once we had our way out. Whatever this prophecy – if it really _was _a prophecy – held was important to these Death Eaters...and common sense dictated that this was just bad news for the entirety of the wizarding world.

"That would be a bad idea, Potter," Malfoy warned me, his teeth clenching through his anxiety. "We all want what is in that prophecy. Losing it would be unfortunate for you and your _friends._"

"Audrey," Harry whispered, holding his hand out and placing it over my hand, trying to take hold of the prophecy from me again. I looked at him as meaningfully as I could, my fingers clenching around the glass.

"I should hold it," I told him strongly, because that's the only thing that would have made sense; I should hold it because I knew that if anyone would hold strong for our freedom and wouldn't fall for some ridiculous proposition, it would be me.

"Yeah, but if you get angry for one second your Magnuse could shatter it," he hissed back. "This is our lifeline."

"Then I don't trust you to hold it," I mumbled back at him.

"And I don't trust your temper," he hissed back before he took it from between my fingers. I'm pretty sure the pot just called the kettle black, but maybe it would be best if I tried negotiating – or at least analyzing what they were doing. I knew how this lot thought, I'd heard all of their stories from their children and I could analyze some of their children's behaviour if I had to...I just needed some reassurance that we could make it out of the Ministry alive.

"Cute little twins, still trying to win," the witch rhymed while she stepped forward and took off her hood. The horrid, gaunt face of Bellatrix Lestrange stared at the group of us, her eyes taking us in one by one. "You need more persuasion? Very well – take the smallest one. Let him watch while we torture the little girl – I'll do it."

I took my hand and tugged hold of Ginny, pulling her closer behind me. I could almost feel everyone fall in line behind me to protect her.

"You're not touching her," I hissed.

"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," Harry explained, holding the prophecy in front of him to display it to the crowd of captors. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"

Bellatrix did not move.

"Looks like someone's got a fear of snakes," I smirked at her. "You look positively terrified, Lestrange."

"We're all snakes here, little girl," she smirked, it distorted her face in a strange way that somehow looked even more threatening. "I've heard you have a particularly nasty bite."

"Did your friend Barty tell you that?" I asked as I tauntingly raised my eyebrows. Bellatrix's face moulded into something far more foul before she began to cackle.

"The little tart is everything the Dark Lord said!" she nearly giggled. "Oh, I'm excited to gut her."

"I already know what you get to do to me, Lestrange," I called back to her threateningly. "And it is _nothing _compared to how I finish you."

"You lie!"

Of course I was. I'd only seen her torture me – but she didn't need to know that. Instead, she just watched me, her beady eyes concentrating on me as I dragged Ginny even farther behind me.

"My visions don't lie," I said back as calmly as I could, Ginny's hand gripped my warningly and I squeezed it back, glad for the distraction.

"So," Harry asked, looking back to Malfoy. "All this talk of visions and prophecies...what kind of prophecy are we talking about now, anyway?"

"What kind of prophecy?" Bellatrix repeated, her eyes snapping over to my brother. "You jest, Harry Potter."

"Nope, not jesting," Harry said honestly, his eyes carefully examining the crowd. "How come Voldemort wants it?"

The Death Eaters hissed as if he had burnt them.

"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered.

"Technically that's not his name," I informed with a smirk. "Technically his name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. You know, after his dad-"

"Shut your mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your halfblood's tongue, you dare-"

"Did you know that he's a halfblood too?" Harry asked loudly, "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle – or has he been telling you lot he's a pureblood?"

"_STUPEF_-"

"NO!" Malfoy deflected the red light that shot towards us from the tip of Bellatrix's wand. It hit above our heads, off to the side where it smashed off a few of the little orbs nearly identical to the one in my brother's hand. Two figures, neither solid nor opaque, rose from the shattered glass on the floor and began to speak. Their hollow-sounding voices battled to be heard over one another, but the Death Eaters broke their easy voices with their bellows.

"_...at the solstice will come a new..._"

"Do not attack! We need the prophecy!"

"He dares – he dares-" Bellatrix was nearly mad with rage, "he stands there – filthy halfblood!"

"Wait until we have the prophecy!"

"_...and none will come after..._"

"Yeah, that makes us trust you!" I shouted at them.

The two ghostly figures dissipated like they were being drowned by the air in the room. All that was left of their existence was the shards of the glass spheres that lay scattered on the floor. Someone behind me let out a little whimper that I wanted to copy, but I tried to hold myself strong – these Death Eaters would thrive off that show of fear.

"You haven't told us what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over-"

"Yeah, the one that will let you leave us alive even though you plan to kill us, anyway." I added on with a glare over to Malfoy, almost imagining that I could see his silver eyes through his mask.

"Do not play games with us, Potter," Malfoy said sternly.

"Us, play games?" I asked with a blink. "Whatever would have given you that idea?"

"Oh, I know all about you, Audrey Potter," Malfoy hissed to me, his wand aimed at my chest now. "I know all about the games you play – with teachers, with friends and with men, alike."

I smirked. "If you're talking about those articles about your son and I, I would hardly consider him a teacher, friend, or a man."

"Audrey doesn't play games with your son," my brother said firmly and I prayed that Ron wouldn't make any further statements in this current situation. I don't think it would help Lucius Malfoy's patience any if he found out his son and I regularly snogged. "And I'm not playing games with you."

"What?" Hermione hissed from behind us, very quietly.

"Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" Malfoy sneered.

"I – what?" Harry stuttered, looking flummoxed for a moment. I looked at Harry, trying to catch his eyes and order him not to listen, but he was so amazed he didn't even look. "What about my scar?"

"What?" Hermione asked again, but I couldn't tell who she was trying to get the attention of.

"Don't you dare listen to him," I hissed to Harry. "There are more important things to consider than idle dinner conversation and pathological lies."

"Can this be?" Malfoy had the nerve to nearly sound like he was chuckling. Some of the Death Eaters around us actually did. My brother hissed something quietly under his breath, possibly to Hermione, but I couldn't hear what it was. "Dumbledore never told you...well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter. The Dark Lord wondered why you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording..."

"Oh God," I moaned. Were I not so intent on watching the insane woman in front of me, I would have thrown my head back and started ripping my brother a new arsehole. People really had to start just trusting that I was always right and my brother was always wrong. I don't know why, after so much proof, they still doubted that fact.

"Did he?" Harry asked slowly; he sounded like he wasn't even paying attention to the dangers all around us and I wanted to hit him for it. "So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?"

"Why?" Malfoy actually didchuckle this time. "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"

"About both of you, Potter," Malfoy explained slowly, as if he were speaking to an infant. "About both of you...haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

Harry was falling for this, I could see it. But I wasn't about to let him act stupidly on it.

"Harry, don't be as stupid as he's trying to make you out to be," I whispered viciously to him. "He just wants that prophecy and he's playing on your weaknesses."

"Why would someone have made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" he tried to ask it in a way that sounded like he was putting down the idea, but the curiosity in his voice rang through the group of us as it did through the Death Eaters who started to chuckle. "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"

"Get it himself?" Bellatrix cackled. "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"I told you so," I hissed to him, feeling myself snarl as she said close to my exact words from back at the castle. "I told you, I told you!"

"So, he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" Harry asked, elbowing me lightly in the ribs. "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it – and Bode?"

"Very good, Potter, very good..." I closed my eyes, feeling the guilt begin to envelop me. No, Voldemort had not made Sturgis try to retrieve the prophecy – Dumbledore had. And Dumbledore had gotten him to look for it after I had told him just what Voldemort was looking for. "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell-"

"Now!"

"_REDUCTO_!" A chorus of voices sounded from behind me so suddenly that I ducked in cover – which was a good instinct considering that all around me the shelves began pouring down glass orbs. Ghostly memories of unrecognizable people began to encase the giant room, their voices echoing through each other and weaving over each other as they screamed their messages for everyone to hear.

"Run!" Harry yelled, grabbing my arm and dragging me along with him, Hermione's robes in his other hand. Shards of glass were showering down on us, scraping at my face and my arms. But I didn't have time to be vain now, all I had time to do was run and be forced not to trip by my brother's faster pace.

Death Eaters surged toward us, becoming one with the shadows again as they seemed to appear out of nowhere. I elbowed one that had gotten to close hard in the masked face, it was nice to watch his head snap back and him sputter into the glass shards. Everyone was yelling out now – whether in pain, fury, or fear – and overtop of the screaming were the sounds of more voices as more shelves began to topple.

My wand arm, jiggling thanks to Harry's firm grip, was yanked free as a Death Eater tried to stop and seize me. I aimed my wand and briefly wondered how far I could blast him back with a stunner – I don't really know how, but he flew backward from the force of the thought. Harry didn't waste any time congratulating me but instead grabbed my arm again and made us continue sprinting. He had let go of Hermione at some point, I could hear her behind us as she urged Neville to run faster. I'd lost sight of Ron, Ginny and Loony – they had been in front of us just moments before but had disappeared from my sight. I could only hope it was of their own accord and not some Death Eaters'.

We ran through the room with the bell jar, watching the hummingbird transform from egg to the end of its life – again and again and again – while we ran forward. I tried to keep an ear on the Death Eaters shouting behind us, just so I could try to keep tabs on how close they were. As soon as we had crossed over to the doorway, Hermione slammed it shut.

"_Colloportus_!" She screamed, sealing the door on our pursuers. I dared to take the time for a deep, shaky breath.

"Where – where are the others?" Harry asked, looking around fearfully.

"I lost sight of them when we were running," I panted, "I just thought they were faster."

"They must have gone the wrong way!" Hermione whispered in terror.

"It's okay," I said quickly. "There are loads of doors in that room, they'll find another and meet us at the rotating room so we can get out-"

"Listen!" Neville shushed us while we heard footsteps echo behind the door we'd sealed. Lucius Malfoy's voice, behind it, was the one to answer just how safe we really were.

"Leave Nott, he'll wake up on his own. Leave him, I say – his injuries will be nothing to the Dark Lord compared to losing that prophecy. Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy – you can kill the others if necessary, even the girl. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left; Crabbe, Rabastan, go right – Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead – Macnair and Avery, here – Rookwood, over there – Mulciber, come with me!"

"What do we do?" Hermione asked as footsteps ran away from behind the door.

"Well, we don't stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start. Let's get away from this door," Harry said quickly. I was in no place to disagree, no matter how much my lungs were burning.

We tried to keep our footsteps quiet as we ran toward the rotating room at the far end of this chamber. Behind us I could hear people attempting to burst through the door we had sealed and just as it flew open, I pushed Hermione under some of the desks lining the room – Harry did the same for Neville across from us.

I watched in horror while two Death Eaters walked nearer, their robes covering their shoes but not their heavy footsteps. I tried to keep my breathing as quiet as I could, but if Hermione's panting was any indication – we were not doing well at it.

"They might've run straight through to the hall," a rough voice grumbled.

"Check under the desks," said another. Hermione positioned herself to attack the man slowly making his way over to us. I took her arm in my hand, giving it a harsh tug.

"No!" I whispered. "You can't attack his _legs._"

For the first time in her life, Hermione decided to take my advice – right when I didn't want her to. Considering she decided not to attack the Death Eater's legs, she started to crawl from under the desk to get a better position on the man nearest to us. It didn't take a genius to know that he spotted the movement, swinging his wand toward Hermione and I.

"_Avada_-"

Harry tackled the Death Eater to the ground, the spell unfinished while the two fell onto the stone flooring. Hermione didn't give me the time to help me up, but instead went to examine the second Death Eater – who the boys must have knocked unconscious before my brother had tackled the second. Hermione took the time to confiscate his wand while Neville screamed to try and disarm the Death Eater grappling with my brother.

Of course, this is Neville Longbottom we're talking about, so things did not go as planned. As if I had done the spell myself, both Harry and the Death Eater's wands flew from their hands toward the door the masked men had just broken down. Both boys scrambled to get their wands before the other...

"Get out of the way, Harry!" Neville yelled, waiting until Harry dove to the side. "_STUPEFY_!"

Neville was better this time than the last, even though his aim was off. Instead of hitting the Death Eater as planned, the jet of red light flew past the Death Eater to the glass face of a grandfather clock. It gave the Death Eater the time he needed to snatch his own wand, which now lay beside the bell jar and immortal life-cycled hummingbird. Harry ducked down behind a desk while I grabbed my own wand, praying it would help me this once.

"_STUPEFY_!" I yelled, at the same time that Hermione yelled the same incantation. I couldn't tell whether or not it was my spell or hers that was off-aim, but one hit the bell jar and the other hit the Death Eater – the Death Eater froze and collapsed backward into the pile shattered glass at the bottom of the bell jar from the other stunner.

But that was not the worst of his punishment. Instead of being knocked plainly unconscious by the stunner he'd received, we were all forced to watch in horror while the man began balding and his cheeks began to turn pink. It was as if his skin were being peeled off and revealing some innocent looking man...no, not a man. A child – an _infant. _The Death Eater was turning into an infant before our very eyes – and then, slowly, he began to age once again, just like the hummingbird above him.

"_Accio wand_!" I shouted, pointing towards Harry's wand. Horrifyingly, it skittered farther away from me – dear Salazar, one day I was going to snap my blasted wand out of spite – but Harry was close enough now that he could grab onto it himself.

"It's Time," Hermione whispered in awe as we watched the Death Eater's head – and only his head – age again. "Time..."

There was a shout from a room somewhere close. Then a crash and a horrible scream.

"RON? GINNY? LUNA?" Harry yelled.

"Shut it!" I hissed.

The Death Eater pulled his head from the bell jar at last, now back to the age of an infant on top of a muscled neck and body; the Death Eater's arms were flailing, the baby's head sobbing loudly. I raised my wand to him, my eyes narrowed.

"You can't hurt a baby!" Hermione cried, grabbing hold of my arm.

"I'm putting him out of his damned misery!" I argued, but there was no time to for that. Harry grabbed me and dragged me forward, Hermione and Neville followed bravely – and much more quickly than I could have – while we heard Death Eaters start to race from the prophecy room we'd just escaped.

Two Death Eaters came close from the side and tried to stun us – shattering more glass around the grandfather clocks. I screamed when I saw just how close to Hermione they were.

"We've got him!" Yelled one. "Near the Office off-"

"_Silencio_!" Hermione shrieked, the man suddenly quiet. The other man shoved him aside only to have my wand shoved in his face.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" Of course, my wand did not want to hurt this man as badly as I did and while he wasn't going to land face first in shattered glass as I'd hoped, he was blasted away in another direction. At least he was far away.

"Well done, Drea, you-"

Hermione never got to finish because the Death Eater she had just silenced seemed to be out of his stupor and he wanted revenge. Moving close to us again, he made a slashing movement with his wand – silently, as Hermione had made him, so that I could not hear the incantation. A streak of purple leaked from the tip of his wand and passed over Hermione's chest – she barely had time to gasp before she crumpled to the floor.

"HERMIONE!" Harry fell to his knees beside her while Neville went to go and attack the Death Eater who had hurt her. I grabbed onto Harry's sleeve, yanking him up.

"We have to go, Harry. We have to go-"

"I'm not just leaving her!" He yelled back to me.

"We're no good to anyone if we're dead!" I yelled back to him. "Look, she's still breathing!"

"I'm not-"

But suddenly there was a yell from Neville – he backed away from a desk yowling, his mouth and nose flowing with blood. The silent Death Eater tore off his mask – it was Antonin Dolohov, the man who had murdered the Prewetts. He made a motion to the prophecy in my brother's hand...and then pointed threateningly to Hermione.

"Like you won't kill us all anyway, the moment I hand it over!" Harry bellowed.

"Waddever you do, Harry, don'd gib it to hib!" Neville said fiercely. His nose was clearly broken and I would not be surprised if a few teeth had been knocked loose by whatever the Death Eater had done to him.

A loud crash outside the door made Dolohov look over his shoulder to see the baby-headed Death Eater that had appeared in the doorway – still flailing and crying. I seized my chance and ran forward, using all my nervous energy while I grabbed hold of his neck, wrestling with the idea of killing him or incapacitating him. Realizing killing him would take a lot of time and a lot of energy, I turned my attention to imagining every detail of the large oafs spinal cord: each vertebrae, each joint, each weakness in his bones...it only took a moment for him to collapse to the floor as Hermione had.

"What did you do?" Harry gasped.

"Paralyzed him," I gasped, shaking out my hand while Dolohov screamed silently, thrashing his head from side to side. "He can't speak and he can't move from the neck down – he's no threat now."

"Is id perbanent?" Neville asked, moving closer while Harry dove back toward Hermione.

I sneered down at the Death Eater, who was watching me with terrified eyes – I won't deny the thrill it gave me to have done the damage that scared him so badly. "I certainly hope so."

"Hermione, Hermione, wake up..."

"Whaddid he do to her?" Neville asked, while we both moved over to Hermione as well. Neville fumbled for her wrist.

"She's breathing, she's alive – she's probably just been knocked unconscious..." I said nervously, listening for more footsteps. "We have to leave."

"You don't know if she's okay," Harry argued. "We're not just leaving her!"

"Dat's a pulse, Harry, I'b sure id is," Neville said with relief, nodding as if to agree with me.

"She's alive?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" I hissed out.

There was a long moment where we all just took time to catch our breath – something that we probably shouldn't be taking the time to do, but something that suddenly seemed very necessary. I couldn't believe that this night had devolved into this after everything I had warned my brother about...and that everything I had warned him about was exactly what was happening, now.

"Neville, we're not far from the exit," Harry suddenly whispered. "We're right next to that circular room...if we can just get you across it and find the right door before any more Death Eaters come, I'll bet you can get Hermione up the corridor and into the lift – then you could find someone, raise the alarm..."

"And whad are you going do do?" Neville asked while he used his sleeve to wipe up some of the blood from his nose and looked pathetically at his wand which had at some point been snapped in two.

"I've got to find the others."

"The others will find us," I argued. "They know the only way out is at that circular room."

"I'm not just leaving them to find it themselves!"

"So what, you're going to go find them and then find the room again?" I sneered. "Can you just _try _common sense, for once? You're being ridiculous-"

"And you're being a coward!" Harry yelled back. I narrowed my eyes, sneering. I was used to being called a coward and I didn't like it at the best of times – but I particularly didn't like it when I was being logical. What I was proposing had nothing to do with fear, it had everything to do with my enhanced sense of self-preservation. Really, my brother needed to take some lessons from me if he continued to keep getting into these messes.

"Well, I'b going to find dem wid Harry," Neville said a little nervously as he looked between us. Harry looked at him for a moment, shaking his head.

"But Hermione-"

"I'll watch over her," I told him with a frown. "We smart-ones can stay together in the logical places."

"I don't really know if I trust you not to leave her," Harry said back. I scoffed before I went over to her and started picking her up from her position on the floor. It's not like I was going to look after her here – where the Death Eaters had a clear view of us. It seemed that Harry and Neville at least agreed with that because they said nothing while Neville and I put Hermione's arms around us and helped get her up before we started dragging her toward the door.

"Wait," Harry shoved Hermione's wand into Neville's hand. "You'd better take this."

Neville didn't even blink before he kicked his broken wand to the side, even though a frown marred his already bloody expressions.

"My gran's going do kill be, dat was my dad's old wand." Neville said quietly. I tried not to waste my time on pity for him, we had more important things to worry about than lost mementos of parents at the moment.

"Wait," I said in the same way Harry had just done, giving him a glare. "I think you should give me the prophecy."

"What?" Harry asked, immediately. "Why? The Death Eaters-"

"Will still think you have it," I told him sternly. "One thing you can't deny is that they were right about you and your love of heroics. They'll know that you'll want to keep hold of it – which is why no one would think about you handing it off. If you really think that they shouldn't have it, then you should give it to someone else. They'll be chasing you the whole time looking for it – I'm the best person for it."

"Why? It just puts you in harms way...besides, it's our bargaining tool. If the Death Eaters realize I don't have it-"

"I won't let you be alone for that long," I told him confidently. "And I'm the best to have it because everyone underestimates me. I'd say give it to Longbottom, but he's still likely to play hero and save the others – for once my own selfishness will come in handy."

Harry looked unsure for a long moment, but my words about my own selfishness must have comforted him. At least he knew that I was stubborn enough not to hand it over to them – and I wasn't planning to. Not unless it got everyone out safely.

So he handed it over.

It was warm, which I hadn't expected and also more lightweight than I would have thought. I placed it in my pocket and just as Harry was about to complain about where I was stowing it, I motioned to the fact I was currently holding Hermione on my shoulder. He seemed to understand before leading us on again.

By the time we reached the door, it was swinging shut behind us and we were once again in the center of the rotating room. There were no longer X's left burning in the doors to signify which rooms were which and now the four of us we were alone.

"So which way d'you reckon-"

A door to our right slammed open loudly and three people fell over themselves as they came out of it. I didn't even need to think twice upon seeing the flash of red in my peripheral to question it.

"Ron! Ginny – are you all-"

"Harry," Ron giggled – actually _giggled – _and grabbed onto Harry's robes. "There you are – ha ha ha – you look funny, Harry...you're all messed up..."

"Oh Godric, no," I gasped, letting go of Hermione to go over to him and look him over.

"Ginny?" Harry asked nervously. "What happened?"

Ginny slid down the wall to sit and only shook her head in response. She took hold of her ankle.

"I think her ankle's broken, I heard something crack," Luna informed us all. "Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets; it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark-"

"Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" Ron interrupted. "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus – ha ha ha-"

"And?" I asked, turning to Lovegood to continue.

"-anyway, one of them grabbed Ginny's foot, I used the Reductor Curse and blew up Pluto in his face, but..." Luna gestured toward Ginny, who looked to be in a lot of pain. I went over to her, knowing just how well she was with curses, this was one girl we could not lose on our team.

"Hey," I said, crouching down opposite her. "Do you really think it's broken?"

"I have no doubts," she said through gritted teeth. "I can still walk, though..."

"Will you let me try to fix it?" I asked, looking at her carefully. Perhaps I should also offer to fix Neville's nose that we all had some downtime, but right now I was more nervous about someone's ability to walk than their ability to say certain consonants. The ginger looked at me suspiciously. "To be honest, I don't think I've ever tried healing something but I've been able to hurt people – I figure it's the same idea but backwards."

"And if I end up paralyzed?"

"Then I'll have to carry you on my back," I smirked. "Don't worry, I'm fixing your ankle. I won't need to focus at all on your spinal cord – there's no risk of that."

"Then take a shot," I leaned down, laying my hand on her foot and trying to focus my energy on her ankle. I tried to imagine the bone and just how broken it could be, and I tried imagining the worst scenario – a clean break – just in case that was what I was healing. I took my time trying to focus on imagining calcification of the bone and a slow, knitting healing. I pulled my hand away and opened my eyes.

"Well?"

"Still twinges," she said with a wince. "But I'd wager I can walk on it."

"Do you think I was able to un-break it?"

"I think so," she nodded slowly. "It just feels sprained now – probably from the way it bent and that's what made it snap. It's probably the muscles that hurt now."

"Better than before," I acknowledged and she nodded in agreement. Harry let out a little sound to grab our attention and I helped the young Gryffindor up – we were just starting to move Hermione when across the rotating room, three Death Eaters spilled in through one of the doors.

"There they are!" Bellatrix Lestrange shrieked pointing at us, leading the pack of them. They shot stunning spells all the way across the room – Harry slammed into the door ahead of us, moving to the door and waiting until we were all through before slamming the door in her face.

"_Colloportus_!" Harry shouted, hearing the three bodies slam against the door.

"It doesn't matter! There are other ways in," a Death Eater announced. "WE'VE GOT THEM, THEY'RE HERE!"

I turned around, examining which room we had just locked ourselves in: we were in the Brain Room. Harry, Neville and Luna went around sealing all the doors in sight before the Death Eaters could try to find us while I tried using my Magnuse to wake up Hermione – but it was no use. No matter what I did, I couldn't figure out what I was healing. If I couldn't imagine it then I was no hope and as much as I continued to imagine Hermione's eyes opening, I didn't know what it was which had made them close.

Luna's scream indicated that not all of the doors had been gotten in time. By the time I opened my eyes and stood with Hermione on my shoulder again, I couldn't see where she had gone. The heavy footsteps of multiple Death Eaters moving into the room, however, let me know that we should no longer be here.

"Get Potter!" Lestrange bellowed as she ran toward my brother. He dodged her easily as he moved around the room – I knew that he would be safe so long as they thought he had the prophecy but I was the one taking care of Hermione...and there was a shameful part of me that desperately wanted to leave her. I mean, she wasn't _my _responsibility – Hell, we shouldn't have been here in the first place. Harry was foolish to have brought so many people, particularly when he didn't know whether or not this was a real threat. Now that we had too many of them – and far too many unconscious ones at that – they were slowing us down...

"Hey!" Ron said suddenly, grabbing onto Harry's shoulders. "Hey, Harry, there are brains in here – ha ha ha – isn't that weird, Harry?"

"Ron, get a hold of yourself!" I snapped at him. He just giggled more.

"Get out of the way, get down," Harry tried to urge him down, but Ron's arm shot up over his shoulder.

"Honest, Harry, they're brains – look: _accio brain_!"

There was one terrifying moment where Hogwarts students and Death Eaters alike paused to watch while a white, enlarged brain burst from the green slime at the top of the tank with incredible force and soared towards Ron – somehow the brain seemed to acquire some kind of tentacles out of the water. These tentacles flailed morosely as they moved through the air toward Ron.

"Ha ha ha, Harry look at it – c'mon Drea, you love stuff like this-" Ron took a step toward it as more tentacles began to suck themselves from inside the brain itself and grow in length. "Come and touch it; bet it's weird-"

"RON, NO!"

But the Gryffindor – still high off of some curse – didn't find us important enough to listen to as he stretched out his hand and was instantly entangled in the brain's slimy tentacles. They began circling up his arm and around his torso, drawing the brain itself closer to him.

"Harry, look what's happen-" he paused, looking at the thing more closely. "No, no – I don't like it – no, stop – stop!"

But the tentacles were tightening around Ron's chest now. I let go of Hermione's limp body and I think I recall yelling something about watching her toward Harry while I ran as quickly as I could toward Ron, building up energy in my itching palms as I did.

I pressed both palms harshly against the brain that was now nearly parallel to Ron's face and a sickening stench emanated from under my fingertips, followed by a high squeal that was not from any human or animal I had ever heard. Behind me, I could hear Neville and Harry trying to stun the oncoming Death Eaters and I could hear Ginny screaming for me to save her brother – no, stop listening to them. You have to focus for Magnuse. You have to focus, Drea.

I felt the slime heat up under my hands and the brain started to quiver as it unwrapped it's tentacles from around Ron and fell to the floor with another agonizing squeal. It looked almost like a spider, it's tentacles curled in on itself as it laid exposing the brain stem to us – it was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen.

I looked up for a moment, noticing that there was only one Death Eater left in the room with us – he was still masked and holding his wand to Hermione's throat to threaten me. I moved to my pocket to grab my wand but he let out a sound of warning and I stopped dead in my tracks. As much as I had wanted to leave her because she was dead weight, I wasn't ready to sacrifice her.

"_STUPEFY_!" I gasped when the Death Eater flew eight feet into the air and was thrown farther away from us all. I looked to the side only to smile at Ginny, who was standing upright on her own and even though she was limping a little and had a bloody lip, she still looked strong. I turned around again, looking for the Death Eaters and the others, counting each before I realized something horrifying.

"Where's Harry?" I asked immediately, my heart sinking.

"He ran through that door to lead the Death Eaters away from us," Ginny explained as she went over to where Luna must have been. "We need to go and-"

"Meet me there," I told her seriously. "They're going to realize he doesn't have the prophecy."

"He doesn't have the prophecy?" Ginny repeated with wide eyes.

I pulled the warm orb from my pocket to show it to her before I took my wand in my other and dashed through the door that the Death Eaters had been able to find their way through before Luna could seal it.

The urgency in my sprint only quickened when I realized that I was now running down the pit in a room and toward the stone archway that put my body on high alert – even before I saw that all the Death Eaters had my brother cornered on the top stair of the pit which created something like a stage for the horrifying veil that he had turned his back on.

"You are in no position to bargain, Potter," Malfoy's voice leered, his wand pointing up at my brother from the stair below him. "You see, there are ten of us and only one of you...or hasn't Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?"

"He's dot alone!" Neville shouted from behind me. I tried to withhold my groan that he had given away where we were standing, halfway up the stairs and looking down on them all. "He's still god be!"

"Neville, no – go back to Ron – Audrey, take him and-"

"_STUBEFY_!" Neville shouted, pointing his wand toward each Death Eater in turn as he scrambled past me to go farther down into the pit with the masked wizards. "_STUBEFY_!"

It didn't take a Seer to expect how quickly they were able to grab him and hold him at wand-point. I think the Death Eaters were trying to display how easily they could capture us, but that wasn't quite so worrying to me. What was worrying to me was that I was so far from my brother and they could kill him before I had a chance to get any closer. Still, I hesitated where I was, ready to go down another stair. I pointed my wand at Malfoy – the Death Eater closest to my brother – even as another pointed his wand to Neville's neck.

"It's Longbottom, isn't it?" Malfoy sneered, turning his back on my brother – none of the other Death Eaters did – so that he could look at me. "Well, his grandmother is used to losing family members to our cause...your death will not come as a great shock."

"Longbottom?" Bellatrix gave a peel of insane giggling which was somehow even more terrifying than Ron's had been. "Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy."

"I DOE YOU HAB!"

"You won't kill him," I told Malfoy confidently. "Let Harry and Longbottom go."

"We won't kill him?" Bellatrix cackled agian. "Oh, Lucius – please, let me-"

"I wouldn't," I said, holding my hand forward and holding it over the stone pit where they all stood below my position on a higher stair. I shook the prophecy tauntingly in my hand and smirked proudly at the group of wide eyes. "Or else this will meet a more life _shattering _end than he or my brother will."

"The prophecy!" Bellatrix gasped. "The little tart has it!"

"It's a fake," another Death Eater proposed gruffly. I laughed.

"Are you willing to bet your future on that?"

Lucius spun back to my brother who held his hands up with an innocent, condescending shrug. Malfoy immediately raised his wand to him again so I let out a bellow to grab his attention.

"Oi!" I shouted, grabbing his attention again. I threw the glass prophecy up in the air – listening to all the gasps of the Death Eaters before I took hold of it again, glad that it was such an ungraceful catch for the effect. "I wouldn't do that. You see, if I keep taunting you like this I'm bound to drop it – I'm not on the Quidditch team like my brother. I'm terribly uncoordinated."

"So, we can't kill your brother or Longbottom?" Bellatrix asked through gritted teeth. "Fine. Let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents...unless Potter wants to give us the prophecy."

"DON'D GIB ID DO DEM!" Neville cried, thrashing against Dolohov. "DON'D GIB ID DO DEM, AUDDEY!"

Bellatrix looked at me with a raised eyebrow before she violently whipped her wand to the side and screamed, "_crucio_" as loud as her lungs allowed.

Neville screamed and his knees buckled, but the Death Eater restraining him was kind enough to force him to stand despite it. When the spell was lifted and he was done twitching and screaming in agony, the Death Eater dropped him to the ground while he panted.

Bellatrix looked at me, watching for signs of weakness and I just smiled tauntingly.

"I've spent the last five years enveloped in Slytherin culture thanks to your relatives, Death Eaters – I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

"That was just a taster!" Bellatrix cried, sounding nearly panicked by the coolness in my voice. I was pleased she was taking me so seriously. "So, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend die the hard way!"

"The hard way of dying would not be you torturing him," I said, keeping my calm much better than the wild woman displaying her own insanity. "The hard way of dying will be what happens if you piss me off enough to make me drop this. Because then you'll have to go tell Ol' Snake Face what you did."

"You will not drop that prophecy!" Malfoy took a step forward, stepping in front of Bellatrix and overtop of Neville's still twitching, panting body. "I've heard all about you, Audrey Potter. You're smarter than your brother and his little friends..."

"With pride," I said with a smile. "But flattery will get you nowhere, Snowflake."

"There must be something you want...something that you would want in exchange..." he urged, taking another step forward. I jerked my hand to the side quickly, watching his eyes widen and watching him stop instinctively. I smirked again.

"My life, for one," I told him honestly. "And since you're being so accommodating, the other's lives as well."

"That is not something I can guarantee, if I don't have that prophecy, child." Malfoy told me darkly. "But I can tell you what you want to know: have you never questioned the secrets of you and your brother – of the night your parents died?"

"Don't bluff, it clashes with your hair," I sneered.

"You don't wonder why your brother was marked for greatness and you were marked of spite? Don't you wonder why he is the Wizarding World's hero and you are hardly remembered?"

"Don't listen to him, Audrey!" Harry yelled from his place, shaking his head encouragingly. And I tried, I tried to ignore him like harry said – as I'd told Harry to do just minutes before...but for the first time I was being told the truth. I felt like I was being given answers to something that I needed to hear...

Why _was _Harry famous? Why was Harry famous when I was just as powerful, when I was just as talented? Why was he placed in Gryffindor and I placed in Slytherin, why was he given a lightning bolt scar and I was given a death-sentence by a knife?

What _were _the secrets?

"The secret," I said slowly, clenching my jaw. "Is that I don't actually care anymore."

"If you didn't care you wouldn't be so torn," Malfoy disagreed. I sneered.

"Let my brother go or I'm dropping this on your head, Malfoy. This prophecy won't survive that hair," I told him, gripping the prophecy more tightly.

"I wouldn't push your luck, Potter," he said a little more sternly. I laughed darkly.

"Luck? Oh no, Malfoy," I shook the prophecy tauntingly again. "I have a little more than _luck _on my side, wouldn't you say?"

Bellatrix seethed, nearly drowning out the sound of rushing footsteps coming near me. There were multiple pairs: Ginny had woken up Hermione and Luna, they must have been on their way to help. Maybe it was time to up _my_ bluff a little. "She's being _condescending _to a Pureblood! You need to learn your place, Audrey Pott-"

"I know my name, thank you, and I also happen to know my place – which is a lot more beneficial than yours at the moment," I displayed the prophecy again for emphasis. "To be honest, I want to be rid of this thing. I was telling Harry to smash it as soon as you showed interest in it...but what do you want to bet that I can smash this _and _get my friends before you can stop me?"

"And just how would you do that?" Malfoy laughed, gesturing around to all the Death Eaters below me for emphasis. But there was no denying that his laugh wasn't as strong a laugh as before and he wasn't confident as he was earlier on. Maybe it was because he knew of the things I had done in the Triwizard tournament – maybe it was because he saw how close I was standing to the edge of the stair – but either way, he positively paled when I smiled at him.

"With Magic."

The doors burst open as if I had timed it, but who came rushing through them was not who I had expected. It was not only Ginny who came to our rescue, but figures so intimidating for a moment I believed they weren't real: Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Kingsly...and Sirius. Sirius had come to the rescue. He was alive and he was coming to make sure that we were, too.

No, not only Sirius – _Snape _had come to the rescue, too. Though he was not here, ready to fight with the members of the Order, I knew that it was because of him – because of the note I had sent him – that they knew to come to our aid.

All hell broke loose in seconds.

Instinctively each Death Eater seemed to pick a duelling partner and they shot spells from a distance. Harry automatically ducked to the side, trying to get away from the spells that Tonks and Malfoy were spewing from across the room to one another. My brother landed on the bottom of the stone dais, where all the Death Eaters stood and shouted hexes before he surged his way through the bodies and spells, trying hard to get to Neville.

"_PROTEGO_!" I screamed, pointing my wand toward a spell headed toward the pair of them. It created a shield – not quite as strong as what someone else could have, but enough to do the job – before it disappeared into mist as the spell fizzled through it and disintegrated the defence I had made. I was proud to see that neither Neville nor my brother had been hit thanks to my efforts.

Suddenly a Death Eater grabbed my brother, pulling him up harshly by the throat as his thick arm wrapped around him in a choke hold. I aimed my wand but knew, instinctively, that I was not a good enough shot to save him and I was certainly not consistent enough to keep my brother safe during my try. Swallowing whatever fear I had, I thundered down the stone stairs and into the thick of the battle, rushing toward my brother and through the Death Eaters who were all paired off and too busy to notice the little redhead darting between them.

"Thanks!" I heard my brother say and when I got up to him, I wrapped my arms around him. He held me for a moment before looking at me.

"Since when are you so brave?" He asked me breathlessly. I couldn't tell in the heat of the moment whether it was a genuine question or whether he was making fun of my bluffing with the prophecy, but I managed a coarse laugh in response.

"It's good to know you think so highly of me."

"Sirius!" Harry gasped, watching as Sirius ran past us, duelling a masked Death Eater and hardly having the time to spot whether or not we were both okay. I wanted to tell him not to worry with us, but I was more distracted by the familiar body on the ground – the body whose eye was spinning franticly across the stone while Dolohov, still bloody-faced and merciless, drew closer to Moody's limp form with his wand drawn.

"No!" Harry shouted, gartering Dolohov's attention for long enough that Dolohov smiled sinisterly and diverted attention from the fallen auror to point his wand at Neville.

"_Tarantallegra_!" he shouted. Neville's legs immediately began to flail, his feet in some kind of mixture between river-dancing, tap-dancing, and a mimicking of the road runner. He fell to the floor from the force of it, his legs still moving as if he were still standing upright.

"Now Potter-" the Death Eater began, looking at me with a horrid sneer. He made the same slashing movement with his wand which he had used on Hermione earlier and I let out a scream, clutching so hard to the prophecy that I thought it might shatter-

"_Protego_!" Harry cried, moving his wand in a motion that would protect the both of us from the strength of the spell. I still was knocked back from it, over Neville's jumbled and uncontrolled legs where I then had to crawl backwards as Dolohov advanced on me until I hit the stone stairs leading up toward the veil.

"_Accio proph_-"

Sirius came to my rescue, hurtling into Dolohov and sending them both crashing to the floor. I dragged myself up from the ground, the prophecy still tight in my hand while Sirius battled with the Death Eater, Harry helped me up when he reached me.

"Get out of here!" Sirius screamed to us. I crawled up the stone stairs, up to the pedestal which held the stone archway, if I could get around it and head to the other end where I could see Ginny, I might be able to sneak around and grab her before she was lost to all of the chaos.

"_Petrificus totalus_!" Harry screamed from behind me. I stopped mid stride, right by the archway, to spin around and see that Harry had attacked Dolohov to help Sirius.

"Nice one!" My Godfather cried. "Now I want you to get your sister and get out of-"

"AHH!" I barely registered the scream before I realized that it had come from myself. Something strong had latched onto my arm and began pulling me away from my brother and my godfather – it was when I turned to look at what grabbed me that I was confused. My arm, which must have broken the black, cool veil of the archway, was stuck between the folds of the sheet and though I could almost see my own hand and see that nothing was latched onto it, I was being pulled into the stone archway.

"Audrey?" Harry and Sirius both yelled back. I screamed again, gripping my wand hard as I tried to think of any spell that could blast out of it – _Reducto_! _Stupefy_! _Impedimenta_! – but nothing was working. No spell I tried to utter, to think of...my wand wasn't reacting to my demands at all.

"_Audrey...Audrey...Audrey, come_..."

I could hear the voices again, even above the fray that was exploding all around me. They were begging me again, begging me for something that I knew I couldn't give them – even though I had no idea what they were asking of me, I knew I couldn't give it to them. I nearly let go of the prophecy just to grip onto my arm and try to use the strength and my own body weight to throw myself away from the arch...but whatever had hold of me kept on pulling me.

"_Come back, Audrey...come with us..._"

"Sirius!" I screamed, "Harry, help me!"

"I'll help you," a gruff voice said from the side. I turned to see an unmasked Death Eater, one with a great gash over the side of his head and other injuries I could sense from the pain he was obviously in, but could not see from his billowing robes.

What I _did_ see were horribly familiar attributes: slightly curled brown hair, light brown eyes – this was a man I both hated and hated the thought of fighting...it was Theodore's father.

"Get away from me," I warned him, gritting my teeth and feeling myself yanked farther up my bicep toward the veil. I let out a whine, unable to stop it from crawling up my throat when I was taken so off-guard. The Death Eater, my best friend's father, merely laughed at my troubles.

"The Dark Lord will forgive my injuries when I bring him the prophecy," he said darkly. "Hand it over, Potter. I'll kill you quickly if you do."

"I'll smash it if you take a step closer," I hissed out.

"Audrey!" I couldn't look over my shoulder far enough to see my brother attack, but I heard him try to stun Nott. The spell came in front of him and I had to duck when he blocked it, letting whatever was pulling me into the veil catch me off-guard again and drag me in all the way to my shoulder. I screamed as I thrashed even more to pull myself from its grip. "Get away from her!"

"_Audrey...Audrey...Audrey, come..._"

"Give me the prophecy, Potter, or I'll kill your brother!"

"Harry, run!" I screamed at him, "run!"

"Not without you," he said back, grabbing onto my waist and starting to pull against the hold the veil had on my arm. The voices, which somehow must have been linked to what was pulling me, were infuriated by the help I was getting.

"_Don't leave us, Audrey...come back...you cannot leave us..._"

Nott laughed at our predicament, Harry pulling me while I was stuck like a fly on flypaper to an average veil with invisible voices. He must have thought that we were foolish, that we had gotten stuck there by some hex and now he had his chance to do away with us.

He raised his wand to us, lax in his stance. "Last chance..."

"Harry, leave!"

"Not without you," he repeated, moving to point his wand at Nott again. It was too late, my brother was not fast enough to attack Nott after he'd had his arms wrapped around my torso. Nott had already begun his incantation before Harry's wand was even raised.

"_Avada Ke_-"

"NO!" I screamed and as powerfully as I could, I took my free, left hand and slammed the prophecy onto the stone at my feet. A ghostly apparition appeared from the shards instantly, floating from the shattered pieces of glass between Nott and my brother. I elbowed my brother in the gut so hard that he fell and gasped for the breath I had knocked out of him – but at least he was away from me for whenever Nott would finish his spell. The ghostly voice was whispered through the room in all the chaos, the other voices rising above it as I felt myself scream from the sudden pain as if her voice – the apparition's voice – was stabbing me through my eardrums, through my eyes, and straight into my mind...

"..._who have thrice defied him, born as_..."

"_Audrey, you cannot leave! You cannot leave us!_"

Who was speaking? Which voice was which? My mind felt like it was being stabbed, like the words I were hearing came from the blade of a dagger that was constantly digging into my skull. What was hurting me? What was attacking me?

"..._for neither can live while_..."

"Look out, Audrey...look out!"

"..._as the seventh month dies_..."

"_He is coming...he is coming_..."

"Potter!" Nott laughed as he stepped through the woman who slowly dissipated into nothing as if the air had drowned her words and her body in turn. "I have seen the prophecy, Potter, you have failed!"

"_Expelliarmus_!" A voice cried out, nearly knocking Nott's wand from his hand. I watched while the Death Eater laughed, pointing his wand to my throat and turning me to face his attacker – my arm bent at an odd angle, feeling like it was about to snap.

"_Yes...yes...come to us, Audrey. Don't leave us, Audrey_..."

"Aim again, Black – if your aim gets any better, you may just hit your goddaughter."

"Get away from her, Nott," Sirius hissed, I could nearly hear his footsteps on the concrete as he walked toward me. His voice sounded strong but there was no mistaking the fear in his eyes while they flickered from Nott to myself. "Your battle is not a battle with her."

"She smashed the prophecy, it is all because of her!" Nott roared, jabbing his wand into my neck. I let out a hiss, feeling it digging into the already scarred skin. He was pointing it right over the _X_ at my throat, as if it was a target he would not miss. Then again, who _did _miss at point-blank range? "I'll kill her as she deserves!"

"You can't even kill me like a man!" I hissed back at him, thrashing a little in his hold and trying hard not to cry out when a red-hot pain shot through my arm as I bent too far to the side.

"Audrey, don't," Sirius said warningly.

"_Yes, Audrey...come to us, Audrey_..."

"No," I gritted out, narrowing my eyes on the Death Eater in front of me. "If you're going to kill your son's best friend, do it like a man!"

"Sirius," a voice sang before a cackle followed. "Sirius Black!"

Bellatrix took steps closer onto the stone platform, watching me with wary eyes – she did not yet seem to notice that I was no longer someone she should be handling delicately. It was a good thing, I could only imagine the torture I would endure if she knew that I had smashed her beloved prophecy – being at the mercy of two Death Eaters did not sound pretty.

And then strangely there was a moment, a single moment, where the world seemed to stop.

"DUBBLEDORE!"

It was as if everyone was distracted by the cry – Albus Dumbledore had entered the battle. His wand held aloft and his face more furious than I had ever seen it, he looked like an avenging warrior from the depths of Merlin's own imagination. He glided down the stone stairs so quickly, I never would have been able to guess just how old he really was and each duelling pair seemed to stop fighting instinctively – knowing the battle was no longer theirs to fight.

Every pair, save one.

Bellatrix turned to Sirius once more, a curse already on her lips. Sirius deflected the spell easily and it took that moment before everyone was knocked from their stupor and the fighting commenced. Screams of warning began again: Death Eaters trying to fall back, Order members calling out to Harry and Neville who were still so close to the archway, or to Sirius and I who were still in the middle of the battlefield.

Nott, knocked out of his daze, seemed to realize again just how helpless I was as he stepped toward me, wand held high. I don't remember when I had fallen out of his grasp, but instead of holding his wand to my neck, he was now in front of me where I could see him leer.

"I'll kill you as everyone watches..." he whispered. "Everyone will know I killed the great-"

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius yelled to Bellatrix while a light hurled past me.

"No one will even miss you," Nott continued stalking forward, almost to the rhythm of the voices who were whispering fervently behind me as they tugged more harshly on my arm to draw me behind the black, tattered curtain.

"_Yes...yes...you belong with us, Audrey...come to us, Audrey_..."

"No one," Nott repeated, raising his wand to press against my heart.

"NO!" I screamed, finally able to lash out; Nott had stepped too close. He had stepped too close to a coiled snake and I felt myself shake as I turned on him and pounced. I was still held nearly immobile from my arm held by the veil – which had sunken in all the way to the shoulder – but I was not held completely still. My left arm slapped hard against his face and it was the heat from my fingertips and palms that grabbed hold of _him. _The heat and the feeling passing between the skin beneath my fingers started to burn as the man in my grips began to howl.

If this was all I could do thanks to my wand arm being held, I was going to do as much damage as I could. I was going to burn off every resemblance that man had to his son; this man who was nothing like his son, who had hurt his son, who had undervalued his son. Theodore wouldn't blame me – Theodore hated his father...and so did I. So I was going to hurt him. I was going to hurt him as he planned to hurt me, I was going to burn him from the outside in, until there was nothing left but the charred ashes of a wasted wizard...

I don't know how it happened, but through his pain Nott tried to find the strength to pull away from me. As he attempted ripping himself to the side, Nott stepped right in the way of Bellatrix's oncoming spell to Sirius. My hand, still attached to Nott's melting flesh, felt the reverberation of the spell as the poison and the pain leaked through his blood and into my hand like some sort of electric current passing through the both of us. We were a circuit of pain and power, the spell bouncing between us by our connected tissue. It seemed to knock the veil out of my way, the voices screaming in sync with me while they let go and threw me away from them as if the circuit continued through to them as well.

I screamed while Nott fell, his body stumbled forward and fell on top of me, knocking the air out of my lungs. He was heavy, the fact that he wasn't moving signified that he was at least unconscious – but the blood pouring from his face that began to drown me made me think it might have been more grim.

"Audrey!" Sirius cried, moving toward me and crouching while he helped me roll the man off of me. I took a moment to catch my breath, trying hard to breathe in deeply though my lungs were crushed into my spine. "Drea, are you alright?"

"_No! No! No, Audrey, come back!_"

I rolled over, ignoring the pleading voices to try and catch my breath again. Above us I heard Bellatrix start to cackle from her placement up the stone stairs, laughing loudly. Swivelling my eyes to her I noticed that my vision was more blurry than normal – I didn't have the time to wonder why. Instead, I focused on how she kept cackling and pointing down at us as if the pain which had just flowed through us was _funny. _It wasn't funny, it was terrifying...and when I looked down, I was even more confused by her laughter.

Looking down at the Death Eater I had rolled off me, I saw that his eyes were open, open and lifeless. I could hardly tell it was Nott now, his face was distorted by the branding of my hand and his eyes, dull and fogged, had burns in one and a melted eyelid to help conceal his identity.

I moved slowly toward him, checking quickly for a pulse and pulling back when I realized that there wasn't one. On my hands, as it had begun to flow down his neck, was more blood from the disfiguration I had caused. And I could do nothing but stare at my work, amazed that I could do so much damage...

And then came the panic. The realization of what had happened, of what I had _done_.

I looked down at my hands, still stained in his blood, and I watched as his life drained from between my fingers and fell onto the floor like angry tear-drops from a sorrow that I did not feel. I felt guilt, yes, but I did not feel sorrow that I had caused the death of this man, of this _human, _of my best friends last living parent...

My eyes looked up, angrily, to the cackling witch who was climbing the stairs. She looked back at me before she made her exit; her wild eyes were gleeful, she was howling with more laughter now that she was seeing my panic. And then, not caring at all for her fallen comrade, she ran.

I had to wonder, is that what I would have done? I'd done it before, with Barty Crouch JR, that I knew. Had I not tried to leave Hermione today, had I not threatened to leave them all behind if they fell behind? I'd almost let my brother be tortured, I _had _let Neville be tortured. Bellatrix had tortured him. And now, after she had tried to kill so many tonight – she had killed her own companion.

Didn't she? Was it her spell that had killed him? I didn't see a green spell, in fact, I thought it had been red. Was she trying to stun or torture? Had she even tried to kill? Or was that something else I had to attest to: was it my own magic, my own need to hurt him, which had caused his death?

Who had killed Theodore's father, Bellatrix or I?

What kind of monster did it make me if I had? Was I more of a monster for not caring of his death, or was she for being the one to deal the final blow? _Had_ she dealt the final blow? I had wanted to kill him myself...hadn't I? Could I have done it?

Did I kill him?

"_Audrey_..." I cried out at the sound of my name, my eyes tearing from Bellatrix's retreating form as I heard Nott's voice again. He wasn't dead at all, he was going to kill me now that he had woken – I instinctively scrambled away from his voice – but when I looked down his eyes were still aimless, still frozen as he stared into the oblivion he was lost to.

"Audrey?" Sirius asked, I looked back up to see that Bellatrix had run. I looked back down with wide, terrified eyes at the dead man at my feet...the dead man who had just spoken to me, I was sure of it. "Audrey, are you all right?"

"_Audrey_..." there it was, Nott's voice again. But Nott did not move. In fact, the voice wasn't coming from near his body at all – but I did know where it _was_ coming from. Sirius must have thought I was insane as I ignored him and my eyes travelled to the veil, still floating in the non-existent breeze. "_Come to us, Audrey_..."

"I can hear him," I whispered to my Godfather, who had taken to trying to lift me by the waist. "Sirius, he's speaking to me..."

"Who's speaking to you, Drea?" He asked me, his voice quiet.

"_Audrey_," his voice said again. "_You killed me, Audrey...you hurt him, Audrey_..."

"Nott...I can hear his voice..."

"_You belong with us, Audrey...don't leave us, Audrey_..."

I couldn't see how Sirius reacted to it, but he was quick to drag me away from the curtain. As soon as I was down the steps it was as if someone had turned up the volume once again – people were still battling, I could hear them. I could see the flashes of their wands, hear all of their curses and spells, I could see Dumbledore having herded the Death Eaters into a circle in the middle of the room.

I tried pushing back my horror at what had happened, at what I had done as I realized that the woman who had the answers was not in that circle. She was gone. And she wasn't the only one missing.

"Where's Harry?" I asked, trying to keep my voice strong. It still wavered, so I tried again. "Where is Harry?"

"He's..." Sirius stopped, looking around, his eyes wide. "Where's Harry? Where's Harry?"

He was repeating my own words and he sounded more panicked than I had. This was a bad thing. Kingsley was screaming, screaming something about Bellatrix – about Harry...

I was running before I could stop myself. I heard Sirius screaming after me, but now that I had the adrenaline coursing through my body again, there was no stopping me. I jumped the stairs two at a time, knowing that where I had seen Bellatrix exit, Harry would be close by.

"Harry!" I screamed, not caring at all about how subtle I should have been. "Harry, come back!"

The voices in my head seemed to echo the idea, calling for both my brother and I, as if I could still hear them while I left the room with the archway. I silenced myself just so I wouldn't repeat the things that they had said to me.

I ran past the room with the brains where Ron was still on the ground, marked by the tentacles and giggling pathetically. Hermione was on the ground, unconscious and was now laid beside Luna – Ginny was standing over them her wand drawn.

"That way, he went that way!" She yelled at me, pointing her wand toward the rotating room. I followed her direction without a word, continuing my running as if my life depended on it; or worse, as if Harry's did.

The door to the exit, with the elevator, was left open as if someone knew I would be hunting them. I followed the sound of the lifts that had already begun to move. I didn't question why there was another one, as if it was waiting for me: empty and lit. I ran forward and took it, pressing my hand to the elevator and praying that I could convey to the piece of machinery to follow the one above it. After a moment when I couldn't calm myself enough to imagine the magic or technology powering it, I settled to press the button for the Atrium – it was the only way out, so I could only hope it was where they would run now.

The lift worked slowly and I was jittering with nervous energy – energy that I wanted nothing more than to use on Bellatrix Lestrange. I wanted to use this energy and hurt her with it as I had hurt Nott, hurt her with it as she had tried to hurt my Godfather. Then I would know who was a murderer...and then I might not feel so guilty about the life I had taken.

Bellatrix Lestrange's death would be justified. I would have no reason to feel guilty were it her blood on my hands instead of Nott's.

The lift came to a rattling stop at the Atrium which was empty and silent. I opened the gold gates, the very _noisy _gold gates, and saw ahead of me that my brother was hidden behind the statues of the fountain. As I stepped out of the lift a jet of red light whizzed past my head so close that I let out a yelp and fell back into the grate of the elevator.

"My, my, my, you really _must _be lucky, little Potter!" Bellatrix nearly sang. I could not tell where she was, but she was farther away down the Atrium from where I could hear her voice. I nearly growled at the sound of it.

"My, my, my," I mimicked, my voice lower than I would have expected. "You have horrible aim, you loon."

"_Crucio_!" I ducked the jet of light again and had to crash onto the floor, on my tender arm, to avoid being hit. "Were your mudblood mother alive, she would have taught you better manners, Potter!"

"Shame I was raised with your lot, then," I yelled back, standing again. "Come out and fight me, or are you afraid of me, Bellatrix?"

"Not at all, I just want to find your brother!" She giggled maniacally. "Come out, come out, little Harry! What did you come after me for, if it wasn't to take revenge on what we've done?"

"I will!" Harry shouted back from behind the fountain, letting the Atrium carry the echo all the way to her ears and saying nothing more.

"But you didn't care for Nott, did you Potter? Aren't you glad he's dead?" She giggled insanely once again. "I know your sister is."

"I am not," I bellowed back. "I attacked him to survive!"

"You held him until you killed him," she nearly scoffed.

"_You_ killed him!" I screamed back, stepping out into the open.

"Audrey, get down!" Harry whispered from his position behind the fountain.

"If you want to kill me, come out where I can see you! We'll finish this: wand to wand."

Bellatrix giggled again, she seemed to think the idea was as preposterous as it probably was. She seemed to think that I would not stand a chance – but that giggle was a mistake. It let both Harry and I know exactly where she was. And Harry, his eyes more vicious than I had ever seen them, stood from behind the fountain.

"_Crucio_!" he bellowed, slashing his wand in the direction of Bellatrix. She screamed – now that we knew where she was it was easier to see her, even though she was closer to a blur. I could see that the spell had knocked her off her feet, but she didn't writhe as I wanted to see. Bellatrix didn't scream and cry or beg for mercy as I wanted, as I _expected_, to hear – she was already up again and she was no longer full of scathing smiles.

"Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?" She growled at him, watching but not moving while he made his way over to me. Her giggly, baby voice was now abandoned. "You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain – to enjoy it. Righteous vengeance for your sister will only fuel you when she's not here to appreciate it. I'll show you how it is done, shall I? I'll give you a lesson-"

"Let _me_," I snarled back to her. "_Crucio_!"

Everyone seemed to pause and wait for something to happen to Bellatrix, but no spell came from my wand. I wanted to scream at it, I wanted to smash it against the stone at my feet and throw a fit – I _did _want to hurt Bellatrix Lestrange. I did want her to feel the pain I had made Nott feel...

So why wasn't it working?

"Pathetic!" She rejoiced, nearly embodying her baby voice again. "Neither of you can win against me!"

"I can!" I screamed back, infuriated by my own lack of ability. I whipped out my left hand and cried out when it collided with Harry's wand – it was a sharp, instant pain. It felt like when I had been touching Nott and he had been cursed, but much less severe. I gripped Harry's wand with my left and shoved my own wand into his hand with my right. I took the quick second to hold Harry's wand in my right hand – ignoring the sting it sent into that palm, as well. I could feel the blood dripping on the floor from the shallow cuts that now decorated both my palms, but the warm hilt of Harry's wand felt good in my hand despite the pain.

"Audrey, no, stop!"

"_CRUCIO_!" I screamed, slicing the air with the holly wand as violently as I had seen her do it – and I smiled despite all my own pain – because Bellatrix fell to her knees. She screamed and panted, she twitched and clawed at her skin as the pain overtook her and she fell onto her side. I watched and smiled, nearly euphoric as I watched her writhe under myspell.

It was an amazing feeling, to give her what she deserved. It was amazing to feel so powerful, instead of powerless. To know that after everything that had happened in the past few hours, that I was still strong. That I could ruin her, drive her insane, take her life if I wanted to...and I did want to. Like she had taken Nott's, like _I_ could have taken Nott's...

"Audrey, stop!"

Harry grabbed his wand from me and as soon as he did, the spell broke. Bellatrix panted from the exertion of her body fighting against the pain, rolling over so that she could cough and bring the air back into her raspy throat. I looked down at her, unable to hide my pride.

"I mean it, can you tell?" I asked her darkly. "I do want to hurt you...and I _will _do it again."

"I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant," she hissed, standing shakily while she got a firm grip on her wand. "I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, you pathetic little children, can never hope to compete-"

"_Stupefy_!" Harry yelled, now holding both wands – my own wand in his right hand. As always, my wand yielded to him easily and performed the spell as it was meant to. I looked at it with a bit of a sneer, my short fingernails biting into the already cut skin of my palms. I hated that my wand behaved better for my brother than it did for me. Still, I couldn't be shocked for long when she deflected his spell right back at me and I ducked and felt it skim past my hair.

"I'm going to give you two one chance," she shouted. "Give me the prophecy – roll it out towards me now – and I may spare your life!"

I laughed aloud. "You'll have to kill us!"

"Don't think I won't!" She said darkly. I laughed harder.

"I've already gotten rid of it!"

"It's gone and he knows!" Harry said with his own mad laugh, remembering just how I had smashed it and elbowed him hard to try and save him. "Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is he?"

"What? What do you mean?" her voice quivered in fear. It made my heart beat quickly as if it were a gift I was excited to open and finally get to use.

"I smashed the prophecy," I told her with a smile. "I smashed it right in Nott's face – he was the only one who heard it...and you killed him!"

"What will Voldemort say about that, then?" Harry asked loudly. "Since you killed the only one who knew what it said?"

"Liars!" She shrieked. "You've got it! One of you has it and you will give it to me! _Accio prophecy_! _ACCIO PROPHECY_!"

"I told you I smashed it," I laughed. "You have nothing for him now!"

"No!" She screamed, falling to her knees as if she was hit with a curse. "It isn't true, you're lying!"

"Give me your wand, Harry," I hissed, not bothering to look while I held out my bloodied hand to him. "I want to curse her again..."

"Master, I tried, I tried! Do not punish me-"

"Don't waste your breath!" Harry yelled, nearly smirking at her pathetic display. "He can't hear you from here!"

"Can't I, Potter?"

The high, cold voice broke our battle and all three of us in the Atrium swerved to the right to see the newest member of the fight; he was tall and he was also black-hooded. His face was terribly thin and flat, it was plastered with white skin and fitted with scarlet, slit-pupilled eyes that were narrowed on both my brother and I.

"No..." Harry whispered in shock.

"Hello, Harry," the high, slithering voice greeted politely. "And Audrey, so nice to meet you at last."

Lord Voldemort was _here_.

Lord Voldemort was _furious._

And somehow I knew that Lord Voldemort blamed _me_.

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><p><strong>Wow. So, where to start? Um. There was a death in this chapter, I'm sure most noticed. But I'm sure it's not what you expected. And there was a lot going on with Audrey and that veil. Then Audrey and her own little fight with Nott. And, of course, Audrey's strange situation with her wand... I can't wait to hear your opinions. But first, let me write back to those who shared their opinions last chapter:<strong>

_anna_**: Thank you, hopefully you liked this newest chapter as well :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Draco definitely did kiss Audrey in front of everyone. We'll get to see more of the Gryffindors' reactions when they get back to Hogwarts, don't worry. I tried to make the veil part eerie in the last chapter – did it still work for this chapter as well? Because I tried to make it really creepy. And good catch on the thestrals and the veil, I'm glad you caught on before all the stuff that happened in this chapter. Did you catch what did, or rather didn't, happen with Sirius?**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: Sometimes I want to slap some sense into Harry too – but it's good that you feel that way. I constantly try to show how impulsive Harry is (hence Gryffindor) while Audrey is calculating (hence Slytherin) :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Ha, I'm glad that you liked the last chapter so much. That one was really fun to write...this one, for the most part, was not – but that's because it was so emotionally taxing. I'm glad I make you feel like rereading the book! Did you actually do it? I reread GOF and OOTP before I started writing about them and I've started HBP again. HBP is my favourite of the seven, so hopefully I do it justice. What did you think about the veil in this chapter...more importantly, what did you think of what happened with Sirius?**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I agree, I think Audrey should be listened to more. Hopefully she will be next book now that she's proven herself in this segment. I'm glad that you're liking the story so much and I hope that you enjoyed what happened in this chapter.**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: I'd say he'd think exactly what Audrey did: it's a trap! ;)**

_OddPotato_**: Procrastination, what is that? You know, I'll look it up tomorrow. Haha, hope you liked the chapter.**

_kaaayyytteee_**: I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one as well. Thanks for the review!**

_DGfleetfox_**: Hopefully you still like the story enough to make it to this point, but I'm glad that you liked the little Draco and Audrey scenes. I'm also glad that you're seeing the parallel between James/Lily. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Bitterglass_**: I agree. I think Audrey should get a medal for her patience. I mean, sure, she blows up at them every now and then but there are a hell of a lot of reasons why, haha.**

_Guest (1)_**: I'm glad you liked Harry's reaction, you'll get another one later.**

_Guest (2)_**: Please don't kill who? Sorry, I didn't catch that ;) **

_Apple_**: I remember first reading when Harry touches the orb in the book and I put the book down to have a little "stupidity break" where I just kept repeating, "he did it. Oh my god, what an idiot. He actually touched the – didn't he – doesn't he? Ugh! What an idiot!" I'm glad I kept that feeling in the last chapter. I'm glad you liked Draco's sneak-attack kiss on her, and the creepiness of the veil that carried through to this chapter – hopefully it was still creepy. Voldemort made his entrance – we'll see more on his reactions to the twins in the next chapter. Audrey kicked ass. Sirius didn't die. And we have yet to know Malfoy's reaction, but I assure you there will be drama when they go back to Hogwarts. Thanks for the review and I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Mischief and Magic_**: It's alright, you reviewed now and you used the term 'Siriusly', so you gained my respect. Hopefully you liked this chapter and what did, or didn't, happen during it. I will tell you now that Audrey is not going to take Harry's upcoming potions abilities well at all, and there are some parallels between Regulus. She will definitely have a lot to think about in this upcoming book. Hopefully you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Don't worry about it, I get what you mean about being busy. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and hope that you liked this one as well :)**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Yes, the Gryffindors are privy to the Dreaco. Kind of. It will be mentioned before the end of OotP again. The next book will be a lot of fun to write and being "team Audrey" will definitely be harder after HBP. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for the review and thoughts on the next book!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Since you asked so nicely ;)**

_loveactuallyy_**: Aw, thank you! I also enjoy giving out the sneak-peaks on Twitter. It always makes me giddy to give out those parts and hear what people are most excited for. I definitely wanted to keep Draco as in character as possible, it's half the reason Audrey's as "Audrey" as she is. Audrey and Draco definitely have more time together in the next book – I'm getting excited even thinking about it. Hope you liked this newest chapter and thank you so much for the review.**

_Guest (3)_**: Harry is very impulsive, but hopefully you still like the story and the better parts of him! **

_Lizzy B_**: Ha, I think you've mentioned that once or twice. But yes, Draco has out-ed their 'relationship'. It will be fun to see how Audrey reacts to that later on. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I'm glad that you're liking it so much. Hopefully this chapter was exciting for you and that you liked the way it turned out. Thanks for the review :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: No kidding, Audrey really doesn't get just how much Malfoy actually spoils her in his own way. Don't worry, next year they'll be square. You're going to have to wait to see how he reacts to the news of his father's imprisonment, but as you can see Audrey has a lot more on her mind than what happens to Malfoy SR. Hope that you liked the chapter, thank you for reviewing :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Yes, I definitely have a timeline, it's half the reason I'm so frustrated as I write each chapter because I just want to skip and get to the good parts, haha. Hopefully the emotional trauma that's started from Nott's death. Hopefully it's not too jumbled. I am also supposed to be on a diet – alright, technically it's supposed to be a 'lifestyle change', but it's a bit too drastic of a change to be anything BUT a diet. As for the arts, I'm more of a 'performing arts' type, but when it comes to visual art the only thing I can do well is sketch. As soon as paint comes into it, I tend to get really frustrated because it doesn't translate properly. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter :)**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I'm glad that his kiss came as a surprise. It kind of came as a surprise to me, too. I expected to do it differently but...sometimes my characters (and my fingers) surprise even me. Yes, Audrey is definitely hearing voices behind the veil. And she was hearing many of them. Ron will be a more amiable character in the next book, they all will :) Hope that you liked the chapter and thank you for the review!**

_Guest (4) for chapter 43_**: Thank you, I'm so glad that you've been liking it. Hopefully you've continued on to this far and hopefully you've enjoyed what you've read :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: You're on vacation and you took the time to review? You didn't have to! Enjoy yourself! I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and hopefully you like all the twists that this chapter had as well. I'm glad you like Audrey's calculating nature vs Harry's impulsiveness – I will do HBP and DH and I am doing clips from the books beforehand in Audrey Potter's Prelude :) Thank you for the review!**

_StealthElf23_**: Hello! Thank you for starting to read this and congratulations on getting this far, I know it's a lot of words to swallow. I'm glad that you like it and the differences from most other stories out there and, of course, I'm glad you like Draco more :) As for Harry Potter Puppet Pals, I've seen every one! They're brilliant. Hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you so much for your review.**

_AllTimeLol_**: *Virtual hug back* Thank you! I'm glad you like it. I like your review :)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I wish I had a project about Etiquette and manners, that sounds like a lot of fun. Not as much that you HAVE to do a project, but that you get to research it. That's pretty interesting to me. The next Harry Potter story I'm thinking of writing will have a lot of that kind of stuff in it...if I write it. I haven't decided if it's good enough to start. Anyway, back to this story! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, there are a lot of feels in this chapter so hopefully it was interesting...thanks as always :)**

_SwiftAlice_**: Wow, first off let me thank you! Your review was spectacular, I'm truly honoured; it's not often I get such in-depth responses to my chapters.  
>I'm glad that you think I keep the characters as they were depicted in JKR's original. I try to keep the characters within themselves as much as I can. Even Harry, who is seen as a much more selfish character in this story, will end up being resolved a little in the next book. I really pushed it to the extreme for the confusion that Audrey had to and will go through. I'm also touched that you could think of what Audrey would do as you watched the film, that's awesome!<br>It's alright. Sometimes I go back to check on things in the early chapters and I sneer at them. I definitely could have done the first few better and I have often thought of going back to rewrite a few of them, so don't apologize. You continued and pushed through your worries and that is all that matters :)  
>I'm glad you like my technical writing abilities. You can thank my grammar-Nazi mother who either made me write essays or read a passage aloud from Shakespeare instead of grounding me like a normal parent from the age of 6. I guess in the long-haul it paid off, but at the time all I wanted was to be sent to my room without dinner, let me tell you. I'm also glad that you don't think it's just a one-track story in the way of the emotions it evokes – I'm actually really glad to hear it. Next book will be less angst, so I hope, but I could tell this one was on the precipice of too much angst and drama. And thank you, I'm glad that you believe my writing is growing. I think it has as well and I'm glad that other people are noticing – it means that I'm not crazy, haha!<br>Also, just since you mentioned you didn't know, I have a timeline written out for the entire story. From there, I try writing chapters in clumps at the beginning of each book so that I can update more regularly, but I ended up falling behind this time. Next time I hope that it will be better. Still, it is chapter by chapter even though I follow the timeline I wrote down when I first began the story. As for answering reviews, I'm glad that you think I do so and I hope you don't mind how I'm answering every little part of yours. I'm so touched by it there is no way I couldn't!  
>So what did you think of this chapter? I know that it was dramatic and very heavy, it was very hard to write because it was nearly emotionally crippling at some points. Draco will make an appearance in the next two chapters (as OotP will finish in two chapters) and that kiss is certainly coming up in conversation again. Hopefully you liked this chapter and the changes that happened with Audrey's interference. And never worry about long reviews, it just means it's more in-depth and I love hearing what people are thinking. Thank you for the phenomenal review and enjoy the chapter!<strong>

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: I'm glad you liked Draco's surprise-kiss, it was fun to write. She certainly seems to have lost it while talking to that veil, but why do you think? Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing :)**

_MKhigh-865_**: Aw, thank you! I'm so glad that you like Audrey and her storyline. I'm glad that I've made you yell at your screen and stay at the edge of your seat – it means I'm doing my job right! I try very hard to keep her from Mary-Sue tendencies, even though there are of course some forms of it in here, but hopefully not enough for it to be annoying. I am proud of this story but it is always nice to hear how much readers like you enjoy it – I feel really honoured, thank you. **

_klara_**: Thank you for the review, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_vampiremuggle_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like the story. Hopefully you liked this chapter as well :)**

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone for your amazing reviews. I hope that you liked this chapter, I know it was very dense and thick with emotion – but hopefully it was worth it. Have a Easter weekend, or long weekend. I know my family is already here and I've already begun cooking...little do you know, but I pretty much come from a family of Weasleys, haha!<br>**

**Please ****REVIEW****!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend


	56. Battling Blame

**Hello, everyone! We have one more chapter after this until Order of the Phoenix ends and Half Blood Prince begins; with that comes some very ****important notes for you that can be found after the chapter****. Thanks to all my Twitter followers who encouraged me to get this chapter out earlier and everyone say a very Happy Birthday to **_Patricia_**! Happy Birthday, I hope you like this update. Thanks for always tweeting me when I'm up late and writing – you're awesome!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 55 – Battling Blame<p>

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><p>Lord Voldemort's wand was undoubtedly pointed toward my brother and I, the point flickering back and forth patiently between both of our hearts. The Snake's red eyes were more vicious than I ever would have been able to imagine and I felt ever hair on my body stand on end while he slowly stalked closer toward us both.<p>

"So, you smashed my prophecy?" Voldemort asked silkily, his eyes now turning to me. "No, Bella, they are not lying...I see the truth looking at me from within the boy's worthless mind...months of preparation, months of effort...and my Death Eaters have let these children thwart me again."

"Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!" Bellatrix cried, beginning to sob hysterically while she threw herself down near his feet. "Master, you should know-"

"You should know that she killed another of your Death Eaters, Nott," I told him, working hard to keep my voice strong. I would do anything that I needed so that we distracted attention from ourselves and placed the blame onto the woman sobbing on the ground. "He was the only one who heard the prophecy."

"Master, I didn't know!"

"Be quiet, Bella," Voldemort growled, cutting her howling off with no more than a hiss. "I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your snivelling apologies?"

"But Master – he is here – he is below-" but Voldemort wasn't paying any attention to what his devoted follower was warning him.

"When she says 'he is here' I'm going to assume she's trying to intimidate you by saying-"

"I have nothing more to say to either of you," he bit out, interrupting me while his red eyes glinted maniacally. "You have irked me too often, for far too long. _AVADA KEDAVRA_!"

"No!" I screamed, crumpling to protect myself, feeling Harry's arms wrap around me as well – as if that would possibly make it better. But it wouldn't...and it didn't, because but I didn't feel the sting of the curse at all. In fact, there wasn't any reaction, at all, to the curse. Instead, we dared to look over each other's tangled limbs to find that part of the fountain, what looked like a human but was headless, had sprung to life and moved to stand animatedly between us and the spell.

"What?" Voldemort thundered furiously, his eyes moving to the lift before he breathed a faint answer to his own question, "Dumbledore..."

Albus Dumbledore had taken the lift up to find us and it seems he had found us just in time. He still looked as furious as he had down in the depths of the stone-pit room, but now there was a new glow about him. It was a new form of command; the old man looked much more powerful – it was as if the power were emanating from him. And it seemed that Voldemort recognized this, as well.

Voldemort moved to attack Dumbledore again, another jet of green light soaring from the tip of his wand. But the spell was of little consequence as it was immediately doused with a fanning of Dumbledore's cloak. I could only assume that the old wizard had apparated to create that movement, because a moment later he was standing behind Voldemort, charming the other statues from the fountain to life. A witch, marbled and furious, ran after Bellatrix so quickly that she could do nothing more than respond with screams and curses that bounced uselessly off of the fountain-witch's chest. Bellatrix let out a more shrill scream when the statue pinned her to the ground. She spent her energy trying to thrash and escape – or even to free her wand hand – but it was as if the statue had lost its life now that its mission was done, leaving the full weight of the fountain-witch hanging overtop of Bellatrix. And something that heavy was not something that Bellatrix could move.

The goblin and the house elf from the fountain moved toward the fireplaces that lined the walls of the Ministry entrance, but I was easily distracted from looking at them as the statue of a one-armed centaur rushed toward Voldemort. In a moment the dark wizard had disappeared, but he was not gone for long, having reappeared beside the pool – far too close to us for comfort.

I grabbed my brother's arm roughly, yanking him away from the snake-faced man while Dumbledore advanced again on Voldemort, shaking his head slowly.

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," Dumbledore said coolly. "The Aurors are on their way."

"By which time I will be gone," Voldemort spat dangerously. "And you will be dead."

He flung another killing curse at Dumbledore, but missed by inches. Instead, it flew past the old wizard and hit the security guard's desk, making it burst into flame.

Dumbledore gave another flick of his wand, sending a spell toward Voldemort which was so strong it seemed impossible it could have been conjured with such little effort. The spell was so strong, in fact, that Voldemort had to create a shimmering shield from thin air to absorb the worst of the blow, creating an eerie, low note to play from the vibration of his defences.

"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" Voldemort called with a sneer, not daring to look over the edge of his shield. "Above such brutality, are you?"

"We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore responded calmly, as if he were speaking to the killer from across his office desk. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit-"

"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!"

"You are quite wrong," the wise wizard said simply, continuing to advance on Voldemort; with no shield, no protection, Dumbledore was left vulnerable. Yet I knew that he was anything but. If ever there were a match for Lord Voldemort, that match was Albus Dumbledore. "Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness-"

Voldemort seemed to have had enough of that conversation because he sent another vicious killing curse around his silver shield. The centaur, who had been waiting by the sidelines for a reason that I hadn't taken the time to understand, galloped forward and took the curse for Dumbledore before it burst into a thousand pieces that scattered across the Atrium floor.

Dumbledore decided to try a new course of action, then. Holding his wand like the grip of a whip, he flung an angry string of flame to wrap around Voldemort – it looked like it was hurting the snake-man, before he was again able to take matters into his own hands. The whip morphed from an angry, orange flame into a vicious orange snake. It uncoiled itself from Voldemort's body and turned, hissing viciously to face Dumbledore.

Voldemort turned on his heel, vanishing into the darkness once again, while the snake coiled to strike at Dumbledore.

"Talk to it, Harry!" I panicked, grabbing at my brother's arm. "Tell the snake to stop!"

But Harry didn't have time to speak at all, nevertheless to remember parseltongue, because Voldemort reappeared in the middle of the fountain, his wand aiming a new killing curse at the old wizard.

But the killing curse never reached Dumbledore, for as it began to soar toward him another soaring flash interrupted it's progress as Fawkes, Dumbledore's brilliant phoenix, appeared from the rafters and swallowed the spell whole. Immediately the phoenix burst into flame and fell to the floor, a pile of ash and a sickly, withered fowl. I let out a gasp, feeling instantly terrified for the creature, before I realized that he would soon die and become a pile of ash – which he would rise from again, as every phoenix did. I was distracted as Dumbledore made a quick movement of his wand and the snake – which had been seconds from killing him – disappeared in a wisp of putrid-smelling smoke.

Voldemort let out a frustrated cry, but had no time to attempt another spell. With another flick of Dumbledore's wand, the water that was left in the pool of the fountain rose up and circled Voldemort like a cocoon. Even I was terrified as I moved away from the cage of liquid that must have slowly been drowning the wizard inside – but there was only a moment where he was encased before the water fell back across the Atrium's floor with a loud splash.

Voldemort was gone.

"Master!" Bellatrix screamed, still pinned beneath the still statue of the witch. Harry moved to go toward Dumbledore, nearly pulling him with me until he realized that I was still rooted to the spot out of fear.

"Stay where you are, Harry!" Dumbledore bellowed, the tone in his voice took me by surprise. It was the first time that Dumbledore had ever sounded afraid. And not just afraid, but _terrified_. I moved forward, ready to grab onto my brother and pull him back to the edge of their make-shift battlefield, but after I took one step I fell into a crouch.

My head was bursting, flame trying to leak from behind my eyes and slither over my senses. I felt like something was trying to burn me from the inside out, that something was trying to clench around my brainstem and twist until I was left to die...

"Audrey?" Harry asked, taking a step toward me. Dumbledore said something to him, something that I could barely hear, before my pain seemed to dissolve away into the cool, frigid air...and my brother began to howl.

I stood, clutching my head and digging my palm into my temple while I stumbled forward. "Harry?"

"Audrey, stay away from him!" Dumbledore called again. But I ignored the old man as I took another step close toward my brother, who looked up at me...and I knew it was no longer Harry.

The eyes, while still green, were pupilled with a red, reptilian gash. His face...I had never seen that expression on anyone's face, nevertheless my twin brother's. Harry – or rather, _not_-Harry_ – _looked at me with a sinister smile before those terrifying eyes moved to the older man who didn't seem to dare step closer.

"Kill me now, Dumbledore..." That was not my brother's voice. I watched his mouth move, but it was not his voice – it was higher and hissing like he was speaking in parseltongue but still using the English language. "If death is nothing, Dumbledore, then kill the boy..."

I shook my head in horror, moving back a step or two when I realized that Lord Voldemort had finally pierced through my brother's mind. After all this time, after all our practice, Voldemort had finally won.

I turned my pleading eyes to Dumbledore and watched him decide what he was going to do. It was clear he did not want to harm my brother, it was even more clear he refused to kill him, but he did not know how to handle a possession like this.

A _possession_. My brother was possessed by this animal. Possessed, like he was one of Voldemort's possessions that he could take his time to play with or to manipulate...or to destroy.

"Get out of his head," I snarled, finding a courage I didn't realize I had by moving forward.

"Audrey, do not move!"

"You couldn't get into my head, could you?" I asked darkly, ignoring Dumbledore's words of warning. My brother wouldn't hurt me, my brother _couldn't _hurt me – he was not a _possession_, I would not let him be controlled like he was a toy_. _Voldemort's angry expression was fixed on my brother's face. "You tried, but you couldn't get into my head. So you had to get into his."

I moved forward again, spying my brother's fallen wand and kicking it to the side. Voldemort would not get to play with my brother or his magic, either.

"Audrey," Dumbledore said again. I ignored him while I grabbed my brother's body which Voldemort was using to try and move away from me. I briefly heard Dumbledore whisper some sort of incantation, something that seemed to keep my brother's body still.

"I've kept you out before," I said to the snake, looking into his eyes while I pressed my sore and cut palms onto my brother's temples. "So I can push you out now!"

"You can't, little girl," Voldemort laughed, my brother's face moving into a dark smile that I had never seen cross his face. "You are no match for me."

"But I'm a match for my brother," I hissed back, narrowing my eyes against the bastardized mirror image in front of me. "And you don't have all your powers when you're in him...but I still have all of mine."

I felt him try to move away from me again, to fight against Dumbledore's spell – but I was right about what I had said. While Voldemort could have easily reenergized himself after being immobilized, Harry's body was not so experienced. I pressed my palms even more firmly against his temples, focusing on keeping him still as I dove through my brother's thoughts.

It caused an instant migraine; there was an instant splitting of my skull – I may have screamed, but I don't think I would ever really know. I knew that I could hear Harry screaming. Or perhaps it wasn't Harry screaming at all, perhaps it was the snake.

I could see everything that was in the forefront of my brother's mind: going back to when Nott was killed by myself or a spell meant for Sirius, remembering Ron being attacked by the brain, remembering the dream that had brought us here, remembering trying to yell to keep me calm as we rode the Thestrals, remembering when I yelled at him to remind him how this was likely a trap...

But then, I could see _his _thoughts: the fury towards his Death Eaters, the scrambling as he thought of who would replace Nott in his plans, deciding who to punish for the smashed prophecy, worrying about just how long he had been in the Ministry tonight...

"You are not stronger than me, Audrey Potter!" The creature screamed, his voice splitting my brother's vocal cords and making his voice hoarse.

But I didn't care to be stronger than Lord Voldemort, I didn't care to prove myself to him. I wanted to prove myself to Harry, to my own word – to the fact that I could push him out of my brother's mind because as much as Voldemort could control my brother, he could not control _me._

_It is still your fault he's here_, a slithering voice hissed quietly in the back of my mind. I recognized the high, cool tones as Lord Voldemort's. I tried shutting it out, cutting off the access to my mind, but with the energy I was placing to rid my brother of him, there was no way I could also purge my own mind. _Were you to have kept clearing your brother's mind, neither you nor he would not be in this mess._

There was no denying this; I should have cleared his mind last night after our Astronomy OWL. I should have forced Malfoy to leave me somewhere Harry would find me. And to make it worse, I should have ignored Malfoy this morning. Had I ignored him this morning, I would have been there to make sure that my brother and his mind were safe from Voldemort's persuasion. From Voldemort's influence...

_You were with the Malfoy boy..._Voldemort's voice hissed, sounding nearly melodic by how quietly it tried to cut into my conscience. _You made your choice between he and your brother. Just leave your brother, now. Leave him _again_..._

I hadn't made a choice between those two at all. And I didn't see the point to. I had been distracted and that was different. It had been because Malfoy and I were friends, he had helped me the day before, he had always been on _my _side because I don't pick sides. I never had to pick sides, even if no one was ever on mine.

_You killed your friend's father,_ the high voice hissed. _Theodore Nott will no longer choose your side. Draco Malfoy will no longer choose your side. But will you choose theirs?_

If Voldemort knew what was good for him he would not threaten my friends while he was inside of my head. I could stop focussing on my brother and easily push him out, _painfully _push him out. He was already threatening my brother and his well-being, and that was enough for me to want to hurt him, too. He was trying to get into my head with these ridiculous, guilt-causing words...

_Are they so ridiculous? You are a murderer, Audrey Potter. You want to hurt me as you hurt him because you are a murderer._

But that wasn't true. What I had done was in self-defence. And Bellatrix's spell was the one that had really hurt him.

_You don't know that. You wanted to kill him. You wanted him to feel that pain, just as you want me to feel that pain..._

But that was true. I had wanted Nott to feel the pain he had caused my friends, but that was not because I was a murderer. It was because I was a friend. It was because I was protecting myself and my friends and because it was life or death. Voldemort would never know anything about that. In fact, he knew too much as it was.

_You are a murderer, Audrey Potter. You are just like me._

I needed him out of our thoughts. Right now.

I pushed harder, leeching into my brother's memories and trying to find what Voldemort had been able to latch onto. Was he in his consciousness, his sub consciousness, his memories? I didn't know where a snake would coil so that it could hide in someone. But now that I was focusing, it was not hard to find him, right in the forefront of my brother's mind – right near the scar that he had credited.

I screamed as I pulled him out from my brother's mind, as I felt him try to push back and against mine – looking for a host, looking for a weakness – but I would not give him one to find. Or at least, I thought I wouldn't...but I would never know as I let my own darkness, my own weakness, envelop me.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I didn't have the awareness to be scared. Though I felt as if I had only blinked my eyes after my tug-of-war with Voldemort for Harry's mind, I couldn't find it in me to feel surprised when I saw the high, familiar ceilings of Hogwarts. And not just any part of Hogwarts, either; I was in the hospital wing.<p>

For a moment, I didn't really know why I was here. I had assumed that in that moment of weakness I would have been killed, but I wasn't about to complain. I would never complain about living when I thought I was dead. Looking down at my feet, which felt contained and overheated, there was a cat. And a dog. No, not a cat and a dog; a kneazle and an animagus.

"Good, you're awake," I turned my head to the side, not willing to berate Sirius for being out in the open when he was staying in his dog-form to be close to me. In the chair at my side sat my potion's professor – he did not look pleased. In fact, he looked exhausted and pallid and furious.

"Harry-"

"He is fine," Snape said sternly. "He is in his dormitory resting, as you should be."

"Are you angry with me?" I asked immediately, hearing my voice sound at least five years younger than I was. He seemed as shocked by the change in my voice as I was and even though I knew he was lying, I watched his jaw clench and his head shake.

"Needless to say what you did was outrageously idiotic. And impulsive. And dangerous," of course, Hard-Ass Snape couldn't let _everything _go, "but no, I am not angry."

My chest seemed to deflate a bit, as if some of the poison that had wormed it's way in was able to escape with those words. The tightness in my chest still felt hard and angry, however, it still felt as if I should scream and try to rip at myself until I felt better. I heard a whining at the end of my bed and moved my foot against Sirius' stomach to pet him and comfort him. Circe, taking her chance, came up to snuggle closer up my torso.

"What happened?" I asked, my eyes moving between Snuffles the dog and Snape.

"After an audacious battle with the Dark Lord, you lost consciousness. In the time that it took to move you here, the Ministry has seen that You-Know-Who has returned, Albus Dumbledore has been reinstated as Headmaster, your _friends _have been cared for and are all in good health, and you will recover quickly."

"Fantastic," but it didn't feel fantastic. It felt dull and hollow, like something was eating at my insides. "And the Order members? The Death Eaters?"

"Most have been accounted for and are recovering in St Mungos or are under surveillance," Snape said carefully. "Within the Ministry walls, of course."

Most, but not all. Nott was unaccounted for – I doubt they even recognized him.

Sirius let out another whine when I did not speak and rested his head on my ankle for a silent form of moral support.

"I was asked by the Headmaster to get him when you'd risen," Snape said quietly. There was a moment where I nearly panicked, my mind still working as if Umbridge had infiltrated the halls – I was not ready to deal with her again – but when my brain caught up to the sentence, I nodded. "Do you feel well enough to stay awake to speak with him?"

"As long as you bring me a moonstone," I said vacantly, scratching Circe behind her ear who nuzzled against my neck lovingly – she could sense something was wrong. I didn't blame her, I could feel how unlike myself I was behaving.

Snape looked at me carefully. Shockingly, as if for some form of reassurance, his eyes slid over to Sirius' furred form. There was a moment where the two looked at each other – I couldn't tell how they were interacting, but something was being said that I couldn't translate from my fogged state.

"I shall go get him, then," Snape pushed himself up from the chair he'd situated at the side of my bed.

"You will come back, won't you?" I asked quickly. Snape looked at me charily, his face pinching slightly – I was sure that it meant he wouldn't, or that he didn't want to, but he did nothing more than nod before he swivelled on his heel and disappeared between the beds with a billowing of robes.

Sirius did not speak to me when Snape left, he continued to lay at the foot of my bed, his jaw resting on me while he watched me worriedly. Circe seemed to be giving off the same feel, her large, amber eyes watching me for any sign that I may shatter into a thousand pieces. It was tempting.

I didn't want to look at either of them, so I took the time to inspect the room around me. On the mahogany side table was a beautiful bouquet of white lilies that I had never recieved before. No other bedside table had a vase of flowers there. Not Ron or Hermione had flowers, both were in beds near me – but not too close. They were directly beside each other, yet there were three beds between myself and Hermione, who was nearest. Across from Hermione was a bed with the curtains drawn – surely some student who had been disfigured with one of Fred and George's products – and a young Hufflepuff student lay on the bed closest to the door whose head had swelled to the size, shape, and colour of a very ripe watermelon.

When Dumbledore came through the doors, he walked with a moroseness that immediately made my heart start beating faster – it looked like he was already in some sort of mourning. Snape was walking beside him, his walk more brisk and urgent. Without a word, when Dumbledore was close enough, Dumbledore flicked his wand to close the curtain around my bed and Snape made some sort of motion with his wand that I assumed was to keep our conversation between us.

"Audrey," Professor Dumbledore breathed with a relaxed kind of anxiety, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I was given a frontal lobotomy with a hot poker," I answered truthfully, my face trying to force a smile while Snape immediately produced and handed me a moonstone. "And how are you, Headmaster?"

"I find myself exhausted this morning," he said conversationally, as if he were speaking about the weather. "As well as overwrought with explanations."

"Explanations?" I repeated quietly, my palms beginning to sweat as the panic set in. "Do you mean my explanations?"

"No, Audrey," he said gravely. "My explanations for _you_."

"Explanations for me?" I repeated again. "What do you have to explain?"

"I have to explain to you, as I have explained to your brother, the happenings of last night and the events of the past. Also, the effect they will have on tomorrow...and all the days after."

"I've already been brought up to speed," I informed him. "Professor Snape told me what happened after I – er – took matters in my own hands."

"But not why you had to," Dumbledore said calmly. "You were wise, Audrey, when you warned Professor Snape of the happenings last night. When Harry gave Severus his cryptic warning, it was reason enough to fear – but your letter informed us where you had gone, who had gone, and what time you had actually managed your escape. Severus, using more reliable means of communication than a floo network, was instantly aware that there had been a mistake and contacted the Order at once.

"Kreacher, the elf who informed your brother that Sirius was gone, had lied. He had known to lie to your brother because he was in contact with the Malfoy's – the last respectable heir of the Black line; Narcissa and her sister Bellatrix. He was laughing as he told me that Sirius and the others had gone to find you in the Department of Mysteries, for he was – of course – aware what awaited you there. He seized his opportunity to consort with the others in the Black line after Sirius was rude and ordered him leave at Christmas. Though Sirius had only ordered him from the room, the elf took the insult as a higher banishment...and he ran straight to Lucius Malfoy's eager ear."

Sirius let out a ruthless sounding growl; I could only imagine what fate would await Kreacher when Sirius went back to headquarters – if Sirius had been cruel to the house elf before, I could only find it fitting that he end up beheaded like the rest of his family stuck on the wall of that house.

"It was only a matter of time before Voldemort learned of his connection to your brother," Dumbledore sighed gravely. "It was the cause of the Occlumency lessons, the cause of all the preparation against what would happen..."

"I should have helped him more," I whispered, feeling my eyes burn. "I never took his own need for it seriously – I was constantly making sure I made more time for myself than for him, even though I knew how much he was struggling-"

"No, Audrey, it was not your fault. Harry should not have had to rely on you for proper instruction when you, too, were merely learning," Dumbledore did not send a look to Snape, but Snape immediately reacted by hanging his head. It was quite clear who had let us down in that way, for his refusal to teach Harry had started the domino effect. "But this is where things become complicated, Audrey...this is where I owe you answers."

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to fight back the burning behind my eyes. It was also creating a bothersome pressure in my nose and tightening of my throat that I didn't like and honestly, was no longer used to. I recalled the feeling, the feeling of loss and fear and guilt which had eaten away at me all last summer – but that seemed like a lifetime ago. It _was _a lifetime ago.

"Severus never should have been tasked with teaching you or Harry Occlumency," Dumbledore explained in a voice that was not as strong as I was used to hearing. "Your brother already explained to me how you noticed my distance this year – how the two of you noticed my absence before I had even left the school. It was because of Voldemort, not you, that this came to pass."

"It made Harry hate you," I whispered, pulling at a loose thread in the blanket covering me.

"No," Dumbledore said slowly. "Harry's anger would certainly spike those times that he was rarely in my presence – but it was not because of his own hatred for me. It was because of Voldemort's hatred when he saw me through Harry's eyes...Harry said that you had warned him of this, early on."

"I did," I said slowly, my eyes moving over to Sirius. "At Christmas...we got in an argument. He told me that I needed to stop spying on Umbridge because I was losing myself and I told him that he was losing himself to Voldemort's own emotions – I told him that he'd never been so angry and bitter before..."

"And you were quite right," Dumbledore explained, a wry smile pulling at his lips. "Your brother has not been himself with Voldemort's influence constantly plaguing him. So I distanced myself further; I tried to keep his mind safe from Voldemort, hoping that if Voldemort knew nothing that he could use against him, he would not try penetrating his mind. But I was wrong.

"You see, there was one thing that Voldemort wanted from him, whether or not Harry knew what it was..."

"The prophecy," I said slowly. "Because only Harry could retrieve it."

"Harry or Voldemort himself," Dumbledore corrected, steepling his fingers pensively. "But he did not dare take the chance to enter the Ministry."

"Not until Harry saw me smash it," I realized, closing my eyes in horror. "He saw through Harry that I had smashed the prophecy – that's why he came, isn't it?"

"He came because he saw that people had been near enough to hear what was said...of course, the one who was close enough was a casualty of the battle."

Bile rose up my throat from the pressure of my stomach knotting angrily. I closed my eyes against my burning sinuses and clenched my fists against the guilt. The fact that he was a casualty of battle was a lie – Nott had been a casualty of my own temper...a casualty of my lack of control, or rather, my overwhelming control against others.

"The prophecy," I said carefully. "Would it have changed the war, would it have changed our lives, had Voldemort gotten it?"

"It has already changed your life, Audrey," Dumbledore closed his eyes solemnly. "And this is why you should have known sooner. When you were eleven, your brother asked me why Voldemort had tried to have you both killed...but you were both so young. Though having proven yourselves against his advances that year, you were both so young – did you need to know the gravity of what I needed to tell you? No, I had thought you did not. Not then.

"And then at twelve, you met Lord Voldemort again. You were bewitched by him and his ideas, as Ginny Weasley had been, as your brother had been – and when you were brought back after being petrified, I wondered if that was the time to tell you. But you had still been so young and so afraid – you were confused and beside yourself that you had been fooled by the harmonious words that Tom Riddle has always spoken...I told myself then that you were not ready to hear the very reason, the very _thing_ which had forced his hand.

"And at thirteen, after you had saved Sirius: you were so proud of your work. You had fought against your brother, your mentor," he looked at Snape who turned his head to watch the white curtain surrounding us. Sirius whined at my feet again, moving his head from side to side to remind me that he was still here for me. "To ensure Sirius Black's safety. I was so proud – you were coming into your own, fighting for a cause that you did not yet understand: but it was for love. And that was something that, until then, I had feared you did not fully identify. So I delayed my tale again, hoping that maybe – when you understood and were yet more sensitive to other's plights – you would be ready for the news I had to give you.

"But last year, when you had finally glimpsed into caring for another, being cared for as you'd wanted – when Cedric came from that maze and you were told of his death, I saw that you understood the idea of love more than I'd believed you had. And I was devastated, for now you also understand loss – a loss that losing those you sadly cannot remember does not quite justify. You were torn, frenzied, and who was I to tell you how to behave? Why you had to listen to me? You had been broken and I knew my words would do anything but fix you.

"It was this year when I knew I must tell you both. When you gave the Order all the information we needed, I could see your maturity – the readiness for whatever it was you believed was coming. But how was I to tell you when I could not tell your brother? As soon as he looked at me I could see Voldemort peaking through the cracks – so I delayed once again. And now, I have no more excuses. Now, you must know."

If I could have been sitting on the edge of my seat, I would have. My heart was pounding in my ears and a part of me worried that after all of his lead-up, I would not get to hear whatever it was he had to tell me. But Dumbledore was a wise man and after clearing his throat, he spoke with shamed, heavy eyes.

"Voldemort tried to kill you when you were a child because of the prophecy you saw last night. The prophecy made shortly before your birth. He knew the prophecy had been made, though he did not know its full contents. He set out to kill you and your brother both, when you were still babies, believing he would fulfil a destiny without consequences. Of course, he discovered that he was mistaken when the curse to kill Harry backfired. And so, since his return to his body, and particularly since both you and your brother's extraordinary experiences with him last year, he has been determined to hear that prophecy in its entirety. This is the weapon he has been seeking so assiduously since his return: the knowledge of how to destroy you."

"He could have destroyed me easily," I said quickly, looking to Snape who was now sitting with his eyes closed. "He could have tried as soon as he found out I smashed the prophecy – smashed it on purpose, no less."

"Because he does not know what the prophecy says about you," Dumbledore said simply. "And the last time he tried to kill you, it did not succeed either."

"He didn't use a curse to rebound on me," I told him. "There was no time for me to bleed out, Hagrid found us first-"

"That is not true," Dumbledore said slowly. "Audrey, the day your parents died – you were his leverage."

"What?" I asked, my brows furrowing while I looked at Sirius who whined and looked away from me as if he felt as queasy as I suddenly did. "What do you mean?"

"Your father was killed before Voldemort found and threatened your mother. By chance, you happened to be accessible in a way that Harry was not. Your mother, having known what the prophecy foretold, knew that she had to protect Harry at all costs – even as he grabbed you and tortured you, slowly, in front of her very eyes."

My eyes watered – there was such an intense mixture of emotion I could not even tell what I was feeling. Was I wounded that she had not protected me in the way she had protected my brother? Or did I feel sympathetic for my mother, having to watch her daughter be killed in front of her very eyes? I could not tell, but the rigid and knotted feeling in my chest worsened.

"She still said no?" I asked, knowing that I was really asking if my mother had allowed me to die, while I had been held in Voldemort's arms. While he had held a blade to my neck...

"And that is why she died," Dumbledore nodded.

"So this prophecy," I said slowly. "If my mother knew what it was and my father, he knew what it was...and the last person to hear it is gone...then it's lost forever."

"The last person to hear it is not lost," Dumbledore said calmly. "On a cold, January night sixteen years ago, I had gone to see an applicant for the post of Divination teacher. This woman appeared not to have any talent in what I had already thought was a pointless subject of teaching – it was when I turned to leave that I was reformed. You see, Audrey; I was the first to hear the prophecy."

"You're joking?" I asked with a scoff, my jaw clenching. But I could tell he was not, I could see it in his dull, blue eyes while he shook his head. After all this time, after everything that had happened...the answers had been in front of us the entire time. "What did it say?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Sirius moved his head to my feet again, looking at Dumbledore with his head cocked to the side – it seemed he was shocked that Dumbledore was about to say the prophecy aloud. Snape, quite determinedly, remained fixed on the draping around the bed.

"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches'..." Dumbledore repeated in a calm, even voice. "'Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but there will be power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.'"

"That prophecy is only about Harry," I said slowly, looking at Dumbledore who looked at me with a calm certainty that made me nervous. "Why did he try to kill _me_?"

"You were merely leverage."

Merely leverage. That's all I was.

"So it was preordained," I said slowly. "It was fated that Harry would always be fantastic and I would always come second. It was fated that we will always have to keep running until we can't run anymore."

"It was fated for Harry to do so, yes," Dumbledore nodded. I nearly wanted to lash out at him myself and I knew it was not because Voldemort was angry. Harry was fated for that, was he? But not me. No, I was never considered in anything that was a part of my twin brother's life, or that was a part of how I lived and grew up – spending my time protecting him, lying for him, helping him, keeping him out of trouble...

It was fated for Harry and not for _me_?

What a load of bollocks.

"So that's why he tried to kill me?" I asked, moving my shoulder so that I could feel the skin move around the scar on my neck. I could feel just how jagged the mark was. "Because the prophecy was all about Harry? Because I happened to be laying at the wrong end of the room?"

"Because Voldemort did not hear the entire prophecy," Dumbledore corrected. "An eavesdropper was aware of the prophecy being made that night, sixteen years ago. An eavesdropper who, to a stroke of good fortune, was detected only a short way into the prophecy and happened to be thrown from the building."

"A short way into the prophecy?" I asked carefully. "How far in?"

"He only heard the beginning, the part foretelling the birth of a boy in July to parents who had thrice defied Voldemort. He did not hear the warning of marking him as his equal – and he did not hear if there was a warning said about you."

"So he cut my jugular with a dagger," I said slowly, my eyes and sinuses burning again. "The power that the prophecy talked of – it was Mum dying for him?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. I tried not to show how much it hurt, that it was her dying for _him_.

"And-and you said something else...something about the two of them and not surviving, er – or if they do survive..."

"'And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives'," Dumbledore quoted. My chest and the knotting in it froze in realization.

"Harry has to kill Voldemort?"

"Or Voldemort will have to be the one to kill him," Dumbledore nodded, his eyes tearing up as well.

"But-" I shook my head. "Professor, couldn't you do it? You're the only one strong enough-"

"Either must die at the hand of the other, it cannot be my task," he quoted again with a solemn shake of his head. "Nor can it be yours."

"But-" I shook my head, the tears finally spilling over my lashes. "But...it _has _to be me. Harry...Harry can't – he wouldn't be able to...to live with..."

"To live with what?"

"The _guilt,_" I responded, my throat nearly closing with emotion. "Professor Dumbledore...P-Professor Snape, S-Sirius I..."

The tears flowed a little more strongly as my head shook. Snape finally looked at me, Sirius took his head off my legs so that he could look at me fully, his head quirking to the side.

"Audrey?" Dumbledore was calm, I would not doubt if he knew what I was about to say to him, even though I wasn't sure if I would be able to say it at all.

"I did it," I said, my voice thick. "I-I killed Nott."

"I know," Dumbledore said, but Snape clearly had not. His face was pinched into such pain that I thought I may have cursed him as well – the thought brought on a new wave of tears as the thoughts, the _memories_, began to bombard me again.

"Please," I sobbed, pushing the moonstone harshly against my skull which felt ready to burst from the pressure behind my eyes and my sinuses. "Please, I n-need to tell Theodore. I n-need to be the one to tell him w-what I've done..."

"I will let you do whatever you wish, Audrey," Dumbledore said calmly. "But not until you get more rest."

"B-but he'll hear before-"

"Theodore has other things on his mind," Dumbledore was still composed, as if he were speaking of a misplaced chair. "He has an OWL to write and a day to live before he worries about the information you must bring him. This news can wait until you've rested."

I nodded, fisting my hands in my sheets.

"I think Voldemort was right," I whispered, shaking my head to correct myself. "No, he _was_ right – I _wanted _to kill him..."

"Audrey," it was only the second time I had ever heard the potions master say my first name. And like the last time, when he was telling me that Cedric was dead, it was filled with so much tragedy that it only made everything more real. "You are not a killer..."

"I am, I am!" I wailed, pounding my hands against the bed at my sides. "I wanted him dead – I _wanted _to kill him, Snape...so I did. I killed him and was _glad!_"

"Lord Voldemort put those ideas into your mind, Audrey," Dumbledore said slowly. "He did that to try and bring you to his level, to try and turn you against everything you know...towards everything he controls..."

"You're wrong!" I screamed, the vase filled with flowers on the side table burst, spilling water over the sheets that had begun to sizzle under my hands while I felt the control slipping from myself. "You weren't there, you weren't there when it happened – when I had a hold of him; I _wanted _him to burn until there was nothing left, I wanted him to feel the pain that he had brought onto everyone and I was proud when I had done it!"

"You were panicked," Snape tried to rectify, fear shining in his eyes as plain as day.

"I'm just as bad as he is," I corrected. "I'm a monster."

* * *

><p>When I woke up from the 'necessary rest' that had been forced upon me via sleeping potion, the sun was sinking below the tall infirmary windows again. Circe had disappeared. Snape was no longer here comforting me, likely because I had scared him to never want to come near me again after my confession and display of everything he'd taught me not to do. Sirius, the great black dog, was no longer at the end of my bed either. Instead he was sitting on the floor between the chair and I, spread out and snoring quietly.<p>

Instead, at my bedside, was my big brother – his head hanging back and inspecting the ceiling above him. He looked better than he had in the Department of Mysteries, he had cleaned up and showered, fixed the break in his glasses and his cuts were being healed by murtlap essence. On the table beside him were three vases of flowers – a replaced vase of white lilies that I had shattered, a vase full of purple petunia's that I knew were from my brother, and another vase that had been knocked over, but still held wilting blue and purple orchids. I looked at them all for a moment, smiling wryly at the array of beautiful colours before I turned my eyes back to the boy in the chair.

"Hi, Harry," though my voice was lower and more quiet than I had meant it to be, my brother nearly jumped out of his seat, waking Sirius in the process.

"Hey," he said quietly, as if afraid he would startle me. "I didn't know you'd woken up."

"Well, you seemed preoccupied."

"I just...er, thought you might want some more company." He said awkwardly, shifting his weight in his seat. "At least, I figured I'd be better company than your other visitors."

"Which were?" I asked vaguely.

"Well, Snuffles hasn't left," he nodded to the dog who had now taken to sitting up so that his head was level with the edge of my bed. "Snape was here for a while, then your good pal Malfoy didn't like being thrown out of the wing and-"

"Malfoy came?" I asked, my eyes widening. It was not like I hadn't thought of him – I'd thought of him loads of times in the past twenty-four hours, but hearing someone else say his name felt strange. Perhaps it was because it had always been a secret until yesterday, but it felt wrong to talk about him and not insult him for the secret's sake. "When?"

"A few hours ago," Harry answered bitterly, taking a deep breath. "He brought you those."

He pointed towards the orchids, painted in blue and purple – the most expensive of the flowers there. Also the flowers that were in the knocked over vase.

"Did you knock them over?" I asked, raising a bored eyebrow.

"I tried to get rid of them, but when he saw I was trying he used a sticking charm," I added, giving the flowers a mutinous glare. "The petunias are from me."

"I'd guessed," I told him vaguely, not caring enough to ask about the lilies.

"So...you and Malfoy, eh?" He asked, sucking on his teeth bitterly.

"Me and Malfoy," I repeated slowly, "what about it?"

"Do I need to be worried?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I doubt it," I answered with a shrug.

"But you snog," he said, as if getting his facts straight.

"You snog Cho," I pointed out with a sneer.

"I _did _snog Cho. Once," he added, point at me accusingly. "And she's not _your _enemy."

"She might as well be," I corrected. "And Malfoy isn't your enemy, either."

"Yes he is!"

"Because he's a Slytherin, or because I've snogged him?" I asked, watching out of my peripheral as Snuffles, the great black dog, looked from Harry and I – back and forth – while we spoke, his tongue lolling out happily.

"Because he's a bad person. And a prat!" Harry added loudly.

"A 'bad person' that I happen to enjoy the company of," I responded, looking back up at the ceiling. "You know, when he's not being a prat."

"You still _snogged_ him," Harry shivered in disgust.

"I did," I sighed, trying hard to fight the dark smirk that was trying to creep up my face. "A load of times."

"Really," He scoffed derisively, "is that necessary?"

"Probably not," I smirked with a shrug.

"Well next time you decide something isn't necessary, don't tell me."

"Only when you don't ask me unnecessary questions," I answered back, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He frowned at me, looking away as he tried to take in the information I had just offered him.

"So..." he drew out the word again. "Are you two...dating? Because I don't approve."

"No," I laughed, rolling my eyes. Sirius, still looking back and forth between us, barked out a laugh with me. "He's just a good snog."

"And you've _only _snogged? Because I _definitely _don't approve of-"

"Yes. We have only snogged," Harry took a deep, comforted breath that I felt need to shatter in my own spite. "We have onlysnogged against _every flagstone of this school_."

"Oh, Merlin!" He hissed, shaking his hands as if something slimy had touched him. "He's vile!"

"Not at snogging."

"I don't need to know that!" He yelled, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the memory and information I'd just forced onto him. As much as I had always feared Harry finding out at Malfoy and I, this was exactly what I needed now – someone that wouldn't talk to me about what had just happened, about what I had just done. Someone who could feel misery and distract from my own sorrows...

"Then you should stop mentioning it," I said in a monotone.

There was a long silence, one that I knew was slowly changing the carefree conversation we had just been having: the one that I had appreciated so much. It's not like I didn't know that certain conversations needed to be had, I just didn't know if I was ready to have them. I didn't know if I was ready to admit everything I had just learned – that my brother may die, that I had nearly died for my brother when we were babies, that everything was about to get so much worse...

And even though I feared the conversation, it was me who cracked under the silence first to begin it.

"So..." I started slowly, in exactly the same way he had. "You have to kill Voldemort."

"Yeah," he breathed out, trying hard – as I did – not to show any emotions about it.

"And Voldemort's been the one making you a hormonal bitch," I stated.

"Yeah," he said again, this time with a frown.

"And you have yet to admit that I was right," I added, looking at him with a raised brow.

"Right," he said with a sigh, adjusting himself in the chair so that he was facing me more directly. "I meant to do that."

"No time like the present, then."

"You were right," he said with a wince. "You know...about everything."

"As always," I added. He nodded with a sigh.

"As always," he agreed, his voice low and pained. It still sounded hoarse from Voldemort's use of it, but it was nice to hear my brother's voice again, even if it was saying things I didn't think I was ready to hear. "So tell me this...do you think I'm going to die?"

"I think we're all going to die," I told him honestly, looking back up to the ceiling. "But I'll try to keep you alive as long as I can. Which I doubt will be very long."

"You always help me," he admitted softly.

"I don't know how great my luck will be with keeping you alive now that I'm a murderer," I told him quietly. "You might have to rely on your own luck from now on. I think I cursed mine away."

There was a long moment where he didn't say anything, but of course he wouldn't stay silent forever. My brother had to save everyone, even from themselves.

"You didn't kill him, Audrey."

"I did," I argued, my voice a croak. "I killed a human being."

"A _Death Eater_," Harry corrected.

"Who was a human being in a mask," I elaborated, feeling the guilt rise through my chest again. It was just months ago that I was arguing how Death Eaters were humans, how they and their children were people – and now I had put one down as if he were some rabid animal.

"A human being in a mask who was trying to kill you."

"A human being in a mask who was trying to kill me but failed...and was my best friend's father," I added on with a shake of my head. "I killed him, Harry."

"Bellatrix Lestrange's spell hit him, you don't know if that was what killed him..."

"Actually I do," I said softly, looking back up to the ceiling again. "Because I was touching him when it happened. That spell may as well have hit me – and I'm not dead."

"Spells aren't like circuits," Harry argued, leaning forward over where Sirius was sitting so that he could rest his elbows on the edge of my bed. He pushed his hands into his head as if he had as bad a headache as I did from just remembering what I had done. "It could have killed him and you wouldn't have known it."

"But I did know it, because I did kill him," I shrugged, trying to keep my voice steady. "It's alright, I'm trying to come to terms with it. If you keep arguing it, it will just take longer."

"I'm arguing it because it wasn't your fault..."

"Stop trying to be a bloody hero. I killed him," I told him, surprising Sirius, Harry and myself when it came out as a snarl. "I could have overwhelmed his senses and knocked him out. I could have frozen him, or petrified him, or stunned him...I chose to burn him. I chose to make him scream and writhe. And I chose for him to die. So yes, Harry. You can be the hero, but in the end I'm not: I killed him."

"You did what you had to, Drea," he tried again. But I was getting annoyed with this conversation. I was annoyed of sounding as if I were a martyr – I was not a martyr. I wasn't trying to have people tell me how I was wrong...I just wanted them to admit that I was right. I wanted them to admit that yes, I _was_ a monster. Yes, I _had _murdered someone. And yes, eventually there would probably be consequences...

Harry seemed to catch on at last and he stayed quiet, so I turned my attention to my brother again – this time asking something else. Something he wouldn't give me the nice answer for.

"Do you believe what Dumbledore said?" I asked him quietly, turning to look at him. "Do you believe that there is a fate worse than death?"

Harry looked away from me as he thought about it and it seemed like he didn't want to answer. I didn't know if that meant that he did or he didn't – because now we were thinking about how we would have to fight to evade death, how we would have to face it before our time...

"I thought there would be when you were stuck in that veil," he said quietly. "What was it?"

"I don't know, I forgot to ask," I told him quietly. "To be honest, I don't think I want to know."

"Why did it suck you in?"

"They wanted me," I answered immediately. "They said they wanted me."

"Who said that?" He asked, his expression guarded as his eyes flickered over to Sirius worriedly.

"The voices," I answered quietly, looking at him and hoping that I looked as sane as I knew I didn't sound. "The people who have died."

Harry didn't seem to want to argue that. He also didn't seem to be able to.

"I have to go see Neville," Harry said after a while, standing. "He's waiting for me in the common room to go down for dinner."

"I'll come with you," I told him pulling off my covers. Sirius let out a few barks of warning as my bare feet touched the cool flagstone under my feet. Harry held up his hands, shaking his head with narrowed eyes.

"No bloody way, you still need your rest."

"No one can _make _me stay in this bed," I scowled, my eyes narrowing as well. Sirius barked again, as if that was at all intimidating.

"Please, Audrey?" Harry asked, giving a dramatic pout. "You don't really want to go down there anyway, do you? Just sleep."

"Fine," I hissed after a moment, crossing my arms over my chest. "But I'm walking you to the doors of this wing. My legs are stiff."

"All right," he agreed with a triumphant and cheeky grin. I was happy he was taking the time to feel proud, because he would never win an argument so easily again. I walked him to the large oak doors that shut me off from the corridors outside – and was suddenly glad he had convinced me not to come. He was right, of course; I didn't want to face everyone yet, I didn't want to have to go down and see Theodore's face yet...

Had he already found out about his father? Had someone told him? Had the paper announced it?

Or, more terribly, were they still unable to recognize the body?

As I was walking back to my bed, lost in my thoughts, I was distracted by a distinct _mewing _sound. I looked around the room – my curtains were still drawn, but I hadn't seen Circe since I had woken to find Harry with me and I immediately worried that she was upsetting whoever was in the bed across from Hermione.

"Circe," I called quietly, sucking on my teeth to call to her as I walked toward the curtained bed. "Circe, sweetie, come out here..."

Finding no response besides another meow, I pulled open the corner of the curtain and gasped at the sight in front of me. All up and down the walls were the images of kittens trapped on decorative plates. The hospital bed, which had been decorated with pink comforters and accessories, was made tidily and in the corner _she _stood.

She was dressed in a hospital gown as I was – but she was still, undoubtedly, Dolores Umbridge. Her hair, though messy, was still in a coiffed beehive and her makeup was startlingly sweet but heavily applied thanks to the thick bags around her eyes and the murtlap smothering all of her noticeable wounds. As soon as she saw me, she raised her gaudily ringed finger.

"You!" She shouted, her voice furious. "What are you doing here? Out! Out!"

I didn't know how to respond, I was still in a bit of shock – with everything that had happened I'd completely forgotten about Dolores Umbridge: carried away by a herd of centaurs. When had she come back to the hospital wing? When had she been found?

I hoped it wasn't too soon after she'd been abducted.

"Traitor!" She shouted again, her voice even more shrill. "We do not accept traitors here, Miss Potter, you will end up just like the rest of your brother's little club. Out, out, out of the school!"

"You have no authority here anymore, _Dolores_," I hissed, my temper coming back three-fold as I looked at the woman who had made it so impossible for my brother – impossible enough that he hadn't been able to check on Sirius at all. Impossible enough that I had had to sneak around and lie and neglect my brother all year. Would last night have been different, were I able to see my brother freely? I didn't know. But I was more than willing to pass the blame onto this cow. "You can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Liar!" She shouted, jumping forward to grab hold of my arm. My arm, which still felt strained and the muscles felt pulled from how they had been held by the veil screamed in protest as her rings dug into my skin.

I made to push at her, just to get her away from me, but instead my fingers gripped themselves around her precious necklace – the golden one with an 'S' engraved on the front, which she always bragged about – and I took hold of it while she stepped back and it ripped it from her swollen neck. Umbridge yelled out in shock and hopefully in pain when the chain snapped from around her neck and the locket fell into my hands.

I couldn't believe the pain that the necklace cost as it tore from her throat – it was like it was melting to my hand. I hissed in pain but held tightly onto it from reflex – I had seen this before. I had seen that I would grasp this locket and that it would burn me. I remembered knowing that this woman wanted it back from me – then and now, I didn't want to give it to her. So I didn't. Even when she took her grubby hands off me to try and reach for the necklace instead, I held on while it burnt my skin.

"Give that back here, it's mine!" but I didn't surrender the locket. What was once spite was now torture – the burning of the locket felt just like what Nott's face must have felt under my fingertips and the memory itself made it impossible to let go. I winced from her nails scratching at my hand, not because her nails hurt but rather it jostled the necklace in my hand and moved it slightly to melt more of the skin on my palm. I growled at her and held it up above my head – this toady woman was far shorter than even I was. There was no way for her to reach it up here. "It's mine, I say! It is a Selwyn family heirloom that has been handed down-"

"Liar!" I rumbled back, gritting my teeth to be able to speak past the burning of my skin. I tried to make my face as impassive as I could – feeding into the hollowness of the guilt, even as my skin was being eaten away by it, while she jumped to reach the locket. "That necklace may be ugly enough for you, but I can promise that no one in your family has ever been talented enough to put that kind of curse on it."

The squat woman's enraged scream filled my ears and it took me a moment to realize that Sirius – er, _Snuffles_ – had grabbed onto her ankle and pulled her slightly away from me. His eyes looked furious as he pulled and pulled, just as he had done to Ron back in Third Year when he was holding Scabbers, to keep the danger away from Harry and I.

"Snuffles, no!" I gasped, throwing down the locket at my feet. Umbridge dove for it while Sirius let out a bark that sounded unmistakably like a gag. Umbridge grabbed the locket, holding it to her chest while her beady eyes looked at me with contempt.

"I'll have that dog put down!" She shrieked. "I'll kill it!"

"No you will not," I hissed back, standing a little bit closer to her and revelling in the moment when she took a step away. It seemed that the look in my eyes was much more intimidating than it used to be, because she took a step back and yelped when she collided with the edge of her bed.

"You – _you_," she hissed, her voice quivering with anger while she pointed a finger at me. "You are a monster! A lying, traitorous, monster!"

"I am," I told her honestly, hearing as her howling stopped. She looked at me with wide eyes as I leaned forward, smiling at her in the same disgusting way she had smiled at my brother all year. "So you'd best stay out of my way...or I'll kill you, too."

And she began to scream because she must have believed, like I did, that one day I just might.

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><p><span><em><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE<strong>_**: ****So, this is the second last chapter. Chapter 56 will be the last chapter in the Order of the Phoenix segment, which means things are about to change when it comes to updating. As some of you older readers may remember, I took about a month's break between the Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix; I will be doing this again between The Order of the Phoenix and The Half Blood Prince. This will let me get a head start on chapters and hopefully make it so that I can update more frequently. **

**In the meantime, I will not leave you barren! I plan to continue updating **_Audrey Potter's Prelude_**, which is the series of one shots about Audrey's first to fourth (now fifth) years. If you have a moment you want me to write about (or a specific POV) please let me know. I may not get to all of them, but I definitely want to write them down for you so that you can understand the story more. So if you have any ideas, please leave them in a PM, review, or tweet so I can try writing them for you!**

**Now, to my fantastic reviewers of the last chapter:**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. Yes, I decided to save Sirius, I have plans for him later on. Audrey does have a certain affinity towards death, doesn't she? You will never actually know whether or not it was Audrey or Bellatrix who finished off Nott senior – it is half of the reason Audrey will forever live with it weighing on her conscience. Hopefully this chapter was as intense as you thought it would be!**

_AlyCat143_**: Sirius is alive, yes :) I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one, too!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Aw, well I'm glad that you like it enough to continue reading – even if you don't read many fanfics now. I really warred over whether or not to save Sirius, but I have a plan for him later that I really want him involved in and I wanted Audrey to 'murder' someone in this sequence to help with my plan for the next book. We will find out how Theodore responds to this next chapter, we will find out about the voices in the veil much later on in the story :) Also, never apologize for a long review! I love them. I hope you had a good Easter, as well.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I thought about having more hatred between Audrey and Lucius, but that wouldn't really mix well with what I have planned for HBP and since I wasn't about to kill off Lucius, it made sense that Audrey spend more time with the person she would be facing-off with. Yes, Sirius did survive and now Theo is an orphan...it definitely spurred a lot of change for the upcoming book. It was the only death, Moody was stunned in the books and unable to fight but both he and Tonks recovered at St Mungos. I hope you had a nice Easter as well, thanks for the review!**

_Annaismyname_**: Well, happy late birthday! I'm glad that you liked the chapter and the change in Sirius' fate. Thank you for the review and I hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_booklover526_**: Yes, Sirius does still live...for now. I do still have the ability to kill him off later and as I'm still debating the very end of this series, I would not rule it out. I'm glad that you like Dark Audrey, you're going to be seeing a lot more of her in the next book. Thanks for reviewing!**

_OddPotato_**: Yes he is! Sirius is alive and he will be alive for a while...I have a certain part in the story I really want him around for and he will be safe until that time – and possibly after. I'm glad you liked that she could perform an unforgiveable and hope that you liked her interaction in this chapter with Voldy. Thanks for reviewing.**

_klara_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you like Draco/Audrey and hope that you enjoyed the chapter :)**

_4u5514B4b3_**: I hope you had a good Easter as well and that you liked the chapter, thank you for reviewing!**

_InvincibleShadow_**: I'm glad you liked this chapter so much! I actually think that these past few chapters have been some of my favourite to write, so I'm glad that the last was your favourite to read. Hopefully this chapter wasn't a let-down after the last!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Ha, yes Sirius did live! It's good that you're so enthusiastic about it, I know that it will change a lot. Hopefully you liked the newest chapter and thank you for the review.**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much. These past few have been my favourite to write. Audrey's darker side will definitely be making more appearances in the next book, so it's good that you're already taking a liking to that side of her. Hope you liked this newest installment and thank you for reviewing :)**

_kaaayyytteee_**: I'm glad you liked it, hopefully you enjoyed this one as well!**

_the corridor hogger_**: Thanks for the review – hopefully you liked this chapter as much as the next. I definitely do plan on some twists and turns, as you said. Hopefully you enjoy them!**

_Guest_**: Sirius does live! Thanks for the review.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thanks, that was a really fun (though difficult) chapter to write. This one made me cry as I wrote it – it was almost sad when my Mom turned to me on Easter and said "what's wrong with you?" but then again, that's family love. I was wondering if you would be willing to listen and help me start sorting out what will happen in the Half Blood Prince portion, as it's only a chapter away? If you have time, I'd love to get your thoughts on it :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: I'm glad that the last chapter took you by surprise, hopefully you liked the few reactions that you got to see in this chapter. You'll sadly have to wait until you hear more about the veil though! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! You'll get to find out what Nott thinks about the whole situation in the next chapte.**

_Melo_**: Bonjour! Je parle un peu de Français. Your English was very good though, so don't worry at all :) I'm glad that you like the story and Audrey, hopefully you liked this chapter as well. Merci pour votre critique :)**

_rosesxBubblegum_**: The twins will be at the beginning of the next book, don't worry, they'll be here again. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

_StealthElf23_**: I know that when you read a story that says "over five hundred thousand words!" it can be intimidating, but I'm glad that you like it anyway. Audrey is much more clever than I am, though technically it all comes from my mind I am not as quick as I write her. Nor am I as openly aggressive when it comes to things like that. I'm glad that you like how I changed Sirius' fate and if I told you what was behind the veil...I might have to kill you, ha! But seriously, if I told you, things would be ruined for later chapters. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for the review!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: We are going to see Theodore's reaction in the next chapter, we will also find out the answer to your questions about what he thinks and the consequences of him being underage afterward. Hopefully you liked this chapter!**

_Mischief and Magic_**: Thank you! It's nice that you could feel the eeriness of the Department of Mysteries and that you think Audrey's anti-hero personality keeps things different. Audrey is definitely going to have a hard time dealing with her guilt – she may have fought Death Eaters, but it wasn't long ago that she was defending them. Sadly I can't yet answer the questions about wands and why they do or do not work for her, but they will be answered eventually! Hope you like newest chapter and thank you for the review. Happy Easter :)**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: Well, not everyone said "sorry you were right," but Harry did so hopefully you felt better about that, ha. Thank you for the review!**

_Ella710_**: Alright, let me start off by saying that I forgive you for not reviewing the last chapter. And now let me thank you for your amazing review (as it's always an amazing review) and also for your hilarious Twitter comments.  
>Yes. I did save Sirius. I knew that you would have a memorable reaction to that – and you did. It was well worth the wait, haha!<br>Audrey did kill Nott senior, or she did play a huge part. She will have a lot of guilt to live with and it is definitely going to change the lives of the Slytherin trio next year. Whether it was necessary or not, could you forgive someone who killed someone you depended on, even if you didn't like them?  
>Draco and Audrey will definitely have a lot to talk about when they get to...which will be next chapter. And then, of course, all next year. Which I'm so excited for it's not even sane.<br>Harry makes most people mad, but that's what I want. When I read the books of course I loved the hero but I kept thinking "he's so immature. He's so impulsive" so it's fun to write it from the point of view of someone who is not impulsive at all. It shows his faults, but next book we'll see a lot of his better qualities again. Aaaand Sirius' better qualities as well – because he's going to know just how much this messed her up. He knows what it's like to think they killed someone, Sirius will be a good comrade to have in this time. I really wanted him for something in one of the other books, it will be interesting to see if I can write him well and insert him into the story as I have done for Audrey. He will not be free – because even though Voldemort is now out in the open, they still believe Sirius killed Wormtail – but he's not dead, so...  
>Snape is fantastic. Writing him in this chapter brought me to tears, just knowing what he was thinking about as everything was being said. And you have to know that the guilt is just tearing him apart...and seeing a Lily-look-alike can't help. Oh, Snape! :(<br>Hopefully your exams go well, I know how much it can suck to study for them. I hope that this brought a nice break from it...even if it wasn't a fun or super-exciting chapter.  
>Anyway, I love your reviews. I love your tweets. And I love you. K, awesome.<strong>

_Guest_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you think Audrey is an authentic Slytherin. I try :)**

_lifethroughanotherseyes_**: If I do kill Sirius off, it will not be for a while. Hopefully that's comforting. The veil part was a lot of fun to write, so I'm glad that you got so into it. Theodore's reaction will come in the next chapter. I'm honoured that you could stick with this story for so long – thank you so much!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, hopefully you liked this one as well.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Thanks :) I try to keep it as close as possible – other than saving Sirius, of course. Hopefully you liked this chapter and the twists and information that came with it...thank you for reviewing!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm glad that you could see the effort I took with the last chapter. Hopefully you could see the emotion in this one, as I did cry while I wrote it. I won't deny. Yes, I am more excited for HBP than I am for anything besides the Malfoy Manor scene and the final battle. In fact, I was more excited for this upcoming book than anything when I began writing this story. I have a lot of high expectations for myself, as I know you readers must. I am still debating on another death and save. I am debating between killing off two characters, I won't be able to decide who I get to save until I decide which of those two will die. You will get to see how she'll interact with Narcissa in the next book – I hope you liked this chapter!**

_Amber Rose Black_**: Yes, Sirius has been saved! I'm glad you liked it :)**

_Anon_**: I have changed it with Sirius being saved, of course, but hopefully not any more drastically than adding a random twin-sister into the story, ha. Hopefully you still like the story and liked this chapter.**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter – hopefully you liked this one as well!**

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><p><strong>Thank you for your awesome response for the last chapter, everyone. Remember what I said up in that notice: I am going on break to get a head start on the Half Blood Prince, like I did for this section, and in the meantime will release one-shots for <strong>Audrey Potter's Prelude**, so if you have anything you want to see from first to fifth year, including in different POVs, let me know!**

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend **:)**


	57. World At War

**I WILL NOT BE WRITING FOR ONE MONTH. Sorry, I had to write that really large and really noticeably because I know a lot of people wouldn't notice it otherwise. But I will be back after that month, I promise! This is the last chapter of OOTP everyone. The next chapter you see (in a month) will be the beginning of The Half Blood Prince. As for this last chapter, it is dedicated to **_Diamond of Night_** who has her birthday today! Happy Birthday!**

**Enjoy the end of the Order of the Phoenix :)**

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><p>Chapter 56 – A World At War<p>

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><p>"That's a very bold font," I observed while I stared at the 'HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED RETURNS' cover page of the <em>Daily Prophet<em>, only a day after the battle. Hermione, newly awake in her bed, nodded feverishly while Harry, sitting with me on my own bed, encourages her to read the passage.

"Oh, alright. Though why you three can't order your own copies is beyond me," she sighed, clearing her raspy throat in order to read the article. "_In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is once more active._

"_'It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself as Lord – well, you know who I mean – is alive and among us again,' said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed reporters. 'It is with almost equal regret that we report mass revolt of the Dementors of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry's employ. We believe the Dementors are currently taking direction from Lord – thingy.'_"

"Ugh," I sneered, interrupting Hermione who sent me a glare. "The Minister For Magic can't even say his name – that really helps rally the masses not to show fear, doesn't it?"

"Well, the Ministry as a whole has not been keen on rallying against Voldemort at any time, have they?" Hermione agreed with a frown, taking another deep breath before she continued on. "_'We urge the magician population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary home and personal defence which will be delivered free to all wizarding homes within the coming month.'_

"_The Minister's statement was met with dismay and alarm from the wizarding community, which as recently as Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances that there was 'no truth whatsoever in the persistent rumours that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more'. _

"_Details of the events that led to the Ministry turnaround are still hazy, though it is believed that He Who Must Not Be Named and a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening._

"_Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, has so far been unavailable for comment. He has insisted over the past year that You know who is not dead, as widely hoped and believed, but is recruiting followers once more for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile, the 'Boy Who Lived' – _

"There you are Harry," Hermione sighed. "I knew they'd drag you in somehow."

Ginny, who was at the end of Ron's bed snorted. Neville – sharing the beds between Hermione and my own – shook his head disappointedly while Luna continued to ignore the lot of us as she read _The Quibbler_ upside down.

"He's the 'boy who lived' again now, though, isn't he?" Ron asked with a scowl. "Not such a deluded show-off any more, eh?"

"This would be the time when you _should _become a deluded show-off," I told Harry, resting my chin on my knees as I smirked at him. "I personally think you should say that you are Merlin's reincarnation, it would help add a new-"

"No one would believe that," Hermione sighed. She nearly sounded as if I had offered this idea many times – I had not; which was strange as it was my finest idea yet.

"Yeah, they didn't believe about Voldemort's return, either," I smirked back. "And they were wrong."

"But saying he is Merlin's reincarnation would be a lie," Luna said distantly, not looking away from her _Quibbler_. "Wouldn't it?"

"They won't know that!" Ron agreed, looking excited. "I agree with Drea, you should sell out."

Ron moved to grab a handful of Chocolate Frogs from the large pile on his bedside table, wincing as one of the healing welts from the brain tentacles touched the corner of the table. It made me look back over to my own table and I took a moment to lose myself in admiration of the multiple bouquets of flowers that were refusing to wilt. I liked flowers. I rarely got them. It seemed something horrible happened every time I received any...which was why I now had a nice supply of lilies, roses, daisies, wildflowers, _and_ orchids.

"Well I disagree," Hermione huffed, shaking out the newspaper again. "They're very complimentary about you now, Harry – _'a lone voice of truth...perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story...forced to bear ridicule and slander...'_ hmm," she frowned more deeply. "I notice they don't mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering in the _Prophet_ ..."

"Do they mention us being down there at all?" I asked, throwing another Berty Bott's Every Flavour Bean in my mouth. I had eaten enough to feed a small army throughout my many stays in the hospital wing, but they were still my favourite candy. They always managed to make me feel brave just by eating. This particular bean was peppermint.

"Er," she moved to continue reading the paper and winced, placing a hand on her ribs. The curse that Dolohov had used had done quite a number on her. She had to take at least ten different types of potions a day and even though she was improving quickly, Madam Pomfrey looked ready to slaughter every time she moved. "_'You-Know-Who's Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore, pages six to eight, Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter, page nine'_...it doesn't look like it."

"Everyone knows anyway. Daddy printed about it in _The Quibbler_ and the _Daily Prophet_ practically begged for him to sell the interview," Luna said vaguely, her eyes still glued to an upside down article. "He got a very good price for it, too, so we're going to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer to see if we can catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Hermione looked about ready to burst with argumentative facts on the subject, but seemed to contain herself before she was able to grit out a quiet, "that sounds lovely."

Everyone, including myself, had to struggle to contain our laughter. I did it by shoving multiple Berty Bott Beans in my mouth – cringing when within the mix of flavours I could detect garlic, slug slime, and metal.

"So, anyway," Hermione winced again as she struggled to sit a little straighter, "what's going on in school?"

"Well, Flitwick's got rid of Fred and George's swamp," Ginny informed with a shrug. "He did it in about three seconds. But he left a tiny patch under the window and he's roped it off-"

"Why?" Hermione asked, sounding shocked.

"Oh, he just says it was a really good bit of magic."

"I think he left it as a monument to Fred and George," Ron disagreed, grabbing another chocolate frog even though one was still writhing in his mouth. "They sent me all these, you know. Must be doing all right out of that joke shop, eh?"

"I'm sure they are," I said with a smile, looking back down to my own candy and trying to hide all of my interest in exactly how much he was enjoying those Chocolate Frogs. It was hard to do, considering I knew that some of those Frogs had been dosed with something or other, thanks to Fred and George's assurance that the Berty Bott's Every Flavour Beans they had sent me were not – but for some reason, I just kept forgetting to warn Ron about it...

"So has all the trouble stopped now that Dumbledore's back?" Hermione continued on.

"Yes," Neville said enthusiastically, "everything's settled right back to normal."

"I s'pose Filch is happy, is he?" Ron asked vaguely. Somehow, he needed to reach for yet _another _frog. It seemed the dozens he had been given just this morning would not last the night.

"Not at all. He's really, really miserable, actually..." Ginny said before lowering her voice. "He keeps saying Umbridge was the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts..."

Everyone's eyes instinctively swerved to look over at Umbridge, who was lying still in her bed. Over the past day she had taken to staring at the ceiling and grasping the necklace I had ripped from her neck the night before, but now her eyes were closed. I had warned her what would happen if she paid attention to us and I noticed – she was trying very hard to look more ill than she was.

"Madam Pomfrey says she's just in shock," Hermione said quietly.

"Sulking, more like," Ginny's eyes rolled. I followed her lead.

"I don't really care," I said, not putting in the effort to stay quiet. "As long as she leaves us alone."

"She does show signs of life when you do this," Ron whispered, cupping his arms around his mouth before loudly saying, "Audrey, where are you going?" and making soft noises with his tongue that sounded unmistakeably like horses-hooves.

Umbridge sat bolt upright in her bed, her eyes were wide as she looked at me in a cold sweat.

"Anything wrong, Professor?" Madam Pomfrey asked, poking her head through her office door.

"I should hope not," I tried to sound concerned, though I could tell it was badly acted. "My friends and I were trying very hard to be quiet. We didn't want the professor to have to hear our conversations."

"No...no," Umbridge said quickly, shaking her head to the nurse before sinking deeply into her pillows – making sure to hold her blankets up to her nose as if they could shield her. "No, I must have been dreaming..."

"Drea," Ron snorted, turning when the nurse had gone back to her work. "What did you _do _to her?"

"I didn't do anything," I smirked, my eyes surely giving away just how pleased I was by her reaction. "But I did _tell _her that centaurs aren't the only thing she has to fear on these grounds..."

"Speaking of centaurs," Hermione interrupted with a scolding glance, "who's Divination teacher now? Is Firenze staying?"

"He's got to," Harry said, "the other centaurs won't take him back, will they?"

"Not a chance," I shook my head. "They got the taste of blood with Umbridge – any little thing could set them off now. Firenze would be in serious danger if he tried to reform with the herd."

"So it looks like he and Trelawney are both going to teach," Ginny finished with a smile.

"Which is great," I smiled. "He's really much better. If I pass the OWL, I'll take his class."

"You'll get them both," Ron reminded. I just frowned but ended up shrugging – it was worth it to have only a few of the classes with him. Ron ate _another _frog as he continued. "Bet Dumbledore wishes he could've got rid of Trelawney for good. Mind you, the whole subject's useless if you ask me, Firenze isn't a lot better..."

"He is!" I argued.

"How can you say that?" Hermione demanded, sounding just as insulted as I did. "We have a friend who's a Seer and we've just found out that there are real prophecies."

Harry and I looked at each other awkwardly, trying to be as inconspicuous about it as we could. This was a conversation we'd had a few times this morning, before the others had woken up. Though we both felt guilty about them not knowing what the prophecy said, it was better that they didn't have to hear it right now. In fact, we'd even agreed that they didn't even need to know that we knew what it said, for now – it was just not something you tell your friends while they're recovering in the Hospital Wing. Besides, I still had to...I had other business to attend to first.

"It is a pity it broke," Hermione continued with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, it is. Still, at least You-Know-Who never found out what was in it either," Ron agreed. But the seed had already been implanted into my brain and it was already starting to writhe and grow to the point I was uncomfortable. I couldn't take any more of it – with all this talk of having kept something from them it was making my guilt quickly add up again. I was trying to hide out here in the infirmary so that I wouldn't have to feel this guilt gnawing at me...but I did have unfinished business. And if I wasn't comfortable here, I may as well be uncomfortable doing the right thing. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I have to go see Dumbledore," I said quietly. "I'll see you guys later."

"Are you coming back?" Hermione asked in confusion. "Surely Madam Pomfrey didn't give you a clean bill of health?"

"I doubt I'd be welcome in the Slytherin dorms either way," I told her solemnly before shaking my head. "Besides, she didn't like how violent my nightmares were last night. She wants to keep me here so I'm monitored."

The entire group tried to ignore the urge to look over my head – I watched them fight the urge and fail. Above me, the ceiling had not yet been mended from some of the Magnuse that had decided to crack the wooden beams and the window which had been shattered though replaced since I'd woken. They looked back at me guiltily.

"Are you really going to see Dumbledore?" Harry asked nervously, his eyes watching me carefully. "Now?"

"No time like the present," I said, trying to sound like it was no bother. "I'll be back soon."

"I'll come with you," he said quickly.

I smiled. "No you won't."

"I'll wait here," he corrected himself firmly. I shook my head, smiling falsely again.

"You wanted to see Hagrid, something tells me I won't come back down here for a while. Go visit him now and when you get back, I'll probably just be getting back as well."

Harry seemed conflicted, I could tell that all his Gryffindor and brotherly instincts were telling him that I shouldn't go up to Dumbledore's office alone, but whatever false sense of respect he had for me had him ignoring his instincts and nodding anyway. As I was walking out, I heard him whisper across the beds... "_she's going to tell Nott today._"

The deep inhales from the others did not put me at ease.

I was late to see the Headmaster. I had been told that I should see him at my 'earliest convenience' which would normally translate to mean early this morning...but I hadn't been able to make myself roll out of bed this morning, nevertheless walk to see the headmaster. And then, with everyone sitting in the infirmary and speaking to me but not _hating _me – well, it was hard to tear myself away from that, too. Particularly when I knew I would be leaving it to head off to lose the only other friends I had.

What would happen once I told Theodore about two nights ago? Would he hate me, throw something, tell the entirety of Slytherin house what I had done? No, that wasn't like him. He hated bringing other people into his business. He hated making a scene and looking like some kind of white trash that the _Daily Prophet _would love to write about. He hated attention like that...then again, he would probably also hate the person who murdered his father.

I made it to the stone gargoyle too soon. I had heard from my brother that Dumbledore had reclaimed his office around the same time he had reclaimed his job. It looked as if it hadn't been touched, even though I knew that some of the Slytherins had graffiti-ed the poor statue guarding the door, but he looked like he always did: if not a little more pissed off. That annoyed look on the stone gargoyle's face only grew when I realized that I came unprepared; I had no idea what the password was now that Dumbledore had returned. It usually had something to do with some sort of sweet, but I was in no mood to stand around guessing.

"Dumbledore's expecting me," I told the gargoyle. The statue eyed me for a long moment before he stepped aside, revealing the staircase up to the old wizard's office. I was surprised that something that simple had worked, but perhaps Dumbledore really had warned him about what I had come to do.

I wish someone had warned _me _what I was about to do.

I took my time heading up the stairs and took a few moments to catch my breath before I knocked on the door to his office. I suppose I should have waited to be told I could enter, normally I would have, but I guess my nerves got the best of me or my manners had been left with whatever sliver of courage I had left after the night at the Ministry. I wish I would have waited. Perhaps Dumbledore wouldn't have let me enter, perhaps I wouldn't have had to see what I did.

Snape was a sight in his own, trying to stay impassive as he stood behind Dumbledore's shoulder, but obviously feeling uncomfortable and nervous as soon as I walked in the room. But that was not the worst of it: no. My mentor thinking I was a monster was _far _less than the worst of it because in front of Dumbledore, sat across from his chair in the desk, was a hunched figure. It was not hard to identify who the figure was.

"Miss Potter," Dumbledore acknowledged me softly. The hunched figure in the chair straightened up, his oak-brown eyes meeting mine. "I was just speaking to Mr Nott about the events at the Ministry."

Theodore's eyes were bloodshot and swollen – he had clearly been crying. As soon as I saw them – those eyes that looked more like his father's than I'd ever realized they had – I felt ill. My stomach was churning and I felt like I would be sick as I dug my nails into the skin of my palms – somewhere, in the back of my mind, something advised me to start biting them so this wouldn't hurt me anymore. But I liked the pain of the scrapes in my palms.

"Theo..." I said slowly, my eyes flickering over to meet Dumbledore's sorrowful expression. The headmaster didn't tell me to walk forward. More importantly, he did not tell me what he had, or had not, told Theodore before I had arrived.

"My dad," Theodore whispered, his voice shaking. "He's dead."

_He knew. _All words I had thought of saying, all speeches and apologies I had planned out during my sleepless night seemed to catch in my throat. My body seemed to push the thoughts about telling him away, because I stopped walking toward him and even took a step back in fear. I could see _his _fear.

"Yeah," I croaked. "I know."

"He always said t-that he'd die for the Dark Lord," he stuttered, tears brimming through his lashes again. "But I never thought it'd _happen._ I never thought that'd he'd really come back and...A-Audrey, he was my l-last parent."

My eyes moved up to Professor Dumbledore, who seemed to have no words of comfort for me. Instead, my eyes moved toward Snape – he was watching me intently, looking as if he was being hurt by what I had not yet had to say. I wanted to start crying again. I wanted to beg him to make Theodore go away – or to tell him a lie – or get me out of trouble, somehow. I wanted to beg Snape to say that none of it was my fault and defend me from my own consequences.

But he didn't.

Instead, he gave me a look that almost looked like sympathy before he turned on his heel and followed Dumbledore through the office. Both men moved to overlook the window, their backs turned to me as if they no longer could help me handle this. Perhaps they were just trying to give us some semblance of privacy...and it worked. Because I had never felt so alone.

I forced myself to move forward, my legs ached as I pushed against the urge to flee and the sensation that they were heavy as lead.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, not able to look at his face...why had he never told me that he looked so much like his father? "I'm so sorry."

"What happened?" He asked, turning his gaze to Dumbledore, only to realize – like I had – that both he and Snape had left us alone. He looked back at me, obviously confused. "Audrey?"

"Theo," I said, feeling breathless while I fought against the hot flame that burnt my corneas. "Theo, your dad...he got in the middle of a really bad battle."

"How did he die?" He asked, easily understanding that I was trying to explain further what had happened in the Department of Mysteries. If only he understood without me having to actually say it. "What happened at the Ministry?"

"Harry thought that he saw Sirius captured by Voldemort," I paused when I saw Theodore wince at his name. I waited for him to breathe again before I continued, "so we all rushed to the Ministry, where he thought it was. It was a trap, the Death Eaters needed Harry to take something that only _he _could take from the Ministry."

"Why could only he take it?"

I didn't think that now was the time to mention the prophecy, or the parts of that night which would put this situation in the background – no matter how badly I wanted to avoid the real problem. "Because no one else could. It was charmed so that only Harry could take it. They started attacking us – there were so many of them and so few of us. It was just the seven of us against a whole group of Death Eaters, Theodore. They were using curses that I'd never heard of, they were aiming to kill..."

"What happened to my dad?" He asked, his voice stern as he realized that I was trying to soften him up. I wondered, briefly, if in the back of his mind he _knew _why. Maybe my avoiding the subject was answer enough to his question – maybe instinct told him that he was in the presence of a murderer...I did not know.

"He cornered me, Theodore. I panicked."

It was an immediate understanding that dawned in Theodore's eyes. Those eyes that were the same colour as his father's, that were glossing over in a way that his father's had dried when he fell, lifeless, on top of me... "What do you mean 'you panicked', Audrey?"

"I was stuck, I couldn't move and he aimed to kill Harry," I had to swallow, my throat had suddenly become dry as all the moisture there rushed to ease the burning in my eyes. "He tried to kill _Harry – _I didn't know what else to do, Theodore...I panicked. And I am so, _so_ sorry."

"What did you do?" He asked, his voice no more than a growl as he stood from his chair and knocked it to the floor. I was too disgusted with myself to be frightened of him, now. My whole body was already trembling, my tears were already trying to cleanse me of myself as they started to drip down my chin.

"I don't know!" I cried, rubbing the hand which had covered his father's face on my pant leg guiltily. "I moved Harry out of the way and followed my instincts. He got in the way of another curse and between the curse and my influence...he died."

"Who sent the curse?" Theodore asked, his voice dark as he turned away from me.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," I answered slowly. There was a moment where I think I realized that I might be able to get away with it. This was the moment where I could blame everything on her – I could say that I knew it was the killing curse, I could say that my magic had been nothing compared to his stumble into his own death. Theodore didn't need to know just how much damage I had actually done, just how much I had tortured his father before he died.

But he would see. When Theodore finally met his father's body, he would _see _the damage I had caused.

"But it was me, Theodore," I continued, my voice quivering so badly I had trouble recognizing it as mine. "I...I burnt him."

"You _burnt_ him?" Theodore repeated, his voice shaking as he turned back to me. His eyes were no longer sad, they were furious. "You mean like you _burnt_ Montague?"

I closed my eyes against my own burning eyes. "Yes."

"Where?" He asked, taking a step closer.

"His face," I whispered, opening my eyes but still finding myself incapable of looking at him. "He tried to cast the killing curse on Harry and I, Theodore. I had to do something."

"So you burnt him and Bellatrix Lestrange cursed him?" He asked. "That's how you dealt with it?"

"I didn't mean for him to die, I thought-" I started immediately.

"Well you didn't mean for him to survive," Theodore argued. "You know how much damage you can do!"

"I wasn't thinking when it happened, Theodore. I was focusing on getting away..."

"If you were focussing on getting away, you wouldn't have stuck around with your hand melted to his face!"

I found it hard, trying not to argue with him. I knew he was right, but a small part of me felt the need to defend myself. To remind him just how horrible of a man his father was...and I knew that it was not what Theodore needed right now. I knew that he deserved to be furious, and he needed someone to be the bad guy. And I knew that I deserved his fury: I _was _the bad guy.

Still, I couldn't stop the defensive word-vomit.

"I wasn't going to let him kill my brother," I told him quietly. "I did what I _had _to. You have to believe me Theodore; you know who he _was_, what he _did_-"

"I know that he was a Death Eater, yeah." Theodore hissed to me, taking a heavy step toward me. "But he was not the bad guy. And I'm sick of you pretending that you're always the good guy...because you aren't, Audrey. You're _bad_. You've always been bad. You've always liked to hurt people and to control them. You've always liked showing just how strong you are – that's why you burnt Montague. That's why you don't just handle things like _everyone _else. You need to make a show of it – it's not because you're the good guy, Audrey. It's because you're the fake!"

He moved to walk out of the office and I took a step forward, trying to stop him before he passed me.

"Theodore, I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry and I know I deserve-"

"I'm an orphan because of you!" He screamed, drawing his wand and holding it to my neck. "You killed my _father_!"

I clenched my jaw, finally forcing myself to look into his eyes as his wand was pointed right into my scar – the thing which started this whole mess; thing that made me a victim as much as a murder. "If I wouldn't have done what I did, Theo, his Lord would have done worse."

Theodore looked at me for a long moment, the grip on his wand loosening before he finally let his hand drop. His eyes did not soften on me, they did not show a spark of forgiveness or their regular bought of annoyance and exasperation – I expected that part of Theodore was lost to me now.

"I'm sorry, Theodore," I continued, speaking quietly and as sincerely as I could manage. "I wish it would have been someone else. I wish someone else would have been near me, would have been threatening me – but I can't help who I'm defending myself from."

"I get it," he hissed, looking away from me and pocketing his wand. "I understand."

"I don't expect you to forgive me..."

"Good," he growled, shaking his head, "because I can't."

I closed my eyes, trying to accept this while the more selfish part of me tried forcing more common sense. I wanted to scream and throw a tantrum – I wanted Snape to defend me and say just how horrid of a Death Eater his father was. I wanted Snape to count how many people he had seen Nott kill, count how many lives he had watched end with the eyes I had burnt the life from. But I refused to let myself sink that low. Instead, I let my stomach clench to the point I thought I was going to vomit.

"I know."

"I can't think right now, this is – you..." he let out a sound of overwhelming pain before he moved around me, this time I didn't stop him. I was all too ready to turn around and be sick. "Potter."

It only made the sickness worse, hearing him call me that with the same resentment that had laced some of his father's last words. But the torture was deserved, and I turned around to so he could acknowledge my guilt and I could acknowledge what I had lost.

"Yeah?" I asked quietly. Theodore shook his head against some of his own inner ramblings, looking at me with teary eyes and a clenched jaw.

"I'm glad you made it out."

I couldn't bring myself to smile as he slammed the door behind him. Dumbledore did not speak after Theodore left, but I felt someone's arms wrap around me. At first, I thought that it may have been Dumbledore. Then I thought that it might have been Snape...but it was Sirius. I could only assume that he was hiding within the office, knowing that I would need comfort when this time came.

"Sirius," I gasped. "I'm a killer!"

"You're not a killer, Audrey. You're not," he hushed, trying to calm me down by smoothing down my hair and holding me tightly. I'd never been hugged like this by someone who wasn't Harry, I don't think I'd ever been hugged when I was this upset...I _know_ I had never been this upset.

"Come," Snape whispered. "Let's get you to the hospital wing. We'll get you calmed and in bed."

He placed his hand over one of my hands that was gripping Sirius as a lifeline. It was the most intimate he had ever been with me, looking at me with the upmost sympathy while I cried over Sirius' shoulder.

"Do you think I'm a monster?" I asked him, my voice shaky and quiet. But Snape did not answer me, he just sent more pain through his gaze and gave me a firm hand to hold. Sirius, however, seemed to think the question was directed to him.

"What he said, about you being bad, it wasn't true." Sirius assured me, taking the time to hug me more tightly. He said it over and over again – that it wasn't true. And it just made me cry more...because I knew that it was.

* * *

><p>The Hospital Wing was almost silent. The only sounds I could hear were the deep breaths sounding from Umbridge, Hermione, Ron, Circe and Sirius as they rested after the long day of trauma and tears. Everyone around me was asleep, but I couldn't have any sleep meet me. I'd forced myself to take my sleeping potion as soon as I had come back from my 'meeting' with Theodore. I don't know if it was so that I wouldn't have to be conscious or if it was just to avoid Hermione's questions, Ron's pleas for my candy, Sirius' worried whines, or Harry's inevitable interrogation...but I had drowned it all away with a sleeping potion, far too early in the afternoon.<p>

Now I was awake and there was no luck of sleeping.

I hated the sound of people breathing. It sounded synthetic, like it was something faked – it was a mindless action that made it seem almost inconsiderate – how could they be so calm at a time like this? How could they sleep so peacefully?

It was because they didn't know. They didn't know or understand what I had gone through today and they never, ever would. They would never understand what it was like forcing away one of the only people you could ever trust – these were not my friends in this wing, these were _Harry's _friends. And even though they had been mine, at one point, this year had changed it all. I had my own, separate life now...and I had thrown it all away. For _honesty, _no less.

Were I not so grief-stricken, I may have been disgusted with myself. That's what my friends – _my _friends – would have told me to feel.

But even Voldemort had known it – I had picked a side in all of the tumult the other night: and it had not been the side of the Slytherins. I had decided to help my brother instead of helping 'my kind' dealing with Umbridge. I had lead myself into a trap and fought my way out, hurting my friends in the process as I jailed countless family members, spilled their blood, killed a _father..._

"_Potter_," the voice was so quiet that at first, I thought it may have been in my head. I pushed myself onto my elbows, squinting through the moonlight that was relentlessly shining through the windows to try and see the source of it.

"_Potter_," there it was again, and it was causing my whole body began to tremble. The whisper sounded almost as alluring as the voices behind the veil, the ones who had trapped me and tried to pull me into its grip.

"Potter," the voice said again, a little louder. This voice sounded much more annoyed than the voices in the veil. "Look over _here, _dammit. I can see _you._"

Sirius began to growl, his hackles raising. Even Circe – curled up in Sirius' side at the end of my bed – opened her eyes to look towards the voice. I followed where the great, black dog was looking – still squinting to see in the poor lighting that illuminated everything but showed nothing – to see that near Umbridge's bed, a figure was crouching. The figure was failing to look inconspicuous. He was dressed in black, but his white-blond hair and pale complexion gave him away, even in the moonlight.

"Malfoy?" I asked, placing my hand on Sirius' leg and shushing him. Circe, as usual, was not at all upset by the Slytherin's presence. "What the hell are you doing here at quarter to four?"

"I was out to find a book on insomnia...no, I came to see you, twat." He answered as if I were stupid, still keeping his voice down while he began walking toward me. Apparently he no longer saw the point to sneak, even as he tried being quiet, but he stopped in his tracks when Sirius growled at him again. "Will you get your mutt to shut up?"

"He's not a mutt," I wrinkled my nose, patting Sirius' leg comfortingly.

"Oh, I know he's not a mutt," he told me with an eye roll, pointedly looking to my godfather before he nodded slightly and said, "he's a cousin, I believe?"

"Not to me," I said with narrowed eyes. "Are you here to tattle?"

"I'm here to ask you what the hell you were thinking," he whispered again, walking forward with a furious arm motion. "Did you really think that telling Nott you killed his dad was a _wise _idea? Or did you do it to be _noble?_"

Sirius growled a little more loudly, Malfoy stopped again.

"Enough," I ordered loudly, as if Sirius actually _were _a dog. My godfather immediately stopped, only to look at me to show how annoyed he was by Malfoy's presence. "He deserves to know."

Sirius gave a little whine in return. I rolled my eyes as Malfoy smirked down at him. "Hear that, Black? I _deserve _to know."

"You don't _deserve_ to be a arse," I countered immediately. "And yes, I told him."

"Why in Salazar's pit of snakes would you do that?" Malfoy shook his head in amazement. "The entire house is in uproar!"

"They ought to be – the whole _world _just changed, Malfoy," I told him seriously. "I don't even dare to think what is about to happen to your family."

"My father will beat the charges again, I'm sure," he responded coolly, but I could tell he wasn't so confident. And nor was I. It was one thing to claim you were under the imperius curse when you were later accused of being part of _one _event – but when you are caught infiltrating the Ministry by Albus Dumbledore and the Minister himself, you can't deny it any longer.

"He tried to kill me, you know," I said vaguely, sighing as I looked out the window. "Your father."

"Yeah," Malfoy sighed, taking a step closer to me. "He does that."

"You won't defend him?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"I'm not going to denounce him, either, if that's what you're asking." Malfoy snapped, narrowing his eyes as he leaned on the bed across from me. "Can we get back on track? You told Nott you _killed _his father. What were you th-"

"I told him I killed his father because I _did _kill his father," I said quietly. Malfoy shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. "I did, Malfoy. Stop ignoring what I'm saying: I – killed – him. I won't defend it, but I won't denounce it, either."

"Funny," he muttered, looking out the window for a moment. "Are you sure it was you?"

"Yes," Sirius let out a growl toward me, whipping his tail to hit my arm and gain my attention. I rolled my eyes, glancing away from watching Circe hiss at Sirius warningly. "It was me, I was there. I _felt _it."

"Your dog doesn't seem to agree," Malfoy noted with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean you _felt _it?"

"It was with Magnuse," I told him quietly, moving so that I was sitting a little farther away from Sirius on the edge of my bed. I took to sitting on my hands, considering they were something to be ashamed of. I didn't want anyone looking at them and my nails, which I'd chewed down to the nub. "Then we were both hit by one of your aunt's curses-"

"Aunt Bella?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, her."

"Potter, you should have died-"

"Yeah? Well, Nott did," I assured him furiously.

"Then it wasn't you," he said passionately, leaning forward as if his words would suddenly change my mind. "Aunt Bella only aims to kill."

"But I was the one who finished the job," I told him quietly. "If people would stop telling me I didn't do it, it would be easier to move on from."

"Potter," he sighed, leaning more heavily on the bed across from me. He gave Sirius a nervous glance, but relaxed when the great black dog made no move to growl. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing," I said seriously. "I would have thought you'd had enough of me by now...though the flowers were cute. And the sticking charm you put on them was a charming touch."

He smirked over at his work for a moment, likely playing the memory through his mind.

"Thank you," I said more quietly, clearing my throat at how awkward the words sounded when they were directed toward him. "For the flowers."

"I'd heard you fancied them," he shrugged as if he were bored.

"Did the others find out that you helped me out of the castle?" I asked more quietly, my eyes flickering to Umbridge and making sure that her breathing remained even.

"No, I pretended to be stunned; just like you told me," he smirked. "You missed it: it was amusing to watch people running around like dogs with their tails between their legs – pardon the pun, Black."

Sirius huffed.

"Wish I would've seen it." I couldn't help smiling to myself, imagining Warrington gathering his troops and probing the castle only to realize that there was nothing to find. I could only hope that Crabbe and Goyle may have gotten lost in the Forbidden Forest on their search.

"You should stay with one of the Slytherins this summer, Potter," Malfoy told me suddenly, as if the idea were so obvious he had needed to state it before now. Sirius immediately began to growl and the silver-eyed boy held up his hands defensively. "It's for her own good, dog."

"It wouldn't be for my own good now," I scoffed. "Come on, don't be so daft."

"I'm not saying stay with _me _while everything's being sorted," he said with a scowl. "But maybe with Daphne, or Blaise – someone not influenced by the Dark Lord. Stay with _your _friends instead of with your brother's, stay somewhere where those of us with resources can keep an eye on you."

"You don't trust that I'll be safe?" I asked him, laughing to myself a little as I remembered this summer and finding out that our watch – Mundungus and Mrs Figg – were not good at keeping us safe at all.

"Oh, I'm sure your little Order will do everything in its power to keep you safe," he drawled with a derisive tone. "But they can't keep you safe from yourself."

"I'll be fine," I muttered, pulling my hands from under my legs to rub them against my legs. I tried to avoid drawing attention up to the wall I had cracked yesterday.

"I've seen that look in your eyes before," Malfoy explained, his eyes narrowing as if he were looking at 'that look' right now. He didn't seem to like what he was seeing. "You're worse off now than you were after Diggory died."

I closed my eyes, thinking about how different this situation was than when Cedric had died. I had lost someone I'd never had that night and three days ago, I had taken away someone from another person who I'd had for years. "If you plan to lecture me, you may as well leave-"

"I'm not lecturing, I'm _enlightening_," he gave me a wry, sarcastic grin. "And you can't tell me I'm wrong."

I most certainly could not.

"I don't have the energy or carelessness to take your advice – or your friendship – right now," I muttered, closing my eyes against the pain that was already building from the words I was about to say. "Things are about to get really bad, Malfoy – you need to keep your distance."

"Oh, don't you dare start!" Malfoy hissed.

"I'm not starting anything," I assured him. "I'm finishing it."

"Don't you dare pretend that you're the _hero_, Audrey," Malfoy bit out, his words digging into me in a way that he obviously hadn't expected. My reaction to them was obvious, it wasn't something that I could pretend didn't hurt me after what Theodore had said earlier today – having them restated by him was painful. Malfoy seemed to notice how painful they were, because he anchored me by pressing his hands on my shoulders. "Don't push us away like a prat because you want to 'do what's right'."

"I already didn't do what was right," I told him, feeling my eyes burn again. I looked away, humiliated that he was watching me cry while I was the one pushing _him _away. "It's my fault this all happened, Malfoy. And I'm going to get you in trouble – I can feel it."

"Like you felt that you should 'stay away' from me last time?" He smirked, rolling his eyes when Sirius gave a threatening growl once again. "Don't flatter yourself, maybe I _like _the danger."

"Well, I don't." I told him seriously, shrugging to try and move his hands off my shoulders. It did not work. "And since it was my fuck up that got Nott killed, your dad locked up-"

"He won't be charged," he interrupted forcefully.

"-and_ all _of my friends hurt...maybe it's a sign this isn't working."

"Your head is what isn't working," he assured me with a frustrated groan.

"No, _this _isn't working!" I hissed. "Sneaking around and snogging at night isn't going to be my main priority when Voldemort comes knocking on my door again!"

"So what, then?" He began with a snarl, "you're going to pretend that enjoy your time with St Potter's band of merry men and leave the rest of us to deal with this on our own?"

"You want me to help you deal with it?" I barked out a laugh. "We've seen what happens when I 'deal with it', Malfoy."

"You don't want to leave us behind," he pressed, leaning forward. He grasped on to my shoulders and gave me a light, but firm shake. "You like us, Potter – it's no matter whether or not it started for your brother: we understand you better than he does. You like having people who think like you, who work like you, who act like you...people who don't judge you for being who you are."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "I'm a murderer, Malfoy. Now is not the time people will decide not to judge me."

"Sure, Nott will take some time to win over," he admitted as if it wasn't that much of an issue. He absently ran his hands down my arms and back up them to rest on my shoulders again, as if to comfort me. "But the rest of them will understand. _I _understand."

But he didn't understand. He didn't understand that it was my fault everything had happened, he didn't understand that I had killed someone because I was so selfish – he didn't understand that were I not to have been with him three nights ago, I would have been with my brother. If I had not been with him that next morning, I would have been with my brother – were I not to have been with him, I could have been preventing Voldemort's influence.

We wouldn't have gone to the Ministry. Ron and Hermione wouldn't be in this hospital wing, Tonks and Mad-Eye wouldn't be in St Mungos, my brother wouldn't have been possessed, my friends parents wouldn't be incarcerated, and most importantly – Nott wouldn't be dead.

The window behind my bed gave a loud groan as the glass cracked.

"Potter, stop." Malfoy grabbed hold of my shoulders, looking nervously at the window as the crack continued to split the tall glass, spreading and webbing as my anxiety grew. "Potter, get a hold of yourself..."

"You don't understand," I repeated, shaking my head and trying to remove his hands by shaking my shoulders.

"Audrey," it was the first time I had ever heard him say my name. No, not the first time – he had said it before, that I was '_the _Audrey Potter'...but he had never said my name as if it was _my _name. He had never said my name as if it was the name of a person – of a person who he acknowledged – and it had much more of an effect than having heard anyone say it before. He looked down at me carefully. I knew what he was doing: watching me as I uncoiled and came undone. He was examining me, calculating my reactions and measuring my anxiety – watching me like some kind of experiment...something that only one of _us _could do. But as he examined, his hands gripped harder on my shoulders. "Audrey, calm down."

"I can't, it's not-"

"You _can_," he argued with a growl. "So stop being such a bloody girl and _do it._"

I glared at him, feeling my annoyance for his arrogance and his rudeness overpower my hysteria. There was a moment where I felt my heartache ease and with it, my heart rate decreased. I could feel my muscles start to relax. I could feel myself calm down.

"See?" He smirked, relaxing his grip on me and shrugging innocently. "I know everything."

"No you don't," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "If you did, you would understand why this isn't so black and white. You'd understand that it's best if we stop this-"

And he decided to prove me wrong. He decided to prove me wrong by kissing me, just so that I could feel how wrong I was. And I was wrong – because there was no way this kiss was wrong: it was unlike any kiss I'd had with him. It was unlike any kiss I'd ever had; usually our kisses were heated and full of our contemptuous kind of passion – but this kiss actually had a tender kind of emotion rather than lust. And not only was it emotional, somehow this kiss expressed just how _sympathetic_ he felt. It told me just how much he _could_ understand that I was hurting. How much he understood enough to be gentle about how he handled me, as if I were going to shatter more if he was too careless...

A sound broke our kiss. The sound quite clearly came from Sirius and it sounded like some mix of a bark and a human coughing to gain our attention. Malfoy gave a dark, bitter glare toward the dog on my bed before turning back to me.

"Don't tell me you didn't understand _that,_" he whispered.

I shook my head, understanding all too well...but I wish I didn't. I didn't want to. I didn't want to understand that with that kiss: we had become more than just rebellious teens kissing because we weren't allowed.

"You should go," I whispered, watching while his whole body sagged in disappointment.

"Don't do it, Potter," he warned, his voice darkening. "Don't push us away."

"I have to."

"Don't push me away," he repeated, this time he sounded much more bitter. "I'm the only one that understands."

But he didn't. And I hoped he would never have to.

But he would try. If I let this go on, he would _try._

"Goodnight," I whispered him, refusing to look at him again as I moved back to my hospital bed. I turned away from him as I climbed into my bed, not letting him see that for some reason – some reason that involved emotions and pushed boundaries – I was crying.

He stayed and watched me for a long time, I didn't care to count the minutes. Maybe he was hoping I would change my mind. Maybe he was hoping that he would change his. I couldn't tell and I wasn't going to give in and ask.

After a while, I heard him walk away with a heavy breath and when he was far enough away from me, I heard a loud bang and something shatter as he cursed loudly and furiously.

When I turned around, I saw that my orchids had wilted and Draco Malfoy was gone.

* * *

><p>I sat with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville on the train ride home. I was reading a book to keep myself from having to talk to the others – the book Theodore had given me last year at Christmas; <em>'Why I didn't Die When the Augurey Cried' <em>by Gullivery Pokeby. It was a good read, but I could hardly pay attention to it thanks to the other thoughts that refused to silence.

Hermione was reading out snippets from the _Daily Prophet _to us all, Neville was admiring his blossoming Mimbulus Mimbletonia, and Ginny was doing the quizzes in _The Quibbler_ while her brother and mine played a game of Wizard's Chess. Harry, of course, was losing.

I was so lost in my thoughts – even though I should have been lost in my book – that I hadn't even noticed when Ron and Harry had left. But it was impossible not to notice when they returned – they were beaming and laughing when they returned with a group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, each of who waved and gave the others in my compartment a warm goodbye for the holiday.

"We were just attacked by the Slytherins," Ron smirked when they left, turning to me and offering me a pumpkin pasty. "Your lot aren't very good at curses, you know."

I raised an eyebrow. "_My_ lot?"

"The Slytherins," he elaborated, as if I should have known what he was referring to immediately. "Our lot got them with the hexes and curses Harry taught them."

_My_ lot..._their_ lot. Now that I was no longer included in 'my' lot, did that mean I was no longer part of any? I looked back down to my book, fighting off the angry boiling in my stomach. "Fascinating. I'm sure Malfoy is furious."

"What's happening between you and he, anyway?" Ron asked with a scowl. "You're not still snogging him, are you?"

"I doubt that," Harry scowled in the same way. I tried hard not to let the boiling in my stomach come up as word vomit from the fury it caused. "Sirius told me that he came for a late night visit the other night..."

"I – er – broke up with him," I said for lack of better terms. "You don't have to worry."

"I worry that you were with him in the first place," Harry said honestly, "he's a foul little git."

"A foul little _slug,_" Ron corrected. I didn't really understand why both he and Harry laughed about that, but ignored the jibe anyway. "It's better you're not with him, though. He's not on our side, Drea."

Again with the talk of 'sides'.

"I'm not on your side," I said quietly, watching as everyone turned to look at me. I refused to look up from my book, even as I felt their eyes bore into me. "I don't fit on any particular _side._"

I don't know if they agreed with that, or they didn't know how to answer, but no one seemed brave enough to say anything in response, so they proceeded to drop the subject. I was glad, I didn't want to think any more about what had happened between Malfoy and I than I already had – even though I was briefly concerned as to what the DA had decided my old friend's punishment should be for avenging his father's imprisonment, which was announced the day before.

I was sure he didn't deserve as badly as he got – grief was a powerful thing.

...I wonder if Theodore was grief-stricken enough to have joined in the attack.

"Listen to this," Hermione scoffed, pointing to an article in the paper. "_'Voldemort walked right past my house this morning_, _it proves that he's lurking the Wizarding properties, looking for loyal followers'_...really, as if people would believe that he just walked down the street!"

"There's a nearly identical article two pages over," I drawled in a bored tone. "So yes, clearly people believe it."

"And it hasn't really started yet," Hermione sighed loudly, folding up her paper and gathering everyone's attention at her words. "But it won't be long now..."

"Hey, everyone, look who it is." Ron mumbled, nodding toward the corridor noticeable from the window. Outside of it, Hoe Chang was passing by. She was flagged by Edgecombe, who was still pimpled and wearing a horrid magenta balaclava. Chang was still pimple covered as well, but my potion was wearing off and Hermione's charm was much more powerful, so she was simply caked in makeup.

There was a moment where Chang looked into the compartment. Then that moment ended and she turned away ashamedly and all flushed. I couldn't help a dark grin as they walked away.

"What's – er – going on with you and her, anyway?" Ron asked, looking back down to his chess game. I couldn't help but notice how much more gentle he was being about Harry's love life than he had been about my own.

"Nothing," Harry said honestly.

"I – er – heard she's going out with someone else now..." Hermione continued slowly.

"You're well out of it, mate," Ron encouraged loyally. "I mean, she's quite good-looking and all that, but you want someone a bit more cheerful."

"She's probably cheerful enough with someone else," Harry shrugged. I was glad to see that he really didn't look bothered.

"Who's she with now, anyway?" Ron asked conversationally, ready to abuse whoever she had decided to shack up with.

"She's with Michael Corner," I smirked to myself, remembering my prank only weeks before that still lightly smeared their faces. "Edgecombe is still with Summerby – Hufflepuff seeker."

"Chang is with Michael C-" Ron stopped himself, turning toward his sister in shock. "But – but you were going out with him!"

"Not anymore," Ginny said sternly, sneering animatedly. "He didn't like Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw at Quidditch, and got really sulky, so I ditched him and he ran off to comfort Cho instead."

Thank god _she _didn't seem bothered by this information, either.

"Well, I always thought he was a bit of an idiot," Ron said determinedly, going back to his chess game with a firm, brotherly disposition. "Good for you. Just choose someone...better next time."

"Well," she said distractedly, sounding annoyed that she kept being interrupted by him. "I've chosen Dean Thomas, would you say he's better?"

"_WHAT_?"

* * *

><p>The train slowed as it the sky neared dusk, King's Cross station overlapping the train so that we could no longer see anything but the platform through the darkening windows. Circe decided that she was going to ride on top of my trunk as I rolled mine and Harry's on a trolley through the aisle way. She gave a loud hiss when we went to pass over the oversized slugs on the ground.<p>

I don't know why I was surprised to see that the three slugs were garbed in Slytherin robes.

"Come on, Audrey," Harry pressed, glaring down at the slimed people on the ground.

"One second," I sighed, leaning down and searching in the robe pocket of the closest one to me – the one with watery silver eyes and no lips covering his chipped teeth and locked jaw. I reached under the edge of his robe, sneering at the feel of slime meeting my fingertips, before I was able to find and grasp hold of his wand. I displayed it to him.

"They were a duelling club, you twit," I burred in annoyance, handing his wand to the approximate area where his arms should have been. "Not the smartest people to attack without a plan."

I looked back over to who I assumed were Crabbe and Goyle before shaking my head.

"You'll want to use the counter-curses to...the Jelly-Leg Jinx, leg-locker curse, and bat bogey hex. For a start. I can't tell what else it is they used on you..." I smirked at them all, shaking my head. "You're just lucky Ginny didn't do this to you, or else you'd be a lot worse-off."

"Audrey!" Harry bellowed from further down the train.

"Alright, alright," I looked down at the slugs – all of which I realized were currently fatherless because of the night at the Department of Mysteries...because Harry had thought he'd seen Sirius...because I had been with Malfoy instead of helping him. "Good luck, boys."

I ran to catch up with the group, Circe meowing and rubbing the hand that was gripping and pushing the trolley before we were given the 'okay' to go through the magical barrier to not-so-magically seem to appear between platforms nine and ten. And it was almost comical, the sight that met us when we passed through: there were the Dursleys, standing there in an uncomfortable trio, trying to keep away from the group that had congregated to say goodbye to my brother and I.

Both Mad-Eye and Tonks were there instead of St Mungos. From Tonks torn jeans, Weird Sisters t-shirt and bubblegum pink hair – it was clear she was cured from her injuries at the Ministry. I could never really tell when Moody was feeling good or bad, he always looked a little bit off. Lupin was there, holding a leash that Sirius seemed to have just been let off of. The Weasleys were also present: Mr and Mrs Weasley, Fred and George who were clad in brand new Welsh Green, dragon-scale jackets.

"Ron, Ginny!" Mrs Weasley cried, hurrying forward to hug both of them. "Oh, Harry, dear – how are you? Oh...Oh Audrey!"

It seemed that Mrs Weasley thought this a good time to cry as she embraced me – quite tightly, may I add? – and loudly began to sob.

"I'm fine," I assured her with a grimace, awkwardly patting her back.

"What are those supposed to be?" Ron gasped, looking at the twins jackets.

"Finest dragonskin, little bro'," Fred smirked, giving the zipper a dramatic roll down so that we could see the royal blue lining.

"Business is booming and we thought we'd treat ourselves." George added, smoothing down the scales of the jacket.

"And this is a treat as well – look who we get to visit!" Fred smirked, moving forward to hug me. I didn't want people to hug me right now, I knew that it was just dripping in misunderstood sympathy...but it was nice to see him.

You know, avoiding the fact that he kissed me the last time we saw each other.

"You look horrid," he said honestly. I forced an awkward smile as I pulled away from him, no longer liking the idea of him hugging me when I realized that he may try to continue things as he had the last time we had been together.

"I feel horrid, so it seems fitting."

"Well, don't!" George smiled, elbowing me enthusiastically. "You battled old mouldy-shorts and won!"

"I didn't _win_ against Voldemort," I rolled my eyes, watching as everyone winced. "I just pushed him out of Harry's head."

"That's a win in my books," Fred smiled. The smile seemed a little too warm when compared to what I was seeing from George. I felt my cheeks heat up. "I heard you were magnificent."

"I wasn't," I told him honestly. "I was ruthless."

"It's a war, Potter," Moody said loudly, walking forward with Lupin and Tonks. "You have to be ruthless to survive. Constant vigilance!"

I tried forcing a smile. "Yeah, guess so."

Harry stood back from having been hugged by Mr and Mrs Weasley, looking at the group with a smile I just couldn't offer them. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well," Lupin grinned slightly, "we thought we might have a little chat with your aunt and uncle before letting them take you home."

"Er – you what?" I stumbled.

"I dunno if that's a good idea," Harry said quickly.

"In fact, I know it's an awful idea." I finished.

"Oh, I disagree," Moody growled, pointing his thumb over his shoulder as his magic eye scanned out the trio behind him. "That'll be them, will it, Potter?"

I couldn't tell which 'Potter' Moody was referring to, so both Harry and I nodded – glancing over to the disturbed and disgusted expressions on the Dursleys' faces as they grasped the nature of our odd farewell party.

"Well – shall we do it, then?" Mr Weasley asked, turning to look at the Dursleys who took a collaborative three steps away from him.

"Yeah, I reckon so, Arthur," Moody agreed. He produced a bowler hat from nowhere and shoved it low over his brow to cover his magical eye before he and Mr Weasley took the lead on the short walk toward the Dursleys. They could no longer move. Hermione even moved from her own parents to join the throng confronting my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

"Good afternoon," Mr Weasley said pleasantly, not noticing the distaste on Uncle Vernon's face. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."

I highly doubt, after destroying the Dursleys living room two summers before, that they had forgotten who he was. Uncle Vernon became a deep shade of purple, Aunt Petunia looked terrified to be seen with us, while Dudley tried to make himself as small as possible – which was _im_possible considering his size.

"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry and Audrey, here," Mr. Weasley smiled lightly.

"Yeah," Moody continued, not even pretending to be kind. "About how they're treated when they're at your place."

Uncle Vernon couldn't stop himself from writhing under the gaze of Moody – even with his magical eye covered, he could be quite intimidating. Still, my uncle proved stubborn as he pulled himself up to his full height and tried to breathe enough to puff his purple cheeks as he spoke.

"I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house-"

"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley," Moody said darkly – I smiled, actually smiled, for the first time in days.

"Anyway, that's not the point," Tonks tried to remain calm and kind, but her pink hair in itself seemed to offend Aunt Petunia to the point she couldn't even look at her. "The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry or Audrey-"

"-and make no mistake, we'll hear about it," Lupin added with the most false smile I had ever seen him give.

"Yes," Mr Weasley agreed pleasantly, "even if you won't let Harry call us on the felly-tone-"

"Telephone," Hermione whispered, unable to stop herself.

"Yeah," Moody continued. "If we get any hint that either Potter has been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to."

Uncle Vernon swelled again, as if he had been deflated during this little speech.

"Are you threatening me, sir?" He asked loudly, making sure that the people around him turned to stare. Mad-Eye raised one of his eyebrows.

"Yes, I am," that seemed to throw Uncle Vernon off for a moment.

"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?"

"He is," I mumbled innocently, looking away so that it wasn't obvious I had spoken.

"Well," Moody said slowly, tilting his hat farther up his forehead and rotating his magical eye multiple times in his head before pinning it on Dudley, Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon in sharp turn. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley."

"So, you twins," Mad-Eye moved so that he could look at both of us. "Give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along..."

Sirius barked loudly, making Aunt Petunia jump and whimper. He was quite a large dog and she hated anything that may or may not have a soul.

"Take care, Harry," Lupin said quietly. "Keep in touch."

And then it was like a train of goodbyes as Lupin turned to me.

"Audrey," Lupin said slowly. "Remember who you are, not what has happened."

I gave him a tight grin before he hugged me tightly.

"Take care, Potter," Moody said loudly. "Make sure to work that mind of yours, eh?"

"I don't think I'll be practicing anything much over the holiday," I admitted.

"Snape told me you'd say that," Tonks said with a smile. "He told me to say that if you didn't, you'd be likely to lose control. I doubt your Aunt and Uncle would like to go through your early years again."

I could only imagine how pleased the Dursleys would be if the pipes started to burst again.

"Harry, Audrey, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," Mrs Weasley promised, hugging us both. "And if she loses anymore weight..."

"I'll be fine, Mrs Weasley," I smirked, watching as she and Aunt Petunia stared each other down.

"We'll see you soon, Drea," Ron promised, hugging me awkwardly. I nodded into it.

"Really soon," Hermione repeated, hugging me again. Hers was much less awkward and actually quite comforting. Ginny hugged me even more tightly than she did while Hermione continued. "I'll send you some books that I think may help with the grief-"

"You don't have to do that, Hermione."

"I beg to differ," she glared at me. "I don't trust you on your own."

Who knew that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy thought alike?

"I'll have Harry to hound me," I joked, only to hear a loud bark in response.

Ah yes, the great black dog that had guarded me all week.

"Goodbye, Snuffles," I whispered, bending down to hug his thick neck. "Stay safe."

He barked happily before licking the side of my face. I groaned and wiped it off but tried to hide the tears that it brought to my eyes. It was so touching for all of them to be here, to support us all and try to keep us safe – even in the Dursley's clutches.

And with a glare from the Dursleys to our group of friends, we turned to leave. Both Harry and I trailed, walking slowly as if we could prolong our stay for just that extra moment, but with a heavy heart and a sharp glare from the Dursleys, we left safety and normality to once more move into the horror that was the vulnerable, Muggle world.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's it, that's the end! What did you think of the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? And who is excited for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince? I would love to hear your thoughts over this next bit, guys. As I write to get ahead in chapters during this break, it can be really encouraging. <strong>

**To my phenomenal reviewers:**

_DGfleetfox_**: Half Blood Prince will be starting in a month or so. I'm excited for it, too :)**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: I'm glad to hear you're feeling better! Yes, Umbridge is terrible but it's made up by Sirius and Snape being so worried about her. Hope you liked this chapter!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, thank you! Audrey will be hearing more about that night when it comes – maybe one day I will even write a one-shot of that night from Lily's point of view, if people would want to read it. I'm glad you liked how it was written and that you can get so into it. It will be a long month for me as well, but I will be abroad for many weeks soon, so if I'm chapters ahead, I will be able to release them while I'm overseas without having to worry about making you guys wait over a month for a chapter in the middle of the HBP drama. I plan to pace it out to ensure that you guys won't miss anything other than this month between books :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I'm glad Sirius is alive, too. I hope you liked the update and thanks for the review!**

_loveactuallyy_**: I definitely wasn't going to let her leave without interacting with Draco, Theodore, or Snape again. Those were necessities and actually changed up how I was doing the chapter, just so I could make sure that it all worked out. A lot of people have asked to see Draco come to the hospital wing for Audrey, so I am going to try and see if I can write that – but it may be from Harry's point of view for comedy's sake. Hope you liked this last chapter for a while and thanks for reviewing.**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: You're too sweet, thank you. I definitely want to write that Halloween from Lily's point of view if people would want to see it. I don't think it would really ruin anything in the ending, but until I know that I can't be too sure. The HBP arc is going to be dramatic, as well. I've already started on it! Thank you for reviewing.**

_Ella710_**: I love your reviews. And your tweets. LOVE them. The last review made me laugh. As in, boisterously laugh to the point my mother looked at me and said "uh, do you need to go back to sleep?" Yes. I enjoyed it that much. I hope that everything that was due got marked however fairly (or unfairly :P) it had to be marked to give you outstanding grades. Hopefully the stress has diminished, yes?  
>And don't hate Lily! There is another layer to this that we haven't seen and remember that just because Audrey took it that way does not mean it's how it should have been taken – Audrey is a Negative-Nancy, remember. She always expects the worst.<br>It's not necessarily common knowledge that you knew Audrey was tortured, but in some of the one shots I'm writing, you're going to find out that most people just assumed she died. It's a little bit twisted, so you'll have to read later or else this response could drag for far too long (because it's already going to be a big one, I'm sure).  
>As you can see, Sirius is quite close with Audrey now. And next year, as I said, they will continue to grow closer. How did you like the bit of Snape in this chapter? It wasn't much of him, but I thought it was enough to keep everyone satisfied. Gah, I love him.<br>OH! What did you think of Theodore? Yes? YES? Tell me EVERY THOUGHT YOU HAD...because I was really concerned about how it came over. Particularly the end: I want you to know that he's not "I'm going to kill you mad" because of it but he's still like "Bitch you killed my dad" – does that play out?  
>Honestly, I'm really upset about the break as well. But I want to get ahead because (I have to admit, it's slightly selfish) I want to be able to hold back chapters from you guys for a bit to make sure I have many in storage. Not too long from now (as in 73 days AHHHH), I'm headed overseas on a trip to basically spend all my life's savings. And realistically, I won't have time to sit down and write as often and intensely as I currently do. But I'll be gone for like...two months...in the middle of the HBP storyline...so I figure if I'm ahead, I can just re-edit them and then post them every time I get wi-fi so that you guys aren't left alone for TWO months in the middle of the plot...is that fair? I hope it's fair. I also plan to update from the little coffee shop where JKR wrote Harry Potter (in Edinburgh, Scotland). I hope it's a good chapter that day.<br>Back to the review. Sorry, I start talking about it and get a bit out of control. YES I will be updating Audrey Potter's Prelude while I'm getting ahead with the HBP arc. There will totally be more Snape and Audrey scenes – it'd be nice to see him become all protective again, too. Good thought. I might do it in a different scenario though...one involving third year, perhaps? Hm.  
>Oh. And if we're being technical, Draco Malfoy is turning 33 in June. So he's the same age as Chris Evans...and I'm still okay to marry him. He's still beautiful at 33 (possibly even more so than when he was 23) and he's so young and I feel like a terrible person...so think of it in those terms. I do ;)<strong>

_InvincibleShadow_**: Yay! I'm glad you like Dark-Audrey. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It's great how many people sympathize with her, even through all of the not-so-great things she does because she does have that underdog "second-best" story that everyone can empathize with. I'm so glad it worked out that way.  
>I'm so happy that you liked the fight scene between DumbledoreVoldemort and Audrey/Voldemort, it was a lot of fun to write. The Snape parts are always heart breaking when you know that he's really thinking of how much he let down Lily – it always makes me tear up. And no, Snape's not afraid of her. I think she's just really afraid of herself. Anyway, I hope you liked the new chapter and thank you as always for your review :)**

_Magimagus_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it. Sirius was definitely a twist that I didn't decide until a few chapters before I ended up saving him – but I figured out what I wanted him for down the road; and that's what made my final decision. The fighting scene between Dumbledore/Voldy/Audrey was fun as well. Surprisingly Dumbledore's explanation flowed very easily, so I'm glad that it came out well.  
>Hopefully you liked the way I incorporated Draco and Theodore into this chapter. And yes, there are a few spellinggrammatical mistakes thanks to my rushing and not putting it through another set of eyes. Sorry about that.  
>Audrey does not have the horcrux, she just ripped it off her neck. Sadly I could not make things that easy for them – but it will make an interesting plot point later, no? Anyway, Umbridge still has it as Audrey would not be able to get away with stealing, but she made her point very clearly. But I digress, hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you for taking the time to review!<strong>

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Aw, thank you. I'm glad that Audrey and Lily's story was able to get that emotional tug from you. Yes, Theodore did make things heat up a bit when he found out about his father – hopefully that was still impactful after the last chapter. Thank you for reviewing!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Audrey will eventually mellow out from her new badass phase. I mean, she's still going to be darker, but she won't be as intense. Hopefully that helps and you liked this chapter :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Judge you? No way, I wrote the BOOK on that...ha, quite literally. But seriously, I was really happy when I decided to make Snape leave flowers too. I thought it was sweet and had my own moment of giddiness from it. Harry will be more angered and resentful if he realizes that Audrey and Draco are more than just make out buddies, I promise you. But until then, he doesn't really find him a threat. Yes, Lily will have her moment at some point where we see that things aren't exactly as they appear – but it was definitely sad. Theo will definitely be taking some time away from her and she pretty much pushed Draco away – but will he stay away? He hasn't in the past ;) **

_Mischief and Magic_**: Audrey is going to continue practicing and learning about her powers in HBP, as we saw in this chapter she really needs to control it better. Yeah, I like being able to make Harry and Audrey grow closer again – it will be nice, for once. But of course, Audrey will not be pleased about his new potions talents next time, ha. I'm not throwing that opportunity away! I will try to do a one shot in Harry's POV, if I can figure out what moment we want to see from his point of view again :)**

_Melo_**: Thank you! I'm glad you like the chapter – it was sad to find out about Lily's last moments, but more light will be shed on it soon. Hopefully you liked the moments with Draco in this chapter. And thank you, I learned French in school and quite a few of my friends speak it. I'm usually okay, though I tend to mess up my past, present, and future tenses!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Aw, I'm sorry I made you so emotional but at the same time I'm glad to know you're that connected to the story. And yes, reading Andrea instead of Audrey would be pretty easy, so I understand how much easier it must be to slip into character. Another take on the kiss scene with Fred? Hm. Interesting. I'll see what I can do :)**

_Anna122_**: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Hopefully the Draco/Audrey scene was everything you'd waited for!**

_lisistrataantigona_**: Yeah, I've been very mean to Audrey when it comes to what she'll have to live through. But keep in mind, Audrey hears a lot of things the way she WANTS to hear them. That doesn't mean that it is how it was meant to be taken. She is a negative thinker, so remember that you're hearing things from HER point of view. Anyway, hopefully this chapter was a bit more enjoyable because Draco was in it!**

_Majoraan_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you're liking the story. Audrey isn't the type to really show her feelings to anyone, it's the Slytherin in her. She's more introverted right now thanks to her grief and shock – hopefully this chapter was nicer because you got to see that :)**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: The part with Umbridge was fun to write and I enjoyed writing her interractions with Malfoy, even if it wasn't necessarily 'happy'. Hopefully you liked this chapter.**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Audrey certainly seems like she should play a more crucial part, doesn't she? I don't think she'll take a war just lying down, so you don't have to worry. Hopefully you enjoyed the parts with Theodore and Draco in this chapter – thanks for the review.**

_Cluricaun_**: Yes, Audrey's darker side definitely came out for a little while there. And I don't think it will ever really go away after everything that's happened – the things Audrey has to live through really changes people. Poor girl. Draco was in this chapter! Forgiven? :)**

_May_**: Yes, the last chapter was really emotional to write, I cried during that one. This one wasn't much better. The matter of Lily vs Voldemort will definitely come up again soon – but it will have to wait until the month pause in writing is over. And it's alright to be torn over feeling sympathy for Audrey having this weigh on her conscience vs being angry because it was slightly unnecessary. That was kind of what I was going for. Hopefully you liked this chapter, getting to see a bit of Snape and more Draco and Theodore.  
>And yay, another Canadian! There aren't enough of us on this site, so it is definitely nice to meet another one :)<strong>

_BlueRose22_**: The Lily thing did sound horrific, but don't worry – it will be patched up. I would never do that to Lily's memory...for long. I kind of wish that Snape was her godfather as well – but I think it's almost more impactful that he's not and acts like he is anyway. But then again, he's one of my all time favourites and he can do little wrong, ha.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, hopefully this chapter follows the 'better than the last' pattern, then! The next book is really exciting. I've already started and I'm liking how it's turning out. How did you like Theo's reaction? I think it was warranted, even if it was sad. But he's a smart guy, hopefully he can overcome his grief and try seeing it from her point of view soon. Thanks for reviewing!**

_StealthElf23_**: The conversation about Draco was a lot of fun and it was fun to rewrite the same idea on the train during this chapter. And yes, the veil will be making a "reappearance" in the next books (not necessarily in the way she'll see it again, but it will be elaborated on) so sadly it has to remain a secret, for now. HBP was my favourite book in the series as well, so I'm excited to move on to it. The wait won't feel as long as you think, don't worry! And I'm just glad you don't think Audrey's a Mary-Sue. I did a lot of character mapping to make sure that her flaws equal or outweigh the triumphs to try and avoid that trap. I find most people seem to pronounce Audrey's nickname 'Drea' as "Dree" from what I've heard but in my head, when I decided it, I always pronounced it as "Dray-uh" or "Dray-ah". But that's just me, apparently, haha!**

_SwiftAlice_**: I am quite well today, thank you! How are you? Hopefully you've had a good week. Don't worry about not reviewing every chapter – you leave such great reviews that though you are missed, you don't need to feel guilty. I'm glad that you like the idea of sides and which side is the true 'right' side – it's also fun making that go through Audrey's head. Because, admittedly, when I read the books it went through mine: always thinking "it's not fair that Harry can make fun of Malfoy's dad being in jail but Malfoy and the Slytherins are the bad guys for being bullies." I mean bullies are bad, don't get me wrong – I was bullied – but that doesn't give someone else the right to return the favour and feel no consequence. Two wrongs don't make a right. And I loved the way you said that Audrey was "selfish in her own selfless way". That was nice. And I agree. And of course I have many surprises lined up for Audrey in the upcoming book – hopefully you like it as much as you've liked what I've already written. The month will be a lot faster than you think it will be – I remember how it was last time – but then I can update more often and not have as long of breaks between chapters. This time I fell behind, but I hope to manage my time better now :) Hope to see you after the break and thank you for the great review!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: She hasn't had a release yet. And she does know how to have them now – she has to go Astral – she just doesn't have the energy to do that all the time. That's a very good theory, about her being able to feel the horcruxes. Quite interesting...  
>Yes, the prophecy is really sad for poor Audrey, but don't worry the more sorrowful parts of it will be elaborated later on. Snape did leave her the lilies, Sirius is definitely alive, and Dreaco will happen after the month break and HBP begins – updates should be more OFTEN after this break :)<strong>

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you for listening to me and helping me figure everything out when it came to that little catch I hit in HBP. Hopefully you liked what I explained for the last part of the story and that it all made sense. Thank you, again, for helping :)**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Yeah, there's a lot weighing on poor Audrey's mind right now. And yes, there are several spells to immobilize someone, but I don't think Voldemort really cares. I think he likes killing, personally. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully you liked this one as well, see you after the break!**

_OddPotato_**: A month will be much faster than you think it will be, I promise. Last time I was like "holy, it's been three weeks!" but that's why I was able to update twice a week earlier on in OOTP. And there will be fewer chapters in HBP than there was in this segment – so hopefully I can make it all work out nicer and faster. And yes, they will still have to get the locket from Umbridge – but where would be the fun in having it for all that time when it affected Audrey so badly?**

_Guest_**: Aw, thank you :) I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully you liked this one as well.**

_Beckah Godric-Northman_**: I really try to keep this different from what you would expect in another Harry-has-a-sister fics, so thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it, particularly her relationship with Snape. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like the chapter!**

_rosesxBubblegum_**: I'm glad you like Dark-Audrey, we'll be seeing our fair share of her. I'll miss you while I'm gone as well, but it won't be as long as you think! And then I will be able to update more often. Twice a week is the hope :)**

_Lizzy B_**: Uh-oh, I don't think you're going to like the next book...because there will be a LOT of Harry in it. And Audrey and he will be close in it, as well. Yes, there will also be Sirius, Snape, Firenze and Draco to occupy her time – but I don't plan on killing Harry off at any point in time before his time comes (or does not come, I won't give it away!) at the end of the series...he's still Harry Potter and as great as I try to make Audrey, it was definitely his story first :P Hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you in a month!**

_sexichick_**: Haha, yes – a lot has definitely happened in the last few chapters. Thank you, I'm glad that you've been liking it; next year is definitely going to be one hell of a rollercoaster. I'm really excited to get into the thick of it. Remember that I'm taking a month break to get ahead in chapters – so I'll see you then!**

_zoetedrop_**: These characters will be around for a lot longer, you don't have to worry about Audrey or Harry dying any time soon. Thank you for reviewing :)**

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone for a wonderful run during the Order of the Phoenix – hopefully the Half Blood Prince will only get better. I certainly plan for it to. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, messaged, followed, favourited, added me on twitter and tweeted me about this story – you are fantastic and I love you all. <strong>_Audrey Potter's Prelude _**will be updated tomorrow and I will continue updating it throughout the break.**

**See you in the Half Blood Prince...**


	58. Dumbledore's Errand

**I'm back! See, that wasn't as long as you all thought, was it? It flew by for me, but I won't deny I missed updating and getting to talk with you all. It's good to be back and I have some exciting chapters for you to read, starting with this long beginning to ****Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince****...this will be an exciting book everyone, so get ready for some serious twists, turns and fluff. Thank you to all those who waited through this month, reviewed, have added me to their alerts or their favourites. Also, thank you to my editor **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for editing this giant chapter and Happy Birthday to **_TheDuckKnight_** :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 57 – Dumbledore's Errand<p>

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><p>"There's another one," Harry sighed as he finally looked up from the mail Hedwig had delivered. I didn't ask him what there was another of, he was sure to read it aloud to me as he always did – particularly when it had been a long wait for the <em>Daily Prophet<em>as it had been this evening. Still, even with the wait I couldn't find it in myself to read it. My thoughts were morbid enough, I didn't need to help them along by counting just how many pages had to be added in need of supporting all the new obituaries and missing person ads compared to the ones from yesterday. I found that reading of death did not help further my imaginings of death. Or maybe the problem was that it did – and a little too vividly, at that.

That still didn't give me a good enough reason to actually dare to look, as I did. I moved my head from my brother's bed only to see that there was a large, bold heading on the newspaper that read 'HARRY POTTER, THE CHOSEN ONE?'

"You, 'the Chosen One'," I scoffed, letting my head fall back against his lumpy pillow. "Who _chooses _a pain in the arse?"

"Thanks," he mumbled dryly, shuffling through the rest of the post and examining the writing. "Do you want your letters tonight?"

"No," I said tiredly, turning away from him to try and avoid another lecture. I busied myself by analyzing the doodles I had started drawing on the wall with one of Dudley's stolen permanent markers. They were obscure and poorly drawn. I was no artist, but it helped to pass the time and do away with the other thoughts trying to drill into my mind.

"Audrey, you can't keep ignoring your mail," Harry sighed, throwing the letters onto the desk by the window. Apparently he had the power to lecture me even when I had turned away – maybe he _was_the Chosen One. "What if they're from Theodore?"

"They're not," and they weren't. I had gotten two letters from Daphne, true, as she had kept tabs on Theo and decided to keep me informed. She only kept me informed out of ease, however, considering that's who he was staying with: the Greengrass family. I never replied out of guilt and out of annoyance or admittance, she had stopped writing.

"Are they from Malfoy?" he asked, his voice lowering a bit as he asked.

I wish they were...not that I would tell my brother that. At first they were from Malfoy – at first _all _of them were from Malfoy. In the beginning he had mailed me every other day. First, he tried to get me to talk. Then, he attempted sending gifts. Finally, he began insulting me to annoy me into responding to him. It hadn't worked and he had given up, just as Daphne had.

What was worse was that my nightmares – the ones that plagued me every night – had immediately started to include the git in them. He was always angry, or hurt and I had no idea how to help him. Every morning I woke up guilty, confused and annoyed. Or, I would be after I was finished being petrified from the other things that lurked in the night, things that hid behind my apparently weak subconscious mind.

I thought about writing him, Malfoy, more than I should have. I had even considered returning his gifts so that _he _would be annoyed enough to start writing again...but I didn't have the nerve. His father had just been locked up; his mother undoubtedly loathed me, and I didn't really have any reason to be so concerned. Maybe something had happened to his eagle-owl, Heracles – I may never know. Still, I couldn't help feeling as if something _big_ had happened...and I worried about how directly that worry correlated to his sudden lack of writing.

"Have you packed your trunk?" Harry asked a little more quietly, knocking me out of my thoughts. It was a stupid question considering my trunk was on display to him. It looked nearly the exact same as it had from when we had come home. That was mostly thanks to the fact I hadn't taken much out of it besides a few sets of clothes and my toiletries. Harry wilted just at the sight of it. "Audrey, you have me worried. Hermione keeps telling me that this could be a sign of depression or something and that I have to watch you...do I have to watch you?"

"What time is Dumbledore coming?" I asked, interrupting his thought process. I watched the distraction run its course as he looked over to the old alarm clock.

"Five minutes or so," he breathed.

"You haven't packed," I noted, not able to keep myself from accusing him. "Why is he coming to get us now?"

"Who cares?" Harry asked, flinging his trunk open again. His was nearly empty, all his possessions had been strewn over our room and left it more of a mess than ever before. "Just over two weeks with the Dursleys have been more than I can handle."

"But normally less than we have to," I observed. "We usually have to wait a month. At least."

"I'm not about to argue with it," he admitted, looking around the room to try and map the best way to move all his possessions from their layabout state to his trunk. "Do you really think he'll come?"

"Him, or someone who is pretending to be him that plans to kill us," I shrugged. Harry looked at me, that same stern and worried expression on his face.

"Drea..."

"It was a joke, lighten up." But it wasn't really a joke. There was no reason to joke about something that was so possible now that the Death Eaters were running rampant. On the floor, right by my trunk, was one of the many notices which had been sent out to wizarding households about how to protect your home from Death Eaters on a raid. I had read it and I had followed none of it. I figured if a Death Eater was planning on coming for us, we would already be dead.

The alarm clock on the table beside the bed went off, making both my brother and I jump. As it blared, the light outside of our window went out – making the room that much darker.

"Someone's here," I breathed, feeling more awake than I had in weeks. My eyes flickered to my brother who nodded and jumped to the window. He didn't have time to tell me what he saw before the answer nearly screamed at us.

"Who the blazes is calling at this time of night?" Uncle Vernon burst before I heard his heavy footsteps start for the door. I moved to jump on from the bed; a part of me wanted to order Uncle Vernon to tell us who was at the door before he opened it, but my body was sore and reluctant to move. I had barely left this room for the past two weeks and my body wasn't used to all the excitement, anymore. My brother, ignoring my tight muscles, was already throwing all of his things strewn over the room into his trunk.

"Good evening. You must be Mr. Dursley. I daresay one of the twins has told you I would be coming?" The wispy voice was just as I remembered it.

"Salazar's spit," I groaned, knowing that I would have to go check out the situation. I was our best defense if it was a killer in disguise. Hell, I was a killer in disguise, wasn't I? It would be an equal fight. Harry threw his telescope into his trunk before following me down the stairs. He passed me by taking them two at a time, too excited to move any more slowly. By the time he halted in the middle of the staircase, I had been hurrying enough to slam into his back – hard enough that it knocked him down more two steps and knocked me back one.

I immediately recognized why he had stopped: Dumbledore really _was _here. He was dressed in a heavy, black travelling cloak which covered lighter, puce robes. His long and silver beard was moving in the breeze because he was still standing outside and his half-moon glasses slid a little farther down his nose while he smiled at my uncle.

"Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, you were not warned that I was coming," Dumbledore looked and sounded much more pleasant than Uncle Vernon had sounded moments before. "However, let us assume that you have invited me warmly into your house. It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times."

Ignoring the fact that Uncle Vernon had not let him into the house at all, Dumbledore stepped over the threshold with a very polite smile. "It is a long time since my last visit. I must say, your agapanthus are flourishing."

What the hell was an agapanthus? While I considered that, Uncle Vernon was still too shocked to say anything at all, or maybe he was too angry. Maybe there wasn't a difference, I couldn't really tell.

"Ah, good evening Harry," said Dumbledore when he saw him on the stares. It was a moment before he spotted me, fallen on the stairs behind him. "Audrey, it's a pleasure."

"Er – hello, sir."

He gave me a small, satisfied smile as he looked over top of his half-moon glasses. He looked between my brother and I before he nodded slowly. "Excellent, excellent."

Uncle Vernon seemed to come to life with those words. Something told me it had something to do with the fact that Dumbledore's 'excellent' was in approval of us – the outrage of which made Uncle Vernon suddenly able to speak again.

"I don't mean to be rude-" my uncle began.

"Yes, he does." I assured my Headmaster, boredly.

"Mm," Dumbledore hummed gravely, nodding his head toward me. "Yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often. Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia."

He had seen my aunt who was cowering behind my uncle's large frame, now. She was in a nightdress and rubber gloves. She must have been cleaning something or other when the Headmaster had arrived. Now it looked as if she were simply avoiding the spreading of germs from the old wizard while she tried hiding a little more behind her husband.

"Albus Dumbledore," he introduced himself with a smile far too kind for what they deserved. "We have corresponded, of course. And this must be your son, Dudley?"

Apparently Dudley had decided to make an appearance too. He must have just finished playing his video games, because he was now peering around the living room door. His jaw was slack and he looked as afraid now as he had when Hagrid had come to get us from the lighthouse all those years ago. Dumbledore patiently waited for any of the Dursleys to address him in some way – but when they did not, he smiled despite himself.

"Shall we assume that you have invited me into your sitting room?"

The family didn't really know how to move when Dumbledore passed by them. All three of them were in his way to go through to the living room, but because they wanted to avoid being too near him the Dursleys attempted some sort of awkward shuffle that left them following him as he moved to the living room.

Harry was faster than I was, of course. "Aren't – aren't we leaving, sir?"

"Yes, indeed we are, but there are a few matters we need to discuss first," Dumbledore smiled wryly. "And I would prefer not to do so in the open. We shall trespass upon your aunt and uncle's hospitality only a little longer."

"You consider this hospitable?" I asked flatly, looking at my aunt and uncle with a lack of interest. "Then by all means, stay. They'll welcome you with loads of this 'hospitality'."

"We will, will we? You'll stay, will you?" Uncle Vernon had finally re-entered the conversation and he was bristling badly. His family was following – looking utterly horrified – in his wake.

"Yes," said Dumbledore simply, "I shall."

I wasn't paying enough attention to the fact that Dumbledore had dug into his robes and flicked his wand, so I was almost as surprised as my family members when the sofa moved forward enough to knock the Dursleys knees from under them. With another casual flick of his wand the sofa slid back from where it had come, the three Dursleys shrieking all the way.

"We may as well be comfortable," Dumbledore responded. The Dursleys didn't feel comfortable at all – it was easy to see. I watched them, unable to keep the small smirk from my face as I felt the discomfort emanate from them.

"Sir," Harry began, pointing into Dumbledore's pocket. "What happened to your-"

"Later, Harry. Audrey, please come sit." Dumbledore told, pointing towards the last chair that my brother had just stolen. When he moved it, I saw that his hand was black – it looked strangely frostbitten or charred...I had a feeling it was something much more magical than that, though. As Harry had taken the remaining chair, I took my place sitting up on the arm of it so I could watch the Dursleys squirm.

"I would assume that you were going to offer me a refreshment," Dumbledore began, not coming close to sounding insulted, "but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

"Would you like a drink or something to eat, Professor?" I asked simply, nearly smiling while Aunt Petunia turned to glare at me. She did not like me offering up her things. She looked at me almost as darkly as she used to – before this summer when I had become so indifferent to it.

"No, thank you, Audrey," Dumbledore chuckled, pulling out his wand again. "I have brought my own with me: Madam Rosmerta's finest oak-matured mead."

Dumbledore conjured everyone a glass tumbler, taking his time to pour the mead into each glass and slowly levitating it to its intended individual. The Dursleys looked terrified at this open display of magic, so much so that they ignored the offered drinks. But that only increased the display, because the mead continued to hit them in the sides of the head, growing more and more aggravated while they were being ignored. Harry and I took ours more than willingly. It was alcoholic and unlike anything I had ever tasted – not sharp like Firewhiskey, not bubbly like Butterbeer. It was smooth and warmed my insides at the first sip... it was one of the best things I'd tasted.

"Well, Audrey, Harry..." Dumbledore began, turning toward us. "A difficulty has arisen which I hope you two will be able to solve for us. By us, I mean the Order of the Phoenix. But before we begin, I thought it prudent to mention that Mr Weasley – who is a distant cousin to the Greengrass family – has heard that Theodore Nott is doing quite well this summer, while he has been housed with them."

The mead no longer kept me warm while a chill traveled down my body.

"Fantastic," I managed to force out. "It's nice to know that my good, narcissistic best friend can comfort my now father-less frenemy in his time of need."

"He's not a frenemy, Audrey," Harry said comfortingly. The words were more comforting at the beginning of our summer than they were now. Now they were just the skip of a broken record. "His dad was a bad man. He died because he was a Death Eater; Theo will come around."

"Well, this is, in the main fairly straightforward," Dumbledore continued. "It was brought to my attention that returning to number twelve, Grimmauld place may be uncomfortable for you. The slightly problematic factor of the house being owned by someone of Sirius's lineage-"

"Is that he was related to the Notts," I breathed in realization closing my eyes. "All Purebloods are related."

"Yes. And with the recent demise of Thuban Nott, the house has taken a different appearance: the tapestry of the Black family tree is altered and Mrs Black is more haughty than ever before..."

"Her friend's father is dead?" Uncle Vernon asked loudly from his place on the sofa. I was glad to be able to turn and glare at him just so I could redirect all the anger and disgust in myself toward someone else. "What does that have you knocking so late at night, for?"

"The death of Thuban Nott," Dumbledore began in a pleasant, conversational tone, "has had quite an effect on your niece and nephew, Mr Dursley. I am sure you have seen their behaviour has changed?"

"Haven't noticed," Uncle Vernon frowned. Aunt Petunia's eyes immediately slid over to me. She was probably noticing that I hadn't given her as much trouble as I had since Hogwarts had began. "So why can't they be shipped off with you to this house, then?"

"Because the house has a lot of memories of the man who died," Harry seethed, making a fist to try to calm himself.

"Because Thew-sy Knotter-"

"Thuban Nott," Dumbledore corrected, patiently.

"Yes, him," Uncle Vernon continued, "because he died, the twins can't leave with you?"

"They can, of course," Dumbledore responded calmly. "This is why I have come tonight. But out of sympathy I have come to ask whether or not you, Audrey," I was shocked that Dumbledore was addressing me –_thinking _about me at all – while I was in the same room as Harry. Usually that took up all his attention. He seemed to smile wryly as if he had read my mind, "would feel better staying in Grimmauld Place, or at The Burrow?"

"The what-so?" Uncle Vernon interrupted again. He shook his head. "Why would she have to choose between living in a _hole _or living in a house with memories of some dead friend's dad?"

"Careful, Uncle Vernon," I muttered darkly, glaring up at him. "You nearly sound concerned."

"Concerned?" he scoffed. "More wondering just how batty you are – you said he was a bad man!"

"It'll still be hard for Audrey!" Harry growled.

"And why is that?" Uncle Vernon asked, leering at me. "Gone soft, have you?"

"It could be uncomfortable because Audrey was present when the man died," Dumbledore said, nearly sounding out of patience, himself. "In fact, she was affected by it, quite personally."

"You don't have to lie to them, sir," I said lowly, looking over to my Aunt and Uncle with the same lack of interest that I felt every day, now. "He tried to kill me and Harry – but I killed him first."

That certainly shut Uncle Vernon up. While the entire Dursley family continued to gape at me – full glasses of mead still bouncing off of their foreheads – I turned back to Dumbledore, who looked like he was suppressing a frown.

"I don't really care," I told him honestly. "I'd like to see everyone, at some point, either way."

"I'm sure that can be arranged at The Burrow," Dumbledore said pleasantly, making my decision for me. Not that I would have admitted it, but it was a better decision. I was much more comfortable with the idea of staying with the Weasleys than staying in a house that was somehow related to the man I had murdered.

"She-she killed a man?" Uncle Vernon had found his voice again. "Killed her friend's relative? See, Petunia! I always said that she was just as much trouble. You never agreed, said she could be quiet when she wanted to be: but you see now? Now I'm housing a fugitive!"

"Some people argue it was self defence," I said with a shrug. "But yes, you have been."

"She didn't kill him," Harry argued irritably, this conversation always did that to him. "It was chaos, we don't know for sure-"

"I do," I told him simply. "I killed Thuban Nott. With my own two hands."

It was strange saying his full name. I had never known Theodore's father's name...and how horrible was that: not knowing the name of the man I had murdered?

"I can't believe she-" he stopped when the glass that was bumping against his head gave a particularly loud _thunk_that spilled mead over their laps_. _"Will you get these ruddy things off us?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Dumbledore's false sense of sympathy was even more practiced than mine was – but it took a liar to know a liar and I could see the cracks behind his kind facade. He raised his wand with his blackened hand and all three glasses vanished from around their heads. "But it would have been better manners to drink it, you know."

Uncle Vernon couldn't seem to make two letters string together, nevertheless could he come up with some kind of retort. Dumbledore turned to us, still with that pleasant smile and the pleasant twinkle to his eyes.

"Now, are your trunks packed?"

I looked over to my brother and smirked as he wriggled in the seat.

"Erm..."

"Doubtful that I would turn up?" Dumbledore asked, knowing as always just what went through our minds.

"Not necessarily doubtful," I corrected. "More wary that it would be a Death Eater who would barge through the door while our defenses were down."

"Audrey's really into this whole war-minded...thing," Harry muttered, standing up from the seat. "I'll just go and – er – finish off my packing."

"I'll help him," I sighed, standing up as well. "I don't really see the point of staying here with these three when I have to wrestle Circe into her carrier."

Harry took just over ten minutes to finish up with his packing. It took me just over five to convince Circe that she needed to be in her carrier. I didn't know how we would be getting to The Burrow, but I had a feeling it would not be kneazle-friendly. Once I had gotten her into the carrier, I found myself watching my brother as he threw everything into his trunk and helped by making him sit on the lid of his trunk so that I could latch it closed.

I put Hedwig in her cage in the last minute while he was finishing. She was much more cooperative for me than my own pet was – before I handled both the pets and made Harry lug the trunks down the stairs. Dumbledore was not waiting for us. The patient and polite man he is, Dumbledore had stuck to making the Dursleys feel uncomfortable in their own living room by humming loudly to himself. Both Harry and I watched the scene, not knowing whether to laugh or feel awkward while breaking the tension.

"Professor, we're – er – ready now," Harry announced after clearing his throat slightly.

"Good," Dumbledore smiled. "Just one last thing, then."

Dumbledore turned his body to address the Dursleys once again. "As you will no doubt be aware, both Harry and Audrey come of age in a year's time-"

"No," Aunt Petunia's voice was quiet, having spoken for the first time.

"I'm sorry?" Dumbledore actually asked politely, as if he hadn't heard her.

"No, they don't. They are only a month younger than Dudley, and Dudders doesn't turn eighteen until the year after next..."

"Ah," Dumbledore smiled in understanding, "but in the Wizarding world, we come of age at seventeen."

Uncle Vernon muttered moodily to himself, but Dumbledore ignored him as he carried on.

"Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The Wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than ever before. Audrey, having garnered his attention with her own displays, is now a target of her own. They are both in more danger now than the day when I left them upon your doorstep fifteen years ago with a letter explaining about their parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for both Harry and Audrey as though they were your own."

'My own displays', eh? I guess that was one way of explaining all the trouble I had caused. I had put a target on my own back thanks to my own stubbornness. I had killed a Death Eater – and not just any Death Eater...I had killed my friend's father and a prized Death Eater who had information that no other had. I had shown off my Magnuse like a show of fireworks, I had forced Voldemort out of my own brother's mind...

Two years ago, he had said that I was a nuisance because I would intimidate his Death Eaters. I was more than a nuisance now; I had shed first blood from his side. Now I was a _threat._

"You did not do as I asked," Dumbledore's voice had lowered and it caught my attention once again as my brow furrowed. "You have never treated Harry as a son, nor Audrey as a daughter. They have known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that they have at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."

I let out a guffaw of disbelief when I watched both my Aunt and Uncle look around, as though expecting to see some other overstuffed, cruel, idiotic boy wedged between the both of them.

"Us – mistreat Dudders? What d'you-" Uncle Vernon clearly did not understand that Dumbledore was implying...no, calling him fat and stupid. Uncle Vernon was never allowed to continue his thought process as Dumbledore raised a finger for silence – which was granted at once.

"The magic I evoked fifteen years ago means that the descendants of Lily Potter have powerful protection while they can still call this house 'home'. However miserable they have been here, however unwelcome, however badly treated, you have at least, grudgingly, allowed them houseroom. This magic will cease to operate the moment that the Potters turn seventeen; in other words, at the moment they become adults. I ask only this: that you allow Audrey and Harry to return, once more, to this house, before their seventeenth birthdays, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time."

I couldn't tell if the silence that stretched between them was out of shock or confusion – Dudley certainly looked confused, but my Aunt and Uncle looked in a mix of embarrassment and outrage. None of them, however, seemed able to find the urge to speak; and none of them seemed to have an urge to stop us before Dumbledore stood.

"Well, time for us to be off," Dumbledore stood and straightened his traveling cloak, looking between us as we went to go grip our trunks and pets. "Until we meet again."

"Er – bye," Harry said hastily to the Dursleys, following Dumbledore out the door. I looked back at the Dursleys, who looked almost more scared that they were left alone with the murderer.

"Get out before I call the police!" Uncle Vernon whispered darkly to me. I forced a smile to him.

"I would refrain from calling the authorities to come find me," I told him honestly. "I have a special kind of magic. One that not many other witches or wizards can use. See – I don't need a wand."

I took my elbow to the wall, which I knew housed the television, and with a harsh jab into the plaster I let enough energy flow out of me that the television flew from on top of its table against the wall to crash to the ground. It short circuited after a moment before they turned their wide eyes back to me.

"See you next summer, _family_."

I had not used Magnuse all summer and that simple display had taken more out of me than I would be willing to admit. As much sleeping as I had been doing, I felt like I was always exhausted and it was hard to find the energy to try things like wandless magic anymore. Still...smashing their television had been worth the loss.

By the time I made it out to the driveway, Dumbledore was waiting for me with a patient smile. "Threatening them was not the only means of silence, Audrey. I had already implored them to secrecy."

"I'm a Slytherin," I shrugged, knowing that somehow that explained everything as I walked forward with my trunk.

"Very well. Moving forth, we do not want to be encumbered by these just now," Dumbledore explained, pulling out his wand and pointing them to our trunks and pets. "I shall send them to the Burrow to await us there. However, Harry, I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak... just in case."

Harry managed to dig his cloak out of his mess of a trunk with ridiculous difficulty and he blushed when he knew that Dumbledore could see the mess that was his possessions. As he did this – and struggled to latch it closed again – I frowned to Dumbledore.

"Circe will be safe? She won't be left outside at the Burrow or land in a lake?"

"I give you my word," he said patiently. "Your kneazle will be as safe as you are."

Knowing that Dumbledore was the greatest wizard alive, I felt comforted by that promise. As Harry finished latching his trunk I gave Circe a small apology and kissed her nose before Dumbledore waved his wand and she, Hedwig, and both of our trunks vanished.

"And now, my friends, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress: adventure."

* * *

><p>Side-along Apparition was one of the worst sensations you could encounter. It was nearly as uncomfortable as being petrified by a basilisk and twice as uncomfortable as being on Veritaserum – and I could attest to both those sensations. It made me want to crawl out of my skin and it made me feel as if I had left my equilibrium behind...but it was nice to get wherever we were going quickly.<p>

Budleigh Babberton was a charming little neighbourhood. While it was darkened with talk of Voldemort now using Occlumency to keep Harry out of his head and Harry admitting to Dumbledore how many things I was breaking at night with my hazardous fuse of Magnuse and night-terrors – it was still a pleasant midsummer walk.

"But why are we in Budleigh Babberton?" I asked, looking around lightly. "I assume it's not for the pleasant late-night conversation."

"Ah yes, of course, I haven't told you," Dumbledore smiled down at both of us. "Well, I have lost count of the number of times I have said this in recent years, but we are, once again, one member of staff short. We are here to persuade an old colleague of mine to come out of retirement and return to Hogwarts."

Ugh. You know, as evil as Umbridge was, I would really miss slacking in her course. Who knew how much of a stickler the new Defence teacher would be?

"How can we help with that, sir?" Harry asked, looking at me with a furrowed brow.

"Oh, I think we'll find a use for you," Dumbledore hummed to himself, making it quite clear that he did not want to tell us exactly why we had been dragged along. "Left here."

Around us, all the lights in the windows were out. It was late at night and even in Budleigh Babberton, people were smart enough to be sleeping. The air was thick here, as it had been around our house all year: it was thick with impending danger. The world reeked of it now that Voldemort was openly on the loose again. I could hardly remember the feeling of a carefree atmosphere. Then again, a part of me doubted I'd ever known one.

"Professor, why couldn't we just Apparate directly into your old colleague's house?" Harry asked.

"There are wards," I told him factually. "Besides, do you really have no care for privacy?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded, which made my brother blush. "It would be quite as rude as kicking down the front door. Courtesy dictates that we offer fellow wizards the opportunity of denying us entry. In any case, most Wizarding dwellings are magically protected from unwanted Apparators. At Hogwarts, for instance-"

"-you can't Apparate anywhere inside the buildings or grounds," said Harry quickly. "Hermione Granger told me."

"I could have told you that, too," I grinned to myself, unable to stop myself from imagining Montague being caught in the pipes between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts and having to transfigure the piping around him so that he could fit through and end up in the toilets. That memory was almost good enough to make a Patronus.

"You and Hermione Granger both are quite right. We turn left again."

Somewhere in the distance a large clock began to chime that it was midnight. The song sounded even more eerie in the darkness around us and I found myself gripping the augurey wand in my pocket, as Harry was with his own.

"Sir, I saw in the _Daily Prophet_ that Fudge has been sacked," Harry began. I raised my eyebrows – I think I recalled him telling me this at some point during my languid state, but I couldn't be sure.

"Well, he won't be missed," I muttered darkly.

"He will not be, by most," Dumbledore agreed, stepping onto a steep side street. We both followed. "He has been replaced, as I am sure you also saw, by Rufus Scrimgeour, who used to be Head of the Auror office."

"Technically a good choice," I observed. "But a job doesn't necessarily make a person."

"Wisely said," Dumbledore nodded.

"So is he...do you think he's good?" Harry asked uncertainly, only to shrug when I rolled his eyes at him.

"An interesting question," Dumbledore hummed. "He is able, certainly. A more decisive and forceful personality than Cornelius."

"But is he overly decisive? Or is he...'act now, think later' decisive?" I gave a glare to my brother. "Because decisive can mean he thinks things through or he goes through things without thinking..."

"Quite right, Audrey. Rufus is a man of action and, having fought Dark wizards for most of his working life, does not underestimate Lord Voldemort."

But just because he didn't underestimate him did not mean that he was a good leader, and I think that Dumbledore knew this – which was why it wasn't said. But I was nearly certain I had interpreted it correctly.

"And... sir," Harry said lowly. "I saw about Madam Bones."

I looked to my brother, furrowing my eyebrows. I didn't remember hearing anything about Madam Bones – wasn't she the mother of Susan Bones or something like that? That little Hufflepuff who had a meltdown before the OWLs...

"Yes," said Dumbledore gravely. "A terrible loss. She was a great witch. Just up here, I think – ouch."

He had winced once he pointed with his hand. The blackened one.

"Professor, what happened to your hand?" I asked. "Frostbite? A burn? A curse?"

"I have no time to explain now," said Dumbledore with a whimsical sigh. "It is a thrilling tale, I wish to do it justice."

"He means to come up with a cover-story," I whispered to my twin. He rolled his eyes at me but didn't say anything to tell me he thought I was wrong.

"Sir, I got a Ministry of Magic leaflet by owl, about security measures we should all take against the Death Eaters..."

"The one with common sense written on it," I added in a monotone.

"Yes, I received one myself," Dumbledore acknowledged with a smile. "Did you find it useful?"

"Not really." Harry muttered, looking at me. I happened to know he had read through half of it before growling about how he couldn't do any of it anyway, since we weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. He had tried to get me to put up some kind of wards with my Magnuse, but I had not had the energy – besides, why would I want to spend that energy protecting the Dursleys?

"No, I thought not. You have not asked me, for instance, what is my favorite flavor of jam, to check that I am indeed Professor Dumbledore and not an impostor."

"I told you," I whispered. "He could have been a Death Eater."

"I, er..." Harry began, looking between us to check whether or not we were reprimanding him.

"For future reference, it is raspberry...although of course, if I were a Death Eater, I would have been sure to research my own jam preferences before impersonating myself."

"If only all Death Eaters were as wise," I added dryly.

"Er... right," Harry said with another look between us. "Well, on that leaflet, it said something about Inferi. What exactly are they? The leaflet wasn't very clear."

"They are corpses," said Dumbledore calmly. "Dead bodies that have been bewitched to do a Dark wizard's bidding. Inferi have not been seen for a long time, however, not since Voldemort was last powerful... he killed enough people to make an army of them, of course. This is the place, just here..."

"So...Inferi are zombies?" I asked with a frown.

"In the Muggle sense, yes," Dumbledore chuckled. "But they are much more efficient with what they are bewitched to do."

"Fantastic," I frowned. "_Intelligent_ brain eating corpses. What could possibly go wrong, there?"

We had turned and stopped in front of a small house, set with stones and a garden. It was a darker colour, but I couldn't tell what it was in the darkness. It was quiet and quaint...and had been broken into. The dark door to the house was hanging off his hinges . Dumbledore placed out his good hand to stop us from walking any further before he raised his wand.

"Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear." Dumbledore said quietly to himself. "Wands out and follow me, if you would."

I brought out my wand, but kept my other hand free, just to ensure that my _real defenses_ would be accessible. Dumbledore walked quietly past the gate and up the path through the garden. He walked into the house very quietly, his wand at the ready. He lit up his wand, shedding light upon a narrow hallway. To our left, another door had been opened and nearly torn from its hinges, but Dumbledore ignored it to move further down the narrow passage. I wish that he hadn't.

The living room was in tatters: a once-magnificent grandfather clock lay in splinters, a turned over piano had scattered it's keys over the floor, a shattered chandelier littered the hardwood, an overstuffed and striped armchair had been uprooted and heaved to the side, the cushions of the sofa had been torn and left the room looking like a plucked chick...but the worst was the red, pearly sheen that was sprayed across the wall.

Wait..._pearl__?_

"Not pretty, is it?" Dumbledore said heavily. "Yes, something horrible has happened here."

I was starting to be suspicious about that something horrible and think it was closer to something _strange. _While Dumbledore and Harry moved forward, through the wreckage at their feet, I couldn't help but move towards the wall – the spray pattern was strange. It was flayed across the wall – perhaps someone had been stabbed twice? It was running in two different directions – no, wait, _three. _And now that I was closer I was _certain _there was a pearly sheen to it. It looked iridescent in the fading light of Dumbledore's wand tip as he moved away from me.

"Maybe there was a fight and – and they dragged him off, Professor?" Harry asked quietly, his voice sounding nervous while he moved with the Headmaster into the middle of the room.

"I don't think so," I said, looking back at the blood on the walls. Ignoring the strange, nacreous colour on the walls, it was certainly still blood that had been spilt here – and that was never a good sign.

"You mean he's-"

"Still here somewhere?" Dumbledore offered, looking over and making eye contact with both of us calmly. "Yes."

Without warning, Dumbledore moved faster than someone his age should have been able and plunged the tip of his wand into the overturned armchair, in the middle of the room.

And it cried out in pain.

Harry and I yelled out from the shock of it all – and the strangest part of it? Dumbledore did not seem the slightest bit surprised.

"Good evening, Horace," Dumbledore said solemnly.

There was a moment before the armchair, once overstuffed and overturned, formed into the figure of a crouching man: fat, balding, and massaging his belly where Dumbledore seemed to have poked him.

"There was no need to stick the wand in that hard," he said with a frown as he groaned and stretched to his feet. "It hurt."

He had large, beady eyes and as all things were oversized about him, as was his bristly, walrus-like mustache. He was squat and, for some reason, reminded me strangely of Uncle Vernon.

"Well?" he asked with a huff. "What gave it away?"

"My dear Horace," Dumbledore smiled, looking amused, "if the Death Eaters really had come to call, the Dark Mark would have been set over the house."

Horace, as he had been named, let out a grown as he slapped his forehead with his palm.

"The Dark Mark," he sighed. "Knew there was something... ah well. Wouldn't have had time anyway, I'd only just put the finishing touches to my upholstery when you entered the room."

"Would you like my assistance clearing up?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Please," the other said just as cordially. Both stood back, looking around the room before waving their wands in one, swift motion. Even Harry and I, being twins, would never be in such perfect sync as these two men. The wreckage in the room moved just as fluidly: the furniture fixed and arranged itself, torn books restitched themselves into their spines, splintered wood formed into clocks and picture frames, the piano retuned itself and sat up straight, glass melted and reformed into decorations, and the soiled walls scrubbed themselves clean.

"What kind of blood was that, incidentally?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly, paying no heed to the chiming of twelve-thirty from the large and well-polished grandfather clock on the side wall.

"Dragon blood," I answered for him, while the wizard ignored me to run over toward one of the shelves and check the vial of blood in question. "Was it Antipodean Opaleye?"

"Yes, very good eye," the walrus-like man mumbled distractedly, looking at the vial with a sigh. "My last bottle, and prices are sky-high at the moment. Still, it might be reusable...hmm. Bit dusty."

"And how did you know it was Antipodean Opaleye?" Dumbledore asked, looking to me with a smile. He nearly looked proud. I felt myself grow uncomfortable from his gaze.

"Well, er – the pearly sheen, of course. And it was more viscous than normal blood – besides, the striking pattern on the walls would not at all be what was left from a Death Eater attack." I couldn't help but sound a little more assured now, even though I hadn't been so sure when I was looking. Fear was a powerful thing and it always made you doubt yourself. I was no exception.

"Quite right, quite..._oho_," the wizard had turned around, his large beady eyes widening when their gaze fell on me. His eyes fell to my neck before quickly swiveled to my brother – his eyes immediately finding his own scar. "_Oho__!_"

"This," Dumbledore explained, holding out a hand so that I could come further into the living room to join him and my brother, "is Harry and Audrey Potter. Harry, Audrey, this is an old friend and colleague of mine, Horace Slughorn."

An ugly name for an ugly man, but I was still amazed by his eyes moving from between both my brother and I. I won't deny, it was throwing me off – usually as soon as they caught sight of my brother, I was history in their eyes...Slughorn seemed to break that pattern.

But it wasn't long before his expression turned dark and suspicious. "So that's how you thought you'd persuade me, is it? Well, the answer's no, Albus."

The man moved past both of us, looking quite determined in his movements, while Dumbledore heaved a dramatic sigh.

"I suppose we can have a drink, at least?" Dumbledore asked, watching as the large man slowed in his steps. "For old time's sake?"

He looked like he wanted to say no, but his eyes flashed to my brother's forehead and back to my neck once more before he let out a gruff sigh.

"All right then, one drink."

Dumbledore had won whichever battle he had been fighting and whether or not Harry or Slughorn knew it yet didn't matter: I could tell that the Headmaster did. Dumbledore lead us toward the couch and sat us down beside one another, almost as if he were staging us. Were I not so unnerved by this whole situation, I would have been surprised by just how sly Dumbledore was being...that is not usually a Gryffindor trait. And just like I knew Dumbledore had hoped, when Slughorn turned with a bottle and tumblers in his hand, his eyes immediately fell on to us.

"Hmpf," he grumbled, looking away quickly as though we were letting off a bright glare. He handed his drink to Dumbledore and thrust two towards Harry and my general direction with no more than a low "_here_". After that, he took his time sinking into a chair almost identical to that which he'd transfigured himself into.

"Well, how have you been keeping, Horace?" Dumbledore asked conversationally, as if this man had not just faked his own death and been rude to us all being in his presence.

"Not so well," said Slughorn at once. "Weak chest. Wheezy. Rheumatism too. Can't move like I used to. Well, that's to be expected. Old age. Fatigue."

Those sounded much more like excuses than symptoms, to me.

"And yet you must have moved fairly quickly to prepare such a welcome for us at such short notice," Dumbledore noted, looking impressed. "You can't have had more than three minutes' warning?"

Slughorn was clearly both irritated and proud as he answered. "Two. Didn't hear my Intruder Charm go off, I was taking a bath. Still, the fact remains that I'm an old man, Albus. A tired old man who's earned the right to a quiet life and a few creature comforts."

"You're not yet as old as I am, Horace," Dumbledore told him with amusement, to which Slughorn frowned.

"Well, maybe you ought to think about retirement yourself," said Slughorn bluntly as he looked toward Dumbledore's injured hand. "Reactions not what they were, I see."

"You're quite right," said Dumbledore serenely, not hesitating to move his blackened fingers into sight for Slughorn to examine. I felt myself recoil away from them, the hairs on my arms standing as I looked at the hand – it gave me an eerie chill. "I am undoubtedly slower than I was. But on the other hand..."

There was a ring on his finger, one that only allowed the eerie sensation that was raising my hair to surge on: it was made of clumsy, bulky gold and was inlaid with a thick and gaudy black stone with a crack down the center. I frowned at the reaction I was immediately getting from it – a dark reaction for a Dark object.

But why would Dumbledore be wearing a Dark object? I must have been more out of sorts than I thought.

"So, all these precautions against intruders, Horace... are they for the Death Eaters' benefit, or mine?" Dumbledore did not seem like he would be insulted whichever way the man answered. Which was good because Slughorn just scoffed at him.

"What would the Death Eaters want with a poor broken-down old buffer like me?"

"I imagine that they would want you to turn your considerable talents to coercion, torture, and murder," Dumbledore stated factually, as he normally did. "Are you really telling me that they haven't come recruiting yet?"

He barely looked at Dumbledore as he answered, quite haughtily, "I haven't given them the chance. I've been on the move for a year. Never stay in one place more than a week. Move from Muggle house to Muggle house – the owners of this place are on holiday in the Canary Islands – it's been very pleasant, I'll be sorry to leave. It's quite easy once you know how, one simple Freezing Charm on these absurd burglar alarms they use instead of Sneakoscopes and make sure the neighbors don't spot you bringing in the piano."

"Ingenious," said Dumbledore even though I fought myself from rolling my eyes...he was trying to be inconspicuous and one of the few things he brought with him was a _piano_? This man was certainly not as 'ingenious' to me as Dumbledore seemed to believe he was. "But it sounds a rather tiring existence for a broken-down old buffer in search of a quiet life. Now, if you were to return to Hogwarts-"

"If you're going to tell me my life would be more peaceful at that pestilential school, you can save your breath, Albus! I might have been in hiding, but some funny rumors have reached me since Dolores Umbridge left! If that's how you treat teachers these days-"

"Professor Umbridge ran afoul of our centaur herd," said Dumbledore. I could not help but let out a snort that I tried to squash before it came – but it was too late. My eyes nearly began watering at the effort I put behind keeping myself silent, even as another laugh tried to choke me. Dumbledore, mercifully, continued to spare me being stared at more than I had to be. "I think you, Horace, would have known better than to stride into the forest and call a horde of angry centaurs 'filthy half-breeds.'"

"That's what she did, did she?" said Slughorn, immediately changing his tune. "Idiotic woman. Never liked her."

"Idiotic does not sum her up well enough," I muttered, still trying to hold back a smile.

"She was horrible," Harry agreed, looking at me and trying to hold back his own chuckle.

"It's too bad she forgot to strip you of your wand," I whispered to my brother sarcastically.

"Oh she did, it was just by magic that I got it back and could defend myself," he noted, looking at me with a smile that was being fought very valiantly. When the silence stretched on around us, I noticed that both men were looking at us in distinct interest – Dumbledore's eyes twinkling.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly as I felt my face heat up. "It's just – I didn't like her either."

"I won't be so kind," I said quietly, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. "I _hated_ her."

And then, as if I had said the magic words, Dumbledore stood up quickly.

"Are you leaving?" asked Slughorn, his eye bright and hopeful.

"Oh no," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I was wondering whether I might use your bathroom."

"Oh," Slughorn sighed disappointedly, "second on the left down the hall."

And without any buffer conversation, Dumbledore left us alone with Slughorn. I didn't dare speak first. I had not made the best first impression, laughing about a teacher being dragged away by centaurs, and Harry was usually the one that spoke first between us anyway. It was a habit still held from before I was my own person – when I was still a terrified shell who hid behind her brother when the Dursleys became angry.

"Don't think I don't know why he's brought you," Slughorn said abruptly, moving away from us to stand in front of the fire.

I didn't really have anything to say to that, and it seemed Harry didn't either. So instead, we looked at each other – both of us had obviously caught on to what Dumbledore was trying at this point. We looked at each other carefully before we looked back at the burly teacher. Slughorn's eyes slid back over our individual scars – mine first, his second – before they centered on my brother's face.

"You look very like your father. And you," his eyes slid to me. "So like your mother."

"Yeah, we've been told," said Harry, with a frown.

"You both got your mother's eyes, though," he said thoughtfully. "And your father's-"

"Unruly hair?" I offered, flattening it with my hand. "Or his troublesome reputation?"

"Hmpf. Yes, well. You shouldn't have favorites as a teacher, of course, but your mother – she was one of mine. Your mother...Lily Evans. One of the brightest I ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl. I used to tell her she ought to have been in my House. Very cheeky answers I used to get back too," he said thoughtfully, almost smiling to himself.

"Which was your House?"

"I was Head of Slytherin," said Slughorn. Harry looked at me for a moment with wide eyes. I couldn't help but look back at him. I had never heard anything like that before: that anyone thought that my mother should have been in Slytherin. I was always told how unlike her I was, save for the reflection in the mirror. And hearing that, hearing about how cheeky she was and knowing just how cheeky _I _was...it actually seemed to compact in my chest.

I was like my mother?

"Oh, now," he went on quickly, seeing the expressions and automatically assuming the worst. "Don't go holding that against me! You'll be Gryffindor like her, I suppose? Yes, it usually goes in families. Not always, though. Ever heard of Sirius Black? You must have done – been in the papers for the last couple of years – he was a big pal of your father's at school. The whole Black family had been in my House, but Sirius ended up in Gryffindor! Shame – he was a talented boy. I got his brother, Regulus, when he came along, but I'd have liked the set. But don't you go blaming me. She was a talent that I would have loved to say came from my own House."

"We're not," I said quickly, shaking my head. "Harry's in Gryffindor...I'm, er – I'm in Slytherin."

It was the _strangest _thing, to see this reaction to that: his eyes lighting up, his large cheeks moving up his face as he smiled... It was so strange; Harry always got this reaction when he announced he was a Gryffindor – but never before had I gotten the same thing when I announced I was a Slytherin. It usually dissolved into a dropped conversation or a lost friendship...I felt flattered just by the interest he seemed to hold. I had never gotten this praise and I couldn't deny: I understood why Harry liked it.

"A Slytherin, eh?" he said sounding devastatingly interested. "Yes – yes, Slytherins are cheeky. Always interesting to see what they become – they have more lined up for them, being from the more affluent families...your mother was Muggle-born, of course. Couldn't believe it when I found out. Thought she must have been Pureblood, she was so good."

"One of my best friends is Muggle-born," Harry said tightly, "and she's the best in our year."

"Funny how that sometimes happens, isn't it?" Slughorn asked wistfully.

"Not really," Harry said lowly. Slughorn turned to him in surprise, as if only now noticing how sore of a subject this was for him.

"You mustn't think I'm prejudiced!" he said. "No, no, no! Haven't I just said your mother was one of my all-time favorite students? And there was Dirk Cresswell in the year after her too – now Head of the Goblin Liaison Office, of course – another Muggle-born, a very gifted student, and still gives me excellent inside information on the goings-on at Gringotts!"

"He doesn't mean that Muggle-borns aren't better," I didn't know why I was taking the time to defend the man I hardly knew; whether it was because I was trying to keep him from being insulted and not taking the job at Hogwarts, or whether it was because I really _did _understand what he was trying to say. I had heard this argument so many times before by the select Slytherin students who really _didn't _mean to be so discriminatory. "He is just surprised that they can catch up and learn so much when they haven't been exposed to it like children raised in the wizarding society. I mean, it took us a lot to catch up – do you remember how long we took to understand _anything_? Do you remember how long it took you to know what Quidditch was, when Malfoy had challenged you to it? He just means he's surprised we catch up and exceed people already exposed."

"Yes, yes," he said quickly, looking very pleased with my answer. "Though you are not muggleborn, no-"

"We were raised muggleborn," Harry grumbled. "Like most of the best students in our year..."

But Slughorn was just glad he had gotten my approval – another strange twist I was not used to feeling. Harry really had the easy road, didn't he? Slughorn, looking little more than proud of himself, moved forward to the many photographs that had been mended after his falsified death and showed them off to us.

"All ex-students, all signed. You'll notice Barnabas Cuffe, editor of the Daily Prophet, he's always interested to hear my take on the day's news. And Ambrosius Flume, of Honeydukes-a hamper every birthday, and all because I was able to give him an introduction to Ciceron Harkiss who gave him his first job! And at the back – you'll see her if you just crane your neck – that's Gwenog Jones, who of course captains the Holyhead Harpies...people are always astonished to hear I'm on first-name terms with the Harpies, and free tickets whenever I want them!"

"And all these people know where to find you, to send you stuff?" Harry asked, looking around at the house where Slughorn had been hiding out while the smile slipped from the man's face. I answered for him.

"Not anymore, Harry," I muttered lowly.

"Of course not," he answered, giving a little bit of a glare to my brother. "I have been out of touch with everybody for a year. Still...the prudent wizard keeps his head down in such times. All very well for Dumbledore to talk, but taking up a post at Hogwarts just now would be tantamount to declaring my public allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix! And while I'm sure they're very admirable and brave and all the rest of it, I don't personally fancy the mortality rate-"

"You speak my language, sir," I told him honestly, knowing immediately that I had to butter him up more than I was used to, considering my brother was headed in the opposite direction Dumbledore wanted us to head with this coaxing. "I told them I don't want to join the Order of the Phoenix either, when I come of age or any earlier. In fact, I don't really want to join anything that says they'll keep me alive – I don't like to put that faith in anyone besides myself."

And a true Slytherin, such as Slughorn, would understand that perfectly – which I could immediately tell he did. Even if I wouldn't have seen the expression on his face: the fact that he was living in temporarily abandoned homes, moving week-to-week was answer enough.

"And you wouldn't have to join the Order to teach at Hogwarts," Harry added, frowning a little – I could see he did not understand how this man's brain worked as easily as I did. "Most of the teachers aren't in it, and none of them has ever been killed – well, unless you count Quirrell, and he got what he deserved seeing as he was working with Voldemort."

Slughorn have a violent shudder and shout when his name was spoken aloud.

"He wasn't even really _killed_ by a curse," I added. "He was kind of killed by love. I doubt it would happen to any other person in the world – well, so long as they don't have a man sticking out of the back of their skull."

And it was quite clear that Slughorn didn't. He was bald enough to see my own reflection, if I looked hard enough.

"I reckon the staff are safer than most people while Dumbledore's Headmaster; he's supposed to be the only one Voldemort ever feared, isn't he?" Harry added on, looking to me. I was glad he was deciding to play along for Dumbledore's side again. Dumbledore didn't normally help with things involving me but I was willing to do him this favour.

"Well, yes, it is true that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has never sought a fight with Dumbledore," Slughorn said slowly as he thought about it. "And I suppose one could argue that as I have not joined the Death Eaters, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named can hardly count me a friend...in which case, I might well be safer a little closer to Albus... I cannot pretend that Amelia Bones's death did not shake me...If she, with all her Ministry contacts and protection..."

Dumbledore cut off Slughorn's nervous mumbling by re-entering the room. Slughorn nearly jumped out of his seat at the intrusion.

"Oh, there you are, Albus," he breathed, a hand to his chest. "You've been a very long time. Upset stomach?"

"No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines," Dumbledore smiled softly. "I do love knitting patterns. Well, Audrey, Harry, we have trespassed upon Horace's hospitality quite long enough; I think it is time for us to leave."

Harry nearly jumped to his feet and held out his hand to help pull me up. I took it, as I had to most days, thanks to my inability to conserve any energy or have a good night's sleep.

"You're leaving?" Slughorn asked, sounding nearly aghast.

"Yes, indeed," Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I think I know a lost cause when I see one."

"Lost...?" Harry passed me my jumper and I zipped it up, refusing to meet Horace Slughorn's eyes – but I knew what Dumbledore had done. Planted that seed in his head which would grow and make him think more and more about his options. I could only hope Harry and I helped it grow.

"Well, I'm sorry you don't want the job, Horace," said Dumbledore, raising his uninjured hand in farewell after he had fastened his traveling cloak over his shoulders. "Hogwarts would have been glad to see you back again. Our greatly increased security notwithstanding, you will always be welcome to visit, should you wish to."

"Yes," Slughorn coughed. "Well...very gracious, as I say..."

"Goodbye, then." Dumbledore nodded his farewell, before moving out the door.

"Bye," Harry added, moving out the door quickly.

"Bye, Professor," I paused shaking my head, trying not to make it seem as melodramatic as it obviously was. "I mean _sir_...sorry, I've been saying it all night with Dumbledore being with us the entire time..."

I barely had time to smile smugly and walk out the door before he called out to us.

"All right, all right, I'll do it!"

Dumbledore turned from the porch step to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"You will come out of retirement?"

"Yes, yes," Slughorn grumbled, shaking his head. "I must be mad, but yes."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore beamed. "Then, Horace, we shall see you on the first of September."

"Yes, I daresay you will," Slughorn grumbled again, moving back to the door as we set down the garden path, even before his voice floated our way once more. "I'll want a pay rise, Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore chuckled as we walked past the garden gate and off toward the eerie, early morning mist.

"Audrey, Harry, very well done," Dumbledore smiled down to us.

"I didn't do anything," said Harry with a frown. "Audrey did all the sucking up."

"Someone had to," I argued. "You were being uncooperative – he had to _want _to teach you. You weren't making anything interesting at all. And you weren't listening to what he had to say. This is why we're in different houses."

"You _both _did splendidly," Dumbledore disagreed with a smile. "Harry, you showed Horace exactly how much he stands to gain by returning to Hogwarts. Audrey, you made him curious enough to consider what there was to gain as it was. Did either of you like him?"

"Er..." Harry said immediately. Dumbledore nodded understandably.

"Horace likes comfort," Dumbledore explained slowly, looking down at Harry and only Harry. It seemed that I did not need this lecture – and I was glad that he thought so, because I didn't. It was not his fault that he wasn't born brave like Harry was – Slytherins had their own way of doing things. Not all of us necessarily hid in abandoned houses, as he did – but we kept ourselves safe. And that was something that no Gryffindor seemed to be able to understand. "He also likes the company of the famous, the successful, and the powerful. He enjoys the feeling that he influences these people. He has never wanted to occupy the throne himself; he prefers the backseat – more room to spread out, you see. He used to handpick favorites at Hogwarts, sometimes for their ambition or their brains, sometimes for their charm or their talent, and he had an uncanny knack for choosing those who would go on to become outstanding in their various fields. Horace formed a kind of club of his favorites with himself at the center, making introductions, forging useful contacts between members, and always reaping some kind of benefit in return, whether a free box of his favorite crystallized pineapple or the chance to recommend the next junior member of the Goblin liaison Office."

"He certainly seems to have a lot of sway," I said with surprise. "How do you think he knows who those right ones are?"

"A talent of his, as we each have talents to call our own," Dumbledore explained. "I tell you all this not to turn you against Horace – or, as we must now call him, Professor Slughorn – but to put you on your guard. He will undoubtedly try to collect you, both of you. You would be the jewel of his collection; 'the Girl Who Coerces Dragons', 'the Boy Who Lived'... or, as they call you these days, Harry, 'the Chosen One.'"

So now I was 'the Girl Who Coerces Dragons'? Not the most accurate name, but certainly one of the better ones from what I'm used to hearing. Dumbledore had stopped walking at this point, moving to give me his injured elbow and for Harry to take hold of his good arm. I was very sure to avoid his wand hand.

"This will do. If you would both grasp my arm."

Apparition was still one of the most uncomfortable sensations I could ever recall, but my complaints were squashed when I looked up at the crooked silhouette of the Burrow against the moonlight. I didn't really know how to feel about it – I had not responded to any of these peoples letters over the past fortnight. I had not expected to spend so much time with them – not when I could hardly make it out of bed. I had a feeling they would not be as lenient with my lethargy as Harry had been.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder what was in there waiting for me – would there be more words of wisdom from Lupin? Would there be jokes about my unavoidable exhaustion from Fred and George? Would Sirius be there to share my bed with Circe in my room with Hermione and Ginny?

"If you don't mind, Harry and Audrey," Dumbledore interrupted my thoughts – I tried to avoid them so he could have my attention. "I'd like a few words with you before we part. In private. Perhaps in here?"

There was a little broom shed to the side and though I didn't know why we should go in there rather than stay out in the night, I followed my brother into the shed and watched while Dumbledore took up the doorway in front of us. Dumbledore illuminated the tip of his wand and held it between us so we could each see one another.

"I hope you will forgive me for mentioning this, but I am pleased and a little proud at how well you seem to be coping after everything that happened at the Ministry. You have both showed incredible maturity in this time – with both your fate, and the fate of others."

I swallowed the scream of pain that wanted to rip itself from throat. I wanted to scream that the fate of 'others' was _because _of my own fate and the fate of my brother – but I couldn't bring myself to say anything because I knew it would only come out as some form of obscenity, or scream, or sob – I couldn't tell which emotion was currently more prevalent, but each and every one brought a new form of pain.

"It was cruel," said Dumbledore softly, "that you have had to grow so quickly and violently. A brutal ending to what should have been a long and happy existence between two heroes."

_I am not a hero_, but no matter how true it was I decided not to say it. And besides arguing, there was nothing else that I could have mentioned, there was nothing that Harry seemed to be able to say.

"It's been hard," Harry said finally, in a low voice, "answering the letters, lying to my friends about what I know now...what I have to do."

I couldn't help but feel a little pang of animosity – yes, he had found out that he had to murder someone, but he had not already done it, as I had. He should not be bringing this on to himself...

But another part of me, the _sisterly _part of me, reminded myself that it was not only having to murder someone that weighed on my brother's conscience; it was also the fact that he might not be the first to do the deed. Voldemort still had the opportunity to kill him first so that _he _was the one to survive. My brother had to worry about murder and being murdered...something I had already surpassed on both ends.

For now.

"The prophecy you heard represented much to you that you had never known before," said Dumbledore gently. "And what you have always known. Naturally, the knowledge is devastating..."

"But while I was at the Dursleys'," Harry said more loudly, sounding more strong. "I realized I can't shut myself away or-or crack up. And...and Audrey, you can't either."

"I haven't been," I ground out, my voice sounding quiet around the scream that was still lodged in my throat.

"You have been...and I get it – I know how awful you feel. I _see_how awful you feel – but life's too short. Look at Madam Bones, look at Emmeline Vance...it could be me next, couldn't it? It could be you. But if it is me...I'm going to make sure I take as many Death Eaters with me as I can, and Voldemort too if I can manage it."

"Spoken both like your mother and your father's son, I take my hat off to you – or I would, if I were not afraid of showering you in spiders." Dumbledore smiled and gave my brother a proud grasp of his shoulder. All I could manage was a shake my head.

Taking down Death Eaters was not what this was supposed to be about. And it's not what it should be about – if Harry became a murderer...I don't think he would be able to live with himself, as I have. It's been hard enough for me and I have thicker skin than he does – the guilt wouldn't have any problem sinking through thin skin like his.

"And now, on a closely related subject...I gather that you have been taking the _Daily Prophet_ over the last two weeks?"

"Yes," my brother responded as I shook my head.

"He read it to me sometimes," I said quietly. "I didn't always listen."

"Well I will assume you will have seen that there have been not so much leaks as floods concerning your adventure in the Hall of Prophecy?"

"Yes," said Harry again, his eyes flickering to me. "And now people know about Audrey and how I'm the one-"

"No, they do not," interrupted Dumbledore. "There are only three people in the whole world who know the full contents of the prophecy made about you and Lord Voldemort, and they are all standing in this smelly, spidery broom shed. It is true, however, that many have guessed, correctly, that Voldemort sent his Death Eaters to steal a prophecy, and that the prophecy concerned you. And it is also true that the people you have told, and the people who you feel had to be told, Audrey – Miss Greengrass and her parents, Mr Malfoy, and of course the young Mr Nott-"

I winced at the sound of his name and watched while Harry gave me a little look – one that he was trying to water down thanks to the conversation, but one he could never avoid giving whenever Draco Malfoy was mentioned.

"Those people are the only ones who know of your possible involvement with Thuban Nott's demise. Those in your House know of your presence in the Department of Mysteries, there can be no denying that, but it is all they know. They know of no further involvement or interaction with the man in question."

I took a moment to breathe, letting that fact sink in. I had always assumed that I would be murdered in my sleep when I had gotten to Hogwarts because the whole of the wizarding world would know...but I still held no guarantees. Any one of those people could tell someone else. And I had no doubts that _every_ one of those people would be threatening to.

"Now, I think I am correct in saying that neither of you have told anybody that you know what the prophecy said?"

"No," Harry answered. Dumbledore waited for me to shake my head.

"A wise decision, on the whole, although I think you ought to relax it in favor of your friends, Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger. Yes," he continued, when Harry and I made faces. "I think they ought to know. You do them a disservice by not confiding something this important to them."

"I didn't want-"

"-to worry or frighten them?" Dumbledore finished for him, with a sad smile. "Or perhaps, to confess that you yourself are worried and frightened? You need your friends, Harry. And you, Audrey, must do the same."

I shrugged, not caring to hear anymore.

"I have heard from competent sources that you have been avoiding your owls. Miss Greengrass is very concerned by your lack of responses. And I have been told that Mr Malfoy-" I stiffened just at the sound of his name. I didn't want Harry to know just how much Malfoy had been writing me, "has been very concerned about your well-being while alone."

"She isn't alone," Harry gritted out.

"These are his words and his worries, Harry," Dumbledore said calmly. "He is allowed to house them. I have also heard, however, that he will not be sending mail to you anymore this summer. I was told you may be unnerved by this, so you should be warned of it."

And for some reason, I did feel unnerved by it. Had I been right after all? Had something happened during one of the nights I dreamt of him being hurt? Had he lost the concern Dumbledore apparently knew about? Or worse, was _he _under watch because of his father's incarceration?

When I said nothing, and Harry only seemed to seethe, Dumbledore continued. "On a different, though related subject, it is my wish that you take private lessons with me this year."

"Private lessons?" I repeated, blinking up at him.

"With you?" Harry added on, giving me a sideways look of confusion. "With _me_?"

"Yes, with _both_ of you. I think it is time that I take a greater hand in your education." He seemed very sure of this and it was clear that this was not an impromptu decision.

"What will we be learning, sir?" I asked, crossing my arms to fight off the chill that was starting to seep into the broom shed.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," Dumbledore responded with a wave of his injured hand. Dumbledore would not elaborate, that was clear, so Harry took the time to force his own answers.

"If we're having lessons with you, we won't have to do Occlumency lessons with Snape, will we?" he sounded so hopeful that I wanted to roll my eyes.

"_Professor_ Snape, Harry – and no, you will not."

"Good," said Harry in relief.

"Not that it will make much of a difference. Those lessons turned into..." There was no term with enough spite, annoyance, smugness and bitterness to finish that statement.

"I think the word 'fiasco' would be a good of good use here," Dumbledore offered. It was not quite intense enough or negative enough for my taste, but I nodded and grinned to him anyway. Harry outright laughed.

"Well, that means I won't see much of Professor Snape from now on," my brother said nearly giddily, "because he won't let me carry on Potions unless I get 'Outstanding' in my OWL, which I know I haven't."

I certainly hoped I had. I would feel better just knowing that I would be able to continue my school life with him around – but until we got those OWL results, I would just have to wait.

"Don't count your owls before they are delivered," said Dumbledore lowly. "Which, now I think of it, ought to be some time later today. Now, two more things, Audrey, Harry, before we part."

We both shuffled our feet to ready ourselves for what was obviously important information, if it was to be saved for last.

"Firstly, I wish you to keep your Invisibility Cloak with you at all times from this moment onward, Harry. Even within Hogwarts itself. Just in case, you understand me?" My brother nodded. "Audrey, in happenstance, I would like you to be able to spend more time with your brother – and I have given the Gryffindor Portrait word that you will be allowed entrance to the Gryffindor common room, in case you feel at all threatened or inhibited within the Slytherin dormitories."

I raised my eyebrows – in all the history of Hogwarts I had never heard of this being done...but I guess they didn't have too many fifteen-year-old murderers lurking around the school who happened to be sibling to a media-famous hero, as I was.

"And lastly, while you stay here, the Burrow has been given the highest security the Ministry of Magic can provide. These measures have caused a certain amount of inconvenience to Arthur and Molly – all their post, for instance, is being searched at the Ministry before being sent on. They do not mind in the slightest, for their only concern is your safety. However, it would be poor repayment if either of you risked your necks while staying with them."

"I understand," Harry nodded quickly.

"It's never _me _you have to worry about that with." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Very well, then," Dumbledore smiled, moving out the door to the broom shed so that we could move into the Weasleys yard. "I see a light in the kitchen. Let us not deprive Molly any longer of the chance to deplore how thin you are."

* * *

><p><strong>Super long, but I thought you'd rather a long chapter than two short ones. Well, Audrey certainly isn't taking the guilt well, is she? And now, she'll have access to the Gryffindor dorms, even though Draco had been trying to write her for weeks! However will Audrey get out of this mess? To my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Aw, thank you! She didn't take the horcrux because there was no reason to, in her mind - she doesn't realize that she's having a negative reaction to it for a reason. Hopefully this month wasn't as long as you thought it would be, I knew that it flew by for me! Thanks for reviewing.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Don't worry, the month went by quickly, didn't it? Now I'm updating again and have a good foundation to start with :) Hope you liked the new chapter!**

_Ella710_**: Did you realize that your review was over two pages in a Word document? It was. I adored it - every single word of it. Your reviews are always the longest and most personal - I highly enjoy them.**

**Theo...yeah, let's start there. It was definitely heart breaking...sometimes I look at something after I write it and just say "uh...where did that COME FROM?" but at the same time, those are usually the really intense moments, so I don't usually complain about it. Theo will not be all "Audrey, I'm sorry" as soon as she gets on the train, but it's Theodore - he would never be cruel. Or would he? Alright, he may not be cruel but he's a Slytherin - he knows how to be mean. You'll see what I mean in three chapters ;) **

**Draco, Draco, Draco...I'm sure you caught on to the fact he kept sending her letters and gifts and then insults - in classic Draco tradition, of course - so hopefully you enjoyed that. I agree that when you have Draco Malfoy you would not give him up...but Audrey didn't think she had him. Poor girl. She lives in such denial. Um, if you were to actually write a story off my story, I might pee myself. I would feel like a REAL author. Like...a good one. My brain is actually having trouble processing the very idea.**

**Snape! What a guy, how could he not be mentioned? He wasn't in this chapter, it is true, but he won't be out of the plot for long and when he comes in...whew...it's going to be a crazy year. And yes, he held her hand for comfort - I thought it was really meaningful, I didn't mean to make your heart explode with feels! **

**There will be LOTS of smooching in this story, you have no need to worry about that. And did I say it was between Audrey and Draco? Hm...possibly. There will be lots of Snape, of course, oh - the things I have planned in this book! You're going to cry. Like...only a few chapters in. I can't...but you'll...argh, sometimes I hate not being able to just be like "PLOT POINT B IS THIS SO IT CAN COME TO PLOT POINT F IN THE FINAL BOOK WHICH COMES FROM PLOT POINT D THIS CHAPTER!" but that would suck for you. So I don't. But I want to.**

**Theodore will be checked up on in chapters, of course. Whether or not he will feel better is debatable, but we will be privy to the goings-on in his life. Thuban was never strictly abusive (maybe once or twice) but he was mostly distant and strict in views his son didn't believe. They weren't close, particularly after Theo's mother died.**

**Yes, the trip will be really exciting. And don't feel selfish, I've been thinking all the time about how I'm going to be able to write or update when I'm overseas. I'm buying a little notebook simply for this story - so no one can say I'm ever not dedicated! I love you, I love your reviews, don't stop making them "long and obnoxious" cause they totally don't come off that way :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad that you got the emotion behind it, also that you liked the protectiveness between Snape and Sirius - we'll be seeing a lot more of that! Now you don't have to hound me, I promised to update again and I plan to! See? I can be nice.**

_incitanemxx_**: You're reviewing now, that's what matters! And such a nice long, detailed review it was - so there's nothing to apologize for. I'm glad you think that the swap of Sirius' death and the Nott's "murder" was a good idea, I knew there needed to be a balance and I knew it needed to severely effect Audrey. I don't know how I thought of it originally, to be honest, I think it was when I decided to further think on the secondary character's storyline...and I'm glad that Theo and Draco's reaction were so emotional for you - they were for me too.**

**I totally agree that Audrey doesn't LET people understand her - but I think it's because she's afraid to feel ostracized if she does. The Gryffindors (such as Ron, and as we found out earlier in the story, other select Gryffindors) really didn't understand or take the time to try. As for the people who do understand her, like the Slytherins, the thing they can't understand is her loyalty to someone like Harry, who she is so hot and cold with. It's a delicate line between them.  
>I do completely agree that the Gryffindors just aren't like her - it's what makes her a Slytherin, after all: that she's so different.<br>After this chapter I think it's clear Slughorn is interested by her and it's good you like Ginny now - she and Luna are some of my favourites in the story (even though Audrey and Luna clearly wouldn't get along. It hurts to be so cool towards her...but it's not me, it's Audrey...). Anyway, this story is just getting started so I hope you like what I come up with! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I think the fact you simply started this with "-snorts- He's Draco fucking Malfoy" made my day when I got this. Malfoy didn't seem to let her go that easily, but notice that apparently he won't be writing her any more...  
>I'm glad you liked Theo's reaction and I'm glad you're one of the few who caught that moment of hope between them, when he admitted he was glad she escaped the Death Eaters.<br>Audrey is definitely afraid of herself at this point and she's taking it out on herself by alienation - a sad way to react, but I figured it would be the most realistic one. Thanks for the review!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, Theo finding out about his dad was sad. I didn't expect it to be that sad when I started writing it, but I'm glad it turned out. Also Draco's little moment of trying to get her to stay (including that kiss), I'm glad that you liked it. Thanks for reviewing!**

_xYaar_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you like the story and that Sirius is still alive. Theodore definitely could ahve used that hug when he left the office last chapter, but hopefully this start to the Half Blood Prince has got you excited for Audrey and Draco's story to REALLY begin :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, thank you! We will definitely be seeing Theodore around - I've grown quite attached to him, too, but it will be hard having him get over the fact that his best friend admitted to killing his father. I don't think there's an easy way to come back from that...  
>Audrey's talent for trouble (and seeking it) definitely won't go away in this book - particularly because of Draco and how much we all love him, haha! Hopefully you got to read the chapters from Audrey Potter's Prelude, I got to put one from Draco's POV and from Snape's, but I'm saving the one for Lily a little longer, I think. Considering more will be said about her in this book, I think it'd be best to wait :) And yes, travel all you can! I've never been to Australia, but I've always wanted to go. I'm a wildlife nut and Australia has so many species you can't find anywhere else! Europe will be very exciting, I just hope that I'll be able to time it so when I'm overseas you can still get chapters without too many pauses between them! <strong>

_Colette Hyuga_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like Audrey so much! Wow, I'm blushing :) I agree, she is in a sort of tug-of-war with the two sides, but don't worry - I'm not going to have her pick a side without seeing all the benefits of both first...including lots more time with our favourite Slytherin. They did have to break up - but as we've seen, that doesn't stick well with them ;)**

_Ergelina_**: I'm sorry you think that she's becoming too much like a Mary Sue...but I hope you realize she didn't break up with Malfoy because Harry didn't like him. She broke up with him thinking that everything that had happened - killing Nott, incarcerating his father, being a target for Lord Voldemort - was too much for him to have to deal with and she didn't feel like she could live with the guilt of facing him every day...it had nothing to do with the Gryffindors themselves. I do have a grand plan for Sirius as well as who I am saving and who will be killed off, but I can't say! Hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_BookButterfly2_**: You don't have to thank me for writing this, I'm just glad that you like reading it. Hopefully you didn't go into withdrawal like you thought you might and that the month passed back quickly. Thanks for reviewing!**

_OddPotato_**: Thank you! Hope you liked the chapter and didn't mind the wait :)**

_Amber Rose Black_**: Don't worry, those two won't be able to stay away from each other for long. They might try, but it won't work. They're made for each other...literally, I made her to suit him, haha. And don't say you aren't as good as me! I was never good to begin with, I just pour so much time into it and revise it so much that it writes itself. All you need is the time!**

_Magimagus_**: Thank you, I felt nervous about that end chapter so it's nice to know that keeping the hospital scene in and the emotions played out well. I totally see how you thought about the story of Lily and the fish when it came to Malfoy's flowers wilting, I didn't even think of that, to be honest. **

**Since a lot of the Slytherins don't know about her 'killing' Nott's dad, they don't have a lot to say about that. But we will hear their opinions on her distance during the end of the year and the summer - they're Slytherins, they won't keep their opinions quiet. **

**Sirius will definitely be put back into this story, he won't just be there every now and then in conversation - I will definitely be incorporating him. I actually find the challenge really fun - he's such a funny character that it's always amusing to see where I can stick him in. It will end up being quite a comedic book - not necessarily for the jokes but all the circles that people will be running around each other...I can't really explain further than that, but I'm sure you'll know exactly what I mean when it happens. Anyway, hope you liked this new chapter and thanks for the review, as always!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Don't worry, the month is over! Hopefully you liked this chapter too, thank you for the review!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Aw, I'm glad you got so into it, but hopefully the month went quickly. Hope you like the new chapter and thank you!**

_Mischief and Magic_**: You have left me some fantastic reviews these past few weeks, m'dear, and this one was no different. It's great that you feel protective over Audrey - that means you're connecting and it makes me happy. I also like how you put in that if you did comfort Audrey she would probably injure you...because she probably would. She hates being touched AND she hates people, haha. **

**Theodore totally had his reasons, but it's not like he's going to be gone. Theodore will still be around...a lot...as will Daphne and the other Slytherins. And the idea of Snape's 'betrayal' already has me emotional. DON'T TALK ABOUT IT, I haven't written it yet and I both am excited for it and dread it...**

**I'm Eastern time, by the way, but I happen to be an insomniac, so that's probably where the problem arose. I'm also out of school for this year, so I don't have early mornings in the way that I used to, haha.**

**Oh my god, I totally forgot about the idea of doing 4th year POV chapters! Ugh! I literally just wrote it down in the word document for APP so that I would remember for next time I am looking for ideas. Yes, I tend to call it Dreaco, but I've also heard Draudrey and Audraco...probably a few others, but I tend to do Dreaco cause it rolls of the fingers more easily. Audrey SHOULD be appreciated, but it won't happen as soon as you would want it to. **

**I see you want a happy ending, but no war has a happy ending. Sad but true, people die. And Audrey may have to be one of them. To be honest, I'm still unsure whether or not I will...I go back and forth each day, trying to understand what would be more realistic and most powerful.**

**I'm going to Europe and the UK for two months. It's going to be great...expensive, but meh, who needs life savings? It's something I've always wanted to do and this may be my only chance, so I'm going to do it right, haha. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for all your fantastic reviews!**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it :) Theo and Audrey will spend more time together and she'll try and win him over - but it's not going to be easy. Those Slytherins are stubborn ones! Hope you like this new chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you for doing this for me, you're a lifesaver. I know you thought I should break it into two chapters, but I couldn't decide where to do it and realized they would be short...and people tend to complain about short chapters more often than long ones, haha. I just got the other chapters, so thank you, I'll be sending you more in a little bit. I thought that if you were willing to listen, I could have a talk through this book with you - there are still a few vague spots I'd just like a second opinion on :) I also know what you mean - my "puppy" who is turning two still thinks that the TRIM is a nice snack. She also makes herself sick by habitually eating stones. Why, we don't know, but it's always nice to find them around the house when she gets sick. Where are the trips you're planning on taking? That's exciting! **

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: She'll feel better soon - she's just wallowing right now. She won't do it for long - she feels weak and we all know she doesn't like feeling like that ;) **

_Last Name_**: You commented on chapter 16, so hopefully you will get to this chapter or have already made it - cut I didn't hand Circe over, I would never just hand her over like that! Circe is a very important character and has an important role to play. I also like cheese...but what are you rebelling? Hopefully not pizza :) Thanks for the review.**

_Melody_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I personally love the twitter feed, it's really fun to post there, so it's nice people enjoy it so much, even if it is a tease, haha. It's nice you felt so emotional, it means you're connected to the story and that is always so nice to hear! Audrey and Draco will definitely have some choice words and a lot of struggles what with his father imprisoned, her relationship with 'the good guys' and her soon-to-be obsessive brother. Hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you for the review!**

_StealthElf23_**: That would be a TON of Harry Potter...it would even be a lot for me. And that's obviously saying something. Hopefully you made it through with Drea for a while (I'm also glad you like that little tweak on the nickname, I enjoy it as well). And thank you, I'm glad you like the writing, you're making me blush! I have tons of tips for writing stories. If you give me a PM I'd be more than happy to talk with you about it :)**

_Guest_**: Yes, he is! Thanks for reviewing.**

_lifethroughanotherseyes_**: I was really emotional over it too, hope you liked the new chapter!**

_BrokenYetDreaming_**: Hopefully you made it to this chapter, if you did, congratulations and I hope you still like the story!**

_Lizzy B_**: I'm glad you can deal with it, he'll be around a lot. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for the review.**

_SwiftAlice_**: I hope the month wasn't too long! I missed updating this, I won't deny it, but it was a nice break and it was nice to get a little ahead and not feel as pressured. Did you actually re-read this story? Wow, that's dedication! I'm honoured! Did you find it any different or catch on to anything you could be a clue to some future plot line? I have tons of them in there ;)**

**I also have panic attacks so I decided to incorporate them into this storyline. They are terrible, but I thought that it was likely with her PTSD symptoms. Draco was sweet, calming her down too - and we're going to see that people can't calm her down easily in the next chapter, as well. I also knew that Nott wouldn't hurt her, it was even a surprise to me when my fingers wrote that he had his wand to her - grief works in mysterious ways (as do my fingers. Sometimes I don't even think these stories come from my brain, just from my fingers). But I'm kind of glad you cried, I did too, so at least I know I wasn't being arrogant about how powerful the moment between Audrey and Theodore was, haha.**

**Yes, it is quite true that Audrey can't keep safe from herself - it will be interesting to see more of that next chapter. Do you find her reaction to this summer realistic yet? Or do you think it's unclear? It's explained more in the next chapter, but I'm curious.**

**Thank you, I try so hard to respect the original characters and it's nice hearing that I do it. I know it sounds bad, but every time I hear it I feel a little better - even if my story suddenly starts to suck all kinds of butt, it would still be the thing I strive for, I think. **

**Hopefully this month wasn't too painful, even though I missed you too, but it was definitely nice not to have to worry about doing one chapter a week. Some days I sat down and wrote two, but other days I just let it slide - it was relaxing, in a way. And thank you! I've never heard that differently aged people can read this story before...that's actually a really sweet thought. **

**As always, thank you for the sweet review - I hope you liked this chapter!**

_rosesxBubblegum_**: I'm glad you're feeling better (or you were when you reviewed), hopefully you liked this chapter. I do like making people cry, I won't deny it ;)**

_Bitterglass_**: It was sad! Don't worry, it will get better, it just always has to get worse first :)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Hopefully the month didn't seem too long. I was surprised by where the time flew! There will be a little bit of Fred/Audrey in this as well, so you'll get that. Hopefully by the end of it you'll be for Dreaco...but I won't make it an easy choice, haha. Hope you liked the beginning of HBP.**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I enjoy hearing from you even if you haven't been on the bandwagon from the beginning, it means just as much because the others had to wait, but you decided not to and zoomed through fifty-seven chapters...that's a lot of faith to have in a story, so thank you :)  
>I'm really glad you think I've stuck to the original characters - I really try for that one - and Audrey's relationships with the characters. And wow, that you felt like Audrey was there all along is an honour in itself, thank you!<br>Hopefully this month hasn't been too long. Did you get to take a look at Audrey Potter's Prelude? I like that one because I get to write from other POVs, haha - and I love that quote. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the new chapter!**

_TheDuckKnight_**: Happy Birthday! So I know this was your first review and all, but you told me your birthday and I thought it would be important to post on it. So Happy Birthday! I'm glad that you like this story so much, you really flattered me with everything you wrote haha. There are going to be a lot of twists and turns with all the characters in this book (particularly Draco, Fred and Theo, as you mentioned them) so I hope that you like this chapter and the start of the book. Happy Birthday again!**

_Guest(2)_**: Things ran a little late, but hopefully the extra three days wasn't too much!**

_MangaMagic_**: Thank you for writing all those in-between reviews and PM, I really appreciated it. She very well may end up with a ferret patronus, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see...**

_The-Darkened Abyss_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Here's the newest chapter.**

_Guest(3)_**: Here's your update! Hope you like it and I'm sorry the wait seemed so long!**

_StormSky_**: I don't know about everyone else but I'M really excited for the HBP updates, haha. I'm glad you like the story, at least now you won't have to refresh your page all the time waiting for an update. Thank you for liking Audrey and thinking that she (or someone like her) would have been a good addition to the series and I thank you for both the review and the compliments :)**

**Well everyone, it's here, it happened: ****the Half Blood Prince has begun****. **

**Please **_REVIEW!_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on twitter for spoilers and sneak-peaks: **EgyptsLegend


	59. Worthless Intervention

**Hello, everyone! Welcome to the second chapter of the Half Blood Prince. I'm glad that the first chapter was so well-received, hopefully this one follows the same pattern. Special thanks go out to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**who is such a fantastic editor. She saves these chapters, people, seriously.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 58 – Worthless Intervention<p>

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><p>Ginny's room was cozy. I had never really taken the time to notice the charm of it; not until now, at least, when I couldn't pull myself out of bed. The room was so cozy, in fact, that there wasn't really room for me to have a bed – it was really a cot. Of course, Mrs Weasley had made sure that it was the most comfortable cot that existed...or maybe that was the exhaustion making the opinion for me. During all my time avoiding them, I couldn't help but feel like each and every redhead in the house had been told to cater to my every need. Luckily for them, I didn't really need or want anything...besides to be left alone in my cot.<p>

"She's been like this all month," Harry whispered from the doorway behind me. He must have assumed I was asleep, but my eyes were open and staring out of the window leading out to the large plot of land the Weasleys owned. I knew Hermione was with him from her hum of disapproval. I assumed Ron probably was too.

"I brought some grief counseling books," Hermione responded in the same whisper. "I've read all through them. I assumed that she would show signs of irritability, I never assumed that she would cut herself off and disassociate herself..."

"Dumbledore said most of the Slytherins don't know," my brother explained. "She's allowed into the Gryffindor common room all this year, in case she doesn't feel safe in her own dormitory."

"He must assume that she won't be," Hermione muttered. "I've never heard of a headmaster melding the bridges between two houses like that."

"I don't think many headmasters have had this kind of problem," Ron's voice spoke up. I was right. It was always the three of them. But I couldn't help but recognize the fact he had called me a _problem_.

"I don't think that the Slytherins should be our immediate concern," Hermione said. "She's showing all the signs of Avoidant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: emotional numbness, isolation, lack of interest, morose thoughts leading to in-"

"Inevitable feelings of self-deprecation," I finished for her, turning around in the cot to look at the three shell-shocked Gryffindors in the doorway. "I assume I'm also showing signs of depression and a sense of hopelessness? You're forgetting that I remember every part of what happened – with Avoidant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, you normally forget important details. I haven't."

Hermione seemed to wince, I don't know if it was because she knew I wouldn't read her books now that I had proven to know what I was talking about, or if it was because I had caught them red handed as they gawked at me like an animal.

"Harry's been very worried about you," she said quietly. It sounded as if she were trying to sound as harmless and tiny as she could, in case she would frighten me. "You've only been here a few hours and I feel the same."

"There are more important things to worry about," I informed her, my mind back on Theodore while I turned back over in my cot. "Tell me when the OWL results arrive."

"I forgot those were coming," Harry muttered.

"They're coming! Why didn't you tell me?" And knowing that I was no longer even _close _to the issue at hand – not when Hermione was about to pull out her hair with anticipation – the three left. It seemed that they were unwilling to say anything until they were out of earshot from Ginny's room...I welcomed the quiet.

I tried finding my way to sleep, because now that I had hinted towards Theodore's well-being it was impossible not to think about it. Sleep was the only thing that dulled my nerves now – and it only dulled them until I started dreaming and woke up from the nightmares. But at least nothing actually hurt like it did when I was awake. The images frightened me, of course, but it didn't _hurt__._

It was a scream that broke me from my attempts at sleep however long later. It was Hermione's scream, I could recognize it clear as day, and I heard a rush of feet toward the side of the house...the only possible reason for that scream was that the OWL results had arrived.

I rolled myself from my cot, not willing to fix my wrinkled clothes or ratted hair before I headed downstairs. Circe knew to stay in the cot – I would be back soon. Everyone was down in the kitchen: Mrs Weasley, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Bill, and Bill's new Girlfriend: Fleur Delacour. The sight of her made me feel _more _guilty about the _other _person's death I had caused.

I was just a barrel of guilt, wasn't I?

"Yeah," Ron whispered hoarsely, looking over Hermione's shoulder out the window. "They're definitely owls."

"And there are four of them," Harry said, standing over her other shoulder.

"One for each of us," Hermione sounded as if someone had just predicted her death: someone much more accurate than Professor Trelawney. "Oh no...oh no...oh no..."

The four owls were handsome tawnies with large chests and a stern synchronicity in their movements...they were Ministry owls. Only Ministry owls moved like that. Mrs Weasley opened the window for them as it seemed that the others were too scared to move. The owls all landed on the kitchen table in a neat line before they lifted their right legs. They'd been trained to do this in perfect unison, as well – it was nearly eerie.

Harry went up to the owls first, looking at each of the letters before he untied his own. Hermione and Ron hesitated before doing the same. Harry, seeing that I was taking my time, went to go take my results from the last owl – but it nipped his finger and shrieked at him. Apparently the results could only be opened by the person they were sent for.

Not Harry, Ron, or Hermione spoke as they began opening and scanning through their results. I walked forward, petting the owl for a moment before taking my letter from him. It was square and heavy: Ministry paper was always heavy. The parchment inside the envelope was neatly printed and I took my time unfolding it to read it properly.

"Only failed History of Magic and Divination!" Ron beamed, thrusting his own paper into the air, distracting me for a moment. "But who cares about them? Here, swap..."

He and Harry traded results as I continued to glance down at my own parchment.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

_Pass Grades__:_

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectation (E)

Acceptable (A)

_Fail Grades_:

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

Audrey Petunia Potter has achieved:

Astronomy **E**  
>Care of Magical Creatures<strong> O<strong>  
>Charms <strong>A<strong>  
>Defence Against the Dark Arts <strong>P<strong>  
>Divination <strong>E<strong>  
>Herbology <strong>D<strong>  
>History of Magic <strong>P<strong>  
>Potions<strong> O<strong>  
>Transfiguration <strong>P<strong>

I hadn't expected to get an Outstanding outside of Potions, so receiving two of them was a pleasant surprise. Of course, I'd also failed Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, and Transfiguration – so I wasn't doing as well as I would have liked. Two Outstandings, two Exceeds Expectations, one Acceptable – five passing grades. That left four failing grades: but no Trolls and only one Dreadful...which I had been more expecting than not.

"Knew you'd be at the top for Defence Against the Dark Arts," Ron broke my train of thought. "We've done all right, haven't we? What about you, Drea?"

I shrugged, not really wanting to show my grades but not resisting when Harry and Ron traded back their own results and my brother swiped the parchment out of my hand. To placate any complaining, he handed me his own mark sheets.

On the top of the new results it read:

Harry James Potter has achieved:

Astronomy** A**  
>Care of Magical Creatures <strong>E<br>**Charms** E  
><strong>Defence Against the Dark Arts** O  
><strong>Divination **P  
><strong>Herbology **E  
><strong>History of Magic **P  
><strong>Potions **E  
><strong>Transfiguration** E**

My brother had gotten two more passing grades than I had, but only one Outstanding. I'd scored higher than him in all the passing grades I'd gotten, except for Charms. I didn't know whether or not to congratulate him. It felt like the right thing to do, but I didn't really care to. I also didn't care to admit that it annoyed me he had gotten an extra two OWLs – in Transfiguration and Herbology. Since when was he any better with plants than I was? Didn't they bite him and frustrate him, as well? It wasn't my fault that I was a cook and not a gardener...

"Well done!" Mrs Weasley ruffled Ron's hair as he turned red. "Seven OWLs, that's more than Fred and George got together!"

Somehow I doubted that Fred and George were only capable of so many OWLs. They could have gotten more if they had taken the time to sit down and write them or study – those boys were dead smart...but easily distracted. Still, there was another bubble of jealousy in my stomach as I realized that Ron, too, had gotten two more OWLs than I had...and he's supposed to be the dumb one in their little group.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked carefully to Hermione's back which still faced us. "How did you do?"

"I – not bad," Hermione said quietly, turning and trying to make sure we couldn't read over her shoulder.

"Oh, come off it," Ron sighed while he took the results right out from between her fingers. "Yep...ten 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceeds Expectations' at Defence Against the Dark Arts...oh, you're actually disappointed, aren't you?"

Hermione shook her head, looking away with us from a red face that made it very clear she was lying. I would never get people like Hermione or the rest of the Ravenclaw house – grades were nice and all, but didn't you want a social life to cling onto once you left school? Or rather, if you're like my brother and me, wouldn't you like a life that you're _alive _for once you left school?

I know I did.

Hence, my studying was often interrupted. You know, by life.

"Audrey got two Outstandings," Harry said with an encouraging smile. "In Potions and Care of Magical Creatures."

"No surprise there," Ron said simply, trying to cheer me up as well. It was like I was in some alternate universe where everyone was smiling and nice _all the time_. It made me want to be mean or leave them alone just as often – kindness was creepy. Particularly _Gryffindor _kindness – I never realized how much I would miss the intensity and manipulation that came constant with the Slytherins.

"Yes, no amount of studying can do what Audrey can do in that potions room," Hermione smiled – it looked very forced. I think she disagreed with her own statement – not surprising as she had also gotten an Outstanding in the course.

"You're smartest in the class on those," Ron said again. Alright...the creepy kindness was starting to get to me. I looked at them all with a bored gaze as I shook my head.

"I also only got _five_ OWLs," I said flatly, watching as Ron and Harry's encouraging smiles fell. "Meaning that I'm the 'smartest' in those two classes but the dumbest in this house...encouraging."

All of their faces burnt red a little bit before Ron recovered, turning to Mrs Weasley.

"Well, we're NEWT students now!" Ron smiled. "Mum, are there any more sausages?"

"Plenty," she smiled. "I saved some especially for you, Audrey, dear...you're looking so thin!"

I ate a sausage just to appease her, even if it didn't sit properly in my stomach as I excused myself back to bed where I drowned in sleep and nightmares. I drowned in them simply to forget about the smaller problems and remember that regretting those marks was foolish. I had something to _really _regret now that I was lined up to be murdered.

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><p>Days passed this same way. I would come out of my room periodically to converse and be polite – I had no qualms with the Weasleys, after all – but it was too much to be around people for so long. Particularly <em>Order <em>people – they were all so hopeful, talking so freely about the Death Eaters, telling me so many things I didn't want to know and worst: being so _kind_about it.

Every Order member who had the information seemed to find it pertinent to tell me everything they knew about Theodore and his well-being. It wasn't as if I didn't want to know about it, but I didn't like hearing it from other people. I wanted to hear it from Theodore. I wanted to see his progress – or possible lack thereof – for myself...because these people wouldn't be able to know. Daphne wouldn't be able to see what was going on in his head without him telling her – but I would have. And I wish I could have.

I wasn't really able to tell how many days I stayed in bed – I stopped being able to tell nights from days thanks to staying underneath my covers. Sometimes Circe would climb under and I'd see a ray of light – but the blankets would be shut right behind her so I never knew if I had slept for three hours, or twelve. The only real indication was the light coming in through the window when the air became too muggy under the comforter and even then, I have a feeling that the Weasleys wouldn't have commented or told me that I had slept a full day if I did it.

Mrs Weasley seemed only perturbed by my lack of eating. I feel like someone had warned her ahead of time that I may be like this, because she tried to act as if it wasn't a big deal when I came downstairs – besides when she huffed and filled my plate. I could never tell how much I ate because with each piece I ingested, two more would be back in its place.

I didn't get this luxury of nonchalance from everyone. Some Order members were blunt about it, some like Bill would try and make light of it...but in the end, when the teasing or the interrogation became too much to bear, I would head back upstairs and go to bed without so much as a word.

When I had read about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it had explained that you could relive the experience over and over in your dreams...but what I would see was so much worse than that. It wasn't just the encounter with Thuban Nott that would wander across my subconscious mind, but also Theodore's reaction, Malfoy's reaction, all the faces of the Death Eaters I had helped throw into Azkaban, all the Death Eaters were sure to come and hunt me down...

And Harry was in these dreams. Harry, laying dead in the middle of the forest; Hermione and Ron, bloody and sobbing; Voldemort cursing me for losing him followers; Theodore's wand raised to my heart as he screamed to avenge his father.

And, somehow, even worse than all _that_: Malfoy, coming to do the same.

It was ridiculous, that I felt worse about Malfoy than I did for Theodore in these dreams – but it was a kind of guilt I couldn't explain or justify. Theodore had hated his father; the death was sudden and even though it wasn't quite warranted, it was in a battle. But with Malfoy, it was different. I had warned him that his father would be locked in Azkaban and of course he had tried to fight it, but the anger that had been there at the end of the year...it mirrored his anger from February, when Harry had named all the Death Eaters in the Graveyard. And the fact that his father was thrown away, waiting to be eaten by the few Dementors that stayed to occupy the prison while he and his mother fought to stay alive in a society where they were now known for Lucius' choices – by those who agreed, and those who persecuted them...it chilled me to my core.

Thuban had made my mind his favourite haunt, the thought of Theodore had succeeded in freezing my body to the point of numbness...but Malfoy? That annoying little ferret had made my insides his playground.

This particular memory was actually a dream, I was sure of it. I was standing in the Department of Mysteries – right by that blasted veil – and I could hear people calling my name. I was moving toward it and while I saw my Mum and Dad calling me from just inside archway, Sirius and Snape were trying to pull me back, but I was fighting against them. And all the while Thuban, Theodore and Malfoy were shooting spells at us – even though they bounced off of us as if we were rubber...

When I was woken from this dream, I was immediately tied up by my confusion. For one, I had not had much reason to scare myself awake at that point of the dream and secondly, my face was sickeningly warm. And something was breathing _loudly _into my hair – it was ruffling it and the breath smelt old. Not bad, like morning breath, but like someone had been awake for a very long time.

Opening my eyes, ready to snap at whatever had come so close to me, I was surprised to see my beautiful white kneazle gazing up at me...and a very large, black dog looking down and panting through a wolfish smile. It took a moment for my drowsy brain to catch up before I sighed.

"Hello, Sirius," I whispered. He let his tongue loll from his mouth for a moment as his human-like eyes continued to smile at me. "They sent you for me, did they? Getting sick of me staying in the room?"

Sirius whined, placing his head on his large paws and looking up at me from the floor of the bedroom. He was so large that the crown of his head was still near my own face. It was so obvious that he was trying to play innocent – but it was pretty clear that he had been told to come retrieve me. I sighed.

"I don't want to leave, Sirius...and I'm not in the mood for a lecture," I added when I saw his eyes spark with argument. I turned my head away from him, moving my body to follow so that he could face my back and not see how hard I was trying not to cry. "I think I'll stay here forever."

There was a slight ruffle from the side. "And school?"

I turned out of shock, looking at Sirius, who had manifested into his human body. He was shaven better than he had been last time I'd seen him and he looked much more clean – then again, I doubted that he'd been living as a dog for as long as he had when he stayed with me in the castle for over a week. That felt like so long ago, so many hours of contemplation later.

"I only got five OWLs, Sirius," I mumbled. "I can't study for a career with those, anyway."

"And your friends?"

"You mean my friends who hate me?" I scoffed, rolling a little in the cot so that I could look at him without kinking my neck. "I have a sneaking suspicion I won't really be missed; that's why Dumbledore is letting me stay in Gryffindor tower, isn't it? Because he knows that everyone's going to hate me. Or try to hurt me – both are more probable than not."

"No one is going to hate you, Audrey," he frowned, shaking his head as he crouched down so we could look at each other more easily. "No one knows what really happened in that room..."

"Theodore knows," I disagreed quietly. "All the Greengrass' know, Malfoy knows..."

"Harry told me that the Malfoy boy wrote you," he said carefully, fully sitting down as if he expected this to lead to some sort of long conversation. "Did you write back?"

"No," I tried to sound carefree about it. "He stopped writing me."

"Maybe he's waiting for an answer."

"He's not," I told him, feeling sure thanks to Dumbledore's warning however many days before. "He's probably pissed at me for not answering sooner. The boy thrives on fire and ice – he runs a little bit on the extremes for my tastes."

"Hm, you two were close a month ago," Sirius raised an eyebrow, knowing he had caught me there. I'm sure that everyone under the Burrow's roof knew about my strange relationship with Malfoy now that Ron had come home. "The way you talked – the way you _kissed_..."

"Oh, Godric – please don't," I hissed – talking about this with my Godfather created a slow burn that was not only humiliating but dangerous. "Not only is it awkward that you watched, but I don't want to hear about it. I know what we were. And I also know what we're _not._"

"You know, he might miss you," Sirius offered. "He seemed torn up about your decision."

"Yeah?" I asked ruthlessly, feeling my nose wrinkle in distaste. "He also seemed pretty torn up when his dad was locked up in Azkaban...so I'm starting to give people a little more leeway than I used to."

"Good, then you can handle me doing this," he told, grabbing the blankets from around my legs and ripping them off of me – I screeched when the cool air attacked my skin. I scrambled to try and take them back from him but he held them high and only continued to laugh. "Come on, Potter! I have a surprise for you."

"I hate surprises," I sneered at him.

"Well you'll like this one," he promised, holding out his hand to help me stand. "Now, hurry up. I won't make you get dressed – but I suggest you do. The surprise is outdoors."

"I _loathe _surprises," I corrected myself with a scowl, moving my hand to shoo him out of the bedroom while I took the time to put on proper daywear. I settled for the Muggle clothes at the top of my trunk which were probably a little warmer than I needed on a summer's day and I couldn't make myself mind that they were an odd assortment of colours that clashed. When I was done, he looked at me for a moment before ruffling my hair affectionately.

"You really do have your father's hair," he acknowledged. "Also his bright and cheery morning habits."

"What time _is _it?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes against the bright light that was filtering through the hallway. We descended the stairs with Sirius yanking on my arms – I'm surprised I didn't stumble and fall to my death – I don't think even his _bright and cheery morning habits _could have stopped that.

"Just past noon," he explained, stopping at the foot of the stairs to look this way and that down the hallway. I didn't know why he was checking if the coast was clear – did people not realize he had come? – but when he decided no one was around, he began pulling me through the house again. "So really, it isn't morning at all. That means there is no cause for this mood of yours – now come on! The other's are outside playing Quidditch-"

"I don't want to play Quidditch," I said, immediately stopping in the cluttered and abandoned living room. He rolled his eyes, moving to grab for my arm again but I merely shook my head more. "No, Sirius, I don't want to go outside!"

"You mean you don't want to see them?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Of course, I didn't plan on telling him that he had hit the nail on the head – but obviously as he had guessed right I didn't really need to. "Don't worry, your surprise isn't near the field."

"Then where is it?"

"Give it a second," he sang mischievously, leading the way through the Burrow's twisted hallways before turning to walk out the back door. I almost wanted to call out to him as he left – you know, just to make sure that he remembered he was a wanted criminal...but it seemed he wasn't taking those precautions as seriously, anymore. Perhaps it was because he wasn't on the top of everyone's radar now that ol' Voldy had come out of the coffin, or perhaps it was because the Weasleys had all the best security surrounding their home – either way, it was still a shock to see him walk so freely out in the daylight.

"You must enjoy this then, the war?" I asked, walking forward and following him through the grass. The sun was shining particularly brightly, even for a July or August day, and I found it difficult to keep my eyes open as we walked. "Keeps people too distracted to hand you over to the Aurors."

"I don't just walk down the streets of London," he informed me with a guffaw. "But Dumbledore put these wards up himself. They're so strong here, there's really no reason to hide: no one would see me either way."

"So will you be staying here, then?" I couldn't help but notice that I sounded quite hopeful. It had been a while since I'd heard that sound from myself and from the expression on his face as he turned to look at me, he seemed to be thinking the same.

"Of course I will, Audrey."

"The whole summer?"

"When I'm not needed by the Order," he amended, waiting for me to catch up to him before we walked in stride with one another to wherever he was leading me. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

"That's not true and you know it," I snorted, looking down to my feet so that I could fully open my eyes. "You didn't escape Azkaban to babysit a sixteen-year-old."

"No," he sighed wistfully. "You were only thirteen at the time..."

"Oh, shut it," I rolled my eyes, looking away from his smug grin. "You didn't break out to babysit anyone."

"I came back hoping to get you two back," he argued. I knew that part was true. I could remember back to third year when he had invited Harry and I to live with him, back when we thought that we would get Peter Pettigrew to admit Sirius' innocence. But like most things that involve magic, it didn't quite work as we had expected it to.

"That didn't really work out like we'd hoped," I muttered. "Can you imagine what it would be like if it had?"

"I imagine every day," he sounded reminiscent and I dared to squint up at him, noticing that he was looking off in the distance. It seemed like he may have been imagining _it right then. _"I escaped to save my Godchildren from the man who was out to murder them. Pettigrew is still out there – the Death Eaters are still out there – and they are working from a mad man out for blood that is specifically after _you_-"

"He's after Harry," I argued.

"Do you really think that?" he looked down at me with a skeptically raised eyebrow. I took to watching my feet again. "Drea, you can use cantated magic, you coerce dragons-"

"_One_ dragon," I corrected with a roll of my eyes. "And it wasn't coercing it so much as it was being bitten by it and not dying from its venom first..."

"Audrey," he sounded exasperated. "You broke into the Dark Lord's _mind._"

"Harry's mind that happened to have him in it," I winced, shoving my hands in my pockets and ignoring the glare Sirius was sending my way. "Alright, yeah, I know – I have a feeling he won't be forgetting that any time soon."

"Exactly. He's out for blood," he repeated firmly. "So yes, I'm staying. And I will be staying until you're safe."

"You were just talking about all the wards-"

"That includes being safe from yourself," he corrected, throwing me a knowing look.

There was no way to avoid the onslaught of memories that came with such a simple statement. Hermione had said it. Malfoy had said it. Everyone had thought it. It was the first time Malfoy had ever agreed with a Muggleborn and as she always did, Hermione called it right. Was I so transparent that my friends and my enemies – who I kept even closer – could both read me like a book?

I wish I had known just how right they would be at that time – part of me wishes I would have taken Malfoy's advice: stayed with a Pureblood family, stayed with people who understood me instead of being near people who were so..._nice_. When I was around people like the Weasleys – _lovely _people like the Weasleys, true, but people who were not like myself – it was so much easier to do everything he'd warned me not to; when I had been at the Dursleys they didn't care, here at the Burrow people were too nice to bother me. I was left alone to wallow – and maybe that's what he had wanted to save me from all along. Maybe my own mind is my greatest enemy.

"I'm not a danger," I muttered, kicking at rock half sunken into the dirt.

"Harry said you'd wrecked the bed frame at the Dursleys," he commented, looking sideways toward me. "Is that why you asked for a cot?"

"Have you always asked this many questions?" I snapped with a glare, "because I don't like them."

"Mrs Weasley has had to mend the window six times-"

"Four, don't exaggerate." I gritted out, clenching my teeth and kicking a little more roughly at another stone that dared to cross my path.

"Six," he argued again. "You don't always wake up when you shatter them, Audrey."

I couldn't help but blush – I guess I would have to apologize to Mrs Weasley later.

Sirius didn't seem to think any other conversations were necessary as we walked even farther away from the house – but I nearly stopped when we got to the surprise. Now that I was out here, near one of the only trees to litter the Weasleys' plot of land, there was no questioning what my surprise was: grazing by a lone tree in the field was a Hippogriff – and not just any Hippogriff, either – it was Buckbeak.

"Sirius!" I choked out, almost afraid to go up to the creature. I knew he would probably remember me – but animals were very intuitive about emotion, life and death. I didn't know what he was about to sense off me now that we had spent so much time apart. Still when the Hippogriff head my voice, he turned in our direction and let out a piercing cry. He could definitely recognize me – and perhaps he didn't really mind how I'd changed, because he slowly started to move forward.

"Buckbeak – now known as Witherwings, for the sake of the Ministry – is only part of the surprise," Sirius explained as he moved to the Hippogriff and went to pet him. I slowly did the same, still feeling nervous. Animals had eyes that could just see _through_ you. I hated feeling like I was being analyzed... still, his feathers were as soft as I remembered and the rumbling feeling of his purr under my fingertips was calming. "This boy is going to be coming back to Hogwarts."

"What?" I asked, looking up at him with a frown. "Why can't he stay at yours?"

"Kreacher has refused to feed him when we're gone," Sirius growled, shaking his head in frustration. "I figure you and Hagrid can take better care of him – besides, he likes you."

He did seem to like me – I guess I shouldn't have been as surprised as I felt. But animals always reacted differently around people who felt differently...and Thuban's death had noticeably affected me. Then again, I'd been around so much death in sixteen years maybe it was ingrained as part of my personality now. Maybe, besides the grief, I was no different than before.

"I don't want to go back to Hogwarts," I whispered, leaning my head against the large creature's torso and closing my eyes for a moment. I liked the sound of his heartbeat, it beat steady and true – a way I no longer felt about anything."It's going to be so hard."

"You have to go, Audrey," my Godfather sighed. "It's the only place you're guaranteed safety."

"You're barking mad if you think I'll be safe there," I muttered, not even taking the energy to glare at him. "I'm walking into a snake pit. The Slytherins will eat me alive."

"That's why you're allowed to stay with the Gryffindors if you feel that's a risk-"

"Because the Gryffindors think so much better of me," I mocked, looking off in the other direction. Sirius didn't answer me, but instead seemed to look in the direction I was – _thinking. _What a dangerous thing to do. Instead, I tried not to think and were to have been wearing Harry's glasses, I may have been able to actually watch the group playing Quidditch – at least, I think that was them. It could have been a flock of birds. Still, watching a flock of birds was better than letting my thoughts run away with me.

We spent some more time with Buckbeak – er, Witherwings. I helped groom him properly and fed him a few of the mice that my godfather had brought in his pocket. I also let him know how disgusting that was – carrying dead animals, rodents or not, was not a sign of a happy psyche, I told him. Sirius only responded by telling me that he wanted to see me fed. I wasn't really for the idea, particularly after talking about him ferrying dead mice in his pockets, but as it was his first day back with us I decided to humour him. He was trying so hard to cheer me up. I didn't want him to tell him, yet, that it would never work.

We left Buckbeak by the tree – apparently he was being kept there by a separate ward that Sirius had used so he couldn't fly too far away. After leaving him in the shade, we walked along the long plot of grass to get to the Burrow – I nearly had a heart attack as the door opened and figures jumped at me.

"_SURPRISE_!"

I screamed.

"Audrey? Audrey, it's us-"

Too late. There was the sound of something splintering violently as Mr Weasley flicked his wand and illuminated the magically darkened room around me.

"OW! _Audrey_!" I grimaced guiltily, stepping back to survey the damage I had done. Luckily only the Weasleys were here, as well as my brother, Hermione, Fleur and of course, Sirius. They had all jumped from behind the door and since I was scared – I mean, we were in the middle of a war for Salazar's sake! – I _may_ have let out an unintended energy blast toward the person closest to me. Ron, foolish enough to want to get the best view of my fear – had been jolted back onto a chair at a strange angle, which broke it into three separate pieces.

"Sorry," I mumbled, trying to look apologetic. "You shouldn't scare people."

"It was supposed to be a happy surprise!" he complained, getting out of the ruined seat. Mrs Weasley bustled to fix it while everyone else took tentative steps towards me.

"Why?"

It seemed that no one understood the question I'd asked.

"It's July 31st, Audrey," Hermione said carefully, giving a quick look to Harry before she met my eyes with a premium faux-smile. Everyone else around her seemed to be wearing the same nervous expression – I could think of nothing to say to cut the tension so I settled with a quiet, "oh".

It was probably better to change the subject sooner rather than later. "Who gave you a black eye?"

Her purple eye and her regularly coloured one widened for a moment as she blushed and looked away from me. Sirius, however, seemed to remember our original train of thought and took hold of my shoulder to carefully swivel me back to face him.

"July 31st, Audrey," he repeated slowly. "It's your birthday."

_Oh. _Right, my birthday. I had turned sixteen today – I probably would have slept through it and hardly noticed had they let me have my way...but it explains Sirius' surprise appearance and why he was being so patient and taking the time to try to cheer me up.

Sixteen didn't feel very special, nor did it feel any different. I was still one year away from being legally allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts and even though I would have a lighter course-load thanks to the fewer OWLs I had received than the others in this house, nothing struck me about my second-last year to make it seem like a particularly exciting one.

Sirius, wisely, stepped on my foot. It prompted me to wince, which I somehow was able to force into a smile.

"Thank you, everyone," I smiled before I looked at Ginny. "Now you really _are _the baby."

Ginny, who's 15th birthday would be in eleven days, frowned at me playfully.

"I'm still taller," she smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, you aren't aiming very high if you're trying to be taller than I am."

"Yes, yes, you two are two peas in a pod," Mrs Weasley sighed, moving forward to usher me to the table, into the seat that Ron – alright, that _I __– _had broken. "Now let's eat your birthday dinner!"

"This is all a ploy to get me to eat, isn't it?" I asked both Sirius and Harry who had sat to my right. Both of them just smiled into their empty plates, not daring to meet eye contact to tell me I was right.

The meal was delicious, as it always was, and Mrs Weasley nearly choked in satisfaction with every bite I took of her cooking. Everyone took turns telling funny stories – a few times they tried to slide in something they wanted me to comment or elaborate on, but I didn't really have much to offer in terms of conversation. It was taking a lot of focus to pay attention to the dialogue itself, nevertheless to participate.

It was halfway through the dinner that things got interesting.

Just as Mrs Weasley was watching me finish the last of my Yorkshire pudding with hawk-like precision, Mr Weasley had to go open the door. Lupin came rushing in: his hair soaked, but shining with new, long veins of gray. He looked warn out...I assumed that it must have been close to a full moon.

"There have been another couple of dementor attacks," he announced to everyone as he walked into the room. Sirius let out a sort of hiss, making Lupin meet his eyes. I watched as he mouthed something I couldn't catch and rolled my eyes when Lupin took a look back to me and shrugged hopelessly. "Sorry for interrupting – it looks delicious."

"I was just finished," I said, glad to have a reason to not have to continue eating. My stomach felt like it had stretched too far and might snap like elastic. I also did not like that they had only been upset about the news because they were afraid of how I would react to information like Dementor attacks – I hadn't realized, were they getting worse? How out of touch was I with the wizarding world, thanks to my napping?

"Then I'll get the cake!" Mrs Weasley announced, looking at me with a sharp gaze – there was no mistaking that I was not getting out of this one. Harry and Ron looked excited. I was sure I looked green.

Mrs Weasley was just passing out large slices of Birthday cake on brightly coloured plates all marked with crudely painted roses when Mr Weasley encouraged Lupin to continue with his news.

"And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it... well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters. Sirius's brother, Regulus, only managed a few days as far as I can remember."

"He was always bad at Hide-and-Seek," Sirius frowned into his plate, his voice lower and darker than usual. "He'd always try to hide in the open; thought you wouldn't think to look somewhere so obvious..."

But no one knew how Voldemort thought – and he was smart enough to look high and low. To be honest, I was surprised that Karkaroff had survived this long, as well.

"The Death Eaters don't play around," Harry muttered.

"No, they certainly don't," I muttered back, my eyes on my untouched cake.

"Yes, well," Mrs Weasley huffed, "perhaps we should talk about something diff-"

"Did you hear about Florean Fortescue, Remus?" Bill interrupted, his wine was being filled by his fair-haired girlfriend at his side. I couldn't help but contemplate that she was too pretty to just be some regular housewife...but she sure looked content going through the motions of it. "The man who ran-"

"-the ice-cream place in Diagon Alley?" Harry cut in, putting down his fork as if that would help him concentrate. "He used to give Audrey and me free ice cream. What's happened to him?"

"Dragged off, by the look of his place," Bill explained, only to get a foul glare from his mother. He shrugged innocently, eating a bite of cake just so that she wouldn't start glaring at him over _that _as well.

"Why?"

"Who knows? He must've upset them somehow. He was a good man, Florean."

"Most victims are," I voiced, stabbing into my cake with my fork. They were usually good people because they refused to pick the side that was murdering everyone – so they were murdered for their decision. It was a terrible cycle.

"Talking of Diagon Alley," Mr Weasley continued, only to get a quiet scolding from his wife, "looks like Ollivander's gone too."

"The wand-maker?" Ginny asked, looking as startled as I felt while my fork clattered onto my plate.

"That's the one. Shop's empty. No sign of a struggle. No one knows whether he left voluntarily or was kidnapped." I couldn't help but think about just how intimidated I had once been by the man – but he was old and probably very fragile, particularly now that he was even a few years older than he already had been. I could only imagine how horrible it must have been for the Death Eaters to take him out – they probably killed him and moved his body. It would have been easier than keeping someone so brittle alive.

"But wands – what'll people do for wands?"

"They'll make do with other makers. But Ollivander was the best, and if the other side have got him it's not so good for us." Lupin said with a sad glance toward Ginny. I laughed at the thought – a low, bitter sound that drew everyone's attention over to me. I shook my head, stabbing my fork into my cake again as I looked back at them.

"I'm sorry, but if _Ollivander_ was the _best_ we had – we're in more trouble than things being 'not so good'."

And even though everyone was trying to shelter me from all these disturbing facts, it seemed that each and every one of them agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Not the most exciting chapter, I know, but it was a necessary one. We got to see Sirius <strong>**– there was no way I wasn't bringing him in immediately, having just saved him – and we needed to see just how broken Audrey is. It's really going to make sense for the next chapter...****which has Draco in it****!**

**To my lovely reviewers: **

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I'm glad that it was worth the wait. This chapter wasn't quite as long, but I'm glad that it wasn't necessarily short. It was a filler chapter, to a degree, but hopefully you don't feel like it was a tiny filler chapter that had nothing good going for it, haha. The next one will be much better, I promise. And I think you should threaten me with rubber ducks...just because I love them.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I like Slughorn too, he's such a unique character. I like that Rowling wasn't afraid to make a 'good' guy still be kind of a slime-ball. It's how it is in real life :)**

_LegalAddiction20_**: It was a month, I told everyone it would go quickly! Thank you for reviewing, particularly because you said you don't do it often. I'm glad that the story could pull you in and that it's so relatable...that's probably the best compliment I could get. I remember reading the books and thinking about how brash and impulsive Harry could be (not always is, he is a true hero, but you can't deny he can be a typical headstrong teen) so I'm glad that Audrey's point of view is helping you see his flaws. I'm hoping it will make his virtues a lot more powerful when Audrey begins to see them.  
>If JKR were to even glance at the summary of this story, I would probably have a heart attack, haha. But I'm so glad that it has effected you so much and I thank you so, so much for the heartfelt review; it was beautiful!<strong>

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I'm glad you were so excited for the chapter, hopefully it didn't disappoint that level of excitement ****– and hopefully this one didn't either. I try to keep the conversations as fluid as possible...it can be difficult while adding in a character like Audrey and it was a problem that I had to do over and over again in the next chapter, coincidentally. But I'm glad that the effort paid off and you noticed! And Fred will be in the next chapter, you'll get to see a little bit of that tension there.  
>APP is a lot of fun to write. It's hard writing Audrey sometimes because she is actually quite unlike me in many ways. So while I would like to think I'd notice the looks and hints Malfoy has been playing with, most of the time Audrey doesn't even realize. So it's fun to get a reprieve from her negative personality and be able to write how things are from another character such as Draco, or Snape, or Harry and show everyone else what I already know is going on. It's not fair for me to understand when other people can't, particularly because Audrey makes some harsh judgements and bitter calls. This is how I kind of equate it.<strong> **Hope you like the newest chapter and thank you for the reviewing! I'm going to go check out your PM now :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, it feels good to be back! I have no idea what I'm going to do after this story ends...I'll really be losing a part of myself. Next chapter you'll see Draco, the chapter after you'll see the Slytherins and their reactions to Audrey and the events of last year; so at least you don't have too long to wait. **

**Hopefully you liked the APP chapters, those ones were really fun to write; particularly Draco's POV of running into Montague while Audrey was on Veritaserum.  
>Australia is known for the poisonous species, but I'm luckily not afraid of spiders or snakes. Afraid of dying from venom a bit, obviously, but I'm just hoping whenever I get the chance to go I won't find myself in that position, haha. Yeah, I love the outdoors and anything involving animals (that's kind of a reason I made Audrey that way) and Australia has so many species that Canada doesn't! Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter and thank you, as always, for your review :)<strong>

_Green-NaNa-Neko89_**: At least the torture was short lived, hopefully you'll like that I'm ahead now and can update more consistently. You didn't get to see Malfoy in this chapter, but you get to see him in the next, so don't fear! After that chapter they'll be heading back to Hogwarts so you don't have a lot to wait for when it comes to everything starting up. Thanks for reviewing!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Audrey/Draco interaction will be in the next chapter and there will be both Audrey/Draco and Audrey/Theo interaction in the one after that. Hope you liked the newest chapter :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: See, I told you it wouldn't be as long a wait as it sounded! I prefer writing longer chapters to shorter ones as well, I feel like I can put more into them in the way of plot, detail and dialogue. Audrey didn't have much sass in this chapter, but I promise it won't be missing for very long **– **Audrey's has depression, not brain damage haha. Nothing will stop that girl! Hope you liked this chapter and thank you for the review :)**

_StormSky_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you like Audrey and her different way of handling things. I'm sorry that I made you miss out on sleep for the chapter, but I'm glad that you liked it. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Long chapters are the way I like to do it as well, it makes it feel more real to me. Thank you for liking the story and writing, it's really nice to hear! Audrey and Harry will definitely be head-to-head when it comes to Potions this year...but Audrey is not going to take him suddenly becoming talented with potions very well. It will be interesting to see how she handles it. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Melody_**: Draco will be in the next chapter, so don't worry! Audrey won't be this guilt-stricken for too long, but it wouldn't be realistic if she was okay with everything that was going on. Besides, it's important for later in the story ;) I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for the review :)**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Thank you! I hope you like the new chapter :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yeah, I thought it was a nice touch, too, that Slughorn would like Audrey a little more than Harry. To be honest, I hadn't really planned that out, but sometimes the chapter takes on a life of its own as I'm writing it.  
>Dumbledore has people everywhere remember, so that's how he knew about Theo and how he is coping. When it comes particularly to Draco not writing, he knew that from Snape...who was around when Malfoy had to take a certain mission which has swallowed up his time to write her. Anyway, hope you like the chapter!<strong>

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I'm glad that this book can be something to look forward to, for you. I look forward to it too, I find it a lot of fun to write. We'll find out how Draco is going to be in the next chapter (and the one after). There will definitely be more Dreaco moments...but it might not happen at first... thanks for the review!**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: I'm glad it was worth the wait, you'll be seeing a lot of interesting twists and turns in this book because Audrey is involved. There will definitely be a considerable amount of Dreaco and her character will be back to normal (or close to normal, of course she'll never be quite the same) in a short while. I can't tell you whether Theo forgives her or not. We will find out about how the Slytherins will treat her in two chapters. Some Slytherins know about Dreaco and Audrey is already starting to splinter...so she'll probably crack soon ;) Thanks for reviewing.**

_SwiftAlice_**: You, my dear, win the award for longest and most detailed reviews. They're wonderful. I am doing well, very busy with work and getting ready for my big trip – which includes trying to bulk up on chapters that I can release overseas without too much worry of leaving you guys hanging. I know this month was quite the wait, but I'll be out of the country for two, so I figured better one month break now so I could get ahead and have chapters ready to update when I'm overseas.  
>It is sad you missed the Twitter question period, but at least you get to see all the answers to the questions. And there will be more of them. I also appreciate your fangirl moment and excitement which overcame your laziness. I can also be quite lazy, so I know just how much that can mean, haha. I would love to hear what details you caught that you didn't catch the first time! I'm always so curious if the hints I'm giving for big plot points or the ending are obvious enough. I legitimately fear that people will think some things come out of nowhere and then I'll feel like a bad author for poor Audrey. And she deserves to be written well.<br>HBP is my favourite book in the saga, as well. So much happens! And, for great purpose to this story, there's so much Draco ;) It's funny you say I'm a "natural" because I've really had a 'midlife crisis' (at 21, who'd have thought?) about what I'm going to do with my life because I was forced to put everything on hold this year and now that I'm separated from it, I realized that I'm not really sure it's what I want. And my Mom actually really recently sat me down and showed me a chapter of this very story and told me that this is what I should do with my life: be a writer. I'd always thought about writing my own stories, in fact, I've already started writing them...but I never really thought about it as a career option. I don't think I'm really that good, but I do acknowledge that if I took half of the time I put into this, I would have more time than most to try and write my own novel. Then it's just about whether or not it's good, haha.  
>Sorry for the rant! Continuing on.<br>There will be a lot of Audrey/Harry bonding through this story. I've already written some and it makes me smile. She really needs him to lighten up and he really needs her to lower her expectations; it will be good that they have time together in this book. I'm also thinking of writing a one-shot in APP about the letters that Audrey recieved and ignored, I just can't decide if I want to write them from Draco's POV, or just have the letters themselves so that I can also include what Daphne had written. Decisions, decisions. And I would never give too much away in the tweets! Sometimes I fear that I will during the question periods...hopefully I haven't. I can still think of multiple plot points that you don't know anything about and I try to keep it so the ones you do find out about are still vague.  
>Panic attacks are sadly part of my life, but I have learned to live with them. In fact, I had one just yesterday – but I have the means to help control them now, so it's not like the world ends when I have one as it used to feel. And I remember before I had ways to calm myself down how I <strong>_**did **_**feel like I was destorying things or things were shattering when I was having them – that's why I added it in to Audrey's own attacks; cracking windows, breaking bed frames and whatnot. And we can see that people haven't been able to calm her down, hence her breaking all those things. And that's only going to continue...maybe even next chapter...(;  
>Liking that Audrey is going through a hard time isn't a bad thing, at least, I don't think so. I'd like to think it makes her more realistic. Even though people obviously don't like her in this mood, I don't think it would be realistic if it wasn't...and as much as I want my readers to be happy, I think I've made it clear I want to be true to the story. And sadly, that includes things like depression. I've never read that story, I stopped reading HP fics a while back because I hit a twilight faze, and now I'm stuck reading the Mortal Instruments series (so good. So, so good. Read that if you have the chance). I also like that you think these characters feel real – I only use JKR characters, besides Audrey. Like literally, all those names that you randomly hear (even Lillian Moon, Alya Rivers, Tracey Davis, etc) are ALL people I have searched and confirmed were made by JKR. There is not one character here, besides Audrey, that did not come from the original series. Except for maybe one I will add later...for a spin-off story once this is complete...<br>Never worry about writing too much, I absolutely love it. In fact, I just love you!**

_Guest(2)_**: I did try to make Audrey a bit more mature. It takes a lot out of you to live in that kind of regret and she was forced to grow up quickly after what happened in the Ministry. I'm glad that you liked the chapter, she is a really fun character to write (even depressed, who knew?) she won't be around the Gryffindors all the time, but they will play a more significant part in this book. I hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thanks for doing this chapter, as well. I'm going to be so upset when this story is finished too – I don't know what I'll do with myself. I feel like this story has really taken on a life of its own...sometimes I want to go one way and it's like the characters are in the back of my head whispering things like "I wouldn't do that" or "I wouldn't say that" and it totally changes the chapter. I can't tell if it's a good thing or a bad thing that they're that much a part of me.  
>And yes, a lot of people don't really realize that Sirius was probably never fully cleared. I mean, they can always take Harry's word on it, but unless they found Wormtail's body, there is no proof. And Sirius DOES need a dog. I think it'd be nice if he had someone to play with, haha.<br>Your trips sound like a lot of fun! Happy belated Anniversary and hopefully you get to go to Hawaii, as well. I've never been, but from what I have seen it is beautiful. I'm a big traveller, so that sounds like a lot of fun to me. I'm figuring out the final details of my trip to Europe now...I feel like I'm so behind, which is crazy because I've been so organized about it all and felt like I was so ahead! But now that it's under 40 days away, I'm starting to feel really stressed for time. Anyway, I'll send you a PM all about my thoughts on this book and a few questions I'd love to have your opinion on :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I hope this update was fast enough. Thanks for the review :)**

_Tamari-95_**: Oh, thank you, that's so sweet! You don't have to review every time, it's so sweet that you even did it once – it lets me know that you're out there and still enjoying it. Well, you won't have to wait that long for a while, the month break gave me time to get a few chapters ahead so that I can keep a good flow and be more consistent. I'm glad you think that the characters are consistent as well...I really aim for that. You have really been so sweet, this review was lovely :) Thank you!**

_OddPotato_**: You're welcome! Thank YOU for the review. I hope you liked this new chapter.**

_Mischief and Magic_**: I love your reviews, I just thought I'd inform you. I can't believe you felt like it was a long wait, I looked at the calendar and asked where the time had gone! I hope that regents, finals and the SATs went well (or are going well), that's a lot of testing and I totally respect you for it. I also prefer writing long chapters to short chapters, then I don't have to be as picky about what to include and what to keep vague.  
>I do still want to work on APP with GEM updating. I didn't last time because I fell behind so quickly, but I'm hoping that won't happen again as there are a lot of great ideas I want to write about. I hope to update at LEAST once a week, but I may update more. I'm still trying to get ahead as I'm working somewhere that I can write most days...so long as I don't get caught. I'm going to Europe in about a month, for quite a few weeks, so I want to make sure I have enough chapters to update whenever I find Wi-Fi so you guys aren't left waiting while I have time to write a full one from scratch. So before I leave I'm going to try and do the math and see how many chapters I have ready compared to how many weeks I'll be out there and decide at that point. For now, I'm trying to keep the updates a little slow so that I don't run out beforehand.<br>Yeah, the sibling bonds in the last chapter were nice. This one was more bonding with Sirius, but there will be TONS of bonding in the future. Oh, I already know a moment that will melt your heart...two chapters from now...and when I started reading this series I was too young to really have an opinion on characters alone (I was six) but by the fifth book when he became a bit of a jerk (like with that freak out at the beginning) and I was finally old enough to really analyze the book, I wasn't much of a fan. It got better as I got older and could understand more...which is why it's so fun to write a character who doesn't, haha. And Dumbledore I've always loved...I wasn't fond of his portrayals by Michael Gambon (though he did pull it together much more for the HBP, thank Merlin!) and I was always a fan of Lupin and Draco, who stole my heart in Dragonheart and The Borrowers, respectively.  
>Thank you, by the way, for being the only one to bring up how Audrey felt about the comparison to her and her Mom. I really liked it, but it seems like no one really appreciated it like I did...oh well. You're awesome, thanks for the review!<br>**

_StealthElf23_**: I'm back! I'm sorry the month seemed long, it flew by for me...but maybe that's because I still got to be part of the chapters. You get to find out how Audrey will like Harry having the Prince's book in just three chapters, haha. Hope you liked the newest chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

_Lizzy B_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Sirius was in this chapter, so hopefully you don't think he's just disappeared – I'd never let that happen after saving him! haha.**

_Whoa_**: I know this was for chapter 37, but thank you for the review – you were really sweet!**

_Littlemissvengeance_**: Being hooked is a good thing, at least I think so, haha! Draco will be in the next chapter, so you won't have to wait too long like you did in the last book. I also think that tattoos are awesome – I have some, myself. And Draco is awesome with or without the Dark Mark...Audrey might even think so, too ;)  
>Audrey won't be depressed for very long. She has the time to be, right now, as nothing is really affecting her straight on, but considering it's the Half Blood Prince, you know that won't be the case for long. And a HUGE part of me doesn't want to kill her off either...but the reasons behind whether I keep or kill her are both so good, I don't know if I'll actually decide until it's already slid from my fingertips...<br>And I'm coming to the UK in about a month! I'm very excited!  
>Hope you like the new chapter. Thanks for reviewing!<strong>

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><p><strong>Well, if you're really nice and review, I might update the next chapter early. And it has Draco in it. Anyway, I hope you liked this newest chapter – thank you for reading.<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter: **EgyptsLegend


	60. Patented Daydream

**Hello everyone! I'm trying to update as often as I can, but it might drop down to once a week again because I'm going to be overseas for a while and don't know if I'll find the time to update as often. Draco's in this chapter everyone, as is Weasley's Wizard Wheezes – so I won't delay any longer to say a thank you to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**who edited this chapter and made it legible for you all!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 59 – Patented Daydream<p>

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><p>Two days after I was woken with my Hogwarts letter, we were headed to Diagon Alley. I was glad that we were allowed to go, even though Mrs Weasley was trying to convince us it was too dangerous; but I needed new robes and Fred and George's new shop was on the list of places to see – and even the new and unimproved me could not turn that opportunity down. Without seeing them who would make fun of me now that I had still gotten Prefect after murdering someone? Or who would properly congratulate Harry on becoming Quidditch Captain for me? I knew that even at my best, I couldn't properly appreciate that one.<p>

When I walked down for breakfast that morning, Mrs Weasley seemed very stiff and nervous about our trip...and then she abandoned that to start fussing over my eating. Maybe that made her feel better – so with that thought, I accepted the hassling. I was hardly sitting down before Bill placed a full bag of coins on my empty plate, giving me a smile. I assume it would have been easy to see my confusion, but he decided not to answer the unspoken question and allowed his mother to force feed me instead. When I was allowed to breathe between bites, I was able to finally peek into the bag of coins – it was more money than I had taken out in the past three years.

"Er – what the hell is all this?"

"And where's mine?" Ron complained at once, looking longingly over my shoulder into the sack of gold, silver, and bronze coins. I quickly did up the drawstring so he couldn't gawk and drool in the food he was leaning over.

"That's already Audrey's, idiot. Here, Harry," Bill tossed a bag to my brother as well. It looked just as swollen as mine did. "I got it out of your vault for you because it's taking about five hours for the public to get to their gold at the moment, the goblins have tightened security so much. Two days ago Arkie Philpott had a Probity Probe stuck up his...well, trust me, this way's easier."

"They're really using Probity Probes?" I asked, fighting a tired smirk.

"A little too loosely, if you ask me," he said, trying to withhold a smile himself. I loved Bill, he was one of my favourite Weasleys – just below Ron, who was under Ginny, who was second to Fred and George. I wished the twins would have been here to catch our jokes, but was comforted by the thought I'd see them later today.

"Thanks, Bill," Harry commented, continuing with his food – clearly not getting the joke, either.

"'E is always so thoughtful," Fleur Delacour – a rather painful person to look at for both my own insecurities and my own history – was stroking Bill's nose and looking love struck again. Ginny pretended to gag behind her, making my brother choke into his cornflakes.

By the time breakfast was done, people were ready to go. Mrs Weasley implored that I bring Circe, so I was sure to grab her some treats while I went upstairs and tried to look decent...but looking decent was practically impossible nowadays. I was clean and showered, my clothes were fresh and unwrinkled for once, but there was no calming my hair or fixing my ghastly looking pallor. I think I had tossed and turned so much in my excess of sleep that I had permanently bent my hair in more directions than it had ever before stood.

The murky day around us made the Weasleys and I stand out more – our red hair burnt like a beacon to draw unnecessary attention. There was a Ministry car waiting at the front of the Burrow for us, too. I had seen a car like this once before – that car had proved to cause a lot of trouble four years prior.

"It's good Dad can get us these again," Ron said with a smile while he showed how he could stretch out in the back as the car took off. The car had been expanded so that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I could all sit comfortably in the back seat. I still kept Circe on my lap for my own comfort, but something told me that we could have made room for her too.

"Don't get used to it, it's only because of the twins," said Mr. Weasley over his shoulder, facing back to the front where he, his wife, and the Ministry driver were seated.

"Harry and Audrey, or Fred and George?" Ron asked with a frown.

"Harry and Audrey, clearly," Hermione scoffed.

"Not 'clearly'," he mumbled back with a frown. "Why are there so many pairs of twins in my life, anyway? It makes it so complicated..."

"They've been given top-grade security status," Mr Weasley interrupted him. "And we'll be joining up with additional security at the Leaky Cauldron too."

Great. More people that I can be annoyed by. I could hardly wait.

The Ministry car drove through the countryside comfortably and when we were driving through the city, Mr Weasley was very open with commenting on every Muggle contraption he did not recognize – one being a television news camera and another being a hot-dog cart. I dared not tell him what was in the meat.

"Here you are, then," the driver exclaimed as he stopped just outside of the Leaky Cauldron. "I'm to wait for you, any idea how long you'll be?"

"A couple of hours, I expect," said Mr Weasley, glancing through the window. "Ah, good, he's here!"

Out the window was a sight that was very familiar: a long, multi-pocketted coat...a large, black beard...and a large smile – Hagrid was our guard.

"Harry! Audrey!" he boomed, crushing my brother in a hug when he stepped out of the car. I was more cautious and took my time to get out, but no amount of hesitation could convince Hagrid not to give someone a bear hug – and there was no escaping one of those. "Buckbeak – Witherwings, I mean – yeh should see him, he's so happy ter be back in the open air-"

"I saw him before he was sent to you," I tried to smile, moving to pick up Circe now that I wasn't being smothered. "I'm glad he's happy."

"Yeah," Harry agreed as he massaged his ribs. "We didn't know 'security' meant you!"

"I know, jus' like old times, innit? See, the Ministry wanted ter send a bunch o' Aurors, but Dumbledore said I'd do," Hagrid was very proud of this, which was shown by him puffing out his chest and tucking his thumbs into his pockets. "Lets get goin' then – after yeh, Molly, Arthur-"

There was no one in the Leaky Cauldron – a sight that I had never before seen. Tom, the landlord and bartender was the only one there. The bar was illuminated by the gleam of its countertop...apparently he had a little too much time to spend waxing it without any of his old customers lurking about.

"Just passin' through today, Tom," Hagrid said importantly, before Tom could speak. "Sure yeh understand, Hogwarts business, yeh know."

Tom did not seem happy about this as he nodded and turned to wash glasses for what looked like a second or third time. Hagrid lead the way for Mr and Mrs Weasley, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I to head out to the courtyard at the back of the bar where the dustbins sat. Taking out his pink umbrella, Hagrid tapped that same brick on the wall – it opened for him effortlessly, rattling the brick wall until a tall archway stood in front of us, beckoning us out onto the street...

It was unrecognizable. Diagon Alley had changed from a colourful, magical display of a new world to the dank and dangerous wasteland of a lost one. There were no more colourful windows and displays, but Ministry posters plastered in windows. Across the cobbled street lay scattered Ministry pamphlets promoting security and safety, the pictures of escaped Death Eaters cackled and snarled at us from boarded up windows and abandoned brick buildings.

"One for your little girls, madam?" an old, homeless man called out to Mrs Weasley while his eyes flickered between Ginny and I. In front of him was an assortment of silver symbols on chains – an oval with zigzags, a pentacle, a triangle drawn in half and housing a circle, the Egyptian eye... "Protect their pretty necks?"

Circe hissed at him, making him back away nervously. Anyone could tell she was a purebred kneazle...and everyone knew to run when one of them hissed at you. Sure, the kneazle may not have been a direct threat to most – but being called out as a threat to a witch or wizard could leave you hexed.

"If I were on duty..." Mr Weasley began as he glared at the man. Mrs Weasley shushed him.

"Yes, but don't go arresting anyone now, dear, we're in a hurry," she looked down, consulting her master list of everything each of us had wanted to get. "I think we'd better do Madam Malkin's first, the girls want new dress robes – no, Ginny, I know you have some – Ron, you're showing much too much ankle in his school robes, Harry and Audrey must need new ones too, you've both grown so much...come on, everyone..."

I hadn't grown much at all, just an inch or so during my final growth spurt, but it was nice of her to pretend.

"Molly, it doesn't make sense for all of us to go to Madam Malkin's," Mr Weasley informed as we began walking. "Why don't those four go with Hagrid, and we can go to Flourish and Blotts and get everyone's school books?"

"I don't know," Mrs Weasley was clearly feeling nervous again – but I could tell she was torn between wanting to leave sooner rather than later and keeping everyone together in a cluster of protection. "Hagrid, do you think?"

"Don' fret, they'll be fine with me, Molly," Hagrid agreed with a careful and encouraging smile. Mrs Weasley was not as convinced as she pretended to be – then again, nor was I – but she agreed to let us go, moving off with Mr Weasley and Ginny while the rest of us set off for new robes.

Most people that walked by us looked anxious and terrified, just like Mrs Weasley did. No one stopped to chat with friends, no one peaked in through shop windows, and no one dared to shop alone. The wizarding world was a different place now and everyone seemed to skittishly agree that it was a dangerous one.

"Migh' be a bit of a squeeze in there with all o' us," Hagrid frowned, stopping outside Madam Malkin's little shop and peering through the window. "I'll stand guard outside, all righ'?"

I didn't answer, but continued into the store. For a moment, after I'd set Circe down and began to look around, the store appeared to be empty, but as soon as the door swung shut a voice permeated my bones and froze the air around me.

"-not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping alone."

I could tell that bitter, snarky tone from a mile away – but now that I was less than meters from him, my hands began to sweat. My stomach turned at the thought of him seeing me when I was so unprepared for it. I hadn't physically or mentally prepared myself to meet up with any of the Slytherins I had betrayed. And to make it worse, all summer I had thought about what it would be like when we saw each other again...and in none of the scenarios was I looking like dragon shite with a group of Gryffindors while he was out shopping with his _mother._

"Now, dear, your mother's quite right, none of us is supposed to go wandering around on our own anymore, it's nothing to do with being a child-"

"Watch where you're sticking that pin, will you!"

_He hasn't changed_, I thought, nearly wanting to roll my eyes at his abrasiveness...but I stopped short when my eyes were pulled to the ruffling of the rack of robes. And then he walked out: wearing hunter green robes with silver pins still marking their hems – he moved to the mirror that was in front of us and examined his reflection with a frustrated expression. And then he looked into the mirror and saw me.

I was wrong, he _had_changed. He looked so different, even though to most he probably just looked older. But that wasn't just it; his eyes were colder and his face more stern, he no longer had that mocking glimmer to his eyes that judged you for his own amusement...now they judged you for a new sense of cruelty. He looked like he had been forced to grow up – quickly and painfully, from what I could tell. And he looked _furious_.

And yet, I had never felt such a flutter in my chest – a flutter that I knew could not have been fear. It was excitement; excitement to see him after all this time. Because I had _missed _him. And I had missed having someone there who might understand the pain_... _

And even though I knew we were living two completely different lives from the year before, I couldn't believe how much I had missed all the stupid quips and complaints I could just imagine he had about this mess I'd gotten myself into. I couldn't believe that he had turned so cold, that he wasn't even mocking me or my friends. I can't believe how much I missed him in all the time I had tried to ignore that he existed.

"If you're wondering what the smell is, Mother, a Mudblood just walked in," he sneered, his eyes flickering to Hermione in the mirror before they jumped back to me to gauge my reaction. I closed my eyes and looked away, clenching my jaw. I was in no mood to stand up for her, not when it was our fault that he was so miserable in the first place.

"I don't think there's any need for language like that!" Madam Malkin gasped, moving from behind the clothes rack before she noticed that my brother and Ron _had _decided to defend Hermione and had drawn their wands. "And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!"

"No, don't, honestly, it's not worth it," Hermione whispered from behind them. I gave her a sympathetic glance to which she just shook her head at me.

"She's right. He's allowed to be hurt," I tried to convince them, but of course they would hear none of it.

"No, he's not," Harry gritted out. "It's not our fault his Dad's a Death Eater. We're even after last year – so now I can hex him and not have _you_ feeling guilty."

He was wrong, I still did and would feel plenty guilty, but I was in no mood to correct him so I crossed my arms and sighed.

"You're a prat," I mumbled to him, noticing for the first time just how low my voice was – had it always been this low? Or was it from the lack of use this summer? "And you're no better than them if you hex someone when they don't have their wand drawn."

"Like you'd dare do magic out of school either way," sneered Malfoy, clearly having heard our little exchange. "Who blacked your eye, Granger? I want to send them flowers."

My mind wandered despite itself to the flowers he had given _me_ just two months before – the flowers that he had made sure I would see thanks to a sticking charm, even while my brother tried to get them away from my bedside before I woke. I couldn't even bring myself to look away from my shoe as the orchids plagued my memory.

"That's quite enough!" Madam Malkin tried to sound stern, but in our situation it was common knowledge a fight would see itself through if they were looking for one. "Madam, please-"

The seamstress was looking to the side as she beckoned out a woman from behind the racks. I had seen her before: her hair was long and blonde, her face was aristocratic and perfectly sculpted, and her eyes were a harsh colour of blue. It was Draco's mother.

"Put those away," she sneered, looking down at Harry and Ron's wands as if they were something that really _did_leave a stench. "If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do."

"Really?" Harry growled, refusing to put down his wand and glaring at her. "Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?"

Madam Malkin nearly fainted right there. "Really, you shouldn't accuse – dangerous thing to say...wands away, please!"

"Harry, let it go," I mumbled, placing my hand on his arm and trying to lower his wand for him. "They have every right to come buy-"

"No they don't!" he growled, taking a second to glare at me.

"I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter," Narcissa Malfoy said, her eyes narrowing on my brother while she smiled as sweetly as she could. "But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."

"Wow," Harry said, looking around the shop condescendingly. "Look at that – he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"

"_Harry_!" I gasped, my eyes widening as I punched his wand arm, thankfully throwing off his aim if only for a second. There was no ignoring when Malfoy took a few angry steps towards my brother...before he tripped over his unhemmed robes. Ron openly laughed at him, and I elbowed the redhead to shut him up. "Stop it, you're being an arse!"

"Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!" Malfoy snarled, straightening himself.

"We all need to leave," I announced, looking at Harry and Ron with a glare. Hermione nodded slightly, feeling just as overwhelmed as I did. "It's stupid to fight in-"

"Would you stop protecting him?" Harry snapped. I raised my eyebrows, crossing my arms over my chest at his tone. "He can fight his own battles, can't you, Malfoy?"

"Harry James Potter, if you fight him I will _never _forgive you," I hissed, lowering his wand arm and having it stay there at last. "Take that as you want to, I don't care what you think my excuses are – but if you fight him, you will be waging war with _me_."

"I don't need you to fight my battles!" The Slytherin at the other side of the room nearly howled. "I'm more ready to fight you, Potter – you just wait until-"

"That's enough, Draco," Narcissa said simply, placing a hand on her son's arm as he took a few more steps forward. And as she stopped him from walking forward, a noise pierced the air in almost the same way that Narcissa Malfoy's eyes were trying to pierce through me. I looked around, almost confused by what I was hearing, but Hermione's wide eyes had caught the source: Circe was crouched in front of me, hissing at Narcissa and Draco Malfoy alike, her eyes trained on them as if ready to pounce.

"Circe," I called, my eyes wide. "Circe, stop it-"

My kneazle only continued to hiss, giving a swat to the air in front of her as warning.

Circe had never hissed at Draco Malfoy – not ever. She would never even hiss at him when I had wanted her to, back in the earlier years of Hogwarts. She had always adored him – cuddling up to him, letting him pet her and feed her. When he and I had made a bet during the Triwizard tournament for Circe or over 100 Galleons, I had always feared that she would actually go with him...and now she was _hissing _at him?

"Looks like she doesn't like you as much as she used to," Harry hissed, his eyes also trained on the boy who was glancing down at Circe looking almost as surprised as I was. "That goes for my sister, too."

"Don't speak for me, Harry," I hissed, moving forward to take Circe into my arms. She was still tense, a low and angry growl emanating from the center of her chest as she glared at the mother and son in front of her.

"Circe knows they're bad people," Ron encouraged my brother. "She can probably smell that no-good, Death-Eating-dingbat husband of hers on them-"

"_Ron_!"

"I'm going to slit your throat, Weasley!" Malfoy growled, taking another step forward but stopping abruptly when Circe acted up again. I pulled her away, trying to hide her view of him – but still she growled.

"It's not a problem, Draco," Narcissa said again, stepping slightly in front of her son – her eyes flickering from my brother, to my kneazle and back to me with an icy indifference. "I expect the dear twins will be reunited with their father before I am reunited with yours."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"Not at all," she said coolly. Narcissa Malfoy was _so_ cool and collected that it was threatening in itself – perhaps she was the one making Circe so upset. Circe had never been this close to the woman and it was quite clear she would do away with all four of us if she had the chance.

"Exactly," I said quickly, handing Circe over to Hermione who took her nervously. "We should leave. There are other robe stores and the Malfoy's were here first-"

"I am not leaving because of _him_-" Harry began.

"We came here fair and square. Though, I hope we'll have a mirror to look into by the time they leave. I'm surprised Dragon-boy hasn't broken it," Ron smiled. "His ugly mug's been in front of it long enough to break it seven times – that's a lot of bad luck."

"I rather think luck is on our side, Weasley," Narcissa opposed him calmly. "Though, if your luck continues the way it has, Audrey Potter, I wouldn't be surprised if you are locked up in Azkaban right alongside my husband. He may be a criminal, but unlike you he has never been a murderer."

It broke me. I don't know why Narcissa Malfoy's words would mean so much to me, I didn't know the woman – nor did I particularly care about her or like her – but her words seemed to set me on fire. The wind was knocked from my chest. I could barely see anything past her cold eyes and her son's wide ones.

"Mother, I told y-"

"Harry, _no_!" Hermione cried, interrupting whatever Malfoy was saying as she bumped me lightly out of the way to get to my brother and lower his wand arm. "Think...you mustn't...you'll be in so much trouble!"

"Don't," I said once I could finally catch my breath. Harry, however was more than ready to attack. I closed my eyes, trying to fight back the tears as I heard my brother arguing with Hermione under his breath and then – breaking through the arguing and silencing everything once again was another sound. It almost sound like a hiss, but it tapered off into something even worse.

I opened my eyes, looking behind the Malfoys to see that I had cracked the mirror behind the pedestal that Malfoy was still standing in front of.

"What-" Madam Malkin looked like she was about ready to pull her hair out. "This is enough! Out of my shop if this is going to continue-"

"He really did break the mirror," Ron couldn't help but throwing in. I could almost hear the laughter he was smothering.

"Stop it, she's right," I whispered, grabbing onto Circe and squeezing her to try and calm me down. I couldn't be breaking anything else while I was in the middle of a store. "I think I'm going to leave. Mrs Malfoy has made her point and I'm not going to be here to see you fight for a lost cause-"

"Audrey, you're _not_ a lost-"

"Harry, just stop," I whispered, looking over to the Malfoys. Both of them were watching me with muted expressions – one I had seen so often on Draco's face at school. It was cool and emotionless – there was something boiling under the surface that I couldn't name...and I didn't want to look at him for long enough to figure it out. "I don't have a fight with them and neither should you."

"But they-"

"I'm sick of arguing this with you," I snapped, sounding more angry than I had intended. To balance it, I moved slightly away from him. "I'll leave. I didn't really need dress robes, anyway."

"Yes, yes," Madam Malkin agreed all too readily. "Out so I can-"

"Ouch!" Malfoy suddenly grabbed my attention as he slapped Madam Malkin's hand away from his arm. "Watch where you're putting your pins, woman! Mother, I don't think I want these anymore."

He tugged the robes over his head and violently threw them down at the woman's feet.

"You're right, Draco," Narcissa agreed, with a contemptuous look toward me, "now I know the kind of scum that shops here...we'll do better at Twilfitt and Tatting's."

The Malfoys left without another word – the boy who I couldn't stand looking at was sure to both give me as much room as possible and slam his shoulder into Ron on the way out.

"Well, really!" Madam Malkin cried, taking the fallen robes and fixing them with her wand. I moved forward, watching as she was about to move the material back onto the racks.

"Wait," I said quietly, my face turning red as she turned her frustrated glance toward me. "I was going to get a set of dress robes – could I use that material?"

She looked me over for a moment – I could tell she was annoyed by the exchange that had happened in her store, but she didn't seem as upset with me. Perhaps, for once, I had been the good guy in her eyes because I had been trying to avoid a fight. Then again, maybe it was just because I was her only sure customer. "This is very expensive-"

"I'll manage," I told, following her as she led me to stand up on the pedestal that Malfoy had just left. When I turned to stand still for her, Harry was glaring at me. "What _now_?"

"You want your dress robes in _that _fabric? Really?" He frowned, looking at me knowingly. I didn't really know why – alright, I _did_, but he was wrong about it. It really was a nice material, it's not like it _smelt _like him or anything strange – we were 'broken up' – not that we had even been together. It's not like a longed to wear his clothes. It's just that it was nice...and Malfoy had always had good taste in fabrics, so if he already liked it...it would be nice to have some dress robes that would be appreciated by _someone..._

"It's a nice colour."

"Malfoy was just wearing them," he scowled.

"Coincidence."

"Liar," he growled before he moved to wait for his turn. Madam Malkin made quick work of our orders, so quickly that she made surreptitious mistakes like trying to sell Hermione men's robes and making it out of the wrong material. By the time we left, she seemed happy to watch us go.

"Got ev'rything?" Hagrid smiled at us when we left the store. It was as if nothing had happened, his smile was the exact same and he looked just as excited as he had before we had entered the shop.

"Just about," Harry answered with a shrug. "Did you see the Malfoys?"

"Yeah," Harry must have been expecting some reaction, but Hagrid couldn't be bothered. "But they wouldn' dare make trouble in the middle o' Diagon Alley, Harry. Don' worry about them."

Considering what happened in the store, I wasn't entirely sure that they wouldn't try to make trouble – but even if they did, I'd get it. If Harry was only a taste of what society must be like with everyone shunning them now, I'd hate to walk a day in their shoes. Even if they were expensive, so you knew they had to be comfortable – both metaphorically and literally. But I wasn't going to raise any false alarms about them because of what they had said when the rest of the group appeared moments later, even though Harry seemed ready to. They were holding heavy packages of books – one stamped with my name on it for all the courses I had passed – it was the smallest pile.

"Everyone all right?" Mrs Weasley made sure to give us a once over as if our word would not be enough. "Got your robes? Right then, we can pop in at the Apothecary and Eeylops on the way to Fred and George's...stick close, now."

I stocked up on ingredients at the Apothecary while Ron and Harry lagged behind – it would be strange not to have my brother in Potions class anymore. I briefly wondered who Snape would choose to pick on now that Harry would be gone and Longbottom had likely failed the course altogether...

At Eeylops, I stopped to buy Circe some catnip and bought Sirius a bone that I knew would make him roll his eyes. Still, Bill had taken out far more money than I needed – I could still use this all next year, and then some – so I didn't feel guilty about buying him a gag gift. When we were done there, Mrs Weasley was sure to look anxiously at her watch before deciding it was time to finish by going in search of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the newest shop in the Alley.

"We really haven't got too long," Mrs. Weasley explained as we looked at each shop's sign to try and read the name and determine which was our goal. "So we'll just have a quick look around and then back to the car. We must be close, that's number ninety-two, ninety-four..."

"Whoa," we all breathed in awe, I even found myself stopping in my tracks.

The dull, lifeless alleyway around us seemed to have been splashed with a vibrant splotch of paint and hope. Fred and George's store was immaculate. It was painted in bright colours that couldn't even touch the vibrancy of the crowded displays in the windows. On the left-hand-side were an assortment of treats, toys, pranks and things that would leave you in stitches while on the right was a giant purple poster with yellow lettering that read:

**_Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who?_**

**_You SHOULD Be Worried About_**

**_U-NO-POO_**

**_the Constipation Sensation that's Gripping the Nation!_**

The group started to laugh. I even managed to quirk a smile – those twins were going to be able to turn this war around. Maybe not with their products, themselves, but most definitely with their optimism.

"They'll be murdered in their beds!" Mrs Weasley gasped.

"No they won't," Ron was still laughing as he answered her. "This is brilliant!"

Without another word, we moved into the shop. It was so crowded it was hard to move around or see what everyone was taking the time to admire. There were the classics: Skiving Snackboxes, trick wands, Canary Creams and more treats that I had not been there for when they invented them – hence had no urge to try them. There were also the regular items that they hadn't invented: sugar quills, real quills – Self-Inking, Spell-Checking, or Smart-Answer – and books on pranks to pull with limited resources.

"'Patented Daydream Charms'," Hermione read aloud when she managed to read the box closest to us, a vibrantly coloured picture of a handsome man and woman were on the deck of a pirate ship. "'One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens'. You know, that really is extraordinary magic!"

"You sound surprised," I grinned, taking the box from her to examine the contents.

"For that, you two," a voice called from behind us, "you can each take one for free."

Looking over my shoulder I was surprised to see Fred beaming down at me. He was wearing effervescent magenta robes that clashed with his hair and showed off every freckle on his face. It was easy to recognize it was Fred – the tone of his voice and the extra wide smile he always gave me that George couldn't quite mimic...it was strange seeing Fred again; the last time I had seen him, at the train station, had not been an appropriate time to talk about the time I'd seen him before that – when he had kissed me. I felt my face heat up just with the memory.

"How are you, Harry? Drea," after he shook my brother's hand, he came forward to hug me. "Mum must be feeding you hourly, you're _tiny_."

"She's trying," I shrugged. "It's a losing battle."

"You're denying my mother's cooking?" He asked, eyes wide. "_How_?"

"Magic," I smirked, waving the box in front of me. "Can I really keep this?"

"Of course, you both ca-" he stopped and frowned at Hermione. "And what's happened to your eye, Hermione?"

She frowned darkly. "Your punching telescope."

"Oh blimey, I forgot about those," Fred sounded genuine while he quickly pulled a tube out of his pocket and went to hand her some of the thick yellow paste behind the cap. "Here...just dab it on, that bruise'll be gone within the hour. We had to find a decent bruise-remover. We're testing most of our products on ourselves."

"It is safe, isn't it?" she asked nervously, looking between Harry and I for some sort of validation. I shrugged, but Fred seemed very sure of himself.

"Course it is," he answered with a smile. "Come on twins, I'll give you a tour."

We left Hermione to get rid of her black eye on her own and followed Fred as he led us around the crowds and through the displays toward the back of the shop. Here, on the walls, there was a small section for simple tricks – rope tricks, card tricks, coin tricks...

"Are these-" I began, examining them closely.

"Muggle magic tricks," Fred smiled, pointing over her shoulder at them. "For freaks like Dad, you know, who love Muggle stuff. It's not a big earner, but we do fairly steady business, they're great novelties...oh, here's George..."

"My favourite set of twins!" George laughed, coming forward and shaking Harry's hand before grappling me in a hug. I laughed at him when he pretended he didn't want to pull away.

"Giving them the tour? Come through the back, that's where we're making the real money...pocket anything, you, and you'll pay in more than Galleons!" George suddenly shouted, looking over to a boy who had his hand in a bin full of a candy that looked like the Dark Mark – I doubted those were meant to be sweet.

Now that the kid was intimidated, George seemed to feel confident enough to go behind a curtain beside the Muggle tricks. There was fewer people here and it was not quite as brightly coloured.

"We've just developed this more serious line," Fred said, watching me closely. "Funny how it happened..."

"A funny story for a serious line?" I quirked an eyebrow. Fred beamed at me, quite energetically, and nodded.

"You wouldn't believe how many people, even people who work at the Ministry, can't do a decent Shield Charm," George explained. "'Course, they didn't have you teaching them, Harry."

"Not many did," I said distractedly, looking over to one shelf. "Is that one of the Shield Hats?"

"That's right," Fred smiled, almost looking glad that I remembered. "Well, we thought Shield Hats were a bit of a laugh, you know, challenge your mate to jinx you while wearing it and watch his face when the jinx just bounces off. But the Ministry bought five hundred for all its support staff! And we're still getting massive orders!"

"So we've expanded into a range of Shield Cloaks, Shield Gloves..."

"...I mean, they wouldn't help much against the Unforgivable Curses, but for minor to moderate hexes or jinxes..."

"And then we thought we'd get into the whole area of Defence Against the Dark Arts, because it's such a money spinner," George was clearly very excited. "This is cool. Look, Instant Darkness Powder, we're importing it from Peru. Handy if you want to make a quick escape."

I examined it closely, it just looked like a pile of very black ash. I didn't dare try it out, though.

"And our Decoy Detonators are just walking off the shelves, look," Fred pointed to a number of odd looking, black, horn-type objects that were quickly trying to scurry out of sight. "You just drop one surreptitiously and it'll run off and make a nice loud noise out of sight, giving you a diversion if you need one."

"Brilliant," I grinned.

"Really handy," Harry agreed, looking impressed.

"Here," George threw them towards Harry, who caught them with his Seeker reflexes and started inspecting them more closely. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a witch with short, blonde hair poked her head around the curtain right over my shoulder.

"Don't sneak up on people like that!" I hissed. "We're in a _war._"

"Sorry," she giggled. "There's a customer out here looking for a joke cauldron, Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley."

So she _worked_ here. I looked at her a little more closely, seeing her blonde, short hair and her large smile. She was the cheery type, no doubt about it and she was much taller than me. She was one of those natural beauties...for some reason, I could tell that I didn't like her.

"Right you are, Verity, I'm coming," George said quickly, shaking my brother's hand again. "You can both help yourself to anything you want, all right? No charge."

"I can't do that!" Harry said quickly while at the same time I smiled and said, "thanks, guys."

"Neither of you pay here," Fred said sternly while Harry tried to take out his bag of gold.

"But..."

"You both gave us our start-up loan, we haven't forgotten," George agreed, hanging half out of the curtain.

"What did you mean we _both_gave you the start-up loan? Did you give them some money too, Audrey?" Harry asked, looking between the twins confusedly. I shrugged, feeling my face start to burn.

"Just over 200 Galleons," Fred corrected. "She and Malfoy bet on her life in the tournament. She won."

"Barely," I mumbled, looking around the room. "I assume you gave them your winnings from the Tournament?"

"They weren't really my winnings," he mumbled a little darkly. There was a long moment where none of us dared to speak, like me they were probably lost in thoughts about everything that had happened between fourth year to now: the Triwizard tournament, Moody being a Death Eater in disguise, Voldemort's return, Umbridge's reign, my little tryst with Cedric, Malfoy, _and _Fred...

Holy shite, I'm a _tease_!

After a moment George cleared his throat from his awkward position between the curtain and the back room for Defence products.

"Again, you two don't pay here. Take whatever you like, just remember to tell people where you got it, if they ask." And George left simple as that, but the group of us still followed him from behind the curtain – Fred leading us through the crowds in a different direction as his twin.

"What else is there in this shop that I can buy, then?" I asked as we finally found Ginny and Hermione in the crowd, still looking over the Patented Daydream Charms. Fred turned to all of us and smiled.

"_Have_, not buy," Fred corrected with a cheeky grin. "Haven't you girls found our special WonderWitch products yet? Follow me, ladies..."

Harry seemed to include himself in that statement as he followed us around to a group of excited girls that were giggling as if it was how they managed to breathe. We hung back a little, just so that we wouldn't have to get into the gaggle of gigglers.

"There you go," Fred smiled. "Best range of love potions you'll find anywhere."

"Predictable," I snorted, looking at all the girls fawning over them.

"Do they work?" Ginny asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

"Certainly they work, for up to twenty-four hours at a time depending on the weight of the boy in question-"

"-and the attractiveness of the girl," George finished, suddenly reappearing beside his brother. "But we're not selling them to our sister, not when she's already got about five boys on the go from what we've-"

"Whatever you've heard from Ron is a big fat lie," Ginny seemed very calm about this and took the time to point out a pink pot on a shelf. "What's this?"

"Guaranteed Ten-Second Pimple Vanisher," Fred responded like the salesman he was. "Excellent on everything from boils to blackheads, but don't change the subject. Are you or are you not currently going out with a boy called Dean Thomas?"

"Yes, I am," Ginny responded haughtily. "And last time I looked, he was definitely one boy, not five."

"What kind of orchid's did you use to finish the potion?" I asked, looking at the pink serum, hoping they wouldn't notice that I was trying to get us off the subject of boys altogether. Ginny wasn't about to be getting help from Hermione, who was trying to hide how interested she was in the product.

"Red slippers, more exotic and harder to break down, but they are a better concentrate," George responded, watching me nod before he decided to interrogate me. "And don't change the subject! What about you, Drea? Are you or are you not having a snog-fest with the scum of the earth?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't really see how that's any of your business."

"I disagree," the w6rds came from Fred, who didn't have much emotion on his face when I said it. "You are still dating Dog-breath, then?"

"I was never dating him and no, I'm not," I said, blushing horribly.

"Well..." George began slowly. "No love potions for you, either."

"What, why?" I asked in outrage. "Because you don't like my choice in blokes?"

"Precisely," Fred answered with a frown.

"What are those?" Ginny asked quickly, trying to return the favour of distracting the twins by pointing to round balls of fluff in shades of pink and purple that were rolling around and squeaking.

"Pygmy Puffs," George smiled proudly. "Miniature puffskeins, we can't breed them fast enough. So, Gin, what about Michael Corner?"

"I dumped him, he was a bad loser," Ginny said vacantly while she put a finger through the bars of the cage. We both giggled while the Pygmy Puffs crowded around it – so I put my finger in too.

"They're really cute!" I exclaimed, feeling myself genuinely smile for the first time in a very long time. It was so foreign to me now that it felt like my face was cracking.

"They're fairly cuddly, yes," Fred agreed, his voice wavering slightly behind me.

"Audrey, stop!" Ginny pouted. "They're all going to you, now."

"I can't help it," I giggled. "They like me."

"Obviously," Ginny sighed. "Can I have one?"

"Stop changing the subject, you two! Aren't you moving through boyfriends a bit fast?"

I snorted. "My last real boyfriend was Seamus Finnegan. I think I'm well-due for a new one."

"So what were Malfoy and Diggory then?" Fred asked sharply. " Or what were Michael Corner and Dean Thomas? Snog buddies? _Shag _buddies? They'd better not-"

Ginny, luckily, was much better with her emotions than I was with mine. She glared at them, looking so much like her mother that even I was intimidated. But I was momentarily unsure whether I had stopped breathing out of pain or out of fury and everyone was shocked when a bottle of something or other smashed right behind me. And then another.

My stupid Magnuse was not liking being ignored today.

"Audrey," Harry began slowly. "They don't actually think you-"

"It's none of your business, either way," Ginny hissed to both boys. She turned her glare towards Ron when he magically appeared at our sides. "And I'll thank _you _not to tell tales about Audrey and I to these two!"

"I don't have a boyfriend," I muttered, frowning when Harry came up to me and took my left hand – curled into a fist – and started trying to smooth out the muscles. "I don't _want _a boyfriend, and I am allowed to snog whom I please!"

"Not when it's Malfoy," Ron sneered. "Maybe he passed on some kind of virus?"

"That's three Galleons, nine Sickles, and a Knut," Fred mumbled when he noted the boxes toppled over each other Ron's arms. "Cough up."

"I'm your brother!" He complained.

"And that's our stuff you're nicking. Three Galleons, nine Sickles. I'll knock off the Knut."

Ron looked about ready to whine. "But I haven't got three Galleons, nine Sickles!"

All Fred could manage to show of his sympathy was a shrug. "You'd better put it back then, and mind you put it on the right shelves."

Ron dropped all the boxes in his arms out of spite, only keeping those that were already clenched in his hands. He cursed vulgarly and showed off his favourite fingers...just in time for Mrs Weasley to see him.

"If I see you do that again I'll jinx your fingers together," she barked. Ron's face seemed to burn red as he moved to hide his hands behind his back.

"Mum, can I have a Pygmy Puff?" Ginny asked giddily.

"A what?" Mrs Weasley was immediately nervous about anything that would be bought in this store.

"Look, they're so sweet..." Mrs Weasley began to look at the Pygmy Puffs that Ginny was determined to buy but I was distracted by what was outside the window which, having Ginny move, was now right in my sightlines.

Right outside, I saw the unmistakable, pale figure of Draco Malfoy walking down the street. He was alone and he looked more anxious than I had probably ever seen him – looking over his shoulder, watching his steps, trying to stay near the buildings so that he wouldn't be seen...I couldn't tear my eyes away, watching as he continued walking away from me.

"Look what Drea found," Ron muttered, coming to stand beside me.

"Wonder where his mummy is?" Harry crossed his arms over his chest.

"Given her the slip by the looks of it," Ron observed. I rolled my eyes.

"Is he not allowed to go for a walk now?"

"Madam Malkin was agreeing with his mother that he shouldn't be traveling alone," Harry countered easily. "It's hard to believe that his mummy would let him alone with all the publicity they've been getting."

"He's allowed to be alone, Harry," I growled. "And he's allowed to walk."

"Why is he, though?" Hermione voiced. I sighed – I had really hoped she would help me be the voice of reason here...apparently not.

"Get under here, quick," my brother whispered, pulling out his Invisibility cloak.

"No," I said immediately, frowning. "I'm not _following _him on a walk down Diagon Alley."

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione agreed, looking nervously over to Mrs Weasley.

"Come on," Ron urged, ducking under the cloak with my brother. "Don't you want to see your precious boyfriend anyway, Audrey?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I sneered.

"Then why are you protecting him?" Ron asked, raising a taunting eyebrow from under the opening of the cloak. I narrowed my eyes, knowing that he was baiting me but at the same time if I still refused, it would be obvious that I _was _trying to protect him. That left me with little choice then, didn't it? Hermione and I both ducked under the cloak – it was so small compared to our size now, that four inches above our ankles was visible. We all hunched so that it could nearly drag upon the ground.

"He was going in that direction," Harry whispered while we agilely tried to maneuver through the heavy crowd and out the door – past our giant guard. "C'mon..."

We had lost him, or so I had hoped, until Hermione pointed ahead.

"That's him, isn't it?" she whispered. "Turning left?"

"Big surprise," whispered Ron. "Your boyfriend's going into Knockturn Alley, Audrey."

"He is _not_ my boyfriend," I hissed again.

"Shut it," Harry growled, speeding up to try and get closer. "Now be quick, or we'll lose him."

"Our feet'll be seen!" Hermione whispered, noticing just how obvious our feet were when we weren't bending down to try and hide them.

"It doesn't matter," Harry whispered. "Just hurry!"

"Doesn't matter?" I barked out a laugh, elbowing him. "Of course not. A mercilessly powerful Dark Overlord only wants us dead, Harry, who cares if we're seen without protection?"

"Well I doubt Voldemort's meandering around Diagon _or _Knockturn Alley, Audrey," he said just as condescendingly. "So hurry up!"

We peered into the grimy windows of Knockturn Alley as we descended down the side street – apparently we didn't need to worry about being seen, because all the shops looked completely deserted.

"Ouch!" I heard my brother call out.

"If we're going to be spying, can you at least do it properly?" I asked with a sneer. "Stay quiet!"

"Shh!" Hermione hissed at us both. "Look! He's in there!"

Of course he was 'in there'; 'in there' was Borgin and Burkes – seller of the darkest objects I'd ever seen. I could see him from here – it was hard not to see his bright blonde hair, even when his back was toward us. He was facing the stooping shop owner, Mr Borgin who had surrounded himself by skulls, cabinets, cursed objects and weapons.

"If only we could hear what they're saying!" Hermione sighed, watching as the blonde boy spoke with animated gestures.

"Let's try climbing up to that window," I offered, looking at the bin heading toward an opening in the window. "I think I can climb that."

"All for following loverboy now, aren't you?" Ron asked.

"I naturally have a curious disposition," I answered haughtily. "Now boost me up."

"Audrey, you'll be seen!" Hermione whispered as I took the cloak off.

"Oh no," I said mockingly. "Borgin – Borgin, don't call Voldemort! Don't! Aw, too bad you're not important enough to _have _the Dark Mark...come on, Hermione," I scoffed. "Be serious."

I moved, feeling much more free now that I was out from under the cloak, while I stretched my body out to try climbing on the large bin and toward the side of the display window that was around the cabinet blocking our view. It was a difficult climb – I was a little bit too short and I couldn't get a good grip on the sill, but eventually I was able to haul myself up and hold myself to keep from slipping.

Once I was sure I wasn't about to slip, I looked through the window – nearly looking down on the two men there because of how high up I was. I could see that my brother had climbed up to join me, trying to see – but I could not hear anything...it was as pointless as staying down there. At least if Malfoy was loud from right outside the door we had a chance at hearing some of the conversation.

I had a strange sense of Déjà vu, but I couldn't quite remember ever being in Knockturn Alley atop of a bin, trying to stare at my ex...so I tried ignoring the sensation. I slid off the bin as Harry did, shrugging my shoulders as we got under the cloak again and went closer to the door.

"No luck," I sighed. "I wish I would have gotten some of Fred and George's extendable ears from the shop-"

"Wait!" Ron smiled brightly. "I picked some up!"

Taking some of the boxes that he was still holding from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, he fumbled with them until they dropped. After his hands were free of most of them, he was able to open the largest box left to display the fleshy looking string to us proudly.

"Extendable Ears, look!"

"You couldn't have thought of that _before _I climbed on dirty trash bins?"

"Fantastic!" Hermione smiled, ignoring my annoyance while she waited for him to unravel three of them. When he had taken his sweet time to do that, he handed one to each of us. "Oh, I hope the door isn't Imperturbable-"

"No!" Ron basically cheered. "Listen!"

I could hear Malfoy. His voice was just as low as it had been when we had been in Madam Malkin's – which was lower than it had been last year. Normally, I would have expected him to sound amused by the way he was bossing Borgin around – because let's face it, when _doesn't _he like bossing people around? – but now he just sounded ready to tear out the man's throat.

"-you know how to fix it?"

"Possibly," Borgin drawled, sounding hesitant. "I'll need to see it, though. Why don't you bring it into the shop?"

"I can't," Malfoy said sternly. "It's got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it."

"Well, without seeing it, I must say it will be a very difficult job, perhaps impossible," Borgin corrected, looking around the shop nervously, as if he were afraid he would be caught. "I couldn't guarantee anything."

"No?" I could hear that Malfoy was sneering, I could hear that he was about to change the man's mind by whatever means possible. "Perhaps this will make you more confident."

I could not see what Malfoy had shown Borgin – his wand, his fist, money – no, not money. Money would not have paled Borgin like that. He was slowly turning ashen, looking terrified, as his hands trembled and eyes watered.

"Tell anyone," Malfoy threatened, "and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback? He's a family friend. He'll be dropping in from time to time to make sure you're giving the problem your full attention."

"Greyback?" I asked, looking to Hermione whose eyes looked as wide as mine. "Since when were they old chums?"

"There will be no need for-" Borgin was saying, but Malfoy held up his hand to quiet him.

"I'll decide that," Malfoy countered. "Well, I'd better be off. And don't forget to keep that one safe, I'll need it."

"Perhaps you'd like to take it now?" Borgin sounded hopeful, as if he wanted Malfoy and whatever it was he was buying taken right out of his shop so that he never had to deal with the problem again.

"No, of course I wouldn't, you stupid, little man," Malfoy's voice sounded more cutting than even I was used to. "How would I look carrying that down the street? Just don't sell it."

"Of course not..._sir_." Sir? It sounded so strange to hear the respect that Malfoy was probably very accustomed to. The Pureblood world was such a strange, traditional place...

"Not a word to anyone, Borgin, and that includes my mother, understand?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Naturally, naturally," Borgin bowed to him, showing him the ultimate respect yet again – I knew Malfoy couldn't have just conjured that up. Borgin didn't just _bow _for anyone, even if they were Purebloods. And that meant that something had happened to change Borgin's 'respect' into fear.

"He tells his Mum everything," I whispered. "She spoils him rotten. What's he hiding from her?"

"Something bad," Harry whispered back.

A moment later, Malfoy was passing right by us. He looked smug and generally pleased with himself – _that _was a look I was more accustomed to from him. He passed so close that I felt like I could have reached out and touched him, finally had something familiar and true and horrible and real all at once...but instead I shrank back towards Harry a little more. The urge unnerved me and the fact that he had been here in the first place was making my mind race enough as it was.

"What was that about?" Ron whispered while he started curling up the extendable ears again.

"Dunno," Harry answered, sounding confused. "He wants something mended...and he wants to reserve something in there. Could you see what he pointed at when he said 'that one'?"

"No, he was behind that cabinet-"

"You three stay here," Hermione whispered as she ducked out from under the cloak. I watched as she headed straight into the store, after checking her hair in the reflection of the shop windows. Ron quickly unravelled the Extendable Ears again and stuck them under the door so we could hear.

"Hello, horrible morning, isn't it?" Hermione smiled at him, before going about the store and humming.

"Good Godric," I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. "She has no idea how to interact with these people. You can't be _cheery_!"

"Is this necklace for sale?" Hermione asked while she pointed down by a glass case.

"If you've got one and a half thousand Galleons," Mr Borgin answered coolly.

"Oh – er – no, I haven't got quite that much," Hermione stuttered. "And...what about this lovely – um – skull?"

"Sixteen Galleons."

"So it's for sale, then? It isn't being...kept for anyone?"

"Holy shite," I rolled my eyes. "Could she be any more obvious?"

"The thing is, that – er – boy who was in here just now, Draco Malfoy, well, he's a friend of mine, and I want to get him a birthday present, but if he's already reserved anything, I obviously don't want to get him the same thing, so..."

"Out," he said immediately, pointing to the door. Hermione jumped by his abruptness. "Get out!"

"I'll fix this," I grumbled, ducking from under the cloak just as Hermione had a minute before and entering the shop with my head held high. It smelled musty, but not in a nice old-parchment way, but a dreary moldy-wood way. Mr Borgin eyed me as soon as I came in the shop, Hermione almost looked shocked by my appearance.

"Did you find anything for Draco?" I asked, noticing immediately how strange his name sounded on my tongue. It was something I did not say often, particularly with the flicker to it that sounded closer to liking him that hating him. I pretended to look surprised at Borgin's hand, still pointed to the door I had just entered. "Is something wrong?"

"He-he doesn't believe me," Hermione stuttered nervously. I raised an eyebrow, putting on my best and bitchiest face, usually reserved for Pansy Parkinson.

"Doesn't believe _what_?" I asked with a sneer. "Does he not want to sell something to a family like the Malfoys? I'd love to have Narcissa find out about _that_."

"Excuse me, miss," Borgin looked nearly nervous. "I had heard that you and Master Malfoy had become...estranged."

"Clearly not," I responded bitingly. "You should stop reading the _Daily Prophet_, they aren't as accurate as first-hand sources. So, because you believe a mess-about paper, you aren't going to sell my friend and I something? I'm not allowed to get my boyfriend a present?"

Hermione's eyes widened at the words.

"Right," she said nervously. "We saw him just come in here..."

"And he didn't have anything on his way out," I finished, narrowing my eyes at the man. "Whatever he was looking at, I want to buy it."

"I was told specifically-"

"I don't care what you were told," I snapped. Oddly, as bitchy as I was being, I actually sounded like myself – like the self I hadn't heard in months. It was almost refreshing. "I'm telling you now: _I want it_. And I don't care how much it is – this is Draco we're talking about. So, what did he like?"

Borgin looked particularly terrified now. I could tell that he was struggling to decide whether or not I was telling the truth – the media had said that Malfoy and I were dating all last year, but Malfoy had specifically told him to keep quiet and keep whatever he'd looked at right where it was. Technically I had a lot of time and exposure on my side; it was over an entire year of media on our 'forbidden romance'...but Malfoy still had fear on his side. I didn't really know which would win out.

"He wanted nothing in here," he finally said, looking at me carefully. "That is why he left. You'd best go find him – it will be getting dark, shortly."

"I don't care about the _dark_," I snapped. "Do you wish me to take my business somewhere else?"

"I do," he said carefully, surprising me. I almost faltered, but instead of looking as shocked as I felt I moved my eyes down to the display case in front of him.

"This necklace is for a woman," I said carefully, looking at a silver and opal necklace which Hermione must have been indicating earlier. "Was he buying _me _a present?"

"I should hope not, madam," he said carefully. "That necklace is cursed."

"So you won't help me, then?" I asked, pointing my nose up angrily just as I had seen Daphne do so many times. "Draco _will_ hear of this."

"I believe you should leave, both of you," he eyed Hermione with a snarl. "Please leave before I am forced to call Master Malfoy, myself."

With that, I knew that my bluffing had run its course. I still decided to keep the facade, turning up my nose and walking out with more confidence than I'd had in the past twelve months combined. I grabbed Hermione and steered her towards the exit, ignoring when she fumbled over her feet in surprise. Once we had left the shop, Borgin slammed the door behind us and was sure to put up the closed sign to signal that we were not welcome back, even if I _were _to bring Malfoy with me.

"Could have gone better," I mumbled, climbing back under the cloak with Hermione.

"Ah well," Ron shrugged. "Worth a try. You sounded really believable, Drea, it was almost eerie."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Harry agreed. "You sounded like a totally different person."

_I am a totally different person_, I wanted to say, _when I'm not around _you...

"It would have been perfect," Ron agreed with a sigh. "Perfect if you weren't sabotaged by Hermione's...well, if you weren't sabotaged by Hermione."

Even _I _was able to find it in me to laugh while we walked back to the joke store.

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><p><strong>Well, you probably didn't expect that kind of exchange did you? I know Draco didn't really have his moment to shine in this chapter, but it was really important – I'm sure you can take a few guesses why. Also, we will be hearing more from Fred, don't you fear – I'd never just leave it at that! To the wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter:<strong>

_TheDuckKnight_**: I'm glad that you liked it! Do you still think Draco is just hurt that he was ignored? Hope you liked this new chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Not a lot of Dreaco in this chapter, but there will be later on – promise. I hope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the last two. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like all her flaws. Hopefully you found the interaction between she and Draco interesting...I know it wasn't romantic, but I hope it was a good read! **

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I am so excited – it was a month yesterday. It's just...ugh there are no words. I already feel like everything will be better, you know? And I haven't even gone yet! It's the perfect escape from reality. A few people did vote your way for the question I had about Audrey and her abilities, so I'll be interested to tally them all up and see what people decided. Also, I have more chapters for you! I'll send them tomorrow after I rewrite whatever I look over and don't like, haha.**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Well, I'm glad my update style is surprising. I try for at least once a week, more if I'm ahead in chapters. Audrey is definitely torn up, as we see by this chapter as well – but at least she's starting to feel like herself again. That will happen gradually over the next few chapters until she is (almost) back to normal. She'll never really be the same, obviously.  
>And I totally appreciate hugs. For instance, I want to give you one for your awesome picture – I'm going to try and post it tonight...unless I have to post this chapter via cell phone hotspot...then I'll put the picture up tomorrow, haha.<br>Did you like Fred's little moment of jealousy? Was it too obvious or not obvious enough? I plan to have him come back in a few chapters – so we'll 'see' more of him later. And yay, you noticed a huge plot-fault! Yes, Audrey didn't do well in her OWLs, did she? That's really going to limit her...however will she manage in the new class set-up? You'll have to wait two (or is it three? I don't remember how many I've written, haha) chapters to find out. Audrey will totally be hating this year school wise...but will she be able to survive on a more personal note? We'll have to see.  
>Anyway thank you for the picture and the review and the PMs and for being all around fantastic! Hope you liked the chapter :)<strong>

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Thank you, hope this one was more exciting.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: At least we got to see the twins here – and I don't know about you but I'm always excited over seeing some jealousy...so seeing Fred jealous was fun for me. did you like this chapter, did you think it was picking up well enough? The next chapters will be – and though they may not be the happiest thing – it will get better once they get into the thick of classes. **

_skipbeataddict_**: I know you reviewed on chapter five, but if you ever make it to here, thank you for reviewing! **

_Mischief and Magic_**: You're too nice to me – like, really, I do not deserve your reviews. And I love that you pay attention to the details...I write a lot of them in so it's nice they're appreciated :) oh and what you wrote "my thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations"...I'm stealing that. Especially considering all my tattoos have stars and constellations in them...  
>Anyway, moving on: Hermione will not be disliked for long, but to be honest – it's not in Audrey's nature to be besties with her. Hermione is a no-shit, I-like-being-wrong, don't-undermine-me kind of girl...and Hermione cuts that all away from her with her knowledge, talent, and logical thinking. Audrey tries, but it would be difficult for such a strong personality to meet someone so...flexible. And I say that in the nicest way, because Hermione Granger is brilliant – but she does not judge, she does not hate, she does not discriminate...and that's the world Audrey lives in, even if she fights against it, you know?<br>Oh, and Hermione got the black eye from Gred and Forge's punching telescopes ;)  
>So, what'd you think about the chapter? Fred was there and was all jealous, George was there and was all 'wtf, man?' and Draco was there being all 'Mum, stooop!'...it was an interesting turn for each character, I think. And I loved writing Narcissa. I'm thinking of later writing a chapter in APP of this chapter from Narcissa's POV. Now if I just remember that I want to do that...<br>And yes, we get to see how the Slytherins feel about Audrey next chapter! Are you excited? I am. I hope I did a good take on it...plus there's a good brother-sister bonding moment, so I think you'll like it...or I hope. Really, I'm more nervous about THIS chapter than the next one. In conclusion: I adore your reviews, you're amazing, I hope you liked the chapter, thank you for noticing details, "stay gold, Ponyboy"...the usual love ;)**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I'm glad I could make you feel her negativity but hopefully it didn't stick! Haha. I remember when I started both writing and acting how sometimes I would get so into it that I couldn't leave the character on the stage/paper. I can still point out personality traits that I played in a show or wrote in a character that just sunk in and stuck with me, and are still with me now. Hopefully you liked this chapter avec le twins and Draco! Thanks for the review!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Funny story, when I was a little kid my family pulled pranks of "moving things" when I wasn't looking. And they were always dolls. In fact, they were lifesized dolls (well, lifesized to a four year old) and now I horrible fear of dolls...yeah...anyway, hope you liked the chapter as Draco and Fred were in it. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_SwiftAlice_**: I wish you could appreciate just how much I love your reviews. And no! No saying that they're too long and you're rambling – I love them just as they are. Long and detailed and intimate. It's sweet :)  
>I am doing well. My trip is looming ever closer and I'm getting more and more giddy and feeling less and less prepared. I'm going through Europe with a friend, then breaking off with her so she can see her family and I can see my family, then I am headed alone to go up and tour the UK. It's twelve countries in total – all my life's savings, but I really needed it this year. I'm not joking or exaggerating when I say that this story and this trip are what have kept me going thorugh this year – it's been a terrible one. But it's about to get much better :) How are you?<br>Draco will be in so much of this story...but honestly, he'll be a little bit vacant for the next few chapters. He'll be present, of course, but distanced: he has a mission after all and after this chapter, you can tell though he likes her he is bitter about his father's imprisonment. And yes, JKR is a god in her own right – ha, _write, _punny. Asking me my favourite HP character is like asking me my favourite kind of ice cream...it's just not fair! I do love Ginny, I won't deny...and you're about to see that a lot in this book because she and Audrey are going to become close. Draco is...well, Draco. Fred and George are, of course, fantastic – I don't really need to explain why, do I? Sirius, again, is fantastic...but I think, shockingly, my favourite characters may be the Black Sisters. In a way, the idea of them helped me create Audrey: that siblings can be so different and that they are individuals, even if family as well as Nature vs Nurture says they should be close.  
>That being said, Harry and Audrey bonding is on its way! You'll start seeing some next chapter. And particularly the chapter after. I loved writing the Sirius moments last chapter, particularly when he pulled the sheets and said "Come on, Potter! I have a surprise for you", I don't know why but it was one of those moments where I could really picture him, even though he wasn't in this part of the original. The last chapter was filler and this one was right in between filler and action...but the story begins more next chapter. This chapter was almost a prologue for the suspicion that will be lining the entire arc of this particular storyline.<br>As for Audrey and her eating – we only ever hear when she isn't eating, but of course she finds time to or she _would _be dead. It's like when you never mention how you feel unless you're feeling particularly great or particularly horrible, you know? Also, were she healthier – physically, mentally, and emotionally – she would certainly be better at Magnuse thanks to energy, concentration and control.  
>Don't stop writing as much as you do, I love it! I'm hoping to update every 5-7 days and when I leave (one month from now, yay!) I hope to update every 7-10 days. I don't trust myself to write as much when I'm overseas, I think I'll be preoccupied – but I'm going to updatewrite a chapter in the cafe JKR used to write in when she first moved to Edinburgh...I think that's exciting. And fitting :)**

_Lizzy B_**: I'm glad you liked it, hopefully you liked this one as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, thank you! You'll be finding out next chapter how things are going to go with the Slytherins. Hopefully you found this chapter exciting, I had a good time writing it – just like I had a good time with the prelude. It's nice that you liked them.  
>I bet it's beautiful out there, I definitely plan to visit one day! Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Draco was definitely in this chapter, what'd you think of it? I know it wasn't the best, but it was from the book so it was very important :) Her depression won't last for too, too long – but it wouldn't be realistic for her to just "get over it", you know? Hopefully it won't drag on for too long. In the next few chapters you begin to see her resurfacing. Anyway, there was more action in this one so I hope you liked the chapter – thanks for the review!**

_Guest_**: Thank you? I can't tell if that key mashing was good or bad. But thanks for reviewing anyway :)**

_aoisenshi_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it! It's good that I'm making her flow into the story believably for you – hopefully you liked this chapter as well. Thank you again!**

_Melody_**: Yes, poor Audrey won't be depressed forever though – no one wants to read about that...and to be honest, it's not her way to be sad. It's her way to be mad and get even ;) the Weasley family will get better when they leave Audrey alone a bit more, don't worry. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing :)**

_katie93319_**: You are so amazing on twitter that you don't need to worry about reviewing or not, but I appreciate you doing it. I'm so flattered, you're too sweet. I hope you liked this chapter and that I'll hear your thoughts here or on twitter ;)**

_StealthElf23_**: Audrey needs a couple pick-me-ups, that's for sure but things will get better. Thank you for reviewing, last chapter was a little bit of a downer but hopefully you liked this chapter – it was a lot of Draconess! **

_StormSky_**: I'm sorry she made you depressed, but it's cool to think that you're that in-tune with her. I also think JKR should have given Sirius more time, but that's because I love him...sadly it was important for him to die in book 5 to prepare Harry for the war...or, in the case of Audrey, for her to be directly related to death thanks to that battle. Yes, Audrey isn't used to people being nice and tip-toeing around her...but next chapter we find out how the Slytherins would handle it. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Green-NaNa-Neko89_**: Draco didn't get a lot of time to banter with Audrey or have a lot of witty repartee, but that time will come – I promise. Things will get better for Audrey soon, she just needs to be back in her element. Yes, I have contemplated whether or not to kill off Audrey...not just 'because' but for a very specific reason. I would never just say 'whoops, ricochet spell kills her, the end!' but in a battle, bad things happen. Particularly ones in a world of magic. Thank you for the review, it was very sweet :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: I wish I could update every other day! Sadly, they would be crappy, short chapters then. If only my chapters could be written with telepathy...**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Sirius is great, I totally agree. Hopefully I do him justice as he is obviously not scripted from this point on. They are on their way to Hogwarts next chapter, so you won't have to wait long to find out people's reaction. Haha, people are always worried about her eating...it's a character trait that I didn't mean to be as big of a staple as it is for her. I solve most of my problems by eating too much...it's terrible. Hope you like the new chapter!**

_OddPotato_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I thought it was realistic too...hopefully the depression doesn't become to much. She starts to pull out of it next chapter. As I said to another reviewer, Audrey isn't the type to stay sad: she's the type to get angry. Bruce Banner style. The interaction with Draco is not what people expected, I'm sure, but hopefully it was somewhat enjoyable to read, even if it wasn't happy. Thanks for the review!**

_silverdragon2010_**: Here's an update, hope you like it!**

_ratherbereading125_**: Hopefully it was a good trippy. And she has kissed a Weasley...but was that the kiss she had a vision of? Thanks for reviewing chapter 24 and 47:)**

_corazondepapel_**: Aw, thank you, that's so sweet! I couldn't do any of this without my readers, so I like answering them so they know that. Also, English isn't your first language? I honestly couldn't tell. And then when you mentioned it, I went through again BECAUSE I couldn't tell; your grammar is flawless. You're lucky, I know when I learned/am learning other languages my problem is always the grammar – but yours is spectacular. What is your first language, if you don't mind me asking?  
>As for the story, thank you, I'm glad you like it. I try to keep the characters to their original personalities and tried melding Audrey to fit them – particularly because she was in Slytherin. And I will not stop this fanfic until it needs to stop...even then I war with myself saying "maybe I can do a whole bunch of one-shots, or a 'what happened after' book', so don't worry: this story will run its course :) thank you again!<strong>

_XxI-Stole-Your-CookiexX_**: Don't worry, you're reviewing now and that's all that matters. What made you want to review for the last chapter, if you don't mind me asking? I'm very curious, it's a fault. I'm glad you like the story, I try very hard to keep everyone in character so I'm glad that you can notice it. Thank you so much for the review, it's touching!**

_FlyingNargles_**: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter :)**

_xYaar_**: I'm going to the Netherlands for the first time in just over a month! It's so cool to find out I have readers where I travel – that's awesome. Hope you liked this chapter; you'll find out more about how the Slytherins will react in the next. Sirius will find love...but what kind, I cannot say ;) Thanks for the review!**

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to all those who reviewed. Next chapter is Hogwarts! We get to see how the world is after the Department of Mysteries with the Slytherins, Draco, Theo...<strong>

**Please _REVIEW!_**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **:)**


	61. Expressive

**Hello, everyone! I hope that everyone is doing well. I'm exhausted, but here with another chapter...this one is a bit of an angsty one – Audrey's headed back to Hogwarts. I won't delay too long but to say thank you to **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**for editing this chapter for me and another special thanks go out to the wonderful **_Lorelei Lovegood_** for the new Green Eyed Monster art to represent the story :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 60 – Expressive<p>

"Yes, I've already agreed it was fishy, Harry," Hermione already sounded so annoyed that I figured I wouldn't even have to start lecturing my brother – she'd end up doing it for me. My brother, Ron, Hermione and I were all cozied up in Ginny's room; considering I refused to leave bed, they had decided to come to me. I think they were just trying to prepare me for the onslaught of students I was about to have to face, during the train ride tomorrow and the NEWT level classes we would start the day after. My brother, as he had been every day for the past two weeks, was sitting and blabbering on about Malfoy once again. "But haven't we agreed there could be a lot of explanations?"

"Like him buying that old wardrobe?" I joked flatly, "we all know he has more clothes than all of us combined."

"Right, or maybe he's broken his Hand of Glory," Ron agreed, cleaning up his broomstick. "Remember that shriveled-up arm Malfoy had?"

"Ugh, I hated that thing," I muttered, knowing that it wasn't the only thing I hated about Malfoy – like him constantly being mentioned for two weeks. I couldn't escape the arse. "He was always so proud of it..."

"You would know," Ron said, sending me a wicked smirk that reminded me devastatingly of his brothers, Fred and George. "Did he ever use that hand to-"

"Stop that thought or I'll use some _real _energy to beat you up the _Muggle_ way," I warned, cutting in before any real damage could be done. I didn't need my brother hearing jokes like that – even though they were not true, I would not put it past him to panic. The ginger snorted, ignoring my threat before he turned back to fixing the bent straws of his broomstick. My brother, though taking the time to look disgusted, was not done ranting about his suspicions of the boy in question.

"But what about when he said, 'Don't forget to keep that one safe'?" Harry nearly whined, begging for someone to take his accusations a bit more seriously. "That sounded to me like Borgin's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoy wants both."

"You reckon?" Ron asked, deciding to humour him.

"Yeah, I do," my brother was starting to sound seriously annoyed with our lack of interest.

"Maybe he has three, or four, hell, maybe Borgin is saving the last in a set," I added with a roll of my eyes. "Honestly, I don't see why it's any of our business."

"You didn't think that when you told us to follow him," Ron pointed out.

"I didn't tell you to follow him, in fact I told you not to!" I reminded. "Maybe one of _you _should be taking the time to snog him – you're as obsessed with him as Parkinson is."

Ron made a face, but Harry ignored the jibe altogether to continue his rant again. "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think Malfoy'd like revenge?"

"Of course he would," I answered simply. "He'll probably try for it, as well."

"Malfoy, revenge?" Ron asked doubtfully, looking at me with only a hint of worry compared to the skepticism on his face. "What can he do about it?"

"That's my point, I don't know!" Harry groaned irritatedly. "But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. What do you think he'd try, Audrey, you know him best-"

"She certainly does," Hermione mumbled vaguely into the pages of her book. I made a face.

"_Really_, you too, Hermione? I thought you'd be more mature about this-"

"It's none of my business who you flirt with," she responded easily, refusing to look up from her reading. "But you can't deny you've done it. I was simply making an observation."

"Honestly, Malfoy won't do anything to anyone," I said simply. "He's mad, sure, but he knows the risks if he decides to act on them. He and his mum are probably under a lot of surveillance by the Ministry since Lucius was announced as a Death Eater and-"

My brother's face slackened, looking as if he had suddenly lost all brain function – or maybe he had been using it a little too much and it had finally broken down. Either option was as likely as the other.

"Are you alright?" I asked, cutting off my speech to look at him a little worriedly. "Have you broken down? Are you finally having a psychotic break? Are you finally coming out of the Wardrobe Malfoy's buying-"

"Audrey," Hermione scolded, before turning to my brother. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Your scar's not hurting again, is it?" Ron asked, casting both of us girls a nervous look.

"He's a Death Eater," said Harry slowly. "He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!"

"Harry," I hissed, my voice coming out more harshly than I had expected it to. "What have I told you about saying shite like that? You can't go around accusing people of being Death Eaters – particularly just because you don't like him and his dad-"

"Right," Ron agreed with a guffaw. "I mean, Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"

"It seems very unlikely, Harry," Hermione agreed, finally closing her book – even though she kept a finger in her page, so she could continue again once she had placated him. "What makes you think-"

"In Madam Malkin's," my brother answered immediately. "She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, before casting a very nervous glance to me. I tried to hide how much my stomach had dropped at the very thought.

"Well..." Ron sounded unconvinced.

"I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry," Hermione said carefully. I was not so kind.

"I think you're raving," Ron and Hermione just looked relieved _someone_ had said it. "He hates us, Harry, he was leaving so that he didn't have to deal with you continually reminding him that his father is in prison while he's-"

"There's more to it, Drea! He showed Borgin something we couldn't see," Harry continued, shaking his head at me. "Something that seriously scared him. It was the Mark, I know it – he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!"

"I think Borgin would be a fool not to listen to Malfoy no matter whether or not his arm is bare," I explained, while Ron and Hermione cast worried glances toward my brother. "He is part of one of the most powerful wizarding families in Britain and now that his father's a known Death Eater, that's enough to put everyone on edge. He wouldn't get the Dark Mark – not while every move they make is under Ministry scrutiny."

"Audrey has a point, Harry..."

"Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join..."

Harry looked closer to livid than annoyed, so he was sure to leave the room with a huff. I sighed, watching him go but being unable to feel anything other than relief that I wouldn't have to talk anymore. Knowing that now was time for another nap, I placed my head back down onto my pillow.

"He's not going to let this go," Ron said slowly. "Is he?"

"Probably not," I mumbled into my pillow. "He's going to get himself into trouble."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, looking down at me from her bed. I shrugged myself back up onto my elbows.

"Harry's not only a wanted man by the Dark Lord, you know," I told them without inflection. "He just showed the wizarding world that Voldemort really _has _returned, which means that so have his followers – and half those followers have children at our school. It's not just the Death Eaters who will want revenge; it's their kids, too."

Hermione's eyes were wide and horrified – for once it seemed I may have out-thought the thinker. "You don't really think that he'll be in danger, do you?"

"I have no doubts," I answered honestly, unable to feel bad for the lack of interest which leaked into my tone. It was a tone that I knew worried everyone in the house simply because it was so _toneless_. "I mean, if Dumbledore's letting me stay with the Gryffindors, the Slytherins must be out for me. Can you imagine what they'll do to _him_?"

* * *

><p>We were ready to go when the Ministry cars picked us up the next morning to go to King's Cross station. Circe was the only pet that was not shoved into a carrier or cage, but instead she sat on my neatly packed trunk with a rigid sense of watching for danger. She wouldn't sit anywhere but my lap, either, while we sat in the car for the smooth and eventless journey to the station.<p>

When we arrived at King's Cross, two stern-faced Aurors in shockingly appropriate Muggle-wear were waiting to take us to the platform. They flanked the lot of us, not even talking in whispered voices. It was easy to forget they were there thanks to the energy leaking from the overprotective kneazle sat on my trunk, who was being better guard than they were.

"Quick, quick, through the barrier," Mrs Weasley bustled, looking nearly faint from the complete organization of our 'drop off'. "Harry had better go first, with-"

She looked inquiringly at one of the Aurors, as if to ask one of their names, but they only nodded briefly in response. The taller one took hold of his upper arm and moved my brother toward the barrier. The shorter one, the one with a longer beard, looked about ready to man-handle me as well, until my kneazle gave him a very warning glare that even _he_seemed unnerved by.

"I can walk, thanks," my brother hissed to his own Auror, throwing off the grip on his arm. He walked purposefully toward the barrier, crossing straight through the brick as if it wasn't even there. I looked toward my Auror before slinking my way through. I always liked doing it a little more slowly, ever since we had crashed so painfully into the solid brick wall in second year.

We were joined seconds later by the others, before Harry decided to ditch his Auror again.

"Let's find a compa-"

"We can't, Harry," Hermione interrupted, looking apologetic. "Ron, Audrey and I've got to go to the prefects' carriage first and then patrol the corridors for a bit."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Harry. To be honest, I had forgotten too.

"You can take my place, if you want," I acknowledged with a shrug. "Since you're so excited to see your man-crush..."

"You mean your ex-_boyfriend_?" Harry challenged. I made a face to show how unimpressed I felt.

"Alright, your point was made. I'll be leaving now..."

"Yes, Audrey's right, you'd better get straight on the train, all of you. You've only got a few minutes to go," Mrs Weasley took a quick look at her watch before moving toward her youngest son. "Well, have a lovely term, Ron..."

"Mr Weasley, can I have a quick word?" Harry began determinedly, I cast my eyes over at him.

"Something wrong?"

"Not yet," he said, his voice full of meaning. I took a deep breath, silently wishing that I didn't know my brother as much as I did – considering how that was already considerably more than I would have liked to. My brother was causing trouble again...

"Don't do anything stupid, Harry," I warned him. "You're sounding like a paranoid-"

"It's alright, Audrey," Mr Weasley smiled. "He can talk to me about anything."

With a triumphant look toward me, Harry lead Mr Weasley away from the group – I was about to follow, just to make sure that my brother wasn't as large a fool as he seemed, before I was wrapped tightly in Mrs Weasley's arms.

"Oh Audrey, I'm going to miss you! When you get there, you eat your food – I've already asked Ron and Ginny to ensure it-" she pulled away, but held on to my shoulders, trying to force me to make eye contact. I wish she wouldn't have warned them. It only further reminded me of everything the Slytherins had done for me last year and how I had returned the favour. "Get lots of rest, and go to Gryffindor tower as often as you need. Dumbledore told me you-"

"I'll go if I have to," I informed her, nodding my head. I couldn't tell whether or not I was lying.

"And don't forget to write. I've made sure to keep the owls ready for any word you have to bring to us-"

"I'm not really big into writing," I told her nervously, thinking to my stack of unanswered letters still left from this summer. Two from Greengrass, one from Lillian and Tracey, two from Fred, _six_ from Malfoy...

"Well you can't expect me not to worry about you, dear!" she gushed, giving me another tight hug again while the warning-whistle blew behind us. "Alright, time to go. Harry, quickly!"

My brother seemed frustrated when he came back from his talk with Mr Weasley. I couldn't help but smirk, plainly reading the failure over his expression.

"It went well, I take it?"

"Piss off," he grumbled, helping pull our trunks onto the steps of the train so we could take them to our compartment. Mrs Weasley handed Circe to me when my trunk was finally up with my brother's.

"Now, dears, you're both coming to us for Christmas, it's all fixed with Dumbledore, so we'll see you quite soon," Mrs Weasley explained as we moved onto the train. We went into the closest compartment, which almost seemed to be saved for us, while Mrs Weasley continued talking through the window as the train began to pull away. "You make sure you look after yourself and – be good – and-"

The train was gathering speed and by this point, Mrs Weasley was nearly jogging to keep up with us.

"-stay safe!" She finished. I wonder if she had planned to say more, but hadn't expected it to be such a jog. Still, Harry waved until we had turned a corner and the Weasleys were lost to us. We stood there for an extra moment, taking the time to feel what it was like to be alone – just the two of us – for the first time in over a month. The quiet was nice, the calm was euphoric – it was like everything I wanted out of staying in bed, without all the judgement for being in there in the first place.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Harry asked me after a moment. I looked around, remembering _why _we were alone – I was supposed to have made my way to the Prefects carriage.

I cursed, pushing my trunk against the seat closest to me. "Did you have to remind me?"

"Just making it so you can meet your boyfriend," he said jeeringly. I frowned.

"We never dated. Just snogged vigorously," I smiled when he grimaced. "Besides, don't you mean to _spy _on 'my boyfriend'?"

He shrugged, not willing to admit that it was what he meant, even though we both knew perfectly well that it was. "Can you put this up on the racks? Oh, keep Circe here for me, will you?"

"You were told to keep her with you," Harry began. "She'll warn you who wants to hurt you."

"I just helped incarcerate half my friend's family members," I told him grimly. "Everyone wants to hurt me. Just keep her here so she's not as stressed – I'll be back after a quick word with the Head Boy and Girl and a sweep down the train."

That was a lie. I firmly believed that I would 'patrol' the train from the Prefects compartment back to this one – I believed in a job well done...in the way that I felt _well_ when it was _done_.

It was easy to find the Prefect compartment, just two cars down. Students were nearly pouring out of it, considering there were twenty-six people expected to fit into it. It had been enlarged, that much was true, but there wasn't enough room for all of us. When I finally pushed through the crowd, I noticed that the meeting had not started so people were catching up on their summers – I looked for Ron and Hermione, finding them near the center, Ron looked relieved to see me.

"Thank Merlin," he muttered once I had reached him. "I thought you were going to leave me alone with Hermione!"

"Would that be a bad thing?" I asked with a raised brow.

"During something school-related?" It was a rhetorical question that I didn't need to consider – Hermione would be terrible to be near at a Prefect meeting, if you were left to fend for yourself. I couldn't imagine spending so much time actually _patrolling_ with her.

"What's got you so busy, Hermione?" I asked, seeing her concentrated sweep of the compartment.

"I'm examining who made Prefect...some of them are quite surprising," she noted.

"It looks like Padma's friend, Fawcett, got Prefect this year," Ron noted. "What's her first name – it's really weird-"

"Seraphina Fawcett," I recalled, looking at the girl across the compartment. "Summers got Prefect this year, too."

"Great," Ron frowned. "Those two cause so much trouble – I don't see how they made Prefect."

"_We_cause so much trouble," Hermione noted.

"No, we _find_trouble," I argued. "It's completely different and something that can't be helped."

"Hey, look – is the boy beside Hannah the new Hufflepuff sixth year prefect?" Ron's eyebrow furrowed. "It wasn't him last year, was it?"

"People who did poorly as fifth year prefects often don't make sixth year," Hermione explained, sounding like a walking book of facts as always. "It's all about responsibility."

"Then how did any of us make Prefect, this year?" I snorted. "Nevertheless how did we _ever_?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, obviously fighting against looking insulted, before she continued to look through the crowd. I was about to ask Ron if he still had any of the candy he had filched from Fred and George's store when I heard Hermione gasp.

"What is it?"

"Oh," she whispered, hand to her mouth. "_Oh_, that's not good..."

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking around. She was taller than me by a few inches and she seemed to easily look over people's heads to see whatever it was she'd found. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think I have," Hermione looked nervous, biting her lip as she turned to me. "Remember how Malfoy was Slytherin Prefect with you?"

"Er, _obviously_..."

"Huh," Ron sounded interested and surprised while he looked over everyone else – which was easy as he was one of the tallest Prefects here. "It looks like he did a bad job."

"What do you mean?" I asked, standing on my tippy-toes to look over people's head of hair.

"He's not Prefect anymore..." Hermione didn't elaborate, but there was no need to. I had finally stopped swaying and could see over enough people to see who had surprised her by entering the compartment.

Draco Malfoy was no longer sixth-year's Slytherin Prefect...Theodore Nott was.

He came closer as the Head Boy and Head Girl started their regular speech of 'so nice to be here, we're always here to talk to, if you need any help, remember your duties, don't take advantage of your situation, last year was bad but this year will be better'. They also were sure to inform us of all the extra security which had been added since Voldemort's return had gone public...but I couldn't really listen to them. I couldn't keep my eyes off of my best friend.

Well, he wasn't my best friend any more...in fact, the boy at the other side of the compartment didn't even _look _like the Theodore Nott I'd spent every day of the past five school years with. His hair, once so perfectly cut, was far too long for his face. It was washed, but still looked as if he had been sleeping on it. He was more pale than I expected him to be. He always had sun-kissed skin after all his Quidditch practice in the summer, but this year he looked as if he hadn't even ridden his broom. The pale skin did nothing for the heavy purple bags that hung below shockingly unamused brown eyes – this was not the Theodore Nott I knew. Hermione really _had_seen a ghost.

I don't know how long I had been staring at the differences in him before his eyes found mine – they were more harsh than I had ever seen them; darker and angry. Gone was the amusement that always flickered in them whenever I did something inappropriate, or when he would make quiet, offhanded comments about things he thought was stupid, but didn't have the courage to say...

Somehow I knew that if he were able to speak to me right then, he would not be so quiet with those offhanded comments. Somehow, by the look in his eyes, I could tell that he would never be so timid again.

"...so now that this is all settled, let's all start our rounds. We don't want any magic used on this train – whether it be a charm or a hex, is that clear?" The Head Girl continued. I couldn't believe that the entire compartment hadn't caught the exchange that had just happened between Nott and I – it was as if it had stopped time; how could no one else have noticed that the world had stopped spinning?

"Right," the Head Boy agreed. "Team up with your house counterpart to make a schedule. Everyone should have a round to do, no exceptions. Sixth year Prefects, give a little talk to the Fifth years – they don't really know what they're doing yet, so give them any pointers you can think to give them-"

"Audrey," Hermione said carefully. "Are you alright?"

She must have seen just how much this terrified me, the thought of meeting up with the seventh year Slytherins, the fifth year Slytherins, and Theodore so that we could have a hearty-chat about what havoc we were allowed and were not allowed – though we would obviously hope – to cause on patrol.

"Fine," I breathed.

"You can come patrol with us," Ron offered.

"No," I said carefully. "I have to face this eventually."

I had just wished that _eventually _was inevitably _delayed_.

As we broke off into our houses, I felt like my legs were going to give out on me. The seventh year Prefects – Berrow and Meads – were not looking too pleased as I walked over, the fifth years – Harper and Peebles – looked as if they weren't sure how to act, Theodore was shockingly nonplussed.

"Potter," Berrow frowned, his voice low. "Pretty brave of you to come over here."

"Darius," Meads piped up tauntingly, looking at me with sharp eyes. "She's with the Gryffindors now – of _course _she's feeling brave. One of them now, ain't she?"

"So it's true?" Harper asked, looking around at the others in the group curiously before turning back to me. "You really were with the Gryffindors at the Minsitry, then?"

"She most certainly was," Theodore noted, giving no other noticeable reaction. His face didn't even twitch as his arms crossed over his chest.

"I can't believe you'd come near Nott," Mildred Peebles spoke up, trying to muster what I'm sure she hoped was an intimidating glare. My heart almost froze in my chest – had Dumbledore been wrong? Did the Slytherins know what I had done down in the veil-room? "If it weren't for your little friends breaking in, Nott's dad wouldn't have had to go to the Ministry at all!"

"Audrey likes to _burn_-" the emphasis Theodore placed on the word was not lost to me, "bridges, don't you, Audrey?"

I felt my face flush, biting my tongue to keep from saying anything back to him. To be honest, I couldn't have thought of anything to say even if I had wanted to – would I defend myself or try to place the blame on someone else? Would I beg for forgiveness, or remind him just how much people say Thuban Nott had deserved what he'd gotten? The Slytherin in me was screaming to rectify my place, to defend myself and make this problem go away by whatever means necessary...but the loyalty in me was holding up a shield against the thought of hurting Theodore any more than I already had. He was lashing out and it only made sense for him to lash out at his father's murderer.

"Alright, you two," Meads turned to the two fifth year Prefects sternly. "All you need to know is not to let people like _Potter _and her brother's little friends get away with anything. If you see them as so much with an untied shoe, you can claim it's dangerous and can give them detention. Give them as many as you can – I want those Gryffindor brats out of our hair as much as they can be."

"We don't really have to do rounds on the train, do we?" Harper looked disgusted with the idea.

"No, of course not," Meads snorted. "Leave it to the tosspots to do that."

"You'll have to do your school rounds, though. There's no getting out of those," Berrow explained. I highly disagreed with him. I'd gotten out of mine plenty last year. Then again, now that I was with Theodore, I had a feeling I'd either need to get out of them all, or do every patrol alone. "But you don't have to check every nook and cranny like some will want to – I let the Slytherins get away with things, after all. It's the other's you have to punish for getting in your way."

"How about you take the train patrol, Potter?" Meads asked me, tilting her head to the side and looking wickedly pleased by knowing that there was nothing I could do to say no. "It's not like you have anything better to do."

"Besides sitting with the Gryffindors," Peebles, the fifth year prefect giggled. "Then again, that's only better if you get to hex them."

"Potter won't do that either," Berrow sneered. "She's brave enough to come to the Slytherins and she'll be too loyal to the Gryffindors to leave them alone."

"You mean she'll be too alone to be loyal to _us_," Meads agreed, looking at me as if I smelt foul. I clenched my jaw, fighting against all the insults I had lined up for them. The rancour, increased by my gritted teeth, tasted bitter.

"I'll take the train shift," I managed to grit out. The Slytherins smirked to each other, looking as pleased with themselves as I knew I would have. The fifth and seventh years walked away without another word or glance back to me. Theodore, looking at me for a moment longer, shook his head – I wish I would have known what thoughts he was rejecting – before he followed after them.

I found Hermione and Ron minutes later, already inspecting the train cars. I walked with them, not responding to any of their questions about what had been said by the Slytherins – to be honest, I couldn't tell if I kept it to myself out of pride, or out of guilt. And when we walked past a compartment filled with Slytherins – filled by Malfoy and _his _friends – I had to work hard to ignore the jeering and name calling that followed me down the corridor. I couldn't even look in to see who was insulting me, though I was glad that I didn't have to hear _his _voice.

But it was as I was walking away, nails dug into my palms, that I realized something nearly strange – I was _angry__. _I was angry and it was the first time I had really felt the need to defend myself. In _months_. It was a strange sensation, so foreign after having been gone for so long and yet so familiar because of how long it had been there before that. For that moment it was almost like I was myself again – even though the very thought brought on the guilt again, as if I had been drenched in it like you would drench yourself in a cold shower.

"Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving," Ron groaned, flopping onto one of the seats in Harry's compartment. Luna and Neville had sat with him and Neville squeezed to the side to ensure that I was able to sit beside my brother. I couldn't help but lean my head on his shoulder as Ron and Hermione said their hellos and Circe jumped immediately into my lap.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked me.

"No," I answered him honestly.

"What happened?"

"Malfoy's not doing prefect duty," Ron answered for me. I busied myself with Circe so that I wouldn't have to look at my brother, but I didn't move. I was already drowsy – classes were going to be hard to get through if it continued like this. "He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we saw him when we passed."

"Who's prefect then?" he asked, his heart beating faster under my ear as if he already knew.

"Nott," Hermione answered carefully. I could feel her eyes on me, particularly when Harry shifted to try and look down at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Fine," I answered.

"She's not fine," Hermione argued, sounding frustrated. "The Slytherins were _horrible_ to her when we walked by-"

Harry sat up straight, both interested and furious. "What did they do when they saw you?"

"The usual," Ron mumbled. "Not like either of 'em to say it to Drea, though, is it? I guess Malfoy's still sour about you breaking up with him...but why isn't he out there bullying first years?"

"He probably likes the freedom of not being under the Ministry's thumb," I admitted. "He has all year to bully first years. And next year, there will be a new batch for him to torture when he's at the top of the food chain."

"It's not like him to give up Prefect," Harry looked down at me on his shoulder with a frown. I couldn't help but pout – he only wanted to keep talking about Malfoy because of this new sudden obsession with what we had seen in Diagon and Knockturn Ally. I didn't want to talk about him at all, for some reason it felt like I was hard of breath every time his name was said.

"Maybe he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad," Hermione offered, sitting back in her seat now that Harry finally knew what 'troubles' I had encountered in the past hour. "Maybe being a prefect seems a bit tame after that."

"It is," I admitted. "We can't even take points now."

"That's a good thing," Hermione frowned. "Can you imagine how much Slytherins would abuse that power?"

"Can't you remember how much we _did_?" I asked, unable to stop myself from grinning softly at the memory...both Theodore and Malfoy had still been friends with me then.

"I don't think that's it," Harry interrupted pensively. "I think he's busy doing things for-"

"Oh, I'm not in the mood," I mumbled, interrupting him and sitting up. I scooped Circe up into my arms so she wouldn't fall as I stood. "I'm going to find the food trolley."

"Oh, perfect! Will you buy me something when you find it?" Ron asked, his face turning red. "I'm starved."

"Sure, but you have no choice over what it is," I explained. He just seemed glad that he would be getting food and made no move to come with me. Harry seemed about ready to complain about me going out alone, but instead I just held Circe out – almost displaying her to him and showing him I was protected – before I walked out of the compartment with her.

The air in the corridor was cripplingly cool in comparison to the air in the compartment – or maybe it just felt that way because of how my lungs couldn't seem to catch good air. Out here, there was no talk about Malfoy or Theodore or any of the Slytherins and it was a relief that only solitude could bring me nowadays. I started walking, unsure of which way the trolley could come, but I didn't make it very far alone.

"Oi, Potter!" I feel like that's how I'm always summoned. Turning around, I saw a Hufflepuff boy hanging out of his compartment, his eyes wide and bright. I knew him vaguely – his name was Zacharias Smith and he was a year above me...he was also a complete ponce.

"What do you want?" I asked, already becoming defensive.

"I was in your brother's dueling group, Dumbledore's Army," he explained, I felt my eyebrows shoot up. I couldn't believe my brother had involved _him_ – this boy was more than difficult to be around.

"Good for you," I said slowly, waiting for him to continue. When he did not, only continuing to look very interested, I found my annoyance spiking again. "Are we just standing here, trading facts? Because if so, I have some: I like the colour green and I hate insufferable Hufflepuffs."

"You were down in the Department of Mysteries," he said again. I felt my blood both boil and freeze all at once – the memory of it haunted me and yet I was so annoyed by this boy I could feel the cold sweat of the memory sizzle against my flushed cheeks.

"Another fact, yeah? _You_are an insufferable Hufflepuff," I told in a factual tone.

"What happened down there?" he asked, stepping out of his compartment so that he could question me more properly. "Is it true that you got to London on Thestrals?"

"Can you go away?"

"Did you see the body? Nott's body, I mean," he added hastily, apparently not noticing as my whole body went rigid. "Did you see who cursed him?"

_I did_, my mind screamed, even though it felt like my body was completely paralyzed by the harsh ringing – the _screaming – _that was echoing through my ears.

"Leave her alone, Smith," I couldn't even turn to look who had come to save the day, but it was only a few seconds before the taller redhead came to the rescue. Ginny Weasley looked as livid now as she had when the twins had been interrogating us about our boyfriends...or in my case, lack thereof. "I've already told you it's none of your business."

"But I want to know!" he groaned. "I figured she'd be best to ask – she's best friends with Nott, isn't she? She has to know how he died-"

"Stop it, Smith," Ginny hissed, her voice crackling like fire. "Step back into your compartment before I hex you into it."

"Is that why Theodore looks so bad, then? Is that why you weren't patrolling with him?" his eyes widened at whatever expression it must have been that crossed my face. "He doesn't _blame _you, does he?"

I couldn't answer, I felt as if his words had wrapped around my throat like a noose.

"I swear to Merlin, Zacharias, if you don't stop-"

"He does!" he gasped, seeing Ginny protecting me for the truth that it was. "Oh, it must be terrifying facing off against the Slytherins now – that's what you get for being all buddy-buddy with them. They're a bad lot, you see – no offense, of course – but you can never really trust them. I bet when you were down in the Minsitry, every one of those Death Eaters was a Slytherin and they were all out to kill you, but Nott got hit in-"

Zacharias Smith never got to finish his sentence, for as soon as Ginny had caught on to what he was about to say, she drew her wand and hexed him. The seventh year couldn't do so much as scream while all the mucus in his snotty, upturned nose formed into tiny, black winged bats that started flying out his face at rapid rate and attacking him – a feat I had never seen. I'd never seen the miniature snot-bats attack the person hexed before...it was a nice touch.

"My _dear_!" the gasp caught Ginny's attention and we both turned to see the walrus-like form of Horace Slughorn stood behind us, he was wearing maroon robes and was looking at Ginny's handiwork with the same level of surprise as I was. The little Weasley couldn't help but try to hide her wand as she began stuttering out apologies.

"I'm sorry, sir, I – I didn't mean for it to be that strong," she lied, "please don't take points away before we've even begun..."

"I was just coming to invite Miss Potter to lunch," he explained calmly. "Just so I could get to know her better – but you must come as well, miss. That is quite the hex – I've never seen the like of it before! Did you mean for the bogeys to attack him?"

"Er," she blushed crimson. "Yes, sir."

"Fantastic!" he beamed, clapping his hands once. "You must come with us to lunch, I would love to get to hear more from you – I was just headed back now, had to use the loo..."

And with that, the old, round Professor walked us to Compartment C and sat us down, chatting and leaving no room for our input the entire way. It wasn't long before others started to join: Cormac McLaggen – one of my least favourite Gryffindors, Belby – who was timid enough to only be able to look toward the food already laid out on the table, and most horrifyingly: Blaise Zabini.

He looked at me confusedly, when he arrived. He had been in the compartment when I had been called names and I doubted that he now knew how to address me – though he had been one of the few who had not targeted against me any time before. I could see that his allegiances were now separate: we had been friends just three months ago and now he was trying to assess how far that rift had split us.

"Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn cheered, moving to stand when my brother entered the compartment – saving me from having to continue returning Zabini's quizzical examination. He shook my brother's hand at once. "Good to see you, good to see you! And you must be Mr Longbottom!"

Neville could only nod, looking quite intimidated. After a gesture for them to sit, they sat down opposite each other – my brother thankfully taking the seat next to me. I somehow knew that Slughorn had had it planned for us to sit side by side.

"Now, do you know everyone?" Slughorn asked my brother, looking around the table with a smile. "Blaise Zabini is in your year, of course-"

Zabini didn't so much as glance at them, but Slughorn didn't seem to notice the snub.

"This is Cormac McLaggen, perhaps you've come across each other? No? And this is Marcus Belby, I don't know whether...yes? I should hope you recognize your own sister, m'boy – oh, and this charming young lady tells me she knows you!"

Ginny grimaced, moving forward to be seen from behind me. Harry smiled a little more brightly than I would have expected, but I would have been relieved had I not known she was there, too: this wasn't the most delightful company. Still, I was distracted by trying to figure out when Ginny had actually gotten a moment to speak and say that between Slughorn's constant barrage of old stories.

"Well now, this is most pleasant," Slughorn wiggled more deeply into his seat. "A chance to get to know you all a little better. Here, take a napkin. I've packed my own lunch; the trolley, as I remember it, is heavy on Licorice Wands, and a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things. Pheasant, Belby?"

Belby dared to take half of a pheasant from the table, even though he looked a little unnerved by the fact it was there at all.

"I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles," Slughorn explained to us all, handing us a basket of bread rolls. "Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin most well-deserved. Do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?"

Belby, having been shocked at the sudden allowance of being able to speak, choked on the mouthful of pheasant he had just swallowed. He was starting to turn purple when Slughorn calmly raised his wand to the boy's throat.

"_Anapneo_," Belby's airways cleared instantly.

"Not-not much of him, no," Belby winced, looking as if his throat stung.

"Well, of course, I daresay he's busy," Slughorn nodded, as if understandably. "I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!"

So _that's_who this kid is? Huh. I certainly never would have pegged this lump of coal for being related to an ingenious Potions Master.

"I suppose..." Belby cleared his throat, sounding nervous and distracting himself by playing with the pheasant on his plate. "Er...he and my dad don't get on very well, you see, so I don't really know much about..."

But Belby couldn't make himself continue and it was no surprise – as soon as Slughorn had heard the words come out of his mouth, his interest was gone. His smile turned cold and necessary, not at all polite, while he turned in his seat toward his next victim.

"Now, you, Cormac," Slughorn smiled much more warmly. "I happen to know you see a lot of your Uncle Tiberius, because he has a rather splendid picture of the two of you hunting Nogtails in, I think, Norfolk?"

"Oh, yeah, that was fun, that was," McLaggen puffed out his chest, unable to stop the flow of bullshit that poured from him. "We went with Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour – this was before he became Minister, obviously-"

"Ah, you know Bertie and Rufus too?" Slughorn had clearly found a prize to keep, looking fascinated and interested by the lard's connections. I didn't care who Cormac McLaggen knew, every time he breathed I wished I hadn't had to know _him_. Slughorn next passed around a basket of pies, somehow making it so Belby did not get one.

The conversation continued, going through each individual member in person as they told their stories. Neville was famous, of course, from his parents having been driven mad by Bellatrix Lestrange – something that made Blaise's eyes spark in interest when it was spoken of even though Neville clearly felt uncomfortable. I forced myself to look like I was paying attention while Blaise was interrogated about his mother and her husbands – all seven of which had mysteriously died and left her almost as rich as the Malfoys. And at that, I couldn't help but wonder why Malfoy _wasn't _here. If Slughorn was looking for people with sway in the Wizarding community, Malfoy would have been my first pick – even with Lucius behind bars, we Slytherins found that money often weighed more than loyalty.

"And now," Slughorn turned to my brother and I with bright eyes. "The Potter Twins! Where to begin? I feel I barely scratched the surface when we met over the summer! 'The Chosen One,' they're calling you now, eh Harry? And you, Audrey-"

"I'm not usually called anything that kind," I interrupted, rolling my eyes when my brother glared toward Blaise in turn, clearly thinking about all the possible names I had been called by him today.

"Of course," Slughorn continued, ignoring the look he was giving Blaise entirely. "There have been rumors for years...I remember when – well – after that terrible night – Lily, James and the two of you survived – and the word was that you must have powers beyond the ordinary-"

Zabini gave a cough to both hide and display his disbelief at the statement.

"Yeah, Zabini," Ginny hissed from my other side. "Because you can do better than Harry's Defense or Audrey's Magnuse, with your _posing_..."

"Oh dear!" Slughorn didn't seem to think it was necessary to dial down the annoyance that was suddenly vibrating through the compartment between Ginny and Blaise. Instead, he chuckled and grinned at him. "You want to be careful, Blaise! I saw this young lady perform the most marvelous Bat-Bogey Hex as I was passing her carriage; I wouldn't cross her!"

Zabini muttered mutinously under his breath.

"Anyway," Slughorn turned his attention back to my brother and I. "Of course I _have _heard of your talents with Magnuse and Cantated magic, Miss Potter – very, very impressive. The more I ask, the more I hear...and what stories there are to hear! You learned back in fourth year, I've heard?" I could do no more than nod, still unnerved by the attention being on me rather than Harry. "Fascinating! So young! Why, I've only heard of Merlin and his like being so apt to learn it at such an age! And, of course, _Harry Potter_..."

He turned his eyes to my brother and I watched Harry's cheeks flush pre-emptively for the embarrassment.

"Such rumors this summer. Of course, one doesn't know what to believe, the _Prophet_ has been known to print inaccuracies, make mistakes...but there seems little doubt, given the number of witnesses, that there was quite a disturbance at the Ministry and that you were there in the thick of it all!" Harry managed to nod stiffly. "So modest, so modest, no wonder Dumbledore is so fond – you _were_ there, then? But the rest of the stories – so sensational, of course, one doesn't know quite what to believe...this fabled prophecy, for instance-"

"We never heard a prophecy," Neville blushed when everyone's eyes turned on him.

"That's right," Ginny said strongly, I almost felt bad for knowing she was unwittingly lying. "Neville and I were both there too, and all this 'Chosen One' rubbish is just the _Prophet_ making things up as usual."

"You were both there too, were you?" Slughorn was much more interested in Neville now than he had been before – Neville had always been lackluster in conversation – but his accomplishments seemed to outshine his awkwardness. "Yes, well... it is true that the _Prophet_ often exaggerates, of course...for instance, there's little to say that Audrey was there at all! Did you have to _see _Bellatrix Lestrange, Mr Longbottom? Did you see the body of the fallen man – who was it?"

"Thuban Nott," I croaked out, my voice breaking harshly.

"Oh dear! He was quite influential within the Ministry – I dare say, doesn't he have a son close to your age?" Slughorn asked, sounding shocked. I could only force myself to nod as I tried swallowing the lump in my throat that was refusing to let me breathe.

"He's in our year," Zabini grumbled. "Was best friends with Potter, over there."

"_Really_?" Slughorn appraised me with the utmost fascination. "So did he come to your rescue, then, as you're so close with his son? My that's-"

"He was one of the Death Eaters," my brother interrupted brusquely. "And he wasn't close to coming to _anyone's_ rescue."

Slughorn's look of fascination morphed into one of surprise and then melted into a firm, unimpressed expression that seemed tightly guarded. "Well, one of those who attacked you, then? Must be hard for his son – but Death Eaters are like soldiers, know what they're getting into when they sign up, you know..."

I didn't know. I didn't want to, either. Circe, in my lap, gave a little growl in her chest and Harry grabbed my hand to stop my nails from digging back in to their old wounds. Slughorn, totally oblivious, continued on as if there wasn't a care in the world.

"I remember dear Gwenog telling me – Gwenog Jones, I mean, of course, Captain of the Holyhead Harpies-"

Quidditch was my breaking point. It was hard enough listening to things that horrified me, in a room with an ex-friend who hated me, while talking about things which I, in turn, loathed. I didn't need to exacerbate the problem by paying attention to it all. I let my mind wander off as Slughorn's stories wandered on.

It lasted hours – Slughorn seemed to have such an abundance of hot air, I wouldn't surprised if he could become his own furnace. The old teacher was more than willing to mention every influential witch or wizard he had ever had the chance of meeting and he took extra long on the stories that involved so much as a sentence of dialogue between them. He seemed to call these 'illustrious' students members of his "Slug Club" – an organization for people who he thought would have a chance at fame, or those who had already inherited it.

"Good gracious, it's getting dark already!" Slughorn exclaimed after the sun had begun to hung low in the sky. "I didn't notice that they'd lit the lamps! You'd better go and change into your robes, all of you. McLaggen, you must drop by and borrow that book on Nogtails. Audrey, dear, you must come retrieve my book on the meaning and use of Cantated magic – it really is quite fascinating! Of course you, Harry, and Blaise...any time you're passing. Same goes for you, Miss Weasley...well, off you go, off you go!"

I could not have been any happier to get out of that cramped compartment. I took a deep lung of air – air that didn't seem tainted by as much breath taken from the others – as we began down the compartment, Zabini only meters in front of us.

"I'm glad that's over," Neville sighed exhaustedly. "Strange man, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is a bit," Harry agreed, sounding uninterested.

"He likes knowing influentials," I explained. "It makes _him _feel influential."

My brother nodded, looking at Ginny who was between us. "How come you ended up in there, Ginny?"

"He saw me hex Zacharias Smith. You remember that idiot from Hufflepuff who was in the DA? He kept on and on asking about what happened at the Ministry and in the end he asked Audrey..." she trailed off, apparently realizing that she didn't want to repeat what had been said, in case I happened to freeze in the middle of the corridor again. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I hexed him – when Slughorn came in I thought I was going to get detention, but he just thought it was a really good hex and invited me to lunch! Mad, eh?"

"Better reason for inviting someone than because their mother's famous," Harry scowled at Zabini ahead of us. I wanted to explain that we were only famous because we were still alive– like every other person on this train, even if we had defied the odds – but it was thanks _to _our mother, instead I stopped myself. "Or because their uncle... "

My brother trailed off, continuing to glare at the back of Zabini's head as he lost himself in some kind of thought process. Apparently my brother was incapable of thinking and talking at the same time – then again, that came as little surprise to me.

Suddenly, so suddenly that I didn't even know what to expect, Harry pulled his rucksack across his shoulder more comfortably and dragged his Invisibility Cloak from it.

"You know, it won't be as impactful if everyone knows you're invisible," I informed him dully.

"I'll see you guys later," he ignored us, flinging the cloak around him.

"But what're you-"

"Later!" Harry interrupted Neville from under the cloak.

"He's being stupid," I rolled my eyes. "This is no way to play Hide-and-Seek, Harry...Harry?"

"I think he's gone," Ginny sighed, looking around for any sign of him – but that cloak was as perfect as always, hiding him entirely from view. We walked the little bit farther to our compartment and Hermione demanded, quite passionately, that we get into our robes. I left Circe with the bookworm while Ginny and I got changed and when we had come back into the compartment we gave the other two a heavily detailed version of what had happened during Slughorn's lunch.

"Why were you invited?" Ron pouted, looking at his sister. "Hermione and I are Harry's best friends!"

"She saved me from Zacharias Smith," I explained with a roll of my eyes. "He was harassing me."

"Apparently Slughorn is impressed with good hexes," Ginny agreed. "Otherwise I would have just gotten a slap on the wrist and a detention – instead I got a free lunch."

"And your ear talked-off."

"That too," she admitted, rolling her eyes just at the memory. I couldn't help but do the same – how did Slughorn talk so much without losing his voice? I was positive I had never spoken so many words in my entire life as he had in the past few hours. Maybe, after so much practice, he had grown fond of the sound – that was the only way that someone could possibly hold such long conversations.

I ignored the further conversation. I was glad Hermione was still reading her book, as well, or else I may have felt bad about alienating myself once again – but it was nice not to have to contribute to the conversation and after so long of being the center of it with Slughorn, it was nice to have people talking about _anything_ else_._

All too soon the lights of Hogsmeade began to dilute the darkness outside my window. I moved to reach my trunk, momentarily pausing to see that Harry's was still there.

"I'm not taking that," I said openly. "It's not my problem."

"He's your brother," Ron rolled his eyes.

"You wouldn't do it for _your_brothers."

"My brothers are gits," Ron argued. "You should know. You tend to kiss all the gits in the room."

I felt my face heat up. "I have no desire to kiss _you,_ so you may want to rethink that."

"Where is Harry?" Hermione asked, looking around nervously. It seemed now that she wasn't lost in her book she was remembering just how much time had passed and how long my brother had been gone. "Is he still out?"

"He's under the Invisibility Cloak. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be," I explained. "So there's no point in looking for him. He'll find us when he wants to be seen."

"But what if something's happened?" She asked, looking around.

"On the Express?" I asked skeptically. "Of course nothing's happened, there are too many witnesses for anyone to do anything stupid...or brilliant."

"He's invisible," Hermione reminded me with a grim frown. "That means there might not be any witnesses at all."

The ride up to the castle was not as bad as it could have been. Hermione tried to be kind to the Thestral she couldn't see that was pulling us in the carriage – thanks to our adventure with them only a few short months ago, she was trying to be more sympathetic. I took the time to pet the Thestral, just so I could avoid everyone's eyes on us – because _everyone's _eyes _were_ on us – as we climbed in and tried to make our way up to the castle without spurring any conversation.

"I really thought Harry would find us by now," Hermione muttered anxiously, looking out the window of our carriage over the expanse of Hogwarts as if we would see him waving.

"He probably got in the carriage with Luna and Neville," I waved it off, knowing that they had decided to catch a less full carriage when we realized our group was too large to fit in one. "Stop worrying."

"How can you _not _be worrying?" She asked with a frown. "He's your brother."

"I doubt he'll suddenly become The Boy Who Died when there's all this security," I said simply. Hermione gave me a look that clearly said she didn't like seeing me be so unemotional about this, so I tried to roll my eyes and seem more upset. "Let him have his adventure – for once I'm glad it won't get me in trouble. You should be, too. I'd know if something were wrong, we're _twins._"

That didn't seem to comfort her, but it was the best I could come up with. I didn't want to say anything more anyway, considering I was busy trying to steel myself for what I knew was coming – a Sorting Ceremony and Start of Term Feast among the Slytherins. I didn't feel ready to face them all...even though many of them were clearly ready to face me; in fact, I expected some of them were excited for it – but it was still painful to think of all the things I'll have to find I've lost.

We reached the castle too soon, Hermione and Ginny walked with me as far as I would let them, but as we entered the Great Hall – magnificently decorated with its floating candles and enchanted ceiling, as if nothing had happened or changed from the year before – I split away from them. They couldn't save me from the torture that I deserved and I didn't want to get them in trouble for trying.

I sat at the far end of the Sixth Year section of the table, facing the Gryffindors so that I could continue to get encouraging glances from Hermione – but they were few and far between thanks to how distracted she was while still looking for my brother. And I won't deny, I was surprised – I had thought that he would have shown up by now. I saw that Luna was at the Ravenclaw table and Neville was also scanning the Great Hall for _The Chosen One..._but my brother was nowhere in sight.

A cool shiver slid down my spine and Circe, who had been sure to stay under the table, hissed as the other Slytherins began to take their seats around me. Most people didn't spare me a glance, or if they did they just made a rude comment and turned back to their friends – I diligently kept my eyes on the Gryffindor table, purposely avoiding catching any Slytherins glare...until one sat right in front of me.

"Hello, Potter," the horribly familiar, nasal voice had grown somehow higher over the summer. Or maybe it was just that I was so unexcited to see the dog that I was re-noticing all of her glaring faults.

"Parkinson," I said back lowly.

"I'm surprised you're here...shouldn't you be over with your brother?" She smiled cruelly, making a scene of waving over to the other table. "Or do the Gryffindors not want you, either?"

"Could be that Potter's not here," Bulstrode giggled from beside her ringleader. "Maybe even _he_doesn't want her!"

The two cackled in the most stereotypical witchlike fashion they could manage.

"Leave her alone, Pansy," a quiet voice to my side growled. It was a familiar voice, but still startling to hear in my defense. I looked over, in complete surprise, to see Tracey Davis – right beside her, one of the last Slytherins into the hall, was Lillian Moon. Had they only sat beside me because they were so late to the ceremony – or were they really sitting beside me as allies?

"So now you're protecting her," Pansy sneered at them.

"Slytherins protect their own," Lillian recited boldly, her pale eyes pointedly glaring at the pug-faced priss. "Audrey is a Slytherin."

"_She_ didn't protect _her_ own," Pansy noted. "She decided to go with the Gryffindors, instead."

"That's different," Tracey said immediately, pointing her fork at Pansy in both a way for emphasis and to threaten her. "_Harry_ is one of _her _own."

"I guess you know what it's like being pulled from two different sides," Pansy sneered, looking disgustedly down her nose to Tracey. "Wouldn't you, _Half Blood_?"

Tracey bristled immediately, if she were an animal her hackles would have been raised. And as if she _were _an animal, she looked ready to attack Pansy, who was trying to hold her ground and look brave – but the twisted look of determination and terror on her face made her look more of a coward than normal. Even before Tracey could brutalize her, she was cut off.

"I wouldn't say anything too fierce, Davis," a smooth voice announced from the side. "It might make us wonder whose side you're on."

"Draco!" Pansy cheered, watching come closer to the table. "Oh, come sit by me!"

_Oh, _don't_ come sit by her__,_ I wanted to say – but it was too late. Malfoy had caught Parkinson's eye and he was determinedly walking right toward me, his eyes ruthless when they flickered my way. I tried to keep my stomach from lurching just at the anger behind them.

"Hello, Potter," he said, his voice hard yet somehow impassive. "Have you seen your twin?"

Reflexively my eyes scanned over the Gryffindor table again – it was hard to see around the bustling of First Years which had just entered the Great Hall to be sorted. My eyes flickered back to him when I saw that my brother wasn't among those in red-edged robes.

"What did you do?" I accused.

"It was my own start of the year celebration," he said simply, smirking proudly when the other Slytherins around him started asking excited questions and started to get excited. I don't know what they were excited for – my brother was not well-liked in this house, it was true, but he had the best protection in the entirety of the Wizarding World...did they really think that he just wouldn't come _back?_ I glared at Malfoy, wondering how I had ever held so much worry for him during the summer – clearly he was okay; better than. In fact, he looked more cool and confident than ever.

In the middle of his fawning over himself, right as the hat began to sing, Malfoy cried out.

"Ow! What the-" moving so that he could check under the table, he surfaced with a cold look in his eye. And it was pointed right at me. I rolled my eyes at his expression raising my hands as if to show him that my wand wasn't in them – even though he knew that wouldn't have stopped me anyway.

"I didn't do anything," I informed him quietly, my voice sounding much more timid than I wished it would have. He frowned, looking at me pensively before he locked his jaw.

"Your cat just attacked me."

"Kneazle," I corrected immediately. Then, when I realized what he said, I blinked. "Wait – what?"

"She just stuck her claws into my leg," he hissed. "Keep it on a leash, Potter."

I was too distracted by my brother's disappearance and Circe's strange behaviour to think of a good response for him. I was hardly able to pay attention to the new students being sorted. I knew the technique and any student coming here was bound to hate me anyway. Slytherin clapped quite a few times, more than any other house, in fact – but it was noticeable by the small grouping of students just how many students had not come to or returned to Hogwarts this year.

It was as everyone was eating that I realized I couldn't sit still. I was bouncing my legs and had already gotten two silent glares from Tracey and multiple insults from Parkinson – but I couldn't stop it. I was anxious...Harry still hadn't shown up, Circe had attacked Malfoy, and I was going to have to sleep in a dorm with all of these...

My brother appeared as suddenly as he had disappeared on the train. He was a mess of blood and flushed cheeks when he entered through the tall oak doors of the Great Hall in front of Snape. His shirt was ruined, glasses broken and askew on what looked to be a humiliated face. He hesitated only long enough to find Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table before he made a bee-line for them.

"What did you _do_?" I asked again, more viciously this time, as I turned to Malfoy. I was proud by the emotion I put in my voice, which bolstered how intimidating I sounded. Even my numbness could not hide the relief of seeing my brother – and the fury of seeing him injured. Malfoy, in turn, smirked a little. He quickly looked over his shoulder to ensure that my brother looked horrible, before turning back to me and answering loudly, for everyone to hear.

"I kicked him in the face. Broke his nose..." He did a horrible pantomime of my brother's nose breaking and the blood spewing all over his shirt. The Slytherins around me laughed raucously and Malfoy turned to me with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "He really shouldn't have been on the floor."

"And why was he on the floor?" I asked just as suspiciously. He smiled – not the smile I had grown to enjoy least year, but a smirk that was so large it had to turn into a smile or else his face wouldn't contain it. It was so cruel looking that you could tell it was dangerous, like a snake rearing to strike.

"Because I stunned him," he said simply. "You might want to keep him on a tight leash, too."

I barely had time to be furious before Dumbledore stood, raising his arms to embrace the school – and show off his blackened hand in the process.

"The very best of evenings to you!" Dumbledore smiled, even while the whispers about his hand grew more and more loud – the Slytherins were loudest of all as they began whispering about his deformity. He glanced at his hand quickly before smiling kindly to us all. "Nothing to worry about. Now...to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you, full of promise and excitement. I have faith that each and every one of you will complete what need be completed and pursue that which you want to make your life..."

Malfoy, at this point, was glowering openly at the Headmaster – if looks could have killed, Albus Dumbledore would have been dead weight on the high table.

"Please remember that the Forbidden Forest is as its name describes: forbidden. General rules of being in bed by curfew will be enforced by teachers and prefects. Mr Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year..."

The Walrus-man who spoke more than I breathed moved to stand, looking proud as he nodded professionally to all the students gazing up at him. "Professor Slughorn is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?"

"_Potions_?"

"He's teaching _Potions_?"

The words echoed through the Great Hall like ricocheting spells that made all the breath wheeze out of me. But if Professor Slughorn was teaching Potions, then that meant...

"Professor Snape, meanwhile will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The Slytherin table burst into cheers...which somehow managed to drown out my scream of horror.

* * *

><p><strong>Audrey is definitely not having a good start to her year, is she? If only she knew what else I have lined up for her! I'm so mean to her. So Draco's being cold, the Slytherins are being cruel, and Nott...well, he's being everything he never was. How is Audrey going to survive this year now that Snape isn't going to be there like he was before?<strong>

**To my fantastic reviewers:**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Yes, thank you so much for the picture! I just posted it, hopefully you can see it. This chapter had some Draco/Audrey, too, but it was more focused on showing how she was going to have to cope with the Slytherins now that shit has hit the fan. You were right that the Slytherins would be on her this year; and about all the angst. This poor girl is about to have a horrible year...or will she?  
>I hope you like the new chapter and thank you for both the review and the picture again!<strong>

_Blue Luver5000_**: I know! I'd have probably hundreds of books out by now if Telepathic Story-Writing were possible. Xmen could do it. Maybe even Harry Potter...but our world? Nope. Not good enough. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_xYaar_**: I'm going to Amsterdam and Rhine Valley, it's on a tour that my friend and I are going on. Then we're headed for more countries. It's my first time in Europe, so I'm very excited. Do you have any suggestions of things I should do? As for the story, Draco and Audrey will definitely be kissing in this book, I promise. I wouldn't just leave you hanging like that after everything that happened in OOTP :)**

_Lizzy B_**: Thank you, I hope you liked the new chapter!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Yes, Audrey's snarky comments are slowly returning; hopefully you can tell. I actually really enjoyed writing the Narcissa scene in the last chapter, even though it hurt my heart a little bit and I also loved writing the Weasley Twins...I always do. They're phenomenal characters. Audrey and Draco will have a little chat in the next chapter :) Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Thank you, hopefully you liked this one!**

_incitanemxx_**: I did write that she liked Ron more than Bill, simply because of how they bicker and play off each other. Even though he's kind of a discriminatory prat, she and Ron actually work really well off of each other's personalities. Even if it means they're bickering when they do it. He's pretty much another brother to her. Hopefully you're going to like Ginny more and more, I'm making she and Audrey become closer each chapter. If you didn't notice it in this chapter, you'll certainly notice in the next. Audrey will not be alienated from the entirety of the Slytherins all year – but a strain has been put on her friendships with many of them, to be kind. Really, most of them hate her, and we're really going to see that the next few chapters. We'll get to see how Draco is going to take this year with her in the next chapter. I have totally seen that interview! Tom Felton is pretty charming, but I won't deny, it's kind of a turn-off that he's not as badass as Draco is. **

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you for doing this, you're a doll! I'll probably send you a few more chapters this week, as well. I'm trying to just get as many done as I can. Europe is coming up soon so I want to be ready! Also, your business sounds wonderful! I bet it's a lot of work, but I'm certain it will be rewarding :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Circe can sense that something isn't right with Draco's intentions now – and you can tell that he's catching on to the pattern. But Audrey's in denial...how long do you think that will last for? Hope you liked this new chapter!**

_TheDuckKnight_**: I think it's a little bit of both; realizing that they are on different sides and that Audrey kind of ignored him. Yes, we're going to see them pushing each other away a little bit...but do you think that's really going to work? These two won't just give in like that! And Fred was all bright and cheery when he saw Audrey but moody when the subject of Malfoy came up. Then again, if I kissed someone I've liked for years and then a few months later found out he'd been making out with one of my enemies behind everyone's backs, I'd be pretty upset too. It's alright, Fred will be making a comeback sooner rather than later. And there will be more Malfoy next chapter :)**

_Mischief and Magic_**: Yes, Circe is totally not feeling the whole 'Death Eater' thing on Draco. She's a pretty pissy kitty, but don't worry – stubbornness shall prevail! Ha, if you expected me to say 'true love', you are seriously mistaken. I know that the whole 'making it out of the same fabric' was kind of creepy, I tried to keep it as casual as I could, but at the same time Audrey couldn't admit to herself that she was trying to make robes that she knew Draco would like...it was a hard few paragraphs.  
>To argue Fred's side, imagine what he thought: he kissed her before he left the school. He didn't hear anything about her. He heard that she killed Nott at the Ministry. Then heard Ron complaining about her being with Malfoy. Then heard she was all mopey because now she's a killer and her boyfriend is angry with her. Then he saw her at the shop and she didn't acknowledge the kiss but they did acknowledge Malfoy...I could see why he'd be upset. Poor guy probably feels like number two. Which he is.<br>Alright, every time you insert a PTERODACTYL SCREECH I actually almost pee myself. People look at me like I'm a freak, I can't stop giggling (and that's a common problem, as I am a complete giggler, but outright boistrous laughter?) and I embarrass myself. And yet, it gets across what you mean so well...Harry will have tons of bonding itme with Audrey, you don't need to worry. You won't be as pissed with him, but the annoyance will continue for he WILL continue to be obsessed with the whole Death Eater thing. Sigh. Why can't you leave well-enough alone, Harry?  
>It would be interesting to see a chapter from Narcissa's perspective, but I don't think it would be the Diagon Alley scene because I want to do that from Draco's...but I also want to do that from Narcissa's too...but...argh. You're making me think too much on far too little sleep. Also you called Narcissa a BAMF. Mad points.<br>I have a few tattoos: one to represent my Scottish heritage, a very complicated dream catcher, music from my favourite song, and I'm planning on getting another in Greece. All my tattoos have stars in them...it's kind of my thing. I'm a sucker (and a complete obsessive nut) for constellations and mythology.  
>Also, never worry about asking all those questions, comments, and concerns...I enjoy answering them. Or not answering them and making it more confusing...I get a kick out of both ;)<br>So, some Snape (not much, but at the very end), Draco, Theodore (so sad), Slytherins (pricks) and a bit of brother-sister bonding. The real cute moment comes next chapter though...and you'll melt. I can already guarantee it!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I'm glad you think that I'm making him an arse enough for the story. I purposefully try not to make him too mushy – I always used to hate stories like that when I read fanfiction. I'd always say 'he would NEVER do that' and often put the book down because it wasn't worth reading about a completely new character. I'm glad that I'm making him seem believable to how he was originally written, thank you! I hope that Audrey will be able to put the pieces together, but you'll have to wait and see! Thank you for the review :)**

_SwiftAlice_**: So I'm going to respond to both your PM and your review here, just because my PM page is being a little wonky with my current hotel Wi-Fi. First, let me just say how honoured I was that you would want to translate this story at all! If you want to take the story, feel free – it will take a lot of time (it's a lot of material, after all) but I would never stop you from doing it. Just don't feel pressured...I feel bad thinking of you doing all that work!  
>I'm sorry to hear about your aunt, I hope that you're alright. I also hope that she's comfortable and that the distraction helps, you're very sweet :) I am going to see my family, a lot of which I've never actually met and all but one barely speaks English – and I only speak their language brokenly, but hopefully enough to get by – so it should be an adventure. I'm the only one besides my Uncle to have ever gone to visit "the old country" so they're pretty much pulling all the stops to introduce me to my long-lost culture.<br>Going to the UK is actually a lot less than I expected it to be. Europe is cheaper (generally, of course they still have their more expensive places) but it was not as expensive. I expected it to be $2000+ for flights, it was under $1000. I expected it to be $150 a day, it's closer to $75-80 (with Canadian currency, of course). It's not actually that bad. The length I'm going for is what makes it expensive, but I need the time away. It's time to sort out my life and for some reason, running away from it seems the only way, haha. Where are you from? I'm Canadian (hence Canadian currency, that was probably redundant) so yes, I am from North America...that cold place. But no, I don't live in an igloo. And I sadly don't own a polar bear...even if I want to.  
>Ah, story! Yes, there was Draco in this chapter...so hopefully you enjoyed that. Even though the last time it made you feel like crying. I totally don't see Draco as Tom Felton...well, to a degree I do. I see his basic silhouette and his basic characteristics, but I tried to follow the book more with his actual features. I have never found an actress that looks exactly like I picture Audrey, no matter how much I look or try. One may have the eyes but they don't have her colour hair, or they have the colour hair but it's too neat because her hair is always a mess, or maybe the actress is too pretty because even though Audrey is 'pretty' (though in my mind, closer to cute) she is not a model and she is not classically beautiful. I have sketched a picture of Audrey, one day I might show it...but I'm not the best artist in the world and I'd be afraid of ruining other people's ideas of her if I tried and failed, haha.<br>I also love Narcissa. Writing her was more fun than I would have expected it to be. I can't wait to delve into her character again. As you can see there are lots more family moments with Harry in this part of the books and there will be another nice one next time, as well...you know, before the Half Blood Prince's book is discovered. Theo obviously is still upset about the whole "you killed my dad thing"...then again, he should be. And I do kind of feel like this story is my baby, I certainly baby it and give it more attention than normal people would. And I'm proud of it and it's a commitment that I never thought I could stick this long with. But I love it, extensively. Hence why I'm still going to update while I'm in Europe, haha. I love this too much to spend that much time away from the story. It's almost as much as I love you! :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I'm glad you thought it was sweet when Draco tried to argue Narcissa when she called Audrey a murderer. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'm glad you liked the little bit of humour, you're the only one to mention the 'I'm a tease' part from last chapter, haha. It's definitely picking up, as we will see next chapter which is the rest of that night and the first day of classes. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_katie93319_**: Fred will definitely make an appearance in a few chapter's time...alright, maybe not an appearance but he will be mentioned and wiggle his way back into the plot. Yes, I do want to write the letters that people wrote her in the summer, but I'm debating about having a chapter with all the letters she received in order, or whether I should actually write a chapter from Draco's point of view as he sends one. And yes, I'm really excited for Europe...and writing where JKR wrote. I get giddy just thinking about it! Thank you so much for the review, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yeah, Narcissa really did throw a curve-ball there, didn't she? But I thought it was fitting, Harry WAS being a huge jerk. As you can see from this chapter, Circe no longer trusts Draco. Poor Draco, he's just not catching a break – Audrey's a smart cookie...she may just figure this all out on her own. Fred was a bit jealous and Hermione was a bit ridiculous, being cheery in Knockturn Alley...Audrey almost brought it back, but not quite. Hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_LeannaDrobisforever_**: Of course I'll respond to you! Thank you for the review, you take the time to write me just like I take the time to write this chapter, so it seems only fair to respond. My favourite book was the sixth book too, so I'm really hoping that everyone likes where I take these plot points with Audrey involved. Yes, Circe can tell that Draco is no longer completely trustworthy...poor Draco. He's about to have a rough year.**

_OddPotato_**: I hope you liked this chapter, it had more Draco. Next chapter will have some more as well, but this was more about her handling her first meeting with Theodore...poor girl. Thanks for the review.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Aw, I'm sorry I made you cry but I'm glad it was effective. It was supposed to be earth shattering for Audrey, so I'm glad I wrote it as I intended it. Audrey was a lot of fun to write when she was talking to Borgin, we'll see more of that haughtiness later. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Amber Rose Black_**: Audrey is going to have one hell of a year, so I won't answer the questions about how she's goign to handle it. You're just going to have to see for yourself! Sirius will be back in the story within a few chapters, I won't leave him out for long, but I want to get the Hogwarts-scene solidified. Hope you like this chapter, thank you for reviewing :)**

_Melody_**: I'm glad the last chapter didn't disappoint, hopefully this one didn't either. I loved writing the Narcissa scene, even though it hurt my soul, kind of like when I had to write Audrey to stay quiet when the Slytherins were being so cruel. Audrey may find out about Draco being a Death Eater, she's a smart girl, she may piece it together on her own! I hope that your contest to enter a school went well! Thanks for the review :)**

_Prongsie1213_**: Circe doesn't trust Draco anymore, it is quite sad. He doesn't have good intentions and that's what kneazles sense...danger towards their owners. The Twitter-question I asked will be multiple chapters away, but you will find out! Thanks for everything!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I told you the time would fly! I'm glad you liked the beginning of HBP and hope that your final tests went well. Thank you so much for reviewing! **

_Guest_**: HBP is my favourite book in the series, so don't worry, I'm not going to let this one be boring! There will be more twists and turns than you can count! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_StealthElf23_**: Yes, Draco was in the last chapter for a bit and this chapter for a bit as well, next chapter we will see more of him. Audrey did end up keeping the Patented Daydream that she was given, it will be a fun scene to write. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was just as – if not more – exciting :)**

_Polki_**: Aw, thank you! It's so sweet that you took the time to write a more detailed review and that you took the time to read this story on a cruise! I feel honoured, truly. I've always wanted to see Alaska – I'm a wildlife buff.  
>I wish I could say that I was writing this out of my ass, I'd probably feel a lot more talented, but I planned this out for a long time before I updated it. Character-wise and plot-wise...and it is really hard not to just say "this, this and this happens! Awesome, now to the next super-exciting chapter!" because of how I've gotten it all mapped out.<br>Audrey is slowly returning to normal and you had better bet that Draco taking the mark will be both dramatic and counterproductive...but I'm hoping that it will be a good read.  
>It's really nice to hear that you don't mind that Draco and Audrey falling for one another isn't the main focus of the story...I can tell there are many people who aren't as happy about it, but it's nice to hear once in a blue moon that it isn't as important :) thank you for the sweet review!<strong>

_Anything But Ordinary_**: Aw, thank you so much! I hope that you continue to like it as I push through the Half Blood Prince. Your review is much appreciated :)**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Good, I don't want to mess Sirius up. It would be so bad if I saved him only to butcher his character later...I'd hate myself. Ice Cream sounds so good right about now – I've been very stressed out lately, working crazy hours in prep for my trip, so eating a few gallons of ice cream would be so good – and oh-so terrible – all at once. Hopefully you liked this chapter, how she handled the Slytherins and seeing Theodore again. There will be more Draco next chapter :)**

_bookreader1617_**: Thank you! I'm sorry that I've deprived you of a little bit of sleep, but I'm glad that you've enjoyed it enough to think it's worth that. Draco and Audrey won't be separated for too long – they're two peas in a pod, after all – but it's going to be a very bumpy ride for them. I'm glad the length of this story didn't scare you off – back when I was reading fanfiction, I would have been terrified to start a story this long! – but I'm so happy you like it. Thank you very much for your review :)**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I know, the doll thing is pathetic. The worst part? Not even close to the worst of my childhood stories. I was a cute kid...cute in a "holy, that must have been so embarrassing!" not "holy, you were such a pretty kid!". I was the bad kind of cute. Anyway, I hope that you like the new chapter and thank you, I'm glad you like the story!**

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><p><strong>Well, there's another chapter for you! Hope you liked it and that it left you on the edge of your seat: how will the Slytherins be in the dormitories? What classes will Audrey take? How will Audrey handle not having Snape for Potions? How will she handle her brother getting the Prince's book? Will Audrey be able to survive Theo's darkness and Draco's cruelty? <strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend


	62. Two's Too Crowded

**Alright, I'm warning you now: this chapter is angsty. But it is necessary, I swear it! You guys need to know where Audrey stands, as it were, with her friends and enemies and we need to see just how much she can handle before...well, read the chapter and find out ;) Thanks for all the fantastic reviews and response on twitter – this chapter came out over a day early because you guys are so great!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Chapter 61 – Two's Too Crowded<p>

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><p>My horror was silenced by the deafening excitement of the Slytherins around me – Severus Snape was no longer Potions Master, but Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. There were so many things wrong the idea that I couldn't even wrap my head around it: I would humiliate myself in front of my mentor, Harry would cause more trouble in that class than ever before, Snape had always wanted this – I should be proud...but it was impossible.<p>

"Audrey," Lillian asked over the roar of the silver and emerald robed students. "Are you alright?"

"It's the cursed spot," I choked out, looking to her with wide eyes and temporarily forgetting my worry that she may or may not have been playing around while she was defending me. "No Defense teacher stays longer than a year!"

Lillian's eyes flickered to Tracey – she looked nervous as well, but both girls shook their heads at my words. "Snape is different, Audrey."

"Curses don't make exceptions, Lillian," I spat out. After Dumbledore's speech ended – though I did not know how, considering I couldn't bring myself to listen to the rest – we were left to chat and make our way to our dormitories. Lillian and Tracey stood and seemed to be waiting for me, as if they would walk with me to the dormitory, but I shook my head.

"I'm not going back yet," I told them. "I'll see you in the morning."

"But – where will you go?" Lillian asked nervously, looking toward Tracey. "We could come with you..."

"No, that's alright," I brushed her off, walking past the fifth year prefects who were already corralling the first years toward their new homes.

"What Moon means," Tracey said, turning me around by the specific edge to her voice. "Is that you shouldn't be alone. We can't just leave you on your lonesome anymore, Potter – in case you hadn't noticed, your guard is gone."

A part of me was flattered – I had been wrong, I had been wrong to be suspicious of them and their methods...they were trying to help me. To protect me from the Slytherins who wanted their revenge. I guess it made sense; neither Tracey nor Lillian's families were involved with Voldemort, they'd had nothing to lose from the battle in the Department of Mysteries. They had no reason to hate me, considering they hadn't been effected.

"I noticed," I muttered, trying to keep my voice from being as bitter as it wanted to be – even after my realization. I was glad when I was able to catch sight of Malfoy's back as he left the Great Hall...it was better if I didn't deal with him tonight. I was already exhausted and I was clearly not at my best when it came to defending myself...not that I could tell Tracey and Lillian that. I worried they may not leave me alone, otherwise.

"So just come back to the dormitory – Greengrass is worried as all shit, Rivers isn't even pretending to be in our room anymore..."

"No," I said, my stomach clenching. "I need some time alone."

Neither girl seemed comfortable with that, at all, but my reputation let them know they couldn't make me do whatever I didn't want to. It was a comfort, being such a monster, that I could reap whatever benefits came after the terror of it.

The girls seemed to leave me in a swift move that left me following the crowd into the Entrance Hall. I was sure to stay away from being herded towards the dungeons so that I could lurk in the corridors of the main level; the other House dormitories and common rooms weren't here, so I had hopes that it would be deserted. All but for me and Circe, who had somehow battled the crowds by weaving through my legs and everyone else's. It was crazy to think that this year I was free of Montague and all the harassment that had left me afraid to go out on my own – but now I had a whole new enemy: my own friends.

And what was worse? I wouldn't have Snape to keep me sane. Not as before. If Slughorn was the new Potions professor, would that mean he was also the head of Slytherin House? I didn't know the variables to that – I didn't know if that meant that I really would be free game to any of the carnivorous snakes that planned to eat me alive. Either way, Severus Snape would be pretty much vacant in my life, I realized with a painful tug on my stomach. Not only was this his last year teaching thanks to the cursed spot...but I had failed my Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. I couldn't even take his new and final course.

A part of me felt like I should walk right out of the front entrance to the school and not come back, whereas the other part of me wanted to sit right where I was and cradle myself and the tears that were burning my eyes – I refused to do either. I wasn't about to give up and let the Slytherins win – whether I was in the wrong or not, and I certainly wasn't about to break down within the first few hours of being in the school. I just needed to sleep – sleep always cured everything for those few hours before I woke up. Even the nightmares couldn't bother me until I woke up and remembered that they had really happened. I'd rather live in a perpetual nightmare for days at a time, then wake up and remember that _this_ nightmare wouldn't go away.

I don't know how I ended up finding my way up to the floor of the Gryffindor common room – maybe it was subconscious, maybe it was because I knew that it was the only place I might have a chance at being welcomed...but I was wrong. As I was walking down the corridor, another set of footsteps rang in my ears. I stopped, foolishly, wondering if it was just the echo of my own feet – but the other footsteps didn't stop with me. They had a lighter heel than my own shoes and they were walking much more briskly than I had been...

Circe stopped walking and hissed ahead of us...and then _he_rounded a corner. He noticed me immediately: his steel-cold eyes narrowed and even from here I could see his shoulders square defensively. He took a few more steps toward me, looking almost as if he had tasted something foul.

"What are you doing up here?"

"I have a brother who lives up here," I informed him defensively, rocking on my heels a bit when his eyes narrowed. It appeared he still wasn't pleased with the mention of my brother, even after he had gotten to kick him in the face tonight. It was strange – I never expected someone to be so angry after their dreams had come true.

"Ah, yes," he sneered. "I should have assumed you'd try to figure out what happened. I'll save you the trip: I bashed his face in with my shoe. He was spying in my compartment – I figured there were already enough spies in your family, don't you agree?"

I clenched my teeth, fighting not to respond to the insult. "Then what's your excuse?"

"I hate him," he responded simply. "I thought that much was obvious."

"It is," I said dully. "But I was referring to why you're _here_."

"Why, Potter," he smirked, it was that contortion that was too large to be a smirk and too twisted to be a smile – it was dark and it was cruel. It was as if last year had never happened... "Are you going to put me in detention?"

"I was thinking about it," I answered around the dryness in my throat. "Answer, Malfoy, or you'll get a month of it for what you did to my brother _and _for ruining my night."

"I don't need an excuse to walk the halls-"

"Actually, now you do," I explained, pointing out the Prefect badge on my chest. "You don't have one of these anymore – care to explain that?"

"I don't see the point," he bit, his voice sounding robotic. I saw as he stopped being amused, even if it had been cruelly amused – the steel in his eyes slamming shut like doors that hid the answers from me. "I think it's quite clear."

"About as clear as murky water," I responded in the same monotone.

"I didn't want to have to spend my time with you," he said brazenly, taking a moment to let me start to breathe again before he continued. "I have more important things to do."

I took a moment, letting the words sink in...it was as if he had splashed me in cold water. At first it was so cold and so painful that it boiled, just because of the torture it caused. And then, as it started to soak me and drown me in the reality I was facing, my body turned numb against the pain. I used that shell – the one that was hiding my churning stomach and racing heart – to be able to respond.

"Such as?" I was surprised by how unemotional my voice was – robotic, almost. No, not robotic...disassociated. All the work that I had done to prepare myself for the trials of this year was wasted away as he paused, examined me, and sneered.

"I can't tell you, _traitor__,_" he hissed. "You'll just go mouthing everything back to your brother."

"I have never told him anything you've told me," I would have been insulted if I was able to process what was actually being said. But he wouldn't say this to me – Malfoy was not this pitiless. Not to me, at least. Wasn't that what he always said? He was always honest with me, he was always on my side...

"Listen, Potter," he snapped, leaning down. As soon as he leaned closer to me the growl that was vibrating in the back of Circe's throat became a violent roar as she moved to swipe at Malfoy's knee. I gasped, grabbing her in my arms and taking a few steps back from the boy in front of me.

"What's going on, Malfoy?" I asked, feeling breathless as my heart began to race. Something was dreadfully wrong – something was horribly wrong with this scenario. "Something's going on, I can feel it – I can _see _it! Circe has never – why does she hate you?"

He did not respond immediately, I think he was trying to get his bearings and calm himself. There was something in his expression – his eyes were hard but they were not made of pure steal as they always were. They were closer to some sort of concrete, darker, and somehow completely alien to me. I'd never seen this look in his eyes before – a mix of pain and disgust and _hate_.

"It's because I don't fancy you – in fact, I don't even _like_you. Your cat can sense it," he snarled. "Last year was a fling...a terrible fling that went terribly wrong. I got some snogging out of it, true, but you didn't give me anything worth mentioning. I wrote you because I was worried about Nott's reaction – didn't want him going to Azkaban for getting revenge over what _you_ did to his father."

His words dug into me like a knife. And he watched as they did. It didn't matter how hard that shell was, those words were so sharp that they could have pierced through any armour. He knew – he saw. _I_ could see, by the furrowing of his eyebrows, that _he_ saw – it was almost as if he was surprised that his words had hurt as badly as they had. But he didn't say any more. He didn't need to. All he did was look into my eyes and watch as I came undone. Maybe that's what he'd wanted this whole time...to watch as I shattered to pieces.

"You defended me," I choked out. "You told your mother-"

"Not to bring it up in the shop?" He scoffed, pulling away from me. "You are so naive, Potter. You're just a Mudblood wrapped in a blood traitor's name. I can't believe I once thought you belonged with _us__._"

And for some reason, that was it – that was all it took for him to finally split the earth away, splitting us apart. He was untouchable now, I don't know why, but suddenly it was like he was poison...or I was poison. I didn't know if there was a difference. But the way he had said _us__..._as if my _friends _were unreachable too.

But he was right. I was not one of them, not as I had always wanted to be...not after what I had done. I was not one of them and I didn't belong there if I _was _so naive to think any of them could forgive me.

Beside me, the window cracked.

"Calm the fuck down, Potter," he sneered, his eyes sliding over to the window to examine it before looking back at me. He looked like he was going to take a step forward, but Circe hissed at him again – I don't know when she had fallen from my arms, but she was now on the ground, ready to pounce at him if he came any closer. "The world hasn't stopped spinning."

No, it hadn't. The world felt like it was spinning far too fast – his words were making me feel sick.

"Yeah...right," I found myself whispering, even though I didn't feel the words leave my lips. But I heard them, as if distantly. There was a moment, a single moment, where Malfoy almost looked shocked at my reaction – it almost looked like he hadn't expected me to listen to a word he said, or he had expected me to fight back...but why fight the truth? It only dragged it out longer. It was like that with my murder of Thuban and it was like that with the realization that I was entirely _alone._

The window shattered, echoing through the corridor as two more windows, further down the corridor, cracked in their panes.

Malfoy didn't say anything else, nor did he try to calm me down as he had once upon a time. He didn't want to and he didn't have to do any more damage: his point had been made – but I was so weak, so shaken that I couldn't seem to make myself move. It was like I was petrified all over again, like I would never be able to move from my spot because I had looked into his eyes and he had cursed my very being. And, possibly out of the enjoyment of putting me in my place or possibly because of that storm that raged behind his eyes, he didn't move either. We just stayed there, standing across from one another for seconds, minutes, _moments..._I couldn't count how many had past us thanks to my attempt to keep myself from ripping in two.

With another last glance, one that I couldn't dare take face-on, he skirted past me – walking down the corridor without so much as another insult. I could hardly move, my legs felt unbendable and stiff with shock and yet the weight on them made me want to collapse. For a moment I wondered if I would be able to move or if I would just stand here until morning came, or until someone could levitate me to the Hospital Wing, because I was almost certain that I was going through cardiac arrest. Was it because of Malfoy himself, or because he was the messenger to tell me I'd lost everything? I didn't know. I doubt I'd ever know – I'd die first from this heart attack. My heart, beating faster than a hummingbirds, felt like it had used itself up – almost as if I had a limited number of beats to live and the pain Malfoy had caused had sped it up so the number came too soon...

"I killed the woman I love," a voice whispered from behind me. I didn't think I would be able to turn to see who – but I didn't have to. The person floated right in front of me, crossing his bloodstained arms and examining me with one of the saddest looks I'd ever seen on his face: it was the Bloody Baron. The Slytherin house ghost looked at me wistfully and sighed. "She had that look, as well."

"What look?" I choked out, my voice sounding as I felt – like I had been screaming for hours because no one had heard me.

"The look she was dead before I even killed her," he answered pensively. "Who killed _you_, Miss Potter?"

It wasn't necessarily who had killed me that was the problem; it was whom _I _had killed. With the death of Thuban Nott everything had begun to shatter – my friendships, my sense of being, perhaps even my very soul. And thanks to the sound that echoed after that thought, apparently a second window.

I backed away from the Bloody Baron, who didn't seem at all concerned that he was being ignored as I made my way over to Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady let me in reluctantly, even though she forced upon me my own password, which I made 'Fat Lady'. I was glad that I could fake my old humour, but she did not seem to appreciate the effort as she let me into her common room.

A few Gryffindors were awake and lazing about the common room – they all seemed shocked to see me. No one spoke, though. No one dared to say anything to me while I made my way through the small group crowded in the plush chairs, up the stairs of the Boys dormitory, and rapped lightly on the door marked with my brother's name.

He was not the one to open the door – Neville did, looking confused and then suddenly frightened. By the look on his face, I could only assume that even the Gryffindors knew of my involvement in the Department of Mysteries and now they were frightened of me too. I couldn't really bring myself to feel concerned about what Neville thought, even as he stiffly stepped back to clear the way. Harry was asking who was at the door when I stepped in.

Maybe Neville _hadn't_ been scared of what I could do, but rather whatever expression marred my face, because Harry looked just as frightened.

"_Audrey_?" He asked carefully, his voice low and wavering – he was worried. Very worried, if his expression meant anything. I just shook my head, it was the only answer I could give him...I didn't feel like Audrey any more at all. I had never felt so broken, I had never felt so weak and powerless and ashamed. He made room for me on the bed, holding his arms out as if to welcome me to it.

By the time I was wrapped in them, I was sobbing.

* * *

><p>When I had woken up, apparently having slept in my brother's bed, my robes were already set out by some magical force – it was nice knowing I wouldn't have to return to the Slytherin dormitories, even if only for my robes. That nicety was ruined by having to hear what had happened to Harry on the train.<p>

"So because he said that he might one day be important and that Voldemort wouldn't care about grades...you think Malfoy is a Death Eater?" I asked doubtfully, it was nice to hear the skepticism in my voice. After last night I had almost doubted it would ever come back. "Do you realize how much you're reaching for a reason to hate him?"

"It's not about hating him-"

"Because if you need a reason to hate him, I can give you plenty. It starts off with us snogging and progresses t-"

"Stop," he snapped immediately, giving me a dark glare.

"I think Audrey's right, Harry," Hermione said carefully. "Your theory is...loosely based on fact."

"He was obviously showing off for Parkinson, wasn't he?" Ron added, I tried not to let my stomach churn too much at the thought of her throwing herself all over him as Harry had described – with quite a vivid amount of pointless detail, might I add?

"Well," Hermione began, even more uncertainly, "I don't know. It would be like Malfoy to make himself seem more important than he is...but that's a big lie to tell... "

"Exactly," Harry sounded very proud of himself. I was more than in the mood to tear him down.

"That would be a big lie to tell if he actually _said_anything. He didn't. He just said he might have something _next year _that prevents him from classes_, _that means nothing for now. And hell, by next year, I might have failed all my exams and be kicked out of Hogwarts too...it's a common threat for us lot."

"It's rude to point," Ron suddenly snapped at a first year who was waiting to get out of the portrait hole and pointing and whispering about my brother and I. The Slytherin common room was much more efficient than the Gryffindors: we didn't have to wait for a portrait to swing open and closed, we had a whole wall to get through so we didn't have to pass through it one at a time. Ron snickered as the boy ran away from him. "I love being a sixth year. And we're going to be getting free time this year. Whole periods when we can just sit up here and relax."

"We're going to need that time for studying, Ron!" Hermione genuinely sounded insulted at the idea that Ron hadn't considered that.

"Yeah, but not today," said Ron hastily. "Today's going to be a real loss, I reckon."

Hermione then ruthlessly took away Fanged Frisbees from a fourth year – not even asking who he wanted to use it on before she did – and refused to give it to Ron who pouted about it the entire time we were headed to the Great Hall.

"Will you sit with us?" My brother asked. I frowned, looking to the gaggle of Gryffindors and over to my regular group of Slytherins. None of them were paying me any attention, even though I had been absent from the dormitories where I was sure they had been waiting for me. While I was in a moment of deliberation, Malfoy's eyes raised to meet my own – there was a hard expression there that only continued to darken when he set eyes on me. It stung to see...and if it stung so badly now, I couldn't imagine how much it would hurt to sit near.

The Great Hall's ceiling was streaked with delicate clouds that hung high over a baby blue sky. It had rained last night – that I could see from the dew that gripped to the high windows. Below them, at the High Table where the staff ate, Hagrid gave a large smile and waved for as long as it took for us to sit.

"He looks happy."

"I suspect it's because he's excited to see us today," Harry sounded glum. "Which he won't."

"He can't really think we'd continue Care of Magical Creatures," Hermione asked in horror as we sat down and the three began filling their plates. I hesitated, not feeling hungry, but knowing that I would be lectured if I didn't at least pretend. "I mean, when has any of us expressed...you know...any enthusiasm?"

"That's it, though, innit?" Ron, horrifyingly, swallowed an entire fried egg whole so he could finish his thought. "We were the ones who made the most effort in classes because we like Hagrid. But he thinks we liked the stupid subject. D'ya reckon anyone's going to go on to NEWT?"

"I am," I said confidently, though I didn't look away from the eggs I was stabbing with my fork. "All the better if there are no arses like you there."

"Hey-"

"It's fact. Those who don't like the subject, don't know what they're doing – just because Hagrid's an inexperienced teacher doesn't mean he's a bad one, or that it's a bad subject. You just don't understand the course load."

"It's not our fault that animals don't like _some_of us." Ron glowered.

"If they made a concerted effort to be kind to them, _some__people_ wouldn't have that problem." I bit back. Professor McGonagall came from the head table to talk to each sixth year Gryffindor individually – as all House teachers did on the first day of classes. Hermione took as many classes as Harry had gotten in NEWTs, Seamus only took four classes, Neville took three, and finally McGonagall came up to my brother.

"Hello, Miss Potter. Shouldn't you be over with your own House for schedules?" She asked, raising her eyebrow. Luckily she didn't seem to be telling me to leave and she didn't seem bothered by the fact I didn't budge.

"I am more than pleased to wait," I told her with a tight, fake smile. "But my brother is very eager to get to class."

"I'm sure. So, Potter, Potter..." McGonagall turned back to her charts on my brother's marks and examined them. "Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration...all fine. I must say, I was pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Potter, very pleased. Now, why haven't you applied to continue with Potions? I thought it was your ambition to become an Auror?"

"It was, but you told me I had to get an 'Outstanding' in my OWL, Professor." I couldn't help but smile, thinking how few people would be intruding in my personal space down in the potions lab now. Snape would never get to bother Harry in class, he would find someone else to...I frowned. In all of the excitement of last night I had forgotten that Snape wouldn't be there to bother anyone at all. He was the Defense professor now, no longer my Potions Master.

"And so you did when Professor Snape was teaching the subject. Professor Slughorn, however, is perfectly happy to accept NEWT students with 'Exceeds Expectations' at OWL. Do you wish to proceed with Potions?"

"Yes," said Harry, quickly. He almost looked happy about it, "but I didn't buy the books or any ingredients or anything-"

"I'm sure Professor Slughorn will be able to lend you some," Professor McGonagall advised. "Very well, Potter, here is your schedule. Oh, by the way – twenty hopefuls have already put down their names for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I shall pass the list to you in due course and you can fix up trials at your leisure."

Harry looked more than surprised, as if he had forgotten he was the Quidditch Captain, and grinned the entire time he finished his breakfast while Ron picked all the same courses.

"Bit of a copy-cat, aren't we?" I asked lowly. It felt like I should have made a joke, but I couldn't bring myself to see the humour in it. "You'll never be able to be an Auror, Ron."

"Why not?" He whined, frowning deeply.

"Your hair," I said honestly. "Everyone will know who you are. I doubt any transfiguration would be able to hide that hair."

Roll rolled his eyes, glancing back down at his schedule and smiling. "Look, we've got a free period now and a free period after break...and after lunch...excellent."

"Should we go up to the common room?" Harry asked, looking at me as if inviting me.

"I'm going to wait for Snape to be finished with the others," I motioned over towards my own house table, where the familiar black robes were swirling around students as he judged and criticized them on their marks. "You don't have to wait for me."

"But then we might not see you," he said carefully, slowly as if he were afraid I would burst into tears again. "We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first..."

Ah, that's why he was so careful. He knew just how much it hurt me that I would be unable to attend Snape's class – not because I particularly cared for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but because of how much I enjoyed professor teaching it. I shrugged my shoulders, letting them make up their own minds, considering the boys looked anxious to leave.

"I don't have class for another hour," another voice chimed in. Ginny Weasley moved from her spot farther away and slid onto the bench beside me. She grinned when she was close, looking to both the boys and moving her hand as if to shoo them. "I can stay with her."

"You don't have class?"

"Dropped Divination for Muggle Studies," she explained.

"Wise choice." I sighed, even though I planned to take the course anyway.

"I thought so," she agreed. "You boys can go, I want to talk to her, anyway."

I pulled a face, unsure of what to think of that. Ginny rarely wanted to actually speak to me, ususally she was all over the idea of speaking to Harry. Still, the boys looked relieved that they wouldn't have to leave me alone and with a final goodbye, they left Ginny and I together.

"Everything alright?" I asked carefully, letting my voice trail off to show my discomfort. It's not that I didn't like the girl, but I was a Slytherin – changes in character such as hers today were always suspicious.

"You tell me," she crossed her arms and added the raising of an eyebrow. "Dean told me you came into his room yesterday, _crying._"

"Er – I came into _Harry's__ room_," I said carefully. I'd had this happen many times before when Daphne thought that I was 'flirting' with her crushes. I was not about to let this happen with Ginny. "Dean just happens to room with him-"

"I'm not accusing you of throwing yourself over my boyfriend," she scoffed, "I want to know if you're okay. I heard Alya Rivers talking about how she had jinxed your bed – but by that point you were already gone. Did you-"

"No," I sighed, looking at her with a frown. "I bumped into Malfoy."

"Ah," Ginny moved back a little bit, giving a dramatic nod of her head. "Of course."

"Listen, I don't need-"

"I'm not about to lecture you," she cut me off quickly. "You don't deserve that."

"I certainly don't," I couldn't help but be doubtful. "But why don't you plan to do it anyway?"

"I couldn't blame you for that anymore than you could blame me for anything _I've _done. You were there for me through all the things with Riddle's diary, when I got you petrified, you kept quiet when I was all over your brother-"

"When you _are_all over my brother," I corrected. She rolled her eyes.

"You're making a liar out of me the more you speak," she glowered playfully. I laughed – truly laughed. It was a nice feeling after so long – it bubbled up in my chest and was louder and more hearty than I had ever remembered laughing...or maybe it was just that it had been so long I forgot what my laugh sounded like. But this one sounded _real_. "Good. Laughing is good."

"Alright," I said when I had calmed myself down. "Don't make me feel like a _child _over it_. _'Laughing is good', I don't need a lesson on humour, thank you. Or a lecture," I added when she moved to speak again.

"I'm not going to lecture you on who you fancy," she said sternly. "I know it's not always something that can be helped...but if you want to talk about it, I am quite the listener."

I smiled for a moment, it was weary, not at all like the laugh I had just let out. She urged me with an encouraging smile – it was almost believable. Daphne had looked like this, this genuine, after she and I had made up and she had seen me kissing Malfoy...and Ginny was a lot more loyal than Daphne was, as well as a lot more of a nurturing personality. Figuring it couldn't do much more harm to my reputation than I'd already done myself, I lowered my voice and moved closer.

"He called me a traitor," I began. I was surprised that it was the first thing to bubble out of my mouth – it certainly wasn't the first thing that had been throwing itself through my mind. But there was something about the way he thought I had _betrayed _him...after everything I had done, every time I had argued, every person I had defended our – our _whatever-it-was_ with...how could he think I'd betrayed him? I ignored the feeling of my stomach flipping as I remembered the dark, concrete look on his face the night before. "Said that he had never really fancied or _liked _me at all and that he-he _does_blame me for what happened to Nott. He said I don't belong with the Slytherins anymore...that I _never_belonged with the Slytherins..."

"Hey," she said quickly, noticing my panic bubbling up to the surface before even I did. "None of that is true. He's just hurt about his dad. Has to make a point, you know. You Slytherins are all about reputation and appearances and pride-"

"We were alone," I argued, shaking my head and looking down at my plate which had cleared so that I didn't have to look at her. "It was in a deserted corridor. He...he called me a _Mudblood_, Ginny. I've never heard him call another Slytherin one. Never. He said I was just a Mudblood wrapped in a blood traitors name..."

Ginny's eyes blazed, swinging toward the Slytherin table furiously. "That arse-"

"No, don't get any ideas," I said quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to face me. "We Slytherins _are _all about pride. If he knows I told you, I just lost all the respect anyone's ever had in me. If they still have any left."

"Draco Malfoy is a nobody," Ginny said, looking at me squarely. "He's a nobody who had you – and you're a _somebody_ – and when he lost you he turned bitter. That is not your fault."

"I threw his dad in Azkaban-"

"Lucius threw _himself_ in Azkaban! He was a Death Eater, Drea. You can't blame yourself for him being a bad person," I saw the anger in her eyes and I had to wonder if all this was for me or if she was still harboring her resentment for Lucius having given her Tom Riddle's diary so many years ago. And that thought – the thought that she and I had that in common, almost made me feel closer to her in itself.

"You know, you don't have to say this," I started, only to be cut off.

"Yes, I do. Nobody said anything at home. I'd hoped someone would – the adults, your brother, _anyone_...but they didn't; so now you get to deal with me. And if those Slytherins are stupid enough to drop you, I'm most certainly able to pick you up." I grinned at her wryly. "And that Draco Malfoy is a no good, Pureblooded prick who is no better than a lopsided testa-"

"Ten points from Gryffindor," a smooth, confident voice spoke from behind us. I closed my eyes, knowing immediately who had caught us being rude over his favourite student – only turning when he remained silent. Snape watching us both with a raised eyebrow. He did not seem happy. "I would watch your language, Miss Weasley. Miss Potter, you are supposed to be at your assigned table for your specialized time-table."

"I'm not quite welcome at my House table," I answered him honestly. My mentor gauged me with slightly narrowed eyes, I could just imagine he was noticing how pink and swollen my eyes still were from the night before. "I was going to wait you out."

"Well, I have diligently finished with all but you," he pulled out the folder which must have held notes on which OWLs I had and had not passed. "You received an Outstanding in Potions, Potter. Well done, most do not see such a high mark in my courses-"

"Luck," I said sarcastically. "I only got five OWLs, sir. I'd like classes in all of them."

"Six."

"Sorry?"

"You received six OWLs, Potter: As already mentioned with Potions. You also have Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Divination and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I blinked, then frowned, not sure whether or not he was mocking me. "No I don't have an OWL in your class, sir."

"I beg to differ," he said lowly, pushing a sheet toward me which read out all my marks. Over the black letters, with red ink, my _POOR_ grade had been replaced with _EXCEEDS_ _EXPECTATIONS_.

I looked at him carefully, knowing that something was wrong – but he didn't give anything else away. Did anyone else know about it? "Sir?"

"Professor Dumbledore highly encourages you take it," Snape explained cordially. "We believe that your loss of temper effected your grade, after threatening your examiner. Besides that, with my new teaching techniques the headmaster and myself are both certain you will do better. And perhaps this time you will try studying harder for good marks instead of pining over boys who come from _truly_disappointing families."

I raised my eyebrows as he took the sheet back from me, as if he had not said anything at all.

"Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination and Potions, then?"

"Er – no, I guess I don't need Astronomy..."

He nodded, tapping his wand against the sheet of paper he had just taken back from me. "Here is your schedule. Until class, Potter."

I looked to Ginny, who looked just as shocked, before I moved to run back to the Slytherin dormitories – now that I was in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I had class in twenty minutes.

* * *

><p>There was a line waiting to get into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room when I arrived with my books in my rucksack which hung precariously off my aching shoulder. Hermione frowned and stopped talking to Ron and my brother when she saw me.<p>

"Audrey, what on earth happened to your arm?"

"They jinxed my bed," I groaned, dropping my rucksack at my brother's feet with a dead thud. "I was in such a hurry, I forgot – climbed over it and it wrapped me up in my sheets. I thought I was going to suffocate-"

"What!" Hermione gasped. "Audrey, report it-"

"No," I grumbled bitterly, cradling my arm as subtly as I could manage. "That's what they want. Can you fix it? I'm certain it's not broken."

Hermione frowned, looking as if she didn't at all agree while she mended my shoulder. "Did you come here just to get your arm fixed? We have to go to class soon-"

"So do I," I explained, trying to look very serious.

"Well, the block is going to start soon," Hermione said hastily. "You should head to class before you're considered late on your first day-"

"Oh, I won't be," I told her again, keeping my face blank. "Because my class is here."

"Sorry?"

"I'm in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Hermione looked nervously over to Harry and Ron, who just shrugged. "Audrey, you didn't pass your OWL."

"According to my transcript, I did," I told her, showing them my schedule where indeed it did have a block saying I was taking Defense Against the Dark Arts. "I think Dumbledore set it up – the Ministry is trying to keep Harry and I safe. That I didn't even pass Defense Against the Dark Arts means I need _more_ safety – who better to train me than my previous mentor and my own free education?"

"That's brilliant, Audrey!" Harry grinned, grabbing the sheet from me to examine it again before hugging me. "Now you can help me with Potions and I'll help you with Defense."

"Sounds brilliant," I tried to grin back, but I couldn't help but think how I didn't want to help him in Potions at all – it went against Snape's rules and even though he was no longer the professor, some part of me would always abide by them. "Oh and Ron? Thank your sister for me. She's much better company than you are."

Ron made a sound that sounded like I had wounded him right as the door opened. Snape stepped out to acknowledge the group of students in front of his door – everyone fell silent as his gaze swept over the crowd gathered.

"Inside."

No one hesitated to follow his command.

The room looked different this year, as it seemed to every year. Snape had brought in his dark curtains for the windows, his gothic candles, and exquisitely painted portraits of people in pain. People took out their books just so they wouldn't have to look at the deformed, screaming portraits.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," Snape hissed, closing the door behind us and moving behind his desk. Hermione quickly put her copy of _Confronting the Faceless_ into her bag once again. I was relieved that I could hold off on informing him I did not have a book. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention."

I don't know about anyone else, but Snape always had my full attention. I was still so giddy that I got to be in his class, particularly when I thought I wouldn't have him as a professor at all, that I couldn't even begin to talk back to him while he glared at my brother beside me and his eyes swept over me cautiously.

"You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe," he had been here all this time, so clearly there was no real reason to ask. "Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an OWL in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the NEWT work, which will be more advanced."

Shite.

Snape was now circling us, like prey caught in the clutches of our desk as his eyes gleamed triumphantly over his class.

"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before." Harry looked confused. There was a real monster like that, A Hydra, which my brother would have known if he had continued in Care of Magical Creatures.

"You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your Defenses must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse-" he waved to the portrait of a witch shrieking and twisting in agony, "-the Dementor's Kiss-" he indicated the blank-eyed, slumped painting of a man to the other portrait's left, "-or provoke the aggression of the Inferius." And to this he pointed to the painting of a bloody mass on the floor. I could make out a hand with spindly fingers and a leg that was bent in a broken way – but I could not understand exactly what else I was seeing.

"Has an Inferius been seen, then?" Parvati Patil asked in a terrified voice. "Is it definite, is he using them?"

"The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past," Snape answered slowly as he began walking to the other side of the classroom. "Which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now...you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of non-verbal spells. What is the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

As excited and giddy as I was to be here, I was still unwilling to answer a question on the first day so long as I wasn't directly told to. Snape pointedly avoided Hermione's upraised hand, waiting for a long, _very__ long_, moment until he realized no one else would dare answer him. "Very well – Miss Granger?"

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," Hermione spit what I'm sure was the textbook example, "which gives you a split-second advantage."

"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six," Snape waved dismissively. "but correct in essentials. Yes, those who progress in using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some lack."

I was almost proud that I had known the answer as well, but I was even more proud that I knew I was capable of doing it – I could perform speechless spells if I concentrated and wasn't doing anything too complicated...or violent.

Somewhere behind me, someone snickered – I could not believe that I recognized a _snicker__, _but I did – I turned my head, even though my mind was screaming for me not to, and my eyes met _his_. Harsh gray eyes, hard as concrete just as closed off as concrete was, his jaw tensed when he realized I was looking at him.

Without breaking my eye contact, he turned to his bench partner – Parkinson – and whispered in her ear. It was intimate and disgusting because she giggled loudly, flushing in a way that usually resembled her being furious – but now she looked _happy. _It was something that I should not have had to see and something that I had never wanted to see again. Malfoy _hated _Parkinson, he hated idiots and dealing with insubordinates and mindless nobodies – like her...didn't he?

I could only turn away in horror.

"You will now divide into pairs," Snape continued, it was amazing that some people had missed that horrible display from Malfoy – but I was glad that he had continued talking so I wouldn't have to think so much on it. "One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

"Be my partner?" I asked my brother, immediately hoping that we could move to the far side of the room so that I didn't have to be anywhere near the Slytherins around me. His eyes widened and he moved down the bench away from me.

"No! You can already do speechless spells," he said, jerking his head behind me. "You go with Hermione-"

"I can't do speechless spells," her face flushed. I sighed, standing so that I could get out of the way, no matter who my partner was. I was well aware that people would be aiming to hex me instead of their intended partners.

"But you can probably learn faster than those two can," I agreed with an eye roll. "They're hopeless. And lazy. Here, you can be my partner and you can jinx me first."

"But-"

"For once, I can already do this kind of stuff...or, most of the time," I smirked a little – it must have looked somewhat close to what my real smirk did, because Hermione lit up and agreed to be my partner – she even let me lead her farther away from the Slytherins so that I wouldn't be so injured that even she couldn't heal me, as she had just minutes earlier.

All around, it wasn't a bad class. I wasn't as great at speechless spells as I remembered being, but maybe that was because all I was doing was speechless spells _over_ and _over_ – so the ratio of getting it right to getting it wrong was more accurate than it was in life-threatening situations. Still, I was notably better than most...and it was nice, considering I'd never been remotely close to talented when it came to Defense. I was much better when I was shielding Hermione's attacks than when I, myself, was jinxing her. I was just glad to see that I still had it in me...it was hard not to be proud when it felt like my magic was going haywire thanks to my emotional despondence.

Around Hermione and I, the rest of the class was cheating – most people were whispering the incantations or just pretending that they couldn't do it even though they hadn't actually tried. It was hard work and required more concentration and energy than both my brother and Ron had combined between them.

We were half way through the lesson that I heard my brother cry out a spell. Snape, who apparently was the one jinxing him, stumbled back into his desk. The class silenced for real – no one uttered or whispered anything this time, while they watched Snape's face turn an angry white.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," my brother responded through clenched teeth.

"Yes, _sir_," Snape corrected with a dangerous, smug grin.

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." My mouth dropped as I watch Snape turn so pale he may have been the undead. He certainly looked as vicious as one of them. Other people seemed proud – the Gryffindors in particular...but the Slytherins, including myself, were clearly offended. Some, like Malfoy, looked about ready to try his speechless spells on Harry for some good measure.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office," Snape stated with a sneer. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter...not even the Chosen One."

"You're a moron," I flatly informed him when we were finally released from the near-silent classroom. I was shuffling my books around in my bag, simply so that I could ensure nothing in my potions kit had leaked out when Hermione had accidentally sent everything in my bag flying during her practice.

"He is not, that was brilliant, Harry!" Ron cheered.

"You really shouldn't have said it," Hermione agreed, standing beside me as we walked. She looked quite sour. "What made you?"

"He tried to jinx me, in case you didn't notice!" Harry defended quickly. "I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn't he use another guinea pig for a change? What's Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defense? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff-"

"Don't even," I said blandly, feeling a lick of flame in my chest that made me grit my teeth. It was nice to see I could still feel defensive, even if I didn't feel normal. "Just because you don't like him does not mean we have to delve back into this ridiculous thought of you finding him evil..."

"I agree," Hermione nodded, "And as it happens, I thought he sounded a bit like you."

Harry stopped walking out of shock. I followed his lead, stopping and finding my nose wrinkling at the suggestion. "Like me?"

"Snape would kill himself if he heard you say that," I informed.

"Maybe we should-"

"If you tell him that, Ron, he'd kill _you__._" I interrupted before he even had a chance to finish that thought.

"He does sound like you, when you were telling us what it's like to face Voldemort," Hermione continued. "You said it wasn't just memorizing a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts – well, wasn't that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?"

I found myself grinning at them all. Of course Snape would say something like that, he was intelligent and had faced the dangers before. If anyone were to have ever taught us Defense, he was certainly the most qualified. And as I thought this, I watched my brother frown – it made it all the better that he could not argue it.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!" A Gryffindor I couldn't name, though I think it was Smoker or something, came up to my brother displaying a roll of parchment to him. "For you. And here, Audrey, this is for you."

It's so strange being famous – _in_famous – sometimes. I couldn't remember this kid's name but he was addressing me like we were old friends – who the hell calls me Audrey besides Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys? Maybe some order members...but even they preferred to call me Drea or Potter. Still, he passed me an identical roll of parchment – it had the same writing as Harry's; familiar writing. It was from the Headmaster.

"I'm not sure yet," Harry responded to whatever Smoker had said. "I'll let you know."

"Oh, right. I was hoping it'd be this weekend-"

I stopped listening, just as my brother seemed to. We unrolled our parchment in sync as we read over them. The Gryffindor boy looked upset that my brother had ignored him but continued to whichever class he was going to be late for.

_Dear Audrey,__  
><em>_I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at six p.m. I hope you are enjoying your first day back at school.__  
><em>_Yours sincerely,__  
><em>_Albus Dumbledore__  
><em>_P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops._

"It's from Dumbledore," Harry announced, looking to me over his own parchment. "We have our first lesson this Saturday."

"Yeah, that's what he told me, too." I said, rolling up the parchment and putting it away.

"He enjoys Acid Pops?" Ron read over my brother's shoulder.

"It's the password to get past the gargoyle outside his study," Harry responded quietly. "Ha! Snape's not going to be pleased...I won't be able to do his detention!"

"Oh," I told him with a slow shake of my head. "I'm sure he'll accommodate for you."

We went back to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione only had an hour and a half before she had to head to Arithmancy, but the rest of the time she, Ron, and my brother were all contemplating what Dumbledore would teach us. They were so stuck on the idea that we would be learning something fantastic – such as spectacular jinxes and hexes, old defensive magic that Voldemort wouldn't think of, or new magic that Dumbledore himself had created – that we missed lunch entirely.

I couldn't bring myself to really contribute to the conversation. For one, I just couldn't imagine Dumbledore doing something that Offensive with us. I couldn't imagine him drawing his wand and getting us to attack him or vice versa. Besides, I was too tired. This was the longest I had been up in over two months and my body was really starting to feel it – the fact we had been working off pure energy for speechless spells was no help for my exhaustion. I was half falling asleep when Hermione left for Arithmancy and I was sure that I had only just drifted off by the time Harry woke me for our double block of Potions that afternoon.

There were only thirteen of us progressing to the NEWT level potions class – the three Gryffindors, one Hufflepuff, four Ravenclaws, and five of us Slytherins. Malfoy had obviously made it, as had Zabini, Greengrass and Nott. I couldn't believe Daphne had made it – she was horrible with individual products – but maybe my teaching had paid off. Or maybe she was one of the people who had been cheating off me. I avoided their eyes the same way that they avoided mine.

"Harry," Ernie MacMillan – an annoying boy with as much confidence as Zabini had when he was already naked – came up to my brother, "didn't get a chance to speak in Defense Against The Dark Arts this morning. Good lesson, I thought, but Shield Charms are old hat, of course, for us old DA lags. And how are you, Ron, Hermione, er...Audrey?"

I frowned. There someone else goes, calling me by my given name as if we were _old pals_...I had never liked this boy and I wasn't about to let him think we were all friends because he happened to be cordial with my twin. Luckily I didn't have to answer because Slughorn opened the door for us – nearly pinching his large belly as he did so, while he beamed at all of us quite pleasantly.

I was surprised when Slughorn greeted me so enthusiastically – the same enthusiasm as when he shook Harry and Blaise's hands, even. Still, I was sure to rush into the safety of the potions room – it felt so familiar and nice, even though I was shocked that there was already the smell of completed potions in here. It was like coming home – _really_coming home. Besides Snape being around, everything in this room made me feel comfortable – the sizzling cauldrons, the tang of pewter, the things that I could piece together like a puzzle and see that I had done it right – unlike everything else, where you had other people to influence you.

I sat with the Gryffindors and Ernie – who luckily sat closer to Ron than to me. The Ravenclaws sat together at a table, and the Slythersins sat at their own table near the back – always the brooders. We were closest to the far left of the three bubbling cauldrons set on display on what used to be Snape's desk. The desk had never been so colourful – colourful quills and inks, picture frames with happy faces on exhibit, different parchments and little paper origami in shapes I had never before seen. One looked like a three headed dog, another looked like a Dementor...

I couldn't stop glancing around me – here in the potions room, I somehow felt like Malfoy was constantly present, _close _to me, and I was self-conscious that he may have actually been exactly that. He had put some of that expensive cologne he favoured, but even more powerfully was the musk shampoo I well knew he used. It was one of the scents that permeated the room, along with other odd, pleasant scents like freezing water turned to ice, expensive ink, freshly cut herbs for potions and orchids.

Ron and Harry turned to each other and smiled, I turned to Hermione, seeing the look on her face and giggled. I _giggled_? I shook my head, more than pleased when the Professor came into sight and blocked the cauldrons with his mass.

"Now then, now then, now then," Slughorn began, marching in front of his desk to capture our attention. "Scales out, everyone, and potion kits, and don't forget your copies of Advanced Potion-Making..."

"Sir?" said Harry, raising his hand.

"Harry, m'boy?"

"I haven't got a book or scales or anything – nor's Ron – we didn't realize we'd be able to do the NEWT, you see-"

"Can we use yours, Audrey?" Ron interrupted. "It's not like you use a book anyway."

I frowned. "No, get your own."

"But you won't even open it!" Ron complained, sounding more whiny than usual. Has he always been this whiny, or was this year particularly grating my nerves?

"I still bought it," I scowled at him. "It's not my fault you didn't think of taking the class."

"We didn't think we _could_-"

"You wouldn't have wanted to anyway," I accused, narrowing my eyes at my brother. He knew very well that even if he would have had the marks and Snape was still the professor, he probably wouldn't have taken it after everything that had happened with him the year before. No matter whether he wanted to be an Auror or not.

"No matter, Miss Potter, no matter. I have books for them, Professor McGonagall did mention this," he interrupted me. I rolled my eyes at my brother while he grinned at me cheekily. "Not to worry, my dear boy, not to worry at all. You can use ingredients from the store cupboard today, and I'm sure we can lend you some scales, and we've got a small stock of old books here, they'll do until you can write to Flourish and Blotts..."

Slughorn didn't even make my brother go to the store cupboard to get his book, nor did he make Ron. The books were battered when he came back with them, one of the books looked as if the pages were stuck together and it would be unusable. He gave Harry and Ron a pair of tarnished scales, as well, which they couldn't help but frown at once his back had turned. They were polite. I would have asked for a better set.

"Now then," Slughorn began again, standing straight and proud. "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of thing you ought to be able to make after completing your NEWTs. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Anyone tell me what this one is?"

He indicated the cauldron nearest where the Slytherins were sat. I looked at it for a moment, sniffing the air to try and get a good whiff...but I knew as soon as I saw it, even if I couldn't smell it – I'd had it used on me; that's not something you forget.

Hermione, however, was faster than me.

"It's Veritaserum, a colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth."

"Very good, very good!" said Slughorn happily. I frowned, thinking of the irregularity of his smile in this room – that wasn't how this class normally worked. Normally, Snape would have berated her for interruption. "Now, this one here is pretty well known...featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too. Who can-"

Hermione won the speed-test again.

"lt's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she answered, gazing at the mud-thick gunk that bubbled thickly from the pewter cauldron.

I cleared my throat quietly. "You'd know it well, then..."

"Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here – yes, my dear?" Slughorn looked amazed as Hermione's hand punched the air and stayed risen as she spoke. I wondered if he would still think it was as impressive when it happened to every question – it was my least favourite thing about Hermione. It's great she knows all the answers, good for her, but Merlin she didn't have to _announce_ it. She was basically _begging_ to be bullied.

"It's Amortentia!"

That knocked me out of my musings. I moved forward in my seat, looking over towards the potion with suspicious, narrowed eyes. That was Amortentia, was it?

"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," Slughorn raised an eyebrow and grinned, "but I assume you know what it does?"

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world," I spoke lowly, sitting up a little straighter when I realized I'd said it out loud. Slughorn looked at me with wide, happy eyes.

"Quite right, Miss Potter, quite right! You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"

"There's also the steam rising in characteristic spirals," I informed, even though I was lying. He just nodded along, still unable to take my apprehensive gaze off of the potion – that potion was more dangerous than Veritaserum and Polyjuice _combined_.

Hermione, however, was still uncomfortable not answering a question, so she continued to describe it at my side. "And it's supposed to smell differently to each of according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and-"

Hermione shut up quickly. I felt myself sink into my own chair as well – maybe she had realized what I feared: maybe there were distinctive smells in that cauldron...I took one last breath that filled my body with the memories of smells like chocolate and shampoo and ice and herbs and orchids...and then I began breathing through my mouth. Just to be safe.

"May I ask your name, my dear?"

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger?" Slughorn tried to think back in his memory. "Granger? Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"No. I don't think so, sir," Hermione blushed even more vividly. "I'm Muggleborn, you see."

Behind me, I heard whispers and dared to look – it was foolish. Malfoy was whispering something to Nott that was making him chuckle under his breath. Nott's eyes, more ruthless than last year, slapped my face when he turned to look at me. The glare almost made me feel like it would bruise. Malfoy's eyes, cruel and unforgiving as cool titanium, suffocated me when he dared flicker my eyes away from Nott and accidentally caught mine. There was a moment that I couldn't tear my eyes away from him – _was _his shampoo _really_ so noticeable? He wasn't actually sitting that close...

"Oho! 'One of my best friends is Muggleborn, and she's the best in our year'," Slughorn's quotation of my brother gave me the strength and distraction to look away from Malfoy, I didn't need to see my face to tell that it was burning the same colour as my hair. "I'm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry.

"Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger," Slughorn smiled. I raised my eyebrows – had Gryffindors _ever_gotten points in potions before now?

Hermione blushed and looked past me to my brother. "Did you really tell him I'm the best in the year? Oh, Harry!"

"Well, what's so impressive about that?" Ron whispered, sounding a lot like Fred when I paid more attention to George. Interesting... "You are the best in the year – I'd've told him so if he'd asked me!"

Hermione smiled and I leaned into her. "He would've told Slughorn that Amortentia smelt like _you, _too."

Hermione's smile turned to horror and she elbowed me in the ribs and shushed me so quickly that I couldn't have seen it coming. I let out a groan, pressing my hands to my ribs and looked back to Slughorn before anyone could notice what happened.

"Amortentia doesn't really create love, of course," Slughorn continued. "It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room – oh yes, when you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love...

"And now," Slughorn cleared his voice, "it is time for us to start work."

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," Ernie Macmillan piped up from the other side of Ron. It was the last cauldron, the smaller, black one on his desk. The potion looked like there were fish in it because they were swimming below the surface and jumping up in sharp golden drops that never spilt from the cauldron.

"_Oho_," said Slughorn again, sounding almost as he had back when we had found him that summer, but rather sounding as if he had planned to be asked. "Yes. _That_. Well, that one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it," he turned, smiling, to look at Hermione, who had let out an audible gasp, "that you know what Felix Felicis does, Miss Granger?"

"I do," I gasped, slapping my hands on the table when Hermione was ready to speak. I didn't like being shown up, even if it was by the only person in the class who had a chance at it. "It's liquid luck, it makes the consumer have luck enough to change their entire lives during the life of the potion."

"Quite right, there are some intelligent students in this class! Take ten points for Slytherin, Miss Potter. Yes, it's a funny little potion, Felix Felicis," Slughorn began, moving towards the leaping gold in the cauldron. "Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, as this has been, you will find that all your endeavors tend to succeed...at least until the effects wear off."

"Why don't people drink it all the time, sir?" Terry Boot asked, raising his hand for the professor's attention after the question was already asked.

"Because if taken in excess, it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence," said Slughorn. "Too much of a good thing, you know – highly toxic in large quantities. But taken sparingly, and very occasionally..."

"Harry," I began turning to him. "You don't put that in your cereal each morning, do you?"

He glared at me mockingly. "Shut up."

"Have you ever taken it, sir?" Michael Corner asked, his jaw slack as he stared at the potion.

"Twice in my life. Once when I was twenty-four, once when I was fifty-seven. Two tablespoonfuls taken with breakfast. Two perfect days." He was nostalgic when he said it and the class, more out of awe than respect, gave him a few quick moments to reminisce.

"And that," said Slughorn, apparently coming back to earth, "is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson."

No one spoke. No one could.

"One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis," Slughorn produced a small vial sealed by a new, black cork. "Enough for twelve hours' luck. From dawn till dusk, you will be lucky in everything you attempt.

"Now, I must give you warning that Felix Felicis is a banned substance in organized competition... sporting events, for instance, examinations, or elections. So the winner is to use it on an ordinary day only... and watch how that ordinary day becomes extraordinary!

"So," Slughorn nearly sounded as excited as the whole class clearly felt. "How are you to win this fabulous prize? Well, by turning to page ten of Advanced Potion Making. We have a little over an hour left to us, which should be time for you to make a decent attempt at the Draught of Living Death. I know it is more complex than anything you have attempted before, and I do not expect a perfect potion from anybody. The person who does best, however, will win little Felix here. Off you go!"

I was going to win that potion – it was fact. Anyone who thought otherwise was fooling themselves. I didn't open the book at all – the Draught of Living Death was a breeze and as long as I remembered all the ingredients, I would remember how to complete it perfectly – and in less time than anyone else, as I had figured out the shortcuts when I had made it for Parkinson years ago. My brother quickly opened his book and I looked over his shoulder for a moment. The old owner of my brother's used book had scribbled all over it, but I ignored it for the list of ingredients along the side of the page – I had remembered them all. This potion would be a breeze. I was quick to head to the storage cupboard for the ingredients I didn't have...and the few I would need that weren't written in the textbook...before I came back and got straight to work.

The Draught of Living Death was not necessarily a difficult potion, but it was one you had to watch carefully. If you were to miss a step – or in my case, do a shortcut wrong – the entire potion would be ruined and could potentially be lethal to whomever you expected to ingest it. Hence why my first try on it had been given to Pugface Parkinson.

I cut up my roots carefully – sometimes there were no shortcuts to shortcuts – and crushed my sopophorous bean with my silver dagger while my brother was beginning to finish chopping up his own ingredients. Hermione, beside me, was mumbling to herself – she had moved more quickly than I had and was a bit further, but she was not quite comfortable with the work she had done. Poor girl. I should teach her a thing or two some day...

I put in the juice from the bean after my extra-thickly sliced roots, letting it settle for two minutes and stirring counter-clockwise twice for every nine clockwise stirs.

"How are you doing that?" Hermione demanded. I looked at her, ready to roll my eyes and ask when I _wasn't _doing a potion exceptionally...before I saw that she wasn't referring to me at all. My brother, beside her, had a perfectly light pink potion...just as I had.

"Add a clockwise stir-" he began. I cut him off.

"What made you think to add a clockwise stir?" I demanded, knowing he was wrong. "Unless you put in extra juice from that sopophorous bean-"

"I did," he said with a smile, looking proud that he had done at least that part right. "And then I added in the clockwise stir-"

"No, no, the book says counter clockwise!" Hermione nearly shrieked.

Harry, going red because of how loudly she had spoken, simply shrugged and continued his potion. I watched him for another moment, feeling suspicious – had he been looking over my shoulder and copying me? It didn't matter. Even if he copied me I would be able to do this better than he was. Still, I didn't like how he had suddenly decided to take the attention that Slughorn obviously fancied placing on me and putting it into his own lap...

And I _needed_ that potion. There were so many things I could have done with it – used it when I planned to talk to Theodore, for example. Used it when I was going to try going into the Slytherin dormitories, or when I was going to have to face the fact that everyone in my House despised me...

A little luck would certainly help me there.

"And time's...up!" Slughorn called, eyes glued to his watch. "Stop stirring, please!"

Slughorn didn't wait to start moving along the benches and inspect everyone's potions. He didn't comment on any of them, but occasionally stopped to sift through our cauldrons or sniff a particular potion that smelled too sweet. He reached our table last – I don't know if it was because he expected grandeur or feared our failure.

He looked almost sadly at Ron, whose potion was a disaster of melted licorice thanks to adding too little sopophorous juice and not counting his stirring. Ernie had something navy to present for him, thanks to too much salt and too little water. He gave an appreciative nod to Hermione, whose potion was closer to pink than lilac and stopped in front of my potion and-

I nearly fainted.

Harry's potion looked _exactly_ like _mine._

"A hard decision!" he announced, looking between our two potions. "So difficult, so difficult – they are both magnificent concoctions – right on the mark, both of you!"

I could hardly concentrate. I was still so lost...how could Harry have made such a complex potion and not batted an eye about it? Shouldn't he be bragging by now, or dancing, or rubbing it my face and lecturing me about how I needed to work harder? But instead, he was just grinning, his hand gripping the spine of his used potion book and his eyes clinging to the only true potion he had ever made perfectly.

"But it seems as though this one finished with more time to settle...so Mr Potter, is the winner!"

I almost screamed. I was in a nightmare – a nightmare almost as bad as the nightmares that were _actually_nightmares. No – no this was worse, this was real life and some kind of sick joke. Who was I if I was not the Potions Master of my year? Of this _school_? Snape would never have let Harry win, even if I had ruined my potion as much as the rest of them. I wanted to scream and throw a tantrum, but at the same time I wanted to just mourn what chances I had lost to face my old comrades.

"Excellent, excellent, Harry," Slughorn continued, handing my brother the vial of Felix Felicis. "Good lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent. And you too, Audrey – my, I guess you really did turn out just like her! She was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are – one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!"

He handed _my__ bottle _of Felix Felicis over to my brother and a sound bubbled out of me before I could control it – it sounded like a mix of disappointment and pain. Both Harry and Slughorn looked at me nervously, but I only clenched my jaw and glared at the little golden vial. I couldn't believe that my brother had taken this away from me – the only thing I was good at, the only thing that I could ever win...

Slughorn, who looked almost dismayed to see me so upset, decidedly turned away and headed to go help students clean their cauldrons – another thing Snape would _never_have done. The five of us at the table packed up to leave, I was still too angry to speak, even when Harry tried to get my attention by saying my name.

"Miss Potter," Slughorn called as we started filing out of the room. "A word?"

I grunted, unable to make a coherent response to him through the overwhelming anger. It was nice, being able to finally feel something as strongly as I felt this bitterness – I should have known it was what I would understand first. It's what I had always understood _best_.

"We'll wait for you outside," Harry assured me, his eyes flickering over my shoulder to where I could only assume the Slytherins were packing up.

"I don't care," I grumbled, walking over to Slughorn's desk. I tried not to look as disappointed as I felt, even if I couldn't pretend to be pleased to speak to him. "Yes, sir?"

"I've heard you've been having an off-day," he informed me quietly, looking up at the other students and being sure he wouldn't be overheard. "I heard you were the best in the school for potions, you know – Professor Snape spoke very highly of you. Near perfect marks on your OWL, did you know?"

I blinked. "Er – no, I didn't."

"It was spectacular, reading through your results. So, I will give you this-" Slughorn handed me a small vial, filled with a white cork filled with something that looked like water.

"Veritaserum?" I asked, looking up at him. "But I didn't win-"

"May as well have!" he chortled. "Two excellent potions – the only reason I chose your brother was out of surprise, I think, but that doesn't mean yours wasn't just as impressive. I expect great things from you, Audrey, lass. It's not your fault you're the scorned hero."

I tried not to wrinkle my nose out of respect, but I did _not _like being called a hero, even if it was a scorned one. I didn't even like the reference being said near my name. Still, I couldn't help but nod and give him a tight grin.

"Thank you, sir," I breathed. "I'll do better next class."

"I'd be impressed if you could," he said with another chuckle. "Now, I reckon your brother is waiting for you..."

I frowned, before nodding to him and leaving with a grimace. Right. Now I had to face _that__._

"How did you do that?" I demanded as soon as I walked out the door and saw him waiting for me. Ron and Hermione had gone, but he was leaning on the wall and looked surprised by just how upset I was. "Did you copy me? Did you-"

"Of course not," he said, sounding insulted – Godric knows why. There was no possible way Harry could ever have beaten _me_ in _Potions_. Ever. "I did it on my own."

"Then how did you get it _right_?" I hissed ruthlessly. My brother grinned, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Got lucky, I suppose."

* * *

><p><strong>Poor Audrey is going to have another breakdown if this continues! She's going to have one hell of a year, let me tell you. And this is only the beginning! To my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: I don't think you have problems, I think you're pretty cool. Hope you liked this chapter too!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, Daphne definitely had reason to worry about Theodore – he's very unlike himself now that he's mourning his father. He was even making fun of Hermione with Draco! Very unlike him. I've always found Blaise a very interesting character from what we hear of him, so I'm glad that the moment in the last chapter intregued you as much as it did.  
>There is no denying it now, you're right, Circe was definitely hissing at Draco. And she was doing it again this chapter! But what's Draco to do? Circe's a kneazle, she can't help but blow his cover if she's at all worry it could be detrimental to Audrey. Hope you liked the new chapter!<strong>

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I spout out random facts like that now, so I feel your pain! Audrey is definitely going to have a hard year, but that means lots of drama and eventful chapters so hopefully you like what you read :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Me too! Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_bookreader1617_**: She didn't even make it to the common room and when she finally made it to her dorm, she was hexed. Poor Audrey. You were right about her failing the DADA OWL, but as you can see there was a way around it. It just wouldn't make sense for one of the Potter Twins not to take a course in defending themselves...plus it means extra time with Snape and I think Audrey is really going to need it. Draco and Audrey WILL be together again, but as you read it's not going to happen easily. Audrey and Theo will get slightly better – after all, they will eventually have to do Prefect duties together – but yes, it will be a very hard transition. Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Snape will be there for DADA now, but at the beginning she thought he wouldn't be. Audrey is going to feel very alone these next few weeks – but hopefully it will get better with time. You'll have to read and see :)**

_Melody_**: Audrey will be back to normal before you know it. She won't be able to stay submissive for too long, that's just not in her nature. Hopefully you still think HBP will be a good one, I do! Thanks for the review.**

_xYaar_**: Yes, the trip will be really fun. I'm not getting much time over by you, but all in all it's going to be a long time overseas. I'm glad you find the story easily melds into the original, that's really nice! Hopefully you like the chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, Circe is finally anti-Draco. It's pretty sad. It's going to cause a lot of trouble in the foreseeable future. If you thought Draco was being an arse LAST chapter you must be fuming this chapter – it was hard to write, I won't deny, but it has its purpose.  
>Draco and Nott had to grow up a little too quickly and I think they're finally just reaching Audrey's level of bitterness and acceptance that things need to change – only they're changing for the worse whereas Audrey fears making that leap. Hope you liked the new chapter and thank you for reviewing!<strong>

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Poor Theodore doesn't know what to do with himself now that his father is dead – it's sad, but I thought it was the most realistic way to go. If you had to see the person who killed your last living parent everyday...you wouldn't be able to be nice to them. No matter how at odds you and said parent were. Draco and Audrey will not always interact so viciously, but the line needed to be drawn for future plot points. It was hard to write, won't lie. Hope you liked this new chapter (as much as you can like someone being put through the ringer like poor Audrey was).**

_kaaayyytteee_**: Thank you, hope you liked the new one :)**

_Polki_**: Oh my gosh, I love whales. No, no I adore them. Did you see what species or genus? Sorry, I'm a super nerd. I'll get back to your review.  
>The Slytherins won't necessarily get better, but Audrey will get better with dealing with them in the ways she knows best. Neville did take three, HarryRon five, Hermione took nine...because she's Hermione. I thought making Audrey take five was a good bet as well – she's going to have so much on her plate with her 'personal' life this year that she won't have time to take any more classes. Snape mentioned that she should incur about being a Potions Mistress, yes, but that requires study, fantastic marks, being the best in the class and future job offers on the subject. Yes, I couldn't keep Snape out of the story for too long – not only does he play an important part in Harry's version of HBP, but he will play an integral role in Audrey's, so he needs to be present. She won't be dying any time soon, but don't be too comforted I have planned both an ending where Audrey dies and does not die, I just haven't decided which I will write yet ;) Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review!**

_enimzajlove13_**: Thank you! I know this sounds cheesy, but honestly, the best advice I can give to an aspiring writer is to keep writing. I did not start off like this; I can tell from my first story on this site to this story I have grown exponentially and I know there is still tons of room for improvement. My mom always says "you're only as good of a writer as you are a reader"; so as tempting as fanfiction is to read, I barely read it anymore. I've read the originals, so it doesn't usually help me grow (not that I want to turn you off of fanfiction, I still read a story every now and then as a pick-me-up, but it's normally Jacob Black based because he makes me feel warm and fuzzy, or Klaus based because he is epically perfect). I also read a lot of classic literature like poetry (Tennyson is my favourite), Madame Bovary, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Hardy, John Milton...but I still make sure to satisify myself and read fiction. Right now I'm finishing up The Mortal Instruments series (there's a movie coming out this summer, I believe) it's fantastic. Hopefully that helped a bit and gave you some interesting titles to read :)**

_Invincible Shadow_**: Speechless? You can't be speechless after this chapter...unless it's with anger. That might make sense. This was a frustrating chapter to write, I can't imagine how it was from a third-party perspective. I LOVE Audrey! But she doesn't get off light ;) Hopefully you slightly enjoyed this chapter!**

_incitanemxx_**: Yeah, I'm a little cruel to Audrey, I've been told. A lot of readers really seemed to acknowledge it during the last chapter, haha. I agree that the Slytherins have no right to really judge her on what they know – but remember: Slytherins look after their own. And Theodore is one of their own and he was wronged, in their minds, more than Audrey was. It sucks, but it's totally what would happen. I hope that you liked what I made happen in her dorm (even though we didn't really see it) and what happened between she and Draco...even though it was upsetting and dramatic. I know the vision you're talking about: where she's in the bathroom and the water is flying everywhere and she calls out for Draco. I can't tell you if it's going to be in this book or not, but you'll find out. That's an important scene, eventually :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Mischief and Magic_**: A reader made the new cover for me, isn't it nice? I've never been able to find the perfect girl to represent Audrey, but I really like the girl she chose.  
>Yes, everybody in the last chapter was an asshole. Most people in this chapter were assholes too...even when I was rereading the chapter I was like "Why the hell did I do this to her?" but then I read key lines and I remembered. Sometimes I forget my own plot thanks to my love of Drea and Draco.<br>I can't believe how many people hate Ron. I mean, I get that he's a bit of a prat, but he's so fun to write! He and Drea tend to have a closer brother-sister relationship than Harry and she do, I think. Then again, there were some major bonding moments in this chapter – DID YOU SEE IT? Did you melt like you said you would? Because I did when I wrote it.  
>I think Audrey will be able to beat the Prince too, if she tries really hard. Why not be lazy when you don't know you have competition? She's going to have to pick it up, now.<br>I hope that you're not so busy that you feel stressed! Take some time and relax. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_OddPotato_**: Yes, new picture! Yeah, Draco and Theodore are hard to read and write the way they are now, but it'll get more bearable. Hope you like the chapter!**

_corazondepapel_**: Yes, your English teacher is doing a fantastic job! I hope I write Draco well, I'd hate to insult any of these characters by messing them up from the original any more than I have to. Audrey is a lot stronger than she thinks she is. Audrey has a few friends that will be sticking by her, but she's still not sure what to do with herself in these first few chapters: don't worry, it'll get better. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing :)**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I'm glad I could make you laugh! These chapters are a bit more serious with how upset Audrey always is, so I try to put in whatever humour I can to spice them up. I hope you had a great Graduation! Congratulations :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Aw, thank you! You're so sweet. Yeah, as soon as I remembered Draco would not be Prefect in this book I instantly started to research who was – when I saw it didn't say, I threw Theo in the role immediately. Audrey's going to have to step up her game to compete with the Prince, it isn't all fun and games or being lazy with her talent now that someone (kind of) has it, as well. I'm thinking about writing the letters that everyone wrote her in the summer in a chapter for Audrey's Prelude, but I can't decide whether or should just write the letters or write a chapter from Draco's point of view over the summer. Decisions, decisions! Thanks for the review, as always :)**

_quickreader93_**: Thank you! I hope you liked this one, too.**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Thank you! Hopefully you had that same connection with Audrey in this chapter, even though it was a lot more complicated. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_wemaketheperfectteam_**: Alright, I live in Canada so there may be some insane shipping charges for ice cream...and it may melt before it gets here...but it will be worth it! Haha. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, this one was a lot darker, but hopefully this one was enjoyable in its own way. Montague is done harassing Audrey, I made him graduate last year. Also, Circe knows that Draco may be a danger to Audrey – it's a kneazles job after all, to protect their owners – so that is why she's being so protective. Thanks for the review!**

_Ella710_**: I MISSED YOU! I thought you may have fallen off the face of the earth, or died, or started hating the story, or died, or moved someplace in Africa where there's no Wi-Fi...I panicked a bit, I won't lie. But you're back – I could almost dance!  
>Harry had some cute moments in this chapter, no? She needed her brother and he was totally there for her – but he will turn into a jerk again. I mean...he has the Prince now. It's going to cause a lot of trouble for them both. And I'm glad you liked the Sirius moment – it was hard to write...no, not hard, I was just super self-conscious that I was doing it wrong and that people wouldn't like it. But people seemed to, so I was made happy once again. And I said he would find some kind of love...notice that I did not extrapolate. You have been warned!<br>YES! Theo is prefect...isn't it crazy? Oh my God, when I realized Draco wasn't prefect anymore and then I looked and it didn't say who was I was like "OH MY GOD THIS IS HAPPENING, IT'S PERFECT!"  
>Don't get me started on Parkinson. I wish I could kill her. I do. I mean, I <strong>_**can**_**, but I can't...you know? She's important. In the worst way...even though she makes me want to kill every pug I see (okay, no, but they've become my least favourite dog which is HUGE for an animal-lover like me).  
>Snape...oh my God, if you know what was going to be happening with Snape... asdf;ilkjawesfo. ← See that? When have you ever seen me button-mash? Never. The answer is never. But if you only KNEW...<br>Ginny is a lot of fun to write. I won't deny, because she's one of my favourite characters I made Audrey like her – but Ginny is very down to earth, so I thought they'd be able to get along. Plus, Ginny is a lot more like the twins and Bill than she is like Ron, so I figured that Audrey would be able to converse with her easily. And that's totally what she needs right now. Hermione, of course, will be important (I mean, how ISN'T she important?) but she grinds Audrey the wrong way a lot of the time. Audrey doesn't like being second best and she doesn't like people demanding attention and praise as Hermione does.  
>Theo...poor boy. I just want to hug him and say sorry. Cause...you know...it's technically my fault Thuban is dead. But he doesn't know that. And, considering how he's acting, I'm not really sure if I want him to...<br>DRACO. I saved him for last. He was an asshole, it is true. But it is so important...can't really tell you why (though part of it is pretty obvious, I mean, he's a Death Eater) but DON'T WORRY! I'mma make it right...eventually.  
>The end of this fic will kill you. It kills me just thinking about it. It's going to have so many feels and deaths and twists and turns and...man, it's going to be bad. In the best way.<br>As for me? Nope. I leave for my trip in two weeks. I'm getting all nervous and excited and I'm almost actually prepared to go. It's going to be amazing. I'm too excited.  
>Don't disappear again! Even if you don't review, just send me a tweet and be like "I'M ALIVE" because I missed you and thought the vultures had taken you from me!<strong>

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Of course I posted your picture, it's great! I hope your sister realized it too :) The last chapter had some angst but this one was full of it – now that classes have started she's not going to be as broodish and focus on the depressing stuff, but it had to be written so everyone knew where this story was really starting. I also love Demons by Imagine Dragons, I've thought about that song before for Draco – great minds think alike! And yes, the name Green Eyed Monster was a fun one. When my friend and I first worked on an HP-twin fic (that was about half a lifetime ago and the original sucked) I had this really long elaborate name for it...then I read this and I was like "you know what, let's put some **_**meaning **_**into it"...and so came the current title. I also thought about breaking this book into two and have the second title be "Out of the Ashes" but I decided to keep it to one book, even though the word count is terrifying. And NO, I had not realized that this was longer than all three books combined! Oh lord, that IS terrifying. Luckily, if you add in GOF, when I started, I still have like...another 150,000 words before I surpass that...  
>How is your roadtrip? That's pretty fun! Why are you headed there? Have you had any time to think about what you think would happen in this story? I love hearing theories :)<strong>

_SwiftAlice_**: I am doing very well, thank you. I'm getting ready to leave – which is actually quite a lot of work, apparently, and I'm getting really excited. How are you? I hope everything's going well. And I do find that it's tranquil here in Canada (if you know where to go) and it's a universal joke that we're too polite. In fact, I was talking to my relatives asking if I should carry Canadian things with me so they know my nationality and they all said "you're the most polite person here. They'll know the minute you apologize for stumbling over your words or say sorry for when they get in your way". I am overly polite, it's true. But I think it's because I'm shy, not just because I'm Canadian.  
>I've heard of Argentina! I've heard it's a whole different world out there and completely unlike what you would think when you visit. I'd like to go sometime. Translating it is going to be a big job, but if you're up for it I would never begrudge you doing it!<br>My friend keeps looking for the perfect girl to play Audrey and I think she hit the jackpot today. A few more freckles than I would have seen her with, truthfully, but otherwise she's not too pretty, not to sweet looking, still a cutie...I'll have to post it on my profile when I compare it. But yes, I see her as a tougher looking girl, even if her features are more delicate. There's only so much you can live through before it starts to show on you, I think, and I think all the bitterness and hard-times she's had to live through leave as much of a scar as the real scars she's seen heal. I might release the sketch I did of Audrey later on this week – whenever I find some free time! Haha. Even now, I'm rushing to post this!  
>Yeah, I didn't want Audrey to be in the compartment with Draco and Harry because I knew that she would have realized something was going on and I didn't want Harry to see her in her element, in a way. Of course, she wasn't welcome there in the first place, but I think that's almost a world separate of him and it almost seems bad to defile it by her having to fake around them just because he's there.<br>In the real book Slughorn is a bit of a bore, but I totally see his importance. It's important to see, for Harry at least, that not all Slytherins are actually cruel. They still put themselves first, true, but he is not cruel or a huge racist (bloodist?), or anything. He's a normal guy trying to make sure he doesn't die in the middle of a war.  
>Your reviews are bad, don't even think it! We'll have to PM so we can talk about the translation of the story, I'd love to hear what you were thinking of doing with it...I'm not really sure how to go about it, to be honest. I've never had a story translated before! I'm really excited about it too :)<strong>

_ThePhantomismyLove_**: You'll have to read and see if they stay together in the end, but I hope you like the new chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: You're so sweet! Yes, there are a few Slytherins who want to stay on her side...it just sucks that I couldn't make Malfoy one of those people. But with how everything is going, it's not going to work that way. But I have my reasons, I swear! There will be Dreaco at some point in this book...but you'll have to wait around for it, sadly. Montague graduated at the end of last year, so we won't be seeing any of him. But don't worry, there's going to be a new villain coming in soon...**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: I hope you liked the newest chapter. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Godric's Innocent Angel_**: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking the story, hopefully you still like it after this chapter – I know it was very angsty. But I had to put where her place is in the story before she can start changing it, haha. On a completely unrelated note, I just re-watched the episode of True Blood where Godric was introduced. He's one of my favourites. Anyway, thanks again!**

_Amber Rose Black_**: I'm going to try to keep the Slytherins from killing her, but that doesn't mean she gets off easily. Draco is being even more of a jerk, but hopefully you still liked the chapter. Thanks for the review!**

_MangaMagic_**: I don't really, I haven't read Harry Potter fanfiction for a really long time. I only really read Jacob Black fics when I'm feeling down and I'm currently stuck on Vampire Diaries fics...I'm sorry!**

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><p><strong>Well, that was an interesting chapter! Thank you to everyone on my twitter who retweeted and favourited to get this chapter out to you over 24 hours earlier than I was going to post it. I hope you liked this chapter and I would love to hear what you think, so<strong>

**PLEASE**_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for sneak-peeks, excerpts, and my mindless musings.**


	63. Past, Present, Future

**This isn't the most detailed chapter, but it is a pretty important one so I hope you like it, everyone! I'm leaving the continent in about a week, so everyone should start expecting updates to be every 7-10 days for the majority of the summer. I'm sorry, but I don't know how reliable finding internet will be and also finding time to respond to everyone's reviews and look over the chapters. I'll try and keep the chapters as exciting and constant as I can though, promise :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 62 – Past, Present, Future<p>

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><p>"I don't like it," I didn't even try to disguise the glare at the book in my brother's hand. He was, as always, sure to hold it far out of my reach so that I couldn't spy any of its secrets. "<em>The Half Blood Prince<em>? Besides Voldemort, who names themself like that? Maybe it is Voldemort's. I think Hermione's right – it could be dangerous."

"You don't think that at all," Ron accused with a grin. "You just don't like that he's better than you when he uses it."

I felt my eye twitch as I held back a defensive snarl. "He is not _better _than me."

"Then he's just as good," Ron smirked, even when Harry elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up. My brother had been working hard to keep me as out of trouble and out of my depressed stupor as he could – which was nearly impossible when he wouldn't let go of that bloody book of his. Ron continually reminded me that were I to have just given him my book, this never would have happened – it only made the situation that much worse; and the fact that I wasn't allowed to stay upset because I'd taken to sleeping in the Gryffindor Common Room made it that much more _pathetic_.

"Will you be able to make it through Dumbledore's lesson tonight, or should you nap again?" My brother asked as we walked down to an early dinner. I frowned, knowing that he was trying to change the subject but also aware that he was babying me once again. I'd already taken a long nap that afternoon; even if this week had been exhausting there was no excuse to take another.

"No time to nap now," it had been hard adjusting to a NEWT schedule. It involved a lot of homework and a lot of class time – more than I would have thought considering I'd dropped a good portion of them. I usually had to take naps just to get through the day.

"You have time," Harry said as I sat down beside him at the table. I sat down across from him, frowning when I could see the Slytherin table from where I had placed myself. Over to the side, Lillian and Tracey tried to wave me over to them...I averted my eyes when I saw that Malfoy glaring in my direction as if to further show that I was not welcome. "Snape wrangled me into detention at six, but we don't need to be there until eight."

"What?" I asked, half sure I had been too distracted to hear him and half knowing that he had made a mistake. I was glad to call him on any mistake now that he constantly had a Potion Master's book in his hand. "Did Dumbledore change the time?"

"Snape wouldn't have rescheduled my detention then," Harry frowned. "I was told eight."

I took out my parchment from my rucksack, frowning down at it until I read the line. "No, it's at six."

"No," he argued, drawing out the word as he pulled out his own roll of parchment. I was just pleased that I had been right – there was no mistaking this handwriting. "Mine says eight...wait – do you think he wants to see us separately?"

"Why would he do that?" I asked, looking from him to Ron and Hermione. Hermione, of course, was ready with an answer.

"He must want to teach you different things," Hermione thought. "But why?"

"Probably because I'm shite with a wand," I frowned down at my hands and hastily put the parchment away so they wouldn't realize I was 'brooding' again. "He probably wants to teach me something Cantated that Harry can't learn and Harry will probably learn cool Incantations that I can't do."

"Maybe," Hermione hummed to herself. Still, she sounded uncertain.

I left not long afterward. The corridors were deserted thanks to most already being in the Great Hall for dinner – it was a pleasant walk. I was glad to go through the halls and not feel like holes were being glared through me...yes, clearly this week had been harder than I liked to admit to myself. The Slytherins who _didn't _know what a traitor I was had caught on thanks to all the time I was spending with the Gryffindors...and on that note, not all the Gryffindors agreed with my presence around them. It left me between a rock and a hard place. The Slytherins were the rocks. I was fairly certain they wanted to reform back to more traditional punishment and have me flogged with them.

By the time I made it to the stone gargoyle at the foot of Dumbledore's stairs, I was winded – apparently constant napping keeps you out of shape. I looked over at the gargoyle, who knew me all too well and knew to look sour, before I recanted the password Dumbledore had told me. He leapt aside instantly, as if he couldn't wait to see the back of me, so that I could ascend the stone steps.

"Professor?" I asked, hitting the old brass knocker against the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called. I entered as I was told, looking around the familiar office with its silvery trinkets, it's mahogany desk, his perched and happy looking phoenix, Fawkes.

"Hello," I said carefully, feeling awkward as I stepped in. Had I ever been to this office alone? Had I ever been in this office when I wasn't being reprimanded? I couldn't remember a time.

"Good evening, Audrey. Please, sit," he gestured to the chair in front of him. "How has your first week of school gone?"

"Busily," I answered, sitting down across from him. His eyes twinkled as he regarded me.

"Yes, NEWT level classes can be quite the bother. Were I not Headmaster of a school, I would protest them," he told me informatively. "And how have the interactions been with the Slytherins?"

I thought back to my hexed bed and frowned. "I haven't been staying with them much."

"Pity," he frowned. "It is quite good to have friends of your own – and likewise, it is quite good for them to have a friend like you."

I didn't quite agree. I certainly hadn't done any good to any of the Slytherins in my year by staying with them – particularly my own best friend. But since I wasn't about to dig into emotional matters with the man who far preferred listening to my brother's, I just nodded dumbly. "Sir, is there a reason why you wanted to see Harry and I separately?"

"You are quite separate people, Audrey," he said placidly, folding his hands in front of him with a small, encouraging grin. "You have quite separate knowledge and quite separate talent. I figure it is only fair to give you quite separate lessons."

"So we'll always have lessons apart?"

"For now," he nodded. "You have been wondering, I am sure, what I have planned for you – particularly with the newest knowledge of these private classes."

"Yes, sir," I answered quickly. "And what Harry will be learning."

"Harry will be seeing memories to serve for his own fight against Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore informed. "You, however, have a different objective.

"Fifteen years ago, Lord Voldemort used your mother's loyalties to her own children against her. As your brother must be loyal to the fate of a prophecy – you must learn of the loyalties that formed it."

"Formed the prophecy?" I repeated, my brow furrowing. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"I intend to show you memories, Audrey, of what has been so that you can find the root of what is and soon shall happen. We are studying the past, present, and future, one could say – I trust you want to."

"Of course," I said quickly, wriggling uncomfortably in the plush chair. "But I haven't been able to see the future lately...I haven't been able to do much of anything. That's why we thought we would be learning defenses against Voldemort, or things to help us defeat him..."

"And so you shall," Dumbledore smiled, leaning a little more forward as if he were sharing some secret with me. Still, his voice remained light and confident as he spoke. "But not all magic is found in a spell or incantation, Audrey. Some magic runs much deeper. Magic, itself, for instance runs in threes: past, present, future; light, dark, gray; and lastly body, mind, soul..."

"I've done research on them," I said, "the body, mind, and soul – where magic supposedly comes from."

"Interesting," he steepled his fingers and looked over his half-moon glasses at me. "And where do you believe magic comes from, Audrey?"

"Hermione thought that it came from the soul," I answered carefully. "When I was learning Astral Projection, that's what I thought too – that I was separating my soul and mind from my body so that I could travel."

"And what do you believe according to the Magnuse you have learned?"

"Well, Astral Projection was clearly my soul and mind, but Magnuse is obviously my _body_ and mind," I said, twisting my hands together and looking nervously at the large glass windows of his office – if I got too nervous or stressed, I knew I would shatter them. These were very nice windows. "Do you know what magic is, sir?"

"Hm," he hummed, sitting back in his seat with a smile. "We can only theorize, of course, for it is impossible to have any without the other while still being able to produce anything magical at all. I always believed that magic was the result of the body, mind _and _soul..."

"All three?"

"Precisely, much like a recipe – or, better yet, a potion," he smiled when he saw me perk up at the comparison. "Something where all the ingredients must be brewed properly to have the desired effect. If one does not have enough of the other, the balance is improper and the results can be disastrous."

"Like me," I deflated, realizing exactly what he was insinuating. His head turned in interest while he waited for me to elaborate. "I'm not balanced right, er – measured right. My chemistry is all off – that's why I can't do what other people can, but I can do things that other people can't."

"There is a reason you can do the things you do, Audrey," Dumbledore told, his blue eyes focused on me – for once, they did not look grave. "And I will teach you, in time. But for today, let's start simple, shall we? A memory, I think, is a good beginning to talks of the future."

"Who's memory, sir?" I asked, staying in my seat while he stood to walk over to a side table and return with the familiar stone Pensieve. He sat it on the desk between us – it wasn't swirling with silver, crowded memories as it once was. Instead, the water lay stagnant and glittering like glass. From deep within his robes, Dumbledore drew a mercurial vial.

"A man named Bob Ogden," he finally answered with a smile. "Your brother will be seeing this memory tonight as well, but we have very different things to observe of it."

That didn't make any sense – if we were seeing the same memory what would I get out of it that Harry wouldn't, and vice versa? Still, without another word or thought of explanation, Dumbledore uncorked the small vial and poured the silver substance into the Pensieve. He had trouble uncorking the vial, his blackened hand was stiff and looked painful – I nearly mentioned it, but decided not to annoy him before the lesson was over. I had more important questions to ask than how he had injured his hand. I watched it swirl and dance in front of me, creating a whirlpool of colour and life and I leaned down, pushing myself into the Pensieve, Dumbledore behind me.

The world was all colour and shapes, but I couldn't make anything out besides Dumbledore when he landed beside me. Slowly, the shapes took form, building in colour and sense. We were by a small, cottage house that was run-down, it's high hedges and splintered fence looked closer to a hazard than protection – and standing outside of it was a man with glasses as thick as Trelawney's and a wardrobe picked out by a blind wizard who had never been to the Muggle world.

This was Bob Ogden.

We followed him as he examined his surroundings and made his way to the shack-like cottage; fighting through the briar of thorns and tangle of branches that all looked like waiting talons. The cottage was covered in moss as if it were covered in disease, the roof seemed to be peeling away from the walls as if it were trying to run away from itself and the windows looked like it was trying to shut its eyes on its own reflection by the grime that covered them. Worst, on the front of the door, the demon house had taken a victim: a snake that had been nailed by the tip of its tail.

"What is this place?" I grimaced, recoiling away from the sight before me. Bob Ogden looked as shocked as I felt, but he proceeded rightly; wand drawn and ready for a duel. Whoever inhabited this house left bad energy in the same way that I left great insults – it emanated from it. As Ogden examined the snake on the door there was a rustle and a crack behind him. We three – Dumbledore, Ogden, and myself – whipped in the direction too late. There was a man there, he was wrapped in rags and missing many of his teeth but the overall appearance was driven home by his dark wooded wand and small, dark eyes that seemed permanently crossed. It didn't look like something to tease, however, it looked like something to fear.

And then the man _hissed._

"Er, good morning. I'm from the Ministry of Magic-"

Again, the crazed and wild man only acknowledged Ogden's presence by glaring and hissing at him.

"Er – I'm sorry...I don't understand you," the thickly spectacled man stuttered.

"This is something your brother would understand, but you would not," Dumbledore explained patiently. I raised an eyebrow. "The man in Mr Ogden's presence is speaking Parseltongue."

"But..." I frowned, my eyes moving to the snake on the door again. "No one speaks Parseltongue nowadays. It's as dead a language as Latin is-"

"Each of our spells are Latin, Audrey," Dumbledore smiled, he seemed amused even though the man in the rags was now advancing toward Ogden with both a knife and his wand raised. "And a language is only as dead as those who refuse to learn it."

"But you can't _learn _Parseltongue, you have to be-" I stopped myself, looking at the man in front of Ogden and back to Dumbledore. "Is he a Slytherin? As in a – a _real _Slytherin?"

There was a loud bang, leaving Ogden on the ground and clutching his nose as something yellow began to spurt from between his trembling fingers.

"Morfin!"

An older man – better kept than the first man but still oddly proportioned and wild looking – came rushing from the front door of the house. He did not look disturbed by the snake on the door nor the younger man's look of mania that was only enhanced by his crossed eyes. His large shoulders tapered into long and lanky arms which added with his grime and body of thick, dark hair almost made him look like a powerful chimpanzee.

"Ministry, is it?" the older man asked, ignoring the attacker's cackles.

"Correct!" Ogden growled, trying to clean off what was still spurting from his nose. "And you, I take it, are Mr Gaunt?"

"'S right," Gaunt slurred, raising an eyebrow. "Got you in the face, did he?"

What a ridiculous question. Still, Ogden felt need to answer it. "Yes, he did!"

"Should've made your presence known, shouldn't you?" Gaunt drawled, looking rather triumphant for someone who had done nothing at all. "This is private property. Can't just walk in here and not expect my son to defend himself."

"Defend himself against what, man?" Ogden asked, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

"Busybodies. Intruders. Muggles and filth-"

"Great," I sighed, watching while Ogden healed himself. "Slytherin is never going to get a better reputation with people like this wearing our badges. Show some restraint, prat."

"Restraint is not the life this family leads," Dumbledore agreed, sounding quite calm. "Nor is tact."

Gaunt hissed in distinctive Parseltongue before Morfin, who must have been his son, closed his mouth to prevent himself from arguing back to his farther and stomped off into the cottage.

"It's your son I'm here to see, Mr Gaunt," Ogden argued, looking after the man who had retreated into the house as he mopped off the last of the yellow gunk from his mix-n-matched jacket. "That was Morfin, wasn't it?"

"Ar, that was Morfin," the old man grumbled. Then, with distinctive energy and a glare that only a true Slytherin could muster, he spoke again. "Are you Pureblood?"

"That's neither here nor there," Ogden's response was cool – so cool that I knew immediately that he was not. Gaunt seemed to think the same thing.

"Now I come to think about it, I've seen noses like yours down in the village." I frowned, wrinkling my own nose in distaste.

"I don't doubt it, if your son's been let loose on them," said Ogden. I raised an impressed brow at the memory-man; that was a pretty quick retort. "Perhaps we could continue this discussion inside?"

"Inside?"

"Yes, Mr Gaunt," Ogden was beginning to sound condescending, which did not seem to ring well with Gaunt. "I've already told you. I'm here about Morfin. We sent an owl-"

"I've no use for owls," Gaunt grumbled. "I don't open letters."

"Then you can hardly complain that you get no warning of visitors," Ogden snapped. "I am here following a serious breach of Wizarding law, which occurred here in the early hours of this morning-"

"All right, all right, all right!" Gaunt groaned out loudly, looking miffed. "Come in the bleeding house, then, and much good it'll do you!"

The cottage was somehow smaller on the inside than it had looked on the outside. It seemed to consist of three small rooms – a kitchen, sounding with clanking pans was behind one of the two doors that lead off from the smoky living room fireplace. Morfin took to sitting on an overstuffed chair and started speaking to another pet snake in Parseltongue – this one having been left alive to slither on the ground.

"M'daughter, Merope," Gaunt grumbled, pointing toward a figure in the kitchen. She was tall and wiry in a thin way that even I had never seen before. Her gray dress – which matched the stone walls – kept her as undetectable as an invisibility cloak, while her dark and plain hair tried to hide the eyes which were permanently crossed, like her brothers. The woman looked more than defeated – she looked ready to give up.

"Good morning," Ogden said carefully – he must have noticed the same vibe rolling off of her as I had. The girl did not answer but looked at her father nervously before moving back to the kitchen and clanging the pots and pans once again.

"Well, Mr Gaunt," Ogden began, "to get straight to the point, we have reason to believe that your son, Morfin, performed magic in front of a Muggle late last night."

Merope dropped a pot, the clang echoed through the room and caused both her and her father's face to redden – but hers was from embarrassment, his...

"Pick it up!" Gaunt howled at her, sounding furious. "That's it, grub on the floor like some filthy Muggle, what's your wand for, you useless sack of muck?"

"Mr Gaunt, please!" Ogden looked mortified as he watched Merope struggle. She picked up the pot and fumbled with it as it slid from her grip again, her face blotched and crimson when she pulled a wand from her pocket and looked determinedly at the pot in her hand. She muttered some spell that was so hasty I couldn't have heard it before the pot shot across the floor to the other side of the kitchen where it cracked in two against the wall.

Morfin cackled while his father roared. "Mend it, you pointless lump, mend it!"

Merope tripped over herself as she tried to get to the pot again. I felt horribly for her – I knew this feeling, the feeling that everyone was watching you and waiting for you to be able to finish a spell that you weren't sure you could perform. The feeling that everyone was watching you, knowing you would fail. Before she had gotten to the pot, Ogden took pity on her and mended the cracked steel with a flick of his wand. After the pot fixed itself, Gaunt looked ready to scream at the Ministry official – but he thought better and turned that frustration back to his terrified daughter – who looked as if she knew she had done wrong by receiving help.

"Lucky the nice man from the Ministry's here, isn't it?" Gaunt growled. "Perhaps he'll take you off my hands, perhaps he doesn't mind dirty Squibs..."

Merope, now ashen-faced and trembling, moved towards the mended pan without daring to look at Ogden before she returned it to its spot on the shelf. Instead of trying to cook again, she stood with her back towards the men, too ashamed to face them.

"Mr Gaunt," Ogden could not hide his disgust, "as I've said: the reason for my visit-"

"I heard you the first time!" the ape-man snapped. "And so what? Morfin gave a Muggle a bit of what was coming to him – what about it, then?"

"Morfin has broken Wizarding law," Ogden almost seemed pleased by this fact as his eyes slid back towards the crumbling girl by the sink again.

"'Morfin has broken Wizarding law,'" Gaunt mimicked poorly, his voice sounding even more annoying than it had before. "He taught a filthy Muggle a lesson, that's illegal now, is it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is." Ogden didn't sound afraid at all. In fact, he sounded pleased. From his pocket he pulled forth a small roll of parchment and took his time to stretch it out – which made Gaunt more irritable.

"What's that, then, his sentence?"

"It is a summons to the Ministry for a hearing-"

"Summons! Summons?" Gaunt roared, taking a step toward the man and pointing at him violently. "Who do you think you are, summoning my son anywhere?"

"I'm Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad," Ogden argued, finally sneering at the man.

"And you think we're scum, do you?" Gaunt bellowed, pushing the finger he was pointing into Ogden's chest. "Scum who'll come running when the Ministry tells 'em to? Do you know who you're talking to, you filthy little Mudblood, do you?"

I'd heard those words before – but I dared not make a connection on who with.

"I was under the impression that I was speaking to Mr Gaunt," Ogden did not sound wary, but he looked it. Gaunt seemed pleased with his answer.

"That's right!" The man shoved his middle-finger in front of Bob Ogden's face and while I was thinking he was being even more rude than before, I realized he was displaying the chunky, black-stoned ring displayed there. "See this? See this? Know what it is? Know where it came from? Centuries it's been in our family, that's how far back we go, and Pureblood all the way! Know how much I've been offered for this, with the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone?"

"I've really no idea," Ogden was not impressed by the clumsy-looking ring. Nor was I, it was gaudy and too large even for the oddly shaped man's hand. "And it's quite beside the point, Mr. Gaunt. Your son has committed-"

Gaunt howled like a wolf that had lost its pack. Bolting over for his daughter, he grabbed her by the locket around her throat and shoved it toward Ogden, strangling her for air and not batting an eye.

"See this?"

"I see it, I see it!" Ogden said quickly, clearly hoping that Gaunt would then release his daughter now that it had been shown to him, but poor Merope had no such luck. Instead, he kept the locket on display...but...

"_I've_ seenit," I said quietly, moving a little forward so I could get a better look at what I was being shown in this memory. It was gold and as chunky as the ring – engraved and clearly heavy, with an emerald, serpentine _S _carved into its front... "I've seen that, Professor..."

Dumbledore turned to me, his face impassive. "Have you?"

"Last year, Dolores Umbridge had one just like it. Identical. But she's not..." I furrowed my brows. "She said-"

"Slytherin's!" His voice was much louder than mine. "Salazar Slytherin's! We're his last living descendants, what do you say to that, eh?"

"Mr Gaunt, your daughter!" Gaunt released Merope immediately, shoving her aside without even pretending to worry while she sputtered and clung to her throat where the heavy golden chain had cut into her skin. I looked at Dumbledore, my mouth dropped – this was a descendant of Slytherin? How far they had fallen.

"Professor," I began slowly, my mind whirring over the idea of Umbridge having that necklace, of how she had gotten it, of when Gaunt had lived – it didn't look modern age. Surely in this day and age this wouldn't be acceptable. But how had it gone from being a Slytherin heirloom to being on a Selwyn? "How long ago was this?"

"So!" Gaunt smiled triumphantly, his boisterous voice cutting off any kind of answer. "Don't you go talking to us as if we're dirt on your shoes! Generations of Purebloods, wizards all – more than you can say, I don't doubt!"

And with that, he spat at Bob Ogden's feet. Morfin seemed to think this was hilarious and he shrieked and cackled like a gossiping witch while Merope silently hid behind her lank and greasy hair.

"Mr Gaunt," Ogden hissed, "I am afraid that neither your ancestors nor mine have anything to do with the matter in hand. I am here because of Morfin, Morfin and the Muggle he accosted late last night. Our information is that Morfin performed a jinx or hex on the said Muggle, causing him to erupt in highly painful hives."

Morfin answered this accusation with a nostalgic giggle.

"And so what if he did, then?" Gaunt asked after a moment of hissing – in unmistakable Parseltongue – to his son, "I expect you've wiped the Muggle's filthy face clean for him, and his memory to boot-"

"That's hardly the point, is it, Mr Gaunt? This was an unprovoked attack on a defenseless-"

"Ar, I had you marked out as a Muggle-lover the moment I saw you," Gaunt sneered, spitting at Ogden's feet once again.

"No tact," I mumbled, agreeing with Dumbledore from before.

"This discussion is getting us nowhere," Ogden argued with a growl. "It is clear from your son's attitude that he feels no remorse for his actions. Morfin will attend a hearing on the fourteenth of September to answer the charges of using magic in front of a Muggle and causing harm and distress to that same Mugg-"

The Ministry official broke off when all three Gaunts snapped their heads violently towards the open window. Behind the brambles and vines that severed almost the entire view to the street, I could hear horses hooves and a distinctive dragging that sounded like a kind of cart.

"My God, what an eyesore!" It was a woman's voice, one that I couldn't recognize but I knew the tone well: it was the tone Parkinson always had, the tone Daphne got whenever she felt insulted – it was the unmistakable tone of _entitlement. _ "Couldn't your father have that hovel cleared away, Tom?"

"It's not ours," a bitter sounding man, Tom, responded. "Everything on the other side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old tramp called Gaunt, and his children. The son's quite mad, you should hear some of the stories they tell in the village-"

The girl laughed, it was loud and nearly charming were it not for the false note in it that begged for attention. There was a long moment where I had to be victim to the laugh before it was cut off with a gasp. The sounds of horse hooves were growing louder – they were coming close to the house. Morfin moved to leave his chair only to have his father hiss at him and make him sourly sit down again.

"Tom," she asked, sounding startled. "I might be wrong – but has somebody nailed a snake to that door?"

"Good lord, you're right!" the man was just as shocked, he must not come round here often because the dead snake seemed like a common occurrence. "That'll be the son, I told you he's not right in the head. Don't look at it, Cecilia, darling."

And then they were gone.

Morfin was hissing, it appeared he was speaking to his sister who was growing white the more he spoke. Her hands were trembling worse than when she had been in the kitchen, her eyes darting to her father when he seemed to react violently to whatever was being said between them.

"What's that?" Gaunt asked brusquely. "What did you say, Morfin?"

"She likes looking at that Muggle," Morfin giggled, looking vindictive in a way that frightened me even though he was glaring at his horror-struck sister. Still, since he was speaking in English this was obviously meant to entertain Bob Ogden, as well. "Always in the garden when he passes, peering through the hedge at him, isn't she? And last night-"

Merope shook her head, taking a terrified step forward and looking helpless as her brother continued. "Hanging out of the window waiting for him to ride home, wasn't she?"

"Hanging out of the window to look at a _Muggle_?" Gaunt repeated, his tone low. I was reminded of Uncle Vernon when he used to talk about our 'funny business' – as if it were a crime or the greatest form of blasphemy. "Is it true? My daughter – pure-blooded descendant of _Salazar Slytherin_ – hankering after a filthy, dirt-veined Muggle?"

I winced, watching as he took an intimidating step toward her. Merope was shaking her head, apparently she was too afraid to speak – no one was paying attention to Bob Ogden, who looked just as frightened as I felt.

"But I got him, Father!" Morfin cackled, begging for praise. "I got him as he went by and he didn't look so pretty with hives all over him, did he, Merope?"

"You disgusting little Squib, you filthy little blood traitor!" Gaunt lunged, his hands wrapping around Merope's neck while she soundlessly begged for him to stop. I felt myself take a few steps forward, ready to take advantage of the fact he could not see me, but this was not my memory – and when I moved to place my tingling palms on Gaunt, it passed right through his shoulder. Luckily, Bob Ogden acted before I could try again.

"_Relaskio_!" Gaunt was thrown off his daughter, tripping over the stuffed chair Morfin had been sitting in and falling onto his rear. Morfin roared and came to avenge his father's humiliation as he brandished his knife and ran toward Ogden, who scurried to escape. Merope, now, had caught her breath and was screaming so violently I thought her throat would start to bleed...

And then, with a tug on my elbow, Dumbledore heaved me from the Pensieve and we were in his office once again.

"What was that?" I asked, feeling nearly breathless as if I had been screaming rather than Merope Gaunt. "Why would you show me that?"

"To show you a past you may have to face in future – a familiar past, I might think, to you more so than to most others who would watch this memory." There was a moment I didn't understand his meaning, but my mind turned again to Uncle Vernon. It was terrible how many times the man – Gaunt – had the same glint in his eyes and strangely I found myself shivering.

"Merope – the girl," I said carefully. "She survived, didn't she?"

It was less of a question than it was an acknowledgement, but I was glad to see Dumbledore nod as he moved behind his desk. "She did. Ogden Apparated back to the Ministry and returned with reinforcements within fifteen minutes. Morfin and his father attempted to fight, but both were overpowered, removed from the cottage, and subsequently convicted by the Wizengamot. Morfin, who already had a record of Muggle attacks, was sentenced to three years in Azkaban. Marvolo, who had injured several Ministry employees in addition to Ogden, received six months."

"That's what I thought," I nodded my head slowly, picking up on the clues quickly. "Marvolo. And Merope, a Slytherin descendant who fancied a Muggle named Tom...she was Voldemort's mother."

Dumbledore smiled, looking pleased. "That she was. It's good to know you've paid attention, Audrey, well done. Marvolo, Morfin, and Merope, were the last of the Gaunts, a very ancient Wizarding family noted for a vein of instability and violence that flourished through the generations due to their habit of marrying their own cousins."

"Explains the crossed eyes – poor prats," I muttered.

"Lack of sense coupled with a great liking for grandeur meant that the family gold was squandered several generations before Marvolo was born. As you saw, he was left in squalor and poverty, with a very nasty temper, a fantastic amount of arrogance and pride, and a couple of family heirlooms that he treasured just as much as his son, and rather more than his daughter."

I frowned, remembering back to the man on the cart – Tom. "The man on the cart, was he Tom Riddle?"

"Again, very well done. Yes, Audrey, he was."

"But Merope was a nobody in that memory," I said simply, looking at him in confusion. "I doubt she'd ever even spoken to him then. What changed?"

"Her family's incarceration," Dumbledore answered. "It is my personally belief that when she discovered her freedom, she found reasons to begin speaking to the young man. And when she found the opportunity, she used a love potion to make Tom Riddle Senior notice her – and within a few months of the scene we have just witnessed, the village of Little Hangleton enjoyed a tremendous scandal. You can imagine the gossip it caused when the squire's son ran off with the tramp's daughter, Merope.

"But the villagers' shock was nothing to Marvolo's. He returned from Azkaban, expecting to find his daughter dutifully awaiting his return with a hot meal ready on his table. Instead, he found a clear inch of dust and her note of farewell, explaining what she had done."

"Good," I hissed out. "I hope he rotted in his own filth."

Dumbledore nodded, seeming solemn. "From all that I have been able to discover, he never mentioned her name or existence from that time forth. The shock of her desertion may have contributed to his early death – or perhaps he had simply never learned to feed himself. Azkaban had greatly weakened Marvolo, and he did not live to see Morfin return to the cottage."

"So what happened to Merope and Tom Riddle? Did they get married?" I asked, nearly shocked when Dumbledore nodded – that was a long time to be under a love potion...the side effects you would encounter... "But...then why was Voldemort raised in an Orphanage?"

"Of course, a certain amount of guessing is needed to delve into personal matters such as relationships and marriages," Dumbledore said humbly, "but you see, within a few months of their runaway marriage, Tom Riddle reappeared at the manor house in Little Hangleton without his wife. The rumor flew around the neighborhood that he was talking of being 'hoodwinked' and 'taken in'. What he meant, I am sure, is that he had been under an enchantment that had now lifted, though I daresay he did not dare use those precise words for fear of being thought insane. When they heard what he was saying, however, the villagers guessed that Merope had lied to Tom Riddle, pretending that she was going to have his baby, and that he had married her for this reason."

"And she did," I muttered lowly. "Have his baby, I mean."

"But not until a year after they were married. Tom Riddle left her while she was still pregnant."

"But why didn't the love potion work? Or did the side effects..." I trailed off, shaking my head. I'd never seen the effects of that much love potion, even_ I_ couldn't begin to think what they might be.

"Again, this is guesswork," said Dumbledore, "but I believe that Merope, who was deeply in love with her husband, could not bear to continue enslaving him by magical means. I believe that she made the choice to stop giving him the potion. Perhaps, besotted as she was, she had convinced herself that he would by now have fallen in love with her in return. Perhaps she thought he would stay for the baby's sake. If so, she was wrong on both counts. He left her, never saw her again, and never troubled to discover what became of his son."

"And she died during birth?" I frowned, feeling confused. "She was a witch, that's so rare for us. Why didn't she use magic to-"

"I think you are forgetting," Dumbledore interrupted softly, "that Merope was not a very talented witch. I do not believe that her magical powers appeared to their best advantage when she was being terrorized by her father. It was something which off-balanced her and her capabilities."

I frowned, looking at him carefully. Then there had been a reason for me to see this memory – perhaps it was the very reason I was seeing this memory without my brother here.

"So that's why you showed me this, because she was off-balanced...like me."

"Partially," he admitted, nodding his head so that he could look at me over his half-moon spectacles. "Indeed you have an off-balance, Audrey. It is why you are the way you are."

"You mean inept?" I asked derisively.

"I would hardly say that," Dumbledore said calmly. "Is it not you who can use Magnuse? Is it not you who can Astral Project? Is it not you who can perform Occlumency and Legilimency?"

"Hardly – and yes, when you say it like that it actually sounds like I'm _accomplished _in it," I frowned. "But that's like saying 'I can play five instruments', but all you can do is play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' on each."

"I would rather say that is playing five instruments," Dumbledore smiled. "Even if it is not well."

"I would rather say that's expanding the truth."

"I think that will be all for tonight, Audrey," Dumbledore said after a moment of watching my reactions – he couldn't have seen more than a furrowed brow or possibly a pout, though I couldn't help wondering what it was he was looking to find. "Your brother should be arriving for his lesson soon."

"What are you teaching Harry?" I asked, already standing and leaning against the chair. Dumbledore smiled at me pleasantly.

"The past."

"Then why am I learning the past, present, and future?" I paused, looking at him through narrowed eyes, even though his pleasant expression did not change. "Unless...you're not teaching me about the past, present, or future at all."

He quirked his head to the side interestedly. "Continue," he said, as if wanting to hear my theory.

"You're teaching me about off-balances so that I can understand _my _off-balance," I deduced, watching as he smiled more widely, nearly looking proud. "But why go through all this trouble...unless you don't know?"

"Because I do not know," he answered simply. "I can only theorize."

"And this theory is something you have to work up to?" I asked with a frown. "That's often a bad sign."

"We're in the middle of a war, Audrey," Dumbledore chuckled. "Most overwhelming theories are leading to bad signs."

"You're going to tell me though, right?" I asked carefully. "When you figure it out – when you see all this information and make a stronger theory, you'll tell me? And before I _need _to know – not as it happens. I know how you cryptic archetypes work."

"I will tell you when I know," Dumbledore answered, his eyes losing a bit of the twinkle as his expression turned grim. "I fear, however, that you may have to know sooner than I hoped you would."

I looked at him carefully, trying to imagine just what he had discovered and what he thought it meant. Was I an alien, or some other form of beast that didn't fit in Hogwarts or this kind of war? Was I connected to Voldemort in a way that would endanger my brother and everyone else around me? Was I not Audrey Potter at all, but some random baby-swap at the hospital? The possibilities were endless.

"And your hand?" I nodded towards the charred remain with calculating eyes. "Will you tell me what cursed it, or do I have to fear for myself?"

"Of course not," he responded, smiling wryly.

"And the fact that you're wearing Gaunt's gaudy ring on the hand that's cursed..." I said slowly, feeling proud when I saw him smile appreciatively. "That has nothing to do with these lessons, does it?"

"A tad," he responded.

"So it does. And the fact that we're having private lessons – and the fact that we're learning different things – and the fact that it happened to be right after you were injured by something of Salazar Slytherin's...clearly these things _aren't _linked," I added sarcastically.

"You are a true Slytherin, Audrey, did you know that?"

I winced, instinctively worrying that was an insult. How could it not have been, a Gryffindor headmaster speaking to a Slytherin student? It was just how society worked nowadays – hating Slytherins and everything that they – _we_ – represent.

"That is not a bad thing," he continued encouragingly. "You make many very proud."

"Sure," I snorted, looking away and out of his window, where twilight had fallen on the grounds. "Though I disappoint all the others."

"I think if you attempted talked to them, they would be more suited to listening," Dumbledore responded. And I knew, immediately, we were not talking about the Gryffindors as I had hoped.

"The Slytherins won't even let me near anyone who would give me a chance to speak," I answered with a frown. "There's no way."

"Slytherins spend time alone as often as any other house," Dumbledore said simply. "I believe you'll find the Slytherin you're looking for in the halls."

I frowned – it seemed he knew exactly who I was concerned over.

"Why did you do it, sir?" I asked quietly. "Why did you make Theodore Prefect?"

"Because you are a Slytherin, Audrey," Dumbledore acknowledged. "And if anyone can bring order through their charm and determination: it is you."

"And I need to bring order to Nott?" I asked skeptically. "Because I certainly didn't for Malfoy."

"Sometimes you need to help those who don't seem to need it – or want it. And this help can come in all forms," he explained. "Whether it is support, comfort, or truth."

But before I could ask exactly what that meant, someone knocked on the door. I wasn't surprised when my brother poked his head in – but I was surprised by his expression; I must have looked a mess for him to look so nervously at me.

"Er – hi, Professor...Drea..." he said carefully, coming in when Dumbledore invited him.

"That is all, Audrey. Harry, thank you for coming," Dumbledore began, smiling at him. I sighed – he was caught in the limelight again, where he couldn't see anything else other than my brother. But I shouldn't feel as bitter as I did about it – my brother needed these lessons more than I did, after all. Even though I don't know what he was learning – and I was even more confused about what _I _was learning – but I trusted him with Dumbledore. Dumbledore wasn't going to waste time after what had happened last year, hopefully he had learned his lesson. And after whatever had caused that ring to curse him, I had a feeling he was ready to start living a little more in the moment than in riddles.

It was nice to leave his office knowing that it was eight o'clock; it was too late for many people to be wandering the corridors but not too late that I drew attention to myself by walking around. That lesson with Dumbledore had confused me more than it had enlightened me – but it was a change not to have to think about my problems. Now I was thinking of future solutions – because apparently I was finding out why I had an imbalance. It would be beneficial...whenever we could properly theorize why that was. But even then, what did watching memories of the Riddlers parents have to do with my magical incapability? Why did I have to find this out separate from my brother? And how in Salazar's snake pit did Dumbledore expect me to _help _Theodore when he wanted nothing to do with me and I couldn't get past...well, Salazar's snake pit?

Then again, was Theodore really the one he wanted me to help? There was a moment there, at the end, where it sounded as if he wasn't talking about him at all. Obviously, if I had my way, I would naturally assume Nott, but it still felt unfair to not give him his time to hate me. He deserved at least that. And who knew how much time that would take – maybe it would be infinite – and as much as I hated to, I had to give it to him.

Daphne was tied to his hip. Of course, she'd tried to grasp my attention once or twice, not to mention she had written me this summer – but talking to her would do me no good. It's not like she needed any kind of help or encouragement. If anything, she had everything she always wanted: Theodore without his ties to me. She had him all to herself now – in school and on holidays.

And Malfoy – ugh, the mere thought of the boy made me grimace. He had made it quite clear that he didn't want to talk to me. He'd made it just as clear that he didn't want to see me, either. I had tossed his dad into Azkaban and humiliated him over front pages of media thanks to our little rendezvous in fifth year. Then – to really rub in the salt – I had ignored him, dumped him and my brother had rubbed it all in his face...he had every reason to hate me too. Yet, for some reason, that one didn't sit as easily. There was something about that one that didn't feel unfair, but it felt _wrong._

It's not like I wanted Nott back less than I wanted Malfoy back. I would rather my best friend back than some hormonal boy who couldn't decide between snogging me or dueling me...but there was something about the fact he had just dropped me that was a little more painful – unexpected, even. Maybe after all the time he had chased me, I hadn't expected him to give up quite so easily.

And now that he wants me to leave him alone, all I wanted to do was chase _him._

I was a sadist, clearly.

I hated games like this. Even though he had said he hated me and that this wasn't a game, I felt like it was – that he was secretly waiting for me to tell him I still fancied him so that he could pull out a smile and say "good" and kiss me. Just like before. Just like I had remembered and imagined and...and secretly, possibly, hoped for. It almost felt like a test – like some vile test that not even Snape was cruel enough to make me sit and write.

"Potter!"

Dumbledore had been right. If I walked the halls, I would find a Slytherin alone – that was what he had said, wasn't it? Now one was calling for me.

I turned, surprised that it was not one Slytherin, but two. Both Lillian Moon and Tracey Davis were walking up to me – no, more like storming as if they were furious. Nope, not 'as if', these girls looked just as angry as everyone else in our bloody house. I frowned, preparing for whatever kind of fight they were readying themselves for. They were foolish, if they tried walking within arm's reach of me – my Magnuse could save me now, even if I didn't want to use it.

"Yeah?" I asked with a tight jaw.

"How _dare _you," Tracey began, poking her finger right into my chest. I rubbed at it, considering she'd put a considerable amount of force behind it. I couldn't have been able to tell what the hell it is I'd done this time, but whatever it was had obviously been mortally insulting.

"I can't believe you would go on ignoring us for nearly a week!" Lillian agreed, placing her hands on her hips. "And after we slaved all Tuesday trying to take that hex off your bed-"

"You...what?" I asked, blinking carefully. Part of me had expected that they had heard about my involvement in Thuban Nott's death, part of me had thought they'd mindlessly joined up with Daphne, and the worse part had just assumed to be _frightened _of my own dorm mates. Tracey smirked at what must have been a ridiculous expression on my face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"What the hell are you_ doing_?" Tracey asked back, crossing her arms grumpily. "Is it true you're sleeping with the _Gryffindors_?"

"Not _sleeping _with the Gryffindors," I wrinkled my nose, making her scoff. "But I have been borrowing their couch. Not that anyone should be able to blame me after what happened with my bed-"

"Which we fixed!"

"Well, this is all ridiculous," Lillian huffed. "Tracey's right, we've cleared the hex from your bed and we are much more tolerable than Gryffindors, no matter how angry we are. Besides, Daphne's going insane – she thinks she can't speak to you until you come to the dormitory-"

"She can't," I said simply. "Theodore would hate her."

"I hate _you_ for being such a goddamn berk!" Tracey hissed. "You get back to our dormitory this instant or I will hex every Gryffindor so badly they'll be pleased throw you out on your arse-"

"You wouldn't," I accused.

"She would," Lillian promised, sounding almost tired. "She's been talking about it for days. It shouldn't come as a surprise that she doesn't like them, Potter. Just like _you _don't."

"I like them," I defended, even though it sounded weak even to me.

"You tolerate them," Lillian corrected, "but you don't _like _them. Not like you _like _us."

"Right now I'm hardly tolerating _you_," I snapped out, waiting for both of them to bristle and start firing insults back at me. It was for that reason I was so surprised when both the girls smiled at me.

"_There_ she is," Lillian grinned.

"Thank Salazar," Tracey breathed. "We thought we'd lost you in there, Potter."

I smiled, instantly feeling like something had clicked – that something was back to normal. I was insulting people again and I wasn't being hexed for it, I was back with my sharp-tongued comrades that both hated what I hated and defended those who I decided to take it out on. It felt like I was allowed to be cold again, I was allowed to be who I was – even if it wasn't exactly 'socially acceptable'. It felt like, with the idea I was being invited back to the Slytherin dorms with people who wanted me there, I was finally going _home. _

"Well then," I sighed, unable to hold back the grin that marred all three of our faces. "It's good to be back."

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><p><strong>Audrey's going back to the Slytherin dorms! Yay! I know there wasn't really any Draco in this chapter, but this one had tons of hidden clues...could you spot them? And what on earth was Dumbledore doing, showing her the memory of Merope Gaunt? What will happen now that Audrey has admitted to Dumbledore that she has seen the locket on Dolores Umbridge? Thoughts for you to consider everyone, while I consider the reviewers from the last chapter:<strong>

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yeah, Draco was a little jerk in the last chapter. I know he wasn't in this one but he will be making a small appearance in the next one. That boy just keeps disappearing...if only Audrey knew where-to, maybe she could figure out this whole mess, eh?  
>Yes, Audrey is having a really hard beginning to her year, but it's only going to get better from here - well, sort of. I mean, we still have all the drama of HBP to deal with naturally, but at least she'll have like people by her side now she's back in the Slytherin dorms. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_mrssnape_**: Thank you, I'm happy to hear you like it! Audrey dying is just as much of an option as when Harry died for JKR, I haven't decided her fate yet. It's all about which ending works best for the story - but that idea of writing the alternate ending down somewhere else is interesting. I may do that! Thanks again :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: You're too sweet, really! She will definitely have to step up her game in potions, clearly she's not doing as well as she had originally planned. Hopefully you'll start liking that she's in DADA more next chapter, as we get to see how she's doing in the class. You get to find out who the new villain is going to be next chapter, but I hope you liked this one. Thank you for reviewing!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I know! It killed me not to let her win the potions competition...but I had to make Audrey step up her game somehow, and competition is really the only way Audrey thinks, haha. Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_sapurplemonkey_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad that you were able to get so into the last chapter and I really appreciate that you took the time to review this time, so thank you again. Is Audrey being back in the Slytherin dorms a happy moment?**

_ChloeMalfoy_**: Yes, Audrey's going through a really rough time. Draco will come back into the storyline more when things really start happening - and don't think Audrey won't put herself in the middle of it ;) Drea's fire is slowly coming back, I hope you can tell. I promise Draco and Drea will be back together...eventually. Thanks for the review :)**

_vic90_**: Most books don't describe that it's going to be a tragedy because then some people don't get the emotion of the surprise. I am not saying that I AM going to kill off Audrey, I was saying that I am not ruling it out. I have two separate endings in mind - both will be intense and it will end up being whichever one best fits with the story, sadly not which one I'd prefer. If I had my way, everyone would be alive and Voldy would die of a complication with one of his own horcruxes and then there would be partying and marriage and babies, haha. But that's sadly not how the plot goes. I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but I'm in this story for the plot-line which happens to include romance. But it is not the main aspect of this story. I hope you still enjoy trying to figure out the other mysteries :)**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: A lot of people ended up really liking the Bloody Baron part, I'm surprised that it was such a hit. I'm glad that I can make you flip-flop about Draco so much...but do you really think he hates Audrey? Or does AUDREY really thinks he hates her? Hmm...philosophical thinking, my friend. And I actually can't wait for the Ginny/Harry relationship to start. I know exactly how I want to write it from Audrey's point of view...if only I could write fasteeer. We get to see more DADA in the next chapter, as well. And Ginny. And Snape. And Slytherins...we get to catch up on the characters we've missed out on a bit. And I'm only going to throw in the Amortentia from Draco's side if he smelt her...for all you know he didn't (who am I kidding, it's a romance, of course he did). I loved the rambling review, don't worry, and I'm glad that you get to get away from all those people. I purposely went to a completely opposite school from all my friends when I finally had that option, haha, so I feel you!**

_ohnoestadpoles_**: Yes, Audrey missing out on that Felix Felicis sucked - I hated having to write it. But I thought it would be interesting for her to have some Veritaserum in return...that can be used for a lot. Anyway, expect some Defense-Magic next chapter, an interesting Snape/Audrey moment, and lots more angst. As well as a new villain! Montague had to be replaced, after all...**

_Ella710_**: No matter what order people review in, I always leave responding to your review for last because it's longest and it's the one that always makes me look like a tool because you always crack me up - in those awkward places where and when I should not be laughing (because when else is there to go on my phone and check my email?) so really, it's a safety precaution.  
>Ginny is going to end up being a pretty cool character so I'm glad that you like her now. She's pretty amusing next chapter too. Now, I'm going to move to Snape, because clearly he must be mentioned every time and I want to save the best (and at the same time worst) Slytherin for last.<br>I guess I never looked at it like that - that I took Snape away from her, gave him back, then took away potions. It's true. I'm so cruel... and yes, something is going to change from how you see Snape a little bit (next chapter, in fact) but you may not notice it at first. It'll be a slow build-up of half a dozen-ish chapters. But on another note, it was cool to have a potions prof that was nicer to everyone and actually gave out prizes. Hence the Veritaserum. And I know what YOU would do...but Audrey? You think she'd do that? Hm. Interesting. When you read what I have planned you'll be like "of cooourse". Hopefully it all works out like it does in my head. I just wished my fingers worked faster and the clock worked a biiit slower when I was writing. It'd mean more updates.  
>And I'm not telling about Sirius, HOW COULD YOU EVEN ASK? But seriously (ha, punny) I can't say - but don't get your hopes too high. It's not going to be super duper make-a-separate-fanfic-for-it worthy, but when you see it you'll probably go "aw" and understand why I gave you this little warning.<br>OH NO, on the subjects of warnings...yes, there is a death coming up. But I can't say and I can't...but I...and...urgh, you're just going to have to wait. I can't say anything. But then you'll message me on that particular chapter and be like "WHAT THE -" and you'll probably actually curse me (no matter how much you don't like to)...and you'll do it a lot...and then I'll say sorry and throw in lots of Draco and hopefully you'll forgive me. Because...it's gonna be bad.  
>And on that note of throwing in more Draco...let's talk about Draco. Oh dear, what a man. I didn't even realize he wasn't in this chapter until I reread it and was like "hey look, Draco wasn't in this chapter" which may be a bad sign for where this story is going...I mean, CLEARLY he's coming back in and will become all super-important again, but now that he's all "I'mma spend my time in the ROR" and Audrey's like "I can't even see him return from the ROR because I can't sleep in the dungeons" they've been a bit at odds with their schedules. DON'T WORRY, IT'S BEING FIXED - but you have another chapter (as in the next one) where you hardly see him. But he's thought and talked about muchly.<br>And I do feel proud you side with the Slytherins. I'm pretty proud I've started thinking like one...kinda. To be hoenst, until I started writing Audrey I was pretty naive when it came to people manipulating others and now I catch it like...all the time...because Audrey would and I'm in her mindset so often. And I won't deny, sometimes it was nicer being ignorant. I get into my stories too much. It's a problem. Next thing you know, I'm going to try to burn someone's crotch or something.**

_bookreader1617_**: Yes, drama just abounds in this series, but hopefully Audrey will be able to survive it now that she has some of her friends back. It helps that she gets to see Snape still and now Dumbledore is actually talking to her a bit - hopefully it's enough to keep her sane. A look into Audrey and Theo's patrolling is coming soon and you'll find out what the Veritaserum is for as well. The moment with the Bloody Baron wasn't a one-time thing but it will not be regular for them to hold conversations...thanks for the review!**

_katie93319_**: I hope you had a good time when you were out of town :) This next one will hopefully be updated sooner, but as I leave next week updates are going to be a bit slower than normal, I'm sorry! We get to see another part of a DADA class next chapter, a moment with Snape and a few extra little moments with other characters we've missed out on the past few chapters :) I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_LeannaDrobisforever_**: Yes, Harry is definitely stealing Audrey's thunder. Hope you liked this chapter :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, it's definitely goign to be interesting. It's funny you said that Harry would be better in potions and Audrey would be better in DADA, that thought really crossed my mind - but we have to remember how stubborn Audrey's wand is, so will that really happen? As we saw, Daphne still wants to be friends - but she doesn't want Theo to know about it because she doesn't want Theo to think she's betraying him. What'd you think of that twist? Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

_Mischief and Magic_**: Yeah, I thought you'd like that moment between Harry and Audrey when she was crying last chapter. Funny story, when you say Harry was being a 'smug, smarmy jerk' because he said "got lucky, I suppose" I laughed out loud because that's the original line he says in the book. It's always funny to compare Audrey's idea of Harry and the real Harry and see how differently people look at him. It's strange how much her perception changes everything. She's definitely going to have to step up her game in Potions though, because the Prince knew what he was doing and Audrey was just lazing along...now she has some real competition. And yes, Draco was SUCH a jerk. I hated writing it, I did, but it was so necessary that I forced myself. As always, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I hope you're still as sure!**

_Prongsie1213_**: Yes, Harry and Audrey's battle in Potions is definitely not cool. But don't worry, Audrey's smart, she just has to push up her sleeves a little. Thank you for your review last chapter and I hope you liked this one, too :)**

_XxStephanieDivaxX_**: Yes, Draco was super cruel and Harry stole Audrey's limelight in the last chapter - poor girl. She's having problems eating, that's why Mrs Weasley was fussing over her in the summer, but she's gotten better now because people are always around. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I don't blame you for letting your hopefully little shipper heart think otherwise - maybe you're right, after all. But you won't know whether or not you truly are for chapters, yet. Yes, Demons for Draco is perfect - I love the song, too, so that probably helps haha.  
>Yes, most people are on the fence about Harry - though most have skipped over to the 'what a douche' side, not that I blame them. I know, it sucks that he's stealing her glory like he is - particularly on the one thing she can really do well - but I believe in her. She just needs to pull up her socks a bit. I hope.<br>I'm glad the chapter with Draco was a good one for you - wait until you see their next big interraction...holy fudgesicles, it's going to be intense. I wrote it a week back and was like "WHAT DID I JUST DO?!" and then reread it and was like "nope, it works" added a moment of fluff and then moved on.  
>I love Ginny, I really do, so I'm glad that they work together. We get to see them more in the next chapter - and I'm super excited for when Ginny and Harry finally get together. I have Audrey's reaction all planned out...I just need to geeet theeere. I wish I could write forever (and at the same time my trip is coming up so I don't know if I'll be able to write at all! So much pressure).<br>I know all about long roadtrips, so I feel your pain. It's some form of Rite-Of-Passage, it has to be...because nothing should be so monotonous. I happen to like a lot of history (usually European or Ancient-based, but I do know USA history) so that sounds pretty interesting.  
>You are very right about the Katie Bell moment coming up soon. It's actually in...two chapters. Voila! I already have it all written out but that was weeks ago so I need to go over it and make sure it still all works and it wasn't the one I wrote when I had been awake for 36 hours...because I don't think that one made much sense. Audrey is involved with the Katie Bell thing - but not in the way you may think. I am also hoping that the trip provides some inspiration...but even it if does I don't really know how much time I'll get to go along with it. Sigh. Complications. Anyway, hope you liked the new one :)<strong>

_melody_**: I wish Audrey could be as optimistic as you are, but it's going to be a while before she makes any progress with either Theo or Draco. I really like Ginny and Audrey's relationship as well - I think Ginny gets her a little more because of everything that happened to her with Tom Riddles diary and just how alone and later guilty she felt - either way, we get to see more of their friendship in the next chapter. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I miss her bitter personality too - don't worry, it won't be gone for long. I'm glad that I could make you feel what she felt when she was seeing Draco or Theo, I tried hard to make it believable and that proves that I was at least a bit successful. The Veritaserum will come up in a few chapters again, but right now I want to get her back in place with the Slytherins. Or...as close as she can get to where she was before.  
>Yes, the Theodore parts are hard to write - I try to make it realistic and maybe that's why it's so sad, because it's what I actually think would happen. And Draco? Yes, it was hard to write but it will definitely keep things eventful between them in the meantime...if they ever get to see each other as she's busy not being killed by the Slytherins and he's busy trying to kill a Gryffindor. Poor Audrey and Draco. I hope you liked the chapter and as always thanks for the great review!<strong>

_xxz0eyxx_**: Thank you! Stroppiness is a great term for Audrey, good call. She does have Veritaserum, but we won't see it again for a few chapters - but she'll put it to good use. Yes, there isn't any more Montague, but a new enemy is going to be introduced next chapter, so don't you fret! What did you think of Dumbledore and Audrey's first lesson? **

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Thank you for taking the time to review at all, don't worry about not getting to do it every chapter. It's just nice to hear every now and then that you're still into it - I know it's a lot of book, haha. Yes, Ginny is a good comrade for Audrey - but it's nice now that the Slytherins are back. She'll feel more like herself. Malfoy is...well, as you said, a damper has been put on things. It's going to be a bumpy ride this year, that's for sure - but hopefully it will be an entertaining one ;)**

_Polki_**: That's pretty cool! I'm jealous.**

_ally0212_**: A reader made it for me and I really like it, so it's the one I'm using for now. But I'm sorry you feel that way.**

_guest_**: Yes, Harry should definitely know better than taking Audrey's fame away from her when it comes to Potions. She's definitely going to try to start proving herself a little more and we get to see just how DADA is going in the next chapter. I hope you liked this one and thank you for the review :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thanks, I hope you liked this one as well!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: How is/was Tennessee? By the time you see this I hope you've had a nice time. The trip planning is much more stressful than I'd like it to be, but I'm in the home stretch now and I'm getting really excited to go. I'll send you some chapters early this week...I leave next weekend so I'd like to update once before I go and then whenever I have time while I'm away. So I'll probably just randomly send you chapters at a time and be like "might not recieve these until I'm in *insert random country* so take your time!" but hopefully I can try and keep updating a little bit slower, but constant.**

_Lizzy B_**: Yeah, in chapters like the last one I wanted to punch Harry in the face, too. Hope you liked this chapter - and we get to see Snape and Audrey interact in the next chapter :)**

_Kago of the Funk_**: I really like Ginny too, we get to see her again next chapter - same with Snape and a bit of Malfoy...though he will still be PMSing dark matter. I hope things are going well for you as well, thanks for the review :)**

_runa168_**: Thank you so much. I hope you liked this chapter like I enjoyed your review!**

_StrawberryObsession_**: Yeah, Theodore is definitely in a tough place - I think he needs to be reminded just how important Audrey was and remember that she was defending herself, but I can't blame him for being pissed. I would be. Audrey and Draco will be estranged for a while - you know, while he's being an ass - but he'll get to see her in those dress robes later on ;) Don't worry, Audrey's not just going to take him back...she's not a pushover.**

_Katy_**: It saddens me the amount of time between chapters too, I'm sorry that I have to make you wait. I maintain that if telepathic writing were real, this story would be done and have sequels out the wahzoo. Hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Aotearoa's princess_**: Hello there! Thank you for reading this story - I know it can look intimidating when you see how long it is, but thanks for getting through it. Hope that you liked this chapter as well - and it's a good theory about the Veritaserum. But you'll have to keep reading to find out...**

_MissGoldenHair_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it and hopefully you liked this one as well. She and Malfoy will end up together, but I can't tell you when. Sorry, but I don't like ruining surprises ;)**

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><p><strong>Well everyone, the time is coming where updates will sadly slow a bit but I will not stop writing and you will get updates! I just have no idea how often I will find Wi-Fi where I'm going so I can't promise for consistency. I hope you liked the chapter and all the questions and answers it gave Audrey...which ones did you catch?<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **:)**


	64. Ignore It

**Posting this chapter came to a comedy of errors, my friends. My Wi-Fi decided to be a jerk, my computer's keyboard is ruined again (this is the second fix and it's only a year old. I do not blame the maker, I blame my obsessive typing. I should get an industrial strength one), ******my computers internal work has something very wrong with it (of course), **I have to go dig through to find my old laptop to bring on my trip and I'm running out of time before I leave – so I'm updating now. It's a long one!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Chapter 63 – Ignore It<p>

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><p>"I can't do it!" I hissed, glaring at my wand and shaking it – maybe I would be able to hear the core banging around inside of the wood if I banged it hard enough. At least then it might have a reason to be so bad at what it's supposed to do. I, however, was supposed to be hexing Harry – which was something I found myself really looking forward to. It was another day in Defense Against the Dark Arts and I had taken to being Harry's buddy so that Hermione could give some help to Ron, who was even more hopeless at this than my brother was. I had been fine when I was practicing with Hermione – I could block and stun three of four times I tried...but as soon as I had to face my brother, my stupid wand decided to be stubborn once again. The prick.<p>

"Well, neither can I," he muttered, looking at his own wand distastefully. "At least it's the last class of the day. I'm just glad I don't have to do-"

"Don't even say it," I hissed, pointing my wand back at his chest as I continued on with my lesson – or just continued hoping to hex him. I don't really know if any of what I was doing was for the lesson anymore or not.

Harry had made a potion today that had stunned Slughorn so much, Harry had gotten out of writing the essay assigned for this weekend. I had not. In fact, I had been so frustrated that I may have 'accidentally' spilt the entire concoction to the floor in a fit of rage...this stupid 'Prince' and his book were driving me up the walls – mostly in rage, but also in activeness. I didn't want to actually _work _in Potions after all – it was supposed to be my failsafe!

And to make matters worse, last night I'd actually walked my first patrol with Theodore...it had not gone well. Or, perhaps it _had _gone well – I hadn't been cursed. I hadn't been hexed. He hadn't tried to kill me or injure me or have a heart-to-heart that I wasn't ready to have...

In fact, we didn't speak at all. For an entire three hours.

I focused more bitterly on my wand pointed at my brother's chest.

"Listen, Audrey, I know it must be hard-"

_Stupefy. Stupefy. Stupefy, _I thought with a sneer, my wand pointed straight at his face.

"-and I know that you feel a bit displaced now that I'm – er – _better _in Potions than...than I was before-"

_Furnunculus. Furnunculus. Furnunculus._

"-but I'm really making a good job of it. And I feel like if I do this, I could really have a chance at being an Auror. And being a Potions Master doesn't mean you have to be the best in the class-"

_Diffindo. Diffindo. Diffindo._

"-maybe you should concentrate in Creature Studies. I don't think anyone could beat the Prince and his book..."

_CRUCIO. CRUCIO. CRUCIO!_

"You look ready to kill me," he observed with a frown, as if my facial expression had suddenly changed. I was quite sure it had stayed the same through his entire little speech. "Will you please take your wand out of my face?"

"Not until I get this bloody curse right," I hissed, my eyes narrowed on his pretty little scar. He sighed, forcing my wand down for me while I continued to glare at him. Now that he was closer, I might be able to concentrate a bit more successfully...

Over my brother's shoulder, icy eyes met my own. Malfoy was watching me with such intensity that I nearly felt off balance when I found I couldn't tear my eyes away. That moment stretched on – when his eyes were on me, silver and molten, before they flickered to the back of my brother's head and cooled off like bitter titanium. It was so strange to see him looking between me and my brother – not sneering, not taunting, just _watching _us. What was going through his mind right now? What was he seeing that I couldn't?

Malfoy's eyes flickered to my own again, and now knowing that I was watching him he looked away without even warranting me time for a sneer. I did it anyway, for my own sake. If he was going to be an arse, I was going to be an arse back – Theodore could hate me; Malfoy could despise me; but did that really mean everything else had meant nothing? The friendships, the past, the trust we had all shared? Their fathers had tried to kill me too.

"Listen, I know you're frustrated and all that, but there's no reason to take it out on me-" oh _yes, there really was_, I thought as I tore my eyes away from Malfoy so that I could change the victim of my glare. "I'm glad you're hanging out with the Slytherins again, don't get me wrong, but if they're going to continue to plot you against me-"

"That _book _is what's plotting me against you, you no-good cheater," I scowled. "_I'm _good at potions."

Harry sighed, stepping away from me as if he could tell that I was imagining being able to curse him more properly. Or maybe he was afraid one of these times he'd actually find out which curse I was attempting. "I don't want to make this a competition between us, I just want to get the grade."

"If you didn't want to make this a competition, you wouldn't strive so hard to be better than me," I hissed, jabbing my wand towards him for emphasis. "Now I have to prove you wrong."

Snape who had been walking through the room and examining everyone's attempts at speechless spells came to a stop in front of us. He looked between us for a moment with a sneer.

"Though I know how much it must vex you to follow rules or learn how to pay attention to them," Snape drawled, looking slowly between my brother and myself. "I cannot deny myself asking whether or not you realized that this class was supposed to be completed in _silence. _Twenty points from Gryffindor, Potter."

"But, Audrey-"

"Considering it looks like your sister is still vehemently attempting her course-work, I hold you to blame," Snape finished and with a swirl of his cloak he returned to his desk. Harry turned to glare at me – as if _I _had done something wrong, the bastard – and realized with a frown that my wand was still pointed to him and I was still glaring back. He shook his head before turning to watch as Snape began to speak to the class as a whole.

"Your attempts are feeble," Snape explained, looking at each student in turn. "I encourage you all to practice on your spare time – though try to keep it out of the corridors. Class dismissed."

I moved away from my brother, going back to the desk I had been sharing with Tracey and Lillian before we had split off into pairs. Gathering up the term book I had received via owl but still had yet to read, I threw it into my rucksack and tossed that over my shoulder to avoid having to speak to my brother again.

"Miss Potter," Snape called over the sound of busy rustling. "A moment?"

I didn't really have a moment, I had wanted to get to the Slytherin dormitories before anyone else so that I wouldn't be hassled on the way there. It had been as hard a transition as I could have imagined, returning back to the dorms. Not even Tracey and Lillian's allegiance could stop me from being hexed or jinxed and against my better judgement I was still trying to get through the day without returning the favour of the torture. I knew why they were hexing me...and I couldn't blame them for wanting to.

"Professor?" I asked, walking up to his desk. He looked at me for a long moment before glancing over my shoulder to ensure that all of the other students had left us. He gestured to the seat in front of him and waited until I was comfortable before he spoke.

"Your grades are low," he began, his face pulled into an emotionless mask – I could not tell if he was asking me why, or if he was informing me of my own failures. "Lower than even I would have expected of you. I've also heard you've made quite a few trips to the Hospital Wing these past weeks."

I frowned. "'Quite a few' gives me a very vague idea of what you-"

"Half a dozen times, I've heard," he interrupted. Now he was frowning – I couldn't help but return it, even though I refused to count and see if he was right. "Whether your considerably low marks have to do with your personal life or the fact you have insufficient skills when it comes to defending yourself, I do not know – but Dumbledore cannot pass this class for you, even if he made it possible for you to attend it."

"I'm no good at Defense Against the Dark Arts," I growled at him, throwing my wand onto the table in front of us. "I never have been. If you'd just let me practice my Magnuse instead-"

"Out of the question," Snape waved off my plea, as he had been all week, "_and_ the curriculum. I have seen you are capable of performing speechless spells on several occasions with Miss Granger – and yet, when I saw the essay you handed in on Monday, I was made aware that it was copied directly and indirectly by three other students..."

I bit my tongue, too ashamed to explain that it had been stolen from _me_.

"If you continue to do this, no amount of personal troubles, fame, or hormonal angst will save you from a _Troll._"

I couldn't even hide the insult on my face. "There's no _hormonal angst_-"

Snape scoffed loudly, looking away from me toward the portraits of anguished witches and wizards that lined the room. "The longing glowers between you and Mr Malfoy disgust me and distract _you. _If you expect to be able to defend yourself you'll need to learn to defend yourself from your own teenage impudence. Were he not beside Mr Nott, I nearly assume the both of you would pull together like magnets."

I could feel my face burning red, but I refused to take my eyes off of him because I knew it would make me look more guilty than not.

"Are you here to lecture me about my marks or my taste in boys, sir?"

"Both, since they are both pitifully poor," he snipped back. I almost felt hurt by the hiss behind his words, it actually seemed like he was _upset _with me for some reason...but why? Had the rift between me and the other Slytherins – between Malfoy and Nott – really become so tangible? "If you spend less time longing for someone like Mr Malfoy, you would have more time for your coursework. I advise that is how you begin."

"It's none of your business either way," I hissed, my face hot and my words so cold that they sizzled against one another. "You're not my father."

Snape's eyes turned cold, as if my words had not scalded him as I had hoped, but rather froze him in some form of fury. "That boy and you, together, are poison – whoever doesn't infect the other one first will only fester in their outlandish desires. I suggest you pull away before you ooze any more feelings of inadequacy and pathetic fallacy for the world to witness."

I felt my breath hitch in my chest, not knowing just why his words stung so much. Did I really ooze all that, was it really so obvious to everyone around me just how jaded I felt – or was Snape just in one of his moods? No, normally he didn't take them out on me, but eventually I wouldn't be surprised if he...no. No, the look in his eyes was so severe that it was more than just a bad day – he was upset. Upset I was getting so close to Malfoy...

But why? Why did it matter to him who I was and was not close to, who I did and did not like, who I had or could not keep? Unless what I was up to didn't matter at all – maybe he wasn't protecting _me..._maybe he was protecting Malfoy. _From_ me.

"If you wanted your prized student to stay away from a Mudblooded little traitor like everyone else," I hissed, feeling a horrible enjoyment seep into the most bitterest of bones when his face dropped with shock. "All you had to do was say so."

I stormed out of his office, not bothering to stop when I noticed that Circe had been outside the classroom waiting for me to come out – she easily caught up with my stride anyway. I couldn't deny that with her around I felt a little more comfortable when people hissed at me and whispered about me through the corridors, but I was still furious – furious that Snape would talk when he didn't know what he was talking about. Snape was a smart man, regularly, he should have known not to poke the sleeping dragon...

Just as I was getting to the edge of the stairs that led down to the dungeons, I felt a harsh yank on my ankle. It was so harsh that it burned and I felt my other foot move to follow it, keeping me in mid air for less than a second before I slammed – hard – against the flagstone.

I winced against the pain, pushing back the tears that instinctively sprang to my eyes from my smarting wrists and knees – they had been scraped, that was obvious, and as I paused to feel out where the pain radiated from I could tell that my left wrist was worst – possibly even sprained. It had been a hard fall...and I could tell it had been no fault of my own; that tug on my ankle had not been a natural feeling.

I dared to look up through my hair to see a group of snickering Slytherins – it was the usual, of course: Pansy Parkinson, Alya Rivers, the two giant goons...and of course, those two boys who had switched from friend to foe. Both Nott and Malfoy were looking at me intensely, not taking their eyes off me the entire time they made their way past me and toward the stairs. Circe hissed and pawed at the whole lot of them, not daring to move away from me in case someone else were going to attack me again, but being vocal enough to let them know just how angry she was. Malfoy was frowning, his eyes flickering between me and my kneazle, before he seemed to decide that I was not worth his time at all and left with the group of them. I didn't get up, I couldn't make myself even if I had been released from the spell. I hated being like this – frozen on the ground as if I was bowing to their feet. It felt like a show of submission, but at the same time how could I not give Theodore the satisfaction of laughing at me with the others...not that he did. He looked so angry that it seemed impossible for him to crack a smile nowadays.

When they had disappeared and only the trickle of their laughter through the corridor remained, I pulled myself off the flagstone. My wrists were sore, but hardly scraped whereas my left knee had a steady flow of blood that was now dripping down and pooling in my shoe. My immediate thought was to head back to the hospital wing – but Snape's words flickered back into my head...my new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had been chekcing up on me, hearing what the Slytherins had been doing and what my reactions had been – which apparently included counting my visits to the hospital wing. So why should I go? After _that_ conversation, I didn't want him to know what was going on at all. If he didn't like the way I handled things, he could ignore them. Otherwise, I'd make it so that he didn't have to hear at all.

But if I couldn't go to the Hospital Wing and I couldn't go to Snape – and lets be serious, it'd be stupid to go back to the common room – where else could I go?

"Hermione," I sighed to myself, wondering why there was even need to further question it. There was no doubting that she was the best bet to be able to perform whatever healing spells were required for the mess I was in – then maybe I could take the reins and make a potion for my aching muscles. I contemplated about going all the way back up to the common room, but settled for waiting around out at the Quidditch field – I knew that Harry had had to change his Quidditch try-outs to tonight because Snape had purposely given him a detention during his original scheduled time tomorrow; so I moved and limped up the pews in the stands – throwing my bag down when I was finally at the lowest and closest set of benches to sit down.

It didn't take me long to wish I had limped to their common room, even though I seemed to be waiting quite a while for them to get here. Perhaps Harry had scheduled it for after dinner? What time was it now? How long had it taken me to limp to the stands? Being alone at the Quidditch pitch gave me more time to think – which was what everyone liked to keep me from doing considering everything that had happened last year.

I couldn't believe how far I had fallen. I had not been popular within Slytherin house, of course, but I had been powerful – powerful enough that people knew not to screw with me. I understood the reason for my falling down the latter, down the food chain – but that didn't mean it wasn't painful. Physically, mentally, or emotionally. It was painful to see my old friends not only jinx me, but for them to just walk away. Laughing I understood, but walking away and leaving me there was...colder, somehow. The looks on their faces – the mirth in Parkinson's, the lack of bother in Malfoy or Theodore...

Hermione couldn't have come to the Quidditch Pitch soon enough and by the time she had reached me, one of the benches behind me had splintered and the wooden guard-rail in front of me was charred. She slowed in her steps as soon as she met me, looking at me with careful, wide eyes as if I were a rabid animal. Probably best, considering I had apparently started burning things again.

"Audrey..." she began slowly, waiting for me not to sound demonic, perhaps. "Are you alright?"

"No," I answered simply, my voice low. "Can you heal my leg, please? My wrist too, if you can manage."

She watched me charily, checking the ripped skin of my knee before heaving a sigh. She was smart for once and decided not to give her opinion and instead went straight to mending the tear in my knee. When she was done with that, I was kind by not askign her to clean out the blood in my shoe, she went on to my left wrist – it took the longest to heal. Without me having to ask she moved on to my other knee and my scraped palms, as well.

"Tripping jinx?"

"They're not as creative as they were," I acknowledged, looking down at the Quidditch Pitch. By now, people were starting to fly around the pitch in groups of ten and the stands behind us had gathered quite the audience – the group of first years that didn't stand a chance came up to join those of us in the bleachers, as did the gaggle of giggling girls who were simply there to try and impress my brother – I wanted to gag. I _did _gag.

"He's so stupid," I sneered, looking at the girls in disgust.

"Harry? Yes, he is," her voice was much lower and heavy with insinuation.

"I was talking about not noticing the girls falling over him," I eyed her from the corner of my eye, watching as Circe allowed Hermione to fawn over her. "What are _you _referring to?"

"Your brother kept that book," she said, her mouth set in a firm line. "Swapped the covers of that and the new copy that came this morning."

I felt my face heat up as I ground my teeth. "Of course he did. Has to best at everything, doesn't he?"

"Besides obvious stabs of envy, it makes me really nervous," she told me, sounding serious. "We have no idea who this _Half Blood Prince _was. Did you know that he wrote unrecognizable spells in there? He was testing spells! And only Harry is foolish enough to try them."

"Only Harry," I agreed, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back on the bleacher behind me – ignoring the sharp splinters that dug into my back thanks to my little panic attack before Hermione had joined me.

Overall, the beginning of the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts were much more cordial than last year's Slytherin tryouts, which usually involved a bit of 'keep up' and then 'if you fall of your broom, you're out, no matter the injury'. Several people were cut quickly – it was obvious that many of them were just here to try and get a word in with _The Chosen One_. Some had even forgotten to bring brooms.

"I'm not particularly fond of Quidditch," I explained honestly when another group went up to try their hand with being chasers. "Never have been. But I bet I could be better than half these dunderheads."

"I have little doubt," Hermione frowned, watching as a boy slipped off his broom, but had it get caught in the belt loop of his trousers making it so he soared around the pitch uncontrollably.

"How long will this last?" I asked. Hermione waited a moment, her eyes focused on Ron's group, before turning back to me.

"Long enough that we can have a conversation," she began. I immediately knew I was in some form of trouble. "What did you learn at your lesson with Dumbledore?"

I frowned, my brows furrowing stubbornly. "What did _Harry_ learn?"

"Well, I'm unsure, to be honest-" she shrugged, looking flustered. "After hearing you two lied to us about hearing the prophecy, and knowing you're now taking lessons privately with Dumbledore, I feel like there are a lot of things I'm not being told."

"Didn't answer my question," I told her plainly, turning to look down at the pitch again. I knew that her guilt trip was probably subconscious, but she bristled when she saw that it didn't bother me. After all the years they had kept things from me there didn't seem a reason to tell her all my little secrets without some kind of repayment. "So I have no need to answer yours."

"Maybe Harry doesn't want you to know," Hermione suggested, sounding nervous.

"Maybe," I agreed. "Maybe I don't want _you _to know."

She sighed. "I didn't mean for this to become an argument, Audrey. I just want to be sure that whatever you're being taught...you're being prepared. Both of you."

"And how could I be prepared?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking. If you aren't learning magic-"

"We're learning tactics, I think," I admitted. It would be nice to actually get an outside opinion on this, even though I wasn't sure how much of it I wanted to tell her. Confessing that I had an off-balanced nature with balance – though probably assumed by her – was still embarrassing and I certainly didn't want her to know about the direct correlation between Merope Gaunt's magical inabilities and my own.

"What kind of tactics?" she asked, leaning forward so our conversation could be even more private. "Harry saw a memory – did you see one, too?"

"We saw a memory of Voldemort's mother," I nodded, "Dumbledore wanted us to look for different things in it – which is why we saw it separately. I don't know why. He wants me to learn about the consequences of the past, present, and future. But I think he wants Harry to know more about Voldemort."

"Why does he need you to learn about the past, present, _and _future?" she asked pensively. I let her continue, knowing that it was mostly rhetorical. "Why not teach you about defending yourself?"

"I think in a way that's what he's doing," I answered in the same way. "I just think he's going about it in a cryptic way. I don't know why – criticism is something for Ravenclaws. I'm a Slytherin. I like facts that have evidence and can't be misconstrued. It's the problem with all you intellectuals, trying to get us to do the thinking on our own..."

"You make everyone do their own thinking," Hermione argued.

"No, I don't let them copy _my _thinking," I corrected, "I don't care if they copy someone else's."

By this point, Harry had picked the three Chasers that had done most impressively – Ginny was of course at the top of the list. Katie Bell, an old player who had been on the team since Harry had been, and some new girl named Robins was the last. The beaters were chosen shortly after that – boys named Peakes and Coote who were not nearly as good or nearly as impressive-looking as Fred and George had been.

"Good, innit?" Ginny breathed when she came to join us on the bleachers. Hermione handed her some water that she quickly gulped down. "I'm so happy I made it back in."

"You're great, Ginny," Hermione smiled.

"Yeah, stop pretending to be humble – you knew you were the best up there." Ginny did nothing but smile and turn away to look at the final group of players. "Ginny, your brother is green."

"I know," she sighed, the smile slipping off her face. After finishing up her water she and the other chasers were back on the goals to help shoot the Quaffles at the final contenders. Now that the Keeper was the only position left unfilled, Ron had flown up to the hoops with the other hopefuls – his face genuinely was a shade of green that was only made more noticeable by his hair.

The first Keeper to try and save goals only saved two of the five – as did the second, third, fourth, and fifth tryers...one had crashed off his old, scruffy broom and slid in the ground so that it splintered into pieces.

"Is that McLaggen?" I asked, frowning at the boy who began to save the goals next. "Oi, I hope he's not on the team – then I'll _never _come to your games."

"You only ever come to the ones where we play Slytherin," Hermione countered. I grinned.

"All the other one's are boring – the rest of you lot play _fair._"

McLaggen was good – better than Hermione or I had expected. I watched Ginny's face grimace when he saved the first, and second goals – apparently she was not one of his greatest fans either. Hermione's eyes kept flickering to Ron, who somehow managed to look more and more green every time the Quaffle was thrown.

"Nervous for the _fancy _work that Ron might not do?" I asked, smirking when Hermione stiffened and noticed the insinuation. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Harry cheats you know – with that book. I cheat – you know, as I'm a Slytherin...maybe you should take a page from of our books."

Hermione looked nervous, "what are you saying?"

Her eyes were drawn away from mine to watch as the Quaffle soared towards McLaggen once again – only to be saved magnificently after he dived in midair.

"Help Weasley out, join the dark side," I encouraged with a smile watching as her eyes widened. "_Cheat._"

"I'm not going to cheat!" she gasped, struggling to stay quiet. "Ron doesn't need me to."

"It doesn't matter how good he is," I shrugged, looking away from her. "McLaggen's better. Not because he plays better, necessarily, but because he _likes _the crowds. Ron, on the other hand..."

I trailed off and we watched as Ron nearly wretched on his broom as he watched Harry line up for McLaggen's next shot.

"Even if I _did _want to cheat," she said nervously, her voice wavering as she tried to keep it a whisper. "Which I don't – how would I do it?"

"Granger," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "You and I are the only ones who have come close to doing well with speechless spells – you figure it out."

And with a roar of the crowd – for McLaggen had now saved his fourth goal – Ron looked like he was ready to faint. Or maybe he had, he looked dead enough as he sagged on his broom. I watched as McLaggen got ready for his final save – if he got this then there was no doubt he would win the tryout. No one had saved more than two and with Ron's nerves, there was no way that he would be able to match up against a five-goal streak.

I watched as Ginny lined up for the final shot. Right as it began to soar through the air, McLaggen violently shook something from his eyes and swerved in the opposite direction with his arm outstretched, moving toward the left goalpost as the Quaffle soared cleanly through the right.

I turned to Hermione, smirking. "Good girl."

She flushed, shoving her wand back in her pocket hastily.

Ron moved up to take McLaggen's spot as the arrogant boy flew down and cursed violently through his grinding teeth. Just as Ron began to sway, behind us, Lavender Brown stood.

"Good luck!" She cried loudly, before realizing that everyone was looking at her and flopping into her seat with her head hidden in her hands. I raised an eyebrow towards the girl beside me.

"Seems like you have some competition, yourself."

"Oh, don't bother-"

"Would you like me to Confund her for you?"

"Audrey Petunia Potter, I swear if you say another word..."

Ron saved the first, second, third, fourth goals easily. He may not have been as graceful about it as McLaggen had been, but they were solid saves that he was able to throw back to the chasers every time. Each audience member was on the edge of their seat as Ginny swung her broom around and flew forward, aiming her last throw for the left goalpost. She let the Quaffle go, it could have broken the sound-barrier with how quickly it moved, before Ron amazing and quite clearly accidentally was able to deflect it with the crown of his head.

McLaggen was at my brother's throat in seconds. I couldn't hear what was being said from here, but I looked to Hermione and we both knew wordlessly that we should get down to the pitch in case the Gryffindor boy was too disgruntled to keep his cool. Harry had been that way more than not, lately. By the time we had made it onto the grass, however, he was already shouting threats into the air and storming off the field.

"You did brilliantly, Ron!" Hermione beamed as we ran toward he and Harry. Ron gave her such a grin that it was obvious it was a special one meant for her – I felt a twist in my gut ...I remembered seeing a smile that was meant just for me once upon a time.

Ugh, I'm making myself sick.

"Not bad, captain," I nudged my brother with a smile. "Is it too late for my go?"

"Right," Harry snorted. "If you insist. I'd love to see you on a broom again. You know, you weren't that bad last summer-"

"Not even when I lost control and almost died?"

"Not even then," he smirked. I left him to fix his practice times for the team and waited for the boys to get changed outside of their changing rooms with Hermione, who was more quiet than usual. Apparently her having cheated was either weighing heavily on her conscience or she was trying to figure out exactly why she did it. For someone so smart, the woman could be clueless.

"We're going to see Hagrid," Hermione finally spoke as the boys came out from changing. "You're welcome to join – we feel bad for not taking his class."

"I'm in his class," I shrugged. "Honestly, I think I'm just going to nap-"

"I thought I was going to miss that fourth penalty," Ron seemed to have been talking as well, his broom slung over his shoulder as he emerged from the change rooms. "Tricky shot from Demelza, did you see, had a bit of spin on it-"

"Yes, yes, you were magnificent," Hermione smiled, looking amused as he met us where we stood.

"I was better than that McLaggen anyway," Ron puffed out his chest. "Did you see him lumbering off in the wrong direction on his fifth? Looked like he'd been Confunded..."

Hermione burned a bright shade of scarlet, matching Ron's hair, before Harry turned to me.

"Do you want to come to Hagrids?"

"No," I repeated to him instead of Hermione. "I think I'm going to nap."

"Why don't you want to come with us?" Hermione asked frowning. "You'd really rather be in your Slytherin dormitories after what they did to you today?"

"Who did what today?" Ron asked. I glared at Hermione for even bringing it up.

"_Nothing_."

"The Slytherins tripped Audrey today," Hermione explained. I picked up Circe just so I had something to occupy myself from my brother's glare. "I had to heal her, it was a nasty jinx."

Harry's eyes darkened. "Do you want to come sleep in the common room again? I can-"

"It's fine," I waved it off. "It was just a joke-"

"That's a _joke_?"

"It's a Slytherin joke," I amended, feeling embarrassed. "Honestly, you guys worry too much about me. I don't like it. I'm really tired anyway, I wanted to wait up for..." I scrambled quickly for someone that Harry would believe I'd try to talk to. "-for Tracey."

Ron shrugged, going toward Ginny, who was about to head back up to the castle. There was no doubt that he was more than ready to start blabbering on about how impressive his saves were once again – if only he knew how unimpressive he really was. One day, if he pissed me off enough, I would tell him...perhaps I was looking a little too forward to that day.

"Here," Harry handed Hermione his Firebolt for a moment before rummaging through the rucksack slung over his shoulder. From the depths of it, he pulled out a familiar silky material. "Take this so that if you don't feel safe you can sneak off to see me."

"No," I pushed the invisibility cloak back to him. "Dumbledore told you to keep it on you at all times."

"I think he'll forgive me for giving it to you for a night," he murmured back. "Take it now and I won't go give the Slytherins a piece of my mind."

"Harry's right," Hermione agreed, watching as my twin determinedly nodded his head at us both.

Great, he was stuck in 'big brother' mode again. I took it simply to appease him – and keep the Slytherins from finding out I had complained about them. It was as I was shoving it into my rucksack that Harry decided not to keep all the attention on me.

"Hermione," he began, barely holding back a smile. "I wanted to ask your expertise on something."

"What?" There was no denying that his grin was suspicious and he looked up the hill to where Ginny and Ron were disappearing before shrugging innocently.

"If you ask me," said Harry quietly, "McLaggen looks like he _was_ Confunded this evening. And since he was standing right in front of where you two were sitting, I was wondering..."

Hermione blushed, looking at me for help. I just smirked and shrugged in the spitting image of innocence that my brother had feigned.

"Oh, all right then, I did it," she whispered, sounding humiliated. "But you should have heard the way he talks about Ron and Ginny! Anyway, he's got a nasty temper, you saw how he reacted when he didn't get in – you wouldn't have wanted someone like that on the team."

"No," said Harry, sounding particularly smug. "No, I suppose that's true. But wasn't that dishonest, Hermione? I mean, you're a _prefect_, aren't you?"

"Oh, be quiet," she snapped. "You sound just like your sister!"

"It's because it's the best answer," I winked at her, only for her to scoff and turn away from me.

"What are you three doing?" Ron demanded, looking over his shoulder at us now that he was at the very top of the hill. "Hurry it up!"

"I could have thought of a better lie to have some time alone," Hermione whispered to me as Harry passed by us to meet up with Ron and Ginny.

"I could have thought of a better charm to save Ronnie from big, bad _reality_."

* * *

><p>I couldn't find it in me to take my time walking back to the castle. All that time of contemplation before the Quidditch try-outs started had really made me curious about what had been going on in the life of my Slytherin friends...and there was only one way to ever know the truth about it: gossip.<p>

Slytherins were notorious gossipers as I knew from far too many experiences – first year with my sorting, second year with the Heir of Slytherin, third year with Sirius Black's escape, fourth year with the Tournament, fifth year about Malfoy and myself...and those were only the large topics of each year. We came from the most conniving of circles and we were good with keeping our own secrets and outing others'. If there was one place where I could hear everything about everyone – it would be in the Slytherin common room.

"Popular Miss Potter," Augustus, the portrait hanging on the wall to the dormitories, called out. He was always an arse, trying to draw attention to me when I was trying to keep a low profile, like while a group of second years was entering the common room. "How we've missed you these few days. Never come back here anymore, never come to visit-"

"Don't really want to visit, Augustus. I particularly don't want to visit you," I told him honestly, looking around me to make sure there was no one around. I heard him scoff as I pulled out my brother's invisibility cloak and draped it over my shoulder before turning to address the blank wall beside the grumpy portrait. "_Slither_."

"One day, people will say these passwords to me and I will come up with much better ones! Did you know that the Ravenclaw common room uses _riddles_?"

"We're not smart enough to use riddles," I responded, waiting for the wall to grind open once again. "That's why the Ravenclaws do our homework. And you won't be a passage opening until you get over the fact that you're _not _a passage opening."

He grunted, not saying any more to me – likely because he wasn't sure whether or not I had entered the common room already thanks to my brother's cloak. The Slytherin area wasn't that busy, just a few people studying by the fire or whispering. But I knew well that whispering meant _gossiping. _This was something I had done more than once: sitting and listening to gossip – it's just normally I was doing it for my brother, not for my own needs. I sat on the ground beside the chair closest to the third years, waiting and knowing that I was bound to learn what was really going so long as I could manage to overhear.

When they continued to talk about pointless things for over twenty minutes – grades, professors, whether or not Snape had ever been married, who the one girl had kissed just yesterday – and I couldn't take any more of that nonsense I found myself clearing my throat from under the cloak, whispering a faint _'Potter'_.

"Did someone just say 'Potter'?" One of the girls perked up, looking around the common room. "She isn't in here, is she?"

"I hope not," a familiar third year whispered with a wicked grin. "Though I would love to see the damage Pansy did."

"I didn't see any scrapes earlier," a younger student whispered. "Maybe Pansy was exaggerating."

"She was going on about it _all _dinner long," the one girl acknowledged. "A little too proud of herself, if you know what I mean."

"She probably got it healed, you goblin," another girl whispered back. "She's Audrey Potter, no matter how much of a traitor she is, people will always bend backwards for her."

"Nott isn't," the familiar girl, observed. I knew her voice so well, though I had never heard such venom to it. The voice was as familiar to me as her sister's was – smug and confident and airy. Then again, Daphne's little sister, Astoria, had always been a spoiled brat. "You should have heard how furious Theodore was whenever she was mentioned this summer – he would just storm out of the room. Couldn't bear to hear her name."

"Really?" The bottle-blonde friend asked her, leaning forward conspiratorially. "How was he when other people were around?"

"He was fine with most. Quiet, but fine. Though he did have quite a bad row with Malfoy at the beginning of the summer-"

"_Draco Malfoy_ was at your house?" The other little girl asked in slow disbelief. "What I would give to have him at _my _house!"

"Is he with Daphne?" The bottle-blonde asked, repositioning herself to get more comfortable. It appeared that the girls had found a subject to really delve into – thank Merlin that this one finally interested me as well – even if it was making my stomach churn. "They'd make a cute couple – but then I'd feel guilty about looking at him...you know, if I were you."

"Ew, Bronwyn!" Astoria giggled, hardly sounding disgusted at all. "He's so old!"

"He's not that old," the other girl, who was not bottle-blonde Bronwyn but a raven haired girl with freckles, defended. "He's only in sixth year – by the time we graduate, that age difference won't even matter!"

"I would have loved to see those two fight – men fighting are so sexy, don't you think?" Bronwyn sighed dreamily. "What were they fighting over?"

"Potter, I think," Astoria sneered again. I couldn't really tell when this girl had started to dislike me – I never remembered her being so disgusted when she saw me, but she was doing a very solid act of it now. Still, she was giving me the information I needed, so I wasn't really in the mood to hex her...particularly because my fingers were growing numb from the shock of what I was hearing. I'd just have to chew her out later for being such a little prat. "Something about letters. Theodore was furious, of course – stayed in his room for almost two whole days. Mummy was distraught...Malfoy left in a huff not long after."

"Is that why Draco's been in such a bad mood?" The brunette asked. "You can't deny that it's strange – isn't it? He and Potter were actually close last year, they were all friends – she goes to the Ministry and betrays us...but while she's kicked from her dorm, he always happens to be gone?"

Always gone? Since when had Malfoy always been gone?

"What are you saying?" Astoria asked, raising a delicately sculpted eyebrow.

"She's saying their shagging," the bottle-blonde, Bronwyn, giggled. "Of course they're not, though – have you heard the things he says about her now? Or the way Pansy glares at her? I'd be terrified if I had to walk the halls as she does."

"But Malfoy's always gone and she's always gone," the brunette continued again. "You don't find it even a bit suspicious? And who knows where she's been sleeping..."

I guess I really _was _the talk of the house. It was unfortunate for them they didn't seem to have any facts to go by.

"Rosie heard from Missy who heard from Summers that she's been staying in the Gryffindor common room with her brother."

Alright, so maybe they have _some _facts.

"She's been with the _Gryffindors_?" Astoria sneered, sounding remarkably more like Parkinson than her sister. "Is this common knowledge?"

"Obviously not, wouldn't Daphne have told you?"

Astoria's eyes narrowed as she looked over to the common room fire. It was down to embers, hardly giving off any heat towards the girls who were working under the light from one of the green lanterns as they doodled on their parchment. Astoria was certainly not what I would have imagined her to grow to be – she was much angrier than the little girl I remembered during her sorting in fourth year and she had turned into something a lot more powerful. She was the Parkinson of her year – only she had a power that Pugface never would: class. And as funny of a joke that it could be to say against Parkinson, it was dangerous in the real world – a bully with class was the same as a con-artist with a wand.

"She has a bit of a soft spot for Potter," Astoria began, rolling the words between her teeth like she would a food she was being force-fed. "I think it will end though, you know how protective she is over Theodore. Once she realizes that Theodore isn't going to forgive her, I think Daphne will move on. She's always been really sentimental."

"Let's hope," The brunette sneered. "Nott has other things to worry about – did you hear he hardly made it on the Slytherin team this year?"

My heart fell down to my stomach and I could swear that it was being eaten away by the acid. Had Theodore really had a hard time making it on the team? Why – was he distracted? Unpracticed? Upset? He had done so well at his tryouts last year – tryouts which I had made about me. Was that memory what had kept him from playing as well as I knew him capable?

"Urquhart was saying he didn't want him there," Bronwyn, the little-blonde, whispered. "Draco said he'd quit the team if he didn't let Nott on."

"They're very protective of each other," Astoria noted, leaning even closer to her friends. I had to fight against the hem of the robe – I should never have cut that two inches from it for my potion in fourth year – so that I could hear what she was whispering. "It's why I was so shocked they fought so badly. Then again, Draco's been under a lot of stress – I've heard that the Dark Lord punished his family for what happened at the Ministry."

I nearly lost my balance and toppled right into Astoria Greengrass's lap. Instead, I pushed myself backward – almost positive they would have seen my shoe but I was glad they were huddled so closely that they weren't paying attention to the renegade disembodied limb.

Malfoy's family had been punished? It made sense – Narcissa being stuck to him like glue, her not wanting him to go alone, his writing coming to a halt, his disturbing switch from fancy to hatred...

"Of course he did!" The brunette exclaimed. "The Dark Lord has already lost so many followers – he's already started reaching out to the old families. All of them. He's trying to convince them to join him – has he come to you?"

"My father _was_ skittish," the one girl gasped, as if that was an answer. "He must have been asked!"

"We were," Astoria said quietly. She did not seem so proud to speak now. "Mummy of course wouldn't hear of it and Daddy said no...but he won't quit that easily, will he?"

"My Daddy said he'd help," the brunette whispered, suddenly very sullen and quiet. "He said he didn't want to be branded, though – he has a reputation and high rank in the Ministry, but I think that's why You-Know-Who came to ask in the first place."

"This is all Potter's fault," Astoria hissed as if she had been burnt. "I hate her. I don't know what any of them saw in her – but I'll make sure they never see it again."

The guilt was starting to tear at my skin – the silken cloak draped over me was rubbing my skin raw because of how tight and constricted I suddenly felt. It was like all the air had been sucked from under it and had been replaced by hot steam that was burning my skin and not expanding my lungs. Voldemort had punished the Malfoys – he had come to collect from the Greengrass's – had Theodore been there when that had happened? Had Voldemort spoken to him of what happened to his father...under my hand?

The thought of Voldemort being so close, so _involved _in my friends – my _foes – _lives was making my blood run cold. I couldn't tell if it was guilt or fear or fury...but it felt murderous.

Neither of Astoria's friends looked intimidated by her threats or by the ice in her stare. I wasn't intimidated by it either, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised. I'd seen that look before: Malfoy always gave it to Harry, Theodore had begun giving it to me...it was a look full of patient vengeance. And this was, again, directed to me when she couldn't even see me. I could only imagine how it would have been if she knew that I was standing right in front of her.

It didn't take much longer for the room to clear. The girls couldn't find much more to gossip about and headed off to find someone to 'help' with their weekend's worth of homework. I was glad to be left alone, I was glad that I didn't have to pay attention to anything any of these other arses were thinking about me now that I knew what the consensus was. It was already getting dark by the time the girls had left me and I made sure to make myself more comfortable now that my legs were cramping from sitting on the cool stone for so long. Instead I moved over to the corner of the common room and I pressed my back against the hard wall of the boy's dormitories so I could stretch my legs.

I could have left at any time – made my way to my dormitory and sealed the door so only my dorm mates could get in. I could have been in solitude and not had to hear any of the ridiculous problems these Slytherins thought ruled their lives when they didn't even know the real forces driving the decisions nowadays...

Maybe that was why I wanted to wait. To see the people that those forces had directly affected. I only wanted to see them, that's all – maybe have some proof that those girls were wrong, or that Theodore and Malfoy weren't always so upset. Maybe I would see one of them laughing, or joking, or reading a book for all I cared – something that was reminiscent of who they were before this mess. Just to see that they were okay.

I was half way through a book I'd found on the common room floor – _Magical Theory_, the charms textbook for first years – when the wall to the common room opened with a grating sound and Theodore stormed through the opening. He looked furious – like the time when I had told people I _was _the heir of Slytherin, or when Daphne and I'd had our huge row in fourth year. It was rare to see him so angry – then again, maybe it was more common this year than those previous. I didn't know what could have had him so frustrated at half-ten, but he walked straight past me and to into dormitory. After him, Daphne scrambled through the common room opening, looking teary eyed and frustrated. When she was in and nearly to the wall I was sitting against Lillian and Tracey climbed through as well.

"He's gone," Daphne whispered, her mouth quivering while she took a step away from his dormitory as if she had been pushed. "I didn't mean to make him so angry-"

"You didn't say anything wrong," Lillian said soothingly, walking towards her and placing her hands on her shoulders – she had always been great with comforting those who are upset. "He'll come 'round."

"I don't know if it's worth it," Daphne nearly sobbed. "I don't even know why I bring her up, it's not like she doesn't frustrate me too. It's not like I'm not hurt or – that he..."

"It's okay," Tracey tried to sound comforting – it didn't sound natural, but you could tell it was genuine. She just wasn't the type to comfort, she was the kind for blunt honesty and harsh truths. Daphne took a moment to compose herself before she turned to the other girls.

"You really can't find her?"

"No, we've looked everywhere," Lillian sighed, running her hands through her hair. "Patil said that she was at the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts but didn't leave with her brother – he's serving detention with Snape now."

They were talking about _me. _I guess I should have known – what else would have made Theodore so angry? – but it was strange to actually hear my friends talk about me, nevertheless to be worried. It was a strange comparison, how normal it felt listening to all the bad words to be said about me and how uncomfortable I felt now that I was listening to kind ones.

"Do you think she's alright? That trip-jinx Pansy sent didn't hurt her too badly, did it?"

"Not if she went to the tryouts after," Tracey reasoned. "I'm sure she's fine. You know how Potter is – if she doesn't want to be found, she won't be."

I couldn't help but smile at the irony while Daphne rolled her eyes toward the ceiling so that she could keep the tears in her eyes from falling.

"You're right," she agreed. A strange part of me felt guilty for _this _as well, even though I knew that wasn't reasonable. But I hadn't realized she would ever actually be _that _worried about me – it was hard to believe that any of them _could _be. Sure, she was asking me how I was all the time, but as soon as we would leave the dormitories in the morning I would be ignored. I hadn't really understood that it was only because of Theodore – she had said it, but it had never really clicked until I saw just what happened when you took Theodore out of the equation. "She'll show up – she always shows up. Let's go to bed. I just want this bloody day to be over."

They headed to bed immediately, Lillian sure to keep close to Daphne for the support that she wouldn't admit she needed and Tracey trailing behind to leave her awkwardness in a more suitable space. Still, the memory of everything they had said stayed just as vibrantly as the ones I'd kept from her little sister – how strangely the dynamics clashed. Daphne worried of my problems, Astoria worried I _was _a problem.

And still, I couldn't take in everything that had happened. Theodore really did hate me. Daphne really was concerned about me. Because everyone hated me – rightly – but people, including angry third years, were apparently out to get me. The Greengrass family was being targeted for Voldemort's Death Eaters. Malfoy may have been punished for even less...

And Theodore...he couldn't even stand the mention of my name – that's what Astoria had said. A part of me had hoped it had been to juice the gossip, but apparently it was true: the mere mention of me – and the fact I couldn't be found – had warranted turning in for the night so he could avoid the thought of me.

There was only one person I hadn't seen now and that one person had a lot of questions tangling themselves in my mind. Malfoy – has Voldemort been punishing him? Why have he and Theodore been arguing? Has he really been so protective of him? Where had he been going that no one had been seeing him? I couldn't believe he wasn't quieting the rumours – normally he was very in control of things like this. Particularly if they involved anything to do with 'us'. If people honestly believed we were shagging after everything that had happened, they were delusional...or he really was gone all the time and wasn't focusing on shutting them up. Again, unlike him. That boy thrived on popularity and attention, I could hardly imagine where he would be going that he got enough of it without–

Oh Salazar, could he be with _Parkinson_? They'd been all cozy earlier, hadn't they? That's what Harry had said, so did that mean that they were...but no, then why would people say he'd been disappearing when _I _had disappeared and not mentioning it? If he was with Parkinson she would let the world know.

Maybe he was with someone else. Maybe he was having the same, silent 'fling' that he'd had with me only months before.

I didn't know, but I felt sick to my stomach the more I thought about it...and the more I waited.

I didn't know why I felt like I had to wait to see him come into the common room. Maybe if I saw how he came in, I'd know if he'd been having sex. Maybe I'd be able to see it on him – some people say there's an after-sex glow, after all. Or maybe he'd come in _with _a girl. Maybe if I waited him out and sat here, when he finally showed up I'd be able to tell if he was with someone else, or bullying students, or simply fallen off the bandwagon as I had and he just liked to be alone.

And so I stayed, waiting for him to come back. My thoughts spiralling painfully as they tried to comprehend what possibly could have been going on that he would ignore his throngs of adoring fans...every time I blinked I would imagine him with a different girl, or imagine him doing something else that was new and terrible, and the pain would keep me focused on why I was here – but I ignored it. I ignored the pain, arguing that this was curiosity, not obsession. It was interest, not envy. I was interested because no one knew, not because _I _didn't know...

But I never found out, because I never saw him. In the early hours of the morning, when dawn began approaching, I finally blinked my eyes against my imagination one last time and couldn't make myself open them again.

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><p><strong>Alright, so no real Draco in this chapter but at least we know that he's on the forefront of her mind! And not only that, but lots of other things happened this chapter – why is Snape being a jerk? What has been going on between Theodore and Draco? Is Astoria Greengrass going to become a problem? And most importantly, Audrey convinced THE Hermione Granger to cheat! To the readers who were so sweet during the last chapter:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I like that Dumbledore is teaching Audrey and Harry separately as well, as soon as I planned this I decided they would be taking separate lessons. Sirius is still alive in this story, so Ron and Hermione aren't being bad friends...they just don't like that Harry keeps saying Malfoy is a Death Eater when he has no facts. Harry will be stepping up his game quite soon, as Audrey will have to step up hers...that's a guarantee. I'm glad that you're liking Audrey's new small circle of friends; Tracey, Lillian, Daphne (and Ginny) are fun characters to write just because of how differently they see the world and how keen they are to manipulate it. Dumbledore hinted to Slytherins being in the hallway last chapter, but never said it was Theodore – and when they are on patrol, as we heard this chapter, they do not speak – then she ran into the girls inviting her back to her dorm :) Hopefully you liked this chapter – the next one is super exciting so look out for it!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I'm going over to Europe for a while and I don't know how many of the hostels I stay in will have Wi-Fi or if I'll have time to bring my laptop to an internet cafe to update. Yes, she got back to insulting people in this chapter, which was really nice and felt more natural for me to write of her. Hopefully you liked her coming back to her own this chapter and I'll update as often as I can!**

_incitanemxx_**: Yes, Audrey's with the snakes again – it's so exciting! I don't really plan for Ginny to make friends with the Slytherins...she'll be a rock for Audrey, but they won't become besties or anything. Ginny is just a little more open-minded than some of the others and Audrey (though judgemental in some aspects) shares that respect for people who grew up crappily.  
>We get to see some of Malfoy next chapter. A short conversation, but a super important one so maybe you'll get some of your questions answered then. And yes, sadly I have no time to update more than every 7-10 days. I'll try for as often as I can but I'll be preoccupied while I'm in Europe so I can't make any promises. <strong>

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I don't think it's odd to be proud of her, I was proud she was smart enough to figure it out, too. Harry did as well, but he had needed more help and he didn't make as many connections as she did. But she's observant – it's part of her Slytherin-ness. Tracey and Lillian have been in the story since the beginning (at least I'm sure since chapter 14 as that was the Yule Ball), but hopefully they'll be easier to remember now. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_guest_**: Audrey is definitely going to try to be better than Harry while he uses the book. Hopefully you liked this chapter more, where Audrey kind of nagged her brother about the book again. Thanks for the review :)**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Hopefully, I don't want to be too good at hiding clues that no one sees it coming but at the same time I don't want you to read one chapter and say "I know how the story ends now!" because that would be upsetting. Thank you!**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Audrey the Odd, that's not the worst nickname. Not the best, but not the worst. Hope you liked this chapter as well and thanks for the review.**

_katie93319_**: I hope you liked this one. I know it didn't have as much Snape or Draco as some would have liked (or how much I personally would have liked) but don't worry – they'll be back soon. In fact, she and Draco have a little chat next chapter! Thanks for the review and fun-wishing for the trip :)**

_LokiLova_**: Thanks for sticking through and reading this whole thing, I know it's a monster (no pun intended)! Audrey is slowly coming back into herself and she'll be back to normal (or very close to) in a short matter of time. But there are some very important things that have to happen before she can be...so hopefully those chapters are still enjoyable. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

_Melody_**: I hope this chapter was as interesting as you thought it would be. We'll be learning a lot more about the conundrum that is Audrey through Dumbledore's lessons. And yes, I think it's fair to say that Harry will probably drag Audrey into his trouble again...I think that's very fair ;)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: It's good that I can distract enough with other plot points that you didn't notice Draco was missing. As much as I love them together I don't want them to be the only plot of this story, so it's good to know I can make it work without him. Yes, Audrey and Merope did live through some similarities and of course when she returned to the Slytherin dorms – even though it will be a rough transition. Hopefully you're noticing her returning fire, even though she's still being a bit submissive out of guilt. Thank you for reviewing, as always, and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Ha, well as you can see Audrey has been thinking about Draco a lot...I hope you liked it during this chapter as well. And don't say it isn't love – it might be love SOMEDAY...and that someday might be soon for all you know!  
>I liked your Titanic rant. I used to be in love with Leonardo DiCaprio.<br>Yes, Harry has been a bit of a jerk but that's also just because we're seeing it through Audrey's eyes. He is trying to be nice by not talking about it and such...but Audrey's a little short sighted. Ron? Yeah, he's being a jerk about the book, haha. But that's just Ron and Audrey's relationship. And as you can see Audrey totally has friends! She was good with Hermione and Ginny (also Ron and Harry, but those two get on her nerves even more than Hermione does) and we can't forget Daphne, Tracey and Lillian! Happy day! Also, that blow-up you were talking about? Expect some Dreaco-talks next chapter. It'll be a good one!  
>I have heard that I need to get into Sherlock, but I don't watch as much television as I used to. I'm pretty much sticking to Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Being Human, Greys Anatomy, Arrested Development and Community – and that took a lot of time. Sometimes if I'm on netflix I watch other things, but I tend to spend my time on my computer. I'm a nerd, you see. I watched Avatar (the show version) as well! Once upon a time when I made time for TV, that is.<br>Yes, Europe is...hours away at this point. I'm almost in such shock that I don't know how to express the excitement. It doesn't feel as real as it is...yet. I'm sure it will once I board the plane. I'm sure there will be Wi-Fi in certain places but it's the concoction of having Wi-Fi, having the chapter edited, having my review responses ready and having the time to upload onto that will make updates possible. They probably won't be consistent or as great as other chapters...but hopefully they'll keep you guys sated. Hope you liked the chapter and as always thank you for your sweet review!**

_ChloeMalfoy_**: Yes, she's a Slytherin too and I'm glad she's back in the dormitory she belongs in with her own friends. She likes Ron and Hermione after all, but they aren't people who understand her – and that's important. Yes, Harry is still the lead character and Audrey is his very bitter support system...for now ;) Draco was in a bit of this one and we get to see him more next chapter where she and he even get to have a little talk. Thank you so much for the sweet review and fun-wishes, hope you liked the chapter!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Yes, there does seem to be a connection between Audrey and Merope – but what is it? And why won't Dumbledore tell her what his theories are? Hopefully you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

_bookreader1617_**: Yeah, it's time that Audrey gets some things in order and being with the Slytherins...as dangerous as it obviously can be...is a good start. Your guesses on Veritaserum are some good ones – hope you liked the chapter and thank you.**

_SarcasticRaven_**: The Theo/Drea confrontation still hasn't really happened (I mean, he gave her the silent treatment) but it will eventually. They can't do silent patrols forever! Happy belated birthday! I hope it was a good one :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: She may try to get revenge on Parkinson – but she has other things she has to do first ;)**

_Ergelina_**: Thank you, hope you liked this chapter as well!**

_Lizzy B_**: The Draco/Audrey thing will be solved eventually. If I told you, it would ruin it, wouldn't it? Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_runa168_**: Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Haha, I'm glad you're not thinking that much into it (like with reincarnation) but there is a similarity – you'll just have to wait and find out what it is! Draco was in this chapter a bit and he'll be in the next one more. And the one after that? He'll be very present. Yes, the Slytherins are all back in her life – even if some of them are still jerks...but that's what keeps it interesting. Thanks for reviewing!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Most people don't know about her direct involvement with Thuban Nott's death, I think it would be a lot worse if they did – but it's good that Lillian, Tracey and Daphne are on her side. There will be more memories and such coming so we learn more about Audrey's involvement in what will be the final war. Hope you liked it!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I know that I sent you this chapter and made you look over it, but I wanted to update before I leave so I posted it now when I knew I had time. I'm sorry! I'm glad you had fun with your sister, that sounds really nice – what did you do while you were away? I'm getting excited to go...it doesn't even feel real yet!**

_MissGoldenHair_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you like it! Hopefully this chapter was just as enjoyable, especially since Audrey has some of her fire back :)**

_TheWickedNatural_**: I have some prequel chapters written in "Audrey Potter's Prelude" where you get to read things from other character's point of view, if that interests you. And Drea and Draco will get together eventually, I promise!**

_EmiliePorter24_**: The address you gave me didn't work so I couldn't see what picture you were using, I'm sorry!**

_Liz the Reader_**: I'm glad you're liking it! Hopefully you make it all the way to this chapter. Thanks for your review :)**

_Annaismyname_**: Hope you liked the update!**

_Concilliabule_**: Over sixty chapters in four days is super impressive – I know I couldn't have done it, I'm a slow reader. Most things are idiocy and genius, or insanity and genius...I think I stem closer towards insanity than either idiocy or genius, but I guess I'm probably a bit biased. Yes, Draco and Drea are slowly blossoming into a romance (again) and I try to balance out Audrey by giving her more flaws than virtues. And Malfoy as a character – I love that he's an asshole. It's half the reason I like him, because Audrey's a bitch. They're a match made in fanfic-heaven.  
>Harry and Audrey aren't as close as they could be. They have their moments, but Audrey's a little too jaded and bitter to be buddy-buddy with him. They will be getting closer and farther away at different times, like all siblings. But this bitterness is on steroids.<br>Instability is something that's going to happen considering the story is still going. I'm hoping I'll be able to rectify it. I hope you still like the story and thank you for reading it all and reviewing!**

_SwiftAlice_**: You are always far too sweet in your reviews, you actually melt my heart a little bit. Truly. Yes, Europe is hours away and though I feel like I'm in a little bit of shock, I'm getting really excited. Also panicking because I feel like I am forgetting something...or possibly everything, haha! Hopefully I'll be able to tweet you updates and other such things while I'm gone. I also think this trip will be good for me – or at least, that's the hope.  
>Yes, this school year is going to be pretty dramatic for Audrey but that usually makes for a better read. Or so is the hope, anyway. Audrey totally feels displaced now that she has competition in potions and she can't really replace him in DADA, even if she can do speechless spells a bit more easily, so it's not an even trade. Poor girl! Destabilized is the perfect word to express how Audrey is feeling, you're right.<br>Some of these chapters are fillers, but even then because this book has so much going on for Draco (and in turn, for Audrey) I don't think any will be boring. This is the most boring one in the few I have prewritten, I think, so if this one wasn't bad filler than the rest of them should be okay!  
>The lessons with Dumbledore have a lot of hints for the ultimate (and singular book) plot point, so if you can find some of those clues good on you – but I didn't make all of them super obvious. That'd just ruin the surprise. But I'm really glad Audrey's in the Slytherin dorms as well – she deserves it after all the torture, even though it's continuing.<br>I drew a picture of Audrey, yes, but then I found a REAL girl that looks a lot like her. I'll probably tweet it today at some point so that you see who I envision.  
>I am more than willing to translate this story – it's actually an honour for you to even consider doing it. I know it's a lot of work and if you don't want to do that it is totally fine – it's your summer too, I don't want you to slave over the computer if you don't have to. I will message you tonight or early tomorrow about it if you want, but I probably won't be able to respond for a few days as I am leaving and don't want to use Data overseas. Because that could end up being as expensive as my whole trip! But I will message you and we can work it out :)<br>Thank you for the fantastic review, as always, I am honoured by it. And your reviews are never horrible, don't even think it! Don't rush figuring out life – I didn't and though it's been difficult post-highschool, I've gotten to do a lot of things (and I mean a lot) that I never would have been able to do if I had gone into school. And now I'm thinking of goign into a completely different field than I was in before...so sometimes it's better to figure it out first. I'll talk to you soon!**

_Guest_**: Thank you so much! I try to make this as realistic as I can (for a plot-line based in a magical world, anyway) and I'm glad that you find I can accomplish it. I hope you liked this next chapter and that it still had everything you liked about the story – thank you again!**

_xYaar_**: It's alright, if the clues were too obvious you wouldn't like reading the chapters as much because you'd know the whole point behind each of them. Lillian and Tracey do care about Audrey, so does Daphne as you saw this chapter. I leave for my holiday soon, thank you for the well-wishes!**

_Prevaricator_**: Lucius and Audrey only talk when something bad is happening. His son, however, will get his chance next chapter :)**

_AFlairForSelfishSkies_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! I try to keep the storyline interesting and not simply based on Drea and Draco's budding romance. I know I torture Audrey, I wish that I didn't have to, but it will all be worth it in the end! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

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><p><strong>I hope that you liked the chapter everyone. The next few will be a little farther in between because I will not be at home and able to update for the summer...but I'll try to keep them as consistent as possible and try to make sure that you get the best chapters i can write! Thank you :)<strong>

**Please _REVIEW_!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend** for sneak-peeks and updates!**


	65. Bathing in Secrets

**A giant hello from , everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't been as able to update for you, but finding reliable wi-fi is much more difficult than I thought. On top of that, I've met so many new friends and have been on the go so much I haven't had much time to sit and write - but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it. I constantly have Audrey on the brain. This is why, in the dead of night, **_Angel of the Night Watchers _**and I have teamed up to update**** so you can join Audrey's adventures, as well as my own. Though I do apologise for the mistakes made by my crappy keyboard...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 64 – Bathing in Secrets<p>

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><p>"Are you sure you don't want us to come along with you?" Lillian asked as I donned my thicker robes and shoved my hat, mitts, and scarf deeply into the pockets. I was sure to check the mess that was my hair in the mirror – it was as messy as usual. I sighed pathetically at how hopeless it was to try and fix and dug my hat back out and put it on so that I could try covering up the worst of it.<p>

"No," I said certainly. "You said that Zabini was having a rough week, he said he wanted to drink. Go with him, you'll have more fun that way. I know I'm not invited."

"But we can still come with you, I'm sure Blaise will survive-"

"He has hardly had any time with you lot," I reasoned. I'd been hogging the girls these past weeks. After the realization of how much people were trying to look out for me, I had come back to live in my dormitory full time. It was dangerous to go out into the common room, but Daphne had brought Snape in to give us proper wards on our room – against my wishes as I was still mad at the man...but at least now I would be safe from people trying to jinx my things. I stayed in here more often than not – even if Daphne wasn't here or the girls were called away for 'Slytherin bonding'.

"That's his own ruddy fault," Tracey sneered, using her hip to move me out of the way so she could take over the mirror. "It's not our fault he's decided to be a prat and ignore you. I don't care who he's friends with, or who he's shagging: bros before hoes."

"You're one of the hoes, Tracey," I winked at her. She frowned.

"Fine, go have fun with Saint Potter," she smirked at her own reflection. "_We_ get to drink."

"Exactly," I exclaimed, grabbing onto my overstuffed bag of money from Bill and taking only a few coins from it. "Look at the silver lining, ladies: booze, bullying, and boys."

"The fiery lining, you mean," Lillian sighed, also moving in front of the mirror to play with her hair. She took to putting it in a long braid down to her waist. "I hope that Daphne is able to convince Theodore to come. He really needs a pick-me-up."

"And I'm sure alcohol will do just that," I said sarcastically, moving to the door. "Try to be quiet if you come in late, yeah? I have to get up early to go take care of the Tenebrus tomorrow-"

"Hagrid really has you doing that, still?" Tracey rolled her eyes as she took over the mirror. "Doesn't he have a new assignment for you and the...one other person in your class?"

"Two," I corrected. "And no, he's preoccupied – one of his pets is dying-"

"Ugh, that giant Acromantula is a _pet_?" Tracey frowned. "Disgusting. I know you respect him and all, but I cannot and refuse to respect anyone who keeps a spider as a _pet._"

I rolled my eyes. "Goodbye, guys."

I left without waiting to hear their regular speeches on safety and 'fighting back against my oppressors', I wasn't really in the mood for a lecture today. As always I nearly tip-toed through the common room, trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible. I had skipped breakfast – after promising Harry that he could bring me something for our journey there.

I met them outside of Entrance Hall, they were already shivering by the time I got there. Hermione was the first to speak.

"He's started using the spells!" She burst, looking as if she had been a jack-in-the-box wound up the entire time until I had gotten there. "He found spells written in that book and-"

"SH!" both Ron and Harry said, Ron whipping a hand out to cover her mouth.

"What are you thinking?" Weasley asked passionately. "It was just a laugh – it wasn't even bad!"

Hermione wriggled away from him. "He raised Ron by his ankle while he was sleeping! Who knows what other spells are in there. The Death Eaters use that spell, Audrey-"

"So it was a Death Eater's book?" I raised an eyebrow. Somehow, that made me feel less protective over Ron and more protective over my own reputation. There was no denying it was a twisted kind of low blow for me: a Death Eater being as good as I was in potions...it was disgraceful.

"I don't see where you get that from," Harry hissed. "If he'd been a budding Death Eater he wouldn't have been boasting about being 'half blood,' would he?"

"I boast about it all the time," I said simply. "And the Death Eaters _wish _they had me."

"The Death Eaters can't all be pureblood, there aren't enough pureblood wizards left," Hermione argued stubbornly. "I expect most of them are halfbloods pretending to be pure. It's only Muggleborns they hate, they'd be quite happy to let you and Ron join up."

"There is no way they'd let me be a Death Eater!" Ron guffawed. "My whole family are blood traitors, that's as bad as Muggleborns to Death Eaters!"

"And they'd love to have me," said Harry sarcastically. "We'd be best pals if they didn't keep trying to do me in."

"They'd love to have me," I told them with a smile. "I'd show them how to _really _be bad-ass."

This made Ron laugh; even Hermione gave a grudging smile. It was all it took for us to start laughing at each other, Ron digging his elbow into my ribs to make me join in a more enthusiastically. Right as the laughter was starting to die down, Ginny ran to us from the Great Hall with two familiar looking rolls of parchment in her hands.

"Hey, you two, I'm supposed to give you these."

"Thanks, Ginny...it's Dumbledore's next lesson!" Harry announced practically tearing it from her. I gave her a thankful smile before taking my own.

"Monday evening at eight – yours?"

"Six again," I read. Harry was obviously very giddy about the whole idea – I couldn't really see why. I wasn't excited to relive more memories of Merope Gaunt's disturbing life. I was even less excited to finally understand just what else about these memories had to do with me.

"Want to join us in Hogsmeade, Ginny?" Harry turned to ask her. I watched as Ginny blushed, predictably, and turn away so she wouldn't have to see me smirking at her.

"I'm going with Dean – might see you there," she waved at us before she dashed away – she was sure to move quickly so my brother couldn't notice how red-faced she was. Girls were so predictable. Boys were so clueless.

The walk to Hogsmeade was horrid – we were getting early snowfall, but since it was only mid-October, it coming down as wet sleet that slapped against our faces. Everyone was bent over to avoid being hit by the wind and the cold. Our first stop, or what I had said I wanted my first stop to be, was Zonko's...I was crestfallen when I saw that it was boarded up. Then that had been attacked by Death Eaters, too.

We walked a little further to the next shop and I was relieved when I realized that it was Honeydukes that was still open. The four of us practically sprinted into the crowded shop to avoid the onslaught of precipitation – the crowds of people all seemed to have the same idea.

"Thank God," Ron gasped when we were finally in the warmth of the shop. "Let's stay here all afternoon."

"I hate the cold," I agreed. "Let's stay here until spring."

"Harry, Audrey!" The booming voice grabbed my attention and I could only have time to hear Harry groan before Slughorn was walking up to us – his swollen hands clasping a bag of bright, candied pineapple that clashed with his furry overcoat. He looked so ostentatious that even all the Weasleys together couldn't have competed against the sight of him.

"Harry, that's three of my little suppers you've missed now!" Slughorn frowned, poking my brother jokingly. "It won't do, m'boy, I'm determined to have you! Your sister and Miss Granger love them, don't you?"

"Yes," Hermione lied with a painful smile, "they're really..."

"Er," I cut her off when she couldn't find the word, "influential."

"See? Why don't you come along, Harry?" Slughorn seemed almost insulted. To be fair, I had only been to one of them after missing the first when I was waiting around under the Invisibility Cloak and the second time when I was in the Hospital Wing thanks to another hex. It had been a boring affair that I had nearly fallen asleep during – luckily Hermione had saved my hair from dipping into my custard.

"Well, I've had Quidditch practice, Professor," Harry explained, hoping that the excuse would be enough for him. It was a good one, I'd admit – but that was because Harry, as Quidditch captain, had started scheduling them purposefully so that he could avoid the dinners when they were announced. I'd taught the bastard too well. He, Ginny, and Ron would apparently just laugh and laugh over the idea of Hermione holding back her facts and me, holding back my temper.

"Well, I certainly expect you to win your first match after all the hard work!" Slughorn pouted. "But a little recreation never hurt anybody. Now, how about Monday night, you can't possibly want to practice in this weather..."

"Neither of us can do that, Professor," I cut in. "We have a scheduled appointment with the Headmaster."

"Unlucky again!" Slughorn sighed. "Ah, well...you can't evade me forever, Harry!"

The large man waddled away, not looking daunted by the crowd as he headed toward the cash so that he could pay for his bag of candied pineapple – I was surprised he didn't tell us the story of how he knew who had invented them. Surely he had collected someone that brilliant, like how he had collected geniuses like Guilderoy Lockhart...

"I can't believe you've both wriggled out of another one," Hermione sighed helplessly, shaking out her hands as if she felt dirtied by the idea of attending Slughorn's event again. "They're not that bad, you know...they're even quite fun sometimes..."

I gave her a look, trying to explain that we all knew how much of a lie that was – but we both stopped when we noticed Ron's sour expression. This was the way he always pouted when he realized he was the only one not invited to these soirees we all tried to avoid. Still, instead of defending herself Hermione self consciously moved over to the Deluxe Sugar Quills which would apparently last for hours on end – Slughorn and all ideas of him dropped.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," said Harry after he had bought one for each of us. "It'll be warm."

"Er," I said helplessly. "You go. I think I'll stay here."

"Why?" Harry frowned. "We'll grab a Butterbeer, yeah?"

"I don't think I should join," I said carefully, not wanting to upset him. He was always upset when I avoided doing something just because of who may or may not be there – but this time it was a good excuse. It wasn't fear, but respect I was trying to show by staying away from them. The Slytherins deserved their space on their day off from torturing people. It must have been exhausting, if it was anything like it was when I was being tortured _by _them. "Theodore's there. With the Slytherins...and they're drinking Firewhiskey. That's a formula for trouble that'd I'd rather not brew."

Harry's expression hardened defensively, just as I knew it would. "He can't stop you from going into a public pub, Drea."

"I know, but I don't _want _to go – so luckily, we don't need to battle over it."

"One drink, Audrey. We won't sit anywhere near him," Harry began. I was about to protest, but he cut me off. "You need to be able to learn to be near him – if you don't then this is never going to end. Come on – one drink, in the same pub, then we'll leave."

"Don't try to suddenly become wise, you're not," I argued. "Just like I'm not going, Harry, and that's that."

* * *

><p>I murmured threats under my breath the entire time I walked with them towards the Three Broomsticks. I can't believe they had goaded me into coming – I couldn't even repeat it, I'd just start up a tantrum if I dared and that was not how I wanted to draw the Slytherins attention onto me. In fact, I didn't want to draw their attention at all...which was precisely why I shouldn't have been there.<p>

"Mundungus!" I looked up at the sound of my brother's voice, my eyes burning from the sharp wind just as we were about to enter the Three Broomsticks. It wasn't hard to remember the familiar, grungy thief – he looked just as raggedy and corrupt as always. In his hands was an ancient looking suitcase – which burst when it fell because he tried to pull it farther away from us. Out of it spilled an assortment of stolen items. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh 'ello, 'Arry, 'Drey," he tried to sound as if nothing had happened. "Well, don't let me keep ya."

"Are you selling this stuff?" Harry asked while the crook was stuffing everything back into his suitcase.

"Oh, well, gotta scrape a living," Mundungus explained, moving toward Ron who was looking at a silver goblet on the ground. "Gimme that!"

"Hang on," Ron said slowly. "This looks familiar-"

"Thank you!" Mundungus exclaimed, reaching to pluck it back from Ron's grasp. The goblet had turned in his hand so that I could see a distinctive crest shining off the silver – it was the Black Family Crest, recognizable thanks to the many times I'd had to polish it when I was helping to clean Grimmauld Place. I sneered, my face heating up as I moved to grab it. "Well, I'll see you all – OUCH!"

I had moved to grab the goblet from him and burnt his hand in the process. The sound of something sizzling sounded and I realized that I was slowly heating up the metal of the goblet before I handed it over to my brother, who fumbled with it before it started to cool.

"Audrey!"

"Sirius told me you'd been stealing," I growled, my eyes narrowing as I shoved my finger into the frumpy man's chest. His eyes widened, looking down at my hand in fear.

"He took it from Sirius' house," Harry agreed. "Must've done, it has the Black Family Crest on it."

"I – no – what?"

"Only stealing the valuable things, then? Why don't you take that stupid painting of his mother, too?" I glared, taking a step forward. "I've been having a really bad year, Dung, and I am more than willing to take out my anger on someone nobody will miss. If I ever see you with _anything _belonging to Sirius again, you won't only leave with your hand burned – if I let you leave at all_._"

"Audrey-"

Mundungus had heard enough. Looking absolutely terrified – and convinced – he grabbed hold of his old and tattered suitcase and shoved it under his arm. While he was turning on his heel he quickly caught hold of the goblet in Harry's hand and Disapparated – taking the Black goblet with him. Harry swore, looking where he had just been and flexing his fingers.

"That stupid, thieving-"

"There's no point, Harry," I turned around to see Tonks walking toward us. Her hair still mousy, her expression pinched – she still wasn't the fun Tonks I had remembered. Apparently everyone was having a bad year. "Mundungus will probably be in London by now. There's no point yelling."

"He's nicking my godfather's stuff!" Harry roared.

"Yes, and Sirius knows about it," Tonks said simply. "I don't think he likes all that stuff anyway. He says it's his family's, not his. Now you should get out of the cold."

I frowned while Tonks ignored any more pleasantries to go and open the door of the Three Broomsticks. She ushered us in, giving no more of a wave before she closed the door behind us and left – leaving me to shiver from the blast of cool air that had tried to infiltrate the warmth of the pub before it was locked out with the Metamorphmagus.

"He was nicking Sirius's stuff!" Harry huffed again once he realized that Tonks had gone. Everyone around us turned to look – Sirius' name was as noticeable in a crowd as Voldemort's, even if he wasn't the one to worry about anymore.

"I know, Harry, but please don't shout, people are staring," Hermione sighed. "Go and sit down, I'll get us all drinks."

Harry was still fuming as he went to find a seat – whether it was because he was too angry and distracted or he was trying to prove a point he sat far too close to the group of Slytherins I had wanted to avoid. I stood awkwardly between them, not daring to take the seat that was so close that I'd have to watch them but also not wanting to turn my backs on them and leave without my brother for protection. Who knew what curses they would say when my back was turned – there were no teachers to protect me, here. Harry, after a moment of silent fury, looked at me impatiently – when he saw whatever indecision must have been across my face, he looked over.

Theodore was sat at the table. As were the three girls from my dormitory, Parkinson, Rivers, Bulstrode, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Astoria and her little annoying friends. This was the younger students first Hogsmeade trip and despite the blistering cold, they still looked rather excited. Or maybe they had indulged in the Firewhiskey as well. Then again, maybe they weren't drunk considering their regular alcohol supplier was absent – Malfoy wasn't at the table at all and there didn't seem to be a place saved for him. That was strange – he loved his Firewhiskey outings...

"C'mon, then," Harry patted the seat beside him, one where I couldn't see my ex-friends. I ignored his choice in seats and took the one across from him so that I could keep my eye on whatever it was they were doing – I knew they would be more than pleased to jinx me when my back was turned.

"Here we go," Hermione trailed off, placing the mugs of Butterbeer down in front of us each in turn. Her eyes also flickered over to the Slytherins at the table and narrowed, as if she could sense the hatred pouring off of them – to be honest, she probably could. _I _could. When I cleared my throat to get her attention she looked and must have noticed how much I was pleading with her to stop. I just wanted to quit drawing attention to the fact I was here at all, luckily she decided to switch subjects. "Ron, what are you staring at?"

"Nothing," said Ron, snapping his head away from where he had been looking around for Madam Rosmerta – the barmaid whom he had fancied for longer than I'd been allowed to come to Hogsmeade. Hermione sneered.

"I expect 'nothing's' in the back getting more Firewhiskey for the Slytherins."

We started on our drinks – I was surprised I didn't spill on myself since I was firmly keeping an eye on the Sltyherins – Alya, Astoria, Parkinson and Bulstrode all had their heads together and were whispering...which I knew meant bad news for me. I tried drinking my Butterbeer quickly, hoping that it would mean that we'd leave – but the others were not in the rush I was.

It was a moment later, after I had finished my Butterbeer entirely, that I felt something hot slap me right in the chest. It nearly knocked the breath right out of me and I heard my chair screech against the wooden floor from the power that had been behind whatever had hit me. I grasped at the warmth on my chest, feeling it drip down my shirt and knew that it had probably also splattered over my face. When I looked down to where it had hit and my hands, I felt confused – it looked like paint, but felt too warm to be natural. It was some kind of jinx, I was sure, and it had nearly drenched me.

"You fit right in with the Gryffindors now – who knew red would clash with red hair!" Astoria giggled loudly, her friends tittered along with her as if she were a regular comedian. Daphne hit her sister hard in the shoulder, stopping her laughter with a glare. Tracey looked ready to kill.

"Red looks good on you, Potter!" Alya laughed though Astoria had stopped – most were still laughing, to be honest. "Look, Pansy, it even looks like it's _blood _on her hands!"

My eyes flickered to Theodore's, which suddenly looked dark with frustration and pain. It looked like I had hurt him again – and I felt as if I had. I shouldn't have come to the Three Broomsticks in the first place, I shouldn't have ruined his time with his friends – friends that obviously weren't my own. Not anymore. Not now that I _did _have blood on my hands, even if they could only now see it. I felt my eyes begin to burn and I instinctively tried to blink the tears away.

"Audrey, here, let me-"

"Get away from me," I bit out, getting up from the table and hearing my chair squeak painfully over the tile floor again. It only brought more attention my way and I all but ran to the loo – half out of humiliation and half just wanting to get out of Theodore's sight. I looked at myself in the mirror – it was a ghastly sight to behold. My hair, always the mess had patches of red in it, my face had been splattered and my hands were stained – I had no doubt that this nicer pair of thick winter robes had been ruined. Astoria was right – the colour of red they had splattered me with _did _clash with my hair – and my vibrantly green eyes that were only set off by my blotchy cheeks. I took my time to wash my hands – scrubbing harshly at the skin until it felt raw, even though it would not come off. There was no point in abusing my face in the same way.

"Look there," I turned around, shocked to hear someone else was in the toilets. How long had they been there – the whole time I had been scrubbing and cursing furiously under my breath? But as I looked around, I couldn't see anyone at all. "Look _there_."

My eyes moved over to the other sink, as if I instinctively knew what I was supposed to be looking for and where it was. It stuck out like a sore thumb, even if it was moved innocent looking enough: on the sink was a package covered in brown paper which had been wrapped sloppily. I looked at it for a moment, frowned, and moved toward it.

"Take it," I looked around the bathroom again and took a moment to even glance under the stalls for feet – but no one was else was in the bathroom with me. I stepped toward the package, reaching out for it and lifting it for further inspection. Whatever it was wasn't very heavy and it seemed like was something that didn't have any structure because it bent in my hands.

"Take it," the voice said again, stronger, more persuasive this time. But what was it and where was I supposed to take it? If I knew what it was I could decide whether I could take it or leave it, or I could decide where it was supposed to be taken. Besides homework I usually wasn't a thief, even if I did like playing dirty, and who knows when someone would come looking for it...

"It's yours, it's yours, it's yours to give away..."

No. No, I don't like how that voice is repeating itself and I certainly couldn't help but notice just how persuasive it was being. I was not easily persuaded – particularly by disembodied voices. And hadn't something like this happened before? Yes, yes it had. This reminded me of my tryst with the Veil in the Department of Mysteries, hearing voices that weren't there...

"I don't want it," I said aloud. The way my voice echoed in the bathroom made it all the more terrifying that I was hearing a voice that wasn't there. That voice didn't echo in the same way – it seemed to bounce around my mind, instead, as if the idea was ricocheting until it finally hit it's mark.

"Take it...take it to Dumbledore..."

Why wouldn't I take a gift up to Dumbledore? It would be nice, maybe I'd get some brownie points with him since Harry was already his favourite. Or maybe he'd be more willing to give me some answers about everything that he knew but wouldn't say. Really, it _did_ seem like a good idea, an _easy _idea almost to take it. Taking it up to the castle with me wouldn't be a hassle, would it? I obviously had to head there anyway. And I did have a lesson with Dumbledore coming up soon, so it wouldn't be going out of my way.

"Take it to Dumbledore...take it to Dumbledore..."

Then again, I didn't really like doing favours for people – particularly people I couldn't see. And I didn't want to come out of the bathroom holding a package when the Slytherins were already keeping such close tabs on me, maybe they would take it from me. And something told me this package was important...especially if it was for Dumbledore. This must be what Malfoy felt like, when he went into Borgin and Burkes – this must be why he didn't take whatever it was with him. And although Draco Malfoy is a raging arse, he did tend to be smart...maybe it was bad to take it...

"No, take it..."

Then again, when did Malfoy become smart in my books? He still was a stupid, sexist git to me.

"Yes, yes...just take it to Dumbledore..."

But it was such a long walk! I had planned to do things today and if the Slytherins got back before me, who knew if I would even be able to get back into the Slytherin Common Room and keep tabs on Malfoy and Theodore under the cloak...

"Take it to Dumbledore..._take it to Dumbledore!_"

"No!" I said aloud, sounding like a pouting child as I snapped at the voice. "I don't want to."

And with that, I turned on my heel and waltzed back out of the bathroom. For some reason, it didn't seem strange that I had just talked to myself and heard voices in the bathroom. When I walked out, I was distracted from these thoughts and the past few minutes by the Slytherins turning and laughing at the state I was in: exactly as I had looked when I'd gone into the loo. I looked around at them, almost dazed – I felt dizzy and lightheaded as if I had just woken up and it took me a moment to realize that I was the joke.

"Leave her alone," a Gryffindor, one of Harry's team mates, sneered at the Slytherins before giving me a pitiful parting glance and headed into the loo behind me. My brother walked up to me, looking sad.

"Come on, Audrey," Harry whispered, I shook my head to rid myself of the disorientation and Harry took that as me being upset. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me over to the door – not giving me chance to don my warmer gear – before we stepped out into the cold.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, wrapping my scarf messily around my neck for me. I stopped her before she tried with my hat and mitts, too.

"Fine," I muttered, shaking my head again to try and organize it. "Can we just get out of here?"

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered. "You said that you didn't want to come-"

"Honestly, I don't want to think about it," I said stiffly. I felt strange – I felt the urge to just fall asleep. The cold was hardly bothering me I was so out of sorts. "I think I want to nap."

Harry looked at Hermione nervously, as if I had just said something terrible – maybe I had. I had been getting a lot better about not taking naps nowadays, but maybe he was associating my naps with my sorrow. Perhaps he was afraid I was relapsing into the state I had been all summer. Perhaps he was right.

"Bad luck, mate," Ron said, finally coming out the door as well. Behind him, Katie Bell and a friend who I couldn't name, walked past us without stopping on their way through the sleet and toward the castle.

"It wasn't bad luck, Ronald," Hermione muttered darkly. Without another word we followed after the two in front of us, as if they could block us from the cold – they didn't. The wind still whipped my hair and slapped my skin...I felt like I was being punished for something, but I couldn't tell what it was.

Half way up the hill, I was distracted by my brother gasping. Meters in front of us, Katie Bell had risen six feet into the air – her hair whipping about her face in the fierce wind, her limbs still as if she was levitating. Then, very suddenly, her eyes opened and she let out a piercing scream that tore at my eardrums...her friend ran forward, screaming as well, and jumped to latch onto Bell's ankles, trying to pull her down again.

Instinctively Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed forward to help, but I was stuck still with shock. The way she was screaming – it hurt. It was ricocheting around my head like a pinball, something that wouldn't stop until someone caught it...until _I_ caught it...until I caught on to what was happening...

Katie was writhing on the ground, when I blinked back out of my thoughts – the others were trying to hold her still. Harry, after seeing that it was hopeless left and took off toward the castle – assumedly for some form help. I moved forward hesitantly, not really wanting to take his place but not accepting the idea of just sitting here and waiting for something to happen.

"Audrey, grab her head; she's having...a seizure!" Hermione screamed. "I'm going to try and wake her up – _Enervate! Enervate!_"

When that didn't work, Hermione let out a gust of frustrated yell and put her hands back on Katie's arms to stop them from flailing around and hitting us so violently. I pushed my palms against her forehead, trying to keep her head down so she couldn't slam it against the stone path anymore. Weren't you supposed to do something to stop someone from biting off their tongue when they were having a seizure? I didn't know what it was, but it should have probably been done considering how violent it was. But I wasn't about to try in case she bit my fingers instead.

"Audrey," Hermione said after who knows how long of trying to stop the thrashing. "Audrey – do something!"

"Me?" I asked, yelling over the sound of Katie's screams. "Why me? No, you do it!"

"No you! Knock her out," Ron agreed, nodding enthusiastically – in his moment of distraction Katie's leg sprang up from under his hand and hit him in the stomach. He groaned before grabbing them again.

"I don't know how!"

"You never know how," Ron gasped. "Use your Magnuse, you prat!"

That wasn't a bad idea. Not his best, but certainly not his worst. I placed my hands on her temples, taking a moment to try and steady them which was more difficult than I would have liked considering she was still flailing – I felt like she was going to accidentally bite my hand or poke herself in the eye with my fingers because of how fiercely she was convulsing.

"Keep her still," I ordered through my teeth, trying to focus and get a grip on the sides of her head. I tried imagining her brain, how it would look compared to the jars of brains that used to line Snape's Potions room. I imagined the pink, bloody tissue – imagined how it was getting more and more swollen as she beat it against the inside of her skull. I imagined it returning to size, I imagined it looking normal and healthy...and dark. That the red turned to a faded pink, that she wasn't in pain...

But still, Katie Bell writhed.

"Get back!" A familiar, booming voice shouted. "Lemme see her!"

"Something's happened to her!" Katie Bell's friend yelled to Hagrid. "I don't know what-"

"'Ere Audrey, lemme-"

"Wait!" I screamed, closing my eyes more tightly. "I'm going to knock her out-"

"Let her do it, Hagrid," Hermione encouraged. "The damage might be-"

"If hurting people or knocking them out is my only talent – then I'm going to use it, Hagrid," I growled, not opening my eyes. "Now let me finish it so that _someone _can do something useful!"

"Drea," Ron said nervously. "If you do it wrong..."

"A little faith, Ron," I hissed. I imagined her body convulsing, I imagined her as she was now – convulsing and screaming and ruining herself against the paved path...and then I imagined her body still – her breath still ragged – just to be sure she was breathing at all – but her body still. I felt her convulse against the idea, I felt her thrash against the influence – I made the colours brighter, made it more vivid like in my visions when something happened sooner and had more colour...

Very suddenly, she went limp.

"Katie? Katie!" Her friend squealed, throwing herself forward. Hermione was already checking for a pulse. She released a loud breath.

"She's alright. She's still breathing, her heartbeat is erratic, but strong."

"Oh, thank Merlin," Ron breathed, falling back onto his bottom so that he was away from the two girls. "I thought you killed her."

"Didn't I _just _say have some faith in me?"

"Good job, Drea," Harry breathed, sounding out of breath and terrified.

"Well...it's a little difficult when I can't see what you're doing," Ron muttered after my brother had already come to comfort me. By this point, Hagrid already had Katie's limp body in his arms. As he started carrying her up towards the castle, the friend gave out another horrid cry. Hermione put an arm around her comfortingly.

"It's Leanne, isn't it?" She nodded. Hermione glanced at me carefully before turning back to the sobbing seventh year. "Did it just happen all of a sudden, or-"

"It was when that package tore," the girl sobbed, pointing a shaky finger towards the brown, torn paper littering the ground. I knew that paper. My eyes widened when I saw the familiar shape and packaging and I pressed my hands into the sleet – feeling it melt from the warmth flowing from my fingertips.

"Oh no," I breathed, watching as Ron went over. "Don't touch it, Ron!"

"Why not?" Ron asked, looking startled. Even if I hadn't have known that something was suspicious, I would have yelled at him for being stupid. If that had happened to Katie Bell, what would happen to Ron if he had touched it? What would have happened...to me?

"Where'd she get this, Leanne?" I asked, bending down and examining the paper but being sure not to touch it. It didn't have the pull it'd had in the toilets or the persuasive voices telling me to take it anymore, but that certainly didn't mean it wasn't dangerous.

"She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it," Leanne cried. "She said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it...Oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and didn't even realize!"

My blood froze in my veins, my eyes bulged just at the thought. The Imperius curse...the curse used to control and manipulate people into doing someone else's deeds. Yes, I would be willing to bet that was exactly what happened. Because I had heard that voice too – I had been told to take that package, too.

But then why didn't I? Why didn't the curse work on me?

"It's a necklace," Harry examined the dark-framed opal necklace with narrowed eyes. "I've seen it before. It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. Katie must have touched it."

"I've seen it too," Hermione breathed. "Audrey, isn't that the one you were questioning Borgin about?"

"No," I said stiffly. I don't know why I was so sure about my answer. To be honest, it could have been, but it didn't look quite like I remembered it. The opals here were round whereas the ones in the store had also had square ones...I think. It looked frighteningly similar, but I wouldn't bet my life on it being the same. "It's close, though."

"She didn't say who'd given it to her, Leanne?" Hermione asked, looking closely at Leanne.

"No... she wouldn't tell me-"

"And you don't know who it was meant for?" Hermione urged, but Leanne just shook her head.

"It was for Dumbledore," I grimaced at the truth in my own words, standing so that I wouldn't be as close to the offensive package in front of me. "She was going to give it to Dumbledore."

"How do you know?" Harry asked, I could barely look into his eyes while my mind tried piecing together everything that had happened so I would have a better answer for him. How did I know it was for Dumbledore? Because it had tried to claim my mind first. But that's not only how I knew – this was not the only time I had seen this happen.

"I had a vision of this," I breathed, remembering the dull colours that showed me washing my stained hands in the girls toilets...I had seen it, I had been warned about my involvement way back when – before I had even known it would be dangerous. Before I realized that _I _may be in danger.

It was supposed to be me. _I_ was supposed to have taken that necklace.

I gave my brother a look while Leanne let out another wail and wave of sobs. Hermione comforted by starting to lead her away from the necklace and back up the path towards Hogwarts. Harry, instinctively, grabbed the scarf from around Ron's neck and wrapped the package up in it.

"We'll need to take this to Madame Pomfrey," he explained. I nodded, holding my hands out to him and he frowned. "Not a chance."

"I'll put my gloves on," I argued, digging into my pocket and shoving them over my fingers which were still warm from all the Magnuse. "You don't have any. I'll be safer with that thing than you will be, so give it here."

Harry looked about ready to keep arguing about this but he handed the scaft and paper-wrapped necklace over when Hermione looked back and indicated for us to follow her. I was sure to keep the package as level as I could within Ron's woolen scarf – I didn't want it jostling and hitting skin by accident and worse, I didn't want to drop it. It would be just my luck to avoid the disaster of what had happened only so I could muck it all up half an hour later.

But Harry was right – this necklace had been in Borgin and Burkes – or at least, one just like it had been. And I was afraid of what that might mean...but Harry wasn't. He was never afraid, just determined. Which made me _determinedly_ afraid.

"Malfoy knows about this necklace," Harry whispered, eyeing at the necklace in my grasp dangerously. "It was in a case at Borgin and Burkes four years ago and one like it was in it when we went to spy on him. I saw him having a good look at it while I was hiding from him and his dad in second year. This is what he was buying that day when we followed him! He remembered it and he went back for it!"

"Because he's the only one that can buy from Borgin and Burkes," I sneered, feeling my face blister red against the cool October air. "You're as desperate as Parkinson."

"I – I dunno, Harry," Ron hesitated, looking at me nervously. "Audrey's right. Loads of people go to Borgin and Burkes...and didn't that girl say Katie got it in the girls' bathroom?"

"She said she came back from the bathroom with it, she didn't necessarily get it in the bathroom itself-"

"It was in the bathroom," I assured him. "I know because I saw it there."

"You did?" Harry asked, stopping in his tracks. We had almost reached the castle by now and were about to head up the stone steps towards the Entrance Hall. When I realized that he was ready to stop and talk business, I stopped and sighed.

"I did," I muttered. "It was there – and something...some_one _was telling me to take it."

"But you didn't," Ron stated, looking ready to vomit or scream – I doubted I would have been able to predict it any better than he could have.

"No, I told the person I didn't want to and ran from the bathroom to meet you guys. I bumped into Katie on my way out..."

"But you didn't see who it was?" Ron asked, whereas Harry's eyes had grown wide.

"Audrey, that could have been _you._ That could have been _you _who got cursed!"

"Wotcher, McGonagall!" Ron warned, silencing all of us when we looked up to see Professor McGonagall hurrying down the stone steps we had stopped in front of. She looked older than normal, more stressed and terrified perhaps – I should have known she'd be one of the first to hear. Rumours spread around Hogwarts faster than the bloody ghosts can pass through the walls.

"Hagrid says you five saw what happened to Katie Bell – upstairs to my office at once, please! What's that you're holding, Potter?"

"It's what cursed her," I explained. McGonagall looked ready to drop dead of fright.

"Good Lord," Professor McGonagall breathed, carefully taking the necklace from my arms. She cradled it like a demonic child she was afraid to drop but was likewise afraid would bite her. She looked up when she saw Filch readily coming toward us with a Secrecy Sensor, but instead of letting him probe us McGonagall grabbed the wand-looking sensor from him and carefully handed him the package she'd taken from me. "No, no, Filch, they're with me. Take this necklace to Professor Snape at once, but be sure not to touch it, keep it wrapped in the scarf!"

Snape would know exactly what to do with that necklace. I felt a bit more comfortable leaving it in Filch's hands knowing that he was going to be handing it off to him. McGonagall led us all up to her office, the room was warm thanks to the flames licking from the fireplace. She moved behind her desk and faced us all sternly.

"Well?" she said sharply. "What happened?"

Leanne told the story – not well, may I add. She missed key pieces of it and everything we had talked about while we were still outside, but I would give her slack this once for being distraught. It took a long time for her to explain how Katie Bell had gone into the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks, returned with the package, how Katie had seemed odd, how they had argued about her delivering it, and how in the argument the package had torn open. But Leanne wasn't able to tell anymore thanks to her fit of tears.

"All right," Professor McGonagall sounded tired, "go up to the hospital wing, please, Leanne, and get Madam Pomfrey to give you something for shock."

Once the seventh year had left, McGonagall turned to the rest of us, looking almost annoyed that she had to deal with us yet again. I didn't blame her. I would have been sick of us by this point, too.

"What happened when Katie touched the necklace?"

"She rose up in the air," Harry began quickly, "and then began to scream, and collapsed-"

"And seizured," Hermione began. "Will she be alright Professor?"

"Professor, can I see Professor Dumbledore, please?" Harry asked, looking antsy.

"The Headmaster is away until Monday, Potter," McGonagall looked surprised, I don't really know why. Didn't everyone know by now how attached Harry and Dumbledore were? And more importantly, didn't McGonagall know about our lessons with him?

"Away?" Harry repeated angrily.

"Yes, Potter, away!" said Professor McGonagall tartly. "And what do you mean she seizured?"

"Audrey stopped it," Hermione continued. "But there was no helping her – the brain damage that could cause, Professor-"

"I'm well aware, Miss Granger," McGonagall sighed.

"Professor, isn't there any way I can talk to Professor Dumbledore? It's urgent-"

McGongall did not have the patience to deal with my brother – and rightly so, considering what had just happened while she was acting Headmistress in Dumbledore's stead. "Anything you have to say about this horrible business can be said to me, Potter, I'm sure!"

"But I'm sure it's not worth hearing," I muttered, giving my brother a dark glare. "Is it, Harry?"

"I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor."

What. An. Idiot. And worse? I was not the only one to think it. McGonagall's eyebrows shot up to her graying hairline, Ron was rubbing his nose to give himself something to do and Hermione noticeably shuffled away from my brother as if his insanity were catching. Me, I rolled my eyes.

"Excuse my brother, I've been thinking of experimentally switching his brain out with a chimpanzee. Then, perhaps, he'd have one he can use."

"That is a very serious accusation, Potter," Professor McGonagall agreed, after her shock had worn off. "Do you have any proof?"

"He doesn't," I assured. "Just an age-old grudge that's going to get him killed."

"I don't," Harry repeated through gritted teeth as he turned to glare at me, "but this summer we followed him to Borgin and Burkes where we believe he convinced Borgin to help him repair something by showing him his Dark Mark-"

"Which we did not see," I added, looking to McGonagall with my arms crossed.

"-and then Audrey and Hermione went into the shop and saw a necklace just like the one Katie was given-"

"Which may not have been the same one and could be purchased by anyone...except Hermione."

"Audrey, stop it!" Harry growled, whirling around to try and stop me from discrediting him anymore than I already had – but that wasn't my fault. My brother sounded like a raving lunatic, the way he was going on about Malfoy's involvement without any substantial evidence. He was making an even worse case for himself considering everyone knew how much he hated him – if Malfoy ever _did _do anything, no one would ever believe Harry's word for it now.

"Professor, my brother has been after Malfoy for years – as Malfoy has been after him – and he's finally lost the sanity to see that Malfoy is nothing more than a bully. He's become so paranoid with everything that's going on-"

"For good reason!"

"-that he's completely lost all common sense. Malfoy was nowhere near that girls bathroom and I know it...because I was in there."

"You were there, Miss Potter?" McGonagall looked surprised. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"Because Harry took the reins," I shot a look over to my brother, uncrossing my arms to lean forward against her desk. "Professor, I went into that bathroom before Katie Bell did. I used the loo and while I was washing my hands...someone started speaking to me. Or, at first, I thought they did but I couldn't see anyone in the bathroom. There wasn't anyone in the stalls or near the door or window – I was alone, but there was _someone _talking to me. And I'm not insane – I heard the voice, I realized that it had started convincing me to take the package – the package Katie Bell took – and I refused. It pushed harder and harder until I had to run out..."

"No one else could hear the voice?"

"No one else was there," I repeated, feeling a little bit ridiculous as I recanted the story. I felt like she would think I was a nutter, even if what I was telling her was perfectly logical. "It told me...it told me to take the package to Professor Dumbledore."

"To the Headmaster?" McGonagall looked particularly taken aback now. "Are you quite sure?"

"Positive," I explained. "It was reverberating in my head over and over...there's no way I could forget it."

"That sounds like the Imperius Curse," McGonagall thought to herself, catching her breath before she spoke again. "And the necklace, you said that you did see it in Borgin and Burkes?"

"We saw one similar," I argued. "I couldn't tell you whether or not it was the same one. I'm thinking not."

"And you know for a fact that Malfoy took something to Borgin and Burkes for repair?"

"No, Professor, he just wanted Borgin to tell him how to mend something," Harry interrupted. McGonagall's eyes flashed to him – she was clearly as annoyed by his bias nature as I was. "He didn't have it with him. But that's not the point, the thing is that he bought something at the same time, and I think it was that necklace-"

"You saw Malfoy leaving the shop with a similar package?"

"No, Professor, he told Borgin to keep it in the shop for him-"

"But Harry," Hermione interrupted carefully, her eyes flickering to me for some form of back-up. "Borgin asked him if he wanted to take it with him, and Malfoy said no-"

"Because he didn't want to touch it, obviously!" said Harry angrily.

"What he actually said was, 'How would I look carrying that down the street'." Hermione whispered, she sounded guilty for betraying him but happy that someone was able to convince McGonagall that my brother was pathologically stupid.

"Well, he would look a bit of a prat carrying a necklace," interjected Ron.

"You're a prat too," I said instantly. "You both are."

"Oh, Ron," Hermione sighed, seeming to agree with me. "It would be all wrapped up, so he wouldn't have to touch it, and quite easy to hide inside a cloak, so nobody would see it! I think whatever he reserved at Borgin and Burkes was noisy or bulky, something he knew would draw attention to him if he carried it down the street – and in any case, Audrey and I asked Borgin about the necklace, don't you remember? When I went in to try and find out what Malfoy had asked him to keep, I saw it there. And Borgin just told me the price, when Audrey asked if Malfoy was buying it for her he said no, it was cursed-"

"Exactly, it was cursed!" Harry argued.

"He's not a Death Eater, Harry!" I bellowed, all eyes drew to me as I fumed and the tea set on McGonagall's table rattled warningly. I clenched my fists and tried to focus on my nails biting into my palms. "I'm so sick and tired of you being so close-minded that you think every Slytherin in the world is a bad guy. We're not all bad guys, Harry. I'm here, aren't I? I'm not hurting you, am I? So why don't you get your head out of your arse-"

"Miss Potter, language!"

"-because we already tried to find out about what Malfoy had in that store and the necklace was not it! If you're so sure about him being a Death Eater, you'll need more to go on than the fact he didn't want Madam Malkin working on his robes and he went into Knockturn Alley. _We _went into Knockturn Alley!"

"To follow him!" He argued. "And you were being really obvious. Borgin realized what you were up to within about five seconds, of course he wasn't going to tell you – anyway, Malfoy could've sent off for it since-"

"That's enough!" Professor McGonagall interrupted what I was sure would have been a great retort from myself. "Mr Potter, I appreciate you telling me this, but we cannot point the finger of blame at Mr Malfoy purely because he visited the shop where this necklace _might_ have been purchased-"

"Purely because you're a discriminating git," I muttered, glaring at him.

"The same is probably true of hundreds of people-" McGonagall continued. Ron nodded.

"That's what I said."

"-and in any case, we have put stringent security measures in place this year. I do not believe that necklace can possibly have entered this school without our knowledge-"

"But-"

"-and what is more," Professor McGonagall was about to close this argument, you could tell by the tone of her voice. "Mr Malfoy was not in Hogsmeade today."

Owned.

Harry deflated before my eyes, looking helpless as he searched for anything to try and make sense of his delusions and his hate. If he couldn't blame Malfoy than he had no other ideas as to who it could have been – not Voldemort or a _real _Death Eater or something else that would have made sense.

"How do you know, Professor?"

"Because he was doing detention with me. He has now failed to complete his Transfiguration homework twice in a row. So, thank you for telling me your suspicions, Potter," she marched past us, moving to open her door and indicate we were meant to leave. "But I need to go up to the hospital wing now to check on Katie Bell. Good day to you all."

We had no choice but to file out of her office like the scorned school-children we were. The group of us waited until she walked past us towards the Hospital wing and even when she had gone we all waited so that we were sure she wouldn't be able to hear us and chastise us anymore than we already felt we had been. The three looked ready to go to the Gryffindor tower, but I turned and started heading the other way.

"Audrey, don't you want to come with us?"

"No," I said simply, looking over my shoulder and glaring at my twin. "I don't want to be anywhere near _him. _Stupidity may be catching, you know. I feel pity you two have no choice."

"Audrey," Hermione moaned, probably feeling at Harry's temper charge like a current of electricity.

"You know he did it, Audrey. If you weren't so ready to follow him blindly, you would see what we all see."

"Follow him blindly, do I? Then why does no one else see it, Harry!" I yelled back at him, feeling my face redden passionately. "Not Ron, not Hermione, not Dumbledore, not _anyone. _I'd say get your eyes checked...but I don't think there's any lens to stop making you see everyone as an inferior, you foul, low-class hypocrite."

I turned on my heel and walked alone towards the Slytherin Common Room...I figure it would be safer now than later when everyone else got back after staying as late as they could in Hogsmeade. I was surprised by how empty the corridors were – it seemed that everyone had gone. I always wonder what the first and second years did on days like this – I couldn't remember that far back and in third year when we 'hadn't been allowed' Harry and I had gone anyway. Still, I'd never complain that there was no one around to see me. I was glad to be alone in these corridors considering I was fuming at the thought of being around idiots like my brother.

Who did he think he was, talking to me like that? Did he realize how insane he sounded, how he sounded like everything he fought against when it came to Muggles and Muggleborns? Did he realize that everyone was going to think he was a fucking loon if he continued on like this?

And what the hell was that comment about me _blindly following Malfoy_? When the bloody hell have I ever done that – even when we were 'together' I had never _followed_ him. It's one of the damn reasons we're not 'together' now! I was having a hard time understanding what it meant at all – clearly the thought of losing Malfoy and Theodore had hurt me – but I wasn't that transparent, was I? It's not like people could tell I still slightly fancied the arsehole or that I had any inclination towards him.

And I hadn't been protecting him to _protect him. _I had been protecting him because there was no possible way he was a Death Eater and I had missed that in what few visions I'd been able to have since the summer – there was no way that he would do that to himself, or that the Dark Lord would let him do it after what happened at the Ministry, or that Narcissa would let him do it. It was simply impossible.

The first and second years gave practiced, but imperfect, glares towards me while I walked through the Slytherin wall and into the Common Room. I looked at them all with a sneer, pleased when some of them recoiled – at least I still had a bit of power when it came to that.

"If any of you want to try my patience, now is not the time to do it. So get the ruddy hell out of my way before I move you by _force._" It seemed that was enough to convince them to leave me alone, because all of them scurried somewhere or other, so long as they weren't anywhere near me. Still, even with the majority of them gone or hiding I moved to my dormitory, grabbing the Invisibility Cloak I had stolen from my brother. Circe, who was determined to stay close to me while I was anywhere near the Slytherins – she could probably guess that the red still splattered all over me was from them – hid under the cloak and weaved between my legs. Eventually, when I took up perch against the wall leading to the Boys Dormitories once again, she came and sat in my lap. I don't know if she was wisely trying to calm me down, or if she was just comforted that I had made it back safely. Either way, I felt more comfortable with her there.

But that didn't mean I was comfortable with how today had gone. I was going to get some answers from Dragon-Breath if it was the last thing I did. I hadn't been able to wait up for him the few times I had tried, but I was going to wait up all night this time, if I had to. I was going to talk to him even if it meant that I didn't eat until tomorrow.

And I did wait. And wait. And wait.

I was alerted and pulled out of a drowsy state by Circe, who began to have a growl in her chest. I could hear it and feel it, which is wonderful because it knocked me out of what I was sure would have led to a nap. Malfoy was walking into the Common Room, alone, it seemed like people still weren't back yet. There were some first and second years near the door, some hovering and a few leaving, so I didn't feel nervous ripping off the cloak as he approached me.

He started, moving back away from me as if I had already burned him. Malfoy looked awful. Purple bags hung below his eyes like weights, his eyes were glassy and lost, his hair a mess...he hardly looked like himself. And then came the sneer...the only thing familiar about the boy in front of me.

"Oh," he grumbled, regaining his composure, "it's you."

"It's me," I nodded. "And _we_ need to talk."

"I doubt that," he muttered, walking past me to head towards the boys dormitories. I frowned, quickly falling in step with him and gripping the fabric of the Invisibility Cloak tightly.

"Don't ignore me," I growled.

"I can't ignore a walking blood stain," he grumbled, looking over his shoulder at me. "Astoria's work, I take it?"

"Er," I furrowed my brow. "How'd you know?"

"Found myself painted green quite a few times this summer," he turned around again now that we were nearly to his dormitory door. I tried not to make a face at the thought of Astoria and Malfoy being around each other so often. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep now."

"Katie Bell nearly died today," I announced, watching his reaction with narrowed eyes. It wasn't hard to notice – Malfoy stopped mid-step, waiting a moment before he swivelled to glare at me.

"So?"

"It was from a package she had been told to carry. I told them she was Imperiused. The packaging ripped and the necklace touched her, luckily only for a moment. I knocked her out before the seizure could do any more damage but she's being transported to St Mungos. And my brother is blaming _you_."

Malfoy watched me for a long moment, not able to take his eyes away from me. He was trying to hide whatever he was thinking – it wasn't hard to see, but I could tell there was some form of panic. But why? There couldn't be any truth to what Harry was thinking...Harry's opinions were based on hatred, not fact.

Malfoy let out a dry, awful laugh. "Blaming me? Really?"

"He is," I took a step toward him. "He thinks you're a Death Eater."

"Well, he can think whatever he wants," he hissed, moving to turn again. I grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face me and trying to ignore the snarl that came from him. "What?"

"I told everyone you didn't do it. I told everyone you had nothing to do with it and that everything that _could _have led to you was a coincidence. They believe me, of course, but my brother is still on the hunt."

"Tell him to dig a little deeper then," Malfoy sneered, looking around to make sure that no one was able to overhear our conversation. "Can I leave now? I don't like being too close to blood traitors or mudbloods."

Circe let out a harsh hiss moving to step between us. Malfoy's eyes flickered to her disdainfully before looking back at me. I looked back at my kneazle, watching as her hair stood on end while she glowered at the boy in front of us. This was ridiculous. Harry thought that Malfoy was a Death Eater and all of a sudden Circe hated him?

It couldn't be possible...could it?

"No," I said sternly, even though I heard my voice waver nervously. "I don't know why in Salazar's name I've taken to protecting you. I've told people you weren't the culprit, but I have no doubts you have an inkling who did it, Malfoy. And if you know who did, you tell them that they failed. Because I told McGonagall immediately when I found out who that package was intended for-"

"And who was it intended for?" Malfoy asked tightly.

"Dumbledore," I gritted out.

Malfoy's jaw clenched. "And how would you know that?"

"Because it was almost me that took it to him," I bit back. His face went blank for a second, it fell and looked bemused so I decided to continue and explain it to him. "I almost took that package and I have a feeling that I should be the one in Katie Bell's place. So you tell whoever that arsehole is who didn't care who they hurt...you tell them that my brother may be watching you, but I'm watching after Dumbledore. And nothing will get past me until I find them."

"And what makes you think I'm the one who should deliver this message, Potter?"

I didn't know how to answer the question. I thought about telling him it was because he was the typical 'bad guy' persona, or that it was because he looked so guilty, or even because all the signs pointed to him – but I didn't want to elaborate. What was the point?

I decided to tell him the blunt truth, my voice falling to a whisper. "Because I think it _was _you who did it."

Malfoy didn't do so much as react. He was far too in control for that.

"Then why would you ever tell Saint Potter that I didn't?"

"Because I'm not going to let you do something so stupid again," I muttered, taking a step toward him. He didn't move a muscle, he didn't even clench his jaw. I doubted he was breathing. "Give it up, Malfoy. Whatever..._whyever _you're doing this, stop it before it goes even more wrong. There are eyes watching you everywhere now; I don't want to have to become your enemy."

"You once said we made better enemies than friends," he whispered, not giving any indication to what he was feeling but I could instinctively tell that he was upset. More than upset. He nearly looked disturbed.

"That's why I don't want to have to be," I agreed, taking a last step toward him. Behind me, Circe growled protectively – but even that didn't falter Malfoy's gaze. "Because I'm too good at it. If I'm your enemy and I found out you did this Malfoy, there will be hell to pay."

"I'm so scared," he mocked lowly. But the shakiness to his steps while he turned from me hinted that he actually was.

* * *

><p><strong>DUN, DUN, DUN! Well, what did you think? Audrey almost took the necklace and has the same suspicions of Malfoy that Harry does...but why isn't she telling? What will happen? And most importantly: what did you think of Draco's reaction when he found out that Audrey almost took the necklace? Interesting. Ponder that while I respond to the wonderful reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_Polki_**: It's alright, if you already knew how her wand worked then it would ruin all the surprise! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one as well. Audrey's getting back into her own. I just hope I can get back into writing - the little laptop I had to bring is terrible and the wi-fi in the places I've been staying isn't much better.**

_Lizzy B_**: I'm glad you like her! Thanks for the review.**

_ohnoestadpoles_**: Don't worry, Audrey is way too clever to get caught under the cloak. That's an interesting idea, that Nott isn't really mad at her...but I'm not about to tell you if you're right or not, haha. Yes, it sucks that Harry's year is getting better and Audrey's is slipping further and further into the mud - but at least now Harry looks like a fool for pointing the blame on Malfoy! Sirius will be making an appearance rather soon, don't worry. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_JrSnape_**: I agree! If only she would.**

_guest_**: Harry is being pretty selfish, but don't forget it's Ron rubbing Audrey's face in it! Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_katie93319_**: Yes, she and Draco did have a little talk...what did you think about it? And Snape's methods will be clearer later on, don't worry. I wouldn't lead those two astray from each other for too long. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_AFlairForSelfishSkies_**: That's a really good theory. Very interesting thought process. It's certainly not impossible, considering you know how cruel You-Know-Who is. I am having the time of my life on my trip, thank you very much! I'll try to update as often as I can :)**

_LokiLova_**: Audrey is definitely going through some emotional issues thanks to everything that's going on...and what she saw last chapter definitely confused her more. But now she has something else to focus on: A certain Mr Malfoy. Audrey will get back to being herself sooner than you think, she'll get her shot at talking to Theodore soon as well! Thanks for the review.**

_bookreader1617_**: Snape is very protective of Audrey, I agree. If only Draco could have found her under the cloak...but no. AT least she called him out, though! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_StrawberryObsession_**: Don't worry, things will start falling into place soon - Audrey never goes down without a fight! Yes, Draco is totally ignoring her being bullied (so not cool) but Audrey's not about to take that laying down either. After all, he did seem to have some kind of reaction at the end of this chapter, didn't he? I am very sorry that updates are few and far between while I am overseas, but thank you so much for your patience. I hope you like what I come up with over here!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: No, I loved the "crucio, crucio, crucio"part too, so don't worry. Snape is super protective - what a great character. I adore him. And yes, that's a good theory about Astoria hating Audrey over Draco...but is it true? Hm...**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I've never been to New Zealand, so I can't say if it's boring, but I can say that it's gorgeous there! If you want to travel, save up - it's expensive, but I promise you that it's worth it. I'm pretty much glowing over here...but I've always been a traveller at heart. Yes, Audrey is getting back into her own, slowly but surely, and she definitely called Malfoy out in this chapter. And yes, my computer totally died on me. I actually had to take my super old laptop and bring that - it's very slow and the wi-fi connections here aren't all that reliable. I had to pay simply so I could post this chapter in a cafe, haha. **

_Concilliabule_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was just as good. If not better - I was kind of aiming for better during this scene. Yes, Snape and Audrey do have a twisted form of a father-daughter relationship! I hope that Iwas able to convey how Audrey was catching on to what was happening - I don't know whether or not I rushed it, or if it felt natural. It certainly did the first time, but rereading it I'm a little more anxious. And don't worry! I have not fated this story to be a tragedy. But I have not ruled it out - I have two potential endings in mind...I just can't tell which ending is most believable and true to the plot, yet.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, poor Snapey having to try and hold Draco, Dumbledore, and Drea all together without getting any of them hurt. Particularly when they are all trying to hurt each other. What a guy. Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Yes, sadly Theodore is not quite ready to speak to Audrey, but don't worry, I have that first moment already pegged in my mind. As you can see, Astoria actually took over the brattiness that Daphne used to have and went a little more malicious with her methods. I couldn't let Montague's tyrany end so unceremoniously - it had to go on!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Audrey definitely has a temper! To be honest, I'm proud she's been able to keep herself cool for this long. Meaning that, as the author, I'm not going to let her keep her cool for much longer...it's just not true to her character if she stays the way she has. Grief is one thing, a brain swap? Nah, not on my list of things Audrey's destined for. I hope you liked the Draco bit - it was pretty exciting, no? Not the most revealing, but definitely a gateway for something else...**

_Ella710_**: Theodore and Audrey's no-longer-relationship is definitely a heartbreaker. I wish that Icould change it, but even as the writer it's just impossible. It would be so untrue to the characters and plot and feel of the story...and that's almost as upsetting as their current upset with one another.  
>Yes! I introduced Astoria Greengrass! I mean, technically I had already introduced her back when Audrey was in fourth year (or at least, I mentioned the existance of her) but she is back and as you can see, she's back with a vengeance! But you're putting all your pleading into the fact Draco and Astoria don't get together if Audrey dies? Even if that means Snape dies too, and Fred...and Snape? Do you realize what you've said! Still...I pretty much have my mind set, so it doesn't really matter much ;)<br>Yes, Snape definitely did not like all those things being said to him in the last chapter. I mean, she called herself a mudblood and then pushed him away with the "you're not my father" comment. Clearly it's true, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be painful for him to hear. Secretly (in my author brain) I think he does kind of see her like that. And when Iwrote the scene I wanted the "mudblood" comment to mirror her mother but the father comment to be a direct shot from her. Poor Snape.  
>I'm glad I saved Sirius, as well. He'll be making an appearance soon - I'm excited to see him again. I hope you are too.<br>I am having a great time here in Europe! It will be easier to start updating and such when I start travelling alone (then I can write on the buses and trains and stay up late or miss breakfast) but right now I'm with so many people that just isn't an option. But it will be! And then writing will be like "oh hey, look, another update. That one came fast" and hopefully you'll be happy. Hope you liked the chapter (I'm hoping for some mention of squealing or jumping) and thank you, as always, for your review!**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Haha, I do things like not telling you whether or not a main character will die and distracting you on purpose - maybe you won't like the answer, after all. Not that I'm saying I have one yet...but someone has to die in a war, I just hope it's the right person for the plot.  
>I agree that the Golden Trio aren't necessarily Audrey's "friends". Obviously they're close, but they aren't like creatures, you know what I mean? They have different goals, different morals, different lifestyles, different thought processes, and different means to get what they want...I thnk that's why Audrey needs the Slytherins. Because as much as she hates being with the snakes...she is one.<br>I did have a nice (though long) flight over here. It's absolutely amazing...I knew Europe would be beautiful but I didn't expect it to be everything that I've been seeing. I wouldn't know where to start fawning over it and where to stop - everything here is perfect. It's only the beginning of my trip but I feel like I've been here for ages...and since I WILL be here for ages, I can't deny I'm excited! I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter as well!**

_Aotearoa's princess_**: Thank you! I try very hard not to make Audrey a Mary-Sue, so it's nice that you can tell. I'm sorry that you can't read other fanfictions now, really! I used to love reading them once upon a time, but Ifell out of the pattern as well. Hopefully you get the urge back (if you want it back) or you can start writing your own :) I encourage it!**

_ChloeMafoy_**: The guilt going around between Audrey, Theodore, and Draco is definitely a little hard to handle. But don't worry, I'm going to make it better...eventually. I mean, Theodore is going to be a little harder to convince, but I don't think that Draco and Audrey can stay away from each other for too long, do you?  
>You have some good theories about her wand, you'll know whether you're right at some point in this book. Pansy and Astoria are horrible, it is true, and this chapter only reinstated it. They're horrible to poor Audrey...but don't worry, she doesn't take things sitting down like that. Not normally. And not for long.<br>My writing skills aren't all that amazing. It's just that Iinvest a lot of time in a chapter and I'm not afraid to scrap it and write it over if I don't think it's good enough - it's the best lesson or advice I could ever give another author. Don't be afraid to hate it. And if you hate it, don't be afraid to scrap it. I wrote the last chapter (with Astoria and her gossipers) three times.  
>Also Europe is amazing! I am having the time of my life here, it's absolutely beautiful, so thank you. I'm sorry that the updates are fewer and farther between, but it's too beautiful to look away from all the sights!<strong>

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm glad that Draco not being there this time wasn't a problem - I always get nervous when he's not in a chapter because I feel like people will start getting mad at me. But at least he was in this one! And yes, Theodore and Audrey's first confrontation is going to be a difficult one. Poor girl. It's going to be heartbreaking for her - her heart is already breaking over it, after all. My laptop wasn't really fixed at all, so I apologize for any typos as this keyboard and computer do not seem to get along - but hopefully it's still legible! Thank you :)**

_EmiliePorter24_**: I'm sorry. Could you send it through a PM by chance?**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I hope that you liked this one too, it had some action and some Draco, which I know people were waiting for. You're asking a lot of good questions (and a lot of right ones), but sadly you know I can't answer them. It'd be to your own detriment! One day maybe I will publish my own novel and it will be as popular as this one...I can only hope!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Audrey doesn't really need to follow him into the Room of Requirement now, not now that she thinks she knows what's going on. And yes, I kind of wanted to give Astoria the same feel Montague did - obviously it's not a sexual thing here, but she is just as dangerous in her own ways. That much anger can be lethal. What did you think about being able to see Draco in this chapter? What about their interaction? Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_99terminator_**: Yeah, poor Audrey has a lot to deal with. I totally agree. People are being stupid. But don't worry, she'll get back on her feet...she always does. Did the wild update appear when you willed it to? ;)**

_Tiffany K_**: Aw, thank you so much! There were definitely accidents and injuries in this chapter, so does that help at all? If not you can expect more in this story, but I can't tell you when they will be! I hope you liked the chapter and thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_WaterFish_**: Thank you! I try to keep my grammar and spelling as proper as possible - that's why working on this old keyboard is killing me! I'm sorry for the mistakes you may read, it will be better in a month and a bit when I'm home and have my real computer again. Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Anonymous reader_**: I know that you reviewed in the second chapter, but I hope that you like the chapters that you get to read, if you end up getting all the way to this one. I'm happy to hear that your epilepsy is getting more controllable! I didn't really think that her feelings would mirror anything so it's really nice to hear that you can relate to it in a way. Thank you so much for the review!**

_FallenAngel_**: Thank your sister for me because I'm glad that you both have been reading it! I'm so glad that you have been liking it, it's been a long process but hopefully it stays this solid until the end. I was thinking of one day writing a story with the Marauders, but it wouldn't be until this one is finished and until I get some extra inspiration for a character. Draco and Audrey WILL get back together...sometime in this book, even...and Audrey will be present during the war - but I can't say any more! I wouldn't want to ruin the plot. Thanks for the review and tell your sister thank you as well :)**

_MissGoldenHair_**: I hope this story has a happy ending too. I think that after everything I have (and still will) put Audrey through, she deserves it! Hope you liked the chapter.**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Haha, thank you, I try to keep up to date with out of date things ;) Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Ah! I am so behind in writing and this keyboard (and the horrible wifi I tend to always find) is killing me. When you get chapters expect it to be random and I hate to say it, but expect a lot of mistakes...I can hardly keep up with all the errors of this keyboard. Particularly with the space bar not working when I want it to. The trip, however, is fantastic. I'm having the time of my life, even though I'm pretty sure one of my room mates has stolen some of my things...I keep finding them when we room together again (as we switch roomies every now and again). The question is to confront her or not? Hm. And your trip sounds fun - except for the heat. Some heat can be too much heat. I hope it gets better!**

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad that the idea of going from a Slytherin point of view is so popular and yes, saving Sirius seemed to make me a little more popular than I had imagined it would, haha. I'm just glad that people like it! Thanks so much for the review :)**

_SwiftAlice_**: Hello lovely! I'm going to try and give you the best response possible, but I'm really short on time and my friends are waiting on me so Iprobably won't be able to address everything in your review.  
>I completely trust you with the translation of the story. I think that if you wanted to use the same picture you could, or if you wanted to find another one that would be alright as well. I'll try to put the photo of the Audrey I found on twitter...if that one floats your boat, then you can use that too. It's completely up to you. I don't know whether or not you'll want to post the authors notes and such as they are pretty much not meaning much by now, but that's up to you. I just want to know when you post it so Ican fangirl and say "oh my gosh, more people like my story!This is awesome!" wherein I will tell my mom and she'll get mad because I'm writing fanfiction and not my own books. Someday I'll finish them...someday...<strong>

**The deathly hallows is going to be so action packed I'm almost frightened to get into it. And no, Audrey isn't going to be getting pregnant any time soon. All she's done is snogged Malfoy, but maybe one day they'll go that extra bit...I can't say yet.**

**I hope that things are going well for you, that your winter is going well and you are spending your time not only on studying but also on fun things...trust me, now that I'm on this vacation, I'll never take free time so lightly again! Ihope that everythings going well and thank you, as always, for being so great. (Also I apologize as this response is lame but there is so much to write and I figure I can PM you when my friends aren't yelling at me to hurry!)**

_Minxy613_**: If you ever get to this point, thank you for reading the story and reviewing. I'm glad that you're liking it so far and hope you continue to!**

_nakiikun_**: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it and again hope that you continue to. If you ever make your way all the way over to this chapter, thank you so much for the time you put into it :)**

_Cookie Seller On The Dark Side_**: You are definitely right!**

_Mischief and Magic_**: Aw, I forgive you!Iknow life gets busy...trust me, I'm living it right now! But I totally forgive you and hope that you like what I've come up with in my own busy time :P We can be nervous and fumbly together! **

_BertramWooster_**: You read this giant thing in one go? Wow, I'm so impressed! I'm a super slow reader, so whenever people say "I read it in _ days" all I can imagine is that it would take me as many weeks, haha. I'm glad that you're liking my portrayals and the plot - I'm pretty proud of it, I won't deny. I never thought this story would become what it has. I hope you continue to like the story and thank you so much for your review!**

_momorocks101ful_**: I'm sorry! Here it is, I hope you liked it!**

**Again guys I'm' so sorry that the typing on this computer (and hence the responses) is so terrible. I'll tryto fix it for next time, which will hopefullyu be a faster update. **

**Please **_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**


	66. Life, Love and Death

**Hello everyone! I'm back to writing now that I'm recovering and not worrying about being sent home early. I'm sorry for the wait, but I got very ill during my trip and have only just been able to start living normally again! I rushed this chapter because I felt so bad which means it hasn't been properly edited, so I apologize for any mistakes you see. This chapter is mostly to set up the next chapter which will be...jam-packed and long. This one is more internal Audrey, sorry it's not as action packed.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 65 – Life, Love, and Death<p>

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><p>On usual occasions where I needed to suck up and try specifically hard to be a model student, I don't tend to be late. Last year I rarely interrupted Umbridge's classes with my tardiness, and this year as I worked to warm up Slughorn, I was always early...but today, I was late for another influence I probably should have been taking more care to impress. Then again, my excuse was legitimate and painted on my face – quite literally, thanks to another bought of red splatter spell by Astoria Greengrass. This is why I found myself sprinting up the stairs to Dumbledore's office already ten minutes after when he had asked me to meet him. I was wise enough to stop outside the door and try to catch my breath: I already looked like a mess by the red stains all over my body, I didn't need to look anymore of one with how out of shape I was.<p>

"Come in, Audrey."

It doesn't matter how powerful that man was, no one should have been able to do that.

Closing my eyes, I took one last deep breath and pushed open his heavy oak door. The room was as it always was: serene and sparkling with trinkets. One side was engulfed in a silvery glow from the Pensieve and somehow the room was as warm as a summer's day...but today this everyday sight came with a very different greeting. Today there was a stranger in the office. Not that Dumbledore wasn't allowed to have guests, of course, but this stranger looked more than a little disrupted by the fact I had entered the office, late for my own meeting where I hadn't realized we would have a guest speaker. He was old, at least in his seventies – then again, how can you ever tell with magic-folk? We hide our age well – and his gray beard almost reached his collar bones. The man looked troubled, his dark eyes flickering back and forth from myself to the headmaster.

"Audrey, I'd like you to meet Mr Burdeau," Dumbledore introduced politely. He didn't look at all as flustered as the other man did – he also didn't seem to care that the man was obviously so uncomfortable.

"Pleasure," I mumbled, walking forward nervously. I didn't need to look in a mirror to know that I was oozing discomfort and was not in the state to be meeting people – hopefully he wasn't anyone important or significant considering how openly he was scrutinizing the stain that Astoria had left. Today she had luckily attacked more robe than skin, but she had still gotten a good chunk of my neck and face. It had also gotten into my hair, which I knew from experience was the hardest place to remove it from.

"Is this a trick?" Mr Burdeau's low voice challenged Dumbledore instantly, his eyes narrowed and angry. I was surprised how quickly his emotions had changed from being so skeptical to so aggressive, but from Dumbledore's calm expression I couldn't help but wonder if maybe there _was_ some kind of game being played.

"Not at all, Fernius," he responded calmly. The man turned back to me, his eyes still aggressive as he examined me again.

"Who did that to you, child?"

"Er – a house mate," I stuttered. I was surprised by the subject change and how during such a simple statement he still managed to sound so furious. "I'm not the most popular girl in the school at the moment."

I couldn't tell whether or not the man believed me, because instead of replying he turned back toward Dumbledore and glared. They were having some sort of silent conversation, I could tell, but I was having trouble understanding what could be so important it would drag out silently for _so long_. It could have been minutes. Full minutes of silence, which is intimidating at the best of times...nevertheless with such an undercurrent of rage from Mr Burdeau. Either way, it was more than I could do not to feel dizzy and oddly insecure from the intensity.

"Take it," Fernius Burdeau finally growled, moving over to hand Dumbledore something from the depths of his robes. "But I trust this will stay private."

"But of course," Dumbledore smiled, taking the tiny, delicately wrapped object from the man with a smile. "Shall I see you out?"

"You clearly have business to attend to," the man grumbled, eyeing me with a frown. "I'm sure I remember the way."

"As you would," Dumbledore chuckled. "Thank you, Fernius. Until we meet again."

Mr Burdeau moved past me with a mumbled "hopefully not soon" before he slammed the door on his way out. Looking over to my professor I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him.

"I assume he's not a friend from Book Club?"

"An old student, actually," Dumbledore explained, motioning with his blackened hand for me to come forward. His hand had gotten darker since I had last seen him, it no longer looked like it had been burnt but now looked as if it had been dipped in a glossy coat of paint. It was no longer an ashy black but looked the colour of a moonless midnight. Such a change, in this regard, was obviously a bad sign. "How have things been, Audrey?"

"They've been better," it was hard to keep the condescension from my voice, but I'm sure he heard it considering he could also see the effects of it. "May I ask why Mr Burdeau was here and took such an interest in my social skills?"

"Your social skills are considerable, I assure you, or else I would not have been given this from Mr Burdeau. As terrible as your day must have been for you, it seems a great stroke of luck that it was today of all days," he presented the small package again, unfolding a thick material from around it to display a very small vial wrapped inside. A vial filled with a sort of silver, vapoured ember.

"Is that a memory?" I asked, leaning forward to examine it. "How did me being hexed help you get that?"

"Fernius needed a little reminder of the world and the parallels that can be drawn within it before he would hand the memory over," Dumbledore explained with a thoughtful tilt of his head. "This is tonight's lesson – he was very hesitant to give it away, as I'm sure you noted. Fernius has always been a very secretive man, he does not favour opening himself up to criticism or judgement."

"Slytherin?" I asked knowingly.

"Hufflepuff, actually," he argued with a small grin. "Now, tonight's lesson should be enlightening for the both of us, I think. I have not yet seen first hand a section of the memory that we will see tonight – but I am sure that the contents will be quite an intrigue."

"What's the memory of, Professor? Merope Gaunt?"

"We are travelling about eighteen years past her time," he said with some sort of nod in acknowledgement of her. "Into the days of an early Tom Riddle, or rather, the beginning of Lord Voldemort. I thought it would be prudent for you to see how it all began he came – after all, what are we if not from our roots?"

"I'd hope not to be compared," I muttered, my thoughts darkly straying over to the Dursleys. "But if you think it's important."

"I can assure you it will be," he somehow stayed light while speaking so seriously. "I believe that knowledge can be more beneficial than power. I hope to arm you best with this before you have to use it so that if the time comes, it is of second nature."

"Then I hope you're teaching it to Harry too," _considering he needs it more than I do_. I wouldn't say it, but clearly it was to be implied. Still, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not Dumbledore's theory would have been right in practice. I mean, knowledge couldn't necessarily defend you; knowledge couldn't keep you safe. Hermione was knowledgeable _and_ a decent witch – but Ginny was a better witch, though not as knowledgeable. I wonder if you were to put the two in a duel together, which would win: brain or brawn?

"Harry is learning things that will be necessary for his journey, as you are learning things necessary for yours."

"So we're learning something different this time?" Dumbledore nodded as response, moving to bring the Pensieve from the side table. This was somewhat a new idea. The last lesson we had seen the same memory but were not meant to get the same meaning from it. So what would he be learning tonight if we were really seeing different things?

"Now, Audrey, if you could give me a hand and kindly uncork this vial," he chuckled a bit at his own pun that made fun of his crippled hand as I did what I was asked. "We shall see what Fernius has to show us."

Looming over the stone basin at the side of his desk, I did the honours of pouring in the memory and watching it swirl around the sides and take up the entirety of the silvery pool. When it had taken up the full volume of the basin, Dumbledore gently took my elbow and leaned toward the basin, pushing us out of our world and into the world of memory. It was a graceful entrance – one I knew I wouldn't have had were Dumbledore not keeping hold of me – that landed us in the middle of a somewhat military looking building.

It looked like the roof needed new shingles which may have caused the water damage that made the building seemed to waver in its foundation. Still it stood strong and proud, like a sore thumb being presented to the world. There were high railings everywhere around the building, bars around the windows, and though the building somehow warped itself, everything seemed to be made out of concrete. There was a wrought iron gate out front that looked like it was supposed to ward off intruders, and coming out of the dilapidated front door was a familiar man. I half expected it to be Fernius Burdeau thanks to it being his memory and from this distance it kind of resembled him – but it wasn't Burdeau at all. The man was wearing mix-matched Muggle clothes, his beard was gray and to his collarbones, but the sparkling blue eyes were the real tip-off.

"Professor, is that you?"

"In my younger days," he acknowledged himself thoughtfully. "I am quite the poor dresser."

"Most wizards are," I acknowledged with a smirk before turning. "Do we follow you?"

"I'm afraid not," he said simply. "As thrilling as my meeting about the importance of slug-slime with Bathilda Bagshot had been, it is not what we have come for. This is part of another memory, not Mr Burdeau's; this is a sort of preface, if you will. Let's investigate, yes?"

Instead of following the taller, though somehow less powerful version of himself away from the old building, we walked through iron gates – which shivered as if we were walking through steam – and toward the cracked concrete stairs. On the wall to the right of the old door was a stone plaque that read 'Wool's Orphanage'.

Dumbledore seemed to know precisely where to go; walking up multiple flights of winding stairs, through long and narrow hallways and over sleeping children in the corridors. The placed seemed to be overrun by kids of every which size and shape. The place looked clean, but somehow institutional. I frowned.

"This is where Voldemort grew up, isn't it?"

"You are quite perceptive, Audrey, yes," Dumbledore smiled, stopping his stride for a moment to look at me approvingly. "This is where Tom Riddle was raised."

"It's obvious," I scowled. "If I were raised in a place like this, I'd probably go mad, too."

Dumbledore continued on his way with a chuckle. It seemed he thought we would miss something if we took to long because he started to speed up as we approached what sounded like some sort of fight. In front of us, in a large room that looked to be a common area for kids to relax, there was a group of people all standing angrily glaring at one individual. I didn't need to look twice to figure out who that individual was.

Tom Riddle, even as he was young, looked arrogant. He could not have been older than twelve, though somehow his eyes held years against his babied features. His round cheeks and dash of dark hair made him look innocent, but his cool and dark eyes were exactly like they would have been were they not red with all the blood he would spill years after. He was small for his age, shorter than I would have guessed, but he somehow stood more tall and confidently than any of the other kids in the room.

There was one girl that looked somewhat self-assured when facing him, but maybe she was only was fuelled by how angry she seemed to be. She continually looked back and forth from him to another girl – one who was on the ground and was crying. The girl that was standing looked ready to explode, her fists clenched and her eyes sharp.

"You're such a freak, Riddle!" She screamed. "If you don't leave Suzie alone, I'm going to-"

"To what? Call your Mummy?" Riddle asked, his voice filled the room in a way I did not expect. It was slightly hypnotic – it seemed that he had always been charismatic, even so young. "Just because your parents board you up all the time doesn't make you better. In fact, I'm better than you _all_ and I don't need help for it like you did."

"Oh really?" she asked, sounding doubtful.

"Really. I've been invited to go to a special school – only for very gifted students. One that none of you would even be considered to attend."

"A school for loonies?" the girl snapped. "I'm not surprised."

"I had just invited him to attend Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained, cutting off the next few sentences spat between them. "Only, what Tom has yet to find out, is that the young girl in front of him has already been in attendance for a year."

I whistled lowly. "Oh, I bet he doesn't like that."

"No, he did not. Nor did she particularly enjoy when he joined her a month later," Dumbledore said gravely. "You see, the young girl in front of us decided to deal with her acceptance to Hogwarts in quite a different way than Tom. While Tom thought this made him better, she believed it was the opportunity to seem better in the eyes of others. Because she clearly could not tell everyone that she had been accepted to a school that would teach her witchcraft, she fibbed that her parents had paid her tuition into a boarding school up North in the mountains where she would go every year until she could leave the Orphanage. This made her quite popular – or, in the case of some others – quite unpopular."

"I think she seems closer to popular," I argued, watching the other kids pool around her while she and Tom fought. She didn't't look unpopular at all...she looked favoured.

"Fear does strange things to people, Audrey. Things that brave souls like yourself may not ever fathom."

"So she was a bully, too?" I asked, not even acknowledging the lie about my bravery. "The only way you're feared but that popular at that age is if you're a bully."

"Tom's very rival," Dumbledore nodded, but his eyes suddenly glimmered excitingly. "Ah – we've come to the part I have not seen. Quickly now."

Around us the scenery was beginning to shimmer as we shifted into another moment in time. The girl – still brown haired and chocolate eyed – looked years older. She had to have been done at Hogwarts now. And beside her, Tom Riddle looked just as old. He had grown into himself; he no longer had puffy cheeks or a rounded chin, but dominant features. His eyes were somehow darker, his smile more crooked. They were wearing robes – but they did not have a Hogwarts crest, though they seemed to be walking down Diagon Alley.

"I'm starting to think you don't want to do this, Malmore," Riddle taunted, even though it sounded like he was snapping some kind of order at her. She struggled quickly to keep up with him, looking like she had caught that she was being chastised. She didn't look as confident as she had all those years ago. Now she looked nervous and fumbled.

"I do," she argued, trying to fight the waver in her words. "I just don't see why we have to do this _now_. We haven't practiced or even seen if they'll be home, Tom-"

"Practice?" The charming boy scoffed, "I hardly see the point. We will be in and out. You've done your studying, now its time to take the test."

Even with the dim streetlights touching her face, it was impossible not to notice the girl blanch. She looked ready to vomit and stumbled slightly in her rushed steps to keep up with Tom Riddle's determinedly long strides.

They continued walking for quite some time and even in this kind of dream state we were watching, I was having trouble keeping up with the pair. Tom hardly looked back to the stumbling girl who had once hated him, even though her eyes were magnetically drawn to him. She constantly looked to him in a way that was frighteningly familiar...something I saw everyday on Hermione's face or on Ginny's or Daphne's...

"She _loves_ him," I realized with a start, looking up to Dumbledore and being unable to keep the slight sneer from my lips. "Doesn't she?"

"I believe she did, yes," Dumbledore nodded slowly as we continued trying to keep stride at the edge of Diagon Alley. "I believe this is why we are seeing this moment now."

"What is he making her do?"

"All of Tom's Death Eaters were tested to prove their loyalty. I would consider this her initiation into his Cause...and into the good graces she so badly craves from him. Ah, here we are."

We had reached a house on the outskirts of the Wizarding society. It was quaint, not very big but obviously quite lavish – living in Diagon Alley could not come cheap, particularly with the elaborate gargoyles protecting its colourful china roof. At the side of the mahogany door was a stone plaque reading _Number 642 __–__ Burdeau Place_.

"Is this Mr. Burdeau's house?"

"His parents," the wise man nodded. "This is why we had to acquire this memory from him tonight. He was quite reluctant to share it, as I've previously mentioned."

"I can't say I didn't notice. Why?"

"Because this was the fall of his sister," Dumbledore, cryptic as ever, moved to watch the scene again.

The girl, Malmore, had paused at the bottom of the stone steps leading to the door and didn't seem at all aware of Tom's watchful glare on her from the door. The girl looked mortified, as if the gargoyles above her were going to spring down and steal her away. On the top step, Tom's eyes narrowed.

"Are you giving up?" His voice reverberated through the silent street and set the girl jumping from the echo. After a quick blink or two to compose herself I watched her set her jaw and shake her head minutely. With clenched fists, she stomped up each stair as if it had offended her. She seemed acutely aware of the look of pleasure on Riddles face – she was probably also just as aware of how it nearly looked of pride. "Would you like me to knock?"

Clenching her jaw somehow more, Malmore slammed her balled fists against the door and nearly knocked it off its hinges. Behind the door, voices were swirling; someone was annoyed by the racket. With each footstep heard drawing toward the door, Malmore's resolve seemed to crumble more.

Tom noticed this too.

"Remember what they did, Seren."

Seren Malmore's eyes flashed with emotion – there was no way to read everything they were portraying to Tom in those few moments when the footsteps finally reached the front door. A flicker of the lock and a tired looking woman appeared in the open doorway. Her face was carved with harsh frown lines, perhaps she was a smoker thanks to the constant pucker of her wrinkles. She was wrapped in an elegant silk robe and her eyes, though heavy with sleep, were sharp against the two intruders on her front step.

"Who are you? What could you possibly want at this time of night?"

I would have expected Tom to answer, but instead he looked patiently over to the girl at his side. She swallowed thickly, trying to find her voice.

"Are you Mrs Herma Burdeau?"

"Yes," the woman snapped. "What is it?"

"Your husband, is he Fernius Burdeau the third?" Her voice was lower now, her hand moving slowly toward the pocket of her robes.

"He is. He is also very annoyed by being woken so late. Now, may I ask-"

"He's home then? Good." Tom elaborated, taking a step forward. Mrs Burdeaus face fell as her instincts caught on too late that something was wrong. "_Incarcerus_!"

Rope flew easily from Tom's wand and wrapped around the woman before she could scream. The force of the spell threw her back into the entryway with a _thump _and not needing any prompting for the first time tonight, Seren let herself into the grand house. Tom closed the door behind them.

"Herma?" A voice called from the top of the stairs. "Herma, what-"

Suddenly looking confident, Seren raised her wand to the top of the stairs and screamed, "_incarcerus!_" she didn't so much as wince while the body fell down the stairs hitting each level and sharp turn with a sickening crunch of bones.

"I'll wake him up," Tom informed lightly, and what I would suppose was the closest he could sound to excited. "He can't be sleeping during a time like this."

On the ground, Herma was screaming over the slumped and broken form her husband had taken at the bottom of the stairs. The way he sagged in his binds while Tom moved the two of them together looked like he wouldn't be able to wake up at all, nevertheless on command, but Lord Voldemort always seemed ready to surprise.

"Stop crying," he sneered, his darker side marring his charming features. "This is a _happy_ occasion."

Through her gag, Herma Burdeau screamed at him.

"Don't speak to him like that," Seren seethed, pointing her wand at the woman. "In fact, don't speak to him at all. I was the one to bring him here. I wanted him to be here when I finally confronted _you_."

Neither Mrs Burdeau nor Mr Burdeau could find the words to respond around their binds.

"Don't you recognize me, mother?" Seren spat. Her wand arm started to quiver in her upset. "Don't you recognize the child you abandoned?"

There was a moment of silence, realization, before the woman began to shake her head with wide eyes. Even though she was saying no, Mrs Burdeau certainly seemed to understand what was happening now. She also, just as certainly, seemed to understand what this meeting meant.

"A _Muggle_ orphanage? You _left_ me in a Muggle orphanage! You left me on my own, to live my life like filth – to think I had to be filth _with_ them. You left me!" She screamed. It seemed she didn't need any help from Tom now, her anger had taken over. It was a familiar anger, one I knew well; a sense of betrayal that could not have been soothed by anything except revenge. "And why? Did you not think you could support me with all your old-blood money? No, that couldn't be it. Then it must have been that I was out of wedlock...no, not that either. I guess that means that you just didn't want me, did you? _Did you_?"

At this point the rage was overwhelming her and she didn't seem to notice that tears were streaming down her chin and dripping onto the marble flooring. Behind her, Tom stood straight and intimidating – but completely emotionless. Seren couldn't seem to bring other words through her tears and there was no way she could aim with her hands shaking as they were. She looked like she was going to break, to crumble to pieces and fall where she may. She had said what had needed to be said and, as normal people would, she was starting to heal from the wound they had left...

Tom Riddle didn't like that.

"That's right, Seree," hearing him say such a nickname sounded wrong. It didn't sound like something endearing he wanted to say for support but rather a manipulative form of coercion. To prove my theory, he came to stand behind her, speaking in her ear. It almost looked romantic, were it not for the screaming couple on the floor. "They left you. They never looked for you, never sent for you. Don't you remember all those hours you spent tracking them down, fixing this so they got what they deserved? All the sacrifice, all the sorrow in that place? What did I promise you, Seree?"

"A life for a life," she whispered, her words sounding automatic and hypnotic.

"That's right. Don't make me break a promise, Seree. I never break my promises...when have I ever lied to you?" He asked, but still, she couldn't seem to move. Tom did not like waiting for her. He squeezed her shoulder, making her wince, and leaned closer. "They never wanted you, never loved you, Seren...not like I do. Don't let their tears fool you. I've seen so many more shed by you, Seree. _Do it_."

"A-" she hiccuped, cutting herself off with an agonized shutter of air. And finally with another, gentler, squeeze of her shoulder from Tom, I watched her eyes steel themselves – block themselves – in a horrifyingly familiar way. "_Avada_ _Kedavra_."

I don't know what was more terrifying during the scene that played out in front of me: the blinding green flash, the fact she managed to kill both of them in one go, or the fact that she had sounded as lifeless as both the Burdeaus now looked. No, not looked, _were. _TheBurdeaus_ were _dead_._

In the corner of the room, something shifted. It was hardly detectable, but it drew Seren's jumping, hyper eyes. Of course, her noticing drew my own to the sound that disturbed the silence. In the corner was a familiar little set of eyes peaking from the shadows at the top of the stairs...that was Fernius Burdeau. Not the one just murdered, but Fernius Burdeau the fourth – the one I had met what seemed like days ago. We were seeing what he had seen the night he watched his parents die at the hands of his own sister.

Pain warred in Seren's eyes – I could nearly taste it in the air. That little boy was a product of the parents who had abandoned her. He was a product of everything she had always wanted but never had. Her eyes flickered away from the little boy only when Tom wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. It was somehow very intimate, particularly for something seen by who I knew would become the reptilian form of who I now knew as Lord Voldemort. She seemed to realize this as well and closed her eyes, finding some sort of comfort in his attention.

"Good girl," he praised, sounding nearly tender. Still, she turned him slightly away from the direction of the stairs and let him smile cruelly down at the sight of her lifeless parents. When his eyes had drunk their fill of the sight he swivelled around and took something off the desk facing away from the stairs where the little boy tried to hold in his whimpers.

"Our prize," Tom whispered to himself, inspecting the golden goblet proudly before turning back to Seren so he could show off his trophy of the kill he had not made. She was purposefully standing away from the stairs, protecting the boy who must have caused her so much pain on principle alone. "There's nothing here for you now, Seree."

Seren's eyes nearly flickered themselves back to the stairs on instinct, but instead she steeled herself one last time, nodded, and stomped back out of the house in the same tense way she had entered. Were she to have stayed, she would have seen Tom a look over his shoulder toward the young boy on the stairs, acknowledging him with a grin, before leaving with a smug look of superiority and slamming the door behind them.

"That is all for tonight, Audrey," Dumbledore announced, making me gasp sharply. I had forgotten this was a memory, forgotten that I wasn't alone. He took my elbow with a wry grin and tugged us from the Pensieve. It was as strange a sensation as ever: like being pulled from dry water and still having the urge to gulp at air which was the same air from the memory, as we hadn't left our spot in the room, but still it was somehow so much more clean.

"Professor," I asked, watching as he walked behind his desk. He indicated I should sit with his charred hand, wincing slightly from the movement of it. "What did we just see?"

"The first true victims of Lord Voldemort's reign...or, rather, the first he would boast of."

"And Seren Malmore, Mr Burdeau's sister," I added, feeling my throat dry from the air which was suddenly _too_ clean – too cold. "What happened to her?"

"She was a victim of Voldemort's reign as well...from what I understand not long after this scene. She died at the hand of the man she loved, I doubt he remembers or cares of the details all these years later."

"But, why?" I asked, nearly feeling insulted. "She did everything he asked, she was loyal-"

"She was, for a time. But remember that Tom Riddle has never wanted friends or companionship, Audrey. He has always wanted followers and power. Eventually, Miss Malmore became more of a detriment than a stepping stone to that cause."

"That's disgusting," I spat, sneering and slapping my arms across my chest. Dumbledore raised an interested eyebrow and steepled his fingers, careful to be gentle with his blackened digits.

"An interesting choice of words," he stated. "How is that disgusting?"

"He asks for loyalty – no, _demands_ it – but then he kills all the people who give it to him because they're the ones he trusts the hardships with...the difficult things. So of course they'll fail him eventually. And then he gets rid of them. I know that fear is more powerful than loyalty but still, it doesn-"

"Do you really think so?" Dumbledore asked patiently, looking over the rim of his half-moon spectacles a me. "You believe that loyalty is weaker than fear?"

Yes. Then again, it was quite clear that he was looking for some different kind of answer, so I rethought my approach. "I think that it's more _persuasive_."

"That may be true," Dumbledore nodded to himself and leaned back in his chair again. "I believe that many would be less loyal to him were they not so frightened for their lives. But I believe other things are more persuasive than even fear."

"The urge to urinate?" I asked dryly. There was nothing more persuasive than fear. Nothing. Fear is what drove people to seek shelter and safety. Fear is what drove people to kill or be killed, to defend themselves, fear is even what drove Voldemort's ridiculous plans to kill my brother – for a prophecy. A prophecy that terrified him. Nothing was more convincing, more threatening, more _powerful_ than fear.

"No," Dumbledore did not chuckle at my joke, it seemed as if he knew exactly how much I disagreed with him – exactly how much I was sifting through his mistaken words. "I believe love a much more coercive influence."

"Love?" I asked, my tone skeptical. "I know that I don't have the most romantisized mind in the world to begin with, but love is not as convincing as fear. Not to me or anyone else who has ever had to run for their life."

"You can think of no one that you would fear for more?"

"Of course I'll fear for others, " I argued, frowning as he changed my words. "But that's kind of the point, isn't it? That in the end I'd do something out of fear for them."

"But would you not fear for them because of the love you feel for them?"

I couldn't tell where this was going, and as always, that bothered me. I was always the best with reading people, with calculating a situation or a conversation...but Dumbledore was too cryptic to read normally – it was more like I was trying to read a book written in Greek. He held his cards a little too close to the chest for me to be able to peek at his hand. I frowned, watching him closely – for some reason this made him smile.

"I don't understand," I admitted, frowning even more. "What does this and the memory...what's the lesson here?"

"The lesson, Audrey, is that people will do anything for love. They will fight, overcome, and ignore fear; they will face death for the ones they love. Some, like your mother, will die for it...others, like Seren Malmore will kill for it. Now tell me, Audrey, can you not think of a love as strong as that? A love strong enough to kill for? To die for?"

Guilt gripped me. I knew what I was supposed to say...what _anyone_ was supposed to say: you were supposed to say yes, list people as I should list Harry and Daphne and Sirius...but even if I said it, even if I told him to appease him...it would have been a lie. My mind moved to the memory of Katie Bell's attack – how the Gryffindors had rushed forward, not caring of the danger to save a distant friend...and I thought of how I hadn't moved. Not until I had known it was safe.

Maybe some people, _good_ people, were ruled by love. But I was, most certainly, governed by fear.

"Everyone has that someone," Dumbledore continued, knowing that I couldn't will myself to answer him with a lie or admit my own guilt to him. "Even the most terrified of us all. Even if you do not realize it now – you have run into the face of your fears before for a loved one. For your brother. Others have done the same...perhaps some would even do it for you."

There was a knock at the door and my mind wandered to my brother, knowing it was him...but would he save me like that? Like he had rushed to save Katie? She certainly wouldn't have done it for me. Neither would Daphne, or...or Theodore...

"I doubt it," I whispered, answering both his statement and my own questions.

"You doubt yourself far too much, Audrey." Dumbledore not only sounded like he meant it, but also sounded like he knew. Then again, the headmaster had certainly meant stranger things during the last six years. "Come in, Harry."

With that it was clear that our lesson had finished. Like last time, Harry walked into the room, but instead of looking curious as he had those weeks ago, his brows furrowed and his mouth formed into a tight line while he gripped at the door. Had he heard what we had been saying? Had he realized that I was a coward enough I didn't think I would die to save him?

"Greengrass?" He asked, momentarily making me replace my guilt for confusion. It took me a lot longer than it should have to realize what he was referring to, but all I had to do was glance down at my robes to understand: the blotchy red stain still splattered my torso.

"Er, yeah," I mumbled, rolling my eyes while his own narrowed. "I plan to avoid her on the way back to the common room, stop pouting."

"Its 8 o'clock, she's bound to be there..." He trailed off suggestively, reflexively moving to his rucksack. I sneered.

"I'm not taking the cloak," I snapped. "I can handle this on my own; I am not completely inept, thank you."

"But since you won't fight back-"

"Of course I will," I answered haughtily. He gave me a look full of skepticism.

"Drea, you were just splattered with _spell _and you hardly remembered because you're so used to pretending it didn't happen," he told me dryly. I looked to Dumbledore over my shoulder – he seemed quite amused by the whole conversation. I moved to the door, passing my brother on the way.

I lowered my voice as I passed. "If you don't stop being so overprotective, you're going to be covered in _curse. _Then you can tell me again just how well I 'pretend'."

Harry just scoffed at me before he walked forward to move on with his own lesson. It was always unfortunate nowadays when I was this annoyed with my brother – it meant that when something went wrong, or during a meal when I couldn't eat with Tracey and Lillian, I would have to be alone. I hated leaving myself without the option of a Gryffindor barricade.

And this was exactly the mentality that proved fear was stronger than love.

Who was Dumbledore trying to fool, anyway? Clearly he was trying to convince me of all of this just to solidify the rocky relationship between my brother and I. Which, though annoying, was probably a good thing. We had grown closer than last year, even closer than the year before, but we would never be a normal pair of twins. We didn't have that typical 'flow' that other twins like Fred and George or Padma and Pavarti had – we were cut from the same cloth, but from different sides and in different shapes. Our pieces just didn't fit together.

I don't think Harry would die for me, either. Not after keeping the keeping the dragons a secret, not involving me in helping Sirius escape, pawning me off to the Slytherins in first year, and everything else he had ever done wrong. I think he'd feed me to the wolves just like he'd fed me as a distraction for Fluffy in first year.

And what about my friends? They were loyal to me, but I know they wouldn't _die_ for me. Daphne won't even be seen with me, Lillian was too afraid to give me dress robes at a time and every now and then I can see Tracey's hesitation to sitting with me since it will invariably get her jinxed. I try not to blame them – consciously, at least – but it had to be acknowledged, didn't it?

And more importantly, would I die for _them_? Would I throw myself in front of a curse intended for them, or Ginny, or Hermione, or Ron, or Harry? Well...maybe.

But not if I knew it would kill me.

Did that make me disloyal, or logical? It makes no sense to kill myself in someone else's place – I'm more of a 'revenge served cold' kind of girl. I can't deny the thought of avenging someone is much more pleasant – and reasonable – than dying for them. That would get me nowhere but dead and if my inability to stand not knowing what people were thinking wasn't sign enough, not knowing what awaits me after death should be a pretty obvious problem for me.

Was I a bad friend because of this, a bad person? Or did this make me the logical one...the honest one? People can say they would do it, but they could easily be lying – to themselves _and_ others. Because I know the Slytherins wouldn't, I know they would think around the same lines as I would; I couldn't see Ron doing it, he's as much of a coward as I am; I couldn't see Hermione doing it, either, she was far too logical to miscalculate the worth of her own life...

Harry would.

Then again, I have trouble rationalizing if that would be something to happen out of impulse, stupidity, or an inflated sense of his own abilities. Escaping death so many times seemed to have overturned his sense of self-preservation. Sometimes it was almost as if he honestly didn't think he _could_ die.

He was wrong. We all die. I just don't know why people lie to themselves about rushing the process over lies like _loyalty_.

"Miss Potter."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Apparently I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn't realized I had just walked into a snake pit that had gathered outside the wall to the common room. In front of me stood my three demons: Snape, Malfoy, and Nott. And by the looks on their faces, I very well may have just screamed at the sight of them...I couldn't recall whether or not I had.

"Holy Helga," I croaked, unable to stop myself. "Er – evening gentlemen. Fine night for some light terror and humiliation, no?"

None of them laughed, not that I could really say I was shocked. It was during the tenseness of not laughing that I noticed the scene I had actually interrupted: Theodore standing out of the way, toward the entrance wall, Malfoy and Snape standing head to head.

Defensiveness flared in my chest like a balloon.

"Everything alright?"

"It's fine," Malfoy snapped, moving himself away from the professor as if he only now noticed how angry he looked.

"As Prefects, I expect you to target students I am seeking," Snape sneered to Theodore more so than to myself. "Next time, Mr Nott, if you see Mr Malfoy skipping a detention, I expect you to bring him to me. Because of this, you will both have detention after your Quidditch match on Saturday – win or lose."

Malfoy clenched his jaw, but Theodore's face burned red. "Yes, sir."

"Miss Potter," Snape rounded on me. His bad mood seemed to be more than enough of a reason to get mad at me for no reason again. Fantastic. "I expect to see you making your rounds with your partner Prefect. This is the fourth time I have caught the two of you neglecting your duties to go about your separate, insignificant after class activities."

"I was with the headmaster-"

"Then only _three_ have been unprecedented," he drawled condescendingly. "I expect to see the two of you doing your rounds together like every other pair of Prefects effective tomorrow, or you will find yourselves in more trouble than Mr Malfoy. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," I muttered, Theodore mimicking me a moment after. Snape dismissed us by a swish of his cloak and a rigidity in his step that I did not expect.

"Didn't offer to take my detention this time, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. "How rude."

"I didn't even know you had one, Malfoy," I hissed. "Though I can't say I don't have an idea _why._"

He glared at me, daring me to confront him as I had weeks ago, daring me to say that I blamed him for the attack on Katie Bell once again. Of course I didn't. Theodore was near by and whether or not I was right, I would not bring him into it.

"Stop sneaking out at night and getting me into trouble," Theodore hissed to him, his voice darker than I was used to. He turned to me with narrow eyes that would not meet my own. "Tomorrow, we'll do our patrol, but I don't want to hear your stories _or_ your excuses."

I frowned, my chest tightening. "I wouldn't..."

"Good. I'm sick of people telling me about that night. I wasn't there like _some_, so I wouldn't know, would I?"

The words were biting and as soon as they were left to linger in the air, Theodore turned and with a whispered word entered the common room. My heart was fluttering guiltily in my chest though it still felt heavy, like if it were made of lead. Malfoy walked forward, standing nearly face to face with me.

"Potter," he said slowly, his voice stiff. I looked up at him, bracing for something else, bracing for that last compression in my chest that would cut off my air for good. He analyzed me thoroughly, watching me with more vibrant eyes than I'd seen from him in months. Whatever he saw made him take in a slow, deep breath. "I'll convince Greengrass that red isn't your colour. You look awful."

"I feel it," I whispered, looking back to the common room that Nott had already vacated. How much guilt could a person live with in one day? Because I felt like this was too much for one person to handle. As if it wasn't enough to be reminded how selfish I am because I wouldn't die for someone; then I have to be reminded how selfish I was for _killing _someone instead. "Please stop getting yourself in trouble."

"Who said I'm in trouble?" He defended with a scowl.

"You think _I_ look bad?" I asked sarcastically, even though I felt my own face pinch when I examined his pallor and haunted, tired eyes. "Take care of yourself, Malfoy. Honestly, I'm having too much trouble worrying for myself to worry over you and Theodore as I used to."

"Then stop worrying about either of us," he suggested coolly, his scowl turning into a sneer before walking past me into the common room without another word. I wish I could have taken his advice, but without the usual smug confidence in his step and the unusual avoidance of his drooling fan club as he passed through to follow Theodore in the dormitories...it only made me worry more.

Dumbledore may have been closer than I thought.

Maybe I did fear for a few.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what did you think? For those who aren't on Twitter, I plan on introducing a short story about Seren Malmore in a month or so. It will be a Tom RiddleOC Romance-Tragedy. Hopefully you some of you guys are interested in that! **

**To my fantastic reviewers from the last chapter:**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, it was really fun to write. This one was more difficult. Sensing that Draco gave a damn in the last chapter is not a far-fetched theory. Poor boy almost killed someone, then to find out that the someone could have been Audrey? Well...how couldn't it tear you up?  
>I wish I could end the feud between Audrey and Theodore - but alas, that's just not realistic. He couldn't forgive her yet, the wound hasn't healed and you need to heal before you can recover. Poor boy. But I'm so glad you're liking where this is going and again, I'm sorry for any errors - this keyboard is the worst thing to happen in history. It just is. Thank you again :)<strong>

_kaaayyytteee_**: If I was ANYONE I'd be scared of Drea. That girl is intense... Hope you liked this chapter as well, thanks for reviewing!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Oh, Audrey will get her revenge...eventually. I wish I could just write it now but there are all these other plot points and drama and angst and...sigh. Sadly no, not quite yet. But soon.  
>Yes, Audrey was luckily quite prepared for a mental attack like in the last chapter - hopefully she'll be as prepared for the other things in store for her later on. Yes, Astoria is awful and struck again in this chapter...we'll see some more interactions there as well, don't you worry. I think it's clear after this chapter that Audrey still has some lingering emotion towards Draco...but does he feel the same for her? Thank you for the review and I hope you liked the new chapter!<strong>

_Colette Hyuga_**: I'd like to think along the same lines - Audrey figured out Draco's possible involvement thanks to observation whereas Harry just happens to hate him. But then again, they are both still right. The problem is how they are each going to deal with this problem while they're pushing for different results? Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review :)**

_Melody_**: First, I am so sorry I didn't respond to your last review! Apparently there were a few that I either missed or this stupid word system deleted. I couldn't even tell you which is more likely - but all the same, I apologize. The year will get more Draco-oriented much sooner than you would think and yes, Snape is not going to be pleased with it. I did get to go see France but that was sadly when I started to get really sick, so I missed out on a few of the Paris sights :(**

_Visible Anonymity_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Malfoy didn't know who he was using, remember, he had just gotten Madame Rosmerta to do his dirty work for him on the first girl in the bathroom - sadly, the Potter twins don't have the greatest luck. I hope you had fun wherever you were going without wifi. Thanks for the review and waiting.**

_lilylunapotter13_**: Thank you! Yes, Audrey can throw off the Imperius curse, something that we've actually seen before but very few people noticed during the Triwizard tournament. She's a strong girl and she doesn't like doing what she's told - it was a natural progression, haha. I hope you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Their next meeting will be next chapter, so you don't have to wait too long. You were definitely almost right about the necklace prediction - I actually remember getting all giggly when I read your review and thinking "aaaahhh she's going to freak out!" and I'm glad you like how it was written. Yes, the fight between Harry and Audrey should be something epic, shouldn't it? When he finds out about Draco? If I were saying something...which I totally am not because it would totally be a spoiler...that's not the fight you have to worry about though. Because there's going to be a lot more drama at a different point in this book...you know, that's what I'd say if I were giving away spoilers. Which I'm not.  
>I'm really excited for the DH portion of the story as well - I have so many things planned, I just need to get there and it's feeling like forever especially with this colossal set back of imminent illness that feels like death. Seriously. I thought I was going to die in the hospital...and no one was really speaking English and telling me I wasn't going to. It was the scariest experience of my life. Anyway, the next chapter will be exciting and will hopefully flow more smoothly. I want to try and get out three chapters before I get home - where I will then write like a fiend and get you out at least a chapter a week because I feel terrible about this long break I had to take. Hope you liked this chapter (and what it might become later) and thank you :)<strong>

_Annaismyname_**: I'm sorry that the updates haven't been as often as I'd hoped for but I hope that you like what I came up with. Thanks for reviewing!**

_polki_**: Yes, Audrey is almost back to herself - still a little more withdrawn, but that's going to go away very soon. Thanks for the trip-wishes, hopefully it gets better from here on out :)**

_Guest_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.**

_99terminater_**: Yes, Audrey definitely put Harry in his place last chapter. I think it was deserved as well - poor Draco just can't escape being the badguy (which he kind of is) but...still...  
>I agree. I don't know why it isn't common knowledge not to mess with a Potter - particularly the Slytherin one. Isn't that just common sense? Aw, as soon as you make yourself sit down and write I promise it gets easier. You just need to sit and write until you finally find that plot that makes you WANT to keep doing it :)<strong>

_xYaar_**: Yes, they kind of talked again. They'll also be talking next chpater, don't you worry - after everything Audrey was thinking in this chapter, how could she not make him? The next one should come out faster too, it's not as difficult as this one was!**

_incitanemx_**: I did get to go to Germany...but only for a day. I was going to go for longer but I got so sick that it was one of the places I ended up having to cut out of my trip. I'm acually super upset, I adored my day in Munich.  
>That's a really good theory, that Theodore's upset Audrey isn't defending herself. And yes, Audrey freaking rocked it last chapter. I was so proud of her! Next chapter will be a good one too - most of them will be. This one had to be a bit more internal, though - but I'll get the next one out faster. Promise! I'm not bed-ridden anymore and I can eat now so I have the energy to think, haha. I am in Greece right now, as it were, my family finally thought I was healthy enough to travel so here I am! Whew, it's warm. I've loved this trip (when I've been able to live it) this continent is stunning!<strong>

_katie93319_**: I'm glad that you figured out she would know about Draco. She's a smart girl, after all. I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner, the next one won't take so long, I promise. You get to see more of our favourite characters in the next chapter too - so I'll try to rush it out :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you so much, I'm really glad you liked it and thank you for taking the time to send me an extra message. It was really sweet! I try to keep things fresh with each chapter, hopefully you like what I came up with for this one as well. And that Seren will get her own small story. I like that I can extrapelate on it later on - it will be a fun write. I might be able to write a Draco/Theo chapter later on, when I'm back in Canada. I won't have the time to do it before then - but I'll see what I can do :)**

_dsfjdbfhre_**: Thank you! I hope you like the new chapter :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yeah, the last chapter was pretty intense - but it's still cool that I can make your hands shake and such! They say in the books how he did it, that Draco put Madame Rosmerta under the Imperius curse and she put the curse on someone else. Yes, things just got messy in the Dreaco world - which means it's just getting interesting! Hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Sea Bride_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm really glad you like Audrey, I've become really proud of her. Audrey will get to talk about her kiss with Fred when they are both brave enough to (which will be sooner rather than later, funnily enough). Your English is very good, I couldn't even tell that it wasn't your first language, so don't worry :) I did go to France, luckily I speak a little French, but I got very sick so I missed out on a lot of sights. It was really too bad.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Yes, I told you this keyboard is terrible! It's so upsetting. I like the mountains up here, we don't have things like that in Canada as much. Well, we have the Rockys, but as I don't live by them, it's not as big a deal to me.  
>Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope that you liked the new one - I know it wasn't as good but it really set Audrey's thoughts in motion and it also got that little prequel out for another story I want to write, so I enjoyed writing it. The next one will be more exciting though!<strong>

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm sorry that I didn't wait for you to get the chapter back to me, but I am leaving countries again tomorrow and don't know how reliable the wifi will be where I am going next. I'm sorry!**

_Magimagus_**: Thanks for going through all the chapters again, it's always nice to look at them from a fresh eye. I do it every now and then, just to keep perspective. I hope that you're enjoying your summer break and feeling of freedom - hopefully it goes slowly, haha. Its nice to hear from you!  
>Yes, Astoria is in the story. And yes, Draco was at one point team Audrey...but now he seems a lot closer to team Astoria, no? Ugh, the horror. Yeah, the last chapter was a lot of fun to write - it was one I was really excited to write for a long time. Same with the next two chapters...those will be fun. Possibly even the one after that - I have yet to decide which of two directions I'm taking it in. I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you so much for reviewing - there's nothing to forgive about being busy, look at me. I couldn't even update!<strong>

_EmiliePorter24_**: Thank you, I did get to see her. She does look like an Audrey, I can totally see why you picked her. Thanks for showing her to me, I might have to steal that picture later on :)**

_Lizzy B_**: Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for the review :)**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: Audrey didn't support Harry because she doesn't think Malfoy could do any harm...and I don't think she really thought it through until she was alone and saw how he was reacting when they were together. She's observant, but not omniscient. Thank you, I'm glad you liked the chapter and hopefully you liked this one as well!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: My holiday could be better - I ended up getting super sick, was in the hospital, then was bed ridden and missed out on a few countries. It really sucked. Still - now I am better and will continue to write! I'm so sorry that it was so delayed. Yes, we will see more about the fate of Dreaco in the next few chapters...so you'll have to stay tuned! Thanks so much :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Audrey's pretty pro, I wouldn't throw her something she couldn't catch ;)**

_bookreader1617_**: Yes, they finally got their moment! There will be more in the next chapter as well, so you'll have to keep an eye out. Audrey has a lot to think about before then...**

_Undefined and Fine with It_**: Ha, I'm glad you agreed with my take on Draco's reactions. It's also nice that you think I have skillage - that's exactly what I was going for. And it's cool if you aren't a hipster...I'm not one either. Shhh.**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thanks, hope you liked this new one :)**

_Msballetdiva_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it - hopefully this last chapter kept you going as well. Yes, I have decided to keep Sirius alive - though I have not decided if it's indefinite. But he did not die in the part of the book where he should have. I'm so glad you like it and thank you so much for the sweet review :)**

_helena_**: She'll be back sooner than you think! Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing :)**

_AshRain114_**: Thank you so much, I'm really glad you like it. You're too sweet, you say you love reading it but know that I love writing it just as much :)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Thank you for being so kind! I'm more than happy to write down Audrey's story, thank you for reading it :)**

_Guest(2)_**: Yes, I know it looks really intimidating by how much I ramble and the word size, haha but I'm glad that you braved it and even more glad you enjoyed it - thank you. Hopefully you continue to enjoy it as I continue to write!**

_Godric's Innocent Angel_**: Thank you, hope you liked the new chapter.**

_TheWickedNatural_**: She certainly did. Hope that if you make it all the way up to this chapter, you've liked what you've read. Thanks for your review all those chapters back :)**

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I think that she suspects him as much as Harry, but after the conversation she overheard with Astoria and her friends, I don't think she judges him like Harry does. Being a Death Eater isn't all glory - even to the Slytherins. They know the danger.  
>That's quite possible - Audrey is a little too strong, or at least she tries to be. Maybe one day she will learn that there are moments she's allowed to be weak - but I don't think she'll let that happen easily, haha. Hope you liked the new chapter and thank you for reviewing!<strong>

_jmiles416_**: As long as you still like it. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_ponster_**: Thanks for putting so much effort into reading it, I know it's a beast to battle the way to the top. I'm glad that you ended up liking it so much, I've really gotten attached to it and as much as I can't wait to show the ending, I'm terrified for it to finish. I hope that you liked this newest chapter and thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_Concilliabule_**: I'm glad you liked it, thank you :)**

_BerserkMoon_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it. I can't believe you read it all in one night - good for you, that's super impressive!**

_FallenAngel_**: Definitely getting tense now. Hopefully you liked what happened this chapter...it's slowly but surely getting towards the final war. Only dozens of chapters to go ;)**

_Tamari-95_**: Oh, it won't show me what the picture is! is so bad for that. Sorry :(**

_Ria_**: Thank you, hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Ms._ _Roseruby_**: Aw, well as sad as it is you feel you can't read other fanfiction, I won't deny that I'm completely flattered! It's so sweet to hear that you're getting so much out of the story and thank you so much for this review - it's so nice. Really! And writing like me isn't hard - you just have to sit down and write. Then rewrite it. And rewrite it, until you find out how you like to write, what's your best way of writing, and what makes you WANT to write :)**

_1llu510n_**: Wow, thanks for taking the day to read this - again, reading this story in one day is amazing, I wish I would be able to do that! I'm sorry for getting you in trouble with your mom but thanks so much for the review and I hope you continue to like the story :)**

_S0L3STATCHU_**: Thank you, I'm also really proud of Audrey so that you like her as well really makes me feel like I'm doing my job. Usually I update much more often than I have been, but I've been on extened vacation where I of course caught a really bad illness. I'm back on track and in s few more weeks, when I'm home, ill be back to updating at least once a week again. Don't worry, it will get better soon and you never have to worry about this story being abandoned. I'm obsessed with it!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: Yeah, you can really see that the old Daphne and our new views of Astoria look pretty similar...except Astoria is a little more aggressive. I watch the movies while I write sometimes, but I'll always be a book-baby by heart! Hope you liked this new chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_jcwhale2380_**: I hope you liked it, thanks for the review!**

_x3sYellowie_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I wish Theo and Audrey could make up as well, but at least we'll get to see more of the two of them next chapter. As for Draco and Astoria, we will just have to wait and see, he did say he would get her to stop hexing Audrey, so maybe not all is lost? Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

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><p><strong>Wow guys, there were so many sweet reviews for this last chapter! Thank you so much for all your support - this was so nice to read while I was recovering. Again, thank you. Let me know what yuou thought about this installment and the introduction of Seren Malmore, who will get her own story in a month or two. The next chapter is going to be intense guys, start preparing yourselves!<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Add me to twitter as **EgyptsLegend


	67. Lessons to Learn

**Whew, this one was a hard one to write, everyone. I am giving you a brief warning that this has a lot of angst and a lot of upsetting material – nothing inappropriate, I don't think...but prepare yourselves for some heart-wrenching. Thank you to everyone for you well-wishing. I am feeling much better and recovering slowly but surely – the trip is still on and I am still trying to take in as much of the vacation as I can. Including all the time I have to write :)**

**Enjoy...**

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><p>Chapter 66 – Lessons to Learn<p>

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><p>"Alrigh' e'eryone," Hagrid's voice boomed through the silence of the forest, making both Circe jump onto my foot and Tenebrus buck under my grooming. "Class dismissed. See yeh Tuesday where we're movin' on t' Tebos. So no need ter bring yer groomin' kits, but yeh have ter bring yer textbooks, yeah?"<p>

The two other students who had dared to take the class nodded to themselves before they moved to take their thestrals deeper into the forest – we had to do this after every class, which usually made us a little bit late for the next one...a common complaint that Hagrid always seemed to forget when the time came to dismiss us. I moved to talk to him and check up; Hagrid had been having a hard time the past few weeks so I knew someone should comfort him...I just wish it didn't have to be me who did it. Since Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at odds with him after not taking his class, however, it appeared it was all up to me.

"How's Aragog?" I asked carefully. I didn't necessarily like the acromantula that had actively tried to have us killed, but I could tell that Hagrid was upset about the sickness of such a close..._friend_. His eyes were constantly swollen as if he had recently been crying – which he probably had been – and he had hardly said anything during classes. There were no notes, no praises, no friendly chatter that was usually completely unbefitting a teacher but was just how Hagrid was. It was very unlike him to be so distant; this is why I was not surprised when he started to sniffle.

"No' good, Audrey, no' good."

"Is there anything..." I trailed off, not really able to bring myself to finish the sentence. There wasn't anything I really _wanted _to help with, but I felt a little humbled after everything that had happened last night. I guess that happens when you find out that you're the most selfish creature in a school full of people. It really did make things around you seem more solemn.

"Nah, he don' want ter take potions," he sniffled more loudly. I couldn't help but look over my shoulder to ensure that the two other girls in the class had left. "He's a brave thin', Aragog."

Circe, still at my feet, bristled. She was not Aragog's greatest fan either.

"Well let me know, you know, how he is..." I felt awkward during this attempt at kindness – it certainly wasn't natural and though I had been holding back many insults over the past few months, this one seemed even less genuine. Maybe I was trying to hard? Or had my kindness always sounded this awkward considering I was usually forcing it?

"Yer a good kid, Audrey," the giant man clapped his hand on my shoulder and nearly made my knees buckle, when he did it a second time I was surprised my kneecaps hadn't shattered.

"Thanks, Hagrid," I winced, pulling away from him so that I could make sure there wouldn't be any other injuries for the day. "I'll see you on Tuesday, yeah?"

He could do nothing but whimper and nod, a new wave of tears on its way. I made sure to grab hold of Circe and hustle out of there before they hit – it didn't matter how nice I was being by practice; I was no good with handling tears.

It was by luck that I would not be late for my next class, considering Trelawney had "forseen" she would be ill and had taken the day off. It left me with a free period – Firenze was busy teaching the third years, today – so I took to meandering around the school. It was always nicest, when I didn't have to worry about someone hexing me or bothering me. Not many others were dumb enough to take a class that Trelawney taught for half the week so it was comforting that I didn't need to worry about running into people who I didn't already know would be in class or in the common room.

Circe kept me very aware of whenever someone was coming close. It was easy to duck into an alcove or just move away from them whenever Circe began to hiss – it appeared everyone was the enemy now and my poor kneazle seemed stressed to the core.

Then again, maybe everyone _was _the enemy. Or, more likely, maybe I was just enemy to everyone else.

The more time that dragged on, the more and more nervous I became. Snape had ordered Theodore and I to start taking our rounds together, which meant that after this block of classes we would be meeting to do our rounds until dinner. Normally, I wouldn't let Snape dictate my moves like that – particularly when I was mad at him as I currently was – but there was something about my favourite...or who _was _my favourite professor that seemed just as stressed as my kneazle, these days.

I decided to make Theodore's life easier by waiting for him outside of the Great Hall, as I used to when we were friends and for whatever reason had been separated. I knew where to find his class, of course, but it almost felt more polite to wait where he would have time to prepare himself for what he was about to face – which, of course, was me. Besides, he wasn't the only one who wasn't ready to be alone with the other. We both needed to ready ourselves.

What would we talk about during these two hours – if either of us got up the nerve to say anything at all? What was there to say to each other now that we were estranged friends, now that I had ruined his life and he looked the other way while _his _friends slowly brutalized what was left of mine? Was there anything to say? He had warned me last night that he didn't want to hear my excuses or my apologies – but how else was I supposed to make things right with him if he didn't understand?

"You're early," Theodore's new, rough voice kicked me out of my thoughts and made me almost drop Circe to the ground. She meowed at me in annoyance before wriggling out of my arms of her own accord. He frowned at the two of us.

"Circe's in a bad mood again?"

"She – er, yes," I stuttered out, trying not to show how shocked I was that he was making any sort of conversation at all.

"Mm," he hummed, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Did you come from Divination? I don't see any moonstone near you – or was today a day you didn't do anything?"

"We didn't do anything," I said slowly. I could tell by the set of his jaw, that he was about to insult me.

"So you didn't foretell the death of anyone else I should know about? My distant relatives, my friends?"

And there it is – that made more sense than candid conversation. Still, my face burned.

"It looked all clear last lesson," I responded bitterly. He nodded back to me stiffly, clenching his jaw again before glancing down the corridor away from the Entrance Hall to watch as people filtered out from their classes and toward their respective places to relax.

"Let's get this over with," he whispered. I found that I couldn't agree with my once-best friend more.

As we began walking down our aimless patrol route, I couldn't help but notice how crowded the corridors seemed for once. Was it because I wanted some privacy with Theodore that it seemed so populated, or was it simply because the students were anticipating dinner and waiting around until it came? It didn't really matter either way – no one would fully understand just how painful these two hours would be for _some_ of us.

Considering my terrible situation – after all, Theodore was still walking completely silently beside me – and because I was in a foul mood thanks to the past _year_, I found no reason to be lenient with any punishments I saw fit to give. I was handing out detentions like Voldemort handed out Unforgivables and was pleased every time I saw someone glower way. It was a good distraction, knowing that people hated me...even if it wasn't as much as the person beside me.

The silence was the worst part of the patrol. There were times when Theodore and I used to walk in silence, but it was only whenever something horrible had happened. It was the way we had let each other come, our terms to join in the pity-fest, with whatever had devastated us. The reason for the other was that they were a silent comfort. What kind of comfort was I to him now that I was the reason he was so wrecked? What kind of comfort was he now that I had wrecked him?

None.

Now the only comfort was the end of the silence, the time when we would be away from each other so that we weren't hurting each other even more with our own presences. It was a slow burn, a subtle torture like when embers were actually hotter than flame...

"I'm so sorry, Theo," I couldn't help but croak minutes after I had given out my last detention. I had felt good pretty much abusing Hannah Abbot with several detentions – but the high had gone and the silence remained. It had to end somehow...and since we _were _alone now, there was only really one option.

"I thought I said that I didn't want to he-"

"Hear my apologies or excuses, I know. But there has to be something I can do to make this better, to make-"

"Make me forgive you?" He cut in sharply. "Bring my father back, Potter. I'll forgive you then."

"You know I can't do that, Theodore," I whispered, clutching Circe a little closer to me. "No one can."

"Then I don't know why we're still talking about it," he bit out darkly, facing forward again and walking away. I took a deep, shaky breath before picking up my pace to catch up with him.

"I know what I did was-was...the _worst_, but he was already working for Voldemort-" Theo flinched at the sound of his name. "And if I hadn't done what I had done in self-defense, Voldemort would have done worse to him for letting us get away."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have gotten away," Theodore said lowly. "Maybe you should have given up like anyone reasonable."

"Given myself up to the Death Eaters?" I repeated. It was hard to tell if I was incredulous over the idea or hurt by the fact he wouldn't have cared that they obviously would have killed me. "Theodore, you're my best friend..."

"Clearly I wasn't," he spat, venom coating his words and trying to seep through me. He moved over to a side hallway off the corridor and dragged me along with him for privacy. "If I were your friend you would have thought more. Did you, for one minute, think about bringing me with you to the Department of Mysteries? You were quick enough to bring the Gryffindors along with you."

"That wasn't my decision-"

"If I could have been there, I could have reasoned with my father," Theodore argued, moving when Circe – still in my arms – began to growl at the sight of his hand still gripping my bicep. "I could have stopped him from attacking and warned him what you were capable of, I could have stopped you all from being so stupid!"

"Theodore, you of all people know that your father..." _was a monster_, I wanted to say, _a monster who hurt you and neglected you and a monster that you never loved_. But I knew I could never say it – that it wasn't appropriate to assume his feelings – no matter what he had said in the past – or to remind him of them. He was grieving, even if what I could have said would have been true. "That he wasn't one to be reasoned with. He was going to kill Harry and I jumped in the way, then he set his eyes on me."

"So you say now," he muttered, taking a step away and raking his hands through his hair. "You forget Audrey, but I have seen every part of you. The little good and the overwhelmingly cruel. You loved hurting Montague, you loved being in that tournament, you loved hunting down Black and pretending you were Slytherin's heir so you could get your way. I've watched you cause people to suffer just for getting in your way: Pansy, Draco, Alya, Daphne...hell, even your own twin! Hannah Abbot, you just gave her a weeks detention for not picking up her homework fast enough after _you_ knocked it out of her hands! You're as much of a monster as any of those Death Eaters, Audrey. And if I had been there, if I had seen what you did to my father-" his voice broke. "Even if I had proof that he – that he did try to kill you first...that would only say something on him. Not on you. You didn't have to kill him Audrey – you could have done anything..."

"Mr Nott," a cool and familiar voice interrupted whatever else Theodore had built himself up to say in these months of silence. I couldn't tell whether or not I was glad – part of me was relieved to have the silence end and understand what was going through his mind. But that other part of me – the more logical part – just wanted it to end and go back to a quiet, more selfish guilt once again. "You have been warned of how this conversation should not happen in corridors."

Snape had appeared at my side, dragging the robes of someone who looked like he was trying to rum away from the Defense Professor's grip.

Oh no. Oh, Merlin, it couldn't happen _again. _As if I needed them to see how red faced and glossy eyed I knew I must have been. I probably looked like a mess and right now I was caught in a situation with Snape, Nott and Malfoy once again. Twice in as many days – that was a record for this year.

"Enough," I said strongly, glaring at Snape before looking to Theodore – trying to pretend as if I could see them perfectly through the tears swimming in my eyes. "He can say what he wants."

I was horrified when my voice broke. Even Malfoy turned to stare at me in a wild and stunned disbelief. I juggled Circe in one arm to harshly shove the sleeve of my robes over my face to try and get back some of my dignity, but I had a feeling no amount of hiding behind my robes would help. Instead I turned my eyes toward my feet.

"Don't give me that look," Theodore hissed. I looked up guiltily – I had thought looking away might have been easier for him and was surprised by how darkly he was speaking to me still...but he wasn't speaking to me at all. He was openly glaring at Malfoy, who took a menacing step away from Snape and toward Theodore – only to jump back with a yelp.

He had gotten too close to Circe again, who decided to act in both her defense and my own. She had taken a swipe at his chest and nearly hit her target. She continued to hiss even as I moved so that she was no longer looking at him and rather back up to me.

"Circe, no!" I chided, moving away from Malfoy considering she was still trying to wriggle and hone in on the boy she kept trying to maim. It was no use, her eyes were trained and she was on the hunt. "Circe, stop, its Malfoy. Remember? You love Malfoy."

Circe growled deeply in her chest.

"Stupid cat," Malfoy sneered.

"She's a kneazle. And for some ridiculous reason she thinks you're dangerous," I scoffed. "As if you could hurt me."

Snape's glare hardened as he took a step forward.

"It is five o'clock, you three – consider your shift finished. Get to dinner before I put you all in detention for loitering in the corridors."

With a characteristic swish of his cloak, Snape disappeared with only his threatening message left behind him – what was wrong with him, nowadays? First I was getting in trouble for avoiding pain and now he wanted to divvy it out? There had to have been something extra behind these meanings and rude words – even Snape had methods for his madness. But there was no denying that the look in his eyes – there was something about that familiar look that was somehow colder and darker than what I had grown so used to. What was happening with the men I used to be closest with? Theodore couldn't look at me, Malfoy wouldn't speak to me, and Snape couldn't seem to stand being around me.

No longer hungry for dinner to the tiniest degree, I cradled Circe as I swivelled on my heel and headed alone to the dormitories. It was nice to be alone and know that I wasn't going to be hexed so long as I stayed where Snape had put the wards around the room – it was so comforting that I was lulled into a strange sense of comfort: my warm bed, the quiet room, Circe's soft purring. I was so comfortable that I fell asleep long before the girls had even got back and did not wake to hear them enter.

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><p>"<em>That bastard<em>!"

"Audrey, please quiet down..."

"No," I raged, stomping even more loudly over the flagstone. It hurt my knees to put so much power behind each slam of my foot – but the pain kept me from forgetting exactly what I was doing as I stormed away from the Great Hall. "My stupid brother stole that potion from me and now he's using it so Ron gets better at _Qudditch_?" I huffed. "I am going to burn their brooms like kindling!"

"Audrey," Hermione said again, looking this way and that to make sure no one was going to overhear me. "We don't want them to get into any trouble."

"Speak for yourself," I hissed. "I'm going to tell someone about that stupid book and then Harry will have to use that leftover Felix Felicis for himself just so he can make sure he won't get expelled. And if the oh-so-mighty one isn't expelled after this, then I'm going to shove it down his throat just so he can get lucky and avoid all the wicked things I'm going to have in store for him!"

"Audrey, Harry can't get in trouble like he should right now. After everything that's happened with Katie Bell, he's a little obsessive and we don't want to draw any more attention to him," Hermione turned me around by my arm and held her finger up when I began to protest. "We also don't want to draw any more attention on who he's obsessive over, do we?"

I closed my mouth tightly, letting my teeth clash against each other, but my glare was not so obedient. Hermione sighed, letting go of my arm when she knew I was firmly planted and no longer on my way to the dungeons to rat my brother out to Slughorn before she let out a breath.

"I really don't know how to handle this mess anymore. It's all getting so out of hand," she admitted. "Harry is normally enigmatic, true, but he's never been so irrational before."

"I beg to differ."

"Normally it doesn't involve other people," she amended with a low sigh.

I disagreed with that as well, but joined her as we pushed our backs against the cool stone of the dungeons and slid down to sit on one of the stone benches carved into the wall for this exact purpose. It had been a long morning – and more than an upsetting one after I had found out from Hermione that we needed to see the Quidditch game to ensure nothing went wrong now that Ron had consumed the potion. Of course, I hadn't reacted as she'd hoped and bee-lined for the dungeons – but that didn't mean that I wasn't excited for Ron.

I was just more upset for myself.

"This year is quite a mess, isn't it?" Hermione began quietly. "I never thought things would be so complicated."

"It's amazing these kinds of things can still surprise us," I agreed, letting my head fall back and hit against the stone wall behind me. "You know, considering this kind of thing seems to happen every year."

"These complications are...different," she admitted, her cheeks going pink. She moved to play with the hem of her robes and I couldn't help but smirk arrogantly at the obvious display of discomfort. Poor Hermione had so many things to learn about subtlety.

"You know, Hermione, I can't help but wonder if you really are protecting my brother by stopping me from going to Slughorn – or if you're really just worried about one of those 'complications'."

She made a face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't know _who_ I'm talking about," I corrected. "You don't really care if the Quidditch team gets sacked or if Ginny and the others don't get to play – in fact, you don't even mind if Harry gets in trouble, do you?"

"I never said that."

"You've also never said that you fancy Ron and yet _everyone _knows," Hermione's face was beet red now and I couldn't help but laugh at her. She crossed her arms angrily over her chest in response. "Why don't you just tell Ron that you are interested in him? It'd make it a lot easier – boys are daft. And as you are way above his level-"

"That is not-"

"-he knows not to even bother. You don't make sense to him not because he doesn't see you that way, but because he feels like he's not _supposed_ to. Sometimes you have to make the first move."

"Is that what you did, then?" Hermione asked, somewhat bitterly, but her voice was small as a kitten's mew. "With Malfoy?"

Touché. This was possibly Hermione's best retort yet and even though I had seen some form of bitterness coming from the expression on her face, I couldn't help my face burning at the mere mention of him. I had actively been avoiding the thought of Malfoy today, but he had a way of leaking into my mind, scattering my shields like some kind of poison that burnt through the defenses. It was unnerving...and dangerous; yet he still kept popping up. It didn't matter whether it be that Harry wanted to demolish him today in Quidditch, or if Hermione and I were talking about failed relationships.

Dear Merlin, what has this world come to?

"I did," I admitted, though I couldn't help shaking my head to correct myself. "At least, I think I did. We had been going round and round for...months, probably. The idiot was so sure _I _fancied _him_ and I was so sure that it was impossible and-" I cut myself off, trying to water down the bright images that filtered through my mind and shrugging them away as if they didn't effect me. "And obviously it was."

"Do you still..." Hermione cleared her throat, her voice much less accusatory now than it had been a moment before. "I don't know what I would do if I were – were _cast away_ like you were. You're very strong, Audrey."

"I'm strong against being cast away from Malfoy, or from the other Slytherins?"

"Both," she offered, frowning slightly. "Did you – er, did you have _real_ feelings for Malfoy? I mean, did you...were you-"

"We weren't like you and Ron, if that's what you're asking." I tried to give her an arrogant smirk, taunting her while her face began to redden again. No matter how much light I was making of the situation though, it was quite clear that Malfoy and I could _never _have been so foolish to be like Ron and Hermione. What Malfoy and I had was clearly wrong and that was proven by every word he had said to me this year and every year before – we were not only from different worlds, but different _breeds_. "I have no idea what we thought would come of it, honestly. I think a part of what was so great about it was the fact nothing _would _come of it. Nothing ever could – it just wouldn't have been allowed, or encouraged, or accepted. It was just so wrong in every way..."

I frowned, my chest clenching painfully just at the thought. It was impossible not to remember just how much we had enjoyed moving around the corridors, hoping that no one would find us and yet hiding somewhere that _anyone _could have. Though we had tried to keep it a secret when the secret was blown – when Daphne had found out, when anyone could have seen...we hadn't really cared. I had worried, of course, but he hadn't. Maybe he knew that it would not last in a way that I hadn't. Maybe he had known just how quickly it would end.

I had never thought it would end so soon.

"I'm sorry, Audrey," Hermione said quickly, as if she had noticed some expression that I didn't realize had contorted my face. "I shouldn't have asked about it. I know this year has been really hard. I'm just confused about-"

"Just tell the moron," I said sharply, sitting a little straighter so she couldn't see just how much I had begun to curl in on myself at the memories of what I had lost from the year before. "Everything gets better when you just tell him."

"But how can you be so confident w-"

"Honestly, I don't know who I feel worse for: the Blood Traitor or the Mudblood. A classic tragic romantic tale, I guess – I can only hope it ends just as tragically," a horrifying voice echoed through the corridor, barrelling through my ears like gunfire. There was no rhyme or reason that I should have expected him to overhear this conversation and like most days this year I found myself fearing his voice as soon as it sounded: it was only ever a sign of torment. I forced myself to turn my head, ignoring how stiff and shaky I felt, to see the smooth, pointed features of the very boy I had been remembering – and yet who looked nothing as I remembered him. Draco Malfoy still looked sick; the bags under his eyes were heavy and purple, his silver eyes harsh but somehow dull from overuse with his glares and his cheekbones stood out prominently against his face. He looked as wrong as everything I had just admitted between us...which brought me to wondering exactly how much of that confession he had heard.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione hissed, immediately coming to my defense. My throat was far too dry to have defended myself at this point as I was running through every word I had said since Hermione and I had begun arguing about the men in our lives – or rather, _not _in our lives.

"You missed the mail after you stormed from the Hall, Potter," Malfoy explained, handing out a letter to me. I hesitated before taking it – it seemed like he would only hand me a howler or something that would explode upon touching my skin...but instead it seemed like a simple letter. Thick and heavy from how much writing it seemed to have in the letter and on the corner–

"Are you bleeding?" I asked, my eyes turning from the bloodied edge of my envelope to the dried blood that had caked on his thumb. He frowned at the sight of his hand before shoving his hand into his robe pocket so I couldn't inspect it.

"Yes, thanks to your beloved cat."

"She's a kneazle," I murmured quietly, moving my eyes to the envelope that I had started to twirl in my fingers. "She doesn't like you anymore at all, it seems."

"Apparently not," he bit back. "The wretched thing attacked me again after I had gotten your mail for you like the gentleman I am."

That's a laugh.

"Is that why the seal's broken?" I asked innocently, showing the broken back of the letter to him and lifting up the fold so that he could examine the rumpled letter that had been stuffed back in so unceremoniously. "Curiosity kills, Malfoy."

"I had no need to be curious, I could tell exactly what it was," he said haughtily, taking a step toward me and sniffing dramatically. "I could smell the Blood Traitor all over it as soon as your brother's owl touched the table. How many gifts have you been getting from Weasley, Potter?"

"What?" I asked, my brow furrowing as I turned the letter over again to examine the seal. It was a familiar seal in practice, but not one that I got letters from often – the overlapping Ws on the seal were enough to let me know that it was the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes crest. But what would encourage one of them to write me now? "Is this from the twins?"

"The bloke that kissed you, in particular," Malfoy sneered, looking down at my hands as if I had morally offended him. "He quite misses you. I'm glad to hear it – I almost thought after I left you that you'd die a spinster."

"That's enough, Malfoy," Hermione growled, moving to stand slightly in front of me. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're jealous."

"Know any better?" he let out a dark laugh. "Jealousy is for the weak – or the involved. As she was saying earlier – clearly we are not. It would have been _wrong_."

He had spit out the last words like they were acid that was burning through his mouth. I couldn't help but clench my jaw, standing so that I wouldn't feel quite so tiny as I told him off.

"Don't you have a Quidditch game to go lose?" I asked, only hoping that he and Harry would tear each other apart on the field so that all my problems would be solved for at least a few hours – just a few hours of solitude where they were both in the Hospital Wing. I felt like if I had that I might be able to survive everything else that had happened today – otherwise, I may be at risk of tearing someone apart _myself_.

"You're right, there are much more important things. I'll let you respond to your admirers," he sneered, pushing past me roughly and making me drop the letter. Because of where he had hit me, blood had now moved to smudge the front of the parchment as well. I didn't know whether I felt better that he had been hurt as I had, or if it only made me feel worse that now even my kneazle suspected him of the same things I'd grown to fear.

"Audrey, I'm so sorry," Hermione rambled, moving to pick up the letter from the floor. "I never thought he'd be lingering the halls so close to the game."

"It's fine," I shook my head, taking the letter from her. "For some reason, he can't seem to leave me alone. Ironic, considering it's all he seems to expect from everyone else."

Hermione worried at her lip, biting it near the point of cutting it before she shook her head slowly. "I really do think he's jealous, Audrey."

"Of what, my witty repartee?"

"That Fred sent you a letter," Hermione argued. "He doesn't seem to like knowing that you have 'admirers', as he called it. Maybe all isn't lost?"

"Saying that it isn't lost means I may find it again. I'm starting to think that it's just been murdered. That's all right, though. It seems quite fitting." I answered honestly, watching the place where he had disappeared into the dark corridors.

Hermione sighed. "You shouldn't repress things like you do, Audrey."

"If you're about to play psychiatrist again," I bristled remembering back to the summer where I would be woken up from my naps for hourly lectures on my well-being and the worry I was placing on others. She had been horrible to be around, even if I had been nearly as unbearable. "Then you may as well let me go find Malfoy again. It's the same kind of torture."

She took the not-so-subtle hint and changed the subject. "Have you been writing Fred often?"

"Not at all, actually," I answered, looking down at the parchment in confusion and weighing it in one hand again. It seemed like he had written a lot; there were no gifts or trinkets hidden within the parchment that I could feel – it felt like it was all the weight of ink and scrolled paper. "Its unexpected and some horrible timing."

"Read it," she encouraged. I turned the envelope over in my hand again, just to see the seal...but it only made me more nervous. Fred and I hadn't written in a long while; like everyone else, I had ignored his letters in the summer and he had given up after a time – what triggered his want to talk to me now was beyond me...but it was probably not something to be excited over. In fact, it was probably something that should make me nervous. Obviously there was no emergency or something I could do to help out with the Order or the Joke Shop, which means he must have genuinely wanted to speak to me...and whenever conversation with Fred came to mind, as did the fact we were still unresolved over that time he kissed me in front of the entire Hogwartian population.

That helped make up my mind.

"Maybe later."

"Do you ignore all our problems?" Hermione huffed, standing when she instinctively knew that our conversation was over.

"I don't know why that's such a problem. If I didn't, I may be interrupting a Quidditch game right now." Hermione's eyes rolled. "You see, I do sometimes let know-it-all Gryffindors talk me out of confronting my problems. Does that count?"

"I'm going to the game," she sighed, pushing herself from where she had been leaning on the wall and straightening her robes. "I take it you're not coming?"

"And ruin all your good work to keep me quiet?" I waved dismissively. "You deserve some sort of repayment for reining in my need for personal warfare."

"Try to avoid trouble, alright?" She asked rhetorically, giving me a tight smile before turning to head out of the dungeons and toward the Quidditch pitch. I hoped that whatever conversation we'd had about Ron would stick with her instead of what she had witnessed of my own angst...

But there was something to be said of hearing the situation from someone else's point of view – seeing it through their eyes, having someone else on my side...I couldn't deny that it helped alter my opinion on some of the things that had been going on in the halls or between hexes. There was no doubt that Malfoy had been cruel, but could he really have been jealous? What he'd said wasn't all that relevant to how I had wronged him – not when it came to getting a letter from Fred. That had nothing to do with the ways I had hurt him...ever.

Maybe Hermione was right, maybe he was jealous.

As long as Harry didn't find out, I guess – I'm sure he'd just get mad that instead of sticking up for myself I was whoring out my emotions. Again.

Ugh. The thought of Harry didn't sooth me, not when I was still so hurt and annoyed that he would give something so precious – Felix Felicis took six bloody months to finish – to Ron for a _game_. While it's true I'm not the biggest fan of sports, I'm also not a moron: that potion was not allowed on the field and was wasted on it. That Liquid Luck hadn't been brewed for such shrewd purposes and only the idiotic, closed minds of teenage boys could think of such a disgraceful reason to use it.

I had better reasons, better _intentions_ even. I just wanted to be able to talk to Theodore and maybe smooth out the relationships that I had lost and the few that were being fired at me like rogue Crutiatus'. True, it could have been considered selfish, but it was certainly a better reason than to help worsen a pre-existing House rivalry.

I looked down at the letter in my hands, it felt heavy as it waited to be read – but I feared that the conversation within it would be heavier. Fred and I had had no time to talk about what had happened last year – whether it be the kiss or the events which had lead up to it – but to mention it now was random and terrifying. You needed to warn someone when this kind of conversation was coming up...you didn't tell them through a _letter. _This conversation had been left alone for so long that I'd hoped it would be one of those things you forgot about, even if I'd doubted that were the case.

Felix Felicis could help with that too. If I had some.

In fact, Felix Felicis could have fixed a lot of things in my life: Theodore, the Slytherins, it would also be nice to know what is going on with Malfoy. It'd be nice to put my brother back in his place, figure out what was up Snape's arse, and of course there was the matter of my grades which were steadily falling. Save potions, of course...potions I could still do.

If I had the Felix Felicis, I would burn that bloody Prince's book.

I was best in our Potions class, even if Harry was being helped. So sure, he could give that potion away to anyone he wanted...because I was going to make some for myself.

That made more sense than moping over it, didn't it? If I wanted to prove I was the best, it was quite easy – Harry couldn't do anything that wasn't in that book and there was no question in my mind that the Prince hadn't written in any instructions on such a complicated and lengthy spell...there wasn't enough room to do that in the margins of a textbook.

I didn't need a textbook. And I didn't need help.

I suddenly felt quite determined and it was strange, feeling like myself for the first time in a long time. If there was anything I was confident in, it was that I was the best Potions Mistress in the school. And if there was anything I knew could make things better, it was a potion like Felix Felicis.

But where the bloody hell do you start on a potion that complicated? Finding the ingredients, I suppose – I would need to order a lot of them in by catalogue. There was no way that I would be able to find all of them in a store cupboard. There were harder ingredients that I could possibly get off the black market from Mundungus – it could be how he makes it up to me for stealing Sirius' things. And I'm sure that I could steal some of the Snifferts scales that McGonagall was using for the seventh years Transfiguration class...

If they were still in her room, of course. And there was no time like a Quidditch game – when everyone else would be cheering on age-old rivalries – to see if I could steal something.

I sprinted up the stairs, my mind reeling with ideas of all the things I would be able to make right in six months when that potion was complete. It would be a long wait, of course, but it as better to have some sort of hope than to have none at all. And I was never in lack of needing luck when it came to being hunted by Death Eaters, Dementors and my own conscience on the summer holiday.

Honestly I don't know why it took so long for me to come up with this solution.

Headed up to the sixth floor Transfiguration room, I was nearly gasping for air. It was one thing to be excited and have energy in the dungeons – but by the time you go from the ground floor and up to the sixth on moving staircases, your breath tended to leave you quickly. I was lucky that it was already gone, because by the time I had gotten onto the landing of the sixth floor, the wind was knocked out of me.

What were the chances that I would see Draco Malfoy again in the corridors? His pale flame of hair was the only colour in the otherwise abandoned corridor. A part of me wanted to deny that it was him – it couldn't be after all. The Quidditch game had begun, his favourite game of the year – Gryffindor vs Slytherin, a possibly literal fight to the death...he would never miss it.

But it was him, there was no doubt about it. My instincts could tell it was him and so could the fact that I had at one point memorized every inch of his face – which I could hardly see as his gaze was pointedly fixed out the window. Even though I couldn't see the face I had memorized, his proud and defiant posture was nearly noticeable through his recent illness. It had left his shoulders more curved than normal, but he still looked haughty. He hardly looked six foot anymore even though I knew well that he was above it. Something about every familiar line of him had grown unfamiliar and..._defeated_. I had no doubts if I could see his face I would see just that expression.

And then I did. Well, when he turned around there was much more shock than defeat, to be fair – but that was only to be expected. Then, as they always seemed to nowadays, his eyes steeled over in a stubborn attempt to keep me from unravelling what I had just seen.

"Are you stalking me?"

"You found me first today," I argued. "Not the other way around."

"And why aren't you off supporting The Chosen One?" he sneered. "Don't you always?

I felt like I had been caught doing something bad even though all I had done was climb the damn stairs. A part of me really thought that it would be a good time to run...another part was a little too confused for proper brain function.

"You're Slytherin's seeker," I pointed out slowly.

"Why yes, I am. It's amazing you still retain some inner-House knowledge." I couldn't help but roll my eyes. If he was going to play this way then the conversation was going to take years to finish.

"I mean, shouldn't you be down there...playing?"

"Not today," he drawled, turning away from me to look out the window with a glare. "I left it up to Harper."

"Harper?" I quirked an eyebrow, there was no doubt that he would have been able to hear the scrutiny in my voice as I moved toward him. Out the window that he was glaring through I could barely see the game – I knew his eyes were far better than mine...but why wouldn't he watch from the stands, if anything? "So you're purposefully trying to make us lose the game?"

"I have things to do," he said stiffly, moving away from the window – and me. "They don't include explaining myself to _you_."

"Or playing Quidditch," I elaborated, shoving a hand through my hair to pull it away from my eyes. He watched me carefully, as if he knew that I was looking for something to argue about. "Malfoy, you _love _Quidditch – I've seen you slave people away during practice more than any of the captains have. What the hell is going on?"

"It doesn't matter to you, or at least it shouldn't, as it has nothing to do with you," he said sharply, taking a few steps away from me. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay the hell away from me? How many times does _anyone _have to tell you to stay the hell away from me?"

"Everyone tells me to stay away because you're an ass," I stated. "I didn't listen last year, this year I've been doing pretty well."

"I tend to disagree," he bit. "Still think I'm an arse, then?"

"Now I think you're covering for something...I just can't figure out for what," I told him honestly, taking a few steps forward. He was standing rigidly now, knowing that I was about to bring up my theories again and preparing himself to negate them in whichever ways he had to. "Is it for Voldemort, or is it for yourself?"

"The Dark Lord-"

"_Your _Dark Lord?" I corrected curiously, narrowing my eyes. "I'm not daft, I know that you're somehow involved with him."

"You don't know anything," he barked, storming back toward the window that I had just vacated as if that would be far enough away from me so that he could bellow. "You don't know anything about what's been going on because you raided the bloody Ministry!"

"We raided it to save my Godfather," I snapped back, somehow feeling defensive. Normally I would have held my tongue, as I had earlier with Theodore, but I just couldn't force myself to stay quiet towards Malfoy. Not when he really _didn't _understand and he had once said that it's all he could do. That he was the only one who _could._ "I didn't know what would happen there. I went because I knew it was a trap and Harry-"

"Why would you go if you knew it was a trap, then? Do you have a death wish, or did you just _want _to kill or incarcerate our fathers?" Malfoy spat. I felt like he'd slapped me in the face and I took a step away from him. He seemed to enjoy the fact I had recoiled. "You have no idea what you started, Potter. You have no idea what you've _caused._"

"So is that it? Are you replacing your father?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. I was trying to cover the fact that my whole body was reacting with nervous energy – my fingers were tingling and warm, my heartbeat felt like it was shaking my entire frame. "Malfoy, you don't _have _to work for them-"

"You think you know everything about us, about Theodore, Daphne, even less likely _myself_," he seethed, taking a step toward me. I think it was supposed to intimidate me – but his anger was only making me feel more anxious and giddy. I was getting it right...he would only be this angry if I was getting it _right_. "When really, you don't know anything at all."

"I know that you don't really hate me," I argued. "At least not in the same way that Theodore does."

"Oh do you?" He asked, laughing darkly. "How could you know that?"

"Last night, you were mad at Theodore. And he was mad at you."

"I get mad at people often, I really don't see how-"

"That's not just it and it's obvious to anyone," I told, taking a brave step forward as he had. He didn't move away, he was trying to keep me from feeling as brave as I did. And even though I was bluffing – because it certainly was not obvious to me – I had to keep playing my hand. It was strangely comforting that he wasn't moving away from me. Maybe I had struck some kind of cord that would keep him talking and telling me what was really going on. "You keep helping me with Astoria, you don't yell at me like the others, you don't participate in the hexing and the jinxes-"

"I have other things on my mind."

"Death Eater things?" I questioned, taking a final step forward so that I was looking right at him. "Was Harry really right all along? Have I been protecting you for nothing?"

"Even if I said you weren't, you'd still run off to tell him anyway." He sneered. "You'd do anything for him even though you _hate _him. And what about for us, the people who you thought were your friends? You ruin our lives. That's all you can ever do for _anyone_."

"That's not true," I bit out, unable to keep the hurt from my voice. "And you _know _that isn't true. I've never betrayed you like that, just like you didn't for me. What would be the point? Why would I do that after I've been arguing with him the whole time?"

"There's the real motive then: you wouldn't want to prove him right."

"That's not it, you bloody moron," I rolled my eyes. "If you want to be treated like an adult, argue like one. Trying to dredge up the animosity between Harry and I is not at all up to your calibre of duelling."

"I'll try harder," he promised with a frown.

"I've been throwing my brother off so that he will stay off your back, Malfoy. You aren't making it easy to dismiss it, of course, but even if you told me you _were _a Death Eater..." I trailed off. What would I do if he told me he was a Death Eater? Would I cry, scream, run away? I doubt I'd be scared of him...but perhaps for him. Perhaps Dumbledore had hit the nail on the head when he had talked about fearing for someone so much. Maybe it was possible to be more afraid for someone than _of _someone. Maybe I was thinking of the wrong type of _fear _that drives people's actions. "I would never tell Harry either way."

"Really?" he asked sarcastically, though he took a step backward, turning away and shaking his head as if he couldn't comprehend what was being said. "What if I was supposed to kill him, then?"

"I'll convince you not to," I promised, though I couldn't help but feel my fists clench nervously – my fingers nearly ached just at the thought of having to split the two up from killing one another.

"And what if I'm supposed to kill _you_?"

The thought was almost comical; before it hit me what he had said. My fingers stopped aching as a dull chill crept over my skin. It was like taking a bath in cold water – waking me up from the comedy and into the dire truth of what could be happening within the walls of the castle I lived in. What if he _was _planning to kill me, or Harry, or anyone else? What if he was sent here because he was the only one who _would?_

"I'd like to see you try," I grinned tightly, trying to keep the idea as light as it had been before the fear had leaked through the cracks. "Besides, I don't think you would."

"I could, if I wanted to."

"Maybe, but you wouldn'tbecause you _don't_ want to." I argued, not at all confident enough to back it up with an arrogant smirk as I wished that I could. "I just have trouble assuming why – is it because you're afraid of me, or because you _aren't _afraid of me?"

"You're ridiculous," he scoffed. "The Dark Lord wouldn't-"

"That has nothing to do with the Dark Lord," I interrupted, my voice dark. "I understood you once, Malfoy – just like you always said you understood me. So listen when I say: I am not talking about the Dark Lord right now. I'm talking about what you are doing to _yourself_."

"You're an idiot, Potter," he hissed. "Absolutely mental. First you start saying that you think I'm a Death Eater, that you are going to stop me from what I'm doing – now you're telling me that you're all right with it, that it's my decision instead, that you'll help me work it out because you _understand me_..."

"You're not saying that I'm wrong," I noted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I shouldn't have to," he responded in the same tone. "You're insane."

I watched him for a long moment, weighing his words and his reactions – watching to see what he was really thinking. He knew the tricks well, knew to hide and stay stoic – it would be better to show that you were hiding something but be able to keep it secret than try to play coy and have it written all over you. He knew all the techniques I did, so it was hard to look past all the things I knew he could hide. He was a master manipulator, just as I was – but there was a part of me that was sure I was the better reader.

"Do you still fancy me, Malfoy?" I asked quietly. The look on his face would have nearly been comical in any other situation – his wide eyes, the furrowed brow, the look as if I had asked him to flash Madame Pomfrey.

"You _are _insane."

"You've already told me I am," I shrugged, moving closer to the window. "It's a simple question. Last year, you were adamant on telling me you fancied me – even the year before. And I admitted it to you. And you wrote me all summer. And you've protected me as best you can without making it obvious...I don't think it should be difficult for you to answer. It seems like you've been considering the answer all term...so, Draco Malfoy, do you still fancy me?"

It looked like I had cursed him – his face didn't know what expression to chisel into his features, his posture looked like he was considering hitting me or running away. It was like he was skipping like a broken vinyl record – hitting the same notes and not knowing what comes next in the song.

"This has nothing to do with anyone else," I told him, moving forward again so that I could be face to face with him. He looked as if he were both repulsed and pained just by being in such close proximity to me. "Not your posse, not Theodore, not the Dark Lord, not anyone..."

"You condemned my father to Azkaban," he croaked out, his voice low.

"Your father got himself shoved into Azkaban – after trying to kill me quite a few times in the span of two hours," I added, clearly unamused. "I'm sorry it was _your _father who suffered for _his _mistakes – but that doesn't mean you and I have to, as well."

"You're desperate," he hissed, clenching his jaw.

"I'm confident," I corrected. "You still fancy me, like I fancy you. I just need you to say it – no one else needs to know, remember? That's what you said last year, 'no one needs to know'. So tell me, Draco...do you fancy me?"

I don't know who kissed who. I may have grabbed him – maybe he had grabbed me – but suddenly we were a mesh of hot breath and greedy lips. It was easy, kissing him again. It was familiar and comfortable...and reciprocated. He had kissed me back on instinct, or I had kissed him back on instinct if he had started it – but after seconds he had not tried to pull away. In fact, he gripped onto me as if I were a lifeline, holding me closer and threading his hands through my hair. I had won – I was right. There was something else, some other reason that everything was happening the way it was this year.

He didn't hate me.

That, in itself, was a beautiful realization. More necessary than I would have thought the feeling was – had I really missed him this much the entire time, or was it just now that I remembered what I didn't have that I needed it back so badly? It didn't matter. This, kissing him, _w_as a euphoric feeling – like Liquid Luck and victory. I could feel everything and anything all at once, as if my body hadn't woken before this very moment when I had become myself again. He was kissing me back. He _wanted_ me.

And still I was surprised by just how much I wanted him. I had mourned his loss over the past months, that was not necessarily a well-kept secret, but hanging on him and having his lips on mine was addictive. Like some kind of drug that I hadn't used in months and had craved even after so long. You didn't need withdrawal for relapse. And in that relapse I was myself again – like I was back a year before I had become a monster and before he had become a servant to something else darker than even I. It felt like his lips were burning away all the cold that had settled around me – the cold realizations, the cold abandonment – and left me to thaw back into who I always had been. It was more than euphoric...it was _real._

He pulled away first, breathing hard, and watching me as I pulled away smiling. I put my fingers to my lips, feeling how swollen they were – had he bitten them? I couldn't remember.

"You called me Draco," he breathed.

Had I?

"I like your name," I said simply, breathing deeply. "Should I not say it?"

He shook his head, running his hands through his hair again before taking multiple steps away from me. I sobered up quickly, watching as he digressed back to who he had been only moments before. His head continued to shake as his brow furrowed – and when he looked back at me, his charcoal eyes were livid.

"How many times do we have to tell you to stay away?" he asked, his voice low and husky from what had just happened and whatever meaning he was trying to convey. "Why can't you just listen to us and stay away?"

Wait – what?

"Who's _we_?"

Malfoy clenched his jaw, the lust leaving his eyes as he took a deep breath, trying to calm down whatever reactions I had caused in him. Because I had affected him, somhow. But what did he mean when he said _we?_

Who else would know, would be in on whatever was happening? Theodore – no, no, they were too at odds. It wouldn't be Daphne or Pansy, not even Blaise. There was no one in the House that I could see him trusting enough to-

Oh no.

Oh dear Salazar, _no._

"Snape," I realized, my stomach dropping. "_Snape..._"

Hadn't he told me how terrible Malfoy and I were for each other? Hadn't he always gotten angry whenever he had seen us around each other – trying to get me to be closer to Theodore but pushing me farther away from Malfoy? Of course Snape knew. Snape was a Death Eater.

Which meant that Malfoy...

"I was right," I gasped, running my hands through my hair much as Malfoy had just done. "I was _right _and Snape – he _knew._"

He hadn't told the Order. He hadn't told _me. _He hadn't told anyone about Malfoy and what had happened to him after his father was imprisoned. He hadn't told anyone the hardships that Malfoy was going through or whatever it was Voldemort had planned for him...but all along, Snape had _known._

Feeling like myself again brought with it both the good and the bad. I moved to storm away from Malfoy, feeling my blood boiling in my veins as the fire that Malfoy had lit once more burned with new fury – I was myself and I was _furious_. Snape had to answer for everything that I had gone through this year – and I would make him answer through his blood and his tearsif I had to.

I moved through the halls, hearing Malfoy call after me and curse loudly in the corridor that I had left behind. I was already weaving down toward Snape's office – I would wait for him if I had to. Sit outside his door like an animal perched and ready to pounce. I didn't care what I had to do, he would be answering my questions. All of them. Right when I asked them.

I stomped up the stairs, not caring that I probably sounded like a herd of angry elephants – but I had to stop short when I nearly slipped. I clutched onto the railing to keep myself from sliding down the rest of the steps. In front of me, on the stairs, there was something sticky that I had slipped in. It was red, like all the paint that had been splattered over me in the past weeks – but it was much more thick. Darker. More crimson than ruby while it dripped down the stairs in slow moving torrents.

"Audrey, don't look!" Malfoy's voice shouted from behind me. I felt him come up behind me and curl me away from the sight before me, clasping his hand over my eyes to hide the memory of what I had seen – but it was too late. I was already screaming. I could hear the windows around us already shattering. Had I already been screaming when he found me? The moment wasn't clear enough to tell.

What was clear was that Circe was dead.

* * *

><p><strong>Please don't hate me! It had to happen, it has its purpose and as upsetting as it is...it was necessary. I know a lot of people have been asking about Circe's fate recently, so perhaps you caught on to the many hints I have been giving over the past tenish chapters. Ugh, that felt terrible to write. I'm going to distract myself from how awful I feel by responding to my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_crabbclaw_**: Thank you. I'm feeling much better now, but it's sad that it messed up the vacation. I'm glad that you get excited when you get the update emails – hopefully you did for this one as well!  
>You have good theories, like how by the end of this book Audrey would kill for Draco. Sadly, you're going to have to wait some chapters to find out. Greengrass is being a nuisance as well, but hopefully now that Audrey's herself again she won't take as much of her crap. She did get to talk to Theo in this one as well as kissing Malfoy! Yay! Hopefully you liked it, even though it was emotional. Thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: You got some Dreaco in this chapter! What did you think? It was emotional and a whirlwind, but it happened – he kissed back, too. I'm glad you're interested in a story with Seren and Tom. I pronounce Seren as "Sare-ehn" and her nickname Seree as "Suhr-ee". Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Miss Calculation_**: I'm feeling a lot better, thank you. Almost fully recovered, I think! Hopefully you liked this chapter too, thanks for the review!**

_TheDuckKnight_**: I'm really excited to write Seren's story; I have a lot planned for it and I think it could be really exciting. Plus, it will really tie into Audrey's story with some of the more emotional aspects, so it will be fun to write. Hopefully this chapter let you see a little more about why Theodore was so upset AND I gave you Malfoy action...even if it came with a death at the end. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. Hopefully seeing so much with Theodore, Hermione, Malfoy, the teachers and even the sad fate of Circe was a good read. **

_RH96_**: Thank you, hopefully this chapter had some of that action you were looking for :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I love your intense chapter reviews! She and Harry are going to continue to get different memories than each other, save maybe for the Slughorn one so that she can learn about the Horcruxes. It also took me a really long time to think about what Audrey may get bequeathed to her, if Dumbledore dies, and it took me a long time to come up with the perfect thing for the plot – but I think I figured it out well enough. Or I hope.  
>I tried to keep Voldemort from being too lovey-dovey. It was more a manipulative thing, in Audrey's eyes, but it will be really fun writing it from Seren's point of view later on when she really does believe that they're in love. Audrey, as you said, thinks very differently from the other characters of this story, though. It's why she's a Slytherin. She makes me proud :P<br>Yes! There was epicness last chapter between Theo/Drea/Draco...but this scene I think I gave you even more. You got to see what was going on in Theodore's mind, what might be going on in Draco's, and then at the end when Draco protected her from what she had to see...ugh, I felt terrible writing that last part. It took me five times to be able to write it and leave it alone because I just couldn't do it properly. It was too sad.  
>Expect a fight between Harry and Audrey next chapter, even though there was some anger in this one about the Felix Felicis. It's funny you mention that you like Audrey doesn't play Quidditch the chapter before the big Quidditch game – no, she hates flying. She's not even really good at it. And she doesn't have the eyesight to be a player, considering she doesn't wear glasses.<br>Of course I've thought about the next book! I have them all mapped out, I pretty much have from the beginning. I started writing this story with the explicit idea of what I wanted to happen during the final battle...and it kind of built itself backwards from that. So it's all planned out...I just have to GET to it, haha. Anyway, I LOVED the in-depth review, thank you so much. Hope you liked this crazy chapter!**

_Leanna Drobis_**: And I wanted to thank you for noticing they aren't perfect and liking it. I try to keep things realistic and if they were both perfect, that would break the rule. Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_99terminater_**: Dumbledore is totally HP's "All-Knowing-Old-Dude", so I'm glad you caught the subtext in his speeches. That's an interesting idea, that Draco's pushing Drea away for her sake and not his pride – did this chapter change that theory, or reinforce it? **

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I think Drea can find a reason to hate or blame anyone – including Wormtail, even if it makes her hypocritical. But it's good that you're thinking about these kinds of things and empathizing with her – hopefully it means I'm doing something right! Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I was barely alive when I wrote that tweet about being in the hospital. I was there for a few days and it was torture. And not really knowing what was wrong at first was terrifying (I was not in an English country) and it was just all sorts of badness. But I'm nearly completely recovered, I can go out and do things now, I just find that there's that lingering "yuck" that comes after that kind of illness. I'm not as strong as I was and find that it takes me longer to do things than normal – sucky, but better than still being in the hospital, I guess.  
>Yes, there will be fights between Audrey and Draco, as always – but you'll have to wait to see the colossal fight that will be coming up. It'll be hard to miss, though. Don't worry. And yes, Snape and Audrey have definitely had a falling out...which we are also going to see emphasized next chapter as well (now that she knows that Snape is in on what's happening with Malfoy).<br>Yes, I'm actually really excited to start the Tom/Seren story. It's also nice to start a story that you know the ending for – you already know Seren dies at Tom's hand. You just don't know why yet. It'll be an interesting way to go about writing a story. Anyway, hope you liked this new devastating chapter...**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm feeling much better, thanks :) If you liked the Theo/Audrey/Draco interactions last chapter, hopefully this chapter was able to top it. Thanks for the review!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I don't think anyone would know if they'd choose fear or love until they were thrown into that position, so I don't blame you. I'm glad you liked the Tom Riddle memory, it was really cool to write. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Skylar97_**: I wish I could hurry up, too. Hopefully once I'm back from overseas I'll have more time to write and on something more reliable than an iPad. I've pretty much got the story mapped out, but thanks for offering :) Hope you liked the newest chapter.**

_Yui-chanMacaronii_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and Seren – I really like her too. Tom definitely knows how to manipulate people, so writing her story will be really interesting. Hopefully I do her proud. Hope you liked the moments with the characters in this one like you did in the last one, thanks for the review!**

_Katie93319_**: If it makes you feel better, I also don't know what I'll do once the story's finished. It's just such a part of me at this point – I enjoy writing this as much as I enjoy writing my own stories. I guess I'll have to make Audrey live on in some of my original works somehow...it's the only way! It will be sad to separate the character from Draco, though. They just complement each other so well...even in this chapter where they were arguing and kissing again. It tends to go hand-in-hand with those two throughout their history. I figured it was the best way to introduce it in this chapter, too. Thanks for the review, and yes, I'm feeling much better :)**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: It's good to know that the non-action chapters are decent in comparison to the action-packed chapters, then. I always worry. These next few chapters are going to be insane – we're about half way through the HBP portion now...crazy as it may be. I ended up getting a really bad infection that put me in the hospital, but I'm feeling a lot better now – no need to fear :) Thanks for the concern though, it's very sweet of you.**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, you're too awesome! I don't need all those compliments, seriously, you're making me blush! I'm excited to write a bit on Seren and Tom as well, it's really interesting to be able to write from an inside perspective – and contrary to popular belief, no, I'm not going to make Riddle turn soft. I believe Dumbledore when he says that Tom has never known love...but that doesn't mean that I can't play around with the idea of him manipulating and being possessive – so hopefully you like what I come up with for their short(ish) story later on.  
>When Theodore and Audrey have some sort of reasonable conversation again, it will be a beautiful day. I'm excited for the opportunity to write it – even if it won't be the friendship they had, at least (sooner than you may think) they will have a real conversation about what happened. Hope you liked this chapter and all the TheodoreHermione/Draco drama that encompassed it! **

_1llu510n_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully you're still enjoying the deeper peeks into Audrey's mind and her imperfect ways to do things. She is a bit of a fire-cracker. I hope you like this chapter and are enjoying your summer vacation; thanks for the review.**

_Vanilla Snowdrops_**: Thanks, I'm feeling a lot better now. Audrey definitely has feelings for Malfoy, hopefully it's noticeable after this last chapter. Do you think, after reading, that Malfoy still has feelings for her?  
>Yes, Voldemort is a true sadist, making Fernius watch as his sister killed his family. It was a really intense scene to write – I'm excited to put it into its own story. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing.<strong>

_AFlairForSelfishSkies_**: Draco may have been holding back his thoughts – maybe he did want to say something else last chapter. Something that he may have expressed this chapter? Hm. Those two are so difficult. I just want to shake them and make them kiss and at the same time I'm like "no, be true to your write-up! Be true to the story!"...even though more often than not I'm just as frustrated as you are.  
>Yes, of course there are going to be Dreaco moments in this book! They are on their way and with what happened in this chapter, they will be coming a little bit faster than not. It is funny that you should mention Circe and her fate as I was writing this chapter though...ugh, it hurt so much. I hope you liked it anyway, even if it was heartbreaking.<strong>

_StormSky_**: Yeah, I know, I am a tease. But to be fair so are they! They pretty much write themselves, it totally isn't my fault! They have lives of their own...I just record it and post it. I am feeling much better, thank you, hopefully this all becomes easier. It definitely will when I'm home and I have my laptop with all the proper documents, spell-checking, and a **_**real **_**keyboard. As for the story of Tom and Seren, I'm excited to be able to write it all down – hopefully it turns out like it plays in my mind.**

_Melody_**: Yes, it's nice to start being able to include the Slytherins in chapters again. And with the exception of Christmas (which is soon approaching) there will be a lot of Slytherin interaction in all chapters from now until Book Seven. Dumbledore was definitely trying to explain to Audrey a little more about herself, she is just having a bit of an issue figuring out the meaning behind it – but at least in this chapter we got some Theo/Hermione/Draco conversations! And yes, I'm excited for the Seren/Tom story as well. I think it could really go somewhere deep if I can pull it off as I imagine it. I hope you had a good time in Paris and thank you for the well-wishes!**

_Magimagus_**: Internal-Audrey can be fun to write, but I couldn't tell you if I like that or action more. I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere in the story when I write action-scenes, so maybe that's where I get confused.  
>Audrey will be getting all original memories (save, perhaps, Slughorn's) so hopefully I don't butcher them. I'm always nervous when I stray too far away from the original storylines – I don't want to do any injustice to what is indefinitely a much more thrilling series. Were any of your questions from the last review answered? About Snape's reason for pushing Theo and Audrey into their rounds, or what she was comparing Draco to in the last chapter? Do you think that Theodore is trying to find a way to forgive Audrey?<br>Draco, Draco, Draco. He just can't stay away. Then again, neither can she. Hopefully you enjoyed that little tidbit near the end. I don't really think he's team Astoria...particularly after what I just posted. It's kind of cool that you tell your family about this – I only tell my mom and every time I post she gets angry because "you should be writing your own story. You could be an author, if you just focused on other things" though she'll later tell me everything she liked about the chapters, haha. But I guess that's just how my mom works.  
>I'm really excited to write the SerenTom story and include all the characters in that. When I get back to Canada I'm going to continue researching for a few days then drafting the first few chapters. It should be exciting. No more than thirty chapters (maybe only twenty), but hopefully exciting! And I am mostly recovered, I think. Just some lingering effects with being that sick and not having the proper time to recover – but I figure I'm overseas and who knows when I'll be here again...so I can fully recover when I'm back home ;) Thanks for reviewing again!**

_xYaar_**: I am really enjoying my holiday now that I'm better. I enjoyed before I got sick as well, it just sucks that I lost out on seeing some places because I couldn't get out of bed. Also I missed my birthday, after making such a big deal about being abroad for it – but c'est la vie.  
>I find that this story has quite a few chapters that are difficult to get through (then again, after 67 of them, that's probably natural) but yes, last chapter was difficult. This one was a bit easier, even though I re-wrote it a few times to make sure it was presented properly. Hopefully you liked this chapter, even if it was a tad heartbreaking, and thank you for your review :)<strong>

_Godric's Innocent Angel_**: Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

_Swift Alice_**: I always save your review response for last because it's always so epic to read and always so epic to respond to. I'm feeling much better, thank you, and I've gotten back on course for my trip. It just sucks that I missed out on more time in Germany and missed out entirely on Spain. But I'm recovered and going through the UK before I leave, so that's exciting! How are you? I've missed talking to you. Thank you for all the sweet messages on twitter about me getting better 3  
>Yes, Astoria is a little brat. As for dragging a rock up to his office – you must be pretty strong. That would not be the easiest thing to do. But yes – Tom and Seren story! Yay! I'm actually really excited for it. It was both spur of the moment and planned as I wanted to add some cross over at some point between GEM and a story about Tom Riddle but the character of Seren came a bit spur of the moment. I really like writing about characters like Tom, where all they do is manipulate – you're right, there won't be lovey-dovey moments in here as in some stories. It will also be really interesting to read this from Seren's point of view. I actually got the idea from going over some of my old school notes and when I was in a specialized English class we had to write a novella (ten to twenty pages, short story) and I chose to write it on "Jonestown". If you don't know what it is, it was a reverend in the 70's who relocated his entire church to its own town and he later convinced over 900 people to commit mass-suicide to get to heaven. It gets more in-depth, but that's the idea. Anyway, I wrote my story about one of the women (as there were so many) who poisoned her child before poisoning herself – it kind of gave me inspiration to write about someone who was so easily manipulated (aka Seren Malmore).<br>Anyway, on to other not-as-upsetting subjects. Yes – you are right about the plot twist. And that there are subtle hints to prepare you all for what's about to happen. One of them was what happened in this chapter...poor Circe. Did you expect it? Probably not. Even I had trouble expecting it, even when I had a count down on how many chapters I had left with her. When I told my Mom this was happening she was like "WHAT? WHAT? YOU CAN'T TELL ME THINGS LIKE THAT!" before she continued to read through the story to look for all the clues I had given to it. I imagine lots of people will be upset with me over this...ugh, I'm upset with myself. But it had to happen.  
>I understand what you are referring to when you say that Harry is upset that Audrey isn't defending herself. I think that's half the reason he's so upset as well. It is an interesting idea – would Harry die for Audrey, would Audrey die for Harry...would Audrey die for anyone? She definitely isn't the type to give herself up like that – but I think it ends up coming down to instinct...so we'll have to wait for that moment to arrive. But I agree – I agree that Audrey would kill for him. And, considering the events at the Ministry of Magic the year before, she already believes that she has.<br>Audrey and Theodore this chapter was depressing – how Theodore can continue to blame himself also makes me feel sad...and I'm the one who wrote it that way. I can't tell you how much this story can make me hate myself one minute and get all giddy the next, depending on what moments I'm writing. I get as into it as anyone else...in fact, probably more so.  
>Draco! I get excited every time I mention him – particularly because they kissed in this chapter. And then he tried to protect her from seeing Circe (though don't look to much into that, they aren't just all right-as-rain again). But don't stop over-analysing, I love reading it! And don't worry about not reviewing every chapter – it's alright, don't worry! Lots of love, I hope that everything is well over back on your side of the world, and I hope that this chapter was as enjoyable as it could be, given the circumstances :)<strong>

_Jr Snape_**: Sorry for taking your life away, but I'm glad that you're liking it :)**

_incitanemxx_**: That's a good theory, that Snape doesn't want them interacting but Dumbledore might – did this chapter help bolster that idea? I'm sorry I missed your birthday, but I was in transit all that day and this chapter took a while to write on my crappy iPad. Hopefully this chapter was worth a bit of a wait and I am sorry I missed it, though.  
>Also, thanks for reading through the story again – it's always really flattering when people tell me they are reading through it a second time. But you brought up some interesting points in your second review: no, I don't think that Draco would be able to handle the thought of almost killing Drea. But it's interesting that you think Drea might know what Draco is doing in the ROR...I guess you'll have to wait and see! <strong>

_The Wicked Natural_**: Thank you, I'm feeling much better. I love that actress that you picked; Brie Larson is awesome. Hopefully you are having a good summer and enjoyed this chapter – I'm going to definitely try to get another out soon! Thanks again :)**

_Bookreader1617_**: Hopefully you liked this chapter with Draco and Drea if you liked the last. Thanks for the review!**

_BelowtheFire_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story – you're brave for starting it when it's this many words in. I intimidate myself when I read how many words and chapters I've written. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, you were definitely right that Draco wasn't quite so hostile...maybe this is the reason why.**

_Guest(1)_**: Astoria CAN go to Hell. Don't worry, Audrey won't be taking her crap for much longer...**

_Thenchick_**: Lucky for you, this chapter was just full of Audrey and Draco moments! I hope you liked it :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm feeling a lot better now, though there's still a gross rattling in my chest whenever I do something that winds me. I'm also still a little bit weaker than I was when I started the trip – but it's nice to be back into the groove of things.  
>How was your family reunion? Hopefully it went well. I love going to see family – it's usually my favourite event of the year.<br>Yes, I'm excited to write about Seren Malmore and the early stages of Lord Voldemort. Hopefully it turns out on documents as it sounds in my head, haha. I hope that everything is going well :)**

_BlackRose_**: You seem to still be in the earlier stages of the chapters, but I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and if you make it all the way to this – well done. Hope that you like the story and thank you for your reviews!**

_Ahsilaa_**: Aw, thank you! This was really sweet. I'm glad that you were able to update your own story and thank you so much for enjoying mine :)**

_Guest(2)_**: It's funny that you should be opposed to teen sex when there has been none between the lead characters in this story, but I'm sorry that you seem to get that impression. To clear this up: Draco and Audrey have not had sex, I will not give out graphic sex scenes if they do, and they **_**have **_**only kissed. I'm sorry if the level of passion upsets you – but in real life, it doesn't just stay closed lipped and nervous. Sometimes, if you like someone enough, it can get more heated. As for the other characters, yes, some of them have had sex – again, I only allude or joke about it but (fun fact) one in eight teenagers have sex before the age of 15. By the time they reach 18, the statistic is more than one in four. To ignore the fact that sex happens in a school full of boys and girls would be ignorant and I try to make this as real as possible. I'm sorry if it offends.**

_Pelawen Night_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you've been enjoying it and hope that you continue to in the later stages. I don't really plan to write a Fred Weasley story, though I do have a George Weasley (post-war) story flitting around my head. I have the first three chapters written but haven't look on it for a while – maybe one day I'll see if I can post some of it. Thanks for the review!**

_PatronusFloo182_**: I'm glad that you're liking the story and yes, I am feeling much better, thank you. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter (even if it was a bit of a wait). Thanks for reviewing.**

_Annaismyname_**: Sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Thank you everyone for all your fantastic reviews – I'm nervous on the response I'll get for this chapter but hopefully you enjoyed it as much as you could with all the angst and the upsetting ending.**

**Please **_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter for sneak-peeks, excerpts, and Q&As **EgyptsLegend


	68. Frozen

**Oh my Godric, guys! I have never gotten so many reviews for a chapter before: it made me so happy to be able to read them all; thank you so much! I think after that last one this one might be up your alley as well, considering there is lots of Draco in it – it's Christmas time in Hogwarts, everyone. And something always happens around Christmas...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 67 – Frosted<p>

* * *

><p>"Ron is always a prat," I explained to her simply, not trying to put any lightheartedness into my words. There was no point: Hermione knew the truth now; I just wish she wouldn't be so damn <em>teary <em>over it. "You need to stop listening to him, Hermione. In fact, if you would like me douse him in itching powder-"

"No," she sniffled, wiping her tears away on the sleeve of her robe. "I wouldn't want you to do that."

"Itching powder carries currently unnamed creatures that cause a reverse in flesh eating disease..."

"And where exactly did we find her?" I asked lowly, not caring that she could hear me as I pointed over my shoulder to Loony Lovegood. She acted as if what she said made the utmost sense continued to watch Hermione very intensely, nodding as if to encourage her to agree.

"Luna was already here in the bathroom when I got here. We come here a lot now," Hermione explained to me and then to Luna. _We_ did not come here often, _Hermione _came here often after Ron liked to make fun of her in classes to impress his new girlfriend. I just so happened to trail after her like a guilty puppy because I had gotten her ready to confess her feelings and she had nearly done it while he was sucking face – not my fault, necessarily, but also not really in my favour.

Then again, I couldn't deny that I had been hiding out a lot over the past few weeks – not that I normally came into a bathroom to do it, of course. Now that news had gotten around about what had happened in the corridors when I had found..._the body,_ I liked to stay to myself. Not that it was that difficult: mysteriously, the Slytherins weren't hounding me over it so I didn't have to hurt them or prank them back – as much as I wanted to get revenge on everything they had done this year, I couldn't seem to find the urge. Yet.

I had given myself a set mourning period before I came back full force.

"Yes," Lovegood said dreamily, her eyes turning to me but not _looking _at me. "I heard your kneazle had died – that's quite sad."

"She didn't die," Hermione sniffled again as she straightened up. "She-"

"Hermione," I growled, balling my hands in my hair. "If you don't shut up I will pull out your insides by the dysfunctional, frizzy follicles of your _ridiculous _head of hair..."

Hermione cleared her throat. "She doesn't like to talk about it."

"Oh," Luna said simply before looking behind me and smiling. "Well, is it true that Draco Malfoy was with you when you found him? He looks at you quite often when he hasn't disappeared. Are you eloping?"

"Are you out of your mind?" I gasped. I should have felt a little better when Hermione cut her tears to laugh at my expression, but I was still too disgusted. "We aren't even dating!"

"I don't think you need to," she told me with a shrug. "You two are as obviously in love. The wrackspurt don't buzz around you when you're together."

"And that means?"

"That you're thinking about each other and using a lot of concentration," she explained, nodding slightly. "Wrackspurt don't like that – people in love, I mean."

"If people do not stop saying that," I hissed, my voice coming out in a lethal way. "I'm going to cut out their tongues."

"Isn't that what happened to Cir-"

"Luna," Hermione cut her off, hardly sniffling now. "No; you should stop."

"Oh, alright." She looked over my shoulder and smiled. "Hello, Harry. Did you know one of your eyebrows is bright yellow?"

And so it was. My brother walked awkwardly into the girl's bathroom, dark hair as messy as ever with a single yellow eyebrow. And not blonde-yellow, a mustard yellow that made the skin around it look oddly discoloured as well.

"Er – yes," he said awkwardly. "Hi, guys. Hermione, you left your stuff..."

He held out her books and Hermione, as she always was when she cried now that Ron and Lavender were a 'couple' tried to hide her tears from us. "Oh yes, thank you, Harry. Well, I'd better be going..."

"Look at you," I muttered, sprawling out a little more on the bathroom floor after she had left. "You scared her off."

"She's a bit upset, " Luna said seriously, as if she were telling us the world was ending. "I thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She said something about Ron Weasley..."

"Yeah, they've had a row," Harry sighed, looking at me exasperatedly – it seemed that he was not Loony's biggest fan, either.

"More like they need some serious couples therapy," I explained, rolling my eyes. "There's no need to put yourself in a storybook situation, ladies and gentlemen. Enough bad things happen on our watch for a full-figured plot as it is. Hermione and Ron's non-existent love-life should not be so grave."

"He says funny things sometimes, doesn't he?" Luna sighed, standing up as I did. I didn't like that she had shadowed the movement – how would I escape from her if she was shadowing my movements? "But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year. He hasn't been very nice to you since you've been so upset about your kneazle, Audrey."

"Apparently _everyone _wants me to kill them today," I said, grinding my teeth at her.

"She doesn't talk about that, " Harry said simply to her. It seemed he had caught the fact I was trying to kill the loon with my eyes so he decided to change the subject. "So have you had a good term, Luna?"

"Oh, it's been all right," Luna looked away as if remembering back to each part of it. " A bit lonely without the D.A. Ginny's been nice, though. She stopped two boys in our Transfiguration class calling me 'Loony' the other day-"

"She likes doing strange things," I explained, though Harry scowled at me for making fun of the fact I _didn't_ think it was strange to call her Loony. He turned back to Luna, just to make sure I hadn't hurt her feelings.

"How would you like to come to Slughorn's party with me tonight?"

Great, now my brother's a bloody loon, too.

"Slughorn's party? With you?" She asked, her eyes shining. I nearly groaned with how energetic she suddenly became – I think I liked her more when she was blubbering gibberish and looking at the walls.

"Yeah," said Harry while he scratched the back of his head. "We're supposed to bring guests, so I thought you might like...I mean – I mean, just as friends, you know. But if you don't want to..."

"Right," I scoffed. "This is probably her first date – you know how clingy first-timers are, Harry."

"I'd love to go with you as friends!" Lovegood beamed, looking at me and smiling – perhaps she didn't understand how much I had just insulted her. "Nobody's ever asked me to a party before, as a friend! Is that why you dyed your eyebrow, for the party? Should I dye mine too?"

"Dear Godric," I slapped my palm to my forehead while Harry's face slowly began to burn.

"No," Harry tried to be stern to make a point. "That was a mistake. I'll get Hermione to put it right for me. So I'll meet you in the entrance hall at eight o'clock then?"

"Eight o'clock," she agreed emphatically. "I need to go ask Professor Slughorn if he has Nargle-Repelant on his mistletoe!"

"At least she doesn't plan to make use of it," I told him, elbowing him when he looked back at me after she had disappeared. "Why did you ask her as a date? You and I were supposed to go alone!"

"When did we decide that?" He asked, luckily for him he sounded as if he would be sick, which I took to mean that he knew what a mistake he had just made.

"When I decided I wasn't taking a date," I told him sternly. "Now that both you and Hermione are going with someone and I'm the only one without a date again! I'm going to die of humiliation, one of these days."

"You could always just ask someone," Harry offered. I frowned.

"I'd prefer death."

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><p>"What are you doing?" I asked, not daring enough to close the door behind me when I saw how the girls were seated. It was eerie, the way the three of them were brandishing weapons at me: Daphne had my dress robes, Lillian a makeup bag, and Tracey the enchanted hair brush that I never used.<p>

"We're only trying to help you, Audrey," Daphne began slowly, coming toward me as if I were a scared animal. It was a pretty good assumption, I felt like it: I felt my back press up against the door as I searched blindly for the knob.

"No you're not, you're trying to torture me!" I yelped, moving to leap out the door again. Instead of escaping, Tracey came forward and slammed her hand against the wood, shutting it on my cries.

"It's true, I asked to do your hair because I knew it would be the most painful," she admitted with a smirk. "But in the end, you'll thank me through your tears."

"You felt no desire to lie about that?"

"What can I say? I'm excited," she smiled back – genuinely looking pleased.

As they had promised, it was a painful process. I was leaning so far back on a chair that I was certain it was going to tip and take me down with it. Tracey was trying to rip every individual strand of hair from my head while Lillian was straddling me and attacking my face with some paint or other. Meanwhile, Daphne was uprooting everything in my trunk to try and find my silver heels from fourth year.

"Alright, I need to see her hair when she's up," Tracey said, pushing on my hair again. I winced at the feelings of bobby pins digging into my scalp. "Sit up."

I did as she said, praying that the hair would hold up so that she wouldn't have to do any more work. She tilted her head, watching me with a professional's eye – these girls went to massive balls and parties seasonally, as members of the Pureblood society, so it did not surprise me they knew what they were doing. And they knew considerably more than both Hermione and Ginny had back during the Yule Ball. It was almost more intimidating being the one they were examining: I had a lot to live up to in their eyes. I had just planned to put on my robes and go...

Apparently not.

"Her hair looks good, besides – there," she smiled, having stabbed me in the scalp again with another bobby-pin. "Looks good...now, to make it hold."

With a dramatic swish of her wand – and a whispered spell that I knew she had wanted to appear speechless – the bobby-pins flew from my hair while it froze. Tracey admired her work for another moment before turning me towards the mirror. She touched it for a few moments, making sure that it would hold with the spell and without the pins before properly letting me scrutinize it.

It was nice. An elaborate 50's hairstyle that cascaded in large waves to the side. She had let me borrow a silver and green hairclip to accent the parts that she had pulled up – apparently my hair was at the awkward time where it was too long for some styles and too short for others. Lillian had covered up the splash of freckles on my nose with makeup but had not gotten to my eyes or lips yet. I couldn't believe how pale I looked – my red hair looked closer to blood than I'd seen it with blood _in _it and my eyes were fighting against the colour by looking more emerald than the hairpin. I feared what they would now to complete the picture.

"I can't believe you knew what you were doing," I told Tracey honestly, my reflection turning to frown at me. She had done a better job than Ginny had the last time I had been used as a human doll...then again people would never know how much pain Tracey had intentionally caused to get it just right. My head throbbed again from the memory of it.

As soon as I turned, finished examining my hair, I was attacked with makeup brushes again. It seemed that the girls were not willing to go the safe-route and use magic here...they wanted to draw out the torture.

"Did she have a smoky-eye last time, Daphne?" Lillian asked, bumping her aside with her shoulder so Daphne could no longer observe me. "I know she may have last time, but it would go so well with the robe colour-"

"Be sure to put some green, they're green too!"

"She has green eyes, that'd just be too much," Lillian frowned, attacking me with what I believe could have been pink eyeshadow while Daphne attacked me with gray.

"If you just put me in pink again, Moon, I'm going to slaughter you." I don't know why the girl was so obsessed with seeing me in pink – but I was a redhead. A very auburn redhead with peachy skin, at least when it wasn't painted like snow as it was now – either way, the colours of pink she preferred should not be allowed on _me_.

"If you make me look like a Barbie," I said again when she didn't answer. "I swear on Morgana herself-"

"-you'll cut out my insides and feed them to the Thestrals so I can see myself die and watch them feed all at once. I've heard," she rolled her eyes, continuing with her rude intrusion of my personal space.

"How do I always get myself into these-"

"Sh!" Daphne interrupted by shoving something at my mouth. It seemed that she had caught on to the new colour-pattern and had found an appropriate lipstick she wanted to paste onto my lips. "She needs darker lipstick if you're giving her that colour of eye, Lillian. Tracey, get her robes from the wardrobe, will you?"

"Finally!" It seemed that even tough-girl-Tracey had a weakness for dolling people up. I had clearly been born with a disfigured second X chromosome. "I want to take a closer look at these – a colour match is not..."

She trailed off, making the other girls turn to look at her. I was still being held down by makeup applicators. I spat the lipstick away from me and turned my head slightly to see that her eyebrows were raised while she held them out in front of her.

"Audrey, these are magnificent."

"I wouldn't say magnificent," I said quickly, my face already starting to burn and my eyes water Lillian ordered me to keep them open to work on me again. "It was a simple pattern, I pretty much let Madame Malkin do all the designing."

"She did a great job," Daphne moved over to the robes so that she could see them from the front. "I adore the fabric – these don't look cheap at all."

My face burnt even more. "Yeah, that's because they weren't."

"Let's see," she held the robes in front of herself and the girls took the idea and helped me up from the chair they had charmed to stay tilted on its hind legs. The dress looked nice against my skin; she finished it by draping the robes overtop of the dress which made it look more like a cloak than the robes it would be. "This will look perfect. Shoes?"

"Er," I went to tug at my hair and had my hand slapped for even going near enough to touch it. "I was just going to wear the ones from the Yule Ball...they're really the only shoes I have..."

"I found them," Daphne sighed, producing them for me. One had straps that were a little crushed from having been underneath some form of textbook, but otherwise they looked fine. Daphne examined them with a careful eye before nodding.

"They'll look appropriate so long as you have something else silver to wear – a necklace, ring, belt, anything?"

"Won't this hairclip be enough?" I asked hopefully, turning my head so she could see it.

"No, it's as much green as silver," Lillian thought aloud, moving over to her side of the dormitory.

"Well, do I look like the type of person who is responsible enough to keep jewelry?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Because I can promise you that I'm not."

"Oh, here!" Lillian practically cried with delight while she took something off her bedside table. She all but ran back to me, holding out a silver locket that was dangling from a thick silver chain. I was no fashion-diva, but I knew it would go well: on the locket were two snakes that twined and looked ready to attack each other but were unable to thanks to the heavy set emerald moon that was separating them.

"That's beautiful, Lillian."

"It's been handed down to us Moon's for generations," she smiled. "All the Slytherins, anyway. We don't tend to give it to the Ravenclaws – wouldn't make sense."

"Can I borrow it for tonight?"

"Of course, you're a Slytherin. Just bring it back in one piece," she warned, handing it over to me. She stuck her finger in my face with a glower. "I'm serious."

"Don't worry; I'm his goddaughter," I joked back. She rolled her eyes but then proceeded to help me put it on. It was quite heavy – well made; old. I nodded back to her in thanks before I left to put on my robes as all the girls were now forcing me to do.

The bathroom was a mess thanks to each of them stashing their hair supplies and different sets of makeup to compare with one another, but there was still enough room in it for me to get on my robes without snagging them on anything.

The robes were exactly as I had ordered them – built in that expensive, dark emerald fabric that was silky and fell in fluid lines. It hit just past my knees: apparently that would make me look a little taller, which I appreciated, and the seamstress had made the neckline a little more modest than the original design, which I was thankful for. I still didn't think I necessarily had the curves – or any curves, for that matter – to make it work, but she had left the back drooping down in a nice way. I couldn't believe how much nicer it looked because my hair was up. My skin was just so pale against the green that it was a contrast that even I liked. Except for my scar – the X that crossed my neck in that uneven pattern was noticeable with this neckline and I was glad to put on the robe to cover it. I hated when it was what people looked at, when it was all people looked _for. _I was wearing a dress as expensive as anything I had ever bought – I wasn't going to be upstaged by a deformity.

I cursed aloud as I struggled into my high heels – apparently my feet had grown a size, I could tell because they grew to fit me thanks to the self-adjusting measurements. But it was no help: I _still _wouldn't be able to walk in these, two whole years later, would I?

"You should have practiced in them," Daphne practically sang from the other room. Well fine, then. Maybe _she _was the psychic one here.

"Alright, I'm coming out," I called, running my hands over the fabric of my robes and straightening Lillian's necklace. It hung past my neckline and in the center of my chest, a nice touch. It almost made me look as if there was a curve or sign of breasts.

I walked out – or rather, I wobbled out – and all the girls smiled largely. Lillian clapped her hands and jumped on the spot. "Oh, Audrey, I love it!"

"You clean up pretty well, Potter," Tracey nodded appreciatively. "I'm impressed."

"Why don't you have a date?" Daphne huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. "You always ruin these occasions because you never have a date!"

"Oh my – Audrey looks like Christmas!" Tracey gasped before she fell into a fit of laughter. "Her hair – the dress – the red and green, she...she-"

"Yes, I've always been a festive soul," I grumbled, pulling at the hem of the robe over the dress. "Quite clearly I'm not really Miss Popular at the moment; I doubt I could get a date if I tried – so, clearly, there was no point in humiliating myself."

"I can think of a few blokes who if you-"

"I'm not putting out so I can have someone on my arm, thank you," I glared, watching as Tracey smirked innocently at her own joke. "But I would put out for one of you if you could fix my shoes."

"Tempting..." Daphne snorted, which made her place her hand over her mouth. She had been taught that was very un-lady-like. "But I think it's high-time you learned."

"And no robe," Lillian came and tugged it from between my fingers and over my shoulder. "You don't want to cover up that dress."

"But I'll look like a Muggle," I started, putting my hand on my neck and running over the sensitive skin there. I didn't like how with my hair up and to the side my scar was fully visible.

"I don't think any of the men will mind," Lillian smiled, tugging on my hand a bit before I lowered it. She looked at me carefully, from toes to the clip in my hair, before she nodded and took the robe – and my comfort – away from me.

"But I'll be _cold_," I tried again.

"Real ladies," Daphne said, sounding much like her older and more annoying self. "Suffer in silence."

"Don't be cruel," I whined, hobbling forward in my heels to try and take the robe from Lillian again. She simply turned me around and pushed me forward – I switched my concentration quickly from the robe to not falling on my face.

"Don't be late," Lillian finished. "I could walk you down, if you like."

"No, I won't have you wrangled into this party too – though the lot of you deserve it," I muttered, straightening myself up and trying to look dignified in the bloody shoes that were already crippling me. "I'm going to save you all from him in case he decides to come and hunt me down. He might order you to come too, otherwise."

"Slughorn wouldn't-"

"To have both Potter's at a party at the same time?" I scoffed. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Then get the hell out of here," Tracey gave me a little push toward the door, "oh saviour of us all."

Walking up to Slughorn's office was an experience in itself, but it gave me time to practice walking before I was in public. I was surprised by just how nice the office looked for the festivities – it looked seasonal and surprisingly fresh. The ceiling was draped with coloured hangings, making us look like we were inside a large tent; in the center hung an ornate golden lamp that gave a warm, reddish hue over the party. Around the lamp, fairies fluttered innocently looking like overgrown fireflies ducking behind the fabrics. The scene was finished off by the old music being played somewhere out of sight and the haze from all the pipe smoke that cut through the red lighting and lingered over the heavy silver platters of food.

"Audrey, you came!" I turned, too late to pull away from the hug that Slughorn drowned me in. Ugh, I hated people touching me. Over his shoulder, Harry looked just as uncomfortable with Luna waving energetically at me. That girl was just too content in her absurd, bloody life.

"I wouldn't have missed it," I choked out once the professor let me go. I tried not to let him notice how I was trying to wipe off any sweat that had transferred between him onto myself.

"What, no date?" He frowned, before his enibriatedly flushed face smiled. "I always heard you were stubborn over public relationships-"

"Er, sadly no. No date tonight. He's busy," I lied.

"Too busy, for one of my parties? Bah Humbug!" He giggled drunkenly at his own joke. "But come, come, so many people you must be introduced to. I was just going to show your brother to Eldred Worple, an old student of mine, author of _Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires – _and, of course, his friend Sanguini."

Worple, a small man with very thick lenses, shook my brothers hand and then took hold of my own very enthusiastically. He also had very sweaty palms. Another thing I would have to take the time to wipe onto my expensive dress when people weren't looking. His friend, when I turned to him, did not offer me his hand – which I was comforted by as the 'man' was quite obviously actually a vampire.

What upset me most, besides the way he eyed me was that with his pallor, the dark bruises under his eyes...he nearly looked like Malfoy. I winced slightly away from him.

"The Potter twins, I am simply delighted!" Worple looked straight up into my brother's face. He was eye level with my own. "I was saying to Professor Slughorn only the other day, 'where is the biography of Harry Potter for which we have all been waiting?' and of course, I would love to hear your side of the story, Audrey Potter – I would imagine you have quite the insights."

"I tend to think biographies should wait until they have good endings," I told him honestly. "So I doubt mine will be written any time soon."

"I would not be sure about that," the vampire, Sanguini, said with a tilt of his head. My heart stuttered in my chest – which I'm sure the creature heard thanks to his sudden smile. A smile that made me move yet another step away from him. "I think that you could end your story quite soon – I also think it would be a page turner."

"But it wouldn't be finished," I said as uncertainly as I was uncomfortable.

"Perhaps not," the vampire bowed his head, smiling slightly to himself.

Unless _he _wanted to finish the story, of course. He was a vampire, after all.

What a creep.

"You're both just as modest as Horace described!" Worple clapped to himself, just like Lillian had done, before he seemed to sober. "But in all seriousness, I would be delighted to write it myself— people are craving to know more about you two, particularly you, my dear boy-" but of course people would like to hear more about my brother. For once, however, I was glad not to be the topic at hand. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near that vampire, if he was there for the process. "If you were prepared to grant me a few interviews, say in four- or five-hour sessions, why, we could have the book finished within months. And all with very little effort on your part, I assure you – ask Sanguini here if it isn't quite – Sanguini, stop that!"

I moved even farther away from the vampire when I realized just how much closer he had suddenly gotten. He had that same, eerie smile on his face – he was hungry. I could just bloody tell it somehow – ugh, _bloody_. What a terrible choice of words...

"Here, have a pasty," said Worple, seizing one from a passing house elf and stuffing it into Sanguini's hand before turning his attention back to Harry. "My dear boy, the gold you could make, you have no idea-"

"Not that this isn't interesting," I gritted out, sending another wary look to the vampire who was still staring at my scar – or, oh Merlin – maybe he was just staring at my exposed _neck _in general. "But our friend has just arrived – if you'll excuse us."

I took my brother by the shoulders, who in turn grabbed Loony Lovegood's wrist, and steered him in front of me so that he was between me and the hungry looking vampire. Hermione had just walked in, looking quite good in her dress robes – or she would have been, were she not in such disarray.

"Harry, Audrey! There you are, thank goodness! Hello, Luna." She breathed. She looked disheveled, as if she had been running a marathon. Then again, knowing who her date was, I wouldn't be surprised if she had been.

"What's happened to you?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Oh, I've just escaped – I mean, I've just left Cormac," she said. I was right about her date then – that had been my offhanded idea one day in the bathroom. I had never actually thought she would _listen_. She turned to me with meaning. "Under the mistletoe."

"Serves you right for coming with him," Harry frowned sternly.

"I thought he'd annoy Ron most," Hermione sighed. "I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole-"

"He'd annoy _you _more than Ron," I offered with a snort. She only nodded emphatically, moving her hand to fix her already tussled hair.

"That hair of yours makes you look as if you've been snogging him," I noted before I grimaced. "Please tell me you have better standards than McLaggen."

"Of course not!"

"'Of course not' meaning you haven't snogged him, or 'of course not' meaning you don't have any better standards?" She gave me a withering glare, making me shrug. "I'm only saying confused because your standards are obviously devastatingly low already if you were interested in _Ron Weasley_ of all people..."

"I can't believe you considered Smith," Harry grimaced, I nodded toward him.

"Yes, I did, and I'm starting to wish I'd chosen him – McLaggen makes Grawp look a gentleman. Let's go this way, we'll be able to see him coming, he's so tall..."

"Oh look," Luna breathed, taking one of the faux-gold goblets from one of the many tables set about the Potion's office. "Mead."

"Mead?" I perked up. I remembered the mead Slughorn had given us when we were at his make-do house that summer – it had warmed me up and had comforted me. After being so disturbed by the vampire, it seemed like a nice distraction from this dismally fated fiasco.

"Would you like some?" Luna asked, quite kindly considering how rude I normally was to her, before offering me her own glass and then taking another for herself.

"Do you really think you should be drinking right now?" Harry asked me, playing protective brother again. I don't know who he was kidding – he wasn't very protective unless it was something he didn't approve of. I could have dated Seamus Finnegan again and _that _he wouldn't be protective over.

"Do you really think that you should be speaking to Trelawney right now?" I countered.

"What?" He asked, looking confused. "What do you-"

"Hello, students," the wispy voice of my professor interrupted. Harry looked at me with wide eyes before turning to me.

"Audrey, don't-"

"I'm sorry, Professor," I told, my voice leaking of false sincerity. "But I've got to go. Harry would love to talk to you about what he has been missing this term, however."

"Oh wonderful!"

Harry sent me a dark glare as I walked off, sniggering into my goblet of mead. It was nice being back to my old self again – particularly when I could cause such trauma in public. I walked back to the table, putting down my glass of mead only so that I could retrieve another. It was nice, feeling more warm and lightheaded with each sip – it was much more serene than I had felt in the past few weeks since I had seen Circe's body mangled on the stairs.

Oh, Merlin, I shouldn't think about it.

But how could I not? How could I not try to figure out who would have done it? Who would have killed her like that – what person would kill her and leave her bloody? What curse would someone use to deliberately cause pain to my closest comrade, my first friend?

Someone had tried hard to leave a message – and they had. Quite well. The problem was that I didn't know what it had been meant to _say._

"Ah, Audrey," I closed my eyes, preparing myself for whatever conversation Slughorn was about to pull me into and opening them again when all I could see was blood soaked stairs. I hoped that this vampire was not back – my racing heart was probably more appealing to him than my neck had been. "Look who I've found!"

As if this evening couldn't get worse, Slughorn had his arm wrapped around the old Potions Professor's shoulder, dragging him into his side and not noticing just how close Snape was to cursing him. Something apparently we both still had in common. Snape had come to the party in his usual black robes and I felt myself look down to my toes and blush – these were the shoes he had gotten me two years ago for the Yule Ball, after all, and for some reason I felt embarrassed I wasn't wearing the robes he had gotten me, either.

"Doesn't she look nice tonight, Severus? Why, I've never seen her hair so tame!" I rolled my eyes, looking away and drinking from my glass of mead so that my newest, yet oldest, Potions teacher couldn't see just how aggravated I was.

"Yes, it appears both Potters put time into their appearance today," Snape said in a monotone. "If only they put as much time into their homework."

"I am doing quite well in Speechless Spells, thank you very much," I snapped, lowering my goblet. "Perhaps if you assigned us some different work, I wouldn't feel like I've written the same roll of parchment seven times."

I couldn't help but be furious with him after everything that had happened those weeks ago. How he had forced me to ruin Theodore's weeks with patrol or how he had forced me away from Malfoy, knowing full well that he may be a Death Eater. Perhaps he had even helped him through whatever initiation the Dark Lord had him do. Snape had left me alone this season to take care of Malfoy...the problem was, I had no idea why he had to take care of Malfoy – and that only made me more angry.

"I am more than pleased to give you detention for the following term, Miss Potter," Snape frowned.

"Severus, this is a party, she's just-"

"Sadly, Miss Potter has displayed this kind of aberrant behaviour since long before she was in _your _classes, Horace. She can be just like her father was," Snape muttered back. I frowned. Alright, I couldn't deny that as angry as I was with him it still hurt when he said things like that.

"Well, if that behaviour is what makes her so talented in Potions, then so have it – but look here," as if the man knew all my personal tortures, he turned and took hold of my brother's shoulder, holding both Snape and Harry by his sides, to let him join the conversation. "Look here, Severus, I don't think I've ever known such a natural at Potions! The both of them together? Why, they would be an unstoppable match!"

Dear Merlin, I'm going to be sick.

"Both Instinctive, you know – Miss Potter can manipulate the ingredients and Mr Potter can manipulate the final result; they're just like their mother! I've only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that – why even you, Severus-" Slughorn wrapped his hand around Snape's shoulder and gave him an odd hug that gave Harry enough time to escape and Snape enough motive for murder. "Oh stop skulking and join the conversation, Severus – did you hear that I was just talking about the twins exceptional potion-making? Audrey is quite impulsive and Harry – why, he's a natural! Some credit must go to you, of course, you taught them for five years!"

Snape's eyes moved slowly from myself over to my brother. I couldn't help but fold my arms over my chest stubbornly – I hated being compared to Harry. Especially in Potions. _He _was the natural? Yes, he _naturally _knew how to follow some stupid book's commands.

"Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Mr Potter anything at all."

That's because he hadn't.

"Well, then, it's natural ability!" Slughorn cheered, seeming even more proud. I sneered openly, catching my brother's eye and glaring. He tried to shrug, to take a few steps from Slughorn and end the conversation that he knew made me want to endhis _life_ – but Slughorn was far too proud and intoxicated to care about other's feelings. "You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, Draught of Living Death – never had a student produce finer on a first attempt, I don't think even you, Severus-"

"Really?" Snape repeated, his eyes boring into my brother before he turned his eyes to me. "Not even Miss Potter?"

"Well, she did as well, of course – but it wasn't quite as flawless as her brother's work. Quite impressive, the both of them – they both got prizes of course: Audrey some Veritaserum and Harry a small vial of Felix Felicis! Don't look so shocked, Severus, the natural ability-"

I frowned, taking effort not to pout in front of my professors.

"I tend to prefer the ways of 'natural selection' to 'natural talent'," I told him blandly. "But to each their own."

Snape looked at me in that way he always used to, almost as if he were proud – his eyes showing it and his lips twitching were the only signals to show it. It was the greatest sign of respect he would ever consider giving me and for a moment it felt comforting to have – but moments were very short in such bitter conversations.

"Remind me what other subjects you're taking, Harry?" Slughorn asked, as interested as ever.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology..."

"All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror," Snape sneered. I could only imagine what was going through his mind as he said it.

"Yeah, well, that's what I'd like to do," said Harry defiantly.

"And a great one you'll make too!" boomed Slughorn, clapping him on the back and nearly making my brother stumble forward. "What about you, Audrey, what classes are you taking?"

"Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Charms."

"A little bit of everything then – why, have you ever considered working for the Ministry's Medical-Examiner position? You would be quite apt, if you continue in those subjects. It'd be beneficial for you to take Herbology, of course-"

"I don't want to work for the Ministry," I said quite clearly. "That's my brother's plan, not mine."

And like hell would I ever follow in my brother's footsteps.

"I don't think you should be an Auror, Harry," Loony Lovegood said faintly. Everybody turned to look at her – unlike Snape and I, she seemed the only one seriously considering his career selection. "The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They're planning to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease."

"Oh my Salazar," I moaned, finishing the rest of my mead in one take and stealing the rest of my brother's – half full and about to come from his nose thanks to his laughter. "At least we have some entertainment for tonight."

"You're right. Now we do," Harry was no longer laughing, but looking at the door as if a new broom had just come through: I guess maybe some sort of present had because there stood Draco Malfoy, his ear locked in Filch's grip as he dragged him through the crowd.

"Professor Slughorn," Filch breathed, out of breath from his jaunt and Malfoy's squirming. "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?"

Malfoy finally pulled himself free, rubbing his ear and growling. "All right, I wasn't invited!"

Filch, beside him, beamed with the admission. My breath caught in my chest when he looked at me; I tried hard to keep it from being noticeable – particularly when his eyes raked over me and turned to look at who all I was surrounded by.

Oh, bloody hell – how often do I need to save him and get in trouble for it?

"I wouldn't say that," I said immediately, my face reddening as people turned to look at me. "Well, er – he's my date, Professor. I invited him, but if you recall me saying, I thought he'd been busy."

"Oh, did you?" Slughorn smiled. "Is that true, my boy?"

"You freed yourself up for the night, did you?" I asked him, widening my eyes slightly to try and indicate that he should play along. He looked at me carefully, his eyes wandering over to my brother and then to Snape before he smirked. It was amazing, the difference it made – he looked more like himself with that smirk on his face than he had in weeks.

"That's right, Professor. My work didn't take me as long as I thought it would, so I came down to be Potter's date, here," he turned back to Filch, giving him a withering glare. "Are you happy, now?"

"No, I'm not!" said Filch, a statement at complete odds with the glee on his face. "You're in trouble, you are! Didn't the headmaster say that night time prowling's out, unless you've got permission, didn't he, eh? Meeting your lady-friend-"

"That's all right, Argus, that's all right," Slughorn waved his hand, taking a step forward to break the Slytherin and the Caretaker apart. "It's Christmas, and it's not a crime to want to come to a party – especially to see Miss Potter when she's all fancied up for tonight! Just this once, we'll forget any punishment; you may stay, Draco. Would you like some mead?"

"I would," I told, taking the mead that was being handed to him and blushing when I saw Snape give his old overbearing-protective glare. It was nice to feel like he was protecting me, but it was also humiliating for it to happen at a part when I was already mad with him. Still, I felt defensive. "It's quite good, Professor Slughorn..."

"Isn't it? Madame Rosmerta's best," he beamed. "Dumbledore's favourite as well – you have good taste, my dear. In wine and dates, it seems."

Oh, please don't let me vomit. "Thank you, sir."

"It's nothing, nothing," Slughorn smiled, turning to Malfoy who had plastered a smile on his face. It was not quite the smile I had seen the few times before – there was still that note to it that rang untrue, but it was the closest to a smile I had seen all year and it warmed my stomach almost as much as the mead had. I turned away from it as my face burnt even brighter.

"Thank you, sir," he smiled. "I was just trying to surprise Audrey here, she was so excited for me to come."

The way he said my name didn't sound right – it sounded almost sweet. He'd addressed me by my first name only a handful of times since I had known him...and I had never heard it with the level of fondness he said it with now. Which meant we were back to games.

"And a great surprise it is! She didn't tell me that you were the date who couldn't come," Slughorn turned to me and I busied myself by shrugging and turning my head to initiate some other, less invasive, conversation – only to find Snape glaring at me. I narrowed my eyes right back; no matter how much mead I'd had, I still remembered why I was angry with him. I knew what _he _knew. "I did know your grandfather, after all, Draco..."

"He always spoke very highly of you, sir," said Malfoy quickly. Slytherins were almost as great at arse-kissing as we were at lying. "Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known..."

I turned my sights away from Snape and turned to watch my brother as he examined Malfoy – I wish I could see what he was examining; the lying, the smile, or the unmistakable sickly pallor to him? Had my brother noticed what I had noticed, or was I alone in worrying about him?

Not that I would actually admit I was worried, of course.

"I'd like a word with you, Draco," Snape suddenly interrupted. Malfoy stiffened, his pleasant demeanor immediately on the defensive.

"Now, Severus," said Slughorn, hiccupping again, "it's Christmas, don't be too difficult on them and take away the night!"

"I am his Head of House, and I shall decide how difficult, or other-wise, to be," said Snape curtly.

"I'm sorry, Professor," I interrupted with a glare, moving in front of Malfoy so that I couldn't be ignored. The men towered over me and I had no doubt that they would ignore me if they could have. "Actually, it is the day before the holidays and as he isn't being punished, he is mine for the night. Now if you wouldn't mind, I would like a dance with my date."

"Audrey," Harry growled, moving forward. "You can't just dance with him. He's-"

"Ah-ha!" Slughorn laughed boisterously. "What a fighter! This girl, she reminds me so much of Lily..."

Snape looked down at me again, his brow furrowing with indecision and obviously some form of distaste before he turned his gaze away from us.

"You will find me before the end of this night, Mr Malfoy, and we will have words."

"I'm sure he looks forward to it," I sneered back, watching Snape as he moved away from our place in the crowd to find someone else to take out his frustration on.

"Adorable," Slughorn beamed. "Fighting for him, like that. You two are everything the _Prophet_ said! Why, I should have known that the articles were true – how vivid they were – but I never would have guessed they were accurate!"

"They aren't that sweet at all," Harry interrupted. "In fact, Malfoy can be quite the prat to her-"

"Now, now, Harry! Being overprotective will never get your sister on your side!"

How little he knew that taking _sides _was the exact problem between the three of us. My face had started to burn harshly by this point, making me lightheaded – or perhaps that was the mead, which I had just finished. How many goblets had that been, three, four?

"I think now would be a good time to dance, like we said we would." I said to Malfoy, holding my hand out to him. Apparently I didn't need Liquid Luck when I had Liquid Courage.

He said nothing but locked his jaw and nodded his head, trying to play tough again. I took him by the hand, leading him away from where the others were watching us. I thought that we would be able to escape their eyes, but my brother and Slughorn were sure to follow us and keep us in their line of sight.

"Great. It looks like we _actually _have to dance," I muttered. He said nothing more but turned me around from where we were walking and pulled me toward him – his arm on my waist and the hand that I had been dragging behind me leading us in a dance. He kept it simple this time – one where I wouldn't step on his toes and hurt him as I had two years ago. I felt myself fluster.

"Don't enjoy yourself too much," I warned him. "I just did this to get Snape off your back."

"And why was that?" He asked, refusing to look at me and watching carefully over my shoulder – I would not doubt he was glaring at the man in question.

"Because no one tells me what to do," I hissed, remembering all of Snape's warnings to stay away from Malfoy. Would Malfoy look so horrible if I would have pushed more? Would Malfoy have really gone over to the their side if Snape had have warned the Order that it was happening? "And I had already lied for you – I wasn't going to let him make my lie worth nothing."

"Half your lies are for fun," he argued. "That already makes them worth nothing."

"I disagree," I smiled to myself, feeling as arrogant as he probably did on a daily basis. "I rather think that fun is worth a lie and vice versa."

We danced for a little while longer, I tried not to enjoy it – there was nothing really emotional about the dance besides that we were practically holding each other. But he wasn't being caring as he did it, he wasn't holding me close as if he was afraid I'd move away from him – it was a dance for show, not for care. Still, I wouldn't deny that when we were silent, my mind wandered and pretended as if he did.

"Would you care to explain why there's a _vampire _that keeps staring at you?" He grumbled, spinning me a little more quickly and looking over his shoulder, as if he was checking to see if the vampire would follow my movements.

"Well, considering his eyes were always on my scar, I doubt that it's because of my dress."

"The fact that this dress shows off all of your pulse-points probably doesn't help," he muttered to himself, giving a harsh sneer in the direction he was looking. He turned down to look at me, his eyes still sharp. "Or the fact that you've had so much mead your heart is racing."

Dear Merlin, I hoped that was the reason it was.

"You know, you're quite the conversationalist tonight," I growled, trying to tug my hand out of his. He gripped it more tightly and pulled me closer to prove the point that I wasn't just storming away from him tonight. "What happened to not speaking to me after that last kiss?"

"I figured you wouldn't want to speak to me after I had to dispose of Cir-"

"_Hush_," I hissed viciously. "We don't talk about it."

"Because I'm sure that's helping you cope," he snorted derisively.

"Would you like me to start talking about my ideas on what you really were doing tonight? Because I can do that just as easily," I threatened. He scowled a bit before spinning me around a little quickly again.

"I don't like this vampire," he muttered, clearly trying to change the subject. "He's eye-raping you."

"Maybe he's jealous," I snorted, the term 'eye-raping' was hardly one that didn't deserve some laughter. I turned my eyes up to Malfoy, watching him look down on me again. His eyes weren't as sharp as they were a moment ago, it almost looked like there was some humour in them as he raised an eyebrow to me.

"Maybe you're drunk," Malfoy challenged.

"Don't pretend like you're not enjoying this," I laughed – it was a laugh that was not my own...a mead-laugh. One that was loud and carefree and clearly caused by the giddiness of the honey-wine. I frowned, my thoughts scrambling to right themselves. "I mean, you avoided Snape; my brother is absolutely _livid_; and best of all, you get to pretend to fancy me."

"Don't pretend _you _aren't enjoying this," he smirked down at me, raising a taunting eyebrow. It was nice to see him like this – I could almost ignore the worry when he taunted me like normal. "Though I can't deny: I'm enjoying the view. I can see why that vampire's enamoured – you're showing more skin than I even knew you had, Potter."

"Well, I'm not made of scales."

"I'd begun to wonder," he smirked, pulling away from me for a moment to rake over my attire. "Is it Muggle wear, then?"

"No, it's a set of formal robes...without the robe," I rolled my eyes to myself. "I like them."

"And that fact that it's the exact same Antoniam Verias fabric I was buying that day we met in Diagon Alley," he said faintly, I took a deep breath so that I could hold it. "That has nothing to do with the look of them."

It was clear that he was taunting me, letting me know that he was aware I had taken his fabric. I just hoped he realized that I had done it because of the fabric itself, _not _because he had worn it. Because that would be ridiculous.

"I liked the fabric," I frowned. "You don't _own _it."

"I almost did," he argued. "It is quite nice – you do it justice."

"You're a prat."

"And you fancy that," he muttered back.

I felt my face heat up, I hated it when he spoke to me, or even worse _complimented_ me with that tone – that tone in his voice that meant it was likely not a compliment at all, no matter how much it could have been. "There's no need for games, Malfoy. Thank me for tonight, then sneak out. I know where you would and would not rather be."

"Yes," he muttered bitterly, his eyes steeling themselves over again. "You know everything, don't you?"

"Almost," I challenged, glaring right back at him. It was frightening, watching him defend himself by building up those walls – I had seen it before in a scene that had terrified me in Dumbledore's office. Seren Malmore had done the same thing and it chilled me every time I thought of her. So one had to stop and wonder, as I was the only one to ever notice it happen: did that make Malfoy like Malmore...or did it make me like Voldemort?

"You didn't have to, you know," he said, looking over my shoulder again to avoid my glare. His voice was tough, trying not to display whatever he was thinking behind his words. "Why do you always assume that I need your help?"

"I don't," I defended lamely. "I've just lost count over whether or not I owe you."

He sighed, long and wistful. It almost made me feel upset just hearing it – how low, how melancholy it was. Malfoy hardly ever displayed _that _emotion, if any at all nowadays. "I don't know if we'll ever even that tally."

And for some reason I doubted that we would. I looked up at him, now that he wasn't sneering or pretending to be so happy to be here – he looked older; much older. His pale skin looked nearly sickly, the bags under his eyes looked heavier than whatever burdens he must have been carrying. I couldn't deny it as much as I wished I could: I was worried about him.

"Tell me honestly," I said carefully. "Are you alright?"

"Does it matter?" he asked roughly. I took a deep breath, my instincts telling me to take his tone and run with it – to fight with him. But I breathed again and calmed myself.

"Yes," I told him. "You're sick, I can see it."

"I'm fine," he said harshly, looking down at me as if to glare at me and tell me to shut up, as he would to Crabbe or Goyle – but I was not one of his minions, and I was not afraid of him. He looked at me for a while, before breathing – as I had – and relaxing a moment. "And you?"

"I'm at this blasted party, who _can _be okay?"

"About Circe," he said, watching my face closely and frowning when he must have seen the expression caused by my stomach churning. "About Astoria and Theodore...are _you _alright?"

Part of me wanted to tell him – tell him how he had hit the nail on the head, how he had asked it without malice so I _wanted _to answer, tell him how he was right; how he had known everything that was bothering me...except for what was happening to him. But I was not a moron, that had never been part of our relationship. When we had been friends, when we had been snogging in corridors, we had never talked about our_ feelings. _Not unless they were sexual, and even then I had put him on a tight leash about what he was and was not allowed to say. Was this the time to let those rules go?

Maybe. But like hell would I be the first to do it.

"I'm fine," I repeated, much in the same fashion he had.

I smiled, a giddy smile that I would forever blame on the mead, when I realized that strangely, in our own way, we _had _just told each other about our feelings; because quite clearly, we both weren't fine at all.

"Draco," a voice spoke from behind us, making me jump. It had been right over my shoulder and considering the vampire had apparently been eyeing me up all night, I was not ready for someone to be so close. Malfoy instinctively took a step forward – bloody hell, I didn't need a _shield_. Men were so outrageous sometimes – and looked up at Professor Snape with a glare. "Come with me."

I cleared my throat, trying to compose myself from my bit of cowardice. "He's still dancing with me, Professor and you can't-"

"I can," he argued. "One more word out of you and I will give you so many detentions you will have to stay here over the break to serve them all."

Malfoy took a deep, frustrated breath before following the professor through the crowd and leaving me alone without another word. I watched them leave, feeling a little more than vulnerable than I had a moment before. It didn't matter that Malfoy usually made me feel vulnerable – being alone in a crowd after having just admitted how _fine _I may or may not have been made me feel naked. The dress probably didn't help. Or the mead. Or the fact that I was at this blasted party at all.

And then I watched my brother bee-line for the door. Which clearly meant that I followed him.

I moved for the door just as he had – if Harry was going to eavesdrop I was going to be there to quell whatever other ridiculous – ridiculously _accurate – _theories he may come up with. I was almost at the door before I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

It was not a comforting hand. It was ice cold.

Oh shite. "Miss Potter."

"Listen Linguini, or whatever your name is," I turned, glaring to the vampire whose hand was suspiciously near the scar marring my throat. "This really isn't the time – you know, for dinner."

"I do not drink from damned souls," the vampire sneered and moved his hand away from me as if I had offered him spinach. "Your neck is as appealing a dinner to me as your shoe."

I frowned, my brows pulling together. "Well my shoes _are_ quite nice."

"Though they are not cursed, like that scar," he pointed out, moving forward to touch it. I recoiled from him as if he had burnt me and felt my fingers burn in return – my body ready to fight if I had to.

"My neck was cut with a knife, not a wand," I corrected. "Maybe we _should _write a biography so that idiots like you will learn enough to leave me alone."

"That it was not done with a wand does not mean you are not cursed," he smiled, showing off thin, sharp canines. "And that curse holds the plague of Death. _That_ is the ending of your story, Miss Potter."

"Says the vampire," I said dryly. "Excuse me if I decide not to believe your riddles or your oddly comforting words saying that you won't suck me dry like a milkshake."

"That boy," he said as I moved to walk past him. "The one you love; he has the mark too."

My hand instinctively went to my neck, covering up the ghastly ripped skin. Of _course _Harry was marked for Death – I'd heard the prophecy. I knew what he had to face. Still, that did not mean he would die. "As a magnet for death I can assure you, he doesn't."

"As a harbinger of death," the vampire smiled again. "I can assure you, he does."

All the more reason to search for him, I guess.

Had the vampire wanted to say more to me, I was sure that he would have been able to stop me from passing by him again – luckily, he'd seemed to say his fill. Not that I wanted to think about whatever he was saying. I had _not _been cursed at any point in time, besides possibly being cursed with a brother who had a death wish for himself and anyone who he used to help him achieve his ends. Speaking of which-

"No you don't," I breathed, grabbing the invisibility cloak from my brother and tugging it into my hand as he tried to put it around himself. "Not without me."

"You've seen enough of your pal Malfoy for the night, don't you think?" he asked me sarcastically.

"If you're going to eavesdrop, I'm coming with you," I argued. "Someone has to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

"I don't do stupid things," he frowned.

"Yeah, because fighting Voldemort, willingly going down into the Chamber of Secrets and chasing after what you thought was the Grim makes it _smart._"

I'm pretty sure that Harry agreed simply so that he wouldn't miss whatever conversation he was hoping to overhear, not because he thought I had made my point – but I know that I had. What upset me was that down the very same corridor there clearly _was _a conversation we were missing. Snape and Malfoy's words were still drowned out thanks to the music from Slughorn's party, which was why when we placed our ears to the last door in the corridor, we could finally hear what we'd come to listen to.

"...enough. You cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled-"

"I didn't have anything to do with it, all right?" He was clearly aggravated, I could hear him pacing the room and hitting a desk in emphasis as he spoke.

"I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy _and_ foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it."

"Who suspects me?" Malfoy scoffed, he stopped walking from what I could hear. "The Potters? The Chosen One has always hated me, that has nothing-"

"And Miss Potter's fascination with you?" Snape asked. Harry looked at me, sure to keep his ear on the door while he glared. "Are you sure that is of no consequence?"

"That girl is stupid," Malfoy hissed. I frowned, looking away from my brother so that he wouldn't see how much the comment irritated me. "She doesn't even know what she thinks – she's so wrapped up in protecting other people like some bloody _Gryffindor-_"

"Do not try to fool me, Draco," Snape spat. "For I am not foolish. And I know what goes on in these corridors – I know _everything _that-"

"For the last time, I didn't do it, okay?" Malfoy snarled. "That Bell girl must've had an enemy no one knows about...don't look at me like that! I know what you're doing, I'm not stupid, but it won't work – I can stop you!"

There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, "Ah...Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from your master, Draco?"

_Your master_? _Aunt_ Bellatrix? My stomach started to turn to the point I had to put my hand on the door to steady myself – 'Aunt Bellatrix' may have been the final factor to Thuban Nott's death and now she was teaching him Occlumency – for what? For what master?

Oh my Merlin, of course I had been right all along. But I still couldn't have explained why it was so painful to hear it – worry, perhaps. Maybe even fear.

"I'm not trying to conceal anything from him, I just don't want _you_ butting in!" _Him_, I thought to myself darkly. Yes, Malfoy had always been to afraid to say Lord Voldemort's name. Harry tried peering through the keyhole in the door, his interest more spiked than my own simply because his understanding was far less.

"So that is why you have been avoiding me this term? You have feared my interference? You realize that, had anybody else failed to come to my office when I had told them repeatedly to be there, Draco-"

"So put me in detention, report me to Dumbledore!" Malfoy laughed tauntingly.

There was another pause. "You know perfectly well that I do not wish to do either of those things."

"You'd better stop telling me to come to your office then," Malfoy hissed. "I have better things to do."

"Dancing with Miss Potter did not seem like the things you are supposed to be doing, Draco."

"It wasn't my plan to," Malfoy seethed. "I remember what I was told. I'm staying away from her and if you don't stop bringing her into this damned situation, I will start writing back and letting them know just how detrimental you-"

"Listen to me," Snape's voice was low, Harry and I both pushed hard against the door to try and make out all of his words. "I am trying to help you. I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco-"

My heart clenched just at the thought – _the Unbreakable Vow_...if you made the Unbreakable Vow and broke it, I knew its final sentence: death. What had the vampire said tonight? _The boy he has the curse, too. As a harbinger of death, I can assure you: he does._

Maybe the vampire had not been talking about my brother at all...

"Looks like you'll have to break it, then, because I don't need your protection!" There was the sound of something being hit and then it clattering to the floor moments later. "It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doing it, I've got a plan and it's going to work, it's just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!"

"What is your plan?" Snape urged, losing his cool for a long moment – I heard Malfoy step away from him.

"It's none of your business!"

"If you tell me what you are trying to do, I can assist you..." Apparently that was the wrong thing to offer him, because Malfoy all but snarled at him.

"I have all the assistance I need, thanks, I'm not alone!"

He wasn't? Someone was actually helping him with this; who? Would it be Theodore or Blaise, or would he sink as low to enlist the help of Astoria, or worse – his stalker? Parkinson wouldn't be my first choice, but she certainly wouldn't be my last, like those two lumbering idiots were...

"You were certainly alone tonight, which was foolish in the extreme, wandering the corridors without lookouts or backup, these are elementary mistakes."

"I would've had Crabbe and Goyle with me if you hadn't put them in detention!"

His first choices were Crabbe and Goyle? I didn't think Malfoy and I were friends or anything anymore, but that was just shameful to have them picked over me. In fact, it was embarrassing on his part that he had chosen them to help at all.

"Keep your voice down!" Snape somehow hissed and hushed all at once. "If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing at pres-"

"What does it matter?" Malfoy laughed with almost a hysterical tone. "Defense Against the Dark Arts – it's all just a joke, isn't it, an act? Like any of us need protecting _against_ the Dark Arts-"

"It is an act that is crucial to success, Draco!" said Snape. "Where do you think I would have been all these years, if I had not known how to act? Now listen to me! You are being incautious, wandering around at night, getting yourself caught, and if you are placing your reliance in assistants like Crabbe and Goyle -"

My point exactly, it was a bad idea all around.

"They're not the only ones, I've got other people on my side, better people!"

"Like who? I hope you've left Mr Nott out of this and surely it couldn't be Miss Potter," Snape said suddenly. Draco did not answer him and I could hear Snape begin to seethe venom. "Surely, you have not _told_ her."

"Of course not!" he snipped. "She doesn't know and she won't."

"Why do I not believe you?" Snape growled. "I have got to strenuous lengths to keep her apart from this, Draco – you heard what the Dark Lord said. She can no longer be your confidant; you need someone else to confide in, someone on the inside, as I-"

"I know what you're up to! You want to steal my glory!"

This was about glory now, not some kind of consequence? Why would Snape want to steal what glory?

"You are speaking like a child," hearing Snape used that tone made me _feel _like a child – it was so chilling and scorning that I almost felt the need to recoil, myself. "I quite understand that your fathers capture and imprisonment has upset you, or that what you're up to has ruined your year but-"

"His imprisonment?" Malfoy seethed. "_Ruined_ this year? Do you know what he's asked me to do; do you realize what I need to do? Ruin my _year_...you don't know what I've done this year! You don't know what I will do and what – what I'll _have to_..."

He trailed off, giving my twin brother and I only a second's warning before his angry footsteps were heard coming toward the door. We flung ourselves out of the way, barely in time to watch as Malfoy strode through the corridor and past the party – but, suddenly, he stopped by the door. I furrowed my brow – considering how forcefully he had been walking, I was surprised he had stopped. He placed his hands on the doorway, his eyes narrowing through the party, before he shook his head and launched himself off and down the corridor as if he had never stopped.

As he disappeared, Snape emerged from the classroom. His face was stoic, pale. He halted outside the door as if watching Malfoy leave as we had, but he was already gone. There was something hard that pushed on my mind, like an incoming headache that I squinted my eyes to expel.

_I know you're here._

I froze, blocking my mind as if lowering heavy metal doors around every conscious thought floating through my mind. Had he been talking to me, or had he been reaching out for Malfoy? Snape looked both ways down the hallway and with another pause strode back into the party, looking as miserable now as he had when he was first in there.

Harry looked at me, his expression dire. "Don't you see, Audrey? He's a Death Eater."

"Snape is a Death Eater that's undercover, Harry. If you-"

"Not Snape," Harry shook his head. "Draco."

It hurt, just hearing it said by someone else and I felt my fists clench before I forced myself to roll my eyes. "You're ridiculous, Harry. After everything that's happened, you're still on those theories? If you didn't hate Slytherins so-"

"Don't tell me that it's not obvious now!" Harry pointed behind him where Snape and Malfoy had just gone as I tossed the cloak off of me in my frustration. "Drea, didn't you hear them? Malfoy has some sort of mission and for some reason Snape doesn't know what it is!"

"I reckon it's because there was no mission," I told him, my mind whirring and trying to keep up with the lies as I spoke them. "Honestly, he's talking about the Slytherins. I just worry about what he's saying – whatever he's going to pull as prank on us."

"You're lying to yourself and you know it," Harry urged. He was right – it was as plain to me as it must have been to him: Draco was a Death Eater. And he had come here, this year, with some sort of plan that Voldemort himself had instructed him on.

"Draco is not important enough-"

"_Draco_ isn't, eh?" Harry emphasized his name in disgust.

"He is not a Death Eater!" I shouted, stomping my foot like the big girl I was before storming off down the corridor, ignoring the sound of glass breaking. I did not know if I had done it or if Harry had punched a window; neither would have surprised me. I couldn't hear any more of it – I wouldn't. It only made me berate myself more for everything that had happened. I had not cared about this for too long, I had not put it in the 'important' part of my mind as I should have and I had brushed past it...for how long? All month? All term? All summer?

What had he written me in the summer, what had he said to me this year – was there some way I could have prevented everything I just heard?

Draco was a Death Eater.

Draco had a mission.

Draco was working on the mission _in school_.

Draco was _told _to stay away from me – from who? His Mother? Snape? The Death Eaters? Voldemort?

I started running just at the thought, pulling off my shoes after a few moments of my ankles threatening to snap. I ran down the corridor – almost colliding with an arm when I was hardly gone. The arm wrapped around me and pulled me in, the cold hand wrapping around my mouth.

Oh my Godric, the vampire had me!

"Shh," the voice, even whispered, was unmistakable considering I had just heard him bellowing at someone else. It was not the vampire, but for obvious reason I felt little relief. Malfoy held his hand over my mouth for a long moment, watching from the shadows as Harry walked passed us, swearing under his breath.

"Let me go," I growled, moving his hand from my face with a gasp. I moved forward a few steps, glaring back at him – it was hard to look at him as I once had - we were school kids when I had looked at him like that. Now it felt like we were so much more: enemies, adults, _wounded_. The shadows cast over his face were like a metaphor for the darkness he had been thrown into and was drowning in. The sickness, strengthening and getting more noticeable like the infection that was probably identical to the mark that must have marred his arm...

"You're a Death Eater," I gasped, my voice more hushed than a whisper.

"No, Audrey," he shook his head, his eyes still shadowed. "I heard you and your brother, you said yourself that I wasn't."

"You are," I whispered, the words horrifyingly sounded like a sob when I took another step away from him. "You _are _a Death Eater. I should have known – I should have done something...I knew, I knew this was going to happen. I felt it; you were – and he – but...you-"

"Audrey, listen to yourself – it's nonsense."

"Don't talk down to me, you prat! Tell me! Tell me if I could have done something," I commanded, half hysterical and half furious. "Tell me if I have helped this, helped _you. _Could I have slowed it, prevented it even? Should I have hid you in my trunk at the end of last year or-or written...should I have written?"

He frowned, taking a step closer as if he was afraid I was about to run down the halls screaming the news. "Listen to yourself," he breathed. "You're completely mental."

All the fear, the frustration that had been building all night in my stomach began to bubble – it bubbled into a scream as I pushed him away from me again. "Malfoy, I swear-"

"Oh," his voice low, a black look coating his features. "So it's back to Malfoy, is it?"

"Well, you're back to lying – really, I think you got the better end of the deal," I hissed back. "Don't lie to me. Tell me. Just tell me what's happening, don't make me guess anymore. I can't, I _won't._"

"Good, you should leave it alone," he responded stiffly. "Make our lives easier."

"But I can't do that either and you know it," I whispered, walking up to him and felt the urge to touch him, to grab him and hold him to me and never let him go to that stupid _master _of his again. "Who told you to stay away from me? What won't I know, Malfoy?"

"You listened to the whole thing, then?" He asked bitterly, running both hands through his hair before bringing them back down on my shoulders. "I should have known. Forget it was said, let this go."

"I can't," I told him, grabbing his hands as they rested on my shoulders. "You know I can't."

"You need to. I need you and Snape to leave this alone – he wants the credit and you want the _trouble._"

"I don't want either, you idiot," I breathed heavily, shaking my head and trying not to show how angry I was. "I want _you. _So don't – whatever you think you're doing for _Him _don't do it. The Order can keep you safe, _I _will keep you safe, don't sell your soul to him."

_I do not drink from damned souls, _the vampire had said. _That boy, the one you love; he has the mark too._

Draco certainly had _a _mark.

"Potter, enough," he said, leaning in and looking down on me intensely. "You don't know what you're saying."

But I knew what I was doing; I threw myself on him, like I always seemed to, crashing my lips to his with a force that nearly bruised them. My hands wrapped around his face, pulling him down to my level and not letting him get away – not that he seemed to want to. He responded to me instantly, just like he had the night so many weeks ago. His kisses never felt the same – it didn't matter what kind of kiss it was or what circumstance, you could never have the same kiss twice with Draco Malfoy. His kisses were more revealing than anything he had ever told me – the way he would hold me, crush me to him, bruise the skin on my lips – it told me more than any words could.

And he was terrified; just like I was.

"I can't," he said, but did not stop kissing me. "We can't."

"We can," I told him, pulling away, but not letting go. For some reason when he touched me it didn't make me nauseous like when others did. It didn't make me want to wipe my hands clean of them or move away so they couldn't do it again. It just made me want to touch more skin to his, it made me want to melt into him so that you couldn't tell where I ended and he began. "Come on, it's the day before Christmas. Let's go somewhere tomorrow – get off the Express and go to one of your manors in France, or in Peru – come on, let's get you away from it."

"I can't," he said again, trying to pull away.

"Draco, you can," I shook my head, gripping onto his neck and pulling him toward me again. "Whatever it is you don't have to do it."

"I do," he said again, shaking his head. "Stay, Audrey. Stay for the winter."

"I can't," I said in the same way, pulling away. It sounded like I was groaning, ripping myself away from something comfortable as I said the words. "I can't just stay after they wanted me to leave-"

And I couldn't. The Order was making plans, I needed to tell someone about Draco needing help, I needed to talk to Sirius. There were too many things to cancel on – too many things I needed to do.

"Fuck it all. Just stay here, Potter," he nuzzled his head towards my scar, kissing it in a way that sent shivers all the way down my spine. "You don't want to be with them, so just stay with me."

But I did want to see them – even if I wanted to stay with him more.

"Your mission," I said, feeling his kisses stop as he waited, his body stiff and his breathing measured. "It has something to do with me, doesn't it?"

"No," he said slowly, recoiling as if I had wounded him. "My mission won't involve you."

"Won't," I said quietly. "But it's supposed to...Are you here to kill me, Draco?"

They had wanted me dead at the end of fourth year, hadn't they? Hadn't they been planning to attack me on the Express or taking me away to be murdered because of how much I was threatening the Death Eaters? And that was before I had murdered one of their own. They wanted me dead - a life for a life. The twin of Boy-Who-Lived's head on a pike as a message...

"No," his voice was thick. "I'm not here to kill you. I couldn't..."

"You're here to kidnap me, then?" I asked, looking up at him and seeing his eyes fog over as if he was remembering back to whatever it was he had been told. "Don't make me dig in your mind."

"No one's going to take you, Potter," he said seriously. "They won't."

But he was supposed to.

"You were taught Occlumency so that I wouldn't know, not so Snape wouldn't know," I did not guess, but explained it to him. He shook his head, bowing it back into my neck but he wasn't ready to kiss me again as he had just been.

"You're a weakness, Audrey. People know that," he whispered. But I didn't know who to - the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters, to my brother...or for Draco, himself?

"Come with me over the winter," I whispered, placing my hands on his jaw and lifting him up so he could look at me. His stormy eyes were as terrified as his kisses had been. "We'll hide you, no one will know you're with me; after this year no one would think it."

"I fucking _can't,_" he groaned as if it hurt him and shook his head. He bent down and closed his eyes when I placed my forehead to his. "So don't leave, just stay. Stay with me."

"I can't," I whispered, closing my eyes and fighting the feeling of the ocean raging in my insides. "I have to stop you from getting your way."

"And I have to stop you from stopping me," he breathed.

"Not yet," I whispered, kissing him again. "Not tonight."

No, neither of us had to do anything. Not yet. Not tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah! So much just happened I don't even know what to say to you all. I guess I should start off with: they're back! Yes. No more super "I love you, I hate you" between this duo, just confusion over Draco's mission and Audrey's place with him and her brother; but no more breaking up and back together...for a while. I need to say a big thank you to all the fantastic reviewers of this last chapter; I've never gotten so many! So here are your responses:<strong>

_Undefined and Fine with It_**: I hated myself a little bit, too. I wish that I could comfort you by saying "it happened because of this!" but sadly, you'll just have to wait to find out.**

_incitanemxx_**: I'm sorry I made you anticipate for as long as I did and don't worry, that you're that excited is flattering, not creepy. Theodore was a little bit of himself: still chastising her and blaming himself for how things happened – I think that he is just thinking of 'what if I'd been there' not 'I hate you, you killed my father'. People tend to blame themselves or other people and generally Theodore is not a judgemental person. Audrey hasn't really forgotten about Fred's letter, she just hasn't gotten up the courage to read it yet, haha. As for Draco, as you can see they are starting to stop fighting their feelings for one another – yay! But what has Draco been warning her about? What is his mission, now? Audrey will definitely be upset when she finds out who killed Circe (as you could see in this chapter, she is still very upset by the mention or thought of it) but she will not find out for multiple chapters. I got home not too long ago and am getting into the swing of the time zone and work, which is why it took me so long. The next will be much faster :)**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I KNOW, I FEEL TERRIBLE. Seriously, though. I turned to my mom after I finished writing and had tears in my eyes and was like "this is what she felt like" and my Mom was like "whatever do you mean, daughter?" (okay, maybe not like that) but my response was literally "WHEN SHE KILLED OFF SIRIUS. THIS IS WHAT IT FELT LIKE!" and I burst into tears. Pretty sure she wants to get me psychologically checked out, but it was just as bad for me as it was to everyone else, I assure you. I don't blame you for not trusting me: I don't trust myself. I mean, I knew it would happen when I was writing book five and even when I did my outlines, it was in there...but by the time the chapter came it was like "no, I can't...it's too soon. How necessary is it, really?" but it'll have its purposes; three of them, in fact.  
>The letter from Fred will be elaborated on in the next chapter, when she will actually be getting a visit from him (oh, can you feel the tension now?), which should be interesting to write. I'm pretty sure you'll find out the murderer in this book, but I have yet to write the conversation, so it may be the seventh (I'm aiming for this one, though).<br>I really liked writing Audrey and Hermione's conversation as well, so much so that I added it into this one – as you read. I also wiggled a bit of Luna time in there...alright, confession time: I adore Luna Lovegood. ADORE her. But Audrey totally wouldn't and it kills me to be so mean to her in these chapters (KILLS ME!) but I know it's how it would go. What a world I live in...  
>Yes, Theo wasn't in this one, but he will be mentioned more in the next one – it will be Christmas, after all – and of course, Draco will be featured in thought. Wasn't it cute? Aw, he asked her to stay! I blushed just writing it...and giggled. A little. But it was desperate in a possibly dangerous way, so...<strong>

_vampiremuggle_**: I know, there was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster at the end of the last chapter: hopefully the end of this one was a bit more perky. They are reunited, kind of, and I promise that they won't be head-butting as much for at least a few chapters ;)**

_tessastarchild_**: If you get all the way to this chapter, I hope you've liked it. Audrey is not a nice person, hence the Scottish remarks but it is part of the story (and I do not think the same way: I, myself am of Scottish heritage; tartan, kilts, everything) but I'm sorry it offended you.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it and hope that you liked this one as well!**

_crabbclaw_**: Yes, it was a surprise for most people apparently, but at least people are catching on to the hints now that they've seen it happen. I felt terrible doing it, I swear, but sometimes bad things happen to good...kneazles.  
>I can't really say if Theo hates Audrey or not, but you can tell he's obviously hurt: not just because his father was murdered but also because his best friend had done it...and in self-defense when he thought she shouldn't have gone in the first place.<br>Yes, Draco and Audrey care about each other – a lot, as you saw in this chapter! Ah, it was so relieving to write it, I hope it was just as relieving to read it. There won't be much more 'I always hated you anyway' if any at all; how exciting is that? I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I'm sorry – it was cruel, but necessary. Hopefully this chapter was a happier one?**

_Pelawen Night_**: I wish I could take it back...but it's important, I promise!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: This chapter was happier, so hopefully it counteracted the horror of the last chapter – I know it was bad. We'll find out who killed Circe likely in this book, but it could happen in DH if it doesn't really come up organically. I have a lot of other exciting twists to add into this book still and very few chapters to fit it all in!  
>I watch a lot of crime shows too – Criminal Minds? My favourite – but I encourage you to go back and look at the hints for clues...I left them there for you to find, if you would have been looking for them haha!<br>Theodore is upset that Audrey went in without thinking and acted on impulse – as he always is – only this time it took the life of his father. He is blaming himself, thinking that if he would have been there, he could have stopped everything from happening. Sadly, we'll never know the answer.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: It wasn't serious enough to keep me in the hospital for more than a few days and I'm feeling lots better now, so all is well! Yes, the last chapter was devastating, but I balanced it out by making this one have a happy-esc ending. Not as much of a cliff-hanger this time, was it? Though I won't deny, I am as addicted to them as I am to Dreaco action!**

_AFlairForSelfishSkies_**: Yeah, it's crazy that you asked about Circe the chapter before she died – you must be psychic! Haha, hopefully you're a better one than Audrey. She's about to have a pretty harsh time. I hope Draco was defying Voldemort enough for you in this chapter ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: I always get excited when I update, it's nice to know other people are excited for the notifications, haha! Theo and Audrey will be at odds for some time – maybe forever. I am not sure yet – but at least they've talked about it. Audrey's about to make the next move in their no-longer-relationship as well, it should be a good moment.  
>Yes, Draco and Audrey are together again! it's so nice, isn't it? I've been waiting for this for as long as you have – longer, possibly! – so it's just like breathing a sigh of relief about the whole situation. I'm so excited for the next few chapters...you guys aren't going to know what hit you!<br>And yes, RIP to Circe – she was an amazing kneazle and an even better friend :(**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: Audrey apparently was ready to kill Luna for just talking about it – I wouldn't doubt she'll be murderous when she finds out who the culprit was!**

_Ella710_**: I'M SORRY, OKAY? IT KILLED ME, TOO. I CRIED. I DID.  
>In case you don't creep my other review responses (I don't know, do you? Apparently lots of people do – I never expected that) but I turned to my mom after I wrote that chapter and I was almost crying and I said "this is what she felt like" and my Mom responded with a "huh?" to which I burst into tears and said "WHEN SHE KILLED OFF SIRIUS; THIS IS WHAT IT FELT LIKE!" So yeah, don't think I'm not affected by these horrors, either!<br>Yeah, I was kind of surprised by how many people assumed it was Draco, as well. The responses were very interesting – people will definitely be surprised when it's revealed who did it. And if it DOES end up being someone like Pugface or Ass-toria...well, slaughter will be the least on their minds when Audrey comes hunting for them.  
>Theo and Audrey...well, they'll be talking again soon. And Draco and Audrey? They might take a little longer to talk because they'll be doing other things ;) But at least these are all positives, right? Even if something terrible had to happen in the last chapter, as well!<br>I can't wait to hear what you think about Draco and Snape's conversation and just how many times Audrey happened to be mentioned. Did you notice? I'm sure you did. It made me giddy every time I got to write her name in it!  
>I hope that after this 68th chapter, you still like the story as much as you did around chapter 12 :)<br>Thank you, as always, for the wonderful review!**

_rosesxbubblegum_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad that you could go along with Audrey's emotional turmoil during that last chapter – it was intense by my books, so I hope it was by yours, as well. The applause totally isn't necessary, I just like being able to write and have people read it! Thank you so much for reviewing – and enjoying – the many chapters you have!**

_TheWickedNatural_**: Ah, I looked back and saw her but the link sent me back to a random place in the cue of redheads – but I still do love the girls people have been showing me. Did you get to see the girls I showed on Twitter? I really liked them – did they look like you imagined?  
>Yes, most people were surprised and upset by Circe dying – I'm glad I got that reaction. As sad as it is, I'm so glad you got so attached to her. I don't feel as badly for sobbing as I did when I wrote it, haha!<strong>

_ChristysBirdCage_**: I tried to warn the Twitter-followers and prepare them, I guess I should have given you a few chapters more of warning, eh? There is definitely a fair bit of angst, but at least both Audrey and Draco are dealing with it now! I have not seen any banners anyone has made for this story, for some reason whether they are on Twitter or sent through the site, they just aren't showing up! :(**

_Leo Douglas_**: I pictured more of a Leighton Meester kind of girl, but hopefully you'll still kile Seren Malmore either way!**

_Annaismyname_**: Don't worry, I cried too.**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: I'm sorry! I'm grieving myself – trust me, I feel your pain.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Aw, thank you (as always), I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Audrey definitely hit rock bottom in the last chapter (or, her rock-bottom thus far) but Circe died to ensure it – she had a cause, I promise. I would never kill such a character unnecessarily. I can only hope you liked this chapter in the same kind of way and that you have more theories – I always love hearing them!**

_BerserkMoon_**: It DEFINITELY got real. Glad you liked it and hope you liked this one – thank you :)**

_katie93319_**: I know, Circe dying was very sad for me, as well – but I'm glad that it left a good cliff-hanger. I hope that you liked this chapter (there was just as much kissing here and much less anger as it's not about to end!) as well as a lot of Feels. Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for the review!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I'M SORRY, I KNOW I'M EVIL. But I cried too...if that helps at all. And they did kiss – and are continuing to kiss! He even asked her to stay with him...that has to make up for something, right? I'm glad you liked the chapter, hoping that you liked this one as much or more – and hope you liked the little Q&A via twitter. There will be more soon *hint, hint* :)**

_Magimagus_**: Thank you, I am feeling much better! It's like night and day from when I first felt sick; really. I'm glad that you liked the chapter – it was really hard to write (I was crying leading all up to it, no matter how happy the chapter seemed) and when it finally happened I was just inconsolable. My poor mother, I wonder what she must have thought!  
>I thought Theo and Audrey made some good ground in the conversation (the next one will be sooner than one would think) and Snape was definitely trying to help her at first. I like to think that Audrey is very strong when she needs to be – but I like when she and Draco can be strong for each other; it always comforts me. But maybe that's just because I know where I'm taking it chapter by chapter.<br>Yes, Draco is definitely related to Audrey's lessons with Dumbledore – but how, we will not know until the end. Her next lesson will probably be much more confusing so clearly, I'm excited to write it ;)  
>Yes, Audrey left planning to tell Snape off and happened to find Circe going down from McGonagall's room to Snape's office – poor girl. I also really did like Draco covering her eyes – in my head (which commonly plays itself like a movie or play) it was the perfect ending to an Act.<br>Ah yes, Fred's letter – we will hear that in detail during the next chapter. And Draco, he was certainly jealous. Now Ron and Lavender are in a relationship though Audrey encouraged Hermione to tell her feelings, it has definitely become awkward between them; then again, Audrey has never been a relationship expert. She is not one to give the best advice ;)  
>I'm excited for SerenTom's story, it will be a lot of fun if it turns out as I want it. And yes, I'm starting to write my own series now – I've tried multiple times, but I'm really stuck on two separate stories and I'm entering one (whichever is best and closest to done) into an upcoming writing competition. Hopefully if it's good, someone might like those characters quarter as much as Audrey (though I doubt it. I'm saving her for something special of my own)!**

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: Hopefully this chapter's happy ending made up for the last chapter's horrible one! Yes, Draco and Audrey are cute together and much more reunited this chapter than last. I agree that Audrey would be friends with a lot more people if she weren't so defensive – then again, would it be as fun if she were? Hope you liked this chapter, thank you for the review!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm sorry, I know it was bad – but at least you felt emotive over it! It's nice to know I could have so much impact on people with a simple sentence...it's also nice to know I'm not alone in my grief, haha.  
>Everything WAS going perfectly – Audrey's talking to Theodore was meaningful and revealing. When Draco kind of stood up against Theodore, it was sweet. And Draco and Audrey...well, that was just wonderful (though, admittedly, I liked this chapter more). Circe's slaughter was not really a good point – but it was important and will affect things later. Even this chapter, it had a consequence.<br>I'm so happy to hear that people like how I write Draco. It's really hard, sometimes. Like for this chapter, he was saying some very, **_**very **_**sweet things and I found myself going over a sentence five times to make sure he was as much of a jerk as possible. Sweet is good – loving is still a bit too much to be believable...but we're almost there!  
>It's not terrible that Draco is on your suspect list of killers. Suspecting Slytherins is definitely a good bet – but you never know. We're in a time of war and terrible things are about to start happening. Again, thank you for the sweet words – you're really far too kind! – and I hope that I can do Seren Malmore justice now that I'm starting to write her out. I like her so far...but she isn't quite ready to be published, haha.<br>Thank you for your review and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Ahsilaa_**: I can't tell you anything except that I appreciate your review, haha. It was a fun chapter to write and I'm glad it was so well received (despite the grief). I can't tell you if I'm going to change the story yet, but so far I have once and people seemed happy. Sirius will be in the next chapter too (he's still here!) so hopefully people enjoy that. Thank you for your review and I hope you liked the new mass of kisses!**

_AlexiaMikaelson_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! Hope you liked this chapter, too :)**

_Treble15_**: Aw, thank you – I was depressed by it, so I know your pain. I'm glad that it didn't seem to come out to nowhere and I'm glad that however many people who thought that Theodore was going to die was wrong (he's not had his moment in the limelight yet!) but I'm glad that everything out is playing well; Snape's protectiveness, him moving her away from Draco, Draco being protective. Do you still think he can protect her better than Theodore could, now that we know about his mission for sure? I'm glad you relate and hope that you're left just as happy as she was about this chapter ;)**

_Guest_**: Yes, they kissed – and continued to kiss this chapter. It's like life is nice again! I know the ending to the last one was not as nice as it could have been, but I'm hoping that other things make up for how horrible that realization was. Thank you for the birthday wishes and I hope to have a delayed birthday party as I'm also missing Halloween (my favourite holiday) for work. It should be fun! I got to go to Amsterdam, we didn't stay long, but it was a lot of fun! Thank you for all your well-wishes, it's so sweet :)**

_Stronger123_**: I know, it was far too sad – but at least you liked it! Thanks :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I know, I was in tears too. It's always nice to know the impact Audrey and her life can have, but it sucks to know that it was over something so horrible. Don't worry, we'll find out who killed Circe – hopefully you won't hate me too much when you learn it... thanks for the review!**

_BlueLuver5000_**: DON'T HATE ME! I didn't mean to be so cruel – it happened in my planning, I never WANTED it to! Audrey will plot revenge – but will she get it? That I can't say. You'll know who did it, though – that I promise!**

_ratherbereading125_**: Audrey doesn't seem the type to commit suicide, but I can tell you that Draco, Harry, or Theodore will have to talk her down from her own 'ledge' at some point or other where she just feels like giving up. She is definitely emotionally overloaded (poor girl!) and she will have to get used to how everything is working out...which usually leads to something bad. Hope you liked it!**

_iwantsprezzatura_**: Wow, in a whole week? Thank you, I'm glad you've liked it enough to finish the beast that it's become! Hopefully you've recovered a bit from the last chapter and have appreciated what happened in this one – thanks for the review!**

_OddPotato_**: She died – I know, I'm sorry – Circe was murdered. I DIDN'T THINK PEOPLE WOULD BE AS UPSET AS I AM, OKAY? But it was important. And...oddly flattering that they are so attached to the character of a kneazle. I hope that this doesn't get worse...but it will. This is going to be a bad year for poor Dreaco and every other character around them – hopefully you still love me like I love you! Even though I'm going to be cruel – even more than you imagine now. **

_polki_**: Oh no! It sucks that you read the last line first – I used to do that on purpose all the time until I read a book called "Copper Sunrise" and it ruined the whole thing. I'm sorry it kind of spoiled the chapter – hopefully it was still enjoyable despite the whole 'death and knowing about it' part...**

_Maeve Epans_**: Ha, hopefully this chapter was as exciting as the last one! Yes, they are back together...kind of, I mean, still lots of secrets, problems and they don't like advertising their 'relationship' but they are reunited once again (even though they'll be apart for Christmas). I'm glad that you can tell Audrey has her own side and that she's not all about Harry or Draco – thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: I know, I'm cruel – I'm sorry!**

_Anon_**: It's good that you liked the chapter, even if it was a depressing chapter to enjoy. Draco has become strangely protective of her (even though we aren't exactly sure why) and we will find out who killed Circe when the time is right – but I'm wagering people are going to be surprised ;)**

_Bloody-Asphode11_**: The fact that you told me Audrey had better 'eviscerate the assholes who did that' makes me think that you might be upset ;) I know, it was cruel, but necessary! You'll see why soon.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Yeah, it was definitely a painful tie to cut – I wish I could have avoided it. It's sweet (in a sad way) that Circe is paralleled to Dobby and Hedwig...ugh, she was so wonderful! It's really upsetting for me. But at least the rest of that chapter was more interesting and at least this chapter was a bit more upbeat.  
>I am feeling a lot better, being home really helps. The trip was...unbelievable. It still doesn't really feel real, even after recounting my stories and going throughposting my pictures (and there are over 2500 to look through...it is not an easy task).  
>I love family reunions, so I'm glad yours went well. My favourite parts of the year are when my family gets together – I'm glad that you got to see your cousin's eagle scout ceremony and meet the one you hadn't gotten to up to that point.<br>Congratulations on your husband coming home! Oh, that must be so exciting; I can't imagine how happy you must be. I've never been to Hawaii either, so you'll have to tell me all about it. Did you hear about the other part time job? I had my fingers crossed!**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: I'd like to think Audrey is better than she realizes, but she is a survivor. That's why she doesn't pick sides: she wants to live, even if it means others have to fall behind her – as long as she's running fastest. The clues for Circe's upcoming death were in there, it's one of those things you have to go back and read. I hope you liked this new chapter – thank you for reviewing!**

_TheStoryDreamer_**: I loved her too :( So sad. I hope this chapter was happier!**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: Yes, no one seemed to see it coming: I don't blame them. When I realized that the chapter was coming up even I was thinking "it's too soon, I'm not ready to let her go!" but what's done is done. As for who killed her: that's a question that will be answered later in the story.  
>Yes, the Dreaco-fest well commence past here; they are together again. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but they aren't going to be as contemptuous as they were before.<br>Theodore and she have begun to talk and they will continue to, which is hopefully good news. Their next conversation will be an intense one; I promise you.  
>I'm glad you liked the last chapter and can only hope you enjoyed this one as well. Thanks for the review!<strong>

_WaterFish_**: Yay for Draco/Audrey; Boo for Circe dying. Trust me, I feel your pain. Thanks for the review now, I always appreciate getting them no matter how often someone does it :)**

_BlackRose_**: Thank you for going through this story as you have been, I'm glad that it's held your interest enough for you to go through the chapters even if it is 'slowly' (though I'm always surprised when people do it quickly; this story is a monster...no pun intended). Fred wasn't the first kiss, but I thought that Cedric would be a good first for her – every little girl wants the older guy to look at her. She was lucky. The vision was awfully confusing (can you imagine actually living that? Poor girl!) but yes – she did kiss a Weasley AND Malfoy. Which, by this point, you've gotten to see some of.  
>It's good that you've been liking it, from Prefect to first-kisses to 'The Monster' and I hope that you still do if you make it all the way here! Thank you so much for all your reviews :)<strong>

_Melody_**: I hope your holidays went well and I'm sorry that you had to end them with this chapter – eek, not really the happiest end to a day. I'm so glad you liked the last chapter – hopefully this one was a better read because they are together again (what a relief)! Thanks for reviewing, as always.**

_xXBloodyIllusionXx_**: Aw, first let me say thank you – this was so sweet! The story has been a lot of fun to write, so I'm glad you think about it when you're not reading it: I'm constantly thinking about it. Sick days are never 'sick' days – they're 'write and sleep as appropriate' days thanks to Audrey and her adventures running around my head. It's great to hear you like how I try to write Malfoy's character and Audrey's internal monologue – I always worry when there isn't a lot of action in a chapter as I know most don't like hearing too much thought or internalization. It's an honour that you started your own stories and I may have had a part in that: I hope they all go well!  
>In the books – both the original and my version – Harry was given the Invisibility Cloak. It was passed down from eldest son to eldest son in the story of the Peverells' so that's how I want it to stay. To make up for it, if I ever write a one shot including it, I plan to make it so that the Marauders Map was actually given to Audrey by the twins: not Harry.<br>It's great to meet another Canadian on here, there aren't as many of us as you would think!  
>Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

_BOOMitsMegan_**: Yes, I don't think even I could tell you everything that's happened within the last 7 chapters – they were jam-packed. This was my favourite book so clearly it had to be the most exciting in my rendition, haha. To think that Audrey is going to help Draco with his mission is a fair assumption – she seems pretty keen on helping him out of sticky situations. Could it be love?  
>I'd love the Slytherins to end up following Audrey again: I think a few of them may end up shocking you at later points in the story. I hope you had a good few months, wherever you were or whatever you did, and thanks for coming back to review!<strong>

_lollyg17_**: Thank you! It's so great when people tell me they can relate to Audrey, I worked weeks on her character trying to make her as realistic as I could while keeping in mind she had to be able to mesh with both Harry and her love interests. I used to always be upset when people forgot what house their character was in when I read HP fanfiction; so I did a lot of research on Slytherins and a lot of people watching to make sure I got it right, haha. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thank you again for reading and reviewing :)**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Thank you; I liked your review :)**

_Godric's Innocent Angel_**: I know it was sad, but I'm glad you thought that the rest of the chapter went well! Audrey will be very different when she gets back from Christmas Break...and then the Slytherins had better watch out ;)**

_SwiftAlice_**: Haha, I know, I was heartbroken too – but it needed to happen and I knew it was up to me. I was in tears, not going to lie. Audrey is definitely getting back to herself and I think that now she's with Draco again she's not going to feel like she has to tip-toe as much around the others (save Theodore, of course) so she will be almost like new!  
>Your reviews are never crappy and I don't mind when you send them, don't worry. I hope you're feeling better; how is your leg? I still love you as well so don't worry, if you need to take a break from Fanfiction you are totally able to do so; I wouldn't feel betrayed! <strong>

_Anonymoose13_**: I wish it was a lie! Yes, Astoria has definitely made herself seem like a suspect, hasn't she? She is definitely "lookin' for a whoopin'", as my grandfather would say. Your instincts were right if you were worried something would happen to her; I also wish they weren't...but it was sadly planned. Hopefully you liked this chapter and that it was dramatic enough until we see her Christmas back with Sirius :)**

_4ntisocial_**: Hopefully you get all the way here, I'm glad you've liked the story so far!**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: I'm glad you liked it, as sad as it was. Thank you for reviewing :)**

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><p><strong>Wow guys, the response for this chapter was absolutely amazing! Honestly, it warmed me up being able to read all your thoughts and it really made me feel like I'm doing something right because you were all so upset by the loss of an original character. Thank you so much for everything you're doing – I really appreciate it! <strong>

**Hopefully you enjoyed the talks with Hermione, the Slytherin bonding, the Party, the Vampire's words of wisdom, Snape and Draco's conversation and of course, the fluffy ending! Next chapter will be Christmas with the Order stopping by :)**

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**- Egypt**

**Also follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for sneak-peeks, updates, Q&A sessions, and early excerpts from each chapter!**


	69. The Best Kind of Gift

**Hello again, friends! I have another chapter for you – definitely not my best, but it has a few cute moments in it. As of now, I will be back to a regular writing schedule with hopefully a chapter a week; so get ready, because chapter 69 won't be far behind this one :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 68 – The Best Kind of Gift<p>

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><p>Were I not to have seen it myself, I never would have believed that Draco Malfoy would come from the castle to watch the Express pull out of Hogsmeade. But he had – and I knew that he had done it for me. He had not walked to the station with me, he didn't say a word to me, and there hadn't been a romantic goodbye – but when I made sure to find a compartment with the window facing where he leaned against the station wall, he did give me a sad grin and winked when I rolled my eyes at him.<p>

Yes, he was definitely here for me.

Hermione found me not long after I had strained my neck from watching him the entire time we were pulling out of the station. Luckily she was the only one to attempt taking a seat in my compartment with me – lucky for both our sakes, I guessed. Part of me was upset that she was leaving me alone with Ron and Harry for the winter break, but I don't think that she would have been able to stay near Ron for the holiday just so that she could be forced to examine all the 'bruises' on his neck. She didn't really speak to me much on the ride, either – not that I could find it in me to mind. There wasn't much to be said: we were both miserable and not where we wanted to be. Hermione wanted to be with Ron, I wanted to be with Draco.

It was still so strange to think, such a foreign and impossible concept. But it was still wonderful to think, wonderfully forbidden and tempting. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever be able to _say _it...over my own boundaries and who I kept in my company.

Hermione nearly hugged me goodbye on our way out, until she saw me flinch away from her. She didn't look hurt by it, luckily, but her goodbye was short and curt so perhaps it had been harder on her than I meant it to be. I couldn't help but not want to be touched and even if – as of last night – I had begun to make some exceptions. If someone was going to be touching me, I knew it wasn't going to be anyone I would be seeing over this holiday. Still, I felt badly when Hermione rushed off before I could return her goodbye, even if it was thanks to my brother and his favourite dunce coming to the compartment door. Ron immediately frowned after her.

"It's weird Hermione isn't coming for the holiday, isn't it?" Ron asked while Harry helped heave my trunk from the top of the compartment. "Why do you think she isn't?"

"It's a real mystery," I mumbled sarcastically, rolling my eyes toward my brother. He flashed me an identical look of annoyance while he handed my trunk over to me. "Maybe it's because she hates you – or, even more strangely, maybe she hates how you publicly maul your girlfriend whenever she's ten feet from you."

"Lavender and I don't-" he stopped, considering what I said with a grimace. "Do we, really?"

"Please tell me you're trying to be ironic," I drawled, waiting for him to respond. When he seemed lost in thought – which was the first brain function I had seen in months – I decided to leave him to it and get off the train. I was in a rotten mood: speaking to morons would certainly not improve it.

After hauling my trunk down the Express' rather unnecessary stairs I was both excited and horrified to see the large gathering of people who were waiting for us. The Weasleys had come for our gathering: the twins, Bill, Mr and Mrs Weasley. I was also surprised to see another redhead there – one that I didn't recognize and because of that, I knew exactly who she was. Nymphadora Tonks had decided to dress up for the occasion, it seemed. She looked nearly undetectable with her matching ginger hair and blended in with the Weasleys so well that it almost felt like we didn't have a guard at all. But I could never be too hopeful because with this gathering there would be no avoiding Fred Weasley. I could feel my face going red when he caught my eye – I was just glad he had the courtesy to give me nothing more than a wry grin.

Right, _the letter._

Some things should be allowed to go unaddressed.

"Come on, Audrey, dear," Mrs Weasley smiled, taking my trunk from me so that she could pass it into Fred's waiting hand. "You'll want to hurry – we have company to escort us to the Burrow."

"And a company car to fit all the company," George noted. He was much more chipper than his brother and had already given Ron's hair a nice ruffle before he came and gave me a taunting pat on the top of the head – which turned into another tussling of my own hair. As if it needed to get any messier.

"Not quite as nice as the one we stole-" Fred continued his brother's words nonchalantly, not seeming as fazed as I felt about this whole 'imminent conversation' that lurked over both of our heads.

"-then again, it may only have been so nice _because _we stole it-"

"-not that the Whomping Willow gave it another chance to shine."

"Enough talk of that," Mrs Weasley scowled, hushing them with her tone. "If you remind them of that, we may not get any more company cars!"

"As long as these two are on their way to our house," Bill smirked over to Harry and I, then – just like his younger brother had done – tousled my hair as I yelped. "I have a feeling that the Ministry will be accommodating enough to ignore it."

"I wish you would ignore me," I huffed, crossing my arms and walking close behind Mrs Weasley so that she could be used as a shield. I couldn't deny that Bill was right, though: there were a lot of things the Ministry ignored, like warnings of an uprising Dark Wizard and mysterious deaths and disappearances – but at least we would still get our cars.

Walking out through Kings Cross and the Muggles that were travelling through it was as much of an experience as always: the way they whispered about the Weasleys lack of fashion sense, the way they giggled when they saw the mass of redheads, the way they quirked their heads at the sight of Hedwig. I clenched my jaw as I remembered how they used to do the same for Circe, once upon a time.

There was a car waiting for us at the curb, just as Mrs Weasley had told us. It was black and looked like it would hold no more than five of the ten of us – but I knew better. I waited until Fred had climbed in and then continued to wait until Harry and Ron had climbed in after him, just to be sure that we wouldn't be sat together. I had hardly made it into my seat beside Ginny before something slammed into me and attacked me – something _slimy._

"Snuffles, stop it!" I couldn't tell if it had come out as a whine or as a cry of glee, but I don't think it would have mattered either way because he didn't stop licking my face. Harry laughed at my blubbering and complaining before pulling the great black dog back and giving him a good rub between the ears. "Why thank you, Snuffles. That was utterly disgusting."

"But entertaining," Bill snorted from beside me, giving a look to my brother who was still laughing at me. "He only does that to you, you know."

"Well," I narrowed my eyes at the dog who was sitting across from me. "Don't I feel special."

Sirius' tongue lolled out in response.

"You shouldn't be here, you know," I frowned at him. "Dogs can get in trouble, too."

Sirius gave me an indignant bark and stood again. There was no hiding the grimace and the yelp that came out of my mouth as he stepped closer – I dove behind Ginny to avoid another mauling. Sadly, it didn't let me avoid the humiliation of being scared.

The Ministry car was certainly more comfortable than the Night Bus had been with the lot of us in it, but it was still far too crowded for the long drive we had to get to The Burrow. I couldn't tell half the time if I was red-faced from the heat or if I was red-faced because of the looks Fred kept giving me from the corner of his eye. At least he didn't want the others to see them, even if he didn't care when I noticed and he didn't have the nervousness I felt to look away.

Yes, I _definitely_ should have stayed with Draco.

And what made the ride worse was that while Fred continued to give me these looks – again, he was a moron if he thought I wasn't noticing them – all I could thinkabout was Draco. How I _should _have stayed, what he was doing, and more importantly: what would he say if he sawthe looks that Fred was giving me at that very moment?

Probably nothing, actually. It would end up being a more physical reaction involving a lot violence and very few words.

"Oh, at last," Mrs Weasley breathed when we had finally stopped in front of the Burrow. We were a fair distance away, outside of the property lines. Something told me that was less the drivers decision as it was Dumbledore's. I bet we had more wards on this house than the Ministry had on their buildings. "Bill, Fred, George, levitate their trunks into the house, will you? Would some of you help me wash up for dinner?"

"We will," Harry said quickly, earning a smile from Mrs Weasley before she got out of the car. "I need to talk to you some more, Ron."

"Always with the secrets," I mumbled, getting out of the car and stretching. Harry looked like he was about to apologize but I waved it off. "It's fine, I was hoping for some time with Snuffles."

"Fine," Ginny pouted. "I'll find something more entertaining to occupy my time."

"You can help me decorate, dear," Mrs Weasley interrupted, giving a look to Ginny who scowled deeply. I rubbed behind Snuffles' ear just so that the Gryffindor wouldn't have to see me grinning over the look of disappointment on her face.

"Do you mind me stealing your room?"

"Feel free," she crossed her arms over her chest, looking proud of herself. "I can only hope that Phlegm hasn't taken it over again."

"_Fleur_," Bill interrupted with a glare. "Is staying with me. Will that suit you, Gin?"

"For now," she made another face to display just how unexcited she was to spend time with Fleur before she ran to catch up to Fred and George. I sighed, watching them go with the hope that she would be able to keep them busy while I talked to my godfather for a while – I knew it was inevitable that Fred would come hunting for some answers...I just hope I had time to avoid all the traps before he did.

"Come on," I began, Sirius was no longer as giddy and happy as he was before. It was as if he instinctively knew that this would not be a conversation he would enjoy. "We need to talk."

The Burrow was exactly as I had remembered it: there was not one straight line in the house, nor a set colour scheme. Every few feet was made of some different material and it seemed like even the plates had been built upon by more plates. Nothing in the house matched and nothing was in a recognizable order; it was a cluttered kind of home. Still, though not at all how I would keep my home, the Burrow was more of a home than anything else I'd ever known.

Then again, my home would not have so many _stairs. _Climbing up to Ginny's room was a painful reminder of Hogwarts itself. Though these stairs tended not to move, it was still more staircases than I would have liked to go up just to get to the bedroom and by the time I had finally gotten there – where my trunk was already waiting – I was unable to breathe properly.

"Something's wrong," I didn't lift my head to see Sirius, who must have turned back into himself in the time that I was trying to catch my breath. "If I didn't already know, it'd be easy enough to tell just by looking at you."

"Yes, apparently I've been quite easy to read lately," I sighed, dragging myself up and looking at my godfather. He was wearing nicer robes than in the summer, cut with grays and red that looked quite nice on him. He'd cut his hair, too – not short, but it was not as mangled as I was used to.

"I'm sorry about Circe," he said after a moment. It was like my breath was lost all over again just by hearing her name – I couldn't stop myself from falling on top of the cot-bed I would be inhabiting and folding my knees up to my chest. "I'm sorry about this year – I know it's been horrible for you."

Yes, it had. And he didn't know the half of it.

"She was killed," I choked out. "It would have been horrible for _her_."

"Harry told me there was a lot of blood, from what he saw," he said carefully, sitting on Ginny's bed so that he could look down on me more comfortably. "He also told me that the body had been taken before he got there."

Yes, it had. Draco had been sure to take her away once he had gotten me out of my catatonic state that I had fallen into for a few minutes after she had been found. He told me that he would take her and bury her somewhere, or at least lay her to rest: he said I could know where when I was ready to hear it. I certainly was not ready.

"Someone tortured her," I whispered back, laying my forehead against my knees with the hope that he would still be able to hear me. "Why would someone leave a message like that – but not have it be a clear one?"

"Maybe someone just wanted to torture _you,_" he suggested, apparently hearing me as clear as day despite the fact I was talking into my own lap. "Everyone knew how much you loved that kneazle, Drea. She was more a part of you than anything else."

"I know," I said, lifting up my face and taking a deep breath. It was now or never: I couldn't delay the subject for too long or else we wouldn't be able to talk about it properly and maybe he'd take more pity on me seeing the parallels to why the idea had come to mind. "That's one of the things we have to talk about."

"One of them?" Sirius asked with a tilt of his head. "Alright, go on."

"Circe was a part of me; an important one. She did a lot of sneaking around, protected me all the time, she could go places I couldn't dream of – through passages and crowds. She could do anything, see things that I never could – she figured you out, didn't she? And no one even realized what was going on..."

"Of course, she was good at what she did, protecting you." Sirius explained with a small nod of appreciation. "She was a kneazle, a _cat _to most, so who would suspect her of knowing anything?"

"Exactly," I breathed, looking up at him. "That's why I want you to teach me how to become an Animagus."

Part of me thought that Sirius might laugh at me, then there was another part of me thought he would outright tell me not to be stupid; to my surprise he did neither. He did look perplexed, it looked like it was taking a little longer than normal for what I was saying to process properly.

Slowly, he shook his head in disbelief. "Audrey, you said yourself that you were no good with Transfiguration."

"That's what I told Snape about Astral Projection and then about Magnuse," I told him encouragingly, trying to curl myself from the ball I'd put myself into so that I could look more confident. "And as we know, I can do both efficiently enough."

"Just because you can master _some_ Cantated magic doesn't mean you can do it all," not that I had mastered any of it – but I was not about to put more ammunition against myself by mentioning that little fact. "Being an Animagus requires a lot of practice. It took James, Peter and I _years._"

"Then you'd better teach me now," I told him sternly. "I can learn. I _have _to learn. Tonks has the right idea: hiding in plain sight. I need to be able to sneak around and not be me. Sometimes an Invisibility Cloak isn't enough, Sirius – particularly when it's shared between two people that are never stalking after the same things."

"Hm," he acknowledged with a slow nod. "And I reckon Harry doesn't know you're asking this, does he?"

"Does Harry need to?" I challenged, watching as he sighed and looked away from me. He didn't like keeping secrets between Harry and I, that much was clear – but he also didn't like letting us down. I might as well have been testing which one was a more powerful instinct. "Harry can't do Cantated magic like I can. Imagine the trouble I could keep him out of – imagine the trouble I could keep _anyone _out of if I could be that subtle."

Sirius looked at me for a moment, long and carefully. "What brought this on?"

"Nothing," I lied quickly. This was exactly what I meant about becoming subtle – maybe if I could do it a little bit better, I wouldn't have been so see-through about what my real intentions were...or who they may or may not have been for. "The more I thought about Circe, the more sense it made."

"But what do you want to sneak up on so badly?" He had caught me – he knew that something was up, that there were ulterior motives to my simple request. Surely I wasn't the only one who had thought of this option, surely it had crossed many peoples minds before – McGonagall could do it, Sirius could, my dad could, even Pettigrew could. If Peter Pettigrew could be an animagus, so could I.

Still, I doubt that Sirius would accept 'spying on the guy I fancy' as a good reason to put myself through so much trouble – he might even be disappointed that I had to go to such lengths to do it. I also doubted he would care whether or not Malfoy was in trouble; no matter how deadly that trouble was.

"I want to be able to listen to the people around me," I lied easily. Maybe it was so easy because I would actually follow through with it, even if it wasn't the initial reason I thought of learning the talent. "I've been hearing a lot of rumours that something terrible is about to happen. A lot of my friends have parents involved with the Riddler – I want to make sure that they either don't know anything, or when they know it, so do we."

"Any people you want to watch in particular?" He asked, leaning on Ginny's vanity and raising an eyebrow. "Like Theodore, perhaps? Or more likely _Draco Malfoy_?"

"I don't need to watch out for them," I felt my face heat up as I hurried to rectify what was being said and get any attention off of Malfoy that I could. "I'm sure Snape's watching people with huge family involvement. I want to watch little people: Astoria Greengrass and the like."

"And you're sure this isn't for revenge against her for painting you red?"

I frowned, crossing my own arms over my chest. "So you've heard about my entire year, then? Typical."

"Harry's gotten in touch with me three times over the term," he explained, pushing himself off the vanity so that he could stand in front of my cot. "I've heard nothing from you. I've been worried."

"About what?"

"You lost your friends, Audrey," he said slowly, making sure to be careful not to cross any lines with what he was saying. "And you gave up the boy you fancied – don't deny it, I saw you and Malfoy when you were in the hospital wing. I see the twitches when we talk about him now – and not only do you fancy him, but he was with you when you just lost your kneazle. He's important to you – just like Theodore was, just like Circe. Everything's being taken away from you. What _shouldn't _I worry about?"

"Teaching me the trick to being an Animagus," I told him firmly, standing up so that I could be a little more convincing. Him looking down on me was not going to put me in a position of power and rightly, as I stood, Sirius took a step back so that he wouldn't be within slapping distance. "That's what you don't need to worry about."

"I was thinking more along the lines of the letters Fred keeps throwing in the trash without sending them to you, or the fact you feel so alone," he said slowly, frowning deeply. "I'd rather worry about that."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Sirius."

"I want to say yes, Audrey," Sirius sighed, shaking his head sadly as he took a few steps away from the glare I was giving him. "I do, but it's not that easy. I can't just _tell _you the secret to it – it's not a secret. It's a power. It needs to be learned, not offered."

"Then teach me," I told him, walking up behind him. He turned around with a sigh. "I can learn, I know I can."

"I bet you could," he said lowly, sounding sad as he said it. "But I can't give you an answer right now. I'm worried about you...I think you're biting off more than you can chew."

"Luckily I have always been said to have a big mouth," I acknowledged lightly. He was able to throw on a grin for my own benefit, but it was forced and a sigh slipped out from it a moment later.

"Yes, but I don't know if you have sharp enough teeth."

"Kind of the point, isn't it?" I mumbled, frowning to myself. I hadn't really expected him to say no like this. Yes, I had expected him to laugh at me thanks to my own limitations, I had also expected him to tell me that I probably wouldn't be able to learn – but I had never considered the idea that he wouldn't _want _to teach me. All the scenarios that had played in my head had resulted in him at least _trying. _"Well, if I can't help further your decision, I have other things to do."

"Don't be upset, Audrey-"

"Upset? Of course not," I said sarcastically, watching him over my shoulder as I inched farther toward the door. "Why would I be upset that no one in this bloody Order of yours trusts me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you," he said quickly, taking a few steps forward. I turned around when it seemed like he wanted to continue the conversation again. "It's that I don't know what good it will do for you to be able to slip away from the people who are watching you."

"It did you enough good when Lupin was transforming, or when you wanted to sneak to Hogsmeade, or when you-"

"I had my friends with me," he argued. "Always. I was never alone."

"And I'm _always_ alone, Sirius," I told him quietly, trying to prove my point. "Harry has his Gryffindors to help protect him. I only have me...which is why if you won't teach me, I'll be forced to learn on my own."

Sirius frowned and kept eye contact, but it was clear that he had nothing more to say. I sighed heavily, shaking my head as I left Ginny's room. I would never really know if leaving Sirius alone to his thoughts would be beneficial or detrimental for my cause, but I couldn't just sit there and wait for him to make up his mind. It would make me seem desperate and that would make him more suspicious than I knew he already was.

"You look angry," Ginny's voice rang once I had finally gotten to the bottom of the Burrow's stairs. "Then again, that could just be how your face looks now."

"Or I'm just always angry. What are you up to?" I asked, having walked in to the living area to see Ginny sitting cross legged in the middle of some sort of homemade nest. The tangled nest of hers was made of coloured paper – green, red, silver and gold. She looked up at me with a smile.

"Making decorations, it _is_ Christmas. Would you like to join?" I didn't particularly want to, no, but it would give me an excuse to stay away from Fred if he happened to come on the lookout for me, or if Sirius wanted to explain more of his reasoning behind denying my request. I just hoped neither of them would be brave enough to say anything in front of the ginger with me.

I sat cross-legged in front of Ginny, taking some of the slips of paper that she had already cut and took my time watching how she was starting to weave them together into an intricate chain. I watched for a few minutes – she would give me slight narration every now and then – before I eventually joined in on the work.

"Fred's been meaning to speak to you," Ginny said once I had finally gotten into the flow of how my fingers were supposed to move. It was not a conversational tone that she used, she was clearly prying, so I tried hard to keep my face neutral.

"Yeah, I think I heard something about that."

"You've been avoiding him, I've heard," she said again. I frowned.

"I haven't been avoiding him, I just didn't have time to respond to his letter. It was just before...before I found _her _on the stairs," I explained, still not quite able to say her name. Ginny nodded to herself, looking back down when her fingers had made a mistake.

"He knows. He hasn't really blamed you for it, I don't think – but I can tell he's chomping at the bit to talk to you now that you're here," she explained, stopping her folding when she messed up again and turning to look at me expectantly. "And I can't help but notice that you are just as anxious...only you've been trying to _avoid _him."

"I can't help it, Gin," I sighed. I really liked Ginny, I truly did, but I didn't like how well she could read me. I'd wager she could have been in Slytherin, if she wanted to be; she was more ambitious than me, she could be quite sly when she wanted to be, she was cunning and she was most certainly able to calculate the situations around her. Those qualities may be the very reason that we got along better than Hermione and I did. Or maybe Ginny and I got along better than Hermione and I because Ginny wasn't constantly around Ron who I'm sure probably still spoke ill of me each time I was out of the room.

"Well, is there a reason that you don't want to talk to him?"

Of course there was a reason; he was around six foot, blonde and had eyes that I just knew would be as hard as titanium if he found out that Fred Weasley was trying to talk to me with romantic intent. I could just see it now: losing him before I had him all because a redhead decided that Christmas time was Chatting time.

"Do I look like someone who your brother should fancy, Ginny? I'm marked for death by the Wizarding world's darkest wizard, I'm emotionally crippled and I'm a Slytherin sixth year while your brother is a famous shop owner, among other things," I added lowly, going back to my folding so that she couldn't see just how obvious those 'other things' really were. Other things like the fact that I was a murderer, the fact I was currently hiding information from _his _side, the fact that I was infatuated with someone else on the other...

"I think you and he have been nudging towards being more than friends for years," she told me, going back to her own folding. "You two just work, when you aren't being stubborn. Then again, I know someone else that you just _worked_ with who might be part of the problem."

"Problem?" I asked, trying to hide the irritation and nervousness behind the accusation with poorly cloaked curiosity.

"Draco Malfoy has always been a problem," she elaborated, looking up at me to watch my reactions. "He causes a lot of them too – particularly for you."

Could everyone really notice that Draco and I were that close? How could they, if I only just had?

"You know, you don't _have _to psychoanalyze me," I told her. "I know the problems."

"Yeah, but I don't think you're seeing your symptoms," she smiled lightly to herself. "Everyone goes through it, you know: liking someone bad for them or someone they can't have. It's just most of us don't act on it."

"Don't tell me you'd say no if Harry came up to you and asked you to date him; I know you'd be lying."

"Of course," her grin turned a little sad as she made sure that her eyes were firmly on the folds of her paper. "The difference is that Harry will never be interested in me and Malfoy was interested in you – but he isn't really now. And you shouldn't be interested in him after how he's treated you, everything he's done. If you go to think back, go and remember it all, can you really forgive him?"

I don't know if I could think back on all the moments I probably shouldn't have forgiven him for. Draco and I had been through so much over the past two years – getting together, splitting apart, him knowing I was playing spy to Umbridge, me knowing that he was a Death Eater, me incarcerating his father, me becoming a murderer, me knowing that his mission has something to do with me...now that I knew all that, remembering the times he had bullied me or teased me seemed so inconsequential to the bigger picture. But maybe it wasn't something I should be ignoring, maybe it was important to remember those moments, no matter how painful they were or no matter how true they probably were not. I mean, I'd done the same thing and forgiven Daphne – why did everyone think it so important not to forgive Draco?

If Theodore went back and really thought about everything we had been through, everything his father had done in the past, would he have forgiven me? I wouldn't have blamed him if he didn't, but I'd like to think that maybe it would be easier for him if he remembered what we had been before the night at the Ministry, or if he had known what had happened when I was there. Maybe it would make it easier for him to move on, if he could imagine it – maybe he could forgive himself, or even me, if he knew how inevitable it had turned out to be.

I bolted up from my seat on the floor, making Ginny jump from my abruptness.

"What's wrong?"

"Er-" there was no need to tell her how my mind was reeling. There was no need to bring her into the inner turmoil I was facing. "I forgot that I haven't gotten Christmas presents. I think I'll take Sirius with me."

"Sirius isn't supposed to be leaving-"

"Since when have we followed rules?" I scoffed. My godfather met me in the kitchen as I was throwing on my winter gear to go outside. He looked me over with a frown.

"Are you about to trick me into something?" I don't know whether I was insulted or proud that he thought such a thing of me.

"No tricking," I told him in a rush. "I just need your help. I thought of the best kind of gift for someone who hates you."

"And what's that?" He asked suspiciously.

"The truth." I may not be able to get what I had wanted from my Christmas without Sirius' help, but that didn't mean I couldn't help fix someone else's.

"You got all your shopping done, then?" Harry asked me as I entered with Sirius and Tonks the next afternoon. It had taken two days to finish my shopping – one day to convince them to let me go to Diagon Alley and the second day to actually buy my gifts.

Sirius gave me a stern look as Harry asked – we had agreed that it would be best if Harry didn't know the gifts I had sent away and who they had been for. Harry didn't like me having involvement with the Slytherins and I didn't particularly like him breathing down my neck. Sometimes it helped to be oblivious.

"All of them are shipped, as well," I told him, feeling a little light headed after all the work Sirius and I had done to complete my final gift for Theodore – I just hoped that he would give me a chance enough to open it. It would be a lost cause and a lot of trouble wasted, otherwise. I took off my scarf, feeling my face burn from how cold it was outside versus inside of the Burrow. "Where is everyone?"

"Just getting ready for dinner," Ron responded.

Dinner was always a very important occasion with the Weasleys; it was never formal, but I had learned that it was always mandatory. Christmas was no exception to that rule. Many people had been sure to be here: the Weasleys were all present save Percy, Fleur Delacour was latched onto Bill's arm for the duration of the meal, Sirius, and Lupin attended – Tonks stayed for a few moments just to appreciate it before she was forced to leave for 'work', which really meant 'Order business'.

The meal wasn't up to Hogwarts standards, in my opinion, but it was still delicious. I felt like I had eaten more in that one sitting than I had throughout the entirety of this school term thus far and even as I felt nauseous from the extra pudding I'd tried to fit into me, I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

After dinner and saying our goodbyes to Tonks, we headed into the living area for more space – it was nice to stretch out on the floor with my brother and Ginny while we listened to the wireless set while the broadcast rang out Celestina Warbeck songs. The adults had alcoholic eggnog in their hands, which had made Mrs Weasley glossy eyed as she listened to her favourite songs and made Fred and George have a little more ammunition for their laughter.

"We haven't just sat and spoken since October," Harry said to me, nudging my shoulder with his own.

"Well, you've been distracted," I told him, trying hard not to make it sound too bitter. I failed.

"If Malfoy is up to something, someone needs to find out what it is," yes, someone did. No, that someone should not have been my twin brother. "But that shouldn't mean we don't talk. Especially at Christmas."

This is true. There was only a tiny part of me that didn't like when my brother was around to cause problems, but overall I did appreciate having my brother around. Yes, he was a pain in the arse and he constantly stole my thunder, but he was definitely worth the trouble he caused. Even if that trouble, often times, got me into even more of it.

"Sometimes I wish it was easier for us to get along," I said with a loud sigh. "I mean, we're twins, we're supposed to. Those twins get along fine."

I pointed over to Fred and George who were making fun of Bill and Fleur behind their backs. When they saw that I was pointing over to them they have two giant, identical grins in return. Sirius muttered his approval to my statement from behind us which made Lupin laugh from his place by the fire.

"We're different," he shrugged. "That's not necessarily a bad thing."

Then again it wasn't necessarily a good thing, either.

"Hey, Drea," great. Apparently having looked over into Fred and George's direction was all the ice Fred needed broken to be able to start a conversation with me. He came up to us, scooting Ginny over by sitting on her until she moved, so that he could be beside me. "See the angel?"

Fred pointed up to the angel on the top of the Christmas tree with the snigger that I remembered all too well – it made me smile just at the sound of it. It was a familiar sense of comfort – causing mayhem with the twins and watching it play into our hands. I almost missed those days – before it got complicated, before _I _was complicated. Last year, this time, I would have loved talking to Fred; I wouldn't have thought twice about being alone with him. Now look at me: I feared eye-contact.

The fact that he was pointing to me let me avoid that very thing: eye contact. He was pointing up to the top of the Christmas tree that he and George had decorated. Perched up on the top was the ugliest angel I had ever seen. It looked like I was trying to run down the branches, it's bulbous head and wiry body were – _wait_.

"Is that a garden gnome?"

"Sh!" Fred whispered, lowering his voice and leaning in closer. I drew back nervously for a moment, which made him roll his eyes. Instead of leaning closer again he pulled up his pant leg to show off a rather bruised ankle. "He bit me when I was picking carrots."

I couldn't help but smile at him – he beamed in response. "And you punished it? Wasn't biting your foot punishment enough?"

Fred laughed loudly, pulling the attention of those who were around us. Sirius patted my back encouragingly and it took me a second to look up and see why. Sirius' eyes were darting and looking at the people around us while Fred laughed and I couldn't help but be annoyed by what I saw when I copied him. Everyone looked so _smug_. It was like everyone had been waiting for this to happen, had wanted it so badly that they had somehow done it themselves, everyone just _expected _that I would fall for Fred and life would go on as it would have before...well, before everything that had happened.

Fred, seeing that my face had dropped while I surveyed the room around us, heaved a sigh.

"Let's take a walk, yeah?"

Not _yeah_, I didn't want to take a walk – it would only lead to bad things. Bad things that happened when you were alone and no longer had people around to stop you from saying whatever you wanted. I was about to open my mouth and tell him just that, but when I looked to my left Ginny just looked at me expectantly and when I looked to my left, Harry was no better. I looked back at Fred, feeling helpless while he held out to let me up.

"What's wrong with your hand?" I asked, looking at the green staining his fingertips. He looked at it briefly before pulling his hand back.

"Yes, Fred," George taunted from behind Fleur. George had continued making fun of the youngest Weasley couple and was making one particularly inappropriate gesture that he only stopped when Bill turned around. "Whatever _is _the matter with your hands?"

"Nothing of concern," Fred told, sounding confident and snooty. "A boring story, really. It only has two bad guys a pack of ravage wolves – no offence, Remus."

"None taken," Lupin smiled from his place by the fire.

"Shall we walk, Miss Potter?" Fred asked me formally, holding his arm out to me. I tried not to make the hesitation to grab on to it too noticeable.

"Where are you two headed?" Bill asked, smirking up at me as if he knew just what trouble I was in while I hooked my arm through his brother's. Fred kept his one hand firmly in his pocket and the other in a tight fist so I would not see them again.

"We won't leave the property lines," Fred mumbled, sounding like a berated child who had been told this time and time again. "Hopefully we won't be long."

Did I even want to know what that was supposed to hint towards? I was so nervous, felt so _guilty_ that every look and every sentence seemed to have a dozen meanings that I could have interpreted from them. It was not a good position to be in when he was taking me somewhere alone. Draco would _kill _me if he found out about this...

Fred led me out to the closet where he fetched my coat, hat, scarf and gloves for me and waited patiently while I put them on – I took my time. Maybe if we didn't have a lot of time to talk, we wouldn't have to get into the harder subjects that I knew he wanted to really focus on.

He led me outside without a word; it was chilly, but still fairly mild for December 24th. It didn't stop me from shivering in my coat or the seeing that Fred shivered as well. It gave me the ultimate feeling of dread as I watched him fight through it with a look of sheer determination. I knew that if he was so determined to stay outside despite the cold, that meant it was the least of his worries. I was not ready to face the worst of them.

"So, what-" Fred began, before he cut himself off. He seemed to think better of whatever he was leading in with and cleared his throat. "How's the castle now that we're gone? Anyone giving old Snape the hassle he deserves?"

"No, it's certainly missing a lot of the fun," I admitted, looking away from him. I couldn't bear to see how he reacted to a compliment. "No one is really qualified to leave quite the mark you two did."

"And here I was thinking I was only a legend in my own mind," he sighed overdramatically. I heard the grin stretch over his words. "It's wonderful knowing I'm adored."

"Worshiped, by some. I've been seeing your products everywhere – the idea of owling them disguised as something else was well thought of; who came up with that?" I dared to look at him, only to see that he was grinning that lopsided grin I was so used to. The good thing about Fred was that you usually couldn't tell when he felt anything besides mischievous – seeing his emotions this past few days had put me on edge; but it was nice seeing his grin again.

"You, Harry and Sirius, actually," he shrugged nonchalantly. "How you'd always write to each other under different names and with code-words. It was easy after we had the idea."

"I believe it," I told him, shoving my gloved hands into my pockets so that I could prepare myself by clenching my fists against my growing anxiety. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say that you didn't invite me out to hear about your legacy."

"As much as I do like the topic, no," he confessed, looking down at his feet. "I invited you out because of that letter."

"The letter," I repeated, grimacing slightly.

"The letter you didn't respond to," he continued, his voice urging me to answer a question he technically had not asked.

"No, I didn't. I didn't really know what to say. There were a lot of..." I trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence. "There were a lot of _feelings_ in it."

"I don't know about that," he slowed his pace a little, frowning. "I asked about school, asked about your brother, told you where those Slyther-dims need their insults shoved-"

"Then proceeded to ask me on a date," I finished for him. He made a face, nodding his head slowly.

"Yes. I did do that, didn't I?"

"You did."

"And you clearly are saying no," he said slowly, pursing his lips and nodding but refusing to look at me.

"Fred," I sighed. "Listen, this isn't the time for me to be thinking of going on dates. When do I have time to go on a date with everything that's been going on..."

"You need a good date," he argued. I disagreed – I didn't even have time to date the boy I fancied, nevertheless to date a boy that I only saw every other holiday. Still, it hurt to see how determined my favourite Weasley was. "_Because _of everything that's going on. The whole Dark Wizard Overlord thing, the bullying, the Nott thing...and the Circe thing."

"We still don't talk about that," I sang lowly, trying hard not to let my mind wander back to the images that were constantly plaguing me of the blood dripping down the stairs. I swallowed thickly, trying to shut my mind off even while it was racing against what Fred was saying. "I don't need a _date _to get over that, Fred. I need time."

"I know," he sighed, kicking at some of the snow on the ground. "I realized it after I heard about what happened to her. So I'm not actually out here, in the cold, pouring my heart out or trying to convince you to go on a date with me."

"Er..." I felt my eyebrows raise. "You aren't?"

"I'm not. I'm not going to push you into it," he stopped, turning to face me. We were only a few yards away from the garden shed that Harry and I had been brought into with Dumbledore just this summer, Fred moved to get his wand and swished on the small light that was in it. "But I _am _here to speed it up a tad."

"Time?" I asked, taking a step back. I didn't want to be too close to him in case he got the wrong idea. "I don't think even your genius can figure out how to do that on your own, Weasley."

"I wouldn't be too sure, Potter," he smiled widely, reaching into the pocket opposite where he had put his wand and pulling out a small box. It was a very solid looking box; the sides wrapped in silver around what was clearly a metal box. The top and bottom of the box he held out were unwrapped and looked to be made of heavy iron. I looked at it cautiously, not feeling safe to reach out to touch it – especially when, in his hand, it jiggled of its own accord.

"What the hell is that, Fred?" I asked, taking a step back from him. "Is it something that will disfigure me? Because let me tell you, Hagrid is already trying enough for the rest of the world..."

"It's your Christmas present, I'd like to think I'm more creative than that," he laughed at me, taking a step forward and trying to look innocent. "Then again, I can imagine anything you own could be trained to disfigure. I also would not be surprised if you trained it on purpose. Now go on, take it."

I took the box from him, feeling nervous as I felt it squirm again once it had transferred into my hands. Whatever was in it was heavier than I had expected it to be, it weighed down my hands and continued to move. I took a deep breath, tearing the single strip of silver paper from around the sides and brought it up to my face.

It was one of the Weasleys WonderWitch products: a Pygmy Puff. A _green _Pygmy Puff.

He was a bit smaller than Ginny's purple Pygmy Puff, Arnold, but he still looked healthy. He was four times as big around as his body seemed to be, his giant, black eyes were watching me quite intently and his little feet were gripping onto the bars so he could bring himself upright to look at me properly.

"Do you like him?"

"Fred, he's adorable!" I breathed, looking down on the little creature and smiling. The Pygmy Puff made a very gentle purring noise, one that I had only heard in theory but never before with my own ears, and like it was rumoured it really did soothe the senses. "What's his name?"

"I left that up to you, actually."

"Really?"

"Well, you're quite good with names," he admitted. "So long as it's a better name than _Arnold._"

I laughed at his sister's expense, watching as he grinned at me. I looked back to my new Pygmy Puff and took the time to stick my finger through the bars. I couldn't stop the laughter that peeled from me when the little green ball of fur grabbed onto my finger and hugged it, purring to itself again.

"I didn't know you made green ones," I turned, smiling to Fred.

"We don't," Fred said. I looked up in confusion to see him blush in the dim light. He took his hands out of his pocket to display them for me – the green colouring still stained them. "You have the first and only."

My stomach clenched to the point of nausea as he looked to me, more bashful than I had ever seen him. Who had known that it would come down to this? Who had known, all those years of flirting would be put to waste because of bad timing? Months ago, Fred would have been the only viable option. Hell...even back in the days of Cedric Diggory, Fred seemed like the one who I would end up being with later on. And now? Now I was just hurting the man. Fred was so sweet – too sweet, I could guarantee it – to fancy someone like _me_.

"Fred," I started, my throat tight and fighting against saying the words that I knew would hurt him. He sighed at my tone, knowing that I was not bringing him good news.

"I told you, I'm giving you time," he stuck his hands back in his pockets and shrugged. "I'm just hoping that some things might help it move a little faster."

I frowned, looking back down at the Pygmy Puff so that I could avoid his eyes. "How's Florin sound?"

"Florin?" Fred repeated to himself, testing out the name. "Not your best."

"How about Cumberbun?"

"Better," he snickered, before he took a few steps forward. "Watch out, he-"

The Pygmy Puff had magically escaped his iron box and was taking the time to run up my arm. Fred looked like he was about to take him back from me, but I held my hand up and waited until the little thing settled on the side of my neck. He was quite warm and the fur tickled against my jaw.

"How about Houdini?"

"Houdini?" Fred frowned. "Do you mean Harry Houdini, that Muggle that found one of our spell books and made more money than George and I have?"

"That would be the one," I said carefully, reaching up a finger and feeling the Pygmy Puff's face nuzzle into it.

"Sounds perfect," Fred smiled brightly at me. I couldn't help but look away when it looked so genuine – how could he still not find any seriousness in the fact I had just rejected him? How could he not feel the gnawing in his stomach, like I felt in mine?

"Fred..."

"Oh, come on, then," Fred interrupted, rolling his eyes before taking his wand and flicking it to turn off the light in the broom shed. "Let's get you and Houdini inside – a face should not be that red. I fear that you're about to spontaneously combust on me."

"I'm not going to spontaneously combust," I muttered, moving my hand to catch Houdini in case he fell while we started walking back to the warmth of the house. I felt him sway a bit, but he kept a rather tight hold on my shoulder. Fred looked down at me for a moment, watching my reactions before he smiled.

"I don't know, your face is almost as red as your hair."

"Says the ginger," I snipped. "It's nice to see you can still be overbearingly hypocritical."

"It's nice to see you can still be so aggressively defensive," he grinned back.

"I wouldn't have to be so defensive if someone in this damned house would take my side for once," I drawled back, putting my hands on my hips and fixing him with a fake glare.

"But you don't take sides, Audrey," he said mockingly while he rolled his eyes. "Who's a hypocrite now?"

"Still you," I said back. We had reached the house again and by the time we stepped inside, we noticed everyone was packing up to go to bed. The cause seemed to be coming from the living room where Fleur had decided to do a rude rendition of the Celestina songs we had been listening to all night. I was glad she was being so rude – it meant that I wouldn't have to stay up and converse. My stomach still felt a little queasy from the guilt of the talk between Fred and I. I couldn't help but grimace at the idea that if I had to stay and chatter, I may end up vomiting on someone.

"Drea," Fred called as I had finished taking off my winter gear. I turned around to see him looking a little bit conflicted before he leaned down and kissed my cheek – which was immediately burning red from the sentiment. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," I said back, watching him retreat to his room with a smile. George, who met him at the stairs, patted his back and they were immediately in intense conversation – talking about what had happened, no doubt. Which was just fantastic, of course. I had one real relationship that was kept secret and another that was going to become public, when everyone would find out something that wasn't true.

I moved to walk up the stairs after the twins had disappeared, only to have the way blocked by my own. I tried to move around him without having to meet his eyes, but he seemed determined to block my path. After all that had happened tonight, I was in no mood for a lecture. "Can I help you?"

"Are you going to snog another Weasley?" Harry asked bluntly, narrowing his eyes at me. "Because I'd like some warning this time."

"If I did it wouldn't be _another _Weasley, it would be the same one," I bit back as my face, somehow, grew even more hot. "And no, I'm not. He just gave me a Christmas present, that's all."

"Don't be so sure," Bill sang from the living room. There was no privacy in this bloody house! Harry turned to smirk at me, I'm sure just glad that I had been embarrassed, so I retreated quickly up the stairs. When I was back in the safety of Ginny's room I let out a breath, glad that I would have some peace for the fir-

"Audrey!" She gasped, running up to me in her pyjamas. "Where did you get him? Is that – oh, he's adorable!"

At least she was talking about Houdini and not about the kiss her brother had given me as the last part of my gift. She moved to grab her own Pygmy Puff, Arnold, and put him next to Houdini to compare the two.

"He's a little small," she mumbled to herself. "I didn't know they make green ones."

"I'm a little small and they don't," I responded, leaving her with Houdini so that I could change into my own nightwear. "I think we'll get along well."

"Fred must _really _fancy you," Ginny mumbled to herself, walking over to her bed. "To go through all that trouble, that is. It's weird – a Weasley and a Potter, together at last."

"We aren't together," I said quickly, pulling my shirt over my face so that she wouldn't see how permanently stained red it must have been. "It's just a Christmas gift to help after what happened with...with Circe."

Ginny beamed, looking like Christmas had come a night early. "There, you said her name. Was it so hard?"

Surprisingly, no, it wasn't as hard as it had been even earlier today. For a moment I couldn't help but fear that I was one of those girls, one of the ones that moved on from something once she had something else – like Houdini. But something told me that wasn't all it was, something told me there was a deeper meaning to the fact that I seemed to breathe a bit more easily after today. Maybe it was because I had Fred as a safety net, or maybe it was because he wasn't actively pursuing me as I had feared, hell, maybe it was just that this cleared the way for Draco and I for just a little while longer.

Or perhaps in the end it was just that Fred was right; maybe time did heal all wounds – including the ones that you had given yourself.

* * *

><p>"Audrey, Audrey wake up..." a voice whispered. I groaned in the bed, knowing full well I must have <em>just <em>closed my eyes before the voice started calling me awake. There was no way I had slept until morning – I felt like my eyes wouldn't open because of how much sleep I had lost to my thoughts.

Someone laughed loudly in the room – it was too loud. I didn't want to hear laughter right now, so I rolled over and away from it, scrunching my nose when something soft and fuzzy tickled it. I snuggled closer to Circe, putting my hand up to cuddle with her like the teddy bear I had never had before I realized just how small the little ball of fur was – it made me shoot out of bed, suddenly very alert.

It was Houdini. He was looking at me with those giant eyes of his and he had put his paws on my leg so that he could face me – apparently he was too fuzzy to lift his head and do it that way. I smiled down at him, picking him up and snuggling him back into my face. He really was adorable; the best gift I could have gotten for the holiday.

"Audrey," Ginny said again. I looked at her, rubbing my eyes a bit to see that she, Ron, Harry and Sirius were all looking at me with raised eyebrows. I tried not to feel upset that they were seeing me in the mess I knew I had probably woken up in – a sleepless night meant an ugly morning. "Aren't you going to open your mountain?"

"My mountain?" I repeated, watching as Harry jabbed his thumb towards the foot of my bed. I dropped Houdini back onto my lap in shock of what I saw, because at the end of my bed were at least three dozen gifts – more than I had probably received for all my Christmas' combined. It stood wrapped in different coloured wrappings of all different sizes – one, larger than my pillow, on top of the rest.

"Since when were you popular again?" Ron asked, looking back at some gift or other in his hands and frowning.

"I have no idea," I breathed, even though it could have been a lie. I could only think of one or two people who could pull this off. The ironic part was that both would probably hate each other – or already _did _hate each other – especially if they realized that they were unwittingly battling for my attention.

"I could guess," Sirius said with a raised eyebrow. I looked at him and glared.

"Could you?"

"I'll wait to see," he shrugged. "But I won't wait long – you'd best start now if you want to be freed up by the New Year."

Even though it was an exaggeration, it somehow rang true. I couldn't imagine how many owls it would have taken to get all these here, because certainly the wards around this house made it impossible for them to be charmed in here. I looked over the pile, not getting off my bed – they could have been all from different people by the look of it. No present was wrapped in the same paper, none looked the same size. The boxes weren't even all the same shape – there were rectangular, square, and circular boxes scattering the floor and toppling over each other to fit.

"Oh, hurry up already!" Ginny smiled. "I want to know, too!"

"Breakfast is almost ready," Ron agreed, ever conscious about how wrong the idea was to miss a meal. "I'm not missing it to find out they're all empty."

"I doubt they're all empty," Harry muttered. "Aren't you worried they could be something bad?"

"Not with the wards on the house," Sirius reasoned. I frowned, looking over the boxes with a shrug.

"I don't know, Sirius, for once Harry could be right-" he looked quite victorious. "Though I sincerely doubt it. How did they all get here? Wouldn't we have been aware if thirty or more owls came to my window to drop them off?"

"They could weigh nothing at all," Sirius shrugged. "Try one out."

I was getting anxious; like Sirius, I doubted that these gifts would actually be able to get through these wards just to harm me, but with everything I had heard lately, I wouldn't put it past someone to try. I grabbed hold of the largest box, made even more suspicious by the heaviness of it, while I dragged it backwards and onto my bed. It was wrapped in silver, tied with a large bow that was so perfect it must have been done by magic and not by hand. I looked to Ginny, who watched me while she clung to the side of her bed.

"Well, open it! I'm as curious as you are."

I was more afraid than anything, but I wasn't about to admit that on Christmas morning when I could have swam in my pile of presents. Technically this was all I ever wanted from a Christmas, all I ever wanted when I looked at the piles from the girls in my dormitory and wished that I would have been spoiled like that – so I may as well indulge while I had the opportunity. I tugged on the bow, watching as it fell away and the lid to the box caved in. Inside was a variety of sweets – Pumpkin Pasty's, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans, and last but not least a special edition Christmas themed Chocolate Frog.

I should have known.

I picked up the box with a grin – I had gotten one of these last year, which let me know exactly who the gift – and likely the gift_s_ – was or were from. I opened up the Chocolate Frog box, examining it with a smile. Yes, it was coloured exactly as last year's had been and Draco had told me that it had been his charm work that had painted it in the festive colours. I raised my eyebrows as the frog jumped out of the box – a note tied around its neck.

_Now you have no reason _not_ to eat. _

_The frogs are to show how often I know you're thinking of me._

How often I'm thinking of _him? _How romantic. Even his gifts were arrogant. But of course he had been stupid and had only given me one – it was almost as if he was saying that I only thought of him once these past few days...and that was just not true. I had thought of him more than I probably should have and spent more money on him for Christmas. I had been surprised that Sirius hadn't noticed that none of the Quidditch supplies I had bought for him had gone to my brother – but I was glad nothing was said. I knew he would never catch on to the idea I had of basically bribing Malfoy to get back out on his broom again, or the fact I'd gotten him all the fancy new quills that would help do his homework for him so that he wouldn't fall behind again.

During my thoughts the special edition Chocolate Frog jumped out of my hand let out a loud, powerful croak. Ron dropped whatever his gift was so that he could cover his ears by the power of it and Sirius ended up snapping his head to the side as a sound like a bursting wand exploded throughout the room.

Almost all of the boxes at the foot of my bed burst open at the same time, filling the room with the smell of sweets. Loud, animated Chocolate Frogs poured out of the burst box tops and leapt throughout the room, croaking and ribbiting and jumping over ever surface while the Ron screamed and jumped onto Ginny's bed in fright.

Harry looked at me, his confusion clear and Ginny and Sirius looked at me in a knowing way – but I couldn't help but not care whether or not they knew who had sent me this gift. There was no way, with Ron yelping and the frogs nearly dancing around the room that I wouldn't be able to laugh.

After this I knew that Draco Malfoy was absolutely right: there was no way I'd be able to stop thinking about him now.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, there were some cute moments in that, no? Audrey has shown interest in becoming an Animagus, she can't get Draco out of her head, Fred is being sweet and she had a fantastic Christmas. Hope you liked this chapter - as filled with fluff as it is. Next chapter will include talks with Theodore, a lesson with Dumbledore as well as Draco and Audrey reuniting! My shout-outs t<strong>**o my fantastic reviewers:**

_Jr Snape_**: Thanks you, I'm glad you liked it!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Don't worry, Theodore will be making an appearance in the next chapter. I'm pretty Team Theo myself. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully you enjoyed this one as well, there was lots of fluff, even if it wasn't always Dreaco oriented!**

_Fantasy-Mania31_**: Thank you, hopefully you're still enjoying it :)**

_SanityIsOverratedXD_**: No, Luna was saying how it was strange that Audrey and Draco were together when Circe was found. She also gave us a little hint on how Circe had died and where the blood might have come from; but no, she did not say that Draco killed Circe.**

_AFlairForSelfishSkies_**: You're most certainly welcome, thank you for the review! Yes, the Vampire definitely had some interesting words of wisdom and there were a lot of feels in the last chapter. Poor Audrey will have a lot of Feels within the next few chapters – it's going to be a crazy ride. I'd buckle in now ;)**

_tessastarchild_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you're liking it!**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: I was waiting for the party to throw everything back together – they like to get together during large, public functions. She didn't stay for Christmas, as she wanted to talk to Sirius, but don't worry; Draco will be around for the next chapter – as will all of our favourite (and least favourite) Slytherins!**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Draco is super cute when he's protective; I think Audrey's thoughts about his reactions to Fred would be pretty close to accurate, as well – it would end in some kind of fight between the boys. Audrey did have a vision of being tortured by Bellatrix, but remember we have seen her change the fates of those visions before. I'm following the book and not the movie so there will be no attack on the Burrow, but I hope you liked the chapter anyway. Thanks for reviewing!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Did you squeal when this notification email came too? I always get giddy when I see it in my own – it's one of those "ah, another day, another chapter" feelings. Then I wait for reviews like I'm waiting for acceptance letters into schools!  
>I actually love Luna's character, she's one of my absolute favourites, but I know that Audrey would never put up with that kind of nonsense that I adore from her – so hate on her, I must. I also feel badly about Circe being gone, but at least she has Houdini now. He definitely will not be replacing Circe, but it will be nice that she'll have something to keep close when times get hard again.<br>The vampire was definitely creepy – his words still ring in Audrey's ears, Audrey and Harry will continually battle because of that book, and yes: Draco and Drea are together at last! I hope that you liked this chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Annaismyname_**: Aw, thank you! I love your reviews :) Yes, Draco was talking about Astoria bullying her and Theodore pretty much telling Audrey he will never forgive her. Poor girl. Circe's death will, eventually, be explained but I can't tell you when. It could be at two separate times in two very different ways – I just need to decide which one will work better. Hope you liked the chapter and thank you again.**

_katie93319_**: I'm glad the chapter was so well received! I was really nervous people would think the two were out of character, being so vulnerable, but it seemed to go over well. Yes, her influence is going to change a few things to do with Draco's mission...but you'll have to wait and see for that one. Don't worry, it won't be too long a wait ;)**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Yeah, I decided to be nice after the chapter before last. After what happened with Circe, Audrey needed Malfoy around. I'm just glad that Audrey saw that he needs her too! How did teh tension between Audrey and Fred play out, was it like you expected – was it bad? Hopefully it wasn't too poorly written. This was a hard chapter to get through, I really want to skip to the next few plot points so it was hard to find the motivation for this as it's mostly filler and fluff.  
>Yeah, Luna is one of my favourites; as is Ginny. At least I could keep one of them around, even if Audrey can't stand Luna's nonsensical thought processes. But yes, Fred was in this chapter and was all sweet...but then Draco was sweet...and now Audrey's feeling guilty. Poor Draco will just have to set it right when she gets back to Hogwarts, won't he?<br>Circe's murderer will be revealed with time (which, as Fred pointed out, heals all wounds) and I promise that you'll see more Draco, Snape and Theodore in the next chapter! Thank you for all the compliments, you're so sweet :)**

_N_**: Thank you! **

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: That is an interesting theory, that Snape was the culprit. But why would he have cut out her tongue, or done it at all? I was really happy as I wrote the Dreaco scenes in the last chapter – it sucked that I couldn't do it in this one...but I love the drama brewing because of Fred's interest. Hope that you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Did you enjoy that Fred was so sweet? Do you still love Dreaco a teensy bit more? It was definitely a hard chapter to write because I wanted to keep Fred true to his feelings and Audrey true to her newly confessed ones. I still miss Circe as well, but Houdini will be a fun one to write about – little fluff balls usually are. Thanks for the review!**

_OMG_**: Well, hopefully that meant you liked it. Hopefully you enjoyed this one almost as much!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Oh, don't worry, I'll tell you who killed Circe when the time is right. I killed her off for a reason, we just have to wait for that moment to present itself.**

_Melody_**: I'm also glad they're back together. Sanguini definitely did make some interesting statements during the party and Draco's protectiveness because of him was cute, I think. Sadly I can't answer all your questions, it would ruin the story and who wants that? As much as I'm bursting for it to be out in the open, sadly I still live by "all good things to those who wait". Thanks for the review, hope you liked the chapter!**

_Guest (2)_**: Yeah, two chapters ago ripped my heart out of my chest as well. I was in tears as I wrote it – but the chapter after that left me giggling like a toddler...so hopefully it was a good balance. Hopefully you liked this chapter and thanks for the review!**

_Guest(3)_**: I'm glad they're back together, too! I missed Audrey and Draco frivolity, so it will be fun to be able to write it again, even if this time it will have a much more serious twist considering the back-plot that Audrey is still trying to decipher and Draco will continue to hide.  
>It still hurts me that Circe is dead, but hopefully Fred's Christmas gift was still considered sweet. I worry that people will think I'm trying to replace Circe, but Houdini will be a good comfort to her in the later parts of the story. She needs something like that, I think.<br>It's more than likely those words from the vampire will come back – but sadly, I couldn't tell you when or how. I'm glad that you can review – sadly, I can't tell what your username is – but thanks for doing it either way! Hope that the transition between high school and college went well :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Wow, the last chapter was your favourite? I'm honoured! I enjoyed it, myself, but I think there might be another chapter coming up soon that you may like more...just as a heads-up ;) I've been reading through the story from the beginning (which is slightly painful to see how my writing has grown and how much I dislike it from then to now, but c'est la vie) and realized how painful it is that Audrey and Snape are still not talking. I forgot just how much I loved them together; it's painful that they aren't as they were. When Audrey finds out about Lily and Snape it will be...devastating. If I can do it right. Honestly, I doubt I'll be able to do it the justice that Snape, Audrey or JKR deserve it to be.  
>We'll be finding out soon just how Audrey is going to handle this whole 'Death Eater' thing, but you have to know that no matter her decision: Draco will not let it be easy. They are both so stubborn...<br>I'm so glad that you liked sweet-ish Draco! I really was so worried that he would be ruined if I wrote even a word out of place. I must have re-written that moment eight times to make sure that neither was too out of their element.  
>Draco isn't a suspect anymore? That's probably a good thing. I think the people who continue to suspect Draco will have a hard time appreciating everything that I'm about to do to the poor couple. I mean...everything's going to be fine...<br>Seren Malmore is definitely interesting. I've started writing her story now and hope that it's going to turn out and translate into a real story as I envision it in my mind. Thank you so much, as always, for your wonderful review.**

_incitanemxx_**: Thank you! I would say I'm sorry for making you crying, but it actually brings me a little joy...that you felt so connected, of course, not that you actually cried. Yeah, there were a lot of moments in the last chapter that probably threw people off the idea of a romantic scene happening in the middle and end of it – but I'm glad I was able to pull it off! And actually I am working on a book right now – hopefully I'll be able to finish this one! Unless it's fanfiction, I tend to have a problem with starting and not completing stories. It's because you guys are so good to me, it distracts me from the other things in life like 'original plotlines', haha.  
>Yes, her vision of kissing a Weasley will definitely be detrimental to this story now – particularly with Fred's intentions being known, with Draco and she finally admitting their feelings for one another, and with a battle fogging over the horizon. You are right, though – poor Draco and Audrey have been through enough.<br>Almost ;)**

_Pelawen Night_**: I'm so glad that you liked it! I've always liked roller coasters, particularly the emotional ones you can find in stories – I'm glad it worked. Thank you so much for your review, it's very sweet and I hope that these upcoming chapters won't let you down.**

_Magimagus_**: Yes, there was tons of Draco in that last chapter. Sadly not so much in this one, but there was a lot of mention of him at least. Plus I thought his gift was cute – but was it cuter than Fred's? Poor Audrey, going from terribly alone to terribly in trouble.  
>You are right, though: as much as Audrey is mad at him, Snape will continue to be her role-model. She doesn't want to let him down and that will become more prevalent in chapters to follow.<br>Now that she has Houdini, perhaps her 'assigned time to mourn' will end and she will be able to get back at those Slytherins. It will happen eventually, I promise. But sadly there is so much plot and so little time to write it all in before this portion of the book ends and so begins the DH portion...which is going to be intense. I've been thinking about it constantly.  
>There will be another lesson with Dumbledore in the next chapter, so maybe you'll be able to piece together how Draco is involved with them and there will also be some Theodore interaction as well. Draco, of course, will be in it so it will be interesting to see how they respond to the time away from one another and the gifts and consequences of everything that has happened, or is about to.<br>I liked the really long review, don't worry! It's always interesting to see what's going on in people's minds – it also lets me know if I'm making things too subtle or too obvious. The competition is coming up and I'm writing all the plot outlines I can for my original story; trying to get my characters into order and decide on their personalities, etc – hopefully it goes well. I like the story in my head, but the two times I've tried writing it, it didn't write down well. Here's hoping lucky number three is real! Thanks for the review.**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: I'm glad you liked it; I think they're perfect for each other too! A few weeks have passed since Circe's death, yes, and we will get to know why she was killed – but not quite yet. No, the Death Eaters haven't gotten into Hogwarts YET, but it has been infiltrated, as we know... Audrey is so jaded by her jealousy for Harry is he REALLY that much of an ass, or is she just determined to see him that way? So many questions...  
><strong>

_BerserkMoon_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it – hopefully you liked this one as well.**

_SarcasticRaven_**: I'm also sad that we won't be seeing Circe, but don't worry, Audrey is beginning to heal from it. Audrey and Draco are definitely developing into a REAL couple – who'd have thought? Hope you liked the new chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Maraluvsyou_**: Don't worry about not reviewing constantly; it's nice to know that you're still itnerested in it and it's even nicer to know that you've liked what's happened so far. Luna has more of a purpose for the Trio than it does for Audrey, but she will help Audrey make a few decisions at points throughout the story – she sees things in a different way, as Audrey sees something in a different way. What's better is that those ways are completely separate.  
>Yes, Fred Weasley has made an entrance, but Drea is sticking to her man. Still, Fred was quite sweet giving her a custom-made Pygmy Puff...can he wiggle his way into her heart with sweetness?<br>Narcissa will be in character for this story, which means that she is a loving mother. Eventually, when I write the letter scene of the summer (the letters Drea did not answer) I'm thinking of adding a little bit of what Narcissa was seeing from her son. I think that she is a fantastic mother, I would never strip her character of that.  
>Yes, I can totally see the parallel of Audrey being the teen daughter wanting the bad boy and Snape being the father figure saying 'no'; that's nearly what this is like. Sadly it goes deeper because of a Dark Lord rising to try and cause another genocide – but those are just details, no? Haha.<br>I'm glad you understand that Circe had to die, hopefully you'll also understand my reason for who did it and why when it is revealed. Thank you for your review, I really appreciate it!**

_soHappy_**: Aw, thank you! I'm hoping that you're feeling better and I'm glad that you consider this a comfort to read while ill. Thank you for sticking with me through this story, hopefully you like what else I've come up with for this story. Seren's story will be out in a few weeks, once I have a few chapters written – hopefully you enjoy that as well. Thank you!**

_1llu510n_**: Oh don't worry about not reviewing the last chapter, I'm glad you reviewed this one! I'm just glad you like Audrey and the story enough to review at all; so thank you :)**

_Ahsilaa_**: Yeah, it's unfortunate you know that this relationship of there's isn't necessarily going to get better or have a happy ending any time soon – if at all. I'm glad you find Audrey so believable; she's become almost real to me and I swear that she writes herself more than I do. I wish I could pull a 50 Shades of Grey and really publish these chapters, I'd like to think people might read it – but maybe I'll try writing my own stories and inserting Audrey into those. We'll have to see! Thank you so much for the review.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you, you're always so sweet. I thought about keeping in Cormac puking on Snape, but I figured it might pull away from the fact that Snape was arguing with Draco – I honestly couldn't tell you if Audrey could have taken it seriously were there vomit on his shoe.  
>How is (or was) Hawaii? I hope that you get that part-time job and that your husband is safe, home with you, and treating you like a princess! My fall is alright; I dread the thought of winter creeping up and I'm not particularly enjoying being at work, but it is nice to be home and see my family. I'm trying to enter a writing challenge in November with my own story idea, which is stressful – or perhaps I'm making it more stressful by over thinking it. Either way, I'm working hard on trying to keep up with it...but all I can think about is Audrey! What a conundrum.<strong>

_TheWickedNatural_**: I'm glad you're not over the story, I'm not either! I love cookies, what kind are they? I like M&M most!**

_Amber Rose Black_**: They are definitely back together. We'll be hearing more about Draco's mission soon, as well. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing :)**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: Thank you, hope you liked the chapter!**

_xYaar_**: Yes, the Netherlands were really nice – the people there were so kind! I think they are sweet together as well, now let's see how long they can keep it up for...**

_Nyx and Athena_**: I also hate it when animals die, I think it's because they are so vulnerable – they can't really fight us like we can fight them...also, they're innocent. It makes it more painful. Circe didn't have kittens, but Fred did have some green dye! Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review.**

_ratherbereading125_**: I'm glad! Thanks for the review.**

_SwiftAlice_**: I missed you, too! Don't worry, my Mom knows about my reviewer who is so sweet, so I understand that you didn't want to say that whole 'writer from Canada' bit; I call you the sweet reviewer – she even knows you by your pen name.  
>For the record, your reviews never bother me. I like being able to hear what's going on in my readers heads – especially those who I talk with more in-depth because they look at things more in-depth. I'm glad that you're feeling better and back to classes, or making up words for your own dictionary. I've missed these conversations! Yes, I got home very safe and sound to my parents having flowers and a balloon, my mom was crying, my puppies were excited to see me; it was nice being home. The trip was absolutely amazing, I'm still talking to friends I made on it and though being home is kind of boring in comparison, it's nice to be able to reminisce on the adventure.<br>To the chapter! Yes, Circe dying was horrible. I felt horrible doing it and now that you're slowly hearing more and more about it, it will only be more confusing. You're right that the longer she postpones her vengeance, it's going to get worse – but then again, that usually makes it better in Audrey's eyes, doesn't it? And you're thinking about calling your next pet Circe? Like, ACTUALLY? Because I'm honoured, whether or not it's true!  
>I agree that I think it says a lot when Audrey shows her feelings to Draco. I don't necessarily think that it's just the fact that I am making them fall in love (because obviously people read this knowing it and expecting it to happen) but I specifically took weeks to make sure that Audrey's personality and what I knew of Draco's personality (and what I magnified from aspects we didn't see as he's now a main character and he wasn't in the original) ended up being able to meld together. I wanted them to be able to understand each other in a way that the other characters wouldn't understand. The bitterness was the first step and then grew the other similarities with time. Now they can show their feelings to one another and make it sound realistic, whereas if I would have started it off that they trusted each other (or if Audrey were any different, or if Draco still openly had a crush on her) I don't know if it would have ended up the same way.<br>I know, when Draco and Audrey kissed even I clapped – I won't deny it. My mom is sure that I need to be locked up, but she's hinted that she wants me to publish my own book first so that I can give her the money to retire...THEN she'll lock me up in an institution. With a pen and paper for a sequel, I'm sure. And yes, when he was kissing her scar I pretty much melted over my own keyboard. And that she likes when he touches her does mean a lot – it's a hurdle she has to get over with people in general, but that he is the exception and the first she can get over? I'd like to think it's sweet (not to toot my own horn or anything).  
>Yes, Theodore and Audrey will be speaking...in the next chapter, no less. It's going to be a powerful moment, I think, that I'm trying to prepare myself for now so that when I sit down to write, I write it properly.<br>Also! I would love it if you posted the chapters you've translated. How has it been going? This story has a pretty crazy high word count so I'm sorry that you've had to take probably a lot of time to do it! You'll have to let me know how it's going and if/when you post it because I'd love to see what happens with it :)**

**I hope everything is well and that you have a good beginning to my favourite month! **

_JadiexGurl_**: Thank you so much! I hope you like this new chapter :)**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I'm glad that you thought it was romantic, I wrote it multiple times to try and get it right – it's good to know I succeeded! I agree, it's the first time they were really honest about how they felt; they're maturing in front of our eyes. Hope you liked this new chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Don't worry, we'll know who killed Circe...just not quite yet. I'm glad you like that they're back together (I do too), there will be a lot more Dreaco moments to come. Hope Uni is treating you well!**

_Lycoris1305_**: Aw, thank you! I'm sorry that I've kept you reading non-stop, but I'm glad you've liked it enough to put that kind of time into it. Audrey is definitely filled with sass, especially when she's forced to pick between being a Slytherin and a twin sister. I hope that you liked this chapter, thanks so much for the review!**

_black rose_**: I'm glad that you're liking it! Hopefully you'll get caught up soon so you can see all the fluff that you've been waiting for.**

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><p><strong>Thanks for all of the response to the last chapter everyone, I'm glad that you like where this is going. If only you knew what would be coming up next...<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Don't forget to follow me on Twitter **EgyptsLegend **for sneak-peaks, Q&As, Chapter Excerpts and polls! **


	70. Theoretically

**Alright everyone, here's another chapter for you! This ended up being a lot longer than I originally drafted it, so hopefully you all like what it entails – some of our favourite characters meshed up into two hectic days for our Audrey. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 69 – Theoretically<p>

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><p>I couldn't help but wonder if people could see how excited I was as I packed my trunk to head back to Hogwarts. I was nearly skipping to and from my open trunk, fetching my things and throwing them in with such enthusiasm that I could hear things breaking. Ginny had left some time ago for breakfast, complaining about how she had believed I wasn't a morning person before today and left me to myself. I was nearly finished when I heard a slight chuckle and a knock on the door.<p>

"Are you practicing your waltz?" Sirius asked, raising a taunting brow. I rolled my eyes, throwing something into my trunk again, allowing the mess to spill over the top. I'd fix it later.

"I don't know it enough to practice it," I admitted to him, my good mood slightly dampened by the lack of conversation Sirius had been gracing me with this break. "What can I help you with?"

"I'd like to chat before you go," he said simply, coming and sitting down opposite me on Ginny's bed. He took one of the shirts that had fallen farther away from its target and placed it into my trunk. "I've already had a chat with Harry."

"You always do," I said, my tone perfectly clipped. Sirius sighed loudly.

"You know, if you weren't half as jealous as you are, you two could be really close."

"I'm not jealous," I mumbled defensively, packing my bag a little more violently just to have reason enough to get away from him and his conversation topic of choice. "I'm annoyed."

"So it would seem," he mumbled, before he shook his head to himself. "You know, you really don't see your brother properly. He knocks you away from trouble and you automatically assume he just wanted the fame for it. But what if you're wrong? What if he legitimately just wanted to help you?"

"He's not that sentimental," I informed simply.

"Just like you're not that jealous?" He goaded, giving me the most paternal look I'd ever seen from him. It actually made me falter for a moment before I turned around and continued to pack my things. By the time I dared to glance at him again he was deep in thought, his lips forming a tight line of upset. I finished up the last of my packing – Sirius decided not to speak in this time, but stayed confined to his own thoughts. He hardly even noticed how much fun Houdini seemed to be having while he bounced like a ball on Sirius' knee.

"Sirius," I said loudly, snapping him out of his own world. "If you have nothing to say, I need to be going now. The Ministry can't keep the Floo line to Hogwarts open for long."

"I know," he sighed. "I wish I could come with you."

"You always wish you could come with us," I mumbled, grabbing Houdini out of the air mid-jump and placing him on my shoulder. He let out a strange cry – one of shock, before he began his regular purring and rubbed against my neck. Over time I had noticed he did not like sitting on my left shoulder, where my scar was. I didn't really blame him and had grown used to placing him on my right.

"I really wish it this year," he frowned. "It'd make everything easier."

"What, are you tired of showing up in my dormitory mirror?"

"It won't work that well, you see, if I'm trying to teach you how to become an Animagus." I tripped over the handle of my trunk, which I had been trying to lift, from the shock of what he said. When I got back up to my knees I stared at him carefully.

"That's your worst joke of the season."

"I'm Sirius," he responded with a wink. "You want to learn and you're right; you have more right to learn than I did. If you think that it will help to keep you or other people you know safe, then I'll help you."

"Sirius," I smiled, standing up so that I could hug him. It was foreign to me, hugging someone like this – particularly because I had initiated it – but he seemed to enjoy it. "I can't even begin to thank-"

"Don't thank me yet," he warned, pulling away from me. "You haven't even tried the first step. I told you I'd try to teach you how, the rest is on your shoulders."

"I can do it, Sirius," I smiled. "I really can."

"I think you can, too." He sighed. "I'm just afraid of what it will mean when that time comes. If we got in that much trouble when we were Animagi, I can only imagine how you'll turn out..."

He smirked at me before grabbing hold of my trunk and helping me take it down the many flights of stairs into the Weasleys kitchen. The fireplace was already glowing a bright green while the floo waited to be used, Mrs Weasley was taking turns hugging Ginny, Ron, and Harry while Sirius and I walked up to them. She was crying again...not that it took much to do these days.

"Oh, Audrey, dear..." Mrs Weasley sniffled, coming and hugging me while Sirius laughed at my awkward reaction of not hugging back. "You be safe!"

"Don't cry, Mum," over Mrs Weasley's shoulder I could see Ginny was still blushing from her own mauling. "It's okay..."

"Yeah, don't worry about us," I smiled stiffly while she pulled back and wiped uselessly at her eyes.

"Don't worry about Percy, either," Ron added. "He's such a prat, it's not really a loss, is it?"

It was true and I had certainly grown fonder of Percy when he'd gotten slapped in the face with parsnip over his Christmas visit. Mrs Weasley had not seen our enjoyment then and she didn't see it now: she only proceeded to cry even harder. On my shoulder.

"Oh promise me that you'll look after yourselves – particularly you two," she finally lifted herself onto my shoulder just to throw her arms around my brother. "Stay out of trouble."

"I always do, Mrs Weasley," my brother said with an awkward pat on her back. "I like a quiet life, you know me."

She gave a watery laugh and pulled away, looking at all of us with a heavy sigh. "Be good, then, all of you..."

"Good is my middle name," I told her. "Isn't it Sirius?"

"It'd be an even worse one than Petunia," he taunted. I rolled my eyes.

"Bye, Sirius," Harry went up and hugged him. Sirius gave him a few words of either advice or comfort that were not meant for my ears before he gave my brother a good pat on the back and sent him towards the fireplace.

Sirius came over to me next, wrapping his arms around me – not hugging me as tightly as he did my brother, before he took my shoulders and held me at arm's length. I didn't see that as insulting, actually I found it quite sweet. It was like Sirius knew that I wanted the comfort of a goodbye, but I didn't actually like all the intimacy that came with a goodbye-hug. I'd already given him one today, after all.

"You take care of your brother," he whispered to me. "I know you can. But I want you to take care of yourself too. You need to remember that you're vulnerable, as vulnerable as anyone else. Even if I'll be around, I can't be around you like your brother can – you have to start trusting him."

I scowled, there was no way I couldn't have, before I nodded my head.

_Trusting my brother_. That idea seemed like some theoretical fairy tale after these past few years.

My brother went into the fireplace first, saying giving one last wave to Sirius and Mrs Weasley before shouting the word "Hogwarts!" at the top of his lungs and disappearing with a crackle and snap of the flame.

"You next, sweetie," Mrs Weasley urged me. Sirius gave me another look before pushing my trunk into the fireplace for me. I took a deep breath before walking into the emerald flames, still nervous that it would catch on my hair or cloak, so I did not wait to wave goodbye to everyone as my brother had before I screamed out "Hogwarts!" and closed my eyes against the spinning.

When I felt myself stop spinning, I gasped at the sensation of being pulled out of the fireplace. At first I thought that it was someone out to get me – until I noticed _I must not tell lies _was scarred into the back of the hand that had mine. I used the back of my own hand to wipe the soot out of my eyes, hearing someone tsk from in front of me.

"Potter," McGonagall sighed. "What did I just say about ash on my carpet?"

"Sorry, Professor," Harry mumbled, helping brush me off. I huffed, moving out of the way when I heard the fire roar to life behind me and heard Ron coughing. Ginny came soon after, pushing Ron with her trunk because he hadn't moved fast enough to be completely out of the fireplace yet.

"Do you want to come with us?" Ginny asked, looking at me carefully. "Just until your patrol tonight."

"No," I muttered, swallowing deeply but avoiding how obvious it was by making a show of grabbing my wand out of my pocket. "I may as well face the music now – the Slytherins will find me whether I hide at yours or not."

"Come after?" Harry offered. "There's no point arguing. I'm going to make sure you eat after that patrol with Nott if it's – why are you smirking like that?"

His voice had turned quite suspicious when I couldn't keep the grin off my face, but all I could think of was the note that I had gotten for Christmas and the way Ron had screamed when the chocolate frogs erupted from my gifts after the threat to make me eat. I shook my head.

"Nothing," I struggled hard to keep a straight face. "I'll come visit you if I can manage an escape."

"Alright, do you want help with your trunk?"

_Wingardium Leviosa,_ I concentrated hard as I thought it once – twice – on the third time after I had taken my wand out and swished my trunk flew up a good six feet into the air. It trembled there for a second before falling another two, but it was levitating. I held my wand there carefully, just in case it wanted to jump around again before smiling proudly at my own spell work. "No, clearly I don't need it, thank you."

"Good job, Drea, I'm glad you caught up to first year," Ron rolled his eyes at me. I gave the arse a glare that had him retreating quickly, calling his sister after him. My brother looked at me for another moment.

"Remember you can always come to Gryffindor tower..."

"I know, Harry, I know," I sighed. "Now I'm going to go down to the dungeons before this spell seriously stops working..."

He gave me a chuckle before waving a goodbye and levitating his own trunk – flawlessly, I must admit. But he'd still had to use an incantation. I went down to the dungeons cautiously, watching and carefully examining the spell I had on my trunk. It held fairly well, all things considered – perhaps that meant my wand would be nice to me today...I'd hoped it would, considering I had a feeling I might need it for my patrol with Theodore Nott after this Christmas holiday. I still didn't know how he would react to the fact I had sent him a gift, nevertheless how he would react to what the gift had been.

"_Judgement_," I said to the stone wall protecting the common room. When it started sliding I heard my trunk crash to the floor behind me: I had stopped focusing on the charm. Oh well. Grabbing the handle, I moved my way through the common room and dropped my trunk off in my room, just at the foot of my bed. Though I probably had time to unpack, I decided it was not worth the effort and instead took the time to dig through my things to find my Prefects badge and clip it to my sweater. Patrol was hardly an hour away, I may as well give in to the fact I would be seeing Theodore sooner rather than later.

Walking out of the dormitory, I peeked around, unable to stop myself from wondering if Malfoy would be anywhere around here. I couldn't dare to see if he was in his room, considering I didn't want to face Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle or the dim chance that Theodore would be in there – but I had hoped maybe he would be out here waiting for me. I was wrong.

On the notice board between the boys and girls dormitories there was a bright notice in emerald writing and somehow luminescent paper, just to make sure it was seen by all. I walked up to it, upset by how poor my eyesight must have been getting thanks to the fact I needed to be nearly right up to it to read it.

_APPARITION LESSONS_

_If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st August next, you are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor._

Please sign below if you would like to participate.

Cost: 12 Galleons.

The notice ended by being signed by an illegible curly signature by the head of the Ministry's Department of Magical Transportation.

Apparition. Another hurdle to climb over with the ideals of adulthood. Surely it could get us out of a lot of sticky situations, so it was something I would have to attend. I sketched my messy signature on the first dotted line, glad that I had gotten it over with and glad that I knew it was a government parchment that people couldn't erase my name from as a joke.

Really, with the time that I wasn't being tortured into hiding in my dormitory I probably should also get some reading done about learning the magic behind Animagi, but I was worried how suspicious it may look if I started hunting the books down. I could probably just leave it up to Sirius, but the more I relied on him, the less I was relying on myself...and that I did not like.

What kind of animal should I have chosen to be? Originally a kneazle was the preferable idea to pop into my mind, but now that I knew there was a possibility that I could pull this off, I felt like maybe I should have been more shrewd about what animal I chose. After all, a kneazle _was _a tip-off. Kneazles were Dark Wizard sensitive, so getting near Dark Wizards may end up being more difficult because they'd be so aware of me. A dog, well – I could pull that off, but dogs weren't quite as common in the wizarding world as the Muggle world and they weren't even allowed within the walls of the castle. A bird – that could have been beneficial; getting a bird's eye view and being able to fly away when things got too dangerous. Or, there was always the flip-side of the coin where I turned into something big, scary, and able to kill something with one swipe. Not that we hadn't found out that I couldn't do that on my own, anyway.

I went back into my dormitory, dreading the time when I knew the students from the Express would be back in the castle. They were right on time to when we had expected them, considering not ten minutes after going into my room I could hear them thumping through the common room and cursing every time the wall closed on another pack of them. Daphne, Lillian and Tracey all came into the room together, nearly collapsing on the bed from the barrage of students trying to fit through the small corridor between rooms.

"Audrey!" Daphne gasped when she saw me.

"You got us _Enchantabooks_," Lillian giggled, looking at me from where she lay flopped on her bed. I could see that in the pocket of her robe she'd shoved the book I had gotten her – she must have been reading it on the ride, where she could insert herself into the books storyline in a daydream-illusion that held all five dimensions – the last of which, touch, I had paid extra for. "Have I ever mentioned I love you?"

"Thanks for not getting me a soppy romance, like hers," Tracey sneered with a look to Lillian. "I'd die if a man said the things to me that he says to her."

"I might very well get shagged in mine," Lillian winked back.

"I can get shagged in real life, not an illusion," Tracey bit back. "And mine has sexier men because it's an _adventure_, not some cheap-"

"Hey," I interrupted. "I bought that book and nothing about it was _cheap_. I don't care if you don't like it, don't insult it in front of me."

"Well, would _you _read it?" Tracey asked back.

"Good Godric, no!" I made a face, watching her laugh before sending her a wink.

"How was your Christmas?" Daphne asked, sitting on the bed carefully without letting her eyes leave mine. She looked tense and I frowned at the look on her.

"It went well, thank you for the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes gifts," I didn't have the heart to tell them that I would have gotten them for free on my own. They had gone into the store to get them – a statement in itself since the shop was run by Blood Traitors.

"Did you see that we have Apparition lessons beginning?"

"Of course she did, her name was the first down," Tracey smirked. "We'll never be able to keep track of her once she passes that exam."

"Precisely the point."

"Well, yes," Daphne still looked reasonably uncomfortable.

"Was your Christmas terrible?" I guessed. "Did you happen to get a rod shoved in your arse as a gift?"

"No, it was rather nice," she said, still sounding odd and completely avoiding the jibe I'd given. "I got very nice gifts, Theodore seemed quite happy, but..."

"But?" I asked, understanding now why she was so uncomfortable. She gave me a very meaningful look.

"He's gone to talk to the headmaster about one," she said carefully. "Before you have to go on patrol."

Of course he would, I thought bleakly. I was surprised that he hadn't talked to Dumbledore about it sooner – but maybe he had needed to wait to be at school before he could even consider it. I looked to the girls and frowned. Daphne looked uncomfortable while Lillian and Tracey looked confused – they must not have known that I had given Theodore a gift this year. Which was probably for the best.

"I'm going to start heading out, then."

"But your patrol isn't for another twenty minutes!" Lillian cried, rolling over from her back to her stomach to look at me more easily. "Theodore's still with the headmaster anyway, isn't he?"

"I think I'll go meet him part way," I told her honestly. "No need to make him more angry than he'll already be."

"You mean than he's always been. Theodore's _always_ angry," Tracey rolled her eyes.

I frowned, looking at her ruefully. "No, not always. He hasn't always been."

Tracey looked like she was about to apologize for the referencing before I moved to leave the dormitory. I was bumped, shoved and almost hexed on my way out of the common room – a regular welcome back present from my Slytherin allies – before I finally was able to escape the crowds.

The corridors were virtually silent besides that odd person who had been late getting off the express or who had lazed about on their walk up to the castle. Most people wanted to be with their friends who they had missed over the break, most didn't need to be loitering through empty corridors like I was. Still, I couldn't help but keep my eyes peeled for a tall head of blonde – I couldn't help myself. I had expected to have seen him by now, at least with the thugs of his...that I hadn't seen Draco at all was more upsetting than I would have liked admitting.

Clearly he owed me more Chocolate Frogs for these disgusting, obsessive thoughts.

Houdini was purring softly on my shoulder, trying to calm me down. I wouldn't be surprised if from his position right by my neck he was able to tell that my heart rate was through the roof. I also would have been surprised if it wasn't echoing off the walls – but I appreciated my little Puff's try to calm my nerves.

I had just gotten onto the third floor and could see the Gargoyle protecting Dumbledore's office before the gargoyle started to shift around and reveal the staircase to me. I watched carefully from my place farther down the corridor while Theodore walked down the stairs, looking in deep thought. He walked toward me, not even noticing I was there.

"You got it, then," I breathed once he was near me. He nearly jumped when he finally noticed I was right in front of him. "Did I do it right?"

"Yeah, you did," he produced my Christmas gift and showed it to me: it was in the same corked vial, the silver memory moving around like smoke behind glass. If I wouldn't have known better, I would have thought it had been untouched. "The Greengrass' don't have a Pensieve."

"I didn't think they would," I said quietly.

"You just assumed that I would trust you enough to come to the Headmaster to ask then?" He asked, his face stoic. "That was quite a risk."

"A risk I had to take," I told him, my voice shaking slightly. "You said you were mad because you'd never know what happened...didn't you?"

"I did," he said simply, his voice not giving away anything that he was thinking.

The fact he wasn't explaining what he had thought to me started a boiling in my stomach that seemed to have a side effect of useless blabber. "You said that you were upset that you hadn't been there and wouldn't have been able to stop it – that you didn't know if I was lying..."

"So you gave this to me hoping I'd forgive you? That I'd see you had no choice and that I'd just pretend like it never happened?" He asked. I was almost more disturbed that he didn't raise his voice than I would have been if he would have. I shook my head, sure that it looked closer to a tremble.

"No," I said carefully. "I don't expect you to forgive me, Theodore."

"Then what?" Now he had raised his voice. "Why would you do this?"

"For closure," I told him carefully. "You said you wanted to know what happened, you said that you wanted to understand – have proof that he was gone, that it had to happen. I gave you your proof of what I'd told you. I showed you exactly what you wanted and dreaded to see."

He sighed angrily to himself, putting the vial roughly back into his pocket and looking away from me for a long moment. "Circe was the inspiration, then?"

I looked at him carefully, he nodded to himself.

"I thought so. Not knowing what happened to her must be eating you up inside."

I tried not to judge that he nearly sounded pleased.

"It is," I said, unable to stop my jaw from tightening. I could just tell that I was starting to look a little less kind and innocent than I had been trying hard to appear. "I understand guilt, Theo. I feel more guilty than you could ever know. It's why I thought you deserved to see what I saw...and what I did."

"Hmm," he hummed to himself, watching me closely. "Well, you showed me. Now Professor Dumbledore has excused us from patrol. He wants to give me time to think about what I saw."

"Oh," I said simply, looking toward the stone gargoyle behind Theodore.

"He also said he's busy right now, but wanted me to give you these," he handed me two rolls of parchment. "Apparently you need to see him tomorrow."

My next lesson, I'd wager. The second piece of parchment was likely for Harry. I looked up at Theodore and nodded my thanks while I pocketed what he had given me.

"So, I guess you'll want to be alone then," I said, taking a step back from him. I hesitated, wondering whether he would want to speak to me anymore.

"Yeah," he said moving to pass me without another word. I took a quick step towards him.

"Theo," he didn't turn, but stopped walking. "For what it counts, I'll understand if you don't forgive me. I just – you...you wanted to know."

Theodore didn't turn to acknowledge my words, but hung his head.

"I know...it was brave of you. I'm glad that I-" he stopped speaking and shook his head. "I'm glad you showed me."

With that, he walked away with his head down. He didn't look back. I was glad – I wouldn't be able to guess what he would have seen from me. I felt hurt and relieved and terrified all at once...who knew how that translated to body language. I'd assume it'd translate brokenly.

I took time to close my eyes and continue to breathe. Houdini, on my shoulder, purred more loudly to try and calm down the nerves that were making my fingers vibrate. I needed to remember the good things – Chocolate Frogs, Animagus, another lesson with Dumbledore...Chocolate Frogs, Animagus, another lesson...Chocolate Frogs, Animagus, another lesson...

Well, now that my business with Theodore was all settled there was only one person left missing from my Welcome Back parade of misfortune. But I had no idea where to find him – I hadn't seen him back in the common room, I couldn't go anywhere near his dormitory as I could have last year, and this castle was far too large to look through on my own. Realistically I could have just waited until dinner, or whenever it was I got to see him during this evening...or I could speed the process up by visiting my brother and getting back my map from him.

With my new mantra replaying in my mind so that I could keep calm, I headed off towards the Gryffindor common room. Walking there was easy, like walking down a well-worn path. I had been staying there so often in September and October – and of course I had snuck in there so many times – that luckily my feet guided me despite my mind being somewhere completely different.

"Fat Lady," I said to the portrait. She made a very sour face at me, considering that not only did I have my own password while not being a Gryffindor but I had made it obscenely offensive, and moved aside to let me through the Gryffindor portrait hole. Typically, this reaction pleased me.

"That painting absolutely loathes me," I grinned, plopping down on the couch beside my brother, who looked surprised. "I really shouldn't be wasting this opportunity – should I ask Astoria Greengrass for that paint-splatter hex?"

"You're not going to ruin her portrait, Audrey," Hermione scowled from beside my brother me.

"But I haven't given her a Christmas present. Speaking of which, did you have a Happy Christmas, Hermione?"

"I did," Hermione said simply, crossing her arms from her spot on the far end of the couch. Ron looked at her, nearly longingly, from his spot on the floor. I assumed she had made it clear just how much she did not want to speak to him.

"Also speaking of which," I continued, holding out the pieces of parchment. "I was just given these."

"Is it for Dumbledore's lesson?" Harry asked excitedly, taking one from my hands. He opened it and frowned, taking the parchment out of my hands and replacing it with the one that had been in his own. "That one's yours – it has your name. You're an hour before me again."

And so I was. Tomorrow night at 7:00 – his password was now Cauldron Cakes.

"Well, what else are we up to?" I asked after Harry had read his letter aloud to his friends. They looked to each other nervously before I spotted that they were all bent around a small couch-side table that had been drug between them. On top of it, the very thing I had come for lay open in Harry's hands – it seemed he refused to part with the Marauders Map, which would be a problem if I wanted to find Draco any time soon. "Er – shouldn't we keep this a bit more hidden?"

"Everyone's down to dinner," Harry observed. "Except for our suspect."

Ron was fighting not to roll his eyes and beside me I heard Hermione try to cover up a sigh by pretending to yawn. I looked closer, following my brother's line of sight to see that he was closely examining the name 'Draco Malfoy', whose footprints on the paper were fast and deliberate. He seemed to know right where he was going – be we did not. At least my brother had helped me with the initial reason I had come to visit...even though he wasn't able to help for long, because after a moment the footsteps disappeared right off the map.

My heart stuttered in my chest while I watched him disappear like that. What the hell did that mean? I had never seen someone just disappear before – no one just _disappeared. _It's not like you could Apparate within the castle walls, it's not like he would jump out of a window and onto the grounds...even then, the grounds were included on the map. He was alright, wasn't he?

"Perhaps he finally dropped dead like I asked?" I forced out a smile, trying to look cool and confident instead of as jittery as I felt. "You don't really think that's more suspicious than any of the other mysteries of the castle, do you? He disappeared, can we please sort out the bigger question here: how did our Ronald here get a girlfriend who is so...genuinely attracted to him?"

Hermione let out some sort of indignant scoff and I felt my mind whirl as I recognized this scene. I had seen it before – I had _Seen _it before. How long ago? I couldn't remember. What was so important about this scene that my visions had showed me Draco Malfoy disappearing off the page so long before it had happened?

"Should we go down to dinner, then?" Ron asked, standing up and ignoring my question as his face burnt. "I'm starved."

"You're always starved."

"Well you're attention starved," Ron shot back. I rolled my eyes.

"Please tell me that you read that somewhere because that was such a good retort I don't know if I could take it being genuine," I told him flatly. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You can be as much of a prat as your ex-boyfriend," Ron sniped. Little did he know just how much of that statement was wrong. "Let's go to dinner."

"But I just got here!" I groaned, slapping my hands on the couch beside me.

Ron just made a rather inappropriate gesture towards me before heading to the portrait hole alone. After a moment he looked back to Harry and Hermione – the latter of which refused to look at him – but they all left anyway with mumbled apologies and excuses. Typical. Who knew the mighty could fall from being so popular to so unnecessary?

Well, at least some of my work had been done for me: my brother looked so insane that neither Ron or Hermione seemed to care about what they had just seen, even if he was determined. Their own relationship was saving my own from being more noticeable than the fact the boy I fancied had just walked off a bloody map.

* * *

><p>Professor Dumbledore's office looked precisely as it had the last time I had visited. There was no obvious sign of a celebrated Christmas, or the idea that he had had friends over, not even a sign that he hadn't been living in it every night as I knew he hadn't been. He had been away from the school far too many times to be spending nights here constantly. But either way, he was always there to greet me with a kind smile and an arm gesturing to the chair across from his desk. I took it nervously, sitting down in front of him.<p>

"How was your Christmas, Audrey?"

"Very good sir," I told him, sitting a little straighter in the chair. I wondered what he had to say about his visitor the day before. "And yours?"

"Quiet. A nice transition from the bustle of business," he told me with a twinkle to his eye. "Mr Nott seemed very impressed with your gift, yesterday."

I should have known he wasn't able to keep his thoughts to himself. "I don't know if _impressed _is the right word."

"It was a very thoughtful gift," Dumbledore countered, gesturing with his good hand to a bowl of sweets on his desk which I shook my head towards. "I thought it perfectly suited to the holiday meant for togetherness."

"Sirius taught me how to do it," I shrugged, looking away from that horribly intuitive twinkle in his eye. "It was more to his credit than mine."

"I don't believe that," Dumbledore grinned, before setting his hands atop the table. The charring on his hand had gotten worse in the time I had not seen him and it radiated pain like embers radiated heat. "Otherwise I heard you had quite the entertaining holiday."

"I did," I thought back to the Chocolate Frogs, or when Percy had been splattered with Parsnip by Ginny and the twins. "The Weasleys are great."

"Quite," he agreed, grinning to himself before tilting his head. "Now, is there anything you'd like to discuss before we begin today's lesson?"

I couldn't stop myself from freezing in place, even if that made it noticeable that something was wrong. That seemed like he was trying to get me to tell him something he already knew – did he know that Draco was a Death Eater? Did he know how he and Snape had fought, had Harry already gotten to him today to explain it?

Still, I lied for him again. My lie coming more smoothly than even I could have expected. "No, sir."

"Then I think this the perfect time to move forward with our lessons," Dumbledore explained, moving over to the side table and struggling to pick up the heavy stone Pensieve again. His charred hand seemed to be giving him trouble and I saw him move it slightly as if testing its function once the basin was back on his desk.

"Sir, is there anything I could for...that?" I asked, nodding towards his hand. "I could try modifying a potion or-"

"Thank you, Audrey, that's very kind. Professor Snape has already been assisting with it," Dumbledore smiled. I was surprised; if Professor Snape was helping, you would automatically think that it would be getting better...not worse. And it was definitely getting worse.

"What are we learning today?"

"The first memory will be a short demonstration talking of what we have been testing the limits of: balance. Sometimes I find that the best way to understand is by watching someone else learn; it should be quite educational. The second memory we will be seeing into is the memory of a very dear friend of ours," Dumbledore explained. "Sirius was quite apt with teaching you about memory expulsion because he, himself, had already given this memory to me."

"What is it of, sir?" I asked, feeling the surprise cover my features.

"A very meaningful conversation," Dumbledore smiled to himself. "But first, we will be looking into the memory of Marius Black, an old friend-"

"What a disgrace!" Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait nearly shook on the wall with how loud his voice had become. He was no longer pretending to sleep and eavesdrop. "Why would you want to watch a memory of that black mark on my family name? Why, Dumbledore?"

"That very reaction is one of the reasons, Phineas," Dumbledore responded calmly, handing out the corked memory to me. "Audrey, if you would? I'm afraid my hand is stiff at the moment."

Stiff was an understatement. Uncorking the vial for the headmaster I watched him dump the airy liquid into the basin and leaned forward to witness it swirl into shapes and colours of its own unknown patterns. Dipping my head in, I felt myself fall into the memory like Alice fell into Wonderland.

The house Dumbledore and I landed in was not a house so much as a mansion. You could tell by the twenty foot ceilings and the ornate woodwork. The walls were decorated with dark wallpaper and portraits staring down at the scene from over their upturned noses. The woodwork was all a dark mahogany and intricate, showing patterns of wands and dragons. It was supposed to be a child's room; but there were no toys or pillows, no fun bedspreads or signs of fun, just judgemental paintings sneering at the lone bed.

"This almost looks like my room," I noted, to which Dumbledore gave a grim hum.

In the bed with the plain bedspread, a little boy was curled under the covers as if he could hide from the sounds permeating the mahogany door. He wouldn't have been able to, considering how loud the argument was growing with each cut off sentence.

"Cygnus, he's only nine! There's still time-"

"Nine? _Nine_? His sisters have done more, despite their years! This is your fault, Violetta. I should have known not to marry a Bulstrode; I should have known that it would come of noth-"

"This is not my fault, even if it is true!" The woman's voice, Violetta, was quivering. Because I couldn't see her I could not tell if it was from anger or hurt. "Marius has had no time to prove himself to you, Cygnus, he is still growing..."

"His body is fine, Vi, his soul is intact so it must be his magic which is not working, not _growing_ as you say. You heard what my father said; he is perfectly well so there should be no reason besides missing talent which makes him lack magic-"

"There is no proof he lacks it, he's only a child!"

"I was riding brooms at his age, I was dying my sisters' hair green when I was angry!" The father, Cygnus, roared back at the woman. The boy in the bed trembled, pulling the covers more tightly over himself. I could almost feel his fear, see him trembling – but it could have been the house trembling by the volume of his parents voices. "By his age I was already conjuring cookies from the top shelf or blankets when I was cold at night – he has done _nothing!_"

"He's just off balanced, Cygnus," the woman seemed to plead. "With time he'll grow into himself, into his magic..."

There was a scuffle and a moment where it sounded like skin on skin – someone had been slapped. Another scuffle and muttered words were exchanged before the wife pled again – but now the door to the bedroom opened, the father walking in and looking furious while he tore the covers away from his son.

The little boy was sweet looking; his cheeks still full, his eyes still large and innocent. They were also wide with terror. He looked like his father with his dark eyes and hair, but the stubble on the man's chin and the ferociousness in his eyes made them look like entirely different beings.

"Tomorrow, we work to fix this," Cygnus pointed to his son, using his wand as emphasis. The boy scrambled back on the bed and screamed when his father walked forward and grabbed his forearm to hold him still. I felt disgust bubble in my stomach and had to remind myself that this was only a memory, there was no stopping whatever was happening. The bubble, however, grew into the familiar fury of protection.

"Cygnus, please," the wife pled again.

"If this cannot be undone," the man hissed. "Then you are no son of mine."

The man threw his son back on the bed, eliciting a scream that made the wife sob uselessly. Dumbledore, apparently noticing how upset the scene was making me, placed his good hand on my shoulder.

"That is enough for this memory, Audrey," he explained, pulling me back through the memory and up through the thin air, back into my seat. I took a few moments to calm my racing heart after the scene around us had melted back into his familiar, comfortable office.

"You showed me that about balance again," I said, refusing to think that he had showed me that to make me further identify with some of my Slytherin friends and adversaries. "Marius got his powers, didn't he?"

"No, in fact, he did not," Dumbledore said calmly, sitting down at his desk. "Unlike Merope Gaunt, the torture he lived through at home was not the reason for his difficulty with magic. He was born without magic at all – much like Arabella Figg and our caretaker, Mr Filch."

"But he was from an all magical family, his sisters could use it – was it really an imbalance, if his sisters were perfectly balanced?" I asked, moving forward in my chair. I felt like I had heartburn from the scene I had just watched. Perhaps it was the sensation of being sick to my stomach...I couldn't quite tell.

"You once said that you were imbalanced," Dumbledore said carefully. "Do you believe that Harry is, also?"

"He certainly doesn't seem it," I responded bitterly. "He seems perfectly adept with magic."

"Then maybe you are not imbalanced," Dumbledore offered. "Or perhaps you are just _different_."

I had nothing to really say to that. I knew that I was different, I knew that my magic was different and somehow imbalanced as well – so I didn't really know what he was playing at while showing me all these memories of people who were made better and worse by these 'differences'. I didn't want to be different from my brother – I wanted to be just as powerful. _More _powerful. And even though I was in some ways, consistency was something that I knew I would never have on my side, as he did.

"The second memory," I began slowly, "does it have to do with the one we just saw?"

"I should let you be the judge of that," Dumbledore began, handing me the vial to uncork without another word. I uncorked it – this one was much more difficult to open – and poured it in, watching the wet vapour dilute into pictures and colour while I leaned forward to inspect and move through the office and into the scene it was forming.

Around me was a house, much smaller than the mansion we had just been spying on and painted in warm colours. It was cozy, a bedroom – one side of the bed made neatly, the other side a mess. Open on the floor in front of the bed were two trunks, flooded with clothes and belongings that had been thrown in haphazardly that were leaking over the sides. And, with a shock that felt like my heart stopping, I realized that throwing things into those trunks was my mother.

Watching her work, watching her indefinite determination, I could almost argue with people over being the spitting image of her. Though we had the same red hair that could never be mistaken for ginger, possibly even the same freckles and most certainly the same eyes, there was just something so...different between us.

It didn't take me long to pinpoint it; it was the way she held herself. It was the way her eyes were so honest and caring, the way she moved as if she had a purpose – and it was clear it was an important one. I had never thought that walking could look so meaningful. I had never thought that something as simple as packing could look so _purposeful. _I had never thought that I could see so much _compassion _in what could have been my own reflection.

It made it look as if it was not my reflection at all. We were so different, even just in the way we moved that it almost hurt – there was a care and an importance there that bled of our differences. That bled of my own deficiencies.

I did not look like Lily Potter at _all._

"You could help, instead of stand there," her voice was not as cutting as mine, either. But still it was so parental that I nearly moved to do as she insisted – but it was not me who could pick up more clothing. It was Sirius. He moved differently, too – somehow he was more confident and arrogant here than he was now that I knew him. He was clean shaven and young, still looking vital and free in a way that he no longer did after his years in Azkaban.

"You don't have to leave," Sirius insisted, sounding as if he was exhausted with saying it again. "That's not the best way to handle this situation – running never is."

"Now is not the time to be brave, Sirius," Lily frowned, turning to look at him as she balled up another one of what must have been my father's shirts in her hand. "I'm not afraid of You Know Who, you know that better than anyone, but I am afraid of what he plans for my children."

"How do you know he plans anything for them? Is this really a reliable source we're following, or is Dumbledore being vague and mysterious again? Because I honestly believe-"

"You're doubting anything that man says?" Lily scoffed and for a moment, she did look like me while she rolled her eyes. "James has told you that we can't tell you. Harry has been marked and they are going to start looking for him, so we have to leave."

"But how do you _know _that?" Sirius threw another shirt in the trunk as his voice raised. "It doesn't make sense for you and James to take Harry and Audrey to the same place, just so that you are all waiting like a present wrapped and waiting!"

"We'll be in a secret place, a secret you'll be keeping," Lily pushed another shirt into his hands. He looked down at it and made a face, throwing it over the shoulder as if he planned to keep it for himself. "I know what you're saying, but I couldn't bear to split them up, Sirius. They're brother and sister."

"My brother and I nearly hate each other," Sirius shrugged. I was shocked to see that this image – the image of someone who looked just like me and my godfather mirrored what had happened just yesterday morning before we had come back to the castle. "And splitting up isn't the nicest thing to do, but it is the smartest. If Audrey isn't in any danger, why are you putting her in it? Why don't we give Harry to Dumbledore until this whole mess is sorted? Keep you safe as we find a solution. Keep Harry safe with Dumbledore."

"I'm not splitting them up, I can't!" Lily yelled loudly. In the other room, a baby began to cry. And then another. The shock almost knocked me over...it was Harry and I. _Harry and I _were crying. Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself, as I would have, before she walked in the room beside hers. She went and picked up one of the babies, indicating to Sirius that he should pick up the other.

I was the one he picked up and it was strange to know it – the wisps of red hair was a good indication and Harry, who was less tubby than I was, had weak strands of black already. I looked at the babies in wonder, knowing that I was one of them and at the same time, amazed to see myself crying and throwing my head back...and not having a scar on my neck. My skin was flawless – there was nothing to separate me from any other normal baby in the world. Harry, baby Harry that is, also was not marked at all on his forehead. We looked like any other babies I had ever seen.

"She's so small," Sirius whispered, more to himself than to my mother. "If she's not in danger, you should keep her out of it. Give Harry to Dumbledore, he's the only one-"

"I'm not leaving them," Lily said and both Sirius and I were horrified to hear that her voice was catching in her throat as she held back tears. "They're my babies, Sirius. They're _twins. _And they're in this together, that's what Dumbledore said."

"Then Dumbledore can sod off, he-" Sirius growled, lowering his voice when the baby in his arms – when _I – _began to whimper. "He isn't the one that is going through all this, Lily. You are. The twins are. You can't just run away and hope it will be better, you've _never _just run away-"

"You don't understand," Lily blinked back tears. "They are _both _in danger. We have to hide. We can't fight back this time. We're in this together, we're pieces of a puzzle-"

"A puzzle that what, turns into a picture of death?" Sirius barked. "At least separate them, Lily, make it harder to nail down their location. You know what I've been thinking – there's a spy somewhere, they know too much about you already and I'm sure that Voldemort knows about me thanks to Regulus. I think he even knows what I look like as Padfoot..."

"You'll be a wonderful Secret Keeper, Sirius," Lily assured. "And I still disagree – Remus would never betray us. He's not a spy."

"Someone is," he frowned, looking down at the baby in his hands. My baby-self gazed up at him and giggled – weird. I was _giggling_. "Let me take her or Harry. One or the other. Make Peter be your Secret Keeper; no one would ever think of him..."

"Peter can't even keep the colour of his own knickers a secret," Lily laughed, bouncing Harry and making him giggle as I was. "It's going to be you. James wants it to be you. Besides, I wouldn't trust these children's lives with anyone else."

"I just wish I could do more," Sirius sighed. "I hate feeling useless."

"You're not useless," Lily sighed, putting Harry back in his crib now that he was calm. She came and took me from my godfather, looking down on me with a love that nearly made me uncomfortable to watch and at the same time caused a burning in my chest. "No one is useless."

"Why can't you tell me what's happened?" Sirius asked, moving to look down at Harry in his crib. "Why can't you just explain what's going _on_?"

"It's bigger than us," Lily sighed, holding me a little more closely to her. It hurt knowing that she would soon after allow me to bleed out in the villains hands. But she was so sweet to me here – how could she just let him take me? "And like I said, we all have a part in it – but Harry and Audrey are important. We need to keep them safe, shouldn't that be enough for you?"

"It is, I want to," Sirius assured. "I just feel like there has to be a better way to do it."

"I wish there was," she sighed.

Dumbledore put his hand on my shoulder and made me jump.

"If you are done here, there is no more to see pertaining to the lesson."

I didn't feel done. Though I had just discovered how unlike my own mother I was, I really felt like I should stay here and watch her for those few moments when I really did see my own reactions in her, or my own voice portrayed in her own...but we were here watching this from afar. And there had to be a reason I had just seen what I had.

After a few more moments watching my mother coo both my brother and I back to sleep, I moved to let Dumbledore guide me from the memory. By the time we were out of the memory and back to his office, I took a shaky seat across from him, unable to ignore the Pensieve which was still casting an ominous glow over the two of us.

"Can you find a correlation between the memories, Audrey?" Dumbledore asked, looking at me with some kind of clouded intent.

"No," I said slowly, trying to piece everything together even though my mind was still reeling from what I had just witnessed. "The first was about balance, but this second was...personal."

"Indeed it was," Dumbledore nodded. "It, too, spoke about balance. And about your involvement in all that has come to and will happen."

"She said I have my role to play," I said carefully, trying to memorize the way she had said the words. "What did she mean? She said that _you _warned her..."

"You do have a role to play, Audrey," Dumbledore said seriously. "And I am working to prepare you for it."

"What is the role?" I asked, leaning forward in my chair. "Why are you showing Harry and I all these memories?"

"Next lesson you shall learn it," Dumbledore responded, folding his hands on his desk again. "I believe it would to be your benefit to go and think about everything you just witnessed – I want you to understand on your own terms."

"There's no need to be mysterious," I frowned, remembering what Sirius had just said to my mother. "You can just tell me."

"Some things must be discovered on their own time, in their own way," he smiled, I could swear that it would look grim. "Your brother should be up any moment, I'm sure you'll want to tell him of your findings of this lesson."

He used his blackened hand to indicate the door behind me. I frowned, not wanting to leave without answers but knowing I had been dismissed. I didn't say goodbye to him while I moved to leave the office – I wasn't even down the stairs outside his door before I ran into my brother who was climbing to pass me.

"Well, was it a good lesson? What did you learn?" He asked.

"I saw Mum." It sounded so strange to say aloud. It didn't even make sense to my garbled mind.

"What?"

"I saw Mum," I repeated, sounding even more shell shocked than the first time I'd blurted it out. "It...didn't make sense."

"This is the first time you've seen her or heard her, isn't it?" His voice was quiet, as if this information was something that should have been a secret. I could only nod, the information still processing in my mind. It _was _the first time I had ever seen my mother. It was the first time I had ever realized how alike and _un_alike we really were.

Harry moved forward and hugged me, it was strange – we hardly ever hugged. And this hug meant something to him, too. I wondered, as he was holding me together, if he knew just how much like our mother he really was with his compassion and care that I would never have.

"I have to go," I said when I felt my throat starting to constrict in the same way his arms were. I pulled away from him, ignoring the churn of my stomach as I fought against just how much I inherently _wanted _to be comforted.

"You can wait for me after the lesson and we can talk about it, if you want," Harry offered. I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it," I told him honestly. And I didn't want to talk to him about it – but that didn't mean there was no comfort to be given. "I think you're learning something interesting today; let me know how it goes."

"If you're sure," he hesitated, doing that whole protective-brother thing before he turned to walk to Dumbledore's office. I frowned, watching him go and wondering just what he would be seeing today. Would he get to see a memory of our parents, as I'd had, or would he be given something different?

That was probably exactly why it was so meaningful, the memory I had seen – I hadn't ever seen our mother before besides in pictures. I'd never heard her voice, as he had, I'd never seen her expressions, as he had...I had never gotten the chance to notice how alike and different we really were.

But why would Dumbledore have shown me the memory, besides that? There was nothing really of merit in it; there was no lesson to be learned besides the fact that my mother really had loved me after all – which I had been starting to doubt since I had found out she had let Voldemort slice my throat so that she could protect my brother and later die for him. It was a nice sentiment, sure, but it didn't have anything to do with what I was supposed to be learning.

And the first memory, the one about balance – that had rightly upset me. Why is it that every time I see someone being abused, someone being hurt like that my mind always flashed to my Slytherin friends? I had always pictured Theodore's relationship with his father to be like that, I had seen in the flesh that Draco's relationship with his father was like that as well...

"He won't know we've been gone," I heard a low voice whisper. "We can be fast."

"Draco will be right pissed if he finds out," another, disgustingly familiar voice, responded. Think of the devil.

"He won't find out if you hurry," the first voice grumbled. "Dinner's almost finished! We'll miss the best pickings..."

"Who won't find out what?" I interrupted, stepping in front of Goyle, making him halt in his tracks. Crabbe bumped into him because of the sudden stop.

"Er – nothing," Crabbe said quickly, shaking his head as he peeled himself from Goyle's backside. "No one."

"You're horrible liars," I drawled, rolling my eyes and placing my hands on my hips. "Where did you two idiots leave Draco?"

"Draco doesn't want to see anyone," Goyle frowned, crossing his arms. "'Specially you."

"I'm sure," I said simply. "Tell me where you left him and I'll keep the fact you're sneaking off to the feast a secret."

Goyle turned to Crabbe, clearly contemplating this deal. Crabbe shook his head, trying to look convincing, but he refused to speak for himself.

"He's up on the seventh floor," Goyle said simply, wincing when Crabbe hit him upside the head. "What? It's not like she knows _where_ to find him up there..."

"The Room of Requirement," I acknowledged, sighting and rolling my head along my shoulders. "I should have known. Go eat dinner, you fat lards – I need a word with your commander."

"How do you know about the Room?" Crabbe complained.

"I was the one who helped wrangle the little group my brother was hiding in there last year, morons." They looked at each other for a moment, obviously confused, before they nodded slowly and pretended they understood. I rolled my eyes, indicating that they should move past me.

"We'll be back right after dinner," Goyle assured.

"No need, you're off duty tonight. I'm taking over," the boys looked nervous before I pulled out my wand, playing with it lazily. "Unless you want to help me with target practice – you never know what kind of hex will pop out of this thing."

The boys looked at my wand nervously before they scampered off to dinner, leaving me alone in the corridor. Sometimes it was just too easy.

So, Draco had been spending all this time in the Room of Requirement. It explained why he was disappearing right off the map, as he had yesterday, and it made sense why no one could ever find him – but I didn't really understand why he needed to be there. And he needed to be there very often – I still hadn't seen him since we had come back from break. What was he doing in there that would have taken so much of his time...but was also for Voldemort's own rotten schemes?

I was almost out of breath by the time I was up to the seventh floor. I hadn't realized that I had been rushing until I had blinked and been where I needed to be – right outside the door to the Room of Requirement. A door that wouldn't appear to me, no matter how many times I tried. Which apparently was obsessively for ten minutes.

I camped out across from it, waiting for the time to come where Draco would exit. Which would apparently be a long time, considering the time I spent sitting across from the non-existent door. Crabbe and Goyle never came back and people didn't really wander all the way up here, as it was a pointless corridor for any reason except the room itself – so I was left alone with my thoughts; a dangerous notion for the best of minds, nevertheless the most twisted.

I had just seen my mother for the first time, I had just witnessed squibs and abuse that turned my stomach...I was disturbed by the amount I wanted to talk to Draco about it. Or at least make him distract me with cutting words and snogging. Likely the latter.

Just as my thoughts were starting to spiral and mutate everything I had seen tonight, Draco came from the room. I couldn't tell how long I had waited there before the door began to slowly appear, which made me stand to be ready to chase after him – and my answers – if I needed to. When he opened the door he looked shocked to see me before it turned into a look of exhausted acceptance.

"So you finally found me, then."

"Don't act so surprised," my voice was sarcastic as I leaned against the wall across from him. He was sure to shut the door to the room tightly and I watched as it disintegrated back into the wall from whence it came. "You're easier to find than a snake in an apple tree."

He rolled his eyes, leaning on the wall across from me, nearly mimicking my stance.

"Were you trying to be clever?"

"No," I shrugged. "I don't need to try being clever, I naturally am. Your troops left at my mere mention of dinner, by the way. Very reliable. But apparently there are slim pickings during the New Years feast, so they tell me."

He looked frustrated for a moment, as if he wanted to go hunt them down before he set his jaw and shook his head, as if warning himself that now was not the time.

"So what now, are you going to try to get me to spill all my dirty deeds to you?"

"As much as I know you'd like that, I'd probably just be wasting my breath," I sighed. "I came for more selfish reasons."

"I should have known," he smirked back, leaning back on the wall in a more relaxed way, liking that I was flirting and not pushing for information. "You couldn't stay away from me for long."

"Of course. You know...I don't know if you got me enough chocolate frogs," I smiled. I watched him smirk, his eyebrows raising.

"Two hundred wasn't enough, was it?" He shrugged dramatically. "I'd figured five hundred, but they were running out so close to Christmas."

"Pity," I sighed, moving up to him and gripping his shirt. His smirk was pulling at the corners of his lips so much that it actually could turn into a smile if I kept this up...which would be difficult if I kept looking at his lips. "If you did having anything to tell me, I'd be all ears."

"I could tell you how attractive I am," he said slowly. "But it's so obvious there's no need."

"Or you could tell me what's so important in that room that I've had to wait over twenty-four hours to see you." He sighed, lulling his head back – I watched as he started to close himself off to me.

"We're both betraying a lot of people if I do that, Potter." I frowned, knowing he was right but at the same time not liking that I wouldn't get to know what he was up to all this time.

"And we're betraying each other if we don't," I urged him, pulling on his shirt a little while I raised a brow. "Pick your poison."

He looked down at me, smirking again. "Well, you already know you're my favourite poison, don't you?"

I smiled, rolling my eyes. "How romantic. Sadly for you, I don't much like Romeo and Juliet."

"Pity," he mimicked me, wrapping his arms around me as I slowly walked backward across the corridor and moved behind the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. "Luckily you still like me."

"Enough to think of you at least one more time," I went into my pocket and pulled out one of the chocolate frogs he had given me for Christmas – handing it over to him. He snorted for a moment, holding back a smile from me, his liquid mercury eyes smouldering on me.

"You must have had a good Christmas then," he asked, moving to kiss up my neck. "Though if you weren't before my gift, I'm sure you did after."

How right he was.

"It wasn't a bad one," I couldn't tell whether or not I was lying about the beginning or non-Draco aspect of Christmas. "Yours?"

"It would have been better were you here," he smirked against my neck, making me shiver from the sensation of his lips against my scar. "And – what the fuck is _that_?"

It seemed that Houdini had decided to make a surprise appearance during what was about to become an intense snogging session. I looked at Draco carefully from my over my shoulder, looking between them. Houdini was purring loudly, he seemed to like Draco just as much as Circe had – his large, black eyes were stuck on them in a way that made me nervous mine might look after having not seen him for over a week.

"This is my Pygmy Puff, Houdini," I told, taking him in my hands and displaying him to Draco. "He was a Christmas gift."

Draco examined my Puff with clinical precision, his eyes narrowing at the green fluff ball. "Let me guess: one of the Weasels inventions?"

"Yes..." I said slowly, immediately noticing the venom in his tone.

"And let me guess," his voice was even deeper now as he sneered down at Houdini. I moved my hand, with my Puff, away from him as I could practically see him turning into a ticking time bomb. "It was fromthe one that fancies you?"

Great. Suddenly, the conversation was not so flirty and sweet. "Fred and I are just friends."

"Not that he wants to be," Draco sneered, looking down at Houdini as if he wanted to crush him.

"You've got to be kidding," I moved Houdini to my shoulder, already seeing this situation spiralling as my mind had been not even minutes before. "Please don't tell me you're being jealous when I just saw you sneaking around for Lord Vol-dim-mort. I came here because I wanted to see you – ignoring the fact that you're working for the man out to kill me, no less."

"Don't start with that, we've already determined it's not something we talk about. But you know what everyone talks of? The fact that Fred Weasley is more obsessed with you than your brother is obsessed with finding me out," Draco spat, moving away from me a little. I sighed, running my hands through my hair in frustration.

"I don't know why you always doubt me like you do," I told him, seriously. "I do not fancy Fred Weasley – I happen to like blondes. Particularly the ones who don't ignore me or distance themselves from me because they're jealous sods."

"I'm not jealous," he snapped, sounding just as I had yesterday morning. I suddenly realized why Sirius knew I was lying. "I shouldn't be around you anyway and if you'd rather a _Weasley -_"

"I wouldn't rather a Weasley, even if it would be nice not to worry about his life as often," I snipped back. "Why don't you just tell me what you're doing so that I can stop you and we can get the hell out of this school? Aren't you tired of learning, yet?"

"Exhausted," he sighed, leaning his head back against the wall and hitting it against it lightly as if he could knock out all of the thoughts clouding it. He looked just as torn as I felt – after the day, I really didn't want to argue. I was already arguing with myself over everything I had just seen in Dumbledore's office, I was _supposed _to be here to make myself feel better.

I moved up on my toes and kissed his jaw lightly, it was the only thing I could reach. I kissed it again, watching as a smirk crawled back up and curved his lips, though he kept his eyes closed.

"Eventually you'll tell me," I whispered. "Even if it means I need to snog it out of you."

"I guess I'll let you try," he mumbled, opening his eyes to look down on me – they were almost back to smouldering again, but they were still solidly hidden from me. "But you won't find out. It's dangerous."

"Theoretically, you could just tell me and let me avoid the danger by not doing what you're doing," I offered. He shook his head and I sighed, moving to pull away from him – but he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me right back to him. "I know. Besides, I like the challenge of kissing you until you give in."

"You'll be kissing me for a long time if you try that," he raised his eyebrows tauntingly, tilting his head down and squeezing my sides. His hands were possessive on me and at the same time I had a feeling he needed to feel me there...I knotted my hands in his shirt, trying to pull myself closer to him than I already was. I needed this, I needed his comfort even if we were both too afraid to mention everything that was wrong.

"If I must," I teased, looking up at him and smiling at him.

He smiled that wonderful smile that I'd hardly ever seen before leaning down and kissing me again.

* * *

><p><strong>Kind of cute. What did you all think of the chapter? Some Sirius, some Theodore, some Dumbledore, some Draco...and what did you think of those memories? The one of the Squib and the one of Lily Potter? I'll let you ponder that while I give shout outs to my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and the introduction of Houdini – he's very cute in my head. I feel like Sirius and Drea have at least as much in common as Harry and Sirius do; so I'm glad their similarities came through a bit more in the last chapter. What did you think of the gift for Theodore and his reaction to it? Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for the review!**

_Leanna Drobis_**: More Draco in this chapter, hopefully you liked it! And yes, she got him Quidditch things and Quills to do his homework for him so that he would stop falling behind :)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Snape won't tell just anyone about Lily, not even Draco – but we will later see some of the moments where he hints toward her. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope this one was enjoyable as well!**

_Kago of the Funk_**: I love that you had chocolate frogs jumping around in your stomach during the last chapter – hopefully they were still moving around during this one, as well. I wish I had the chapters so that I could release one every other day but sadly that's not the case. If only I could! **

_vic90_**: Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying it. I will be following certain aspects of the book, but not all of them. Anything Audrey affects will change what happens in the books – so if she ends up with Draco in the end, there will be no Astoria relationship or Scorpius born to them.**

_Anon1_**: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully this chapter was good for you, too.**

_Amber Rose Black_**: I thought it was cute too; I'm glad you liked it. Poor Fred, I fear the time when he finds out about the Dreaco romance...**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Draco is definitely an arrogant little shit, but it's what I love most about him. Even here, so arrogant while they're talking about his affiliation with the Darkest Wizard of their time. Whadda guy. I feel bad for Fred too, it hurt my heart a bit as I wrote the last chapter – but Audrey and Draco are a cuter couple and I'm not ready to split them up yet. I have too much in store during these next few chapters to do that! Good call about Draco not liking Houdini as he's from Fred, by the way...what a world those two live in!**

_Annaismyname_**: Thanks, I tried to make it a cute chapter. I'd like to think this one had its moments as well. Yes, poor Theodore is having a really rough time with everything and I wish they were friends again...but sadly, that's just not the way I want this cookie to crumble. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_katie93319_**: I really like that Sirius is still involved as well – he's one of my favourites. I'm glad you like Houdini and Draco's gifts to her. Theodore got the memory of what happened in the Department of Mysteries – did you like that twist, or no? And yes, Draco and Astoria may be together – I don't know yet...Astoria will have her purpose besides being a bully...you sadly just have to wait to find out what. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review!**

_BerserkMoon_**: It was fluffy – there was some in this one, too! Did you like it?**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Cute and arrogant could probably be the two words put on the crest of the Dreaco relationship. I also feel bad for Fred, poor guy, but I do like your prediction...interesting notion. Sadly you'll have to wait and see!**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: Well aren't you wonderful? Thank you.**

_incitanemxx_**: I'm in my very early twenties, actually. How has the lack of wisdom teeth been? My grandpa always asked me if I felt any dumber with them out – which I kind of did thanks to the medication I had to take. Hopefully you're healing up well!  
>Yes, Draco and Audrey are officially 'serious'. Not that anyone knows it...yet. Thank you for thinking that Sirius is blended in that well, that's so sweet! I'm glad I'm doing him a little justice. It can be hard, sometimes, to work with the deviations I've made. Yes, Audrey is going to try being an Animagus...it will be an interesting thing to write considering I'm used to writing werewolf stories. And perhaps Audrey DOES have a part in Draco's mission, perhaps he really IS supposed to involve her in some way...but we won't find that out for a few chapters. Funny you should mention Romeo and Juliet in your review, as I mentioned it in the chapter – think they'll have the same fate?<strong>

_disturbingbehavior_**: Thank you! I'm glad I could keep the cheese to a minimum but the romance up – I'm one of those girls that blushes and covers her face when she watches romantic movies, so I find sometimes I have trouble with romantic scenes. But whyever would you think the fluff is a foretelling of darkness yet to come? I never do that... ;)**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I know! Fred being so sweet is actually such a bother – why do I do this to my characters (and by that I mean JKR's characters)? I feel so bad every time I do something like this but my fingers just type of their own accord! Really, we should be blaming my digits.  
>Yes, I totally want to just skip ahead, especially with all the thought I've been putting into the plot of DH. At this point I kind of want to put in a chapter that says "here's a calendar of everything that happens from the last chapter up to the battle...awesome...now, coming up is the Battle of Hogwarts!" but I can't do that. Apparently it would be bad writing etiquette or something.<br>I'm glad you thought that the last chapter had some cute moments (I'd like to think it had some, as well) and hopefully this one didn't disappoint after the last. I can't wait to hear what you think of the memories!**

_SwiftAlice_**: Hey there, beautiful! I'm really good, thanks, it's been a good week. Busy, but good. Plus it's Thanksgiving here in Canada so I've seen a lot of my family for the first time since I've been back – I'm that cheesy girl who genuinely likes holidays because I have a huge family and we all get to see each other then (my mother and I were literally just comparing her side of the family to the Weasleys. No joke. Five minutes ago) so I'm happy. How are you? I always enjoy our little conversations here!  
>I'm actually entering a writing competition with some of my own writing next month, I'm really nervous. I've been working a lot on it but I'm just so nervous; I can't tell if it's any good! And yes, sometimes my brain does feel like it's exploding. Often I'll be in a group of people and my brain is constantly racing so I'll just clap my hands and say "BRAINBLAST!" like in Jimmy Neutron then have to apologize as I write down a plot point I just thought of, or a twist, or something for this (or any) story that I had just figured out. It happens probably five times a day. I feel sorry for people who spend a full day with me, they must feel so confused. I get so excited over figuring something out, or hearing that people like it that I feel like a fangirl who fangirls when her fans talk to her. It's bad.<br>Anyway, hopefully you liked this chapter. There was extra with the scar here, some cute Draco moments and Theodore moments, and then the moment with her Mom...aw, it crushed my soul a little. Did you notice that everything Audrey and Sirius had done (throwing clothes into the trunk and stuff) was exactly what Lily and Sirius had been doing in the memory? I made a ton of parallels in this chapter. I totally agree that she and Draco kind of keep each other sane; they just think differently than most and sometimes being sweet isn't how they do things. But speaking of not being sweet...what did you think of her talk with Theodore? Do you think it went well?  
>Yes, Fred is so nice...but look how nice Draco can be! It's the right "nice" for Audrey, don't you think? Cause she isn't nice. I think she and Fred together would be completely different from her and Draco, yet, both could work. But I think only one would make her happy. Houdini was sweet though and yes, he is only a Pygmy Puff meant to be cute and distracting, haha.<br>Did you like Sirius' two appearances in this chapter? I can't wait to hear what you thought about the memory with Lily and what Audrey saw!  
>If you ever have any problems with the translation, definitely let me know. Twitter's probably the way to talk to me fastest, but we can talk on here or through email after that. It's just that twitter comes straight to my phone where as messages here don't. But I'm glad it's going well, I'm still so honoured that it's even happening. I'd totally love to see what happens when you post it. I'm really excited to hear what people think about it – I wish I could thank you more for doing all this work. I trust you to post it, maybe post a chapter a week or something if that's comfortable with you? It's good that you're so far ahead, it will make it easier for you I hope – but never feel pressure about it! <strong>

_iwantsprezzatura_**: Animagus lessons will be coming up to combine with Dumbledore's lessons and Apparition lessons – this poor girl is going to be swamped. Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: I know, originally I had Ginny jumping on the bed and wanted it to be just the two of them in the room...then I changed it because it didn't make sense for Ginny to be afraid; but Ron? I could see him screaming like a girl. I think Fred is sweet as well, I'm glad it's translating well from my head to the document so thank you! Hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: I'm definitely trying to update every week! Within the Sunday-Sunday range of a week, anyway. I try to get ahead by taking a month off between books, but I always end up falling behind again. Life is just too busy for this long of a story! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was enjoyable as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

_The Lady Geek_**: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Yes, story updates will definitely be happening more. There aren't actually that many chapters left in this section of the book, though, so hopefully people enjoy the faster updates before I have to take a break to catch up again!  
>Did you end up liking what Audrey gave to Theodore as a gift? I really like coming up with gift ideas during their gift-giving time at Hogwarts (whether it be for birthdays or Christmas) so hopefully it all came out well, even if it hurts a bit because Fred is so sweet and totally getting left in the dust.<br>Now that Audrey is thinking of other animals, do you have any thoughts to what Audrey might turn into? I really like hearing people's theories about it. She's going to have a tough time deciding and then learning, after all. Being an Animagus is not easy, or else everyone would be one!  
>I don't know if this chapter will have knocked off your past favourite, but I think one of the next five may. There are only seven left in this section, after all. Snape will be in the next chapter at least, so I'm excited to write the two of them together again! And what did you think about our first glimpse of Lily? Hopefully I portrayed her well. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you, as always, for reviewing :)<strong>

_Magimagus_**: More chapters are definitely on the way and they are getting more and more complicated and exciting as each chapter goes! Also more romance, but don't tell anyone...  
>Hopefully this chapter was cute, considering there was some Draco at the end. It had a lot of emotions in this one, I think, so hopefully I pulled it off well enough.<br>Audrey's mourning period is pretty much over. Next chapter you'll see her back to her good ole – or maybe, more properly, her wicked ole – self. Good call on Theodore's gift, by the way, not many people guessed it.  
>Snape is going to be in the next chapter, I can't even tell you how excited I am about it. Seriously, I get so giddy every time I get to write their dialogue. They just mesh together so well. Almost like I get giddy when Audrey and Draco finally start getting along...we have multiple more chapters of that. It's such a relief to keep them together for a change; even if he is a jealous jerk at times.<br>Thanks for the wished-luck about the writing, it's going...slowly, but it's going. Hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you again for the wonderful review!**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Oddly enough, squealing equals flattery to me. Who knew? I hope this chapter notification made you just as excited, but hopefully the chapter content made you even more happy. I agree – if Draco weren't around, Fred and Drea would be quite a good match. It's just that Draco and Drea are a better one...and poor Fred is left in the dust because of it. Houdini is pretty cute, though clearly not as amazing as Circe (and I don't plan to make him that way, it'd just butcher her memory) and yes, she will be trying to be an Animagus. Draco can be quite sweet when he wants to be...also quite jealous and protective. He's such a boy. Hopefully you liked this chapter, memories and all. Thanks for your review!**

_Guest_**: Yes, Audrey has changed the outcome of her visions before – now we just need to see if she can do it again. I guess we'll have to wait and see if there's a Weasley kiss in the future...**

_Guest(2)_**: When Audrey thought that Houdini was Circe it broke my heart a little too, but I had that happen to me once and decided to put it in. I'm glad it registered well on the emotional scale. I'm glad you thought Draco's gift was cute and hopefully you liked their interaction in this one, too. Thanks for the review!**

_OddPotato_**: I'm glad Dreaco is still winning the battle of Ships. I think they're cuter than Fraudrey, anyway. Don't be too scared...the next few chapters will be intense, but it's not like I'm about to kill Audrey and be like "the series is over. Hope you liked it"...it'll just rip people's hearts out a bit. Or so I hope. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks, as always, for reviewing :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Aw, thank you! I think Houdini is cute, as well. I bought one when I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and knew, immediately, that Audrey would one day have one. Snape having killed Circe would be so sad...but sadly you're going to have to wait to see. You will find out, eventually. We'll get to see some more of Snape next chapter – I'm so excited to write those two together again! Fred definitely was sweet, but you're right: he should have gotten the hint a bit faster. But since when has a Weasley ever cared about hints? I don't know why your flatmate doesn't like you (I do!) but hopefully it gets better and, as you said, doesn't turn into a charmed-bed or killed-cat scenario. Thanks for the review and hope you liked the chapter!**

_Deanne Ravenwing_**: Thank you! It's so intense to hear you read it so quickly – I'm a super slow reader, believe it or not, so that's really impressive to me. Thank you so much for liking the story and for reviewing it, it's really an honour. I hope you liked the new chapter and continue liking the upcoming ones!**

_SanityIsOverratedXD_**: Thank you, I appreciate it!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Circe definitely doesn't deserve to die and sadly Circe never had kittens or siblings that Audrey knows of – she won't be getting a kneazle any time in the foreseeable future. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_Melody_**: Hello there, I'm doing well, thanks. How are you? I know what it's like to be crazily busy, don't worry about taking a while to review – I'm just glad that you do! Audrey will definitely be back to herself within the next chapter, including trying to figure out everything that's going on in her life...like Circe.  
>Yes, poor Fred is no match for Draco and as you saw, Draco is definitely jealous of Fred. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one as well...particularly because we got to see some cool memories and Draco fluff!<strong>

_Lycoris1305_**: I know, poor Audrey having to try to fight of people's expectations. Luckily, she tends to enjoy such a thing!**

_Ahsilaa_**: I wish that she could just get a chocolate frog every time she thought of him – could you imagine if she started daydreaming in class? – but no, sadly she just got the gifts of hundreds of them because he was being cocky. Maybe one day.**

_HazelCurls29_**: I agree, Draco getting Drea jewelry was a little bit too obvious. Plus I'd like to think he knows her better than to get her something like that – hence the Chocolate Frogs. I'm glad the gift was so well-received by readers! I thought I was just being a nerd coming up with it, but I'm glad everyone thought it fit. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing again!**

_AHeartFullOfLove_**: Off topic, but your username is one of my favourite Broadway songs, from one of my favourite shows...sorry to be random. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one as well – at least it wasn't as crushing because of Fred, even if Theodore and her conversation wasn't necessarily a happy one. Thanks for the review!**

_Guest(3)_**: Thank you so much, I appreciate you! I just added you onto twitter :) Hope you liked the chapter!**

_SKYMIST26340_**: Thank you! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Nyx and Athena_**: I can't tell you what her Animagus will be yet (there's an actual process I'm going to put her through) but hopefully you still like it anyway. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Stronger123_**: I know, I feel bad. He's fighting a losing battle!**

_polki_**: Yes, it was more an interlude chapter than one that was action packed, but I'm glad you liked it anyway. I don't really know why people don't get that she'll just figure out how to do it on her own if they say no – she ALWAYS does. Silly adults, tricks are for kids.**

_Jordan Lynn 7_**: It was sweet, I'm glad you liked it!**

_LaFay97_**: Hopefully you make it all the way to this chapter and I hope you still like it by this point. Thanks so much for reviewing!**

_ .ay_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it. Thanks for your review :)**

_Black Rose_**: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Hopefully you make it all the way to this chapter and still like it, too. **

_MaskedBeauty09_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you're liking it! I hope that you make it all the way to this chapter and still enjoy what you've read. Yes, Audrey can definitely be out of line at times, but hopefully it's in a believable way. That's an interesting theory about why she can see Thestrals...have to wait and find out!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm so glad Hawaii was nice! I'm also glad to hear that your husband will be coming home. You'll have to give me more details about your vacation. I hope that you're feeling better, those things are hard to fully get rid of; sadly I've had a few in my time. I'm sorry to hear about the job though...don't worry, more will come your way!**

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all so much for your reviews, I've really liked reading them. A few of you are starting to get some of the deeper plot twists and I can't wait to hear what you thought of this chapter.<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow **EgyptsLegend** on Twitter to hear sneak-peeks, Q&As, and chapter excerpts!**


	71. Outdated

**Holy, so this is a long chapter. It pretty much speaks for itself so I won't keep you too long here. Thanks for all the feedback here and especially on Twitter, you guys have been amazing. Without further ado, chapter 70...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 70 – Outdated<p>

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><p>"Oh, Audrey," Hermione sighed as I raced late into Potions, skidding into place beside her on the off-balance bench. "Again?"<p>

Did she need to sound so condescending? No. She didn't. Then again, clearly Hermione had no couth when it came to hiding her disbelief over such typical circumstances. I mean, what other reason would she have to be surprised that I had been splattered with another one of Astoria Greengrass' infamous paint-splatter hexes? Still, I gave a grunt and threw my bag down beside her, glaring at Ernie MacMillan who chuckled to himself from his seat in front of me.

"Laugh again, Hufflepuff," I urged darkly, "and I'll show you what it's like to get hit with a _real _curse."

He was quick to change seats.

"Settle down, settle down, please! Miss Potter, you're late – but I can see you have an adequate enough reason," Slughorn pointed out in front of the whole class. I didn't dare to look around and find out where my friends – and where those who were notmy friends – had seated themselves. I gave Slughorn a fake smile of thanks for pardoning my timing, which I'm sure still looked like a grimace, before I busied myself by taking out my textbook.

"Now, let's go back to what happens if we accept Golpalott's Third Law as true..." Slughorn went back to saying. Harry tapped on my shoulder, as usual seated with Ron behind me.

"Everything all right?"

"Peachy," I responded flatly, refusing to look back at him. I heard him sigh before he sat back in his bench – the wood creaking slightly under the movement. At least he knew I was not in the mood to hear his opinion on my newest bought of misfortune.

"-which means, of course," Slughorn was continuing, "that assuming we have achieved correct identification of the potion's ingredients by Scarpin's Revelaspell, our primary aim is not the relatively simple one of selecting antidotes to those ingredients in and of themselves, but to find that added component which will, by an almost alchemical process, transform these disparate elements. And so, I want each of you to come and take three of these vials from my desk. You are to create an antidote for the poison within them before the end of the lesson. Good luck, and don't forget your protective gloves!"

"Perfect," I breathed, knowing that at least the class would be easy, even if my morning had been disastrous. It wasn't just me who had suffered today; while I was splattered in red, Tracey had been splattered with yellow. When all was said and done, the red suited much more nicely to me than the mustard-thick substance had in her hair.

I went up to Professor Slughorn's table and grabbed my vials, horrified when he pulled me aside.

"Is everything alright, Miss Potter?"

"Fine," I told him tightly. "Just a bit of a practical joke; I'm sorry it kept me behind, professor."

"No problem at all, you are one of the best," I could feel my expression flicker disdainfully by his words, but he didn't seem to notice it. _One _of the best my backside... "As long as you're sure everything is good and well?"

"Perfect," I smiled a fake, cheeky smile before he sent me on my way to create the necessary antidotes. On the way back to my desk I caught the eye of my favourite Slytherin – Draco had taken to sitting on the aisle across from me these past few weeks. It was nice that Hermione always chose the same desk so it didn't look suspicious. While he looked at me he gave me a shameless wiggle of his eyebrows that shamefully made me want to laugh. And to think that Snape told Draco_ I _would be a distraction for _him_.

When I was back to my work bench I was glad to notice that the poisons themselves were easy to identify – one was snake venom, another Aconite, and though the third would take some more investigation I was sure I had dealt with it before – it's thick consistency was familiar.

Beside me, Hermione was nearly giddy as she began her investigative potion to identify the poison within her first vial. "It's a shame that the Prince won't be able to help you much with this, Harry. You have to understand the principles involved this time. No short cuts or cheats!"

That was a lie, of course. I _only _used short cuts and cheats – by Hermione's standards, at least – but I wasn't about to help my brother out with any of it and I found myself quick to block my work from where his eyes would be looking to find out exactly how Hermione and I were managing our cauldrons. She went the traditional way, of course: using her wand and the proper incantation _'Specialis Revelio'_ to try to get it to work – she did this wordlessly to ensure that Harry and Ron wouldn't be able to copy her.

I immediately set to work on the anti-venom for the snake poison. There was the slight hiccough that I couldn't tell exactly what kind of snake the venom came from – but that was easy to rectify in the later stages of the potion. Just a few extra cuts of Glumbumble parts and extra drops of pomegranate to see which colour it turned. After that, it would be easy to know how much valerian root and how many daisy stems I should add.

It was truly a waste for me to still be stuck in school.

I moved to add the pomegranate and let out a laugh when I found that where my lumber chips had once been stored now sat a fuzzy green ball of fur. Houdini had come to say hello in class. Hermione looked at me with wide eyes.

"Are you laughing?"

"Yeah," I said quickly, letting Houdini crawl up my arm. "Why?"

"It's just," she shook her head. "You only laugh like that...never mind."

Not really caring about what it was she didn't feel the need to share I added the pomegranate into my cauldron, noticing immediately that the potion started to turn a nauseous looking pink. Not yellow, not orange, not green...pink. It was King Cobra venom. That meant six daisy roots and about twice the amount of valerian root in comparison to the generic anti-venom serum. Easy.

Slughorn came round just as I was finishing up the antidote for the first poison, Hermione was about five minutes behind me in time because she had taken the extra few minutes to ensure that she was working with the same snake venom that I was. She was so careful to make sure that she checked _twice. _Then she was even going to the extent of diluting the different ingredients into the ten crystal phials of the Golpalott theory, something you only needed to do to ensure you had properly identified your poison. Slughorn gave a pleased nod at my potion, moving to inspect my brother's behind me. All he received in response was a cough.

I tried not to smile, I really did – but how could I not? Harry must not have done anything to his venom, then. Just let it boil in his pewter cauldron. Disgusting...but good.

Again ahead of everyone else, I moved to the other poison I actually could identify – Aconite. Boiled Aconite to be precise. It was easy enough to follow the exact same process; only now the daisy stems were switched with porcupine quills, the pomegranate with cranberry, and of course there was also added tadpole skin; but those things were easy and any moron would know them.

Alright, no they wouldn't, but luckily for me it was easier to get that one finished than the first.

Finally I was down to the poison I couldn't identify – it was a muddied green and gave a harsh stench as soon as I dared to uncork the vial. It was thick as it slid from the glass into my cauldron, a good portion of it clung to the glass after I had dumped it upside down and I shook it a bit to make sure I had gotten as much of it into the cauldron as I could manage. I knew instinctively that I should have known the poison, but it wasn't making sense to me – should I have done it the proper way, like Hermione had told me to, or should I take the time to play around with it?

After a few minutes of playing around with it and trying to dilute it into something I recognized, I decided to follow Hermione's example and go about it the textbook way. Waving my wand over it, however, was the biggest problem. But if I used it in the terms of speechless spells – which I was only getting better with – perhaps it would have been easier to...no. There was no part of me that wanted to risk it.

Just as I was about to ask Hermione to do my work for me, I was distracted while Harry nearly ran from his seat behind me to the store cupboard and started rifling through it like he was desperate. Perhaps he was...I hope he couldn't find the ingredient he needed and he failed. Slughorn, who seemed very nervous by my brother's behaviour, shouted that we had two minutes left just as Harry made it back to his seat.

"Didn't find any dignity in there, did you?" I asked him, only to see him shrug sourly, looking away from me with his jaw tight.

"Time's up!" Slughorn called, clapping in his own excitement. "Well, let's see how you've done! Blaise...what have you got for me?"

Slughorn moved around the room, talking to each of us in turn. It seemed, like me, no one had finished the task and had actually been able to identify all three poisons; most could only do one in the time allotted. Even Hermione was struggling to put more ingredients into her cauldron to try and finish as much as she could, she was even further behind than I.

"Well done, Miss Granger – you identified the first, but not the second? Pity. I clearly should have left a longer time frame for this assignment," Slughorn moved over to my cauldron and clapped. "Oh, well done Miss Potter! Onto the third here, I see – and look, these antidotes look spot-on!"

I gave him a large smile, barely containing my pride. "Thank you, sir."

"Very well done, it seems you may have gotten the farthest in the time given...but we still have your brother to check on," he meant it as a joke, but the idea of it hung in the air like smoke. I gave him a grim look, glaring at his back as he passed by my table and back to my brother's. Across the aisle, I watched as Draco's mouth twitched infinitesimally at my reaction. When I made eye contact with him, probably still glaring from the personal insult I had just been given, he gave me a wide smirk and shook his head slightly.

No, Draco, I would not _calm down._ Prat.

Alright, maybe it did calm me down a bit – only because it was fun, keeping all these secrets from people. It was fun having conversations while there are a dozen people in the room who don't hear a word of it. But as fun as secrets were I still have every right to be annoyed with my brother. That was where our common ground had started, after all. I turned around, watching as Slughorn wretched from whatever fumes were coming from Ron's cauldron. He moved over to Harry's still waving the air about his face to try and rid himself of the smell.

"And you, Harry," his voice was still hoarse from the fumes he'd inhaled, "what have you got to show me?"

My brother held out his hand; something like a rock sitting in the middle of his palm. My entire being seemed to clench to try to avoid the onslaught of anger that I knew would hit like a tidal wave. It was a bezoar; a giant hairball from a goats stomach that would, in fact, cure all the poisons we had been issued to find the antidotes for. Son of a _snake._

"You've got a nerve, boy!" Slughorn laughed, taking the bezoar and holding it up so that all of us could see it. "Oh, you're like your mother – well, I can't fault you; a bezoar would certainly act as an antidote to all these potions!"

"Are you joking?" I asked while Hermione let out a growl of her own, bringing the professor's attention back to me. "You asked us to _create _our antidotes! Unless my brother has mysteriously turned into a goat and grabbed that bezoar from his own stomach, it can't count. Besides, he'd never be a goat, he's clearly a purebred jacka-"

"Miss Potter," Slughorn chuckled, cutting me off as if this was all in good fun. "It was well thought; I cannot deny him that. Your sister is right, however, Harry; I did ask for you to _create _your antidote. But still, your idea is the individual spirit a real potion master needs!"

I didn't know it was possible to actually see in bloodied tones until this moment.

What the hell did he mean a _real _potion master?

"Just like your mother, both of you, she had the same intuitive grasp of potion-making, it's undoubtedly from Lily you get it...yes, Harry, yes, if you've got a bezoar to hand, of course that would do the trick – although as they don't work on everything, and are pretty rare, it's still worth knowing how to mix antidotes," he sighed, almost looking begrudged. "I'm afraid your sister is right. She is the victor of this little competition! I'm glad that I've lit the fire beneath the two of you – it will be exciting to see what you come up with now that there's some oomph between you!"

Malfoy gave a rude laugh from where he sat and when I dared to look at him I could swear he was furious _for _me. He knocked his cauldron over, right onto Crabbe, and refused to apologize for the vomit that seemed to decorate the oafs robes. At least something good came of this lesson: Vincent Crabbe learned how his food felt. But that was not enough good to make it worth staying, which was why I was relieved to hear the bell ring. I couldn't be more comforted to leave and get the hell away from these dolts before I committed some sort of felony.

"Time to pack up!" said Slughorn. "And an extra ten points to Gryffindor for sheer cheek!"

I hate this class.

And whoever would have thought I'd hate _Potions_?

My twin is ruining my life.

I turned to my brother, he noticed my fury immediately. "You disgust me."

"You still bloody won," he mumbled. "I can't see why you'd be angry, it's not like we were battling for more Liquid Luck or Veritaserum."

Who cared about the damn Veritaserum? My reputation was much more precious. "You still _cheated!_"

"Says the biggest cheater I know," Harry rolled his eyes. "You've turned into a hypocrite, you know. I see you cheat on your homework at least once a day – don't you normally steal it? Now that you have some competition you want to play fair?"

"Get rid of that book before it hurts someone," I hissed at him. "Or, more likely, before I hurt _you._"

* * *

><p>"What's wrong with you?" Tracey asked before I had even sat down at breakfast on Saturday morning. "You look so...chipper. It's not normal."<p>

"Something's definitely wrong," Daphne agreed quietly, her lips hardly moving – she still didn't speak to me when Theodore was near. He had yet to come down to the Great Hall for breakfast so it seems she didn't feel bad about speaking as long as no one could tell it had been her; it was a strained friendship.

"I don't see why my happiness means something is _wrong,_" I replied innocently, ducking my head down to my plate. I heard a familiar scoff from farther over the table and glared over to the blonde who was rolling his eyes dramatically at me.

"Something or other is always wrong with you, Potter," he described, looking at me with warm, mercury eyes. "We just tend to prefer it when it's against you and not the entirety of the Wizarding population."

He was lucky I knew he was joking, or else my happiness might have included him too.

"You have always known me best," I smiled darkly. His confident smirk did not falter for a moment; there was no need. He knew exactly what I was planning to happen. In fact, he had pushed it as soon as I told him that I had an idea. And then he had nursed that idea between kisses last night – and the day before that – and the day before that – so that I would follow through on it. He probably would have been even more encouraging were we to actually spend significant time together, but the minutes between when he would leave the Room of Requirement to when we got back to the Slytherin room was our personal time. It wasn't my fault that we tended to get distracted for a few hours along the way.

"_YOU!_" The entire Great Hall seemed to silence so that they could watch as Pansy Parkinson stormed towards me, her finger pointed and shaking. "You did attacked our dormitories!"

"Oh, dear, was there another prank pulled on your room?"

"Not just mine and you know it!" Parkinson barked, stomping her foot and wagging her finger as if I were some kind of pet that had misbehaved. "What did you _do_? Take it back!"

"You really should have taken a shower, Pansy," I told her seriously, frowning dramatically. "Then you wouldn't be here arguing for your friends – who have been punished in Godric knows what way..."

"How the hell do you keep getting into our bathrooms?"

"I didn't step foot in your bathrooms," I smiled, folding my hands in my lap and shrugging. "But luckily for you I do happen to have the antidote to your little problem."

"What problem?" Tracey asked, unable to hold in her smile as she leant forward. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing but brew the potion. I was not the one to put it into their shampoo and I was not the one to activate it – that was all on them," I told her factually. "I did however make them look as ugly as all those little insults of theirs...making them now look like hideous multicoloured clowns."

Tracey began to cackle. Lillian quietly followed suit. The rest of the table tried to hide what I knew was no less than a chuckle.

"Give me the antidote, Potter," Pansy threw her hand towards my face, nearly slapping it. "Or I'll tell Professor Snape!"

"Go ahead," I told her honestly. "You see, I'd be more than happy to brew you the antidote to the potion that I created myself, which no one else has heard of, and I won't even be nasty about it. You see, someone recently told me that I was too hard on people, that I did things without thinking and was just as bad as the 'tormentors' I complain about," I explained calmly, refusing to look to see if Theodore was yet sitting down at the table with us. "So I don't want to ruin anyone's reputation with it. All I want is a genuine, public apology from you lot and I'll give you the antidote. No tricks."

"No tricks?" Pansy hissed. "This was a trick in itself!"

"It was a result of your own actions," I growled, my voice rasped itself while it tried to fight the anger and smugness I was trying to conceal. "If you can't handle it then perhaps you shouldn't have pretended like you were above consequences in the first place."

"I think those terms are fair, Parkinson," Lillian said formally, having composed herself. "All they have to do is come down here and apologize for the multiple hexes you've all placed on her. I think it's quite fitting and that she's being much more kind than she _should _be."

"Come on, Pansy," Daphne said, trying to keep her voice from being too condescending even though I was comforted to hear she was not on her side. "Just get Astoria down here to apologize for the Paint-Splatter Hex."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to, she refuses to leave the dormitory," Pansy growled. "Which you _knew _would happen when you dyed her every colour of the bloody rainbow."

"Well, isn't that sad," I pouted dramatically. "I completely sympathize with her, of course, after being splattered red so many times. It was terrible constantly having to go to class looking like an art project awry – but I faced it. I'm sure she could face it for her cure, couldn't she?"

"Is there a problem, students?" Both Professor Slughorn and Professor Snape had walked up to the group of us after sensing the problem that had quieted half the hall. Pansy immediately brought out her finger again, pointing at me and bristling.

"She put a potion in our shampoo again and she won't give us the antidote!"

"Unless the potion triggered an obscene amount of disrespect in its victims," Snape drawled towards her with his lip curled. "I do not believe there is need to be spoken to in such a way. Miss Potter, are these allegations true?"

"Oh, completely," I answered him with the most innocent eyes I could muster. "I've already told her that they will get the antidote after they apologize for their treatment of me this year. It's not actually much I'm asking, of course, but they refuse to face what I had to and come in front of people to say it."

"You could be the bigger person and not put them through the same ridicule you faced," Snape offered with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I suppose I probably could." I left it at that. There was no reason to lie to him and tell him I _would._

"Detention, Miss Potter," Snape sighed, sounding almost tired. He had said the words multiple times, I supposed. "And it will continue until your victims are cured of your little plan of vengeance."

"Good," I smiled to him, trying hard to keep it from turning into a grimace even though I was sure he could tell. "It's good to know that with my step back into my old reputation, all the perks come with it."

"And just how long do you think you'll be serving detention with me, at this rate?" He asked, still sounding bored. I looked over to Pansy who was positively red faced. I couldn't help but smile.

"At least a month, sir. But it's all for a good cause."

"Detention is not a charity case," Pansy growled. "It's a punishment!"

"Your faces are punishment enough," I answered her with a wicked grin. "The fact they'll stay that way is _my _donation to society's sense of entertainment."

"My office, Potter, seven o'clock," Snape growled. "Every day until this mess is cleaned."

"You'll run out of patience far before I will, Professor," I turned to Pansy. "And you'll decide to find new friends before you find the antidote on your own."

It didn't come as a surprise to me that Snape gave me detention every night until the antidote was given to my victims. As much as I didn't want to spend time with Severus Snape, I particularly wasn't ready to let my tormentors stop suffering. And I was lucky; for my first week of detentions, Snape wasn't actually present – instead, I was handed off to other teachers to do their dirty work such as cleaning under desks, cleaning poor potion cauldrons, and once cleaning up the explosion that Finnegan had caused in the Charms room.

What they failed to realize was that 'no use of wands' was not the same as 'no use of magic' for me – so the jobs were not as awful as they hoped they would be and they certainly were not punishment enough to give them my potion's antidote. By the second week, there was nothing more that the teachers could do but wait for my forgiveness, so they insisted that the Slytherins attend their classes until I decided to be lenient. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

Millicent Bulstrode had probably gotten off easiest in her new appearance: sapphire blue hair, a vague appearance of having oranged through a tanning bed, along with lime green eyebrows and a matching colour of lips.

Alya Rivers had it worse; her short hairstyle was now a beautiful neon yellow – which I happened to know glowed in the dark – while her skin was tinged a faint green, eyebrows a bright magenta, and I had made sure that her lips were as black as night considering her mouth was a black hole of ruthlessness.

But Astoria Greengrass? Now that was a punishment befitting her crime. Her normal wheat blond hair that was always bounced up in curls now looked like a clown's twisted mop of neon orange – it was about time she understood the lives we redheads lead. And since she thought she was _so funny_ with all her pranks, I decided to make her into the clown she thought she was; vibrant pink skin that looked painful, black eyebrows that I made look much more thick, a mustard yellow stain on her lips – and the skin around it to make her mouth look as big as she always pretended it was – and I finished off my piece of art by giving her a bright red nose.

No; there was no amount of detention that could make me take that away.

People took well to their adversity. Well for me, of course, not well for them. People couldn't help but snicker as they jittered from classroom to classroom and apparently poor Astoria was forced to sit in the back of all her classes because her hair stood too high for people to see past her. I also enjoyed watching how every day after class they would go to the hospital wing to try out a new possible antidote; it never worked. In hindsight, I wish I would have made it so every time they tried a false one, the effects would have gotten worse.

I'll have to save that for next time.

It was nice to see two of my fellow students – both Bulstrode and Rivers – had decided they were brave enough to face coming to our first Apparition Lesson two Saturdays later. They were the only colour that seemed to decorate the bare Great Hall around us and all the tables had disappeared, but our heads of houses stood where they once were placed – Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Sprout were looking at all of us quite seriously.

How could they be so serious? Apparition meant the freedom to transport yourself anywhere you can imagine – _literally – _I don't see why they needed to look so morose. In front of them stood a small man, likely our Instructor as provided by the Ministry. He was a wispy man – his features colourless from his hair to his eyelashes to his skin tone...I could only imagine the envy Bulstrode and Rivers were feeling right about then.

"Good morning," the Ministry Wizard greeted us as we arrived and converged into a giant clump in the center of the room. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry-Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition test in this time-"

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" Professor McGonagall's bark brought everyone's eyes around to Draco, who was now looking red-faced and vicious as he took a step away from Crabbe. I nearly felt bad for Crabbe – as I was the one who had inadvertently gotten him in trouble. But he should have been keeping guard last night as well, which he hadn't been doing because like the time I had finally found where Malfoy was, he'd rather have gone to dinner than watch over him.

"-by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test," Twycross continued on as though there had been no interruption. "As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The Headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practise. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try."

Great. Now I felt challenged. But really, what would it take for these people to start understanding they were dealing with teenagers who wanted nothing more than to prove everyone wrong? They needed a bit more foresight.

"I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

I moved exactly five steps back from where I had been and both Tracey and I yelled at Seamus Finnegan when he tried to invade that place we had left in front of us. He gave me a glare to which I gave him a more intimidating one and he intelligently moved to the other side of the Hall. I was surprised when I found that Harry was making his way over to me.

"You're joining the Dark Side?" Tracey asked as my brother came and took the spot next to me. "Welcome, Potter. You're not really our stereotypical villain but..."

"What do you want?" I sighed, placing my hands on my hips. Harry was telling me to lighten up on the Slytherins; which to a degree I understood. I understood that no matter who the underdog was, Harry would always cheer for them. Which was wonderful when I was the underdog...now that I'm not, it wasn't as endearing. "If you're here to lecture me again, I'm really not in the mood."

"What would I be here to lecture you for?" Harry whispered. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why are you..." I stopped when his eyes flickered in front of me. Ah – of course. Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy had positioned themselves in front of me – as Draco was usually close by – and Harry just couldn't stand to stick to the background and hear what was going on. He had to be right in the action.

"I don't know how much longer, all right?" Malfoy shot at the lard beside him, trying to keep his voice down and failing. Tracey looked at me carefully, before I quirked my head to my brother. "It's taking longer than I thought it would. Look, it's none of your business what I'm doing, Crabbe, you and Goyle just do as you're told and keep a lookout! I don't want to find out again that you've left for dinner and let-"

"What on Salazar's green earth," I said, quite loudly. "Are you blabbering about?"

Draco turned his gaze on me and it immediately sneered when he saw that my brother was beside me. I tried showing him with my eyes that this was not something that should be discussed here, nor did I want it to turn into something that would be discussed and lead to _me._

"You know, I tell my friends what I'm up to, if I want them to keep a lookout for me," Harry said, his eyes meaningfully narrowed towards Draco. My blonde ally looked like he was going to grab his wand but I moved forward and grabbed hold of his arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I hissed, my voice low. "Because I'd have to protect my brother and that is not in your best interest, is it, Dog Breath?"

And to protect Draco and myself, I would have to do it. I could just see it now, me getting in the middle of he and Harry while they went about their various new pass-times: Draco's Death Eater business, Harry's Stalking Draco obsession...and here I would be, playing keep-away like a monkey.

Draco's jaw tensed, he understood my meaning but did not enjoy that he was being told what to do by me, or anyone for that matter, while in public. I allowed myself to go back between Harry and Tracey when he seemed to have thawed a bit – my friend rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Men. What a ridiculous subspecies."

"Gender," I corrected with a laugh.

"No," she said, sounding quite serious despite her smirk. "I mean subspecies. No one of my feminine species talks about their bowel movements, latest lays, and sports like _that _breed does."

We quieted our laughter as best we could when the four Heads of House shouted for our silence. It only made it harder not to laugh at the images of deformed dog breeds that had come to the forefront of my mind – but we managed to keep it to a dull wheeze.

"Thank you," said Twycross. "Now then..."

With a wave of his wand, old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor five feet away from me...and, with another look, I noticed they were in front of everyone around me as well.

"The important things to remember when Apparating are the three Ds!" said Twycross, sounding increasingly like Professor Flitwick with his ridiculous amount of enthusiasm. "Destination, Determination, Deliberation!

"Step one: fix your mind firmly upon the desired _destination_. In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

I stared at my hoop, letting out a sigh. There was a scuff mark on the one side of the flooring under my circle. It looked a lot lighter than the dark wood that was atop it. Could it have been a stain to make the wood so dark, or was this kind of wood specifically lighter in the middle? Was this the proper kind of concentration you were supposed to be putting into a circle we were aiming for?

"Step two," said Twycross, "focus your _determination_ to occupy the visualised space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"

Well, that seemed ridiculous. I had no real motive to get into that little circle – and why would I want to? It was a little circle, five feet away. What I really wanted was to give Malfoy a firm piece of my mind – talking about his stupid mission in the middle of the Great Hall, how stupid did he think Crabbe was? Because he had just proven he could be as dimwitted. As if he were a stupid, deformed dog like Tracey had said.

"Step three," called Twycross, his voice moving to an airier and more ominous note. "And only when I give the command...turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with _deliberation_. On my command, now...one-"

Holy shite, we were going to be doing this _now?_

I turned my concentration back to that scuff in my hoop.

" – two – "

What were the three D's? Destination, Determination, Dilapidation? No. That couldn't be it.

"-THREE!"

I didn't bother spinning on the spot as most others did. I wasn't going head first into something that I wasn't ready for – even though everyone else seemed to do it with little worry about the consequences. Harry almost fell over because of how energetically he had spun on his heel. Neville had landed flat on his back, Ernie Macmillan had done a kind of leap into his hoop and looked thrilled for a moment before he caught sight of Dean Thomas pointing and laughing at him, and Alya had joined the ranks of the fallen tryers and was now covering her face with her arms – which only made it worse as her hair was glowing in the shadow of it.

Yes, I certainly preferred not trying to trying and failing.

"Never mind, never mind," said Twycross dryly, if he hadn't expected anything better, perhaps he should have told us that considering everyone else was back to having conversations of their own. "Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions..."

Which was pointless considering nothing happened the second time, either.

"This is ridiculous," I heard Draco mutter in front of me. "I have better places to be than spinning like I'm in some dance class-"

"Better places like where?" Harry asked immediately, earning himself a foul glare from the taller boy. "The same places that Crabbe and Goyle have been playing lookout?"

God _damn _it. Harry knew. And he was going to _continue _to work it out because Crabbe and Goyle, those oafs, knew nothing about being discrete. And once I was finally dragged into this, which I certainly _would _be, I would be royally screwed over.

"Alright, let's try again! Remember – Destination, determination, deliberation!" Twycross cheered. "On three. One – two – three!"

I spun on my heel and felt the sickening tug of my body – then it felt like I was being compressed – something was pushing me and trying to turn me into something small and throwable, before I tottered and fell on my arse. There was a moment that I groaned, easily able to tell that I had landed on the side of my hoop before I felt someone bend down.

"Congratulations, Potter. You landed in my trap," looking up, Draco Malfoy was looking down at me, his arms crossed but his face held a smirk of amusement. I looked around myself for a moment and then leaned slightly to the side to see I had not landed in _my _circle, but six feet farther away in _his._

"Do I need to find you a Chocolate Frog?" he asked cockily. I rolled my eyes – yes, yes, I got it. It was now quite obvious I was thinking about him...great. He'd never let me live _that _down.

"Oh, well done over there!" Twycross shouted a bit as he moved through the crowd to come toward me. He gave me a hand up and I watched as Snape and Draco gave a quick glare to one another that I was hoping no one – particularly the prying eyes of my brother – was able to pick up on. "And who are you, Miss?"

"Audrey Potter," I answered, wincing. That wooden hoop had done a disservice to my arse cheek.

"The first to fully be able to – oh my," the instructors eyebrows raised up to his hairline, "were you standing back here, Miss Potter?"

"I was."

"Well, that was not really the destination you wanted to go. Try to get it in your own hoop – but still, well done on being the first to fully make it." He clapped and turned away from me. "Now let's try again! You've now seen it's possible, so let's try once more. One – Two – Three-"

There was a horrible bellow of pain and for a moment we all swivelled our heads trying to find the source of the sound before I noticed in horror that Susan Bones was wobbling in her hoop...her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started.

The Heads of House moved forward so that they could help her and with a puff of purple smoke, Susan was hole again and coughing as if she had never screamed bloody-amputation at all.

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," said Wilkie Twycross sounding apathetic, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation ... thus-" Twycross turned gracefully on his heel and in a swirl of robes vanished before suddenly reappearing at the back of the Hall. We all twisted our heads to watch in awe. "Remember the three Ds, and try again... one – two – three-"

By the end of the hour, I was bored. I had managed to be able to pop in and out of my hoop like a regular teleporter. Part of me hoped that we would see some more splinching, but Susan Bones had stolen the show earlier on and no one dared try to beat it. So instead, I was stuck bouncing into my hoop – out of my hoop – into my hoop – out of my hoop.

Part of me knew I should be proud, but no one else was so the accomplishment felt tainted.

At least this meant I would be able to focus on my Animagus studying a little bit more easily.

"Until next Saturday, everybody," Twycross was still, impressively, motivating. He sounded like this kind of thing happened – or rather didn't happen – all the time. "And do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation."

With a wave of his wand that vanished the hoops, he moved to walk out of the Great Hall, but not before stopping and shaking my hand with a smile. "It's not often I get to meet such a fast learner. You must be well apt with Wandless Magic."

"She is quite well versed in Cantated Magic," Snape corrected. Wandless magic and Cantated magic were pretty much the same thing – but I was not in the mood to get stuck into one of Snape's lectures considering he was already upset enough with me to keep me in detention.

"Well, good for you, Miss Potter! I can't wait to see what you can accomplish in the next few lessons."

With that, he left the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall and groups of friends began to converge again. Harry moved over to Ron and Hermione, while Lillian and Tracey circled around me.

"I'm glad that one of us got it before that do-gooder," Lillian muttered, frowning over to Hermione who looked utterly flustered. "No offence, Audrey."

"No need to apologize, any time I can win against Hermione Granger is a good thing in _anyone's _mind. Possibly even her own," I sighed, only to feel myself be pulled back abruptly. I looked up to see Malfoy looking back down at me from behind.

"We should chat."

"Can't you find someone else's time to waste? I'm busy," I complained, even if it was a complete lie.

"You don't really have much of a choice," it certainly felt that way sometimes. I let him lead me out of the Great Hall, ignoring the eyes around us. I could tell that the hold he had on my robes did not look too friendly, but luckily it wasn't uncomfortable while he steered me through the corridors at arms length. When we were out of ear-shot, I turned around.

"You know, if we keep snogging in corridors, we're eventually going to get caught." I told him, raising a teasing brow. "Besides, you're supposed to wait until _after _my detention. That's when I'll actually want you around."

"So you don't want me around now?" He frowned. "Clearly all those times you've been dropped on your head are starting to impede on your judgement."

"Why ever would I want you around, Draco?" I mocked. I moved forward to kiss him but he took hold of my shoulders and pulled me back. I couldn't help the sting that it left – and the anger it brought up. "What now?"

"You know, if I actually enjoyed spending time with you – which I don't – and if it wouldn't give you too much of a big head, I'd tell you I was something near proud of you right about now," he informed. I felt myself smile.

"What, learning to Apparate?" I shrugged. "It was nothing."

"There's that head of yours filling up the hall. Leave enough room for us to breathe, will you?" he moved to kiss the top of my head before tugging on a piece of my hair as if to prove how much of a giant mess it was. "You're back to yourself at least. It's nice to know there's someone with even worse intentions than I have."

He was not playing fair because he was obviously lying.

"I think we'd need to compare," I told him carefully, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "Why don't you tell me your dirty deeds so I can tell you just how horrible they are compared to mine?"

"Those tend to make you uncomfortable, Potter," he whispered, making my face warm instantly. Yes, he liked to mention dirty deeds that I did _not _approve of in relation to me.

"Then you could tell me other things...like what you're doing in the Room of Requirement?"

Draco pulled away from me instantly, looking at me with pursed lips. "We agreed not to talk about it."

"We can't just ignoreit," I sighed, slapping my hands against my sides. "Besides, if you really wanted to work everything out you would tell me – two minds are better than one. Particularly if it's _mine_ that's being added."

"Just because you're ruthless does not mean that you can out-think this," he grumbled, looking stern. "Not all problems are puzzles, Potter. Some problems are lethal and those don't have pretty pictures where you feel self-sufficient."

"Then you'd best tell me so I can know which poisons I'm supposed to be avoiding," I told him, walking up to him. He made a face like he was annoyed with me – yes, we had talked about being each other's poison before. How true it seemed now that we were encouraging each other to leave our 'sides' behind. "Just _trust _me, Draco. You're a moron if you don't."

Again, Draco silenced. As he always silenced himself when this was brought up. I couldn't help but wonder if he silenced so that he wouldn't let something slip, or if he really was debating saying something that could be detrimental later. I sighed, leaning my head on his chest and hitting his chest with my hand.

"You're infuriating."

"Also a moron, I've heard."

I smirked, looking up at him. "_Definitely _a moron. A moron who had best save me from detention tonight or he will get no snogging for a week."

"A _week_?" He sounded disgusted. "What is wrong with you? Criminals are treated with more respect than that!"

"You don't _have _to be a criminal, do you, Malfoy?" I told him with a frown. His playful nature dropped and he frowned at me, not moving forward to convince me not to go to detention as he usually did. "Oh, and please don't use Crabbe and Goyle as lookouts anymore, Harry's suspicious. Go back to the common room, just for tonight, and keep a low profile. I'm sure he's on the map looking for you. So just...play it safe, for once. I have to go to detention and we will talk about this after."

He huffed and let me go with not so much as a kiss on the forehead. Still, I was just glad to get out of there – I had even more things to think about now.

Walking to Snape's office was a familiar path, but I missed the way it once looked with all his potion's ingredients. Now it was just full of Dark Magical objects and then all the things that took the effects from them away. He barely looked up as I walked in, not waiting for him to invite me, before I sat down in the desk closest to his own. He looked up briefly from his papers before pointing to the seat across from him.

"You can sit with me today."

"It's not like I can help you grade papers anymore," I muttered, remembering back to the old days with more fondness than I should have. "Am I here for you to lecture me?"

"Are you here because you have a choice otherwise?" He quipped back. I fell into the seat across from him stubbornly, making it as loud and obnoxious as possible. He looked at me for a long moment before he decided to lay down his quill. "You are irritably intuitive, Miss Potter. You are right, I think it would be wise that we _talk_."

"So a lecture. Or is it one of those situations where the 'talk' either includes vague pleasantries or we aim straight for the jugular?"

"I'm one for precision," he responded simply. "We may as well talk about the reason you're here, to begin. What potion did you use on Miss Rivers, Miss Bulstrode and Miss Greengrass?"

"One of my own making," I told him just as confidently, folding my hands in my lap. "And they won't get the antidote for it until my terms are met."

"And those terms were what, exactly?"

"A simple apology, professor. I'm not being greedy – well, overly greedy. I want nothing more than to forgive them and be forgiven so we can start with a clean slate," it sounded fake even to me, which was why I was not at all surprised when he rubbed his temple in irritation.

"So, assuming I'm correct, you have wasted your time in making a potion to humiliate them. You will not allow them the cure until they rectify the humiliation they brought to _you_ and the reason you have accepted these detentions without complaint for over two weeks would be?"

"Because I was living with their torment for far over two weeks," I smiled, though I almost felt like I was baring my teeth.

"And was this torment only from your three victims?"

"No, of course not. There were more of them – but some of them got lucky and avoided the placement of the potion on them by a bad habit of hygiene."

He blinked slowly, trying to avoid rolling his eyes. "Such as?"

"Pansy Parkinson, for the most part. The others wouldn't have clashed so badly, but I would have made my point through them as well."

"So am I to understand that you had the ability to put this potion into the entirety of Slytherin House's possession and yet you did not?" He looked at me carefully, his eyes narrowed. I felt like he was grasping for some concept here that I wasn't understanding – something I had always loved about Snape was that we tended to be on the same page, we were able to read each other...it was upsetting to know how much had changed in these past few months.

"I only did to those who have ruined my year," I told him slowly, feeling like I suddenly needed to watch my words more closely. "It's not that hard to follow."

"Mr Nott and Mr Malfoy always seem to make it out of your pranks unscathed," he said just as slowly. I felt my posture stiffen as I looked at him, understanding dawning. "Is there a reason for that?"

"Theodore doesn't deserve my pranks. Neither does Draco." I watched his nostrils flare for a moment before he leaned foreward.

"Am I to assume that you and Draco Malfoy are once again an _item_?"

"Oh, Godric, no!" I laughed, concentrating hard to make it condescending. "_Items _ended in 1942, sir. Now we would like to be called _boyfriend and girlfriend._"

Snape seemed like he may spontaneously combust with this information – which made me worriedly wonder whether or not I should have told him. It's true that he worked for our side so I had no doubts he wouldn't bring it up at the next Death Eater potluck dinner, but that didn't mean that Draco wanted him to know. In fact, it seems that Draco has been very against Snape knowing any of his business this year – maybe I should have been thinking the same...

"Draco Malfoy is not to be trusted. You know his family," Snape began. I cut him off angrily.

"You mean like he knows mine? You're right, I do, and guess what: neither of us are particularly fond of them at the moment," I informed him. "We don't like being told what to do."

"Oh you're so naive, Potter. You're young and foolish – I remember how it was. And you're wrong, everything you envision is _wrong_," he informed. Though I highly doubted anyone would ever be able to love someone like Snape in a romantic way, I didn't like how intimately I felt I was being chastised. "These feelings won't last forever, these good days will go away – one of you will leave the other and the one scorned will look for revenge. They'll haunt everything about you – your life, your hopes, your dreams...and it will all be because of how naive _you _are."

"I am not naive!" I raged, gripping the sides of my chair. "You can't tell me what to do, what Draco to do – this isn't about the Order or the Death Eaters and it most certainly has nothing to do with _you_!"

"Is that what's he's told you?" Snape nearly jeered. "Because Draco Malfoy has fallen exactly where his father _placed _him. He didn't land farfrom the tree – he's still _attached _to it."

"I trust Draco more than I trust you, _professor_," I narrowed my eyes, I could feel my sneer nearly deforming my face. "At least he tells me things!"

"Tells you things?" Snape barked out a cruel laugh. "Oh, how I doubt that."

"He does," I hissed back to him, my nails biting into the wood and the skin under them aching. "I know more than _you. _And I know exactly why you _want _to know so badly."

Snape seemed slightly put off by this, if his silence was any indication. He couldn't tell whether or not I was bluffing and he couldn't tell whether or not what I _thought _I knew was what I _shouldn't _have known. I knew that he should have been going to the Order with this information about Draco – but for some reason he had not. Maybe it was because he'd made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa as they had argued at Christmas, or maybe it was because Draco was clearly hiding things from him so he had no proof to go back to the Order with...

Still, I couldn't help the smug satisfaction that I had just won.

Snape looked at me, his eyes fierce as he took a calming breath.

"That boy will sink you faster than quicksand," his voice was hardly a whisper but it somehow seethed with hot fury. "I don't know why you enjoy drowning, Miss Potter, but I swear to you-"

"Maybe I'm not drowning," I snarled back, my fists clenching. "Maybe I'm not even sinking. Maybe I'm just falling into-"

"What?" Snape asked, his voice suddenly a bark. "_Falling in love_?"

"That's not what I was going to say," I said immediately, shaking my head and feeling sick just at the mention of it. "I was going to say falling into _your _responsibilities!"

"Is that what this is, Miss Potter," Snape was sneering now, somehow sounding condescending while at the same time looking as if I had just whipped dung at him instead of what I had thought was a well-placed insult. "Have you fallen in _love _with Mr Malfoy?"

"No," I said strongly. "We have _fallen _into an understanding. We fancy each other – that does not amount to love. And if you would start doing your job instead of criticizing mine-"

"Do my job?" He repeated, sounding skeptical. "And just what is my job?"

"To keep us all safe!" I shouted, slamming my fists on his desk and revelling in the sound of the wood groaning and cracking under the pressure of my anger and Magnuse. "I've told you everything that I know – I let you read every vision I've had, I've let you into my mind and through my every thought...but you couldn't just warn me? You couldn't have warned me what was happening, could you? Did you think I couldn't take it? Did you think that I would play dumb and not pry? You should have _told me_!"

"I don't know what it is you believe I should have told you," he leaned in after a long moment of his desk nearly splitting in two before he spoke. "But whatever we – being Draco _and _I – decided not to tell you was for _your _benefit. I assure you that what you _think _you know is not _half _of what you should."

"I care for him, Snape, what I don't care for is what you think," I crackled, leaning on the broken fragments of his table. "But if I have any way to help him, I won't be able to do it on my own...so why haven't you? Why haven't you _told _anyone? He trusted you – _I _trusted you..."

"And just what do you think you know, Miss Potter?"

I sneered, my eyes smouldering. "I know _everything._"

Nothing more needed to be said and when Snape realized it, he let me leave early. Well, he may not have actually let me leave early, but he did wave his hand at me in a dismissive manner and turned back to his grading – pretending as if I _hadn't _watched while he snapped his quill in half. Either way, I knew I wouldn't want to be there when he found his words, so I was quick to dash out before the subject rose again.

I didn't see Draco until the next morning, because even he gave himself a break from whatever-it-was he did on Sundays now that I was around and wouldn't have detention for it. I asked him once if he had used to take Sundays away from his 'project' but he had answered that he hadn't had a reason to be tempted to until my detentions had been lifted for the one day a week – it was nice to be thought of, even if he had tried to grope me afterward.

"It's mad that they're still keeping you for detention," Tracey said as she finished the bacon on her plate. "You'd think they'd understand by now that fear of detention is not what's driving your motives."

"I think they're doing it to appease the parents," Lillian responded thoughtfully from over her copy of the _Daily Prophet. _"They have to know by now it's not going to convince you – but to say they haven't tried?"

"I think they're just doing it because I haven't gotten enough detentions this year and now they have to squeeze them all into their smaller timeframe," I shrugged noncommittally, grabbing two pieces of toast. It was hard not to grin as Malfoy, with a roll of his eyes, knew to slide over the strawberry jam that we both favoured. That boy and his encouragements to eat seemed to never end...

"How was detention with good ole Snape?" Tracey asked, placing her elbows on the table now that she wasn't eating – she was taught proper etiquette but even for her, that was considered rude. "You haven't been seeing much of him lately."

"I haven't wanted to see much of him," I thought back to the night before and felt my frown turn into a sneer. "He's being a right arse since he got the post he's always longed for."

"He is quite good at it," Lillian frowned. "I just wish that he'd be the way he was when he was Potions Master while he's working in Defense – is that so much to ask?"

"Apparently so," I muttered, moving to put my jam onto my toast. "He says some choice words about his own students nowadays. It's everything he used to be against."

"Choice words about who?"

My eyes flickered over to Malfoy who purposefully didn't move his own eyes. He knew. He knew that I was talking about him, but to not draw attention I shrugged and moved to my second slice of toast. "No one important. And no one who deserves it – I like it more when he insults Harry."

"Not many people do insult him nowadays," Tracey sighed. "Don't you remember last year when everyone treated him as if he carried the plague? I miss those days."

"As do I," I drew out the words, taking a few bites from one piece of my toast before standing. "Well, I'm taking this with me."

"Taking it where?"

"Going to help Hagrid look after the Thestrals," I lied, taking another calm bite out of my toast. I knew that if I used my half-giant friend as an excuse none of them would even consider following me.

"Didn't you finish that project months ago?"

"Yes, but as I'm one of the few who can see them, he likes when I help tend to them," I lied. It was almost shocking that I could somehow get _better _at lying than I already was and yet the words came out flawlessly. "It's one of the only classes I'll get a high mark in, I may as well go for a straight O."

"Why can't he get someone else?" Tracey drawled. "Like someone who actually _has _watched someone d-"

She cut herself off and it seemed like the entire group of us quieted. We couldn't say that anymore. Sure, at one point it was strange that I could see Thestrals because I had never seen someone die...but that wasn't the case anymore. Everyone knew that I had seen someone die. And even though most didn't know I had _caused _the death – that I had been the one to _murder _Thuban Nott – everyone was well aware that I had been part of the conspiracy.

"I don't even know why I come to breakfast," I muttered lowly, throwing the uneaten half piece and untouched piece of toast back onto my plate. "I hate everything about it."

"Audrey, I'm sorry-" Tracey started.

"Forget it," I grumbled, turning away. "I'm late."

I was surprised by the speed I walked out of the Great Hall, I was surprised it didn't bring more attention my way – or maybe it did and I was too red faced to want to check. Luckily I managed to be even more surprised when no one tried to chase after me. I weaved through corridors and up staircases just to make sure that anyone who caught sight of me wouldn't be able to pinpoint where I was going, it was necessary to do every Sunday now, and by the time I made it back to the Third Floor corridor and to the statue of the Humpbacked witch, I was out of breath. I couldn't tell if I was so winded from my general use of muscles that didn't exist or if it was from my personal upset. Possibly both.

Luckily I didn't have to think on it long before I was found.

"Here," his voice was low as he moved himself behind the statue with me. "You should stop bunking meals or else people may hound you again."

He threw me a green apple that I took and rolled between my palms. I looked up at him, his eyes so hidden in shadow that I couldn't tell whether they were closed off to me or not – would he talk to me today? Would he be upset when I talk about yesterday? Draco moved to sit beside me either way, looking up and around himself with his typical sneer.

"Please do remind me why I'm hiding behind a statue in filth instead of wishing for some grand impressive lounge in the Room of Requirement?"

"Because Harry's been watching my Map and if he sees you headed up to the Seventh Floor corridor again, he's going to start knowing that he's right," I explained again – I felt like I had explained this quite a few times now. "You need to start running some defense system because he is tracking you everywhere you go."

"Did you not consider that he'll know you're here with me, if he's such a good detective?"

I looked at him skeptically. "There are bigger problems than whether or not he knows we're snogging again – I'd much prefer him think that you've seduced me rather than that you've been seduced by the Dark Lard."

"You've such a way with words," he drawled sarcastically, shuffling around again to get comfortable on the concrete and wrapping his arms around his knees. He looked so much more relaxed when he did it – for some reason his seemed manly, whereas I looked like a frightened child. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to play with your food?"

"Actually, I find in the Wizarding World it's encouraged," I said faintly, moving the apple through my palms a little more slowly. "Sometimes things are served alive."

"So you figure it should be happy and feel like it's having fun before you eat it?"

"Exactly," I drawled in the same sarcastic tone he always held. He smirked down at me before leaning his head back against the statue we leant against.

"Where'd you find this little alcove, anyway?"

"Right under us is a passage way that goes through to Honeydukes."

"Bloody hell," he breathed, straightening slightly. "Then why are we sitting here? Let's do something worth-"

"They've sealed up all the passageways," I interrupted sadly. "They're not so secret anymore. We can thank my brother and his precious guard for that."

"God, this may be a castle but it feels like such a cage," he sighed, mostly to himself, while he ran his hand over his face. I wondered if that's what this really was to him now – a cage keeping him in, instead of keeping the world out. I wondered if he knew there was a difference...then again, why did I think there was?

"Malfoy," I began slowly.

"What?" He sounded irritated and as much as I wanted to snap back at him by instinct, I didn't blame him for it. I didn't like that I was about to upset him more. Maybe I shouldn't even bring it up, his eyes were clsoed as he leaned his head back – it was one of his more peaceful expressions and I wondered if I stayed quiet for long enough, would he be able to sleep? I knew that he was in that Room of Requirement for ridiculous hours...I could only imagine how little sleep he must have gotten with those hours and the stress of the hours he was away from it.

"Do you think if things were different we'd be an item?"

"Who the hell uses the term _item _anymore?" He scoffed. I couldn't help but smirking and looking away from him as I remembered that I had responded in the same way.

"I mean, what would it be like?" I asked simply, pushing the tip of my thumb into the apple and feeling it crunch underneath the pressure. I pulled my finger back to inspect the bruise. "How do you think people would react?"

"Besides most of them being mortified?" He chuckled darkly. "Who cares? Were this something that could work, I don't really mind what people would say. We'd be a scandal, of course; you've landed a very rich, very attractive bachelor and I have tamed the wild beast. Besides that I think people would be more shocked than anything. We play enemies quite well."

"I think the fact we were enemies for so long is what made _this _play out quite well," I snorted back. I watched him smirk, even with his eyes closed. "Would you..._want_ people to know?"

Now his eyes did open and I didn't need a lot of light to know how suspicious they were. "They can't know, we've talked about this."

"I know," I muttered. "I'm not stupid."

"Really? Then why is it I have a feeling they do anyway?"

"I may have mentioned it," I shrugged innocently. "In passing. Offhandedly and bitterly, of course – what other way is there to rub in the face that I am spending so much time with such a rich, attractive bachelor, as you called it..."

"Who?" He asked, his voice low.

"Luckily, as you just said, no one really cares – it's a scandal, but people are more shocked..."

"Who the fuck did you tell, Potter?"

I cleared my throat, looking at him to try not to show how much it really did affect me. "Snape."

"God damn it, Audrey!" He moved to punch the wall but I grabbed his arm, stopping him from inflicting damage more to himself than the century old stone. "What the hell did you say?"

"I was angry, he was angry, he questioned my motives and-" I shook my head. "You know what? It doesn't actually matter. I said what I said and I warned you because I thought you might want to know. I don't regret it so don't be an arse – you should be _glad_. This is what you would have wanted."

"A year ago, maybe-"

"Exactly, glad," I pushed. "You don't have to be such an arse about it. You're lucky I'm not the sensitive, emotional type – my feelings may be crushed by your sudden interest in my personal life."

"Your personal life?" He shook his head, looking as if he were about to explode with fury. "You just don't _get it_, do you, Potter? Snape and I are working for the man who wants to _kill you. _You could have told anyone – Moon, Davis, Greengrass, fucking _Parkinson _and it would have been better than Snape!"

"I highly doubt that Snape is going to say anything," I rolled my eyes. "No matter who he's working for."

"He's on _our _side!" Yes, Draco had said that many times. I still didn't believe him. "Why, what did he say, then?"

"Nothing," I said avoidantly, now bouncing the apple on the ground. The bruising process was much more appealing to me right now than the thought of eating it.

"No, come on then, out with it – what did he say?" He turned towards me. "What could possibly be worse?"

"He just told me that you were a bad idea – that you were quicksand," I muttered, bouncing the apple particularly forcefully. "I told him I fancied you anyway and that he was ridiculous."

Draco groaned, putting his head in his hands. "You're _such_ a moron."

"Because I told him that I fancy you? You're right, absolutely right. I _am _a moron."

"_And _you're a martyr."

"I am _not!_" The insult there was clear.

"You're telling Snape that you fancy me despite me being _wounded_? What are you, some disgusting little prat who nurses injured – oh wait," his eyes narrowed as his voice coated itself with venomous sarcasm. "Yes, you are."

"I nurse animals, Malfoy," I hissed. "And as barbaric as you may be, not even _you _qualify for it. I'm not here to heal you, I'm here because you're one of the few who doesn't drive me insane."

He smirked and let out a grim chuckle. It was not out of happiness but some hidden meaning that I did not know and he would not tell me. As negative as the chuckle was I took that as a better response than what I had heard from him earlier.

"And listen, everything else that's happened," I started slowly. "It's not a big deal. No one in the house suspects it, Snape is not one to gossip, and he's just being such an arse about it because – oh, I don't know, he's trying to-"

"Play your father?" Draco grumbled darkly, kidding his shoe forward a tad as if he were hitting a rock. "Yes, the Dark Lord took note of that, as well."

"He's not playing my f – as well?" I stopped arguing and he stopped immediately as well, looking down at me with eyes that I didn't need to see to know he was starting to close himself off. I could hardly tell if he was breathing now. "What do you mean?"

"The Dark Lord knows about you, Potter," he said simply. "It shouldn't come as such a shock."

"It didn't," I said blinking, my teeth grinding. "Until you hinted that there was more to it."

"I didn't say that."

"You hinted it. What has Voldemort-" he winced and I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes, "-taken note of, Draco?"

He stayed silent.

"Draco, if you can just _tell _me what's going on I can fix it. I've always promised you that I can fix it – I've never been wrong, have I? Have I _ever _lied to you?" But Draco wasn't in the mood. He was never in the mood to talk when I wanted to fix things, he was never in the mood to let me help him – he was more stubborn than I was on my worst day. Clearly I would have to go for the more ruthless approach. "You're going to be the one to hurt me then, are you? Because instead of helping me keep everyone safe – and I mean everyone, Slytherins and Gryffindors alike – you're going to just watch me struggle on my own?"

Now it was dead silence. He couldn't even look at me, which I should have expected; he tended not to like speaking when it wasn't something that lead to snogging. He didn't like talking about his mission or the Dark Lord...which even made a very small part of me feel guilty. I knew the idea of his time with me was to forget about the very things I was trying to make him confess – but if he didn't confess them, how would I _actually _be able to help him?

"Do you want to see a trick?" I asked suddenly. He didn't soften to me, but he did bring his eyes back to mine. I smirked, holding out my hand. "Alright, grab hold of my hand – right – now give me a moment, I haven't done this in...a while."

A while was an understatement. I'd only ever done this little trick in the heat of the moment and I'm pretty sure that had been only a handful of times. There weren't any Dementors coming towards me now, there weren't any threats hanging in the air threatening my life – just Draco and I in an alcove.

I concentrated harder, trying to think of something that would immediately make him talk. I knew I could do this; my abilities had been so strong lately. They had been so reliable. I had been in a good place mentally, physically I was starting to get healthier thanks to everyone eating and emotional ties were much easier when you had someone you felt you could depend on. I didn't want to spin my whole web around Draco, but for once I felt like I had someone I could talk to...even if he couldn't talk to me. And that balance...well. It's exactly what Dumbledore was trying to explain. Balance meant...better powers?

How could I make this work better then. If it was about balance. I needed to think about something that worked for my body, mind and soul - is that what it meant? I don't really know what there was to think about that would be that interesting enough for all three: snogging? Yes, that was probably the best bet for the both of us – something hot and heavy that would shock him by its suddenness. Or maybe I needed to think of something more powerful, something that would get my adrenaline pumping as it usually was when this happened – like when I jumped into the prefect's bath to practice getting used to the water or when I was hexed to think that the glass in the common room that held back the Black Lake had cracked...

"How did you do that?" He asked me, immediately pulling his hand away. "You go from holding hands to..._thinking at me_?"

"Apparently it's Legilimency," I told him. "Another little talent I can do."

"So you can block your mind, invade minds, burn and move things with your hands and detach yourself from your own body – but you can't disarm a threat?" He asked, his eyes narrowed. "What's _wrong _with you?"

"I don't know," I frowned, yanking my hand farther away from him and cradling it with the other. "I've been trying to work it out."

"And that Legilimency was an inner look into your mind?" he asked, his head tilting to the side tauntingly. "Tell me, does your mind always go from snogging to drowning?"

"Not usually," I told him dryly. "It's usually running a bit faster and it's not usually so _happy._"

"So first we talk of the Dark Lord and that's what your mind does in response?" He frowned, crossing his own arms as if he was afraid of me touching him again. I pulled away a bit more, understanding the snub. "That's another thing he'll be trying to find out about then."

I frowned, watching as he inhaled sharply and hit his head against the stone witch behind us. I didn't like seeing him so torn – maybe I should have just left it at thinking about songging. Maybe it would have led to a better conversation. I didn't want to continue fighting with him when we had so little itme together where we could talk...he was right; Harry would find out we were here. We would have to leave. And who knew when he would decide to come out of that bloody room once he slipped past me to go into it again?

Alright. I need a better distraction, then.

"Has he found out about my astounding prank against some of his beloved Purebloods?" I asked, moving forward a bit and watching with pride when I saw his smirk twitch slightly into something closer to a grin. "Or has he found out about how colourful my personality is?"

I knew he wouldn't be able to hold his imagination at bay for long and with the memories of our classmates filling his head, Draco finally smirked. It was a real smirk that wasn't full of grimaces and negativity, but rather one of selfish amusement. "Potter, don't you ever feel bad about the things you do?"

"Of course not," I moved towards him, kissed his jaw lightly and smiling into his skin when I felt his muscles relax under my lips. "-or else I wouldn't do them so bloody well."

"You're insane," he muttered, pulling me more onto his lap so I could get closer to him. I tried to ignore the compromising position and hoped that the statue would hide us as well as I'd want us to be hidden. "You do know that?"

"I've heard things. But the question is, do I drive _you_ insane?" I asked, leaning forward and kissing him lightly. I felt him grip my hips hard and gasped a little as he pulled me even closer. The gasp gave him all the reason he needed to deepen the kiss.

"Incessantly."

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here?" Ron and Harry looked surprised when I just waltzed into their dormitory room on a Sunday morning a few weeks later – I don't know why they would. I used to do this all the time at the beginning of the year. It's as if they forgot I had my own password to the place.<p>

"It's your birthday," I turned to Ron with a large smile, throwing him a present. "Surprise!"

"What are you _really _doing here?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes. I shrugged innocently.

"I am here to give your dearest friend a Birthday present. Then, when we all go downstairs to breakfast, you will find that I have delivered a present to the entire Hogwartian population – all in the name of Ronald's special day."

"Oh no," Ron groaned, my present falling from his hands. "What did you do?"

"Technically I did nothing," I responded innocently with a curt nod. "But the girls will soon be finding something that will look a lot like an antidote in my dormitory thanks to Lillian and Daphne's very loud, misplaced conversation. And, because they'll be taking it without giving me my apology, the day will become _fun._"

"What's in the potion?" Harry asked, nearly sounding frightened.

I smirked, unable to stop myself. It would turn into a full out beaming smile if I kept talking about it. "Should I keep it a surprise? It will be such a good surprise."

"What's in the potion, Audrey?"

"Veritaserum," I couldn't help but cackle at the shock on their faces. "Oh, it's going to be so bloody brilliant! They're going to take the Veritaserum...and they won't just a little because those gluttons will _feast_ on something they think will make them beautiful again and all that's going to happen is I'm going to make them humiliate themselves more!"

"The Veritaserum you won in Slughorn's class?" Harry frowned, running a hand through his hair and messing it as I always did. "Shouldn't you put that to better use?"

"What better use is there than to use it to torment my tormentors?" I rolled my eyes when he still looked at me sternly. I wasn't about to mention that I also planned to question them about the horrible fate that befell my beloved pet. I wanted to keep the conversation light for the morning. "It doesn't matter, I've already started a batch of it to replace what's being used. Actually, I've been starting a few worthwhile potions these past few weeks."

"_Why_?" Ron sneered, sounding more rude than I usually tolerated. I didn't stop from glaring, even if it was his birthday.

"I've had time on my hands."

This was sadly not a lie. I've been waiting for Draco to come out of that blasted Room of Requirement every night and eventually it became a bore. Between trying to throw my brother off his scent and waiting for him when I knew he likely wasn't coming out, I needed something to distract myself as the time crawled by. It didn't help that classes were starting to turn into study-sessions where my mind could wander or that the 'hardest' part of our days was Apparition and that it was hardly worth concentrating over...

So yes, in my down-time I had gone to lining up a few potions. The only one I had trusted with keeping and tending to them was Draco. Sure, he wasn't the most reliable, but he kept them in his dorm room and as no one ever ransacked _his_ it was already a better choice than mine. It helped that I didn't worry about him trying to use any of them because they were far too early to have any effects and he actually understood how they were brewed so he knew the consequences if he tried them too early. Who else would I have trusted anyway? Not my brothert; after all, these potions weren't found in the Half Blood Prince's precious book and my brother wouldn't have a clue how to deal with them.

"So, what else have you gotten?" I asked, hopping onto the foot of Ron's bed by all his presents. I sorted through them briefly. "Not bad."

"Nice one, Harry!" Ron beamed, waving the Quidditch Keeper's gloves that my brother had gotten him. I groaned as he opened my package and saw it was the exact same pair. Instead of being grateful or having any semblance of tact, Ron looked between the two of us as if someone had said someone disgusting.

"The connection between twins scares me," he said ominously.

"Oh come on," I snorted. "It's not actually that difficult to get a Keeper a set of Keeper's gloves. That's not because we're twins it's because some of us have common sense...I don't know what Harry's excuse is," I smiled to myself as both boys rolled their eyes.

"Thanks so much, sister-dearest," said Harry with a sarcasm befitting Draco. "Hey... I don't think he's in his bed..."

Speaking of Draco, I was glad to know he wasn't in the common rooms as Harry was now searching for him. I quickly peaked over his shoulder, asking vaguely who we were looking for and playing stupid. Harry didn't answer me but continued looking at every single name within the Slytherin dormitories. I could have helped him out and told him that I had walked with Draco up to the seventh floor and that I had told him to wait ten minutes until I was here to distract my brother from the map so he could slip into the Room of Requirement unnoticed...but where would be the fun in that?

"Seriously good haul this year!" Ron was mumbling from behind us, talking as if we were actually paying any attention to him. "See what Mum and Dad got me? Blimey, to think I'll come of age next year too..."

"Cool," my brother muttered. He didn't even look to see that Ron was talking about some sort of watch -his eyes were looking for Malfoy the way they flickered to look for the snitch. It was as if he were sure if he caught Malfoy, he would win whatever game his twisted mind had turned this into.

If only it were that easy. If only this were a game.

"Want one?" Ron asked thickly, holding out a box of Chocolate Cauldrons.

"No thanks," said Harry, looking up and groaning. "Malfoy's gone again!"

"Can't have done. Come on. If you don't hurry up you'll have to Apparate on an empty-stomach...might make it easier, I suppose," Ron mumbled, stuffing a second Cauldron into his mouth. He held the box out to me and I smiled, taking a handful and ignoring him when he complained that they were his birthday chocolates and I shouldn't hog them. I shoved two of them in my mouth just so he couldn't take them back from me and almost choked when I laughed at his drop-jawed expression. After I had swallowed them I took the other two at my own pace, more as a congratulations on another move well made than to tease my brother's friend. Malfoy was indiscernible once again; my doing, of course. Were this not likely illegal in so many ways and were it not obviously so against my morals of being safe I would have bragged about all these moves I was making. If I could have, I'd have bragged to everyone – it didn't matter which house, either. I was due some time in the spotlight again. So that people like Romilda Vane could see me now.

I don't know why I didn't offer to ever bring her into my plans for school domination or to humiliate all my enemies – I mean, she must have had tons of enemies. Girls like her always did; the kind ones, the smart ones, the pretty ones. If I didn't know she was such a good person I honestly would have hated her – but how can you hate someone like Romilda Vane? Even her _name _was perfect.

"Ready?" Harry asked us. He was already ready to leave the dormitory.

"To go where?" I could help but ask.

"Er – to breakfast," Harry said slowly. "Are you alright?"

"Can I see the Marauders Map?" I asked briefly. "I want to see if someone's there."

"If who's there?" Harry sighed. "Trust me, we'll know whether or not the Slytherins have taken the Veritaserum when we get there. I'm sure if they drank as much as you say we'll hear them down the – _Ron_?"

Ron had almost collapsed on his bed. I still looked back at my brother, holding my hand out for the map.

"I can't go, Harry," Ron sighed. "I'm not hungry."

Harry stared at him. Even I turned to stare at him.

"I thought you just said-"

"Well, all right, I'll come down with you," Ron grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest like a pouting child, "but I don't want to eat."

"I'm not going down until I find out if she's in the Hall, Harry. Give me the map," I held my hand out in front of his face again. Harry frowned, still looking between Ron and I as if we were aliens.

"You've just eaten half a box of Chocolate Cauldrons, haven't you?"

"It's not that," Ron sighed again. "You...you wouldn't understand."

"Fair enough," said Harry, albeit puzzled, as he turned to open the door.

"Harry!" I said quickly, trying to get his attention before he left. I couldn't go downstairs looking like this – I hadn't worn good robes, I was wearing muggle clothes – was Romilda Vane someone who cared about things like that? I didn't even know – robes would be safer until I knew exactly what colours she liked best. "I can't go down there looking like this – so I need to know if she's there and if I need to change."

"What?" Harry shook his head. "Why would you need to change?"

"Harry, I can't stand it!" Ron suddenly burst. I turned a blazing glare on him while he disturbed my brother from giving me that damned map. I just wanted to look good before I went down there, is that too much to ask? I knew I should have used my enchanted brush today – how will she ever be around me if I have such horrid hair? Her hair was far too nice to be eaten up by mine if we ever were in a picture together...oh, don't be so ridiculous, Audrey. You've never spoken to the girl. Stop daydreaming.

"You can't stand what?"

"I can't stop thinking about her!" said Ron hoarsely. For once I finally knew the feeling, the feeling of being unable to think about anything except for one person. Sure, I'd thought I'd felt it for Draco and in a way he was the one I would definitely prefer to kiss – but that's only because I was totally unworthy of Romilda's time.

Wait, didn't I hear that Romilda had a crush on my brother? Could that be my way in to being her friend? Could I set her up with Harry and make sure he doesn't mess it up?

Oh, bloody hell, of _course _he would mess it up!

"Why does that stop you having breakfast?" Harry asked carefully, sounding as if he were talking to some kind of small child.

"I don't think she knows I exist," said Ron with a desperate gesture. That's exactly how I felt! Had Romilda Vane ever looked my way? No, I doubt it – why would someone like _her _pay attention to someone like _me_? But she did fancy Harry – that could be our common ground. He's my brother, he could be her boyfriend or something – I could play some kind of match maker just to make sure that I had my own time with her!

"She definitely knows you exist," said Harry, bewildered. "She keeps snogging you, doesn't she?"

Ron blinked as I tried to ignore the images of his girlfriend snogging him senseless – I had to see it enough in real life, did I have to imagine it? "Who are you talking about?"

"Who are _you_ talking about?" Harry asked, looking completely lost.

"Romilda Vane," said Ron softly.

"Me too!" I gasped, point a finger at Ron.

While the two of us felt like we were bonding for the first time in our six years of attending the same school, Harry began to roll his eyes. "This is a joke, right? This is another one of your jokes, Audrey."

"I think – Harry, I think I love her," said Ron in a strangled voice.

I clapped, laughing boisterously. "Oh, Ron, she's great, trust me I know...but...you can't be with her. You see, if you're with her then _Harry _can't be with her and then she won't talk to me and-"

"Okay, okay, wait," Harry interrupted me, taking Ron by the shoulders and looking straight at him. "Okay...say that again with a straight face."

"I love her. Have you seen her hair, it's all black and shiny and silky...and her eyes? Her big dark eyes? And her-" Ron gulped and it sounded so honest that it was almost touching. I wish I heard something like that from _my _boyfriend – but _no. _I got in trouble when I even mention that I fancy him to Snape – who used to be the only man I trusted. What would Romilda say if she heard all that? I bet she would have the perfect advice for me. Then again I bet Romilda heard people say they loved her all the time. I wonder if she'd tell me what it's like...

"This is really funny and everything," said Harry impatiently, "but joke's over, all right? Drop it. Whatever you're doing, Audrey – that's enough. Romilda Vane is not worth being late for your prank, don't you think?"

My brother turned to leave and I cheered in pride when Ron socked him right in the ear. Harry pulled out his wand and without a word had Ron hanging upside down by his heel. That was the best speechless spell I'd ever seen my brother perform – maybe he could impress Romilda with that! I looked from between them, wondering if this was the best opportunity to talk Harry into being set up with her now that Ron and his beautiful love confessions were out of the way. No, he still looked too angry, it was probably a better thing if I waited until he saw her and couldn't argue.

"What was that for?" Harry bellowed.

"You insulted her, Harry! You said it was a joke and that Audrey – argh!" Ron growled, flighting slightly against the levitation on his heel. "She's the best thing to ever happen to me!"

I couldn't believe what I was saying: but I agreed with Ronald Weasley wholeheartedly.

What was this world coming to?

I would do a lot of crazy things if it meant that I could spend time with her, though. I mean, Ron really wasn't attractive and honestly, my brother was not worthy of Romilda Vane at all – neither of them were. But how long would it take her to realize it? Hopefully it would last long enough for her to realize that we could be best friends – maybe she'd even share her secrets with me!

Then if she wanted to get rid of Harry, fine.

But what if she left when Harry did?

Salazar's spit, this was a conundrum. Maybe I'd have to give her Draco, then. It'd be painful, but at least he would be happier with her than someone he had to keep secret and was supposed to be killing or whatever it was he was doing in that damned Room.

"Where did you get those Chocolate Cauldrons?"

"They were a birthday present!" shouted Ron, revolving slowly in midair as he struggled to get free. "I offered you one, didn't I?"

"You just picked them up off the floor, didn't you?" Harry sighed, moving so that he could hand them to me. "Who are they from?"

"They'd fallen off my bed, all right? Let me go!"

"They didn't fall off your bed, you prat, don't you understand? They were mine, I chucked them out of my trunk when I was looking for the map. They're the Chocolate Cauldrons Romilda gave me before Christmas and they're all spiked with love potion!"

He was right, the curvy writing on the tag proved it. "It _is _from Romilda!"

Both Ron and I beamed just at the thought.

"Romilda?" he repeated. "Did you say Romilda? Harry – do you know her? Can you introduce me?"

"And me!" I added, throwing the box over to Ron, who caught it whilst upside down. "In fact, you introducing us would be perfect and on our way there I can explain to you my diabolical plan to make you even more famous – we all know you'd love that. You'd definitely be the center of attention and...is there something on my face?"

Harry didn't answer me, he only continued to stare slowly from Ron to myself – his face completely oblivious for a moment. What didn't he understand? Or worse, did he know I was about to use him for my own friendship with Romilda? Godric, I hoped he didn't – he liked to do things in spite of me so often I just know he would ruin it for me!

"Yeah, I'll introduce you," said Harry slowly. "I'm going to let you down now, okay?"

He set Ron crashing down to the floor and turned to me quickly.

"She'll be in Slughorn's office," he told me simply. I beamed.

Could she _get _more amazing? "Does she like potions?"

"Yeah, why will she be in there?" asked Ron hurrying to keep up with us.

"Oh, she has extra Potions lessons with him," said Harry, moving down the stairs and through the small crowd in the common room with ease.

"Maybe I could ask if I can have them with her?"

"Not a chance," I growled, turning on him with a glower. "I'm going to take to tutoring her myself. I'm the only one who could teach her right, anyway – I bet with a little instruction she'll be even better than I am!"

"Great idea," said Harry, continuing to get us through the crowd as quickly as possible. Maybe he _was _interested in her – he seemed in quite the rush to get down there. Even better – if he gave a little more than he did in his relationship with me, we shouldn't have too many problems besides his humiliating lack of charm.

"You're late, Won-Won!" A nasal voice pouted, stopping right in front of us. Ugh, now we had to deal with Lavender Brown? She was going to ruin my day if she interrupted my walking one more time – I had places to be! "I've got you a birthday-"

"Leave me alone," Ron growled impatiently as he side-stepped her. "Harry's going to introduce me to Romilda Vane."

This could be a classic love triangle if all went well! I bet she loves things like that – wait, no. No, she was far too mature to like love triangles...fine. If I had to, I'd tear Ron Weasley down. And if she ended up wanting one, I guess I could add Draco...if I had to. Maybe she doesn't even like Slytherins – oh, Holy Helga..._what if she didn't like Slytherins_?

A new level of panic urged me forward to get to Slughorn's door even faster. My brother knocked almost as anxiously as I felt – so perhaps he and I really were on the same wave-length. Maybe Ron was right to be afraid of the connection that twins had. I looked over to the ginger, who was bouncing on his toes. I almost felt bad that I'd have to destroy him to get my way.

"Are you okay?"

"Never been better," he sighed. "Do I look alright?"

"Better than in frills," I told him honestly. "And me?"

"Your hair's a mess."

"It's always a mess," I frowned, tugging at it slightly.

"Then you look fine." Somehow, I didn't believe him...

Slughorn opened the door and I immediately found myself frowning and analyzing him. What a strange way to answer a door. He had clearly overslept if he was going to be having lessons with Romilda because he came to greet us in a velvet green dressing-gown, complete with a nightcap and bloodshot eyes.

"Oh hello, Harry, Audrey," he mumbled, blinking the sleep from his eyes. "This is very early for a call – I generally sleep late on a Saturday..."

Not when you have lessons with Romilda, you don't! How rude. I really needed to teach this damn castle some manners. Maybe I could create a potion that would influence it on it's own.

"Professor, I'm really sorry to disturb you," said Harry as quietly as possible, "but these ones have swallowed a love potion by mistake. You couldn't make him an antidote, could you? I'd take him to Madam Pomfrey, but we're not supposed to have anything from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and, you know...awkward questions..."

So Ron had taken a love potion – perfect! Clearly the ones from Fred and George's really worked. Perhaps I'd have to find a way to shove them down Harry's throat if I was goign to make my plan for he and Romilda work.

Slithering Salazar, I sound like Merope Gaunt.

Though now I _completely_ understand why she did it.

Love was a crazy thing. Hell, how else would Draco and I be snogging behind statues now?

"I'd have thought you could have whipped him up a remedy, Harry, an expert potioneer like you?" asked Slughorn. I frowned.

"I could have whipped one up, too," I said simply, hoping that maybe if I started doing it myself Romilda would be impressed with my true skill. "An even better one. A _much _better one. And I wouldn't need my book to do it. The love potion he swallowed doesn't appear to be as strong as Amorentia-"

I pushed past Professor Slughorn and immediately went to his Potion's store.

"Er," Harry mumbled behind me. I didn't look to see if they had followed me into the room. Harry didn't have his beloved book with him so I had no doubts that this was my time to shine and if Romilda happened to walk in as I was doing it? All the better.

"-which means that it must just be the ones Fred and George were making to cause obsession," I informed them all as I moved through the ingredients. "A little bit of Armadillo's blood and – ah, there, some Jabberknoll feathers...of course we can't forget about the-"

"She's still in her right mind, for the most part," Slughorn said with a laugh.

"I can't see her," Ron whined. "Harry – is he hiding her?"

I turned away from finding all my ingredients and glared at Slughorn. He had better _not _be hiding her...and in his nightdress? And to think Draco thought that _we _would be a scandal! What has Romilda gotten herself into? Or what has gotten into _her_? Oh no, this plan would never work if she was into old, successful, authoritative men! I was hoping she would settle for moppy, brooding, non-illustrious boys.

"Was this potion within date?" asked Slughorn, moving in to look over my shoulder. "They can strengthen, you know, the longer they're kept and confuse the drinker with their intended..."

"It's like if Romilda took a love potion and came to just drink this Armadillo, lemon and pomegranate mixture-" I gasped as Ron took the potion from my outstretched hand and chugged it back. I could smell the burn as he breathed out and handed me the empty cup – it smelt spicy and strong. I may have added too much lemon in comparison to pomegranate...I would have been able to stabilize it with frog toes if Ron had waited. "That's not even a potion yet, you moron!"

"It tasted...like alcohol," he looked at me with wide eyes. "How could you make bile and fruit taste like alcohol?"

"Oh dear," Slughorn immediately took a step forward as I took a step back from Ron. "He's complicated the original concoction..."

I turned to look at Slughorn but never got to hear the rest of what he was saying because suddenly I was being kissed. Draco had entered the room! When? Naturally, as I always did, I pulled him closer to me and ran my hands through his hair to mess it up – a sign that I was there and that he was _mine. _But I had never known Draco's lips to be this sloppy, even when he tasted spicy like Firewhiskey and I couldn't believe that he would just be kissing me in front of Harry after the argument we had had a few weeks before...

"Drea," he moaned.

Wait.

No.

_No..._

I opened my eyes, noticing the red hair and freckles within the first second and I was pushing him away the next. I let out a whine when he didn't let go of me and I tried pushing him away again – which he apparently thought was a _good _thing because he tried to deepen the kiss. I was relieved when Harry pushed Ron and made him fly in the other direction, bellowing about how I was his sister.

"I'm sorry Harry! But she – and I – and..."

"She and I, nothing!" I growled, wiping down my mouth. "You are the worst kisser I have ever experienced! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" I wiped my mouth again. "Godric, Ronald Weasley you are not worth Romilda at all."

"Audrey, don't say that..." Ron whimpered, sounding like a beaten kitten.

"Oh, gross," I sneered, tossing my head from side to side as if it could make the sensation go away. "That was horrid! Draco is a _much _better kisser, I'm going to have to _beg _him to kiss me again after he hears about this."

"You WHAT?" Harry bellowed.

"Now, now," Slughorn interjected, handing me a small goblet as he laughed. "That'll wash that taste out and then Mr Malfoy won't have to know it happened."

"Right," I muttered, frowning to myself. Was this something that I would have to tell Draco? I didn't know – it was all for the good of Romilda that it had happened, but I didn't like that I had kissed someone that wasn't him. I was actually quite surprised by how much I didn't like it...and it wasn't only because Ron was so horrible at it.

"It'll wash out the taste," Slughorn repeated again. The reason was good enough for me and I didn't think twice before taking the drink back as if it was some of the stolen Firewhiskey I used to enjoy. I watched as Harry handed Ron a nearly identical goblet. I shook my head to professor Slughorn, feeling the need to explain my situation a little better. "He always knows, though. Draco's not even going to be pawned of to Romilda after he hears this – he'll have none of it. Salazar's spit, Ron why did you...why did...you..."

But I couldn't continue. There was no need to continue.

What the _fuck _just happened?

I turned to look at Harry, looking at my brother through clearer eyes than I felt I had ever seen. It was easy to see how his mouth was pulled in at the sides while he tried to fight back laughter, his hair shaking was some of the only sign he was holding back chuckles. Ron, to his side, was drinking his own goblet...his face fell second by second. And when he saw me, he turned as white as Moaning Myrtle.

Considering the confusion and the fact my mind was not clearing quite as quickly – no, it was not clearing at all as quickly – as it should have, I couldn't have said who was yelling first. But somehow, within thirty seconds, Ron and I were pointing to each other viciously from opposite sides of the potions room, trying to tear each other a set of gills from afar.

"YOU KISSED ME FIRST!"

"YOU KISSED ME BACK!"

"YOU WOULDN'T LET ME PUSH YOU AWAY. WHAT WAS NEXT, MOLESTATION?"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO, WHY WOULD YOU HAVE GIVEN ME THAT POTION?"

"I DIDN'T GIVE YOU SHITE, RON WEASLEY, YOU TOOK IT BEFORE IT WAS FINISHED!"

"AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, LAVENDER SAYS I'M A WONDERFUL KISSER. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT THAT YOU CAN'T TELL BECAUSE YOU'RE A DROP-SKIRT SLAG!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"NO!"

"I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU!"

"Back to normal, then?" Harry cut between us, a large grin on his face as he looked between his best friend and I. Slughorn chuckled at our exchange, taking my goblet from my raised fist and ignoring the fact that I was glaring daggers at the red-faced redheaded student across the room. I closed my eyes, raking my hands through my hair and eventually rubbing off my face – when I dared to open my eyes I noticed that Ron had been brave enough to shuffle a ltitle closer to the group of us. He stopped when he saw I was looking. "Thanks a lot, Professor."

"Don't mention it, m'boy, don't mention it," said Slughorn. Ron collapsed into a chair, still quite a distance from me, looking completely distraught over what he had done while Harry and Slughorn walked to the other side of the office for some sort of chat. I massaged my head again.

Alright, maybe my screaming had been a little harsh.

A _little._

Horrible kissers deserved to be told to learn, I had been taught. And he had no right to blame any of this on me...I had been drugged as well and I had never tried to snog _him..._

"I didn't mean to call you a horrible kisser," I sneered, walking slightly closer to him and trying to avoid the fact the potion hadn't _actually _taken the taste out of my mouth. "Even if you are."

"It's alright, I didn't mean to say you knew it because you were a drop-skirt slag."

I was glad that the short exchange could be ended thanks to Slughorn and Harry walking back over to interrupt us. The Potions Master smiled at me kindly while he handed me a goblet, letting it fill to the brim. I took it in my hands and smelled it – the warm sensation that mead always brought to me warmed my bones. It had always been the drink I enjoyed most and Slughorn always had the best share of it. Besides, I deserved some liquor after what had just happened and even if mead wasn't strong enough, maybe it would be enough to wash the taste of Ron's morning breath out of my mouth.

"There you are, then," Slughorn smiled, handing a goblet to Ron as Harry lifted his own in a toast. "Harry tells me it's your favourite, Audrey. Well, a very happy birthday, Ralph-"

"-_Ron_-" Harry tried to cough inconspicuously, but it didn't really work. Slughorn looked at Harry with raised eyebrows, as if he was questioning whether or not it was true that he had been mispronouncing one of his students names for the whole semester. As if he didn't actually _know _Ron's name after all this time while the two always sat side by side in class.

I turned to Ron, wincing just at the sight of him.

"To forgetting about today?" I asked, holding my goblet out to him in a toast. Ron could only bring himself to nod before he tapped his glass against mine and moved to drink it all down in one chug. Following his lead, I pulled the goblet to my mouth; ready to drown out the taste of betrayal.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Super long chapter – I hope you liked it! What did you all think? Did you like it. There was a lot that happened here, so to recap: Audrey won in Potions, Audrey got revenge, Audrey was given detention, Audrey talked to Snape, lots of Draco and Audrey time, then Audrey was given a love potion and MAY have had a drink from...the mead. If you don't remember what that means, then you're in for a treat whether or not she did or didn't. To my wonderful reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yeah, Theodore will be back in a little bit; but as you can tell this cliffhanger may skew how long that 'little bit' could take. She and Sirius will start getting into the animagi-talk in a few chapters once things from **_**this **_**chapter cool down. Hope that you liked the chapter and thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: Poor Theodore, I agree, every time I write him I'm heavy with guilt. As for Draco, every time I write him I'm giddy – apparently I reflect it onto Audrey a bit. Yes, the story of Marius Black is actually in Harry Potter (or at least his character and the fact he's a squib) and I've always felt bad for how he was blasted off the Black tapestry. I was pretty proud of the Lily moment, so I'm glad you enjoyed it – hopefully there were parts of this chapter you really liked too! Thanks for the review.**

_anon1_**: I'm glad! Audrey hit a bit of a boiling point in this chapter but at least for once she decided to get even, like she used to, instead of bottling it up. Hope that you liked the chapter :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Man, if you thought last chapter was a big fat long chapter, I can only imagine that this one must be morbidly obese. Hopefully I didn't cram too much into one chapter, but I felt like if I cut it in half it would have left it at an awkward time (like the time of Draco and Audrey) and then I would have had to put her POSSIBLY drinking the mead in the middle of a chapter...and that's not exciting! Sirius talking Audrey through the process in the next few chapters and yes, I love Tracey/Lillian/Daphne and Audrey's relationship now that it's strengthened. I find myself always trying to throw Blaise in there, but I fear people would think I'm trying to replace Theodore. They just have that really good bickering chemistry. As for Theodore himself, I'd like to think her Christmas gift helped him – we can only hope. And no, don't worry, no one got the guess between the memories completely right...but after the next few lessons with Dumbledore, you very well may! And yes, you're right, Draco may very well break down...especially if Audrey DID drink the mead at the end of this chapter...anyway, hope you liked it and thanks for the review!**

_BerserkMoon_**: You called it! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: Most of my pages are at least 20 pages, I try to make them nice and long...hopefully this one didn't overdo it too much. It just wasn't quite enough to split into two separate chapters for me. Anyway, hope you liked it and thanks for reviewing!**

_HazelCurls29_**: I'm glad I didn't go into mushy and hopefully it didn't in this chapter either. Hope this was a fun one to read, thanks for reviewing!**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Aw, thank you! You're wonderful :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: You're way too nice to me. Really. I liked writing the last chapter so I'm glad you liked it so much – this one was much more difficult; but at the same time I really enjoyed writing it. I agree with what you said about Sirius making it come back to the protectiveness of the past. I liked Theodore's gift as well, I actually hadn't planned to do that until about three chapters before it happened – so hopefully it worked out well enough.  
>Aw, I'm glad you liked the part with Lily! I was actually pretty proud of it. There were a lot of parallels from that memory to how Audrey and Sirius were interacting at the beginning of the chapter (did you notice?) so I felt even better about it, even if Audrey felt worse.<br>I agree, Fred definitely got the short end of the stick here...but I must say that Draco and Audrey are just better suited. It's not necessarily that I like Draco more, it's just I literally MADE Audrey for Draco. Every part of her personality I made so it would meld with Draco's as best it could, while still being applicable to being a blood relation to Draco's enemy. And yeah, I think that Draco Malfoy will be jealous of any man who steps into Audrey's life. If not just for the fact that he's a possessive stereotype of a rich only child, because we're starting to see that he actually cares for Audrey.  
>I have the final book all plotted out. Well, not actually plotted out, per se – but I have the major moments and a few of the hints all written in a notebook and also lodged in my brain. I'm constantly thinking of GEM so hopefully that means there won't be writers block or anything as horrifying. Though I am terrified that with every chapter I release, that means I'm that much closer to be done...as excited as I am for you all to know the ending, the thought of it terrifies me.<br>Those are interesting ideas for an animagus form – you'll have to wait and see though. Not a lot of people have guessed it and if I told you my top three it would be obvious! Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter and thank you so much for reviewing!**

_kattie93319_**: Thanks for taking the time to review, especially because it was the day after you read it. I know how it can be hard to want to after you've slept and left it alone. I'm glad you liked the last chapter (and hopefully you enjoyed this one as well). The flashbacks were a lot of fun to write, particularly the one about Lily and Sirius and the moment with Theodore was painful, but definitely necessary. I'm actually working on a book right now, so hopefully it ends up being worth showing people – surprisingly it's Sci-Fi, which I've never actually written. I hope I like it half as much as I like this one. Thanks for reviewing!**

_OddPotato_**: Nah, Harry did get to hear that Audrey enjoys Draco's kissing, but he hasn't run in on them. That would/might be dramatic if I'm feeling cruel, though. Don't worry, Harry's going to have quite the surprise when he finds out about Draco and Audrey. I'd never stop in the middle of a sentence, but as you can see, I did stop to leave you guessing whether or not she drank it :) Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Littlemissvengeance_**: Hopefully this chapter was worth the notification excitement, I know it was probably a bit too long. Did you see this coming before the chapter or during it, at any point? Do you think she drank the mead? I'm glad that I can still keep you guessing, it's a feat I take pride in, but I hope I don't let you down now that you have expectations! Aw, it's sweet that you want to read this beast more than once – it's a long read, that's for sure – but it's even more sweet that you get the urge to write again. I'm honoured. It's really great to hear :)**

_incitanemxx_**: It's only been just over six months since Thuban Nott died, remember. He hasn't really had enough time for the wounds to heal – I'd like to think that maybe they can become friends again...I daydream about the adventures they could have if they do. I'm glad you liked last chapter's memories; they were confusing but hopefully they hit a few emotional cords there. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Ahsilaa_**: I'd like to see them confess their love soon, but something tells me they won't make it that easy. They are pretty stubborn...**

_Godric's Innocent Angel_**: Aw, thank you! It's nice to know that Audrey can cause those kinds of emotions. I'm glad you also understand the twists and turns of Audrey's jealousy – the poor girl was kind of thrown away when she was younger and now that she's proven herself, she's only proven that she'll be trouble and should be dealt with. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for the review.**

_AsussusA_**: Thank you! I'm glad that I was able to break some stereotypes there when it came to Harry-Twin fanfiction. Hopefully you continue enjoying the story with all the twists it's about to have!**

_JrSnape_**: Then again, if you knew the future, it wouldn't be any fun.**

_Guest (AHeartFullofLove?)_**: I think, considering the conversation here that it's AHeartFullofLove but I can't be sure, so I put guest in front. If you're not, I'm sorry! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, even if seeing Theodore can be depressing and the memories can be so emotional. Believe it or not, I am working on a book! I just hope I like it half as much as I like this – Green Eyed Monster has pretty much become my obsession. I like writing it even more than a lot of people seem to like reading it; I just hope I can become this passionate about my own world. Anyway, hope you liked this installment, thanks for reviewing!**

_Leo Douglas_**: Don't worry, I know how time-consuming reality can be. I plan to write another Tom/Seren memory a little bit later on, but I'm glad you still liked seeing Lily show up. There will be extra brother sister time (both bonding and fighting) within the next few chapters, so hopefully you get your fix there. Thanks so much for the review!**

_MaskedBeauty09_**: Congratulations on catching up! It's a lot to read, I know, but hopefully you've been enjoying it. I'm glad that you like seeing Fred around in Audrey's life – he's definitely not leaving it any time soon. Hopefully you still don't mind all the Draco-action that will domineer, though. Thanks for reviewing.**

_Nirvana14_**: Thank you! I'm really glad you like it. I try to keep him in character as much as I can, even if it means they fight more when he's being a jerk, haha.**

_Ella710_**: Well hopefully your English paper got written in those ten hours after you typed up your review – don't let Audrey encourage you not to care about school. She's lying!  
>There was an abundance of a lot of things in the last few chapters, it is true. Mostly feels. Lots of Draco, Sirius, even some Fred and Theodore and Snape...it's just been a rollercoaster that Audrey had just started to ride. Now she may have been poisoned by the mead...we won't know until next chapter.<br>Sirius is always a pleasure to write, especially since I feel I need to do him so much justice because I saved him. I mean, he can't just be a 'hey, I'm popping in' have no lines kind of person and then just fade into the background. Again, it would be unjust. But yes, you did misread the scene a bit – but I forgive you. Don't worry. You realized it :)  
>Theo has had some progress, it is true. He needs some more to make me happy but sadly it's what's best for the story, not my own emotions. I'm totally biased, after all. But if he randomly decided to forgive her and they were best friends again, I'd be happy. But...man, it's such a conundrum. Heart vs Realism – what a cruel twist.<br>Yes. Darling Draco; it's almost wrong to leave him for last but at the same time as the majority of talk is about him it seems fitting. I'm glad that you liked his Christmas gift for her, along with the fact that they're kissing and definitely still together! Yay! What did you think of his reactions to everything in this chapter? Hopefully it was believable. Hopefully they are believable together. Ugh, can you imagine how he's goign to react if he finds out she DID drink the mead that he poisoned? *Clutches chest* My soul...  
>Anyway, loved your review as always and hope you liked this monster chapater; can't wait to hear what you think. I have a feeling CAPS might be used ;)<strong>

_Blue Luver5000_**: I wish she would have too, but all good things must end... Hope you liked the new chapter!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I love the flirtatious banter between them too; I was sure to add it into this chapter as well. It was also nice to put in the looks they were sending each other in class and during meals – those two are so mischievous. Who do you think killed Circe, since you don't think Theodore did it? Just out of curiosity. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_Lycoris1305_**: I'm kind of just flattered that you talk to your friends about this story at all, so don't feel bad! Yes, Draco can be oddly romantic in a really arrogant way, can't he? Then again, I think most things he does stems from arrogance. It's why he's so fun to write. Hopefully you still got the gist of the memories, even if you didn't read them thoroughly, so that when I reveal the big "BANG" of them all, you'll still be able to find the connections. You should be able to; it will make sense when it happens.  
>The tension between Harry and Audrey never seems to fade; I think it's what makes them a little bit more sibling-esc. It's rare to find siblings that don't argue and as I come from a big family, you usually know that something's wrong when they get along a little too well...<br>Thank you for reviewing despite your headache. Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_SwiftAlice_**: I told you I'd respond to your review here, still! I hope that everything is going well and I'm sorry it took me a little longer than normal to respond to your email. It won't take that much longer again – how's the translation going? I'm excited to see it posted!  
>Thanksgiving isn't actually that great of a holiday, in my eyes – it's supposed to be about when the pilgrims came and shared with the Native Canadians (or, in America's version, the Native Americans) but in the end we ruined their lives. As someone who has some Native heritage, it's actually really sad...but we got some good feasting from it, I guess. I try to look on the up-sides, haha.<br>I don't know how the writing thing will go yet, I need to write at least 50,000 words which seems simple considering how much I write here; but this is of my own novel and I second, third, and fourth guess everything to the point that I end up scrapping half of it. Either way, I'll let you know :)  
>I agree, I like that Draco and Audrey have their own strange sense of sweet and caring between the two of them. I'd like to think they're even cute in their own way – but maybe that's stretching it. And if those characters were to ever hear someone call them cute I think the culprit would be punched in the face.<br>Theodore, poor guy. I think that some people need closure, which I knew he wouldn't have if he was always guessing, so that's why I wrote in that Audrey gave him the memory. Hopefully it ends up healing them – but as I always say, these characters write themselves more than I do; so it's up to them and their differing personalities. I really loved their relationship, I wish I could just magically bring it back. But that wouldn't be fair to Theodore. And as much as I loved having him around, I love him enough not to bastardize how he's written.  
>Ah! I'm glad you liked the memory! I loved writing it. It was so interesting writing a character who is apparently just like Audrey but is what everyone always thought Audrey would be: kind, sweet, compassionate – it was nice that I could show just how much of a Slytherin Audrey really is in those few words that weren't even necessarily about her. And Sirius? It was so nice to see carefree Sirius – even in these novels we can't see him as often. I loved when he realized James had one of his shirts and he took it back – it was really subtle but I figured it's what friends do and it would be a nice little addition. POOR FRED. I know, every time I write him I'm just like "I WISHED SHE LOVED YOU, TOO" but then she thinks about Draco and I feel happy again. They understand each other better and as much as Fred can bring out the fun side of her, there are many more sides of Audrey – and that's something Draco understands but Fred doesn't really seem to. Anyway, I hope you liked what it had and send me an email if you need to talk about the translation (or just to chat). Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: I don't mind if your reviews are a little late. I always get so excited to read them! Hm, I wonder if those emails have been going to a few peoples spam? Multiple people told me that they didn't get the notifications either and I noticed that the site has a new format...curious.  
>Yes, our Thanksgiving is pretty much the exact same as yours only a month earlier – I have no idea why. I'm actually having my big family one this Sunday because some of the family couldn't be there – so I'm all ready to be teased and tortured in the name of good food.<br>I'm always really glad that I saved Sirius too. I remember thinking as I was writing it that some people might hate me for changing such a crucial part of the books – JKR had wonderful reasons to do it and I totally understand the transformation it made for Harry, so I thought people might stop reading or tell me that the story sucked. But people always seem pleased when I bring him back around and he hasn't even served the purpose I saved him for yet, so I'm happy :)  
>I wish that they could just be back to normal with a snap of my fingers. Trust me, I've tried it. But then my other hand just gets mad and deletes all the wonderment I write about them and writes about how he couldn't have healed. It really hit me when I was responding to someone else this chapter: it has been just over six months since Thuban died. Of COURSE Theodore isn't over it. You can't heal from that kind of loss normally in six months...but then to find out all the extremities of that situation? It only makes sense he's hurt. Poor guy.<br>Ah, I'm glad you liked the memories! Actually, Cygnus and Violetta really were parents to Marius as according to the Black Tapestry. I do a TON of research. Every chapter requires at least an hour of it to get my facts right – honestly, I'm crazy obsessed. It was great for Audrey to see Lily though and I had a really fun time writing her. I can't wait to incorporate Lily into more of the story now that she's been introduced (well, she was introduced a long time ago, obviously. But not to Audrey). Aw, you really don't have to look up to me but I'm honoured you do! Maybe one day when I have my own books out it'll feel more real, but even now I only feel like a Part-Time writer and I just don't feel like I'm worth that kind of thought, haha.  
>Hopefully you liked this chapter. One last question: do you think she drank it? ;)<strong>

_Melody_**: I'm glad to hear that you're well, don't worry about the review being late. It's just nice to get one! Yes, Dumbledore's lessons are always enlightening, so they are usually a lot of fun to write. It's really nice to see Draco too – he and Audrey seem to be very close again, even if they have to sneak through the corridors to do it. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and can only hope that you liked this one as much. Thanks for reviewing.**

_Guest_**: Here you go, hope you like it.**

_Nonsensical Username_**: I'm glad you liked that chapter. Hopefully you make it all the way over here to chapter 70 and still enjoy it!**

_animagirl_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you like it enough to make it one of your favourites, I'm honoured by it. Draco and Audrey are really fun to write, most of her interactions with Slytherins are – they have a completely different outlook on things. Audrey can definitely calm down Draco, as we saw in this chapter; I'm glad you could notice it and I hope that one day they will be parents together...they'd drive each other insane during the day and then be cute as they took a breather once the kids slept. It'd be adorable.  
>I won't be writing a graphic sex scene here, no (honestly, I've tried them and I'm no good at them. I get all flustered and blush and giggle like a school girl) but if they do sleep together I will tell the before and the after...I can only imagine how Audrey deal with it, haha. It's also nice that you like Audrey's friends and their own little adventures...I love those girls. I wish the boys were back every now and then, but the girls still hold their own well. Hope you liked this new chapter, thank you again :)<strong>

_Maeve Epans_**: I'm up for any review, whether it's mush and goobly-gloop or not. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story so far and I hope that you still like it as it goes on. It can be difficult writing a love story and keeping Draco his normal arse-y self, but I'm glad that you think it's been working. Thank you for the review, I'm happy to hear you like it!**

_BlackRose_**: Believe it or not, every part you mentioned I did know exactly when you were talking about. That's actually even surprising to me – I've logged a crazy amount of hours into this story. I'm surprised I remember it as well as I apparently can.  
>I'm glad that the Mega-Vision is starting to become a little clearer now. We saw a bit more from that vision in this chapter today! It was also really intense writing about her being in there with Crouch – I loved writing it. In fact, I just went back to read it and shivered a bit...it's amazing, the transformations Audrey's character has been through. Poor girl. Snape did not know for sure she was there, but he was suspicious.<br>I love Bill Weasley. I love any of the Weasleys, honestly, so being able to put in a relationship with one of the older brothers was fun. I loved writing her as a spy for Umbridge and loved when she got to turn on her – if there is anything that people can agree on in the Harry Potter fandom, it is that Dolores Umbridge is the worst of evil characters that there is. It was also fun to make Audrey kiss him first – I liked that no one expected it. And when Draco punched Montague? That would have been when I, personally, fell in love with him. Sadly Audrey is harder to please. The two broke up, Sirius is alive, Nott died- the fifth book really was a whirlwind.  
>And now Sirius is teaching her to become an animagus (or he will be). Tracey and Lillian are a joy to have run around my brain. I cried when Circe died – my poor mom beside me thought that I'd finally had a mental break. She really is making Liquid Luck as well as some other potions that are under Draco's watch and care (not her best decision, don't you think?) so it may very well change this entire tale.<br>But as you said, the big question is: what is Audrey's part in this? She got her revenge, she can do Occlumency (most of the time), she doesn't really have visions anymore and she did talk to Snape...feel free to ask questions. I also totally agree with your idea about Pink's song.  
>And yes "It's all shits and giggles until someone giggles and shits" is actually the mantra of a few of my friends and I. I just felt it had to be included :)<strong>

_Guest_**: Thank you, hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Magimagus_**: Aw, why thank you. The last chapter had a lot happening, but I think this one doubled it in actual events – hopefully it was as good a chapter.  
>I'm really glad people liked seeing Lily and noticing the differences between them. I was really happy when I wrote it so to find out that people were happy to read it gets me excited. Your theory about what Dumbledore was trying to teach was interesting – the idea of what makes her who she is. But I can tell you that there is something much more necessary than simple comparisons to what he's teaching her...she just doesn't know it yet.<br>Sirius is definitely protective of Audrey (just like he's protective of Harry) but I wouldn't say that he's more determined to protect Harry than Audrey. I think it's just that everyone knows Harry's in more imminent danger than Audrey is (he has a prophecy about it, after all) and Audrey is pretty good with staying out of those situations as long as she isn't pulled into them by someone else. Now that he's teaching her to be an Animagus, hopefully we'll get to see more of that.  
>Draco! Yes, the most exciting to speak of. Jealous Draco is a lot of fun to write – it really puts him back in the original book kind of mentality, but I also just love that it means he's jealous because he wants her so badly. Which is more of the green eyed monster, after all: Audrey or Jealousy? They are definitely getting along better now and they will continue to do so for...a while. Obviously knowing what's soon to start happening means that things are going to start changing, but right now they are safe in their own little dating realm. He was even nice about her mourning period ending and was rather supportive over her little prank against the Slytherins, even if he wasn't as supportive over her conversation with Snape. Anyway, I hope that the homework has started to lighten (I feel your pain) and hope all is well! Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

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><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'd love to know what you think about it!<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter for excerpts, sneak-peaks, Q&A's, and updates at **EgyptsLegend


	72. Monday Morning Mayhem

**Hello everyone! So I come with both good and bad news. The good news is that this chapter has around 16,000 words not including review responses. It is also officially being translated into Spanish by the fantastic **_SwiftAlice _**and has been given new amazing cover art by **_Lorelei Lovegood_**. The bad news is that the hard drive on my computer was destroyed – all my stories, all my work is gone. That included the original version of this chapter and everything else to do with it. Luckily I can keep Green Eyed Monster going thanks to my own obsession, but other small projects such as **_**Audrey Potter's Prelude**_**and worse, Seren Malmore's story **_**Hell Hath No Fury**_**...they're gone forever. So, I will need extra time to work on these now that I'm starting from square one – but Green Eyed Monster will continue as usual considering I have it all mapped out in countless notebooks by hand. Hopefully you like this chapter...it's an intense one.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 71 – Monday Morning Mayhem<p>

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><p>It burnt. Everything within me was being eaten away by fire and acid. I could only assume it was acid, though if fire could become a liquid I could have sworn that it was coursing through my veins. It had started sliding down my esophagus, a clear trail considering my mouth felt charred and bloody – but now the acid had forged its way into my stomach.<p>

From there it spread.

It spread like a web, moving underneath my skin like currents move under the water's surface. I couldn't have screamed if I'd wanted to – I couldn't have breathed in more fire than I already had. The soot, the excess venom would kill me if the fire didn't finish the job. I could feel the heat, the burning ravaging its course through my body; buckling my knees and bringing me down to the ground. And then, all of a sudden the fire caught on my lungs. I struggled hard, pulling in ragged breaths past the licking of the acid...

And then I couldn't breathe at all. My ears could hear the muffled sounds around me until then – I couldn't hear anything else than my heartbeat pounding in my defiance and my diaphragm trying to damn the acid that had been washed down my throat.

It was more than painful – yes, this was more than pain. This was death. It _had _to be death because I had never lived through this kind of pain and survived. I had never felt this kind of fear and helplessness. I could feel that the lack of air was somehow making the heat more intense, even though I knew that should smother it and make it stop – but it only raged on. I didn't remember lying down, but I knew now that my body was strewn against something cold because I was coveting the last feeling of comfort I knew I would ever feel.

I had never really believed in a hell that involved fire and brimstone – but clearly I had been damned for ignoring it...or maybe I had been damned for the other many things I had done wrong in my life. I couldn't seem to think of what all those things were because of the pain – but I found a stubborn pleasure in knowing the demons screwed up on some part of this torture.

But I couldn't be dead yet, even though I'd always figured death would be fast. A killing spell, a tumble off one of the high towers, another slicing of my throat...I never thought it would be so drawn out or so anticlimactic. Or maybe I wasn't dead at all – maybe I was still dying and that was why it was still so anticlimactic. Maybe that's why the fire was still licking at every pore and every seam of me.

I felt something invade my throat which made it even harder to breathe than before. Of course, I had not been breathing in the first place so I hadn't have known it could get worse – but I was wrong. Now instead of the acid eating at my lungs, there was something lodged _in _my throat. Something solid and impossible to breathe around, a giant lump that took over everything as it slid its way down my throat like a slug.

And yet, as disgusting as it felt, it was the most beautiful sensation I had ever welcomed. With its slime, it seemed to douse the burn from the acid as it had followed the same path and as soon as it hit my stomach, it felt like a chill spread over my body – like I was dunked in water. Almost like a vision but somehow so much better. And I had never loved the sensations involved with water so much. Water was terrifying, but dying...dying was painful.

Or maybe this was death. Maybe being dunked into water was my torturous afterlife. Still...anything was better than the fire. Anything was better than the—

_Voices_. There were voices around me, I could hear them. They weren't making any sense – they couldn't have been speaking in English nevertheless a language I could recognize. Their words were like gibberish which had been muted by the water I was slowly drowning in. But I wasn't alone. Hell wouldn't give me others to play with – Hell would leave me to myself. Forever. And I was not alone...particularly not when I could hear the familiar rough R's and slow skip of my brother's voice.

I was alive. I had to be; because even if I went to hell, he could never have followed me there.

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><p>It's a common misconception that hearing voices means you're insane in any world, Muggle or Wizarding alike. But after so long, after so many hours of being able to hear voices but not <em>understand <em>them, I was sure that would bewhat would drive me into madness.

I couldn't tell where I was and every time I tried to bring up a picture of where I would have been it didn't seem to work – I had no idea how long the acid had been in my system and even though I knew it was lying dormant I could still feel it trying to creep back into the wounds it had created when I had swallowed it.

Why would I have swallowed acid?

Things were getting murkier as time went on. I couldn't remember where I had been when the acid had found its way into my system and I certainly couldn't remember how it would have been poured down my throat in the first place. I felt like if time continued the way it had been, I would need to worry about losing everything else...so during my time in purgatory, when I could neither speak nor understand the voices around me, I found myself trying to remember the individual qualities of the voices.

Harry's rough R's and slow skip was heard most often – I clutched onto the memories of him the most; those memories when he was being a good brother and the fewer memories of when I returned the favour of being a good sister.

I could have sworn that I heard Snape around, though I couldn't remember whether or not I had been in the castle when the acid had attacked my insides. His slow, dark tones were unmistakable and somehow the same in every memory I hung onto when he was involved. And the way that he and my brother seemed to talk back and forth so quickly could only have resembled the arguments they always got into.

I missed Snape. I wish that I could have woken up and told him how much I missed him – now I was starting to wonder if I'd ever have the chance. How long would it be until I could wake up and tell him how important he had always been, how he had made me into everything about myself I felt proud of? He was mad at me – I don't remember why. And I was mad at him...

_That_ I tried hard to remember.

I could have sworn that I heard Draco's voice too. But his voice didn't sound as resonant and seemed to be missing his regular cadences and structure. His voice sounded...lower, more strained than I remembered. But it had to have been him – I couldn't imagine him not coming to see me...I clung to the memories to remind me why.

Did he worry about me? I knew that I was supposed to be worrying about him – because that's why I was angry with Snape. I was angry with him for _not _worrying about Draco – but I was having trouble thinking through the fog that had settled over my mind. But I missed him. And I wanted to hear his voice far more often than I did – even if I couldn't understand what he was saying to me.

But with those memories – the memories of Harry and Snape and Draco, the memories I heard of Ginny's lilt and Hermione's crisp tone – came the memories of the things I didn't want to remember. I must have been upset with Draco for something to do with what had happened in the Department of Mysteries...

No. No, that wasn't right. I was angry at _myself. _I could hear the voice reminding me of it...the voice who constantly reminded me of all the nightmares that had come true in my waking hours.

_Are they so ridiculous? _The voice chanted, his haunting messages never leaving my mind. There was no escaping him when I was trapped here. _Remember: you are a murderer, Audrey Potter. You want to hurt me as you hurt them because you are a murderer._

Yes. I remembered that now, I remembered why all these people were so upset with me. Which was exactly why Draco should have been upset with me for what happened in the Department of Mysteries...I'd hurt someone he knew. Someone _we _knew...

_You are a murderer, Audrey Potter. You are just like me._

I remembered now. I hadn't _hurt _someone we knew...I had _killed _him.

And this voice wasn't from right now. I had heard all these words before – in that battle. AT the time when...when...Godric, I couldn't remember what had happened. My brain hurt every time I tried to remember and yet, the more the voice spoke, the more an image began to manifest in my mind. The voice slowly slithered into the image of a reptilian man with ashen skin and crimson eyes and he would continue to speak to me, warning me of things yet to come and yet I couldn't understand what he was hissing at me. I knew who he was: he was Lord Voldemort. But it didn't make sense why he was trying to speak to me. This would normally be the time I expected to be killed.

But maybe I couldn't be killed because I was already dead.

It didn't matter that the voices that I was hearing outside my watery, muffled tomb; the voices inside my head were growing more and more vicious. I could hear them yelling at me, _screaming _at me about how I was doing the wrong things – how I wasn't on the right side – how I had to do something before I killed again. It felt like an infection, one that grew the more they screamed and I tried to ignore it; the more they picked at the scab and I refused to clean it; the longer I waited to make a decision... but I couldn't make a decision with all of them yelling at me. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't think at all.

Someone grabbed hold of my hand – my real hand; the hand that I couldn't move. And it triggered the phantom voices that were screaming at me to be able to grab at me, trying to pull me into the depths of the darkness that I was sinking in...why was no one helping me? Where was Harry and Snape and Theodore and Tracey and Lillian and Daphne and Ron and Ginny and Hermione and Draco? Where was Draco?

_You killed your friend's father, Theodore Nott will no longer choose your side. Draco Malfoy will no longer choose your side...but will you choose theirs?_

Yes, I wanted to. I just wanted to wake up – I could feel something grabbing for me, the voices becoming strange and hypnotic like back in the Department of Mysteries when I was being pulled into the invisible nothingness behind the veil. What was happening? What was going on? Where was Harry? Where was Snape? Where was Draco?

_You made your choice between he and your brother. Just leave your brother now. Leave him _again_..._

I screamed. I know it. I could feel it. I could feel my body convulse with the pain of it.

_Can you leave them, Audrey Potter? Or have they already left you?_

I shrieked and howled, trying to tear out of my skin if that's how I needed to wake up. Soemthing was wrong. This wasn't life or death or hell – this was madness. It _had _to be madness. All I needed someone to notice the torture. _Someone _had to be able to notice – Snape, Dumbledore, Harry, Draco, _anyone. _Someone had to hear me and wake me up from this nightmare.

_This is not a nightmare, Audrey Potter. This is death._

I was not dead. I could not be dead. And yet, I couldn't help but listen to him – I had no choice, no power, hope. I was powerless and hopeless and helpless. Alone.

_You fear what I fear, Audrey Potter. You are just like me._

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><p>I couldn't hear any voices now and I was no longer sure if that was relieving or terrifying. There weren't people grabbing at me and I was no longer being compared to the man constantly out for my blood. The lack of sound was disturbingly satisfying because I didn't have to worry about constantly sifting through it to try to understand anything or to negate it as part of this other world I was stuck in – it was almost like, with this silence, I could daydream...or perhaps it was considered actually dreaming. Either way, these daydreams were not as dark as the images I had seen had been. My limbs still felt like lead – but I could now move them, if I dared. Every time I did I felt like the limb was screaming at me, boiling with rage and I would have to move it back to where it was; but I could move. Someone else had moved me though – my arm was in an awkward position. Someone had held my hand. It was one of the only things that stuck out from what I could tell were a heavy pile of blankets.<p>

My eyelids were swollen, but no longer made of stone. I felt like if I tried...if I _really _tried...

I groaned and squeezed them tightly together again, not that they had opened far to begin with. It was bright; there was brightness seeping in through my eyelids that my pupils were no longer used to. How long must I have been asleep that I was not used to sunlight?

"Audrey...are you awake?"

I knew that voice. And there was nothing more than that voice in my head – no others screaming at me, no others bellowing commands. It was really him. It was more than an urge to want to open my eyes again...which was a mistake. I immediately let out a whine and moved my head to the side, groaning again at the hot sensation that ripped through my body from the movement.

"It's too bright."

"It's _moonlight_," his voice, though it sounded thick, was still the drawl I had come to favour. "Try again."

"I can't," I tried not to sound as close to tears as I felt. "It _hurts...everything hurts._"

He didn't make a sound, but I could feel the air around me move for a moment.

"I closed the curtains around your bed," he informed me quietly. "This is the darkest I can make it."

I attempted opening my eyes again, finding it easier than the time before even if I still had to squint against the pain. But this pain was nothing compared to when I was asleep – and I never wanted to fall asleep and be that alone again. My eyes, though hardly able to open, searched for him hastily; the white curtains he had pulled around the bed were still absorbing the moonlight, but at least now I could gaze at his silhouette against them rather than have the moonlight directly in my eyes. I looked at his silhouette carefully; he had not spoken to me yet and for some reason I felt...nervous.

"Draco?"

"Hm?" he asked, his voice low. The haze around my thoughts was still there; I had been struggling with remembering what was going on, struggling to remember how to remember – the fog had not yet lifted.

"What happened?"

"You and Weasley drank a laced drink," he began slowly, his voice holding a throaty quality to it that I struggled to listen for. I couldn't see his face – the fallback of my sensitive eyes needing to watch silhouettes – but he sounded upset. Why? Why was Draco upset?

"Laced drink..." I thought, trying to remember back and feeling a pounding in the right side of my head. I placed my palm against it, making another sound to reflect the torture of my body's movements before I got my breathing under control. Yes, there had been a laced drink; I know it. We were in the Potions office – Ron had grabbed something from me. "Oh, Salazar's spit!"

"Hm?" Draco hummed again, his voice giving away none of the anger I knew was coating it. I understood now. I understood his low, throaty tone – he was angry. With me. Like Lord Voldemort had warned...

No. It was a dream.

Still...Draco knew.

"Oh, Draco, please believe me – I didn't mean it. It was all Ron's fault!" His silhouette didn't move. I felt the panic start to build in my chest by his lack of response. "We had been drugged by some love potion a girl sent my brother – both Ron and I were. And then we went to the Potions lab and I started making the antidote, but Ron...Ron he took it from me before it was finished. It was only Armadillo blood, Jabberknoll feathers, lemon and pomegranate, Draco! Feathers and _pomegranate! _There was nothing I could have – and he...he kissed me. I didn't kiss him back! But he kissed me – oh Draco, I didn't like it, it was horrible – he was horrible. I swear to you..."

"I believe you."

The burning in my chest did not subside. His voice did not sound forgiving. "No, I mean I really didn't like it. He called me a drop-skirt slag and I called him-"

"He said _what_?"

"And I..." I stopped, my eyes skewing in concentration before I let myself sink down into my pillows, enjoying how cool and comfortable they felt. "I think I told Harry. About you."

"That's the least of your problems right now, Audrey," he leaned forward, taking my hand. With a slight noise in the back of his throat, he put his cool hands on my forehead and sighed heavily. "You're as cold as death."

"I feel like death. I thought it _was _death," I whispered, my eyes wide as I tried hard to search the shadows of his face. "I took the antidote, so why am I still here? Slughorn made it for us..."

"This has nothing to do with the love potion," he explained, his voice taut. "This has to do with when you were...it's from the laced drink."

"Laced drink?" I repeated again, the words sounding wrong in my mouth. I found myself moving into his hand, which he kept on my forehead. "Is that why I drank the acid – it was in the drink?"

"Acid?" He questioned slowly, taking his hand away from my forehead and I let out a sound that I did not know my throat could make before I tried reaching for his hand again. It was so warm and felt so nice against my cold cheek. This time he didn't move it away. "There was no acid, Audrey. It was...it was poison."

"Poison?" I shook my head. "It didn't taste like poison."

"You weren't really conscious long enough to know," he whispered, rubbing his thumb over my forehead and furrowing his brow, his jaw clenched. "You have even worse luck than your damned brother, do you realize that? How are you feeling now?"

"Like I drank acid," I told him blandly. "I don't understand...I thought poison just killed you. It shouldn't have eaten through every part of me."

Draco's thumb stopped moving on my forehead and I felt him pull away again, even though I was glad to feel that he started running his fingers over my hair. Luckily he wasn't stupid enough to weave his fingers through it – I couldn't imagine how much of a knot it had gotten itself into, but it felt nice all the same. Maybe I _was _dead. Maybe I was still in that strange limbo and this was all one of my daydreams. It felt like it – but I coveted this one. This one I could live with.

"I'm so sorry, Audrey."

"No, I'm sorry," I whispered, nearly hypnotized by the movement of his hand over my hair. "I didn't mean to tell Harry and I _really _didn't mean to let Ron kiss me – if it makes you feel comforted it was the most disgusting thing to ever happen to me. And I've slipped in dragon dung."

"Never say you're sorry again," he told me firmly, his voice deep again. The frustration behind his words was misplaced – something that made my head spin as I tried to understand it, even though my brain was not up to the task. "You need to rest...your temperature is still cool, but you aren't cold anymore. I can't tell if that's good, Snape's the one who's supposed to be monitoring you. I can't, I _won't_ run to get him and I don't want to have to get Madame Pomfrey – no one is supposed to know I'm here."

"Just stay here until I fall asleep," I whispered, moving a little closer to him and grimacing against the pain that the movement caused my joints. "It won't be too long if you keep doing that."

"Do you...like that?" He asked, sounding baffled.

I smiled, closing my eyes. "I understand why Circe liked it so much. It's soothing. _You're_ soothing."

"I shouldn't be," he maundered, running his hands through my hair. "I'm sorry, Audrey."

"Don't be, I like it," I said drowsily, my eyelids now refusing to open again even as I smiled. I felt my body starting to warm as if I had walked outside and spun in warm summer air. "You should do this tomorrow night too."

"I'll be here," he promised. I shivered slightly, both from how sure his voice was and how odd the air in the room suddenly felt.

"You swear?"

"I swear," he whispered, moving his other hand to touch my face. I felt myself move into it as if I really was a cat. It was so comforting and he was so warm...I felt like I was a moth drawn to the flame.

"Draco?"

"Hm?"

"You aren't...you don't hate me, do you?" I muttered, my brow furrowing as the voices seemed to start whispering in the background of my mind, anticipating the moment when I would fall back into their grasp.

"I never have hated you, Potter," he explained. "And I never will. No matter how adamantly you may try to make me."

"It just doesn't make sense," I yawned, twitching against the pain that filled my jaw and neck from the movement. "Why would the voices say you did? And why would anyone want to poison Ron and I? Why would anyone target me?"

"They didn't," he swore again. He didn't say anything else and after the few minutes I took waiting for him to, I didn't have the energy to bring anything up either. I just let him sit there, petting my hair and keeping his hand on my forehead until I fell into sleep's waiting arms.

Sleep threw me back like it hated me. I felt like I didn't sleep at all even though when I woke up this time, there _were _voices. Real voices. Loud voices. A familiar use of curses and another with very rough R's: Harry and Ron were here. And were I not to have known better, I would say they were yelling right into my ears...

I dared to open my eyes – it was brighter than last night, the sunlight was streaming through the windows around me, but it was not quite as painful as it had been. And my eyes didn't seem quite as swollen shut as they had. I looked around me and when Ron gave a particularly loud laugh, I found myself groaning from the sound.

"Drea's up!" Ron announced, moving over toward me quickly. I frowned, looking at him through slitted eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I drank acid," I groaned. When he didn't argue with me I found my brow furrowing – hadn't Draco specifically said it hadn't been acid? Had last night been a dream? My brother walked over to my bed from the other side of the large room, looking somehow cautious as he approached me. "Wipe that grin off your face before I think you're going to kiss me again."

Ron's face burnt a regal red as he took a step away from my bed.

"At least she seems normal," he muttered, looking down at his shoes.

"What's going on?"

"We were poisoned, Drea," Ron explained, looking up carefully and giving me a sympathetic look. "Felt like death, too. But I bounced back a lot faster than you did."

"Why are you so chipper if you were poisoned?" I sneered, looking away from him to see that my brother was moving to my other side.

"Harry and I are getting released today! He had a Quidditch accident. McLaggen hit him upside the head with a bludger."

"Fantastic, another Gryffindor to add to my list of who to slaughter. I don't know which of you it will be yet, but expect it..." I looked to Ron, my eyes still narrowed. "I'm talking to you, lover-boy."

His smile fell slightly. It seemed he believed me. Good.

"How are you though?" Harry asked slowly. "Snape was really worried about you for a while there. Madame Pomfrey kept saying that you'd get better but...you haven't really been taking to the Essence of Rue like Ron did."

"Why _is _he so much better off than I am?" I frowned to him. "Can I be released too?"

"No! I was awake a week ago," he scoffed. My eyes must have bulged in my head while I moved to sit up – I let out a cry and sink back into my pillows. Harry was quick to put his arms close to me and help me down into a comfortable positon, looking at me nervously while I caught my breath.

"A _week _ago? How long have I been asleep?"

"Eight days," Harry looked like it was painful to admit.

"Why the hell did he wake up more easily than I did?" Harry and Ron gave a look to each other – one of those sideways looks that Harry and I always shared when we were hiding something – before Ron brushed off the question.

"I'm not as experienced a drinker as you are, Drea. You shot that back like Firewhiskey – it might be time to admit you have a problem."

"I do not have a drinking problem," I mumbled. "Just a pest problem. Should I invest in traps, or would it be a waste? Do you even like cheese, Ronald?"

He frowned at my rat-reference before Harry smiled and waved over his shoulder. Ron all but twirled in a circle and landed to see Hermione walking very precisely, looking pensively down into her hands. She stopped in the middle of the infirmary, looking around as if not knowing where we were and smiled when she spotted me awake.

"Oh, thank goodness!" She cried, running over to us with a little less concentration than she had walked into the room with. "I'm so glad to see you're awake. Someone refused to let me come without seeing you."

She took her hands, which she had been looking into with every ounce of her concentration, and placed them on my lap. It hardly took a second for me to realize that there was a green ball of fluff that was rolling itself like a ball up my stomach, over my chest and finally to my face. Houdini stopped, placing his back paws on my collar bone and his front paws on my jaw while he looked up at me. When he seemed to think I was alright, he curled into my neck, as always on the opposite side of my scar, and purred his way into my heart.

"He came to visit you whenever one of us would talk about coming down," Hermione explained. "He played with Arnold the past few days, but he had a lot of fun when Fred and George were here."

"Fred and George were here?" Hermione smiled a little at that and pointed over to my side table – yes, I had definitely had company. I had multiple bouquets of flowers: carnations, lilies, day-lilies, petunias, and orchids. I smiled over to the rainbow of colours and scents.

"I have flowers."

"A few too many," Harry muttered. "The petunias are from me."

"I figured," I said carefully, looking at him with furrowed brows – why had his voice dropped so much?

"The carnations are from Mum and Dad," Ron explained, pointing out the deep red flower. "And the lilies here, those are from Fred and George."

"Not the white lilies?" I asked, frowning at them. I think I had gotten them before as well, I just couldn't remember when or who by. The haze had still not lifted entirely, even though it felt so much lighter than before.

"No one knows who left those. Or the orchids," Harry's voice was quite pointed now...and I suddenly understood why. I hadn't been lying when I told Draco that we may have been in trouble thanks to my little slip-up while I was on the love potion. I had openly said that I would be snogging him – and now, it seemed my brother was hyperaware of that possibility.

Still...I couldn't regret the flowers.

I smiled at my colourful side table, feeling my eyes growing heavy again while I admired them.

"I don't want to sleep," I groaned, my heart beating more quickly just at the thought of what awaited me in the abyss.

Hermione hummed to herself, moving forward and placing her wrist on my forehead. Her skin was quite cool and she pulled back nearly as quickly as she had moved forward. She looked at Harry meaningfully before explaining she would run to get Madame Pomfrey.

I looked at the boys who were purposefully trying to avoid my gaze.

"I'm really sick, aren't I?"

Neither answered...which, in a way, was my answer.

"Oh, Miss Potter, wonderful! Severus has just come up with another batch of Essence of Rue. Now, Miss Granger, you said her temperature-" she moved forward, just as Hermione had, to feel my temperature. She frowned as soon as her cool wrist met my forehead and she pulled back. "Yes, you were right – her fever has caught back up again. Severus, over here, please!"

I didn't need to have my sensitive hearing to be able to distinguish his methodic footsteps cross the hospital wing to get over to my bed. He looked down on me, his face expressionless as he moved to test my own temperature. His hand, too, was cold. He frowned immediately, briefly looking into my eyes and looking away from me up to the nurse.

"How often have you been administering the Essence of Rue?"

"Three times daily," Madme Pomfrey explained. "I don't want her body to be overworked by all of the other medications she needs – there's been so much inflammation and-"

Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to realize just how out of sorts they were and so with a small wave they left me in the hospital bed with both Snape and Pomfrey leaning over me and using medical terms I could hardly understand. After a while, I seemed to catch their attention – accidentally, because I had just tried to shuffle around in the bed and groaned because of the pain – which at least made them pay more attention to me.

Madame Pomfrey went on to explain that I had undergone a lot of damage because of the amount of time I'd had the poison in my system. She explained that my body was stressed and because of it, they were letting the poison take its sweet time making its way out of my system. They wanted to let it happen naturally, so through the natural ways a body would get rid of something hurting it – which was still not the most pleasant conversation to have with either the old nurse or my Defence Professor.

She explained that the reason I had attributed the pain of the poison as 'acid' was because of the fiery quality it left in my stomach. Which, in plain English, meant that yes – the chemical reaction between the poison and my stomach acid had let it start to eat through my stomach lining and try to slide into the rest of my body. Because of the 'fiery quality' of the poison that still entered my system I was constantly taking medications to cool down my core temperature – which was why everyone was so concerned over my fever. The flipside to the fever was that if I got _too _cold, I could develop hypothermia.

I was lucky, she said.

Couldn't really say that I _felt _lucky...but apparently I was anyway.

It was the time between medications that upset me most. I found myself drifting in and out of sleep more often than not, no matter how hard I tried to fight my urges. It seemed that my body agreed it was not rested enough and it was working hard to try and accommodate all the different medications that were infusing themselves in my biochemistry. But the times I was awake, the times I knew that another dose would be coming would be when I heard the most interesting of the conversation.

_Malfoy did it_, a voice continued to whisper. It sounded like my brother, even if I couldn't hear his R's, I was sure that it was him. But I couldn't really remember him visiting and I don't really remember him even being in the room...and yet, for some reason it was like he was there constantly, whispering it into my ear – playing it like a record that skipped over and over and over itself.

Were the voices trying to take me again? Were they trying to worm their way into my mind when I was incapable of stopping them? They knew how to make me pay attention, that was sure...

Could Draco have done this? It seemed out of place – Draco wouldn't want to poison me, would he? Draco had no reason to try and get rid of me; we were getting along perfectly, we were closer than we'd ever been, hell – I even helped my brother stay away from him when he was doing things we all knew I did not approve of...

But why would Draco want to poison me? Why would _anyone _give a flying fuck enough to poison _me_?

_They didn't, _Draco had said. He had sounded so sure. He had sounded so sure that I hadn't even considered arguing him about it. I had just been so happy he was with me, so happy that he hadn't been as angry as the voices were, so happy he hadn't been upset when I admitted to accidentally snogged _another _Weasley...but how did he know I wasn't the target?

Oh Godric..._how did he know_?

* * *

><p>I woke up to the sound of someone whispering a spell right beside my ear. Were I to have had the energy, I may have jumped up in my bed. It was the shock alone that stopped me – the lurch of my diaphragm, the snap to my eyes, it made angry black spots dot my vision in protest. Draco shushed me, having seen my body's angry rebel from my nerves and placed a hand on my shoulder. I was warm again; my medicine was beginning to wear off considering I had gotten it five hours before. Now that I was going to hit the six-hour mark it would start to dissipate completely. I was supposed to be asleep so I wouldn't feel the pain as much as I was...but I would stay up for it anyway – I didn't want to sleep. Not with Draco here. Not with everything I now had to fear.<p>

It was nearly frightening, seeing him like he had been in some of my dreams – his pale hair, his sunken, contoured face leaning over me and examining me with discriminating precision. All I expected now was for him to shove poison down my throat or to push a pillow over my face as he had been the past afternoon and evening...

"I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered, his voice sounding strained – I remembered it sounding strained when I was asleep and couldn't hear what he was saying. I noticed that he wasn't fighting to keep it quiet, however, and turned slowly to look at the nurse's office. Had the spell I heard been a spell to silence our conversation? Maybe.

I let out a groan as I rolled back to face him and I watched, in the moonlight that shrouded the room, as his face contorted for a moment. He looked at me carefully, placing his hand on my arm as if he were afraid of touching me.

"You're warm again," he informed, his voice emotionless. I tried not to move into his cool hand though I found it nearly impossible. I felt like I was sweltering in all my blankets and at the same time I knew if they came off I would start to shiver from the difference in the air to my body temperature. There was no victory.

"They say I'll be here another week," I muttered, looking to my hands as I tested trying to clench them – no, it still hurt. "I hate it here."

"You spend a lot of time here," he responded coolly, looking around the wing at anyone but me. "I don't know why you're suddenly so concerned. How are you feeling now that you've been awake a day?"

"Awful," I told him honestly, horrified when I heard my voice crack. He must have been too, because his face screwed up and his eyes flew to me, almost as if he didn't believe it. "It hurts _everywhere._"

He closed his eyes tightly, resting his head in his hands and running them roughly through his hair. I watched him for a long moment, watched him as he warred with himself and felt tears spring to my eyes – there was only one reason he would be so at war with himself. There was only one reason he could feel so awful seeing me here in a bed.

The voices had been right.

"Say it, Draco," I whispered, even though I knew I probably didn't have to. He looked up through his hands, his eyes so molten that I wondered if he was fighting tears of his own. "Say it."

He shook his head, burying it back in his arms while he practiced hard how to breathe. I waited, patiently, watching as he fought with himself before finally found the courage to look up at me – his eyes held a strange mix of things I had not seen. While they looked like ice-cold steel, they still had a gloss over them that made it seem like the metal was white hot and melting before my very eyes...it made my chest tighten in terror.

"I did this," he whispered. His voice sounded like he had been screaming to the point it was raw. "This is my fault."

I took his hand, waiting until his eyes were locked onto mine. "I know."

He furrowed his brow, looking like my words brought him pain. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," I said again.

"Look what I did to you," he moved our hands slightly so he could look at me under the blanket while he clawed his other hand through his hair again. "Look at what I fucking _did to you. _It wasn't supposed to be _you_."

"I know," I repeated for the third time. "I forgive you."

"You shouldn't!" He snarled, trying to move away from me, even though I held his hand. He easily could have broken the hold – I had no muscles to hold him to me with thanks to the pain and he had momentum on his side, but still, he came back to sitting near me after a beat. "I almost _killed you_, Potter."

"Don't address me like that," I bit back.

"By what, your name?" He asked bitterly.

"By the name you hate," I hissed back. "And I know what happened to me, Draco. I was there, thank you very much."

"You couldn't see it, what it did to you," he shook his head, he looked like he was holding himself back from trembling. "I watched you when you were in here – the things that you couldn't do, the things you had to _hear_..."

"The things I heard?" I asked, looking at him with wide eyes. Had the voices been real? Had the voices who had screamed and tried to torture me...were they more than in my head? But Draco didn't answer me, he only shook his head and looked away from me as if he couldn't bear to see my face.

"I did this to you. I nearly killed you and it wasn't meant to be you – what happens when...when I _do _have orders I have to follow and they involve you?" He shook his head. "What the hell will I do then – follow them? Or just follow them by fucking _accident_?"

I shook my head, looking at him carefully. "You could say no."

"Don't be daft. You don't just say no to _him, _Audrey," he sneered, looking at me as if I were stupid. "You can't say _no _to someone like him!"

"I did," I told him carefully, moving to sit up. It was painful and an effort, Draco watched for a moment, his face screwed up in guilt before he helped me sit the rest of the way. "I said no to him."

"And you're a fool," he whispered.

"No, I don't like being told what to do," I corrected him, looking at him carefully. "And I don't like it when people take advantage of me or anyone I care about...and that includes you."

His eyes looked up at me, a strange vulnerability shining through them as he looked at me.

"I care about you, Draco," I whispered, reinforcing my point. I moved my hand forward and found myself smiling when he caught it and rested it against his own jaw. It made it easy that he held it there – I didn't think I'd have the energy or pain tolerance to hold it up at that angle as it was. "And you are so much better than him – than _this. _A Death Eater? You don't like taking orders, you don't like being below someone, you don't like being used; that's not who you want to be. That's not who you are."

"It's who I have to be," Draco whispered, clutching at my hand on his jaw. "You don't understand."

"I do," I whispered. "I understand a lot more than you know. He's offered it all to me, Draco; I know what Voldemort threatens, what he promises – rewards and grandeur and rank or else you'll suffer curses and punishment and death. I know what he is, what he does – I can only imagine what he threatened and promised to award _you_ with."

"You can't imagine," he opened his eyes, unable to keep from looking at me with something bordering a grimace and a sneer. "You don't know."

"It was your Mum, wasn't it?" I asked carefully, watching as his eyes clashed against mine. Were it anyone else, or were it before he poisoned me, I was sure that he would furiously storm away right about now – but something told me he would be a little more patient since I was in a hospital bed. "I could tell – what you said to Snape at Christmas, the way she defended you in Diagon Alley right before you made sure she didn't follow you to Borgin and Burkes..."

"You followed me," Draco rolled his eyes. "Bloody typical."

"I almost found out what it was you were hiding in there too," I smirked, particularly when his expression fell just a little bit more. "I would have if Hermione hadn't ruined it. Consider yourself lucky; I couldn't find out what it was."

"Why did you want to?" He asked quietly, moving a bit closer.

"Well, little had I known that my brother's unhealthy obsession with you had already started," I smiled sadly. "I'd wager that you invade his mind as often as you do mine. Hopefully in a much more platonic way, on his part."

Draco tried to smirk, but it fell short of its usual conceit.

"But I followed you because I couldn't bear to think I didn't know what you were up to after...after what I'd done." As I finished, Draco moved my hand from his jaw so that he could put his own on mine. I leaned into it and slowly he lowered me back down to the pillow.

"It was a good thing you chucked me," he muttered. "It helped this year."

"I think the opposite," I whispered, rolling to look up at the ceiling. "I needed you this year more than you can even think. I was so alone – I thought you hated me." A part of me clearly _still_ feared he hated me. I swallowed thickly, banishing the thought. "And Theodore...well, he has right to. _You _have the right to."

"Not now," he whispered. "Not that I did anyway."

"It would be so easy," I groaned, raising my hands to cover my eyes and hissing from the pain it caused to move.

"What would be so easy?"

"For you to just...change," I dropped my arms, looking over to him and his look of confusion. "For you to just tell Dumbledore what's happening and ask to be protected by the Order. He would do it, in a heartbeat. I would do it. I would put down _everything _and be your own bodyguard if I had to."

"You hate changing people," he muttered, sneering slightly. "You once fancied me because I refused to do it for anyone – including you."

"And now lives are at risk," I whispered. "Apparently including ours. Protecting you would be a lot easier if I didn't have to commute to do it."

He chuckled, smiling grimly. "I don't think I fit in very well with your Gryffindor chums, Potter."

"That makes two of us," I snorted, looking over at him. "That's not what it's about. I wouldn't need you to be friends with them – hell, I'm not friends with most of them. The Order isn't a faculty or even _family..._it's freedom."

Draco looked at me for a long moment before he shook his head. "I can't. The Dark Lord..."

"He couldn't do anything if you told Dumbledore and stayed quiet. If you sent him a bag of burning thestral dung then yes, he may very well catch on – but he wouldn't have to. You could leave, Draco. It would be so easy..."

"For what?" He mocked, his eyes cooling back to steel. "So I could have a shared room with Saint Potter, the Weasel and your Godfather? I'm so sure they'd welcome me with open arms."

"They'd welcome you a lot warmer if you came to them willing than if they met you on the battlefield," I answered him. "This is turning into a war, Draco. Don't be a moron; don't tell me you really believe in the things Voldemort says!"

"He makes good arguments," Draco looked away from me. "The Dark Lord-"

"Would not only kill me because I'm a Halfblood," I interrupted, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "But he plans to kill me because I'm a threat."

Draco looked away from me, shaking his head as if trying to shake my words away.

"You're not a threat, Audrey," he whispered, his voice wavering. "You're a weakness. The Dark Lord knows that." I was a weakness? I'd never considered the possibility of that – but who was I a weakness to? Harry, Draco, Voldemort?

"He has them too, weaknesses," I explained. "And I would find them. I _will _find them. If you came to the Order I'd make sure you were safe, even if I was the one who had to do it. There'd be no more secrets, Draco. Can you imagine living _honestly_? Can you imagine not having sent Katie Bell to St Mungo's," his shoulders rounded in on himself, "or having me almost being cursed by the necklace?" his head fell into his hands. "Can you imagine not having to have put me in this bed? Because it's not fantasy – the Order doesn't do that."

"So what," Draco said quickly, looking at me with furious, watery eyes. "You've picked your side then? You pick _them_?"

"I pick _life, _Draco," I hissed back. "I don't agree with everything the Order does – but I do know they aren't going to kill me if I do something wrong. And don't for one second tell me that you don't know what your Lord is planning if you fail."

He stood up from his seat, looking at me with burning, watery eyes.

"You don't know anything," he whispered, his fists clenched.

"I know I care for you," I whispered back. "And I want you to be safe."

"I _will _be safe," he hissed. "I'm the safest one in this entire bloody castle!"

"I want _us _to be safe," I whispered back, looking down at my hands, trying hard to keep my voice from failing me. "And with those secrets, you can't do that – can you? Don't you understand? I need to keep you safe, Draco...because you're _my _weakness."

I didn't raise my head as I heard his furious footsteps away from me. I didn't need to – I knew he wasn't coming back. I had put a lot on his plate – feelings, guilt, sides, warnings, promises...I'd given more for Draco Malfoy to think of tonight than I had thought of in the past year.

* * *

><p>"Bloody hell, Potter," Tracey sighed, looking at me as I gripped the side of my bed to maintain a vertical position. "You look like...like a bloody kind of hell."<p>

"You have such a way with words," I drawled, frowning when I noticed that I had come to the end of my bed an would no longer have the support system I felt I needed to walk properly. "What _does _a bloody kind of hell look like, in theory, Davis?"

"Like an inferius," she answered obviously. "You look like the undead."

"Though your opinions are really enlightening," I mumbled, "you're not giving me any help at all."

"I give you help just by being around you. Do you know the kinds of things you would be thinking about were it not for my witty repartee and charismatic conversation? I've kept the fact you snogged Ronald Weasley out of your mind for-"

"Here, Audrey," Lillian made a swipe of her wand, displaying a wonderful use of a speechless spell. It took Tracey a few seconds of speaking to realize that no noise was coming from her mouth. She looked at Lillian darkly, trying to give us some sarcastic remark that we couldn't actually hear. By the time she was trying to grab our attention with wild hand movements, I couldn't help but feel better.

"_That_ is how you help someone," I smiled to Tracey mockingly before I turned to Lillian. "I think I like her better this way; well done."

"Any time," Lillian smiled, wrapping my arm around her shoulder so that she could help me stand while we both ignored Tracey's violently flailing limbs.

"Tracey, would you keep it down?" I asked her, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't want Madame Pomfrey to hear you."

Tracey seemed to scream at the top of her lungs, not that any of us could hear it. But by the way her mouth kept forming words, I knew that what was being said was not for polite or dignified ears.

Tracey and Lillian walked me slowly towards Dumbledore's office. I was glad that I didn't have to worry about what Madame Pomfrey had to say about my being released, even if she was very upset by it. Dumbledore had agreed that if I thought I was well enough to come see him, I was well enough to leave and I would do anything to get out of that bloody hospital wing. It was boring, only having Hermione, Ron, and sometimes a very vicious looking Lavender come down to visit me...

Draco hadn't. He hadn't come to see me since the night that he had admitted to me just how sideways everything had turned. I wish that I could say I expected more from him – but I was not surprised to see that he had disappeared and I was less surprised by the fact no one else seemed to have heard from him either. My dorm mates loved to gossip and it was nice that Daphne knew to bring him up when she could sneak away from Theodore enough to see me.

"So why does Dumbledore have to see you anyway?" Lillian asked as we finally reached the corridor that lead the way to his office.

"Probably just so we can talk more about the poisoning and my well-being," I shrugged off easily. "It's not really that important."

"And you're sure that Harry's going to be meeting you here after? Will you make it down to the Slytherin dorms tonight?"

"Not a clue," I answered her honestly. Tracey looked like she tried to say something, but when it came out as lifeless air, she rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in frustration. "He will be meeting me, for sure. So don't wait up; who knows what we'll have to deal with after everything that's happened."

This was both a truth and a lie.

I had not told Harry anything about coming to retrieve me from my time with Dumbledore this evening and I didn't plan for him to show up at all considering he'd had his lesson a week or more before while I was still out-cold. This was my make-up time with the headmaster, I doubted that Harry would be following that. But truthfully, I didn't know what I would get up to once I was out of Dumbledore's office – I would probably be shooing away morons disguised by Polyjuice potion and then I would probably camp out in front of the exit to ensure that Draco Malfoy wouldn't get past me.

The only question was whether I would be waiting for him alone, or with Dumbledore and select members of the Order, or the authorities, to take him in for his dirty Death Eating secrets...

"As long as we'll see you tomorrow," Lillian told, unwrapping my arm from around her neck and staying where she could carefully see whether or not I was going to topple over without her guidance to hold me. I swayed uneasily, but managed to keep myself upright and gave her a grin.

"I'll be fine," I assured her. "Don't worry about it – I'll see you two at breakfast and we'll catch up on everything I need to; such as homework."

Tracey waved her arms behind Lillian's head. I moved slightly over so I could see what she was indicating. Something about her voice and homework...or homework and myself...ah – she would let me copy her homework if she got her voice back.

"I think that's a fair trade," I told her honestly. "But you have to catch Lillian first. Run, Moon!"

Lillian let out a shriek as she dashed down the corridor, away from Dumbledore's office with Tracey hot on her trail. I watched them go fondly for a moment, before taking a deep breath – breathing in everything I needed to remember to think about and bring up during this visit with Dumbledore...

"Pepper imps," I said to the gargoyle, the statue leapt out of the way for me. I followed the winding stone steps up to the door and did not need to knock before I was asked to enter. Dumbledore's office looked no different than it had when I had been here however many days before. He sat at his desk, ushering me to sit in the chair in front of him where the Pensieve had already been placed between us; casting pale shadows over his serene expression.

"Good evening, Audrey," Dumbledore smiled. "I trust you are well?"

"Not as well as I could be," I responded, sitting down and trying not to wince at the pain that rippled through me. "But well enough to get out of that hospital wing."

"Yes, I heard from both Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape that you refused to be bedridden any longer – I assume they gave you very specific instructions for your medications?"

"I have them written down. Lillian took the liberty of copying them and posting them all over the dormitory so the girls could help if I needed them to."

"That was very kind of her," he smiled. "Miss Moon has always been quite organized."

"She has," I nodded slowly, even if it was a heavy understatement.

"Now, besides the obvious worries over your latest brush with death, is there anything you deem appropriate to bring up during this lesson?"

Besides the obvious worries over my latest brush with death? Well, that about covers most issues, doesn't it? Even though I had multiple things to bring up about my most recent brush with death I nodded that there was more to bring up, even if I felt nervous at the idea of getting any words out. I took a deep breath, watching as Dumbledore's eyebrows crawled upwards interestedly.

"Professor, I wanted to ask you a – er – well, I suppose it's a philosophical question."

"I quite like the philosophical," Dumbledore grinned, his blue eyes twinkling. "I find that it can have so many different answers, so many different paths to take –though in the end, there is often only one solution that best befits the question itself."

"Er, right..." I said carefully, looking down to my hands and taking a deep breath as I caught his eye, trying to play my cards as close to my chest as I can. "I wanted to ask you, philosophically, about your take on right and wrong..."

"Right and wrong," he hummed, sounding interested as he steepled his fingers. "What exactly are you questioning about it?"

"Its parameters, I guess," I hummed, running a hand through my hair and wincing at how sensitive my scalp was as I accidentally got caught in a tangle. "How you're supposed to know when something is truly wrong and something is truly right – when is there the line between them?"

"Well, I personally don't imagine a line between right and wrong," Dumbledore told me placidly. "I usually envision a road or a junction, of sorts, with multiple lanes going in multiple directions. You see, Audrey, I believe that the shades of gray between those two pillars are often where the real decisions lie."

"So you're saying there is no right or wrong?"

"Not necessarily," he nodded to himself in thought. "I'm sure there are right and wrong answers, like on any test, but sometimes you need to swim through the other shades before you can reach or define it. And I find the shore is not as deep nor as vast as the ocean – don't you?"

I loathed water metaphors. But at the same time, I understood why he was using them. I understood what it was he was trying to explain to me...that right and wrong weren't black and white and neither were the choices you had to made to lead you there. That was how I lived my life, straddling the gray matter between such radical sides and decisions.

"How do you know if you're making a right decision or a wrong decision?"

"I find that it's best to keep matters to where they belong – if it is a hard decision that involves the mind, then it usually has something to do with personal boundaries and the logical notion of what one can and cannot pursue. But if it is a matter of the heart..." Dumbledore smiled down at me, his eyes twinkling. "I find it becomes much more complicated than that."

"So this is about the mind and the heart...er – mind and the body," I said slowly, my eyes narrowing. "Was that transition intentional?"

"Why," he sounded nearly shocked, but much too chipper to actually have been. "It does sound that way, doesn't it?"

"So is there another one: the one that fixes it, or the third quality that balances the rest – like white and black with gray to balance?"

"I believe there often is; but sometimes you need to look outside oneself for that answer. And if you knew what it was, you may not be asking philosophical questions at all, Miss Potter," Dumbledore grinned. "But I daresay you are on the right track."

Funny, I felt like he'd taken me onto a few too many winding roads and I had gotten lost somewhere along the way before I found that 'junction' of his. Still, I couldn't understand what he was saying – he had brought in the idea of balance again: three different materials to make a whole. This time it had been heart, mind and...what? Something that I had to look outside myself for the answer?

Or was it not that I had to look outside myself, necessarily, but bring someone in on the question. Was Draco that third quality? The quality that both balanced my heart arguing with my mind; the quality which was also the catalyst which was making it feel like it was exploding.

"Now, I believe that in the wake of what you have just discovered," Dumbledore moved back in his desk and picked out a vial from the drawer, replacing it with the vial he had already had laid out on the desk for us. "It would be wise to see thisnext."

If only he knew what I had actually just discovered – realized...was Draco the catalyst to this balance? Was there really no way I could get out of this situation, get _him _out of this situation without using my heart and my head together – even if they were at war?

"What memory are we watching, Professor?"

"One quite fitted to this conversation, given to me by a young lady named Olive Hornby," Dumbledore smiled slightly, handing the vial for me to uncork before he let the contents float it into the Pensieve. I was right, he had changed whatever memory we were going to be watching because of what I had come in asking – I just wondered how much of my philosophical question he had stored away to contemplate later...I mean, who _really _asked such random philosophical questions without any basis behind them?

In the Pensieve, the shapes had begun to spill and form a scene. I felt myself leaning over the vapour and splashing into the portrait in front of me. I didn't make so much as a ripple in the world that manifested itself around me, Dumbledore joined me just as unnoticeably.

Dumbledore and I had landed in the middle of some sort of study. Perhaps it was supposed to be a library. I couldn't really tell on account that half the bookshelves were bare and most of the books that should have been on them were in various stages of being packed...or perhaps they were being unpacked. On the floor sat a girl with thick blonde hair – the colour of aged parchment. Her nose was dug in a book. The girl sitting in the chair beside her had dark hair and her nose was so far into the book that I was sure she was sniffing the pages. In the corner of the room a man leaned against the wall, pretending to look at his book while he eyed the women in front of him.

"I can't find anything," the blonde breathed, whipping her hair away from her face. Now that I could see the book she was reading I could tell that she was not actually _reading _it. Her fingers were flipping through the pages so quickly that there was no way she was ingesting what was on them. The girl still sitting in the chair seemed to be making a much more concentrated effort.

"Maybe you should give up," the man said, throwing the book down on the table as he walked a little closer in the room. "I'm sure that it won't be in any of these books."

"Are _you _the one who wants to tell Tom that we failed because you were too much of a sloth to try?" the brunette snapped, finally raising her face towards the man. It was with a shock that I realized I recognized this woman – I had seen her in memories before. It was Seren Malmore. Her sharp, dark gaze was so intense that the man stumbled back to his position against the wall. "No, I'd thought not."

"Be nice to Mulciber," The girl with the parchment coloured hair breathed. "He's had a rough day. He said that Tom was furious because Dolohov couldn't make it to London before the night's out."

"I don't have to be nice to Mulciber if I don't want to be," Seren informed her, her dark eyes glittering on the woman. It was scary, the change in her eyes from the last memory I had seen her. There, Seren had seemed so afraid while she walked up to her parents and murdered them. Here, she was dark – she had seen things that even her traumatized mind had not been able to imagine when she had murdered her own family. I couldn't fathom what shadows may have haunted her now. "And I don't want to be."

"Do you think Tom is really mad, or do you think he's just trying to get us worked up?"

"I never doubt whether or not Tom is angry," Seren said, sticking her nose back in the book. "Nor should you. It's in your best interest, Olive."

"Don't you think he's a little...angry, for you?" Olive, the girl with the parchment hair, whispered. I watched as Olive's eyes quickly flickering up to see if Mulciber was paying any attention; he wasn't, his nose was now deep in a book as he nervously awaited the arrival of his 'friend'.

"I'm the only one who keeps Tom calm," Seren said simply. "You know that."

I saw the look that flashed across the other girl's face – the look of disbelief and the look of worry – but it was disrupted by a bellow that shook the entire foundation of the house. Seren hardly batted an eye while the other two seemed to brace themselves against walls and floorboards.

None of them seemed surprised when the door nearly shattered open and ricocheted off its hinges, even if Olive seemed like she was terrified by the event. Tom Riddle barely even glanced at her, however, his eyes took to Seren as if she were a magnet. It was impossible not to see that his eyes, once so dark, now flashed an eerie bloodied tint when examined in good light.

"He _stole it_!" Riddle roared, his voice shaking all the boxes and rattling them against the floor. "He stole it from her, Seren! The old witch told me herself_._"

"Tom," Seren said, sounding completely calm. It was an unnatural clash between the two of them, his rage and her patience. She placed the book down so it would stay open against the table and moved to stand. Her movements were very slow and deliberate, as if she were facing a rabid animal. "Tom, you need to calm down."

"_He stole it_!" He roared again, slamming his fist down on the table that separated he, Seren and Olive. Olive, at the sight, jumped back as if she had been hit herself while the table cracked in two; Seren's carefully kept page lost in its fall to the ground.

"Olive, please move the books," Seren said calmly, not taking her eyes off of Tom as he played with his wand, moving it around and thinking of what he wanted to curse. "Tom, give me your wand."

"Don't ask for my wand, Malmore, you know I won't give it to you..."

"Just for a minute," she said smoothly, walking up to him and carefully taking it out of his hand. It was impossible not to notice how she was practically pushing herself against him to distract him enough to loosen his grip on his wand and when she took it from him she held it slightly behind her back. She looked up at him, still oddly calm and collected. "Look at me."

"I'm going to kill him," Tom hissed, his eyes flickering over to the window – his gaze boring through as if the shutters covering it were made of glass.

"And I'm sure he'll deserve it," Seren said carefully. "Now look at me."

Riddle looked down his nose at her, catching her eyes. I could see the determination the _affection _that Seren was trying to show him through her gaze, but he merely grabbed her arm and took his wand back from her, pocketing it when she no longer moved to grab it from him again. He looked at her coolly, none of the warmth in his gaze that was coming from her own.

"Explain from the beginning," Seren said calmly, placing her hands on either side of his face to keep his attention. "Tell me."

Though Tom was not at all engrossed with Seren as she was for him, it was impossible not to notice how he obeyed her words. It was...wrong, how he didn't argue or question her, even if he couldn't wipe the sneer and the disgust from his face to pretend he cared. Riddle took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself to say what had to be said and when he became frustrated again I jumped when a vase cracked.

He was using Magnuse. I had never imagined someone like _him _to be so uncontrolled.

"I had to visit Hepzibah Smith today," he whispered, not even looking towards the vase that had shattered over his shoulder. "She brought out the artifacts she's been bragging about – you were right, it was stolen. And _she _has it."

This time, Seren was the one who stiffened, her arms falling from Riddle's face as her spine straightened. It was like she was ready to sprint to whatever it was Hepzibah had – but instead, Tom's hand found her neck...not quite her face, as she had done for him, but held that awkward dip from her shoulder to her neck where he had scarred me. It was not an intimate gesture.

"That's not all she has, Seree," he whispered. The nickname still sounded false under his tongue and I found myself sneering at the obvious manipulation. "She has the _locket._"

"The locket?" Olive spoke from the sidelines, taking a few steps closer as if she couldn't believe her ears. She looked to Seren, who's eyes were still glued to Riddle's face, while she smiled. "We found it?"

"That's not the problem," Tom growled, looking at her so furiously that she shrank back toward the edge of the fireplace where he couldn't quite see her. "She told me how she got it – Burke sold it to her."

"Yes," Seren said slowly. "That's what you'd wagered, wasn't it?"

"Hepzibah said that Burke bought it for ten galleons," he hissed the words in a way that made even Seren want to take a step back. "_Ten._ He got it for _ten galleons_ from a woman who was in rags – thought to have stolen it. She said it was her only possession...she hadn't realized it's value."

Seren didn't move, she could feel the calm before the storm.

"Tom..."

"_HE STOLE IT_!" Voldemort raged again, his wand having a mind of its own and splintering the wooden frame of the painting that had clearly just been placed on the other side of the room. Seren came up and put her hands on his chest. "He stole what was _mine_!"

"And you will make him pay for it," she said simply. "We'll get it back."

"She knows I want it, Seree," he said, his voice dropping much lower than it had been mere seconds before. The use of the nickname again was like a trigger for an emotional ravaging. "I can't get it from her."

Seren didn't miss a beat. "I'll deal with that. I'll deal with Hepzibah."

Tom gave a smile. It was not a true smile, but one that was clearly used when you wanted someone to do as you asked them – everything about him seemed like a tactic for prime manipulation. It hurt me to know that Seren couldn't see that.

"You would do that, for me?"

"Always," she whispered back. He moved forward, placing his hand on her cheek and I felt her move into it – I was startled by how familiar that sensation was and I touched my own cheek. Had I not just done that days before in the hospital wing?

Voldemort moved and gave her a kiss – it was not like any kiss I had ever gotten from a boy and I couldn't explain what it was that was different about it. I'd had gentle kisses, passionate kisses, rough and forced and gentle kisses...but I had never been kissed like that. And I never wanted to be. He walked out the door, motioning silently for Mulciber to follow him and the man did it without hesitation. Seren watched after him, even when she could see him no longer, even when her friend walked up behind her, looking shaken.

"Seren?" Olive asked, her voice timid. It looked like she feared breaking the trance her friend was in. "Seren...please don't tell me you're going to do it."

"Of course I'm going to do it," Seren bit out, finally turning away from the door that Voldemort had left from. "I told him I would."

"He can't just ask you to do things like that!" Olive seemed outraged.

"He didn't _ask, _I offered."

"He may as well have asked you on one knee," Seren's eyes flickered to the door again. "Focus, Seren! Don't you realize what you're doing is wrong?"

"Is it?" She asked, her eyes looking back at her friend. "I love him, Olive. And that locket is his – he's the heir of Slytherin, you know that. Think about it, Olive – the world he wants, the world he wants to build – it's beautiful."

"You know I believe in purifying the Magical community, you know I believe in what he stands for," she said carefully, her words measured as she reached out to turn Seren to face her properly. "But don't you find his methods a bit...extreme?"

"You'd be extreme too, if you were trying to change an entire generation!" Seren moved away from her friend's hand, her face grimacing at the contact as she moved closer to the door.

"He can't just ask you to do the things he does – you shouldn't have to be the one he can later point his finger to, the one who ends up being in so much trouble, Seren...it will all lead back to you."

"He wouldn't do that to me," she whispered, looking at Olive as if she were insane. "He loves me."

Olive sighed, looking towards the door that Seren still stared from. "You shouldn't do this."

"I'll do anything for him. That you won't..." Seren shook her head, almost looking as if she was too disgusted to find anything else to say before she stormed from the room; headed in the opposite direction from where Voldemort had last exited.

"I believe that is all for tonight, Audrey." Dumbledore informed, breaking me from the scene as I watched Olive begin to clean the ransacked study. He gave a gentle pull on my elbow and lifted me out of the Pensieve, back into his office. He offered me the seat I always took and I sat obediently, feeling light headed as my mind raced to keep up to itself.

"So, Seren Malmore...what did she mean when she said she would 'take care' of Hepzibah Smith?"

"I don't think it should come as a shock to find out that Hepzibah Smith died two days after this memory took place. Hokey, her old House Elf, was made to blame when it was discovered her tea had been poisoned. Tom Riddle, a very frequent visitor to Hepzibah's house, testified that the old elf was close to senility and that it would have been quite easy to misunderstand the difference of sugar to arsenic – Hokey was acquitted. The family did not have time between finding her treasures gone and trying to find holes in the story before Tom Riddle and Seren Malmore disappeared from the public eye altogether."

"So she did," I stated, my eyebrows raised as I eyed the Pensieve. "She killed for him. Again."

"Yes, I believe she did."

"She looked so different," I discerned quietly, thinking back to how different everything about her had looked, how different she had acted, how different she had _been_. "She was a completely different person."

"Death, murder...they affect people more than can be explained," Dumbledore began quietly. I lowered my head, not daring to meet his eye. He knew full well he did not need to explain that to me. "It tears one apart bit by bit until you are a shadow of who you once were – it is why war can be so much more dangerous before and after, than during the actual battle."

I thought on that for a long time, my throat feeling swollen from the emotion I was trying to fight down. I cleared it, trying to make sure my words would come out properly. "And Burke? Did he 'get what he deserved'?"

"After a long pause that I'm sure felt like freedom, Burke did meet a rather mysterious end – but no one can say how it occurred. It was all kept very well under wraps."

"But you think Voldemort killed him, don't you, Professor?"

"An educated guess would lead to me believing it, yes," Dumbledore thought to himself plainly. "But do not let it distract you, these side crimes. The value of our lesson today does not center on extremities or Voldemort's later expeditions, but rather on Seren Malmore."

"Why, sir?" I asked, feeling antsy.

"Do you recall, in one of our first lessons when we first met Seren Malmore, how I explained how some would kill for love while others may die for it? You argued the forces of love are not as intimidating as the draw of fear."

"I remember," I told him honestly, my whole body stiffening just at the thought.

"Yes, I had a feeling you would," he smiled softly at me. "Do you still believe that fear is more coercive than love, Audrey?"

My stomach seemed to roll, just under the pressure I felt by the very question. Yes, my outlook on those classes however many months ago had certainly changed. I couldn't believe how – once upon a time – I had thought it was ridiculous, the idea you could love someone enough that you would die for them; or even worse, that you loved someone enough that you would kill for them. I had always known what I would sacrifice for Harry – my dignity, my freedom. But now, just remembering the fear that built up at the very thought of Draco and his mission – Draco who had nearly poisoned me two weeks before – Draco who had told me he was a Death Eater – Draco who I wanted to punish for his idiocy and yet protect even if I had to shield him from the Snakeman myself...

Suddenly, neither fear nor love seemed something I would die for, neither fear nor love seemed something I would kill for.

But Draco did. Something told me that I might do those things...for him.

You're a weakness, Audrey, he had told me. Why did I suddenly feel weak at the thought of him?

"I don't know, sir," I responded, my stomach rolling. "I think both love and fear are easily manipulated."

Yes, manipulated. That's exactly what this felt like – even if I couldn't tell how we were manipulating each other, that had to have been what this was. My stomach churned again while my breathing started to constrict – I could not have these realizations in the middle of my headmaster's office.

"Excuse me, professor," I mumbled, standing up from my seat and hearing it squeal against the hardwood as it flew backwards and away from me. This knew knowledge hit me as if I had been hit with the cruciatus curse, which sent the electric realization through me like a painful reminder.

I could not tell Dumbledore.

Who knew what Draco was up to – I know that I sure didn't, even if I knew it involved someone having to die. But how would Dumbledore handle this information? He wouldn't want someone like Draco in the school and if that were the case, where would he send him? Would he be taken to Headquarters to wait with all the people who loathed his parents, only to wait for the summers when all the people he had ever terrorized could come and repay their debt?

I couldn't condemn Draco to a life of hiding with those he hated. I was already doing something quite similar and I couldn't subject him to living like that. Hell, if I did, it might push him right back into Voldabort's waiting arms with a little too much haste.

Isn't that what Dumbledore had been trying to show me with that memory? That Seren Malmore would lie and cry and die for him if she had to – that Voldemort would lie and kiss and manipulate her if it got him what he wanted...wasn't I just taking a chapter from my lessons? Wasn't I just doing everything Dumbledore had been telling me all year: balancing the act. It was time to play my cards and I had to bluff if I wanted to move forward, I had to raise the bar if I had a good hand...

I had to do this the right way: my way. I needed to accept whatever it was Draco was doing so that I could get into his head and ruin his plans from the inside out – squirm my way into them to show him all the other options he thought he didn't have. I could change Draco's mind, of that I had no doubt – now I just needed to ensure that he wasn't caught doing something stupid before I could make sure he would be safe when he switched sides. And he _would_ switch sides.

But he wasn't ready yet...so I couldn't be ready to tell.

"Are you all right, Audrey?" Dumbledore asked, looking mildly concerned and yet that grin still seemed to pull at his face. I ignored the twinkle in his eye – that damned all-knowing twinkle – and gripped the back of the chair as I felt my mind and stomach churn with my newest decision.

"I'm still feeling a little ill," I told him honestly, trying not to explain what had triggered the sudden urge to flush out my ideas like I had been flushing out the poison.

"Ah, yes. Madame Pomfrey did warn me that you were not to be overexerted in any way during this next week. And you remember your instructions for your medications?"

"No overexertion, particularly at night as the Essence of Rue has worn off and I need to keep my blood pressure – and core temperature – down," I recited, having heard the speech far more than a few times. "If at any point in time I begin to feel more than light-headed or unforgivably ill, I'm to report to Professor Snape or Madame Pomfrey immediately."

"Quite right," Dumbledore chuckled, apparently my apathetic tone had been humorous. "With that being said, please remind the young man waiting for you outside my office that you will need your rest and medication at the appropriate times; despite your own agendas."

I looked towards the door, my brow furrowed. I hadn't _actually _asked my brother to wait for me like I had told the girls – could they have told him to come here anyway? I looked back to Dumbledore, muttering a quick goodbye and thanks before I wobbled my way down the winding stone staircase – I stopped at the bottom, getting a pointed look from the gargoyle for staying in its way too long.

Draco was in front of me, leaning against the wall and trying to portray the quintessential serenity he would never have – he was far too diabolical for that. No matter how attractive he was, no matter how beautiful he looked, the realizations I'd had in Dumbledore's office were far too much to keep me distracted with how badly I wanted to talk to him.

"So," Draco said, his voice low. "I assume they're coming down with the shackles now?"

"Of course not," I muttered guiltily, placing my hand on my stomach and looking past him. "You don't need to hide tonight, Draco."

"Why, they'll come for me in my sleep?" He asked, his jeering more mocking than I had heard it in months. "I hope they don't mind I sleep in my knickers – do you sleep in yours, Audrey? I may have to tell them some of your own crimes, if you do."

"They're not coming for you at all, Draco," I snapped, looking at him with pained eyes. "I didn't tell Dumbledore. I didn't tell anyone. And I don't plan to."

I started walking, moving away from him even though I heard his footsteps follow me. "Bullshit."

"I didn't tell a soul. And I won't," I told him honestly, looking over my shoulder and being shocked when I saw the same magnetic gaze from him as I had seen in the memory of my lesson. "Because I'm going to change your mind before then – and I hate crying wolf."

Draco stopped walking, his gaze still harsh. "So you're trying to be _noble? _Haven't I told you where that gets you, Potter?"

"Yeah, you have," I muttered. "Luckily for me, the only place I need to get right now is a toilet."

Draco's footsteps didn't follow after me to the girl's lavatory, but I was still sure to close the door to the stall behind me as I bent down over the toilet and wretched. I didn't need to have those horrible gruelling minutes to wait until my stomach lurched like I needed it to – it was more than ready on its own time, making me flush the toilet immediately by the sharp, toxic smell.

"Oh, how awful!" I rolled my eyes. "You look nearly as awful as you sound..."

"I'm not in the mood for a chat, Myrtle," I groaned, closing my eyes and hoping she would respect the privacy of my individual stall. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. "I'm a little bit busy."

"I can see that," I nearly jumped when her voice came from the opposite side I'd heard it from and I found her head floating in the toilet I had just flushed. I sneered at her.

"Go away," I hissed. "Aren't you supposed to haunt your _own _bathroom?"

"The pipes lead to all the bathrooms," Myrtle giggled. "I can go anywhere I want – _you_ can't make me do anything!"

"Is that the biggest perk of death?" I asked, leaning my head back against the cool wall of the stall. "Because I've suddenly realized how boring it must be."

"Don't be mean," she pouted. "You Slytherins are always teasing poor Myrtle! But I can see why he was crying about you now; even if you aren't quite as dead as me."

"What?" I asked, my eyes snapping towards her. "Who was crying when?"

"The boy," she rolled her eyes as if I were the one being ridiculous. "He always comes to visit me – he's scared. He told me what he did to you, how bad he feels...I can see why now. Just because you aren't as dead as me doesn't mean you don't look it."

I closed my eyes, ignoring her giggling. Luckily I didn't need her to go into any more detail. It didn't surprise me that Draco had been a bit torn up after finding out that it was his botched poisoning attempt that had landed me in the hospital wing – but it was still strange to envision. Then again, it was easy to imagine: Draco weeping over me as I lay unconscious, wishing I would wake up so that he could apologize and hold me and tell me how much I meant to him...

A lot of good that had done me. He'd apologized and just run away from me, leaving me to clean up his mess. I must have 'Bin' tattooed to my forehead because between Draco and my brother's combined efforts I felt like a professional mess-remover. And here I was listening to Moaning bloody Myrtle talk about how _she _had been the one my own boyfriend had confided in before he had confided in me thanks to inadvertently almost bringing about my demise.

This year is _horrible._

"I should have known that it was you," Myrtle continued, crossing her arms as she raised herself a bit more from the toilet. "When he described you – he didn't like saying your name. Just talked about you; it makes sense now. I can't say I like it..."

She floated entirely out of the toilet now, sitting on the seat as if she were tangible and _didn't _have to concentrate really hard not to just hover there.

"Can you please just leave me alone?" I asked, hitting my head against the stall and crying out. She giggled. "And while you're leaving me alone, you can forget any of this conversation happened."

Myrtle's translucent eyes sparkled. "Why, does Harry not know you're here?"

"No," I gritted my teeth. "He doesn't."

Myrtle gasped. "Does Harry not know that you and Draco are dating? Oh!"

She move to hover over my face as she giggled, twirling about in a circle, her arms moving through the stall thanks to the little space there was between us. She got right into my face, still giggling.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Harry! He never liked that boy, I remember seeing it when I sneak out into the halls – but now you're dating him anyway! Harry must be furious. Oh, I wonder if he'll come visit me more often so I can tell him the story of how the boy poisoned his girlfriend – who is Harry's own sister!"

"Myrtle," I said, my voice sounding dangerous even from my point of view. I felt myself coil as if I would have been able to pounce on her, every muscle acting defensively as I stared her down. "If you ever talk to anysoul – living or dead – about what Draco comes in here to do or what he says, I will personally slit my own wrists so that I can join you here and make your non-existent life even worse than the life that didn't care when you were killed. Do I make myself clear?"

Myrtle, her eyes showing a strange mix between what I could only assume were tears and rage, let out a wail before she swooped high into the air and in through the toilet. I flushed it as she disappeared, hoping maybe that would keep her away for a little bit longer than I needed to finish my business and leave.

"I'm glad you told her off," I could hear Draco's voice from outside the stall. I was glad I couldn't see his expression; no part of me wanted to know what it would look like. "Though I'm not sure if I can take any more references to you being dead."

"Stay out," I muttered, feeling the sensation of vomit creeping up my throat. "You really don't want to see this."

"I caused it," he said quietly. I felt the door swing open behind me thanks to it grazing the hood of my robe on the way. I leaned more over the toilet, waiting to be sick again and also trying to cover its contents so that he wouldn't have to see what was happening – or the very obvious fact that it was the poison I was 'naturally expelling'.

I vomited again, glad that he didn't touch me and even more glad that he didn't make any rude remarks. Maybe he felt too guilty to. After a few more upheavals and the unmistakable ache of my very empty stomach, I moved my hand towards the role of toilet paper on the wall and wiped off my face; I didn't want to face Draco as it was, but the idea of him seeing me with vomit on my face was horrifying.

I just wish that he wasn't seeing me like this. I wish I could just slam the door, scream at him and make him forget what he had seen and heard of my conversation with Myrtle. Instead of leaving, he bent down to my level, placing his hand on my head.

"You're warm," he whispered.

"The medicine's worn off," I acknowledged thickly. "I have to wait until morning."

"No you don't," he said lowly. He stood up and for a moment I thought maybe he was exiting the stall – but instead of leaving he took my hand in his own, slowly spinning me around on the cool tile so that I was facing him.

"Come on," he whispered. "You were right. It's time you knew."

There was no reason to ask what he meant – his tone, his expression, the nervousness that I could feel radiating off of him was enough to tell me exactly what he was referring to. But I couldn't help myself, like the master-manipulator I was I couldn't stop myself from questioning him, from hearing him say it himself. "Time that I knew what?"

"Everything."

Draco helped me up, his face twisting when he noticed the wobble to my steps. I couldn't help but make it a little more exaggerated, just so that the guilt would not allow him the time to change his mind – because how was I alone going to change his mind without playing this guilt to my benefit? He _had _almost killed me, after all...and if it had been powerful enough for him to come into the girls lavatory to talk to _Myrtle, _I was sure that he was feeling guilty enough to give himself over to the weakness I presented – just like he had warned me.

_You are just like me, _Riddle had said. And now, I couldn't help hoping a part of me was – because if I was a weakness, if I was like Voldemort who I knew had already manipulated Draco into joining him...maybe I had the same power.

* * *

><p><strong>So here's are the questions of the chapter: is Audrey comparing herself to Seren, or is she comparing herself to Voldemort? What is Draco about to tell her, after everything that's happened? How is Audrey being poisoned about to change the fate of this story from the original? I'd love to hear your thoughts! For those fantastic readers who shared their thoughts from last week, I have some thoughts of my own for you:<strong>

_anon1_**: Of course I was going to leave the mead until the very end! It wouldn't have been as exciting otherwise. What did you think of how it was portrayed? I asked my dad, who has been in a few comas, to talk about what he remembers of them and he guarantees that he could hear voices, just couldn't respond or understand what was being said – hopefully I pulled it off! Astoria hasn't been able to get to her the past few weeks because of her stay in teh hospital wing; but you're right – neither girl will just let this slide. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: Draco and Audrey parts are my favourite parts too. They're so cute in teh strangest 'love-hate' relationship kind of way. I'm glad you didn't immediately understand what was going on when she was drugged with the love potion; that's what made writing that inner monologue half the fun. I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter, it was really fun to write. Hopefully this one, though not as funny, was still a good read. Thanks for the review.**

_Blue Boxes and Vampire Fangs_**: Well thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it. I don't think it's bad that you wanted Audrey to drink the mead; I have been waiting for it since I started drafting this entire story, so I'm glad it happened! It's definitely about to change the dynamic between Audrey and Draco – I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks again :)**

_Guest_**: Yeah, Harry hasn't taken into consideration just how jealous his sister can be. I wonder if he's going to start realising it a little bit more now that she's openly acting against him. Who knows, maybe Sirius will start understanding it too. Thanks for the review.**

_Incitanemxx_**: You totally called it, she downed it in one go. I imagine it was the equivalent of taking a tequila shot. Poor girl. If tequila makes your clothes come off, I can only imagine what that kind of poison does...  
>Harry didn't succeed in last chapters potion match – I did the infamous fist in the air from the Breakfast Club as I wrote it. It was also great that she succeeded in Apparating. At least she got some good moments before we found out that she was poisoned – including a good prank in with the Slytherin witches.<br>It's definitely going to change the dynamic now that Snape knows about Draco and Audrey, but he also knows that Draco is behind the poisoning that Audrey suffered from. We'll be seeing more of that a little later.  
>Draco, Draco, Draco. It was fun writing that she was thinking of him so much that she moved into his hoop instead of her own. We can expect that she'll be learning a little bit about his mission in the next chapter, which will be interesting to see what exactly Draco meant with some of his remarks in this and other chapters.<br>In English we use both Animagi and Animagus. Animagus is what someone is or the singular form but when you're referring to a plural (example: James, Sirius, and McGonagall) it would be Animagi.  
>As a side note, I loved how you put the happiest emoticon there is ( :D ) for the term "It was like a train ride to hell!" Made my day. And points for a Game of Thrones reference. And for such a long review, as you said. I love it :)<br>I'm hoping you noticed Harry's new suspicious glances at Audrey's flowers, by the way. Perhaps her drunken (love-drunk-on potion, at least) blathering meant more to Harry than she had anticipated. Hopefully you liked all the different moments in this chapter – thank you so much for the review; I enjoyed it as always!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Don't worry about not reviewing last chapter, I'm just glad you took the time to review now. I'm glad that her easy-apparating wasn't too much of a surprise; I thought it would likely be easy for her considering her only magic is her body-based magic. You might be right about him being even more on the look out; guess you're going to have to wait and see! Hope you liked this chapter.**

_animagirl_**: Draco didn't seem too upset – but that doesn't mean that it's not silently grating at his core. He's not really the type to forget about something like that. Glad you liked the last chapter and hope you enjoyed this one as well, thanks!**

_Polki_**: Ha, well I'm glad you still liked it even if I caused you some sleep deprivation. Thanks for reviewing.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Yeah, writing the love-potion scene and the argument after was a lot of fun. I kept thinking it was done and then a new idea would pop into my head and the scene grew from a few hundred words to a few thousand. Don't worry, these twists have only just begun – hold on tight ;)**

_OddPotato_**: She totally drank it. I couldn't not have her drink it (then again, this scene was one of the first in my head which drew me to write the story...so I really DID have to have her drink it) but hopefully I was able to pull it off. Yeah, I probably got the grammar a little bit wrong. There are only so many mistakes I can catch when chapters reach past 15,000 words, haha. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for the review.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Obviously she did drink the potion, hopefully you liked that and I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. Even though this one was entirely different I'm hoping it was still something you enjoyed!**

_The Lady Geek_**: I know I'm terrible, but it was worth it, wasn't it? Now Draco's being honest!**

_Maeve Epans_**: I'm sorry that I made you wait a little longer than normal but I felt a lot of pressure with this chapter and then when I finally finished...my hard drive died. Literally. I've lost all my stories, all my poems and songs...ugh, I won't get into it. It's still a fresh wound. The bathroom scene will definitely be an interesting one if Audrey gets involved, but remember: if she's not there I won't write it. Well, that's a lie, I would but it would be in Audrey's one-shots, not in here. Have you been liking the one-shots, by the way? I enjoy writing them. It gets me out of the heaviness that sometimes is necessary for these parts of the story. Hope you liked those heavy parts I just put in this chapter; thanks for reviewing!**

_Kago of the Funk_**: I stopped there for the anticipation factor! Hopefully it worked well enough. I am a tease, I'm sorry. I was taught not to put out on the first...or in this case the 70****th**** date ;)**

_Annaismyname_**: Aw, I'm glad you liked it, thank you! We didn't get to see what the girls said (because of the poisoned mead) but don't worry, I'll bring it up in the next chapter! Thanks for the review, know that when I get them they improve my day by 1000% too :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, fat chapter the last one was. This one is pretty long too (it's over 14,000 in story) so I guess I'm on a roll! I'm glad Audrey could make you laugh; she's a really fun character and 'colourful' is probably the perfect way to describe her. Her victory in potions was wonderful, I'm hoping to write in some more of them soon – but things are about to get complicated now that she's been poisoned, so it might be hard to find the time. I was actually really warring with myself over what Audrey's revenge prank would be and I called up my own partner in crime and we talked it out – so you have him to thank for stopping my panic and making me go more simple than I'd planned.  
>Yes, Snape does know about the Dreaco romance – it will definitely put a new spin on things, especially now that she's been poisoned. I don't think the Papa-Bear in him will be very happy with our Draco. But I do think he would have been happy to see that even under the effects of a love-potion she had started to brew the proper potion. Audrey's badass like that. And only she can argue so effectively while coming off of a potion high – poor girl. I love Ron and all, but having to kiss him? After what we hear of Lavender, I can only imagine he'd be horrible at it.<br>What did you think about the Poisoned-Mead scenario? Too much? I interviewed my dad, who's been a coma, and made sure that he really had heard people before I dared write it and I wrote it all in accordance to how he saw it. He said he had nightmares too and could hear people but not understand them...hopefully it turned out okay! Thanks for the review.**

_katie93319_**: I'm really glad there weren't a lot of people who complained that the chapter was too long; I was nervous when I looked at the word count. She did drink the mead, it's true, and a Theodore moment will come in due time. It'll be a good one, if all works out as planned. Did Draco react like you expected him to, after he found out she had been poisoned? It is crazy to think that I've been writing this story for over two years – it doesn't feel that long, it really doesn't! And I'm not the biggest sci-fi fan. I'm a huge comic book geek/superhero girl/mythological creatures fan so that's what I usually spend my time watching, when I decide to watch TV at all. I'm more of a reader. That's why it came as such a shock to me when I started writing out my concept for the story – I'd planned for it to be fantasy! Anyway, thanks for reviewing. Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Thanks, I'm glad that you liked the humour, length and writing. I do have a really bad habit with cliff-hangers. I'm obsessed. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Well, hopefully by the end of this story (oh no, don't make me think about it!) you'll be able to tell me which chapter WAS your favourite! I'm excited to hear you opinions. Audrey winning at potions made **_**me **_**feel victorious to write just because I was so proud of her. I do a lot of research to ensure her potions makes as much sense as it could...it doesn't come naturally for me, haha.  
>Clearly the Veritaserum wore off after being in the hospital wing for so long, but we'll hear more about it in the next chapter. And I loved writing Snape in – he'll be back in the next couple chapters, I promise. We need to see what he says about poor Audrey and her circumstances with the mead.<br>I'm glad you liked the Love-Potion portion. It was so much fun to write. Draco will have a bit more of something to say about the kiss in the next chapter when their talk can involve other things besides the whole 'Death Eater' problem. Draco is pretty self-absorbed, that is true, but I'm really hoping that you got to see a deeper aspect of him in this chapter without me breaking his character too much. I hope I pulled it off...I'm nervous about it, won't lie.  
>My one-shots for GEM actually...aren't coming, anymore. I lost the hard drive on my computer. I'm not going to lie and say that I handled it calmly – I didn't. I freaked out and cried and wailed and nearly tore the thing apart...but it's still under warrantee so that would have been a bit of a waste. Either way, all my documents are gone; including my GEM one shots. I'm completely heartbroken. I had a third of an original novel on there and I only have the first four chapters saved somewhere else. All my songs and poetry is gone...I feel really lost. I pulled an all-nighter to get this out today though. Hopefully it doesn't show too much! Thank you for reviewing again, I look forward to it with every chapter :)<strong>

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Oh yeah, last chapter was a monster chapter. This one is long too, but the other won. I remember when I used to think 10,000 words a chapter was a lot...cute. Now if I were to post a 10,000 word chapter I'm afraid I'd be lynched! And don't worry, I appreciate your punny humour much more than I should. My friends always make fun of me for my horrible sense of humour (horrible being actually wonderful, of course. I'm that girl who heard a joke five minutes before and laughed. Then she thinks about it again and laughs while everyone else is talking about some sort of terrible national affair...some say that's bad. I think it's indicative of my overactive imagination).  
>Also I didn't mind that you spammed me on twitter, it was for a good cause! Thank you again for the cover-art. You're the best. I didn't even realize that you were you – if that makes any sense – meaning that I didn't realize your login here was so different from your Twitter. Funny story, don't tell anyone...but we share a first name ;)<br>ANYWAY, yes, I left the last chapter on a cliff-hanger. To be frank, I don't know why you're so surprised. It's my favourite thing to do! I'm just glad that Harry saved her, to be honest, even if he did look like the hero. I like her alive a little. Plus, as you can see, Audrey and Draco's dynamic has now changed. I can't wait to hear what you think of it. Particularly because he did poison the mead, as you feared, and he had to be honest with himself about it being his fault that she almost...asdkljsfd. Sigh. Poor Draco.  
>I do a lot of research per chapter – I'd like to think that it shows. I used to get distracted and move on to other stories (and by used to I really mean I still do as you can tell I have 9 stories on this site, only 3 are finished) but this story...I'm just in love with it. As I always say: Audrey writes herself more than I write her.<br>The love potion scene and the revenge prank was more fun than I like admitting. I giggled like a creepy child when I wrote it. I'm sure my family is concerned for my sanity...again.  
>As you could probably tell, Harry's feeling a little bit suspicious about the Draco Malfoy thing. First there was the mention of kissing him, then he sees the orchids again? I don't blame him for being suspicious: all his suspicions are spot on.<br>I also think that the whole Snape and Audrey thing took a step in the right direction with this chapter because she finally started realizing how much she missed having him around. He'll be back in the next few chapters – he's not just going to let Audrey keep getting in Draco's way when he knows that Draco almost poisoned her. That would be very un-Snape like of him ;) Hope you liked it!**

_HazelCurls29_**: Yeah, they had a pretty good fight. It was a lot of fun to write. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_SwiftAlice_**: Meh, most people don't really know the true meaning of Thanksgiving anyway – most people just see it as an excuse to eat food, so don't worry about not having known!  
>No, where I'm writing right now you can write whatever you want. My one friend wrote fanfiction in for it last time, but I want to try to do something different: again, now that my hard drive has been wiped though, I'm feeling a little bit low about the story that is no longer there.<br>I agree, I think that Draco and Audrey are adorable in their own way. I mean, if you ever said to them they're adorable they'd probably hex you in defence of one another...but that would just be proof that they're cute again cause they'd be defending each other! Silly how it works. I agree that it really is nice seeing Audrey coming back into herself. I mean, it's a little complicated because she was just poisoned, but overall her personality is back to where it was even if she's a little bit weak and vulnerable right now. Besides, I don't think Draco's going to let anything happen to her – he's turned out to be quite protective, if you noticed. And she is now quite protective of him, too. I like it :)  
>So, obviously, Audrey drank the mead. I think it added a whole new layer to the story because Draco finally had to open up because he was so upset about how much he had hurt her and how he had almost caused her death. It's showing a whole new level of emotion between them...poor boy. Clearly he feels terrible if he went to Moaning Myrtle about it.<br>Harry seems to be really suspicious this chapter as well – I can't wait to hear what you think of it! I also hope that your birthday was a fraction of how amazing you are!**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Great. Hopefully that continues :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Ha, that is definitely one way to look at it! But I promise she won't be kissing any Weasley she hasn't already kissed. That'd make it even MORE crazy and I don't know if I can do that to her with all I have planned. Hopefully this week at university wasn't as bad as the one when I last updated. This chapter wasn't the most chipper, but I enjoyed writing it so hopefully it was a good read with some Dreaco and nightmares and drama and Seren Malmore and all that good stuff.  
>You really think Draco killed Circe, hm? Well, it's an interesting theory. Who you narrowed it down to are good guesses...but you'll have to wait to see. I'm cruel, I know. But it's a mystery that needs to be solved when it CAN be. Now, it sadly can't. Hope you liked the chapter and thank you, as always, for reviewing :)<strong>

_melody_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. It was a lot of fun to write. Harry is definitely suspicious of Audrey and Draco, but do you really think he knows? I wouldn't be too sure. Yeah, I think everything about Snape and Audrey's relationship is adorable. It's why I put in that little idea in her head of missing him – hopefully it grows! Hope you liked this chapter, I'm glad you liked the last one so much.**

_Magimagus_**: Aw, I'm so glad you liked it, thank you! Hopefully you like this one as well – I really enjoyed how it came out, so I'm hoping other people do too.  
>She and Ron will always butt heads, I think, but I also like their interactions. I don't think Audrey's character really likes him much, but I personally am a Ron Weasley fan.<br>She did kind of give away her relationship with Draco, yes. You might have noticed that Harry seemed a little suspicious of her, so Audrey had better start playing it a little safer than she has been. I hope that I pulled off Draco's reactions to her drinking it well enough – I wanted to show how torn he was without making him too overly emotional. Still, I'm surprised that so many other people were surprised: I started putting hints about her loving mead in the very first chapter of book six! I've been waiting for this chapter since I started outlining this story, excuse the excitement, haha.  
>Audrey's prank was a lot of fun as well, it was really nice writing about her getting back into her old habits, even if things had to change at the end of the chapter all over again. But don't worry, this cycle isn't going to end as it did at the end of the fifth book – she's come back with a vengeance. She'll start learning to be an Animagus once her energy level comes back up, too. Which means more time with Sirius – hopefully you like that.<br>I really like how you explained about her and her jealousy. Yes, Audrey is entirely a green eyed monster, her jealousy is not only near constant but it really does drive most of her actions and it really drives every change to this story line. I'm glad that it has become obvious enough that someone was able to put it into words :)**

_BlackRose_**: I love cliff-hangers, I'm sorry that I bring them into my story so much. You were right about Draco kind of going nuts if she drank the poison – she did so he did. It looks like he's about to try to open up to her. We'll hear more about the Veritaserum next chapter, don't worry. Audrey can only go Astral when she has the energy for it – so right now, with her being this sick it would be impossible. But once she's better, she definitely could. She's not really worried about Draco taking care of the potions because they are so far from being ready that she isn't of what he could do with them. And will Draco break down in the bathroom? You'll have to wait and see, haha. I'm glad you liked the humour in the love potion – there's really no way to do that scene seriously – and yes, the kiss with the redhead in the Megavision was with Ron. It was warning her of her poisoning. And don't worry, I love any reviews, I just find long reviews end up happening when you ask more questions. Questions are good :)**

_exo_**: Thanks, I don't think I'm awesome but I hope that Audrey is! Thanks for reviewing.**

_JrSnape_**: It's okay, I do that all the time when I'm just THINKING about something Audrey will do. It's okay to be a little bit crazy...this stuff doesn't come to me via sanity ;)**

_Lotte Brandt_**: Thank you! I know that you're still reading sporadically, so I don't know when you'll be able to read this response but I'm glad you're enjoying what you've read so far and hope that the next chapters you read keep up to your expectations. I try to keep Audrey and Draco as realistic as they can be, as well as in-character as possible, hopefully I won't mess that up for you. I really liked the chapter you responded to as well – I was quite proud of it when I wrote it, even though that seems like a lifetime ago. Audrey really is alone in the world and as we see in this chapter, that is actually quite a fear of her own. I hope that you continue to be able to relate to the characters and I hope you like this chapter and the others you read. Thank you for reviewing.**

_Phil_**: I'm sorry you don't like it. I don't really like your flame. It's unoriginal. But if you're still flaming about how much you would rather eat dog shit than read my story, I have some dogs who shit constantly and I could offer you their services. I'd like to think I'm a generous soul.**

_Kningin_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. There will be lots more chapters and tons of updates to go, don't worry!**

_Aryabloodlust_**: Thanks for waiting, hope you liked the chapter!**

_Guest_**: If Harry were my brother, I might punch him. I agree. **

_Ella710_**: I'm surprised that you even questioned whether or not I would poison her. Haven't I made it clear that I want her to suffer in every physical, mental and emotional way possible? Honestly, I'm shocked ;) When you wrote that Harry only saw one bezoar in the drawer I made sure to check (I'm nothing if not determined to be 100% accurate, besides Audrey) and he did see multiple in the storage cupboard but he only gave one to Slughorn which had been in his desk from when Harry had given it to him. I figure she still got a bezoar, so the situation still worked.  
>Ron kissing Audrey was funny, don't even deny it! I am actually a really big fan of Ron, but as Audrey totally wouldn't be, I have to write it true to her. Still, I laughed as I wrote the entire scene from her stealing the chocolate to them screaming across the Potions room. Literally, I kept turning to my mom and being like "Audrey's hilarious!" and my Mom responded with "You created her" and I shook my head and I was like "no. You don't understand. You'll read the chapter and you'll understand". I'm just glad that people found it as funny as I did – I hate being the only one laughing...which happens often.<br>Don't worry, she'll have some more time with both Sirius and Snape in the next few chapters – it will be really good bonding between the pairs.  
>Weeell, what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it – there were certain parts of this chapter where I could think of certain readers and be like "*insert name* will love this!" and I found you popping into my head a few times. Believe it or not this plot point was one of the three moments within the entire Harry Potter series that drove me to write this story. This, the Malfoy Manor scene, and the final battle. So...I felt a lot of pressure – I'm really hoping I did it justice. Thank you for reviewing, hope to hear what you thought of this chapter!<strong>

_Patronus Snake_**: RIP Cedric is right. What a painful chapter that was. Hope you are liking the story – thanks for reviewing.**

_applecandykiss_**: Wow, thank you! I'm glad that you have grown to like it so much. I hope to get far more than one chapter out before December (obviously, as I just updated) this chapter just gave me a bit of trouble. Hopefully the next chapter won't be as bad. Hopefully I can get one out even closer to your birthday, when is it? Thanks for the review!**

_TwisterRaver_**: Thank you! I know that you're only starting to read Audrey and Harry's fifth year now, but I really hope that you're enjoying what you've read so far. The story only gets more twisted and tricky as time goes on so I hope that you're able to stay with it. It's so nice that you feel so connected with Audrey and that you enjoy her relationships with the other characters, I hope that hasn't changed. I appreciate the review!**

_Kate_**: Hopefully that's a good thing? I can't really tell what you're review said – but thanks for reviewing anyway!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: You know, a few people have complained about not getting email alerts so it must have been something to do with the site. Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you remembered to check the story out at all! I'm glad that you liked the chapters, particularly the Dreaco moments. Once Audrey is all fixed up, the Animagus lessons will begin!**

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><p><strong>Alright everyone, I'm really hoping you liked the chapter! There's been some strange waves of people either reviewing or not reviewing, so I'd really like to hear what you think – especially with everything that's starting to happen now that sixth year will be coming to a close.<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

– **Egypt **

**Follow me on twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, Q&As, spoilers and all things Audrey!**


	73. The Room of Hidden Things

**Holy, I got some great response from the last chapter; thank you so much for all your support everyone. I've been borrowing a computer that I haven't had a lot of access to, hence the delay in updating, but it's a nice fluffy chapter for you. I won't be getting my computer back for at least another two weeks (it hurts to even think about!) so I can't guarantee that the next update will be a fast one. I hope you like this chapter – only 5 chapters left of the HBP arc. Get ready for some action in the next few chapters...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 72 – The Room of Hidden Things<p>

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><p>Draco walked me hand in hand to the seventh floor. It's not like I hadn't known where he was leading me, but I couldn't help resisting his guiding hand every now and then; wondering if he was going to admit that he wasn't going to tell me anything, or wondering if he was sending me into some sort of trap. Instead of trapping me, he only stopped every now and then to give me time to catch my breath. What used to be a common trek for me to go see him now felt like some sort of punishment and my lungs burned with the familiar sensation of acid scraping through my tissues. Still, even as we would stop for seconds or minutes at a time, Malfoy refused to say a word to me throughout the entire walk. It seemed he could hardly find it in him to glance at me during that time, either – I couldn't tell if he was lost in his own thoughts or if he was avoiding the impending disaster that I could sense was coming.<p>

He stopped in front of the familiar blank wall, turning our backs on the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy before he began to pace once – twice – three times in front of the heavy brick. I watched expectantly, my eyes narrowing as I watched to ensure that the door looked the exact same as the one he usually disappeared into. I wasn't in the mood to be fooled; if I was going to all this trouble to keep him honest than he had better stay honest.

The door did _look _the same...but I would have been a fool if I were convinced that easily.

"What do you ask for?" I asked him quietly, watching closely while he moved to grab the heavy brass handle. He looked back at me, a sign to follow him, before he avoided my eyes again.

"A place to hide," he muttered, checking left and right before opening the door for me and closing it tightly behind us.

The room was unlike anything I could have imagined. Fifty, no – one hundred foot high piles of...of everythingand anything were towering over the doorway, hiding all the other smaller piles of odds and ends that seemed to have accumulated over years. It didn't matter that the ceilings were as high as those of a cathedral, as Draco closed the door firmly behind us the room felt like it had begun to close in on us; the building-high piles of rubbish seemed ready to fall over and crush us into our own dusty tomb.

He must have been lying to me, this couldn't have been where he had spent his time. Draco was too _proper _to live in something like this. He hated mess and clutter, almost to the degree that Hermione did and for him to spend so much time in here he would have already been driven insane by his own need to clean the mess around him. He was lying, he had to be.

Draco cleared his throat quietly, tired of waiting for me to snap out of my trance before he moved farther into the room, disappearing behind the piles. I quickened my pace, nervous I would lose him in the city of lost souls – bloody axes, deformed skeletons and murderous looking books all winking at me as I tried to catch up to him. It made everything worse, seeing these things leering at me; now I was not only nervous that I was going to lose him, but I was terrified of what I was going to find when I caught up with him.

Even though I knew I had never rummaged through these layers of rubbish, somehow my body knew exactly which way I was being lead. The walk itself was not a long one It was not a long one before he stopped me at a particularly tidied area. A couch, lumpy and musty, had been cleared off with a table beside it which mysteriously had a disturbed layer of dust. It was a sign that it was used every so often.

The slight cleanliness made me rethink my skepticism – it was cleaner than anywhere else, including the walkways between piles. Perhaps he really had spent some time here.

Waiting until I was watching him again, Draco turned away from me to walk farther. I nearly went to follow him before he stopped only feet away, on the outskirts of the hygienic area he seemed to have created, and pulled a sheet off of a high object.

My heart stopped.

It was the Vanishing Cabinet. The Vanishing Cabinet I had seen in my visions so long ago – the Vanishing Cabinet that had blocked Draco from us as we spied on him in Knockturn Alley – the Vanishing Cabinet that I had shoved Montague into last year.

It was the Vanishing Cabinet I had helped break.

"It has a twin," Draco explained, watching me carefully. "In Borgin and Burkes."

"You're mending it," I noted breathlessly, watching as he looked back to the Cabinet and nodded with a sneer on his face. "Why?"

"My mission," he turned back to look at me, "for the Dark Lord."

"And are you going to tell me what that Mission is?" I asked him, my voice trailing off nervously.

"I should think it's clear," he told me, his face stoic. "I need to get Death Eaters into the castle."

"And the botched cursings and poisonings?" I asked, examining the Cabinet but giving it a wide berth.

"Mistakes," he mumbled tersely.

"I don't see how it has to do with infiltrating the school, mistakes or not." I urged, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't tell me that there isn't more to it, there has to be."

"There is more to it," he affirmed. "But-"

"You won't tell me," I guessed, cutting him off with a frustrated click of my teeth.

"I can't," he emphasized with a scowl. "Someone like _you_ wouldn't understand."

"It's actually not hard to understand at all," I countered, my words clipped rudely. I thought we were past insults about _people like me. _I thought he had brought me here because of what happened, because it had meant something to him – he had almost killed me. I hoped he cared more about that than about my bloodline. "If you bring Death Eaters into this castle, you fulfil your purpose. The Dark Lord won't have further need of you, people will be slaughtered. Our friends..."

"No Death Eater would spill Slytherin or Purebred blood," he explained. "The Dark Lord ordered them not to touch us."

"That leaves over a quarter of the school from your plan; such as the children of people in the Order. What do you suppose will happen to them?" I growled, going to run my hands over the wood of the door. He stopped me from touching it by grabbing my wrist firmly and pulling me away from the Cabinet.

"I don't trust you to touch it, particularly when you know the answer."

"Oh, I already knew the answer," I argued, tugging my arm from him. "They'll be killed. On your watch."

"The deal was-"

"You can't make _deals _with Lord Voldemort," I sneered, becoming more frustrated as he winced at the sound of his name. He couldn't even hear the _name _of the so-called 'lord' he worshiped! "He has everything he wants from you, but he has nothing worth giving you, Draco."

"He can give me my life," he argued tightly.

"He would never promise that to you," I scoffed, talking down to him as if I were seven feet tall. "You should help people who want to preserve your life, not risk it."

"Because your Order is so much better?"

"They don't expect people to die for them," I confirmed. "And an army of loyal believers is far more resilient than an army fighting in fear."

"Death Eaters are resilient," he had the nerve to sound insulted by my words. "We're determined, we have a cause-"

"Determined out of fear for their lives, Draco! Your cause is to _live _through your days serving him!" I argued. "That's determination but that is not resilience."

"Is any side of a war so different?" Draco argued, his face pale. "Your Order fights to save their own lives."

"From the Death Eaters slaughtering them; which many of those pigs _enjoy _doing."

"We are not _pigs. _A sword has two edges, Audrey," he argued. "Not every Death Eater is a murderer. Some of your precious Order has killed to, don't tell me you don't know that."

I stopped, my breathing shallow as his words seemed to relight the fire in my blood again. How many times could he hurt me this year? Evidently he had a few more tricks up his sleeve; after all he had just poisoned me and yet he could guilt me. No, not guilt me – _torture _me.

"That's not what I meant," he said quickly, his voice heavy with realization. He took a step forward, watching me carefully as my face continued to contort. "No, that's not how-"

"No, it was. That's fine," I blinked slowly. "It's true. Both sides have murderers. You're right."

"You're not-"

"Well I'm pretty sure I didn't talk Nott to death," I snapped, clenching my fists at my side. "You're right – I'm a killer. Maybe I'd make a better Death Eater than you."

He sneered, curling himself away from me slowly. "Don't talk like that."

"Why not? You're allowed to work for Voldemort, but I can't?" I asked him, my eyebrows raised in challenge. "Where's the line, Draco?"

"You're too good – no, not good; you're certainly not good, but bad doesn't work now, does it? You just aren't meant to fight for either side, Audrey. It's what I favoured about you from the bad bloody beginning of this mess," he shook his head. "You said it yourself: you need to choose the side that lets you survive."

"But your Lord promised you your life, Draco," my voice dripped with more sarcasm and venom than I knew I could place in words. "Surely he would do the same for me."

"You're mental," he growled. "You're the sister of _Harry Potter_."

"I'd be the perfect bait; the perfect spy. Just like you," I argued with my voice still high and ringing with false intention. "Why couldn't it work?"

"The Dark Lord doesn't want you on his _side, _Potter," Draco looked at me as if I were insane. "He knows that you'd never agree with him. Not when it comes to your brother."

"Clearly he doesn't know how little Harry and I get along," I said simply, not ready to give in. "Why don't I tell him, Malfoy? Why don't you waltz me up to the Riddler and ask for me to join with you; a two for one kind of deal – it's what you want, isn't it? You want to be on his good side, you want to be with me – since you can't choose a side, you can ride the line by taking me with you."

"You're not going anywhere!" He burst, grabbing my arms and shaking me slightly. "Don't you realize what's happening? Don't you realize that everyone wants you and your brother dead? You're a danger, he's a danger – you're putting _yourself _in danger just by being at this ruddy _school_."

"Because you're going to let in the Death Eaters?" I hedged, avoiding the obvious threat and focussing instead on the direct problem at hand. He looked at me carefully, clenching his jaw before he let go of my arms and turned away. "Is that why the school is dangerous, because of you?"

"It's dangerous because we're in a war, Audrey," he muttered, going over to the Cabinet and touching the door of it with his fist. "People die in wars."

"People kill in them, too," I said in a dark tone, watching with a sharp eye while he winced and looked over his shoulder with a pinched expression.

"It's kill or be killed now, no one can help that."

"You're not a killer, Draco," I warned him, threatened him. "So why would you let in killers? Why would you let them in knowing that the blood they spill will be on _your _hands? You can't live with that; no one can live with that guilt-"

"I almost had to," he whispered, looking back over to the Cabinet and running his knuckles along the splintered door while he shook his head at his own thoughts. I took the distraction as a chance to walk over to him, peering at his face from behind his shoulder. "You almost took the necklace from the bathroom, you nearly died drinking the mead because you were with those egocentric Gryffindors – but in the end, I was the one who set up the traps. I sent the necklace, I poisoned the mead."

"You didn't mean to kill me..."

"But I still meant to kill," he whispered back. Why had he been trying to kill anyone at all? The necklace was supposed to have been given to Dumbledore – that I remembered, but why would he want to kill Dumbledore? His mission was to get Death Eaters into the castle; did he think if Dumbledore died the wards would break? I was certain that wasn't the case. He couldn't smuggle Death Eaters in if Dumbledore was dead, nevertheless if he was alive. Was he really so desperate that he would kill the only hope the Wizarding world has?

"Killing is..." I shook my head, closing my eyes against the pain that always found it's way into the pit of my stomach when I found a reason to talk about what I had done. Draco turned to look at me, watching me carefully, but not daring to speak. "Painful. It doesn't matter who you killed, how you killed them, _why _you killed them – it never ebbs. Theyhaunt you. What you did and didn't do haunts you, how you could and couldn't have stopped it hauntsyou. It's all you can think about, it becomes everything you are – that one moment when you could have turned away...but you didn't."

"I know," he whispered, his eyes stormy and turbulent, his voice soft. It almost felt like if we spoke to loudly something in the room would shatter and we wouldn't be allowed to talk about it at all – this secret had to remain secret...for the sake of our lives. "When I found out you had drank the mead, I didn't know what to do with myself. I couldn't get in the infirmary to see you, Snape...he knew and I thought – I thought you were gone and then I didn't know if you would wake up. When I couldn't see you, the thought of what had happened _did _haunt me and when I was there and saw what was haunting you..."

"What do you mean what was haunting me?" I interrupted, worried when I saw the horror in his eyes.

"You're so easy to read, Potter," he looked away from me, closing his eyes as if he knew that I was reading every emotion that flashed through them. "And more often than not, I hate what's on your pages."

"Am I a page-turner?"

"You are," he smirked slightly, but it faltered as quickly as it appeared. "I just can't tell how far into the story I am."

This conversation sounded dreadfully familiar...I'd had it before, at Slughorn's Christmas party. That vampire, Fettuccini or whatever his name had been, had told me that my autobiography would be a page turner – that the ending of my story was drawing near, that it would end with the _plague of death _and that the boy I loved had that mark too. The Mark of Death. Or, maybe more rightly, the Dark Mark.

"You'll be killed, won't you?" I asked, unable to stop my fingers from threading through his own. "If you don't do as you're told."

"Likely," he muttered, turning so he could lower his head to my shoulder and rest his forehead against it. I felt his nose rub lightly against my clavicle and couldn't help but shiver at the sensation it always caused when he was so close to that blasted scar of mine. "I'm going to try to avoid that, of course."

"Of course," I whispered back, closing my eyes. "And if you run away – everyone else in your family dies."

"For a start," he whispered, his nose making its way to my neck.

"Which means...you have to finish this Cabinet," I sighed, shaking my head slightly when I felt his entire body tense. "Or else you'll be marked for death."

Those words meant so much now, so much that I hadn't understood at Christmas and yet so much that I was determined to prove false. His father was in Azkaban and I was fairly certain he was already soulless – the Dementors were not a worry of mine when it came to Lucius Malfoy. His mother could be smuggled away easily, I was near certain of that, and Draco...well, I'd make sure he was hidden properly.

But just as I was, Draco Malfoy was governed by fear – not love, like Dumbledore always said was our main concern – but fear. And I could not let him live his fears just because of my own. I had other ways around my own fears...like smuggling him or kidnapping him or killing him myself for being a moron.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," I whispered to Draco. "Not yet."

"Yet?" He repeated, pulling back to look at me. He didn't seem to really question it, but rather observe the events factually. "And you didn't tell Dumbledore earlier tonight?"

"About you poisoning me? Of course not," I scoffed, rolling my head along my shoulders from the tension that had built up in them. "About you bringing in Death Eaters to slaughter people in their sleep? I can't promise anything about that."

"I'm bringing the Death Eaters into this castle, Audrey," he stated, his tone sharp.

"I know," I nearly groaned at the words, sitting down on the couch in a huff and playing with his fingers that were still threaded in my own. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to help you do it."

"Instead you'll tattle to Dumbledore, ruin my plans, have me incarcerated with my father?" He asked me, his tone biting. He nearly looked like a caged dog, ready to run if I made any sudden movements.

"No," I frowned, pulling away from him in insult. His eyes were steeling themselves over, becoming wary. "I'm going to make sure you do your part of your mission – I'll make sure that when this all falls apart it will not land on _your _head."

"But you're going to make it fall apart," he clarified, his voice dark but steady.

"Of course I am," I smiled up at him. "I wouldn't be a Potter if I let things go by plan."

* * *

><p>"You still look weak," Sirius observed as he appeared in the full length mirror in my dormitory. I frowned, taking my fluffy Pygmy Puff in my hands and making myself more comfortable on the mound of pillows I had stolen from the other girls and piled on the floor. I would have to remember to clean my mess before the girls got back for the night, but for now I knew that Daphne was keeping them fully occupied for a Friday-Night-Party via Firewhiskey and Blaise's advanced flirting techniques.<p>

"I'm on the mend," I argued, rolling Houdini in my hands and listening as he gave an excited squeal at the game. "It's just taking a bit longer than I'd like."

"Snape said that it's your first week off of the potions – are you still in pain?"

"No," I said, having practiced it well. Of course Snape would inform Sirius about my medications, but I was hoping he hadn't gone into detail about my recovery – I already had enough worried boys to deal with: Snape himself hounded me in and out of classes, Harry would check on me every day – even whilst we ignored each other thanks to my humiliating potion-induced word-vomit about Draco, and Draco himself would ask me at least ten times a day about how I was feeling. Breathing in the dust of the Room of Requirement certainly didn't help, but I was growing used to the thick aroma of mold and grime now that I spent each night there. I would be sat on the couch, watching Draco fail as he mended the Cabinet – he never dared ask me to help him, knowing that I would never agree to, but he did seem to like my presence. He also seemed very happy to know where I was – I couldn't tell if he feared my absence would mean I would get him into trouble, or if I would get _myself _into trouble.

"I don't believe you."

"Can we skip to my homework, please?" I frowned, not in the mood to talk about being sick anymore. Now that I wasn't the talk of the school, I wanted to be able to return to normal conversations and since my boyfriend clearly wasn't capable of having one in the current circumstances, Sirius would just have to do. "I'm weeks behind on this work to become an Animagus and for someone who stays at Headquarters, you're a really hard man to get in touch with."

His eyes narrowed on me. "I don't _have _to help you."

I smiled at him, raising my eyebrow tauntingly. "But you will anyway."

He didn't move.

"Come on, Sirius!" I sighed, throwing my head back and groaning dramatically. "I have detention with Snape from six until nine – I don't have time to argue or whisper sweet-nothings into your ear. Just explain to me what I need to do so that I can transform and choose my animal and start spying."

"You're never going to be able to do it with that attitude, or those ideas," he rolled his eyes, pulling a chair from where I couldn't see behind the edge of my mirror and sitting down on it. "That's not how this form of Transfiguration works."

"Alright," I placed Houdini on my shoulder and leaned forward, giving Sirius my undivided attention. "Continue."

"You don't get to _choose _your animal," Sirius explained. "Your animal chooses you on the basis of your personality. I'm a dog – James was a stag – and Peter, rightfully, was a _rat._"

"What if I'm something awful, like a slug?" I frowned, looking over to Houdini. A Pygmy Puff, though adorable, wouldn't have been much better of an Animagus form either – people would never let me escape their grasps then. "There has to be a way to omit the ridiculous ones."

"I thought you didn't believe any animal to be ridiculous," Sirius mocked, grinning at me.

"I don't, necessarily; but if I'm a slug and I'm going against an Animagus who's a hawk, guess who's going to lose?"

"Whoever's in better control and can transform fastest," he argued. "There's a way to tell what general species you tend to connect with – cast a Patronus. Most people turn into animals within a similar family; with a few exceptions."

"Exceptions?"

"Well, I doubt your mother would have turned into a doe," he explained. "But she was so in love with James that she took on the appearance of his own Animagus form and James' Animagus form was the same as his own Patronus. Their Patronuses were a mated pair."

I frowned. "Well, that's no help to me; I can't cast a Patronus to save my life. Quite literally."

"You've never gotten a corporeal?" Sirius frowned. "Remus said he had taught you."

"Taught me, yes. Succeeded, no. And it's not just the corporeal I have trouble with."

"Then I'm afraid you won't really know what you are until you've mastered it," he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "And that is not an easy process. It will take us months – if you're lucky. Most people can't do this at all, Drea. And that you can't cast a Patronus, which is easier magic..."

"Peter Pettigrew could figure this out, I'm sure I can manage," I sneered.

"Peter studied for _years _and he had the help of your father – James was as talented at Transfiguration as Harry is at Defense, or as you are at Potions," Sirius told me, a concentrated frown on his face. "I don't want you thinking that this will be easy or that you'll be able to do this – that's not a guarantee. There are very few registered Animagi in Britain and there are even fewer of us unregistered-"

"I'd wager you're wrong," I told him. "I'd bet there are loads more unregistered Animagi than either of us think. Just like I plan to be."

"I'm afraid I'm not as talented as your father was, Drea: I might not be able to teach you. But I'll try," he told me, heaving a sigh and moving in his seat to be more comfortable. We're going to take this in steps – I'll have no repeats of our ridiculous nights running around deformed."

"What? No!" I whined, slapping the pillow in my lap so hard that Houdini slid off my arm and into the indentation my fist had left in the cotton. "I don't want to take _months_ of a step by step process – just tell me what to do now so I can practice on my own; I don't have the time for patience."

"You live in a school, surely you didn't think I'd just let you try full body transfiguration on a whim?" I frowned at Sirius. This was some sort of punishment, I just knew it. "Besides, you're too weak to try any transfiguration now and I doubt you even know the difference between an Animagus and a Transfigured person."

I made a face; he had me there and he knew it.

"Alright, then," I mumbled, trying with decreasing sincerity of keeping my patience. "Tell me: what's the difference between a Transfigured person and an Animagus?"

"Their brain," Sirius said simply. "When someone is Transfigured, their mind transfigures as well, leaving them with a mind to match their body – like Malfoy as a ferret," he gave me a meaningful glance that I rolled my eyes towards. "Whereas with an Animagus, we keep our right minds – our human minds – when we have transfigured. _That _is the difficulty with this kind of magic and _that _is the reason I'm not just letting you take a bash at it – if you're alone and you transfigure yourself into some sort of animal; who's to know if you muck it up, Audrey?"

"No one will have to."

"If you transfigure into a bear and are roaming around the school with a bear's mind, do you really think they're going to stop and ask questions about whether or not you're just magic-gone-wrong? Of course not," he scoffed. "This takes time, Audrey – and if you expect me to teach you the secrets, we're going to take all the time we need."

"But we don't _have _time!" I frowned, Draco's words replaying in my mind. "We're in a war, Sirius."

"I have little doubt you can or want to learn this – you may even catch on more quickly than any of us did," Sirius sighed. "You're powerful. You've proven your talent with this kind of difficult magic...but that doesn't mean that I'm going to teach you how to do it when you're alone like this. In fact, I encourage you to tell Harry so he can watch you while you practice."

"No," I hissed, throwing a pillow at the mirror and hearing the dull thud of it against the glass. "No one is telling Harry!"

"Then at least tell Hermione," he asked, sounding nearly as whiny as I did. "Tell someone who is good enough in Transfiguration that they can turn you back into a human if you don't have the mind to do it yourself."

"No," I gritted my teeth. "If the training is going to take as long as your excuses, I may as well wait until summer."

"I can do that," he grinned. I glowered.

"Just tell me what I'm doing, Sirius. Tell me how to do this – don't make me go to someone like Snape again; I really don't want to have to work with him." Sirius did not seem to like my threat, but at the same time I knew that he was enjoying the fact that Snape and I were no longer seeing eye-to-eye. I rolled my eyes at him as he withheld a grin.

"Audrey, I'm teaching you to do this step-by-step. You don't even know what this kind of Transfiguration _is _yet; I'm not going to tell you exactly how to go about it so that you're stuck as some kind of creature form for Merlin knows how long."

I sighed, hitting a pillow against my knees in frustration. I pushed my head into my hands and grumbled to myself, making Sirius chuckle at me darkly.

"You're as impatient as your father," he told me. I couldn't help but frown – I should have been happy, being compared to my parents, but after years of Snape making it sound like he was calling me a filthy mudblood, it was hard to get past the feeling of being insulted. I distracted myself by picking up Houdini when I saw that he had fallen near my foot. He purred just at the fact I had put him back on my shoulder.

"Sirius," I sighed, looking up at him. The smile slipped off his face when he saw how frustrated I was. "We need to do this right. You don't understand – something big is going to happen, I can – I can feel it," I lied. I couldn't feel that something was coming, I consciously _knew _it. And who was I to do anything about it – ruin Draco's life? No. I had to ruin this in a way that kept him safe, in a way that made it look like he had done everything he could and someone _else _had wrecked it – which was exactly where things got complicated. "And I need to find any way I can to spy and interfere and stop it. It's what I do – I'm a good spy. I'm a good...fucker-upper-"

"Language," he muttered.

"Oh, like you care," I scoffed. "Listen: I'm going to work on my Magnuse, I'm going to work on my Projection, I'm going to work on everything I possibly can – which is why I need to learn this so I can work on that too. I need to be in control of whatever the hell is going to happen."

My voice was strong, not as close to breaking as I feared it may have been and my gaze was unwavering. I felt confident, even as he examined me with the keen eye that only someone raised by a Slytherin could give. "What's going on, Audrey?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, possibly too quickly. "I'm just afraid something might be."

"You're not telling me something," he said carefully, his voice confident. "I can feel it."

"But I _have _been telling you how important this is," I told him just as confidently.

"What if you turn into an animal that can't _sneak, _Audrey?" He told me sternly. "What if you turn into something large and intrusive?"

I frowned, my eyebrows furrowing. I knew that I was an intrusive personality – but I wouldn't say I was _largely _intrusive. I thought I was more cunning and sly than that; I was a Slytherin after all. I always saw myself as something that would be covert and quick and discrete – I couldn't imagine being a bear or a horse or a dragon; I was not maternal or magestic or mystical, I was cut-throat and I was clever.

"I will be," I assured him. "Call it intuition."

"And is it that intuition that's warning you something bad will happen?"

"Something like that," I muttered, looking at him with narrowed eyes. I didn't know whether Sirius could use Legilimency at all, but the way his eyes were scanning me I wouldn't be surprised if he was suddenly trying to learn. "Will you stop that? I'm not the guilty party, here."

"You're commonly the guilty party," he looked like he was ready to smile, but he still looked too suspicious. "Audrey, if you know something you need to tell someone."

"I can't tell someone something I don't know," I said vaguely, shaking my head in my hands. "I don't know, Sirius. I just feel..."

"Weak?" He finished a sentence that I hadn't meant to be finished at all. I looked up from between my fingers, watching his face as the suspicion seemed to melt from his features. "Right now you are weak, Audrey. You're sixteen, you're in school, you can't live up to your potential yet – and worse, you've just been poisoned. You _are _weak; but that doesn't mean you will be."

I took a deep breath, looking at him carefully before I nodded my head. He was right; not only had the poisoning taken it's toll, but this past year had really ruined my control. I _was _weak, but I didn't have to be – I _wouldn't _be...and maybe that meant that I needed to build a foundation first. Maybe I needed to stop jumping into magic like I had with Astral Projection, Magnuse and Occlumency. Maybe if I built up a tolerance, a base, I would be able to have something to fall back on without everything shattering when I became emotionally unstable again.

"I'll teach you this slowly," Sirius reiterated, speaking carefully as if he were trying to calm down a wild animal. "While you get better. The more you practice all the things you told me you were, the easier this will be. When you're recovered, when you're _strong, _I'll let you do this on your own."

There was no arguing with that logic.

"Fine," I agreed, sighing heavily. "Slow recovery – slower process. I'll relent. So what am I supposed to take away from _this _little lesson of ours?"

"That you need to research," he told me as if I were stupid. "You don't know the basics, you haven't read up and you don't know what you're getting yourself into besides what you've seen me do – go look it up and make some decisions of your own."

"Fine, fine," I muttered, pushing the pillow to the side while I stood up. I frowned at the feeling of my legs being weak and placed Houdini on the bed while I took advantage of the bed-post near me by leaning against it. "Do you have assigned reading for me, too?"

"Look up as much as you can about Animagi and try to think about different animals with traits you think you have. And if you're feeling bold, work on a Patronus."

"Yeah," I scoffed. "I'll get right on that."

"The more difficult you are, the more difficult I'll make this," he rang out, nearly singing while he shook his head mockingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, yes, I get it. Speaking of difficult, I have detention."

"Have you still not given Snape the antidote to the girl's makeup?" he looked like he was trying to be stern, but it was quite clear he was holding back laughter as he pulled his arms over his chest.

"Have you been talking to Harry again?" I accused.

"He was feeling lost after you were poisoned, of course we were talking," Sirius explained. "I also take that as a 'no'."

"Of course I haven't," I scoffed. "I was busy being _dead._"

"You didn't die."

"I felt like I was going to!" I bickered dramatically. "I feel like I'm going to now – Snape's furious with me because the girls have been pestering him for the antidote."

"And he hasn't made it for them?" Sirius seemed surprised, which meant I couldn't contain my smirk.

"He couldn't brew it if he tried," I bragged, shrugging innocently. "I told you; I'm not that largely intrusive. I should go before I'm late, the wrath only gets worse with each minute I'm not giving him excuses to keep me alive."

"Don't let him bully you," Sirius said firmly.

"No one bullies me," I paused, frowning at my words. "Well, not now, anyway."

He gave me one last smile and a quick reminder to 'do my reading' before the mirror flashed and I was looking at my own reflection again. I couldn't pretend that I liked what I saw. I still looked sickly – I was underweight again and my face was far too pale. The purple bags under my eyes were less than appealing and the fact that I looked as if I wasn't strong enough to raise my wand wasn't the nicest look, but I was getting better, day by day.

The walk down to the Great Hall was wonderfully quiet thanks to my dorm mates distracting everyone with the promise of alcohol. Because of this temptation there was no one lingering in the dungeons – but I knew that I would not be so lucky by the time I got down to the Great Hall. Really, a part of me warned that I should have avoided going at all, but I couldn't stop the curiosity from poking my impulses to check whether or not Draco was there. Would he be with the girls and drinking or would he ignore the party to continue mending that wretched Cabinet? When I reached the Great Hall, I was pretty sure that I knew the answer; he wasn't sitting at the Slytherin table which lead me to believe he hadn't left the Room of Requirement at all that day. I had a feeling that if Draco were drunk, he wouldn't have been able to control the need in coming down to visit me...in fact, I was sure that he would have been here, were he intoxicated: our past gave enough proof that he couldn't keep himself away.

"Look who decided to join us," a voice called as I walked close to the table, leaning over to grab an apple for myself. "And to think, I thought you might be drinking with the others – how silly of me."

"Oh, Astoria," I began, rolling my eyes before I turned to look at her. "If you're not there, I'm suddenly wondering if I should go. It may actually be funnow that the children will be put to bed."

"You look like shite, Potter," she smirked at me viciously while her eye twitched at the insult. "It's too bad that drink didn't just take you with it. You're distracting from the decor."

"I'm just glad I don't blend in with it as well as _some_ – oh, but don't get me wrong, Greengrass; you look absolutely exuberant," I smiled falsely, slowly raking my eyes over her appearance. "I'm happy to see those colours are still doing wonders for your bright and vividly awful personality."

She tried not to look as self conscious as she must have felt when her hand moved anxiously to her head. She raked her fingers through the neon curls that she had somehow managed to tame, but had not been able to dull and I wondered briefly how thickly her makeup had been caked onto her face. She had done a decent job trying to cover up her violently pink skin and bright red nose, but her black eyebrows could not be disguised and her heavily pinkened lips could not disguise the putrid yellow that peaked out from behind the paint.

I felt like an artist appreciating her work: it was a brilliantly horrid piece.

I was so proud.

"Why don't you just give us the antidote, Potter?" Alya hissed from beside her. "Maybe we won't hurt you as badly."

"Oh, I encourage you to give it a go – right now if you want to," I told her, reaching forward and grabbing some more food that I could easily take to my detention with me. "The longer I'm in the hospital wing, the longer you get to live in your true colours."

"We may look like clowns, but we aren't monsters!"

"I wouldn't call myself a monster," I thought mockingly, taking a piece of chicken off of Astoria's plate and eating it. I wasn't really a fan of that kind of seasoned chicken – but it was wonderful to see her red, clown-nosed nostrils flare. "But I would accept if you called me a bitch."

"Being a bitch is the least of your issues!" Astoria shrieked. "You're a pariah, Potter. No one wants you around here, why couldn't you have just died and left us alone?"

"Because then you'd never get the antidote for your precious vanity," I told her, drawing a shocked look over my expressions – I couldn't hold it long before my smirk returned. "You know, you could just say you're sorry and get this whole thing over with."

"I am not saying anything of the sort – not after you coloured us like this and spiked us with Veritaserum!"

"I was just making sure you weren't kneazle-killers," I said defensively, loving how Astoria's horrible makeup was beginning to melt off because of her red-hot face. "Now that I know you lot weren't to blame, I feel much better in accepting your apology. Then you get your antidote. Apology, antidote. Apology plus antidote equals normality. Apology equals self-gratification equals vanity equals antidote...It's really not that complicated."

"I'll ruin you first," Astoria promised. "I'll never apologize to you!"

"And I'll never fear you," I sighed. "We all have our disagreements, I guess. Now, though I hate leaving our riveting conversation, I have a detention with my favourite professor – I hope that you aren't too bored with your night. I'll be having a smashing time."

Astoria's hands, balled into fists, shook towards her wand and I raised a finger.

"Ah, ah, ah – the hospital wing does not have all the ingredients I need for your antidote," I pouted. "It's really too bad; I'm sure you could put me in there for _so long _otherwise. You know, because Voldemort kept me in there for days, but clearly I should be fearing _your _wrath."

I walked away feeling confident, even though my legs felt unstable. I was sure to continue to eat the few random foods I had been able to grab. At least it was mostly fruit; that probably had better nutritional value to any of the things that I would have picked were I sitting down to eat.

The walk to Snape's office was almost as peaceful as the walk to the Great Hall. I felt like something was wrong with the picture, though; that there was something eerie about the pleasant walk. It was almost as if people knew something horrible was about to happen, even though they didn't know what it was. No one knew that Death Eaters could soon leak into the castle and yet there was that inexplicable sense of calm before the storm that was keeping everything so cool and collected before the world around us burst.

Then again, Snape knew Draco's mission, didn't he? I guess it made sense that I was probably entering the thick of that very storm right now.

I knocked on his office door, hearing his sharp voice inviting me in with a sigh as I entered the room. I closed the heavy door behind me, hovering around it in case I needed a quick escape.

"Sit," he ordered, not looking up from his notes. I didn't really want to, but his tone was so final that I felt as if he were controlling my movements as I sat in the chair. It was hard to keep my temper in check when he was already giving off an air of frustration – he had no need to be frustrated with _me. _I was lying half as much as _he _was. Snape did not look at me for a long while; he was grading one of the essays that I had yet to complete and hand in. I watched with fond recognition as I watched him give out grades far lower than deserved. When he finished with someone's paper that apparently warranted a _Troll _grade, he raised his sour gaze to meet my own.

"Oh, don't glower," I drawled, my eyes rolling. "I've done nothing wrong."

"According to Madame Pomfrey's report of your recovery from two days ago," he began, pulling out a piece of parchment from a drawer in his desk and looking it over. "You are still not to be exerting yourself and you are recovering 'more slowly than anticipated', is there a reason for that, Miss Potter?"

"I have a weak immune system?" I offered. "That or the house elves are secretly poisoning my food."

"Or," he said pointedly, crossing his hands over his desk. "Could it be that the rumours are true and you have been staying out all hours of the night?"

"Where do you hear these rumours?" I asked in disbelief. "You shouldn't be gossiping, sir – you're too old for bathroom talk and can I reiterate that I am a Prefect? I _have _to be out all hours of the night."

"You have not been patrolling with Mr Nott," Snape noted, putting Madame Pomfrey's analysis back into his desk drawer. "He is still asking Dumbledore for reprieves from spending time with you."

Ouch. Well, that wasn't something I should have anticipated and subconsciously probably guessed but nevertheless I did not understand the need for him to inform me of this. I gritted my teeth against the burning in my stomach; a burning far more dangerous than any remnants of a poison.

"No, I've been sharing patrols with others so that they can have time off – I was really pressured by the others after having the weeks off in the infirmary."

"I'm sure," he drawled, clearly not believing me...which was fair; I was lying. "Since I am not allowed to overexert you and make you clean out the storage cupboard, I am giving you time to begin completing the homework that I am owed."

Well, that wouldn't work for me. It was a horrible idea considering I was already copying off of the essays Tracey had already gotten back and I was waiting on some of the papers he was currently grading – I didn't want to actually have to sit and do work; I don't _work._

"I wanted to ask you about something instead," my mind flipped from topic to topic – something to distract him from the idea of making me write, but something that was believable. But what was there to talk about with a former mentor who had purposely lied and manipulated me all year? Not really much. It wasn't like I was going to talk to him about Draco's mission; no matter how much help I wanted with it. And I wasn't really keen on telling him about my plan to become an Animagus either...but maybe there were other subjects along that line that Snape could assist me with. It'd be a believable subject – wasn't he always the one who I came to with these questions? It was Snape who trained me in my workings with both Astral Projection and Magnuse, even Occlumency – so surely he was the best to ask questions. Even if some of the reasons behind them weren't exactly true.

"I do not agree with student relationships, no," he told me with narrowed eyes. I rolled my own.

"Er, not quite where I was headed, not that it would be your business _anyway,_" I informed him snidely. "I wanted to ask you why...why you think I've never been able to cast a Patronus."

He raised a tentative eyebrow, looking at me with a little less malice than I had seen these past few months. Maybe it was because he realized I was subtly asking for his help and mentoring again – or maybe it was because I wasn't being an uptight bitch around him; but for a moment he almost looked at me with the same intrigue he used to.

"I was not aware that you were incapable of producing a Patronus," he informed me. "Can you not conjure one at all?"

"Not even an intangible one, nevertheless a corporeal version."

"Casting a Patronus is not so easy as one may believe, it is above a NEWT level standard," he explained to me, leaning back in his chair. "Many never achieve a full-bodied guardian. Though your brother may traipse around to flaunt his corporeal charm, there could be multiple reasons that he can produce one and you are unable."

"Such as?"

"Talent, for one," he told me with a slow blink. "You are a horrible Defense-woman, Potter. Your wand-wielding is below par and I would not be surprised if it was simply because you are not gifted enough to produce one."

"Though I love that the insult came first, I'd love the more likely reasons." I glared at him.

"You have already shown signs of magical instability," Snape continued. "The conjuring of a Patronus requires stable concentration and a constant flow of power – something you are not always capable of controlling. Then of course, there are the emotional aspects."

"Emotional aspects?"

"Besides being a young woman with a ludicrous emotional dependency-"

"I am the opposite of emotionally dependent!"

"-your bitterness and negativity works against you for the very process to begin the charm." Snape continued, giving me a soft glare. He blinked slowly, waiting for me to interrupt or argue; when I did not, he seemed happy to continue. "When asked to picture a happy moment in time, or think of something that makes you overjoyed – I would not be convinced you are capable of seeing past your own insecurities and ridiculous jealousy or dependency."

"I am not dependent..." I growled out again.

"Needless to say, I believe the former is the reason for your failure."

Now, maybe it was because Snape was upset with me or maybe it was because I had been so long gone from his rude and inappropriate jabs, but this analysis burned me in a way I had not expected. I couldn't imagine where he was getting the idea that I was emotionally dependent – I was clearly the most lonely and isolated person in this whole ruddy castle! – but I couldn't deny he may have had a point about being slightly insecure and overzealous when it came to jealousy.

Particularly the part about the jealousy.

"So there's no hope of me managing that, then?"

"Realistically, no," he informed me, moving his stack of graded papers to one side of his desk and the uncompleted works to the other. "I highly doubt you'll ever be able to produce a Patronus of your own."

I frowned – well, that was one way to help my process of becoming an Animagus down the drain. I couldn't help but feel a little tick at the back of my mind reading that he must be _wrong. _I mean, it obviously wasn't as difficult as he preached because nearly everyone I knew could produce an animal Patronus: Harry had taught the entirety of his little duelling club last year – _Ron bloody Weasley _could cast one, which had to mean that I could as well. Why would I be the only one incapable, besides Neville Longbottom?

"You look disappointed," Snape observed, I sighed wearily.

"I'm trying to get myself under control," I explained to him honestly. "I'm not as practiced as I once was – my wandwork is horrid, as you've previously and joyously stated, and my Magnuse is a little off the charts."

"I'd taken note. Madame Pomfrey constantly had to mend objects and windows around your bed the entire week you were unconscious," he explained to me. I furrowed my brow at the admission; no one had told me that.

"Well," I muttered, setting my jaw, "I'm trying to get a better handle on everything."

"Your wand-weilding, though lacking in standard and general aptitude has increased dramatically this year." Snape explained, moving to stand and go over towards his bookshelf and scanning the titles as if he were looking for a book for me. There was an odd feeling of reminiscence about this talk of ours, the same feeling I had when I would go outside the castle after something stressful and breathe fresh air. "I was surprised by your efficiency with non-verbal spells – it suggests that you could move forward to continue work with wandless magic."

"I've already moved forward in wandless magic," I said slowly.

"Magnuse is Cantated magic – magic without a wand, it is true," he explained. "But the common form of wandless magic is usually much simpler. For example – _Accio._"

Snape's wand, by the quill he had been using to grade, moved into his hand swiftly even though he had not turned to look at it. I raised my eyebrows. "I've done that. Not often, but I have."

"Mostly due to Magnuse, because you were touching something near it," he countered, deflating what little pride had grown in my chest. "It should be easier for you than learning Magnuse had been. If your wand decides to cooperate."

"Which it won't," I muttered, feeling the heavy wand in my pocket. "It hates me."

"Have you considered purchasing a new one?"

"Right," I muttered. "Clearly you haven't heard what happened when I tried to find my first one."

"I'm well versed in all your slights thanks to your endless whining," Snape mumbled. "You are more powerful than you understand, Potter. Now that you've let the enemy know, you'd best practice honing it."

I didn't really know how to respond – I couldn't believe how much it felt like we were back in the thick of our camaraderie like last year. It was easy to ignore the fact that he had lied and ignored the problems Draco had to face, so easy to forget that he had been an arse to me earlier on; at least now that we were on the same track again. My nightmares had let me know I had missed his company, but I couldn't believe what a relief it was to have it back, even if just for detention. It felt like it had always been – like things were back to normal and the only things that I had to fear were the dangerous things like the Riddler and my own pride. You know, the simple ones that weren't complicated by 'meaningless drabble' like affection and loyalty. I could imagine Snape saying it in my mind's eye as if it were actually the conversation we were having.

"Would you help me practice?" I couldn't help but ask him. Snape finally turned from the bookshelf on his side wall, looking at me with dark eyes. I couldn't tell what he was seeing or trying to see in that glare, but I held his gaze steadily. I wasn't asking him for the world – I wasn't even asking him for as much as I had during the Triwizard Tournament or lessons last year when he had taught me these kinds of magic to begin with. Was our relationship so tattered that he wouldn't help me?

"I have no reason to. I'm sure your brother or your _boyfriend _would be more suited to your needs," he sneered to me, "considering you've been spending so much time with the latter."

I rolled my eyes. "My relationship with Draco has nothing to do with this."

"Your relationship with Mr Malfoy has nothing to do with anything," he agreed with a distinct scowl. "I believed that you were smarter than what you've been demonstrrating. Clearly if I am so wrong, I cannot be fit to aid you as you need."

"Neither Harry nor Draco wouldn't stand a chance at helping me _or_ teachingme any of this," I fought, matching his scowl and trying hard to ignore the angry boiling that began in my stomach. "And really, I don't want them to know I'm trying. They're both overprotective and completely ridiculous. They can't do the things I can."

"Speaking of which," Snape seemed happy to change the subject. "I would like the antidote to your appearance-potion that you gave to the Slytherin girls. Once you have done that you won't have detention with me at all."

But that wouldn't help me at all. Not only did I not want to give the girls the antidote to the potion – possibly not ever, nevertheless _now _– but having these detentions with him stop him didn't make sense now that the idea of acquiring his cruel but effective training had popped into my head. Snape was the _perfect _one to instruct me on the things that Sirius wouldn't and couldn't. If I played my cards right, maybe Snape wouldn't even have to know that I was getting coaching from Sirius at all...maybe I could use them both and get more power than either of them now. Help with one kind of magic could only increase my talent with another – what was the harm of using two people to do it?

I smiled at him, standing up from my seat. "Sorry, sir. I like our time together a little too much to give in just yet."

"And why would that be?"

"You're the most clever teacher in the castle," I told him honestly.

"Is that so?"

"Of course," I smiled sweetly. "See, I can be nice...I just don't usually want to be."

"If only this newfound realization would ever make a difference," he drawled in annoyance. "And how long will it be before those girls are back to normal?"

"At this rate?" I shrugged, pushing myself from the back of my chair and spinning around to head back to the Slytherin commons. "Long after my NEWTs."

"And where do you think you're going?"

"To the dungeons; I'm going to let you think about my offer before I come back on Monday to continue my slew of detentions. Hopefully by then you'll realize that helping me control myself will be a much better use of our time than having me write essays we know I won't do."

"Potter," he grumbled when I had reached the door. I turned back expectantly, fighting the satisfied smirk that threatened to give me away. "Bring your wand on Monday – we'll start with a review."

I smiled widely, unable to stop myself. I opened the door with a nod before turning back to peak through the dim lighting at his exhausted expression. "It's really good to have you back, Professor."

He merely grunted in response, but I couldn't help hoping he was glad to have me constantly bothering him again too.

I all but skipped all the way to the Room of Requirement; I may have been a little too excited considering I was not watching my footsteps as Draco always warned me I should do when I was on my way to see him.

"Tweedles Dee and Dum," I smiled, looking at two second year Gryffindor girls who were standing watch outside of the door. Crabbe and Goyle must have been so annoyed of changing sexes each night. Before they could acknowledge it was me they tipped over a cauldron they had with them – warning Draco of an intruder, as they were instructed. I only rolled my eyes as I shifted it out of my way with my foot. "Could you move so I can get through?"

"Potter, you can't just barge through when-"

"Oh, don't give me that," I rolled my eyes at the little blonde girl who had barked back at me. "I saw you at dinner when Draco wasn't, meaning that you skipped your post again. Do you want me to tell him, or do you want me to leave you alone?"

Both boys moved so quickly that I could hardly believe it was them – maybe those stolen identities were doing them some good; it had to be a blessing on their blood pressure. I focused hard on asking for a place to hide, a place to hide with the things that had been hidden, just as Draco had taught me. He had been sure to warn me never to tell either of his bodyguards what to ask for so that they wouldn't be able to get in without him knowing – he was paranoid they would steal his glory. Or ruin the place...not that it could be much more ruined than it already was by nature.

After pacing in front of the door three times I moved to the large door in front of me and opened it, letting myself in by squeezing myself through an Audrey-sized opening so that Crabbe and Goyle couldn't peak. I sifted my way through the familiar piles of rubbish, trying hard to adjust to the musty scent of the room – Draco was well adjusted. He never even flinched at the smell anymore. He never even acknowledged all the things wrong with the room; he was too focused on what he was doing to care anymore.

I watched Draco for a moment, taking a good look at him before he'd notice I was there and show me what I would want to see. He was tired; not that he tried to hide that anymore. He was stressed and overworked. His eyes were hollow and yet his entire being shook as if he were electrically charged. He rifled through the pages of his newest book with a speed and ferocity that betrayed his sleep-cycle, I could nearly hear his heart bursting with whatever was keeping it pumping fast enough to keep him moving around like a hummingbird. It took a moment before he noticed me and he closed the book, trying to ensure I couldn't see which spell he was trying. As much as he trusted me with his secret, he knew I was rooting for him to fail and by closing the books when I came to read them I think he hoped that I wouldn't be able to sabotage him as easily.

I wonder if he knew those hopes were in vain.

"You're early," he said anxiously, walking toward me and wrapping his hands around my waist. I doubted that my being back early was a good thing for his work, but I could tell by how tightly he held me that it was a good thing for his nerves. His heart, hammering with stress like I knew it would be, seemed to slow a little as he held me more closely.

"I bunked my detention with Snape, sort of," I explained to him with a smile, leaning into him. He was so comfortable and I was constantly so tired nowadays that we sometimes just stayed like this for hours at a time – he needed the rest and I needed the validation that he was okay. "I thought I told you to take a day off; drink with the others."

"I wasn't in the mood," he mumbled, pulling away from me slightly before he gave me a taunting smirk. "Besides, you weren't there and you know how much more I fancy you when I'm intoxicated."

"Don't I ever," I smirked back, raising an eyebrow. "You've been here all day then?"

"I came after lunch; I didn't figure that transfiguration would be any more enjoyable today considering it was an essay-day," he explained, rolling his eyes before they seemed to snap to me and examine me closely. "How are you feeling? Did you eat?"

"Er, some," I said quickly, trying to recount everything I had eaten and preparing to double the quantity if he asked me about it. He didn't bother with anything but a roll of his eyes. I was immediately defensive. "Don't be such a git, you clearly didn't either!"

"I wasn't just poisoned," he countered lowly, clearly ready to start berating himself again. I gave him a look that made him sigh. "You're making this harder on both of us, you know. You need to get up your strength – you should be feeling better than you are. The fact you're not taking care of yourself might be part of the problem."

He sounded like Snape, but I knew that was probably not the right thing to say to him. Snape was always a touchy subject whenever mentioned – Draco didn't like that Snape was trying to include himself in his plans and Snape wasn't very happy to be excluded. It was a game of cat and mouse – though who was whom I couldn't tell you.

"You could just take care of me," I smiled, pulling at his hand and wiggling my eyebrows. "You could sit on the couch and pretend to be kind and all that mush that you don't believe in."

"Wouldn't that be the day," he told me sarcastically, sighing as he allowed me to move him over to the couch with me. I sat down, smirking when he groaned and flopped beside me – his whole body relaxing into the lumpy cushions. "I'm not sitting here for long. I'm not done my work for the day. I want to try two more spells – if I finish soon, we'll head down to the kitchen."

"I'm not hungry," I muttered, leaning my head on his shoulder. "And there isn't a spell for that in any of your little books."

"I don't care," he said simply.

"You're such a bloody hypocrite. Maybe I should start worrying about you having an eating disorder and giving you some inappropriate nickname like you did for me at the beginning of our time together," I informed him, giving him a glare when I remembered back to the time he had called me _the little dead girl._

"That nickname wasn't one of my most inventive, but it did its job. And I may be a hypocrite but you're a bloody harpy, yet I complain a fraction of the amount you do," he smirked at me kissing my forehead before ripping himself from the couch and going back to his book. He kept an eye on me to make sure I wasn't trying to read any of the passages from my position on the couch; when he felt satisfied that my eyesight was too poor he continued his research.

I hated silence. "Have you gotten the first one down?"

"No," he muttered, obviously frustrated as he read over the instructions again. Was he frustrated by the fact I always had to break the silence, or was he frustrated by the book? He probably wouldn't admit to either if I asked him. He still wouldn't even admit to trying to keep those spells away from me – which he obviously did. And if he was studying them so intently, but trying to keep them from me, that meant he was practicing them wordlessly; which was more work. To make the matter worse, he never knew if he had done them right considering the only way he would know was when it _did _work – and he didn't like me being there for that possibility. Which is why he always tried sending something through the Cabinet in the mornings; at night he would continue trying to fix it. He had yet to succeed.

"Have you changed your mind about your allegiances yet?" I asked innocently. He sent me a withering glare from behind the dusty tome opened in front of him. "I didn't think so."

"And I forever guarantee that I won't," he told me sternly.

"Forever's an awfully long time," I told him leaning back in frustration, watching the dust swirl around my head from having disturbed the upper back of the couch which was rarely touched. "I'll keep focusing on tomorrow."

He didn't say a word to me, only continued to work on the blasted Cabinet. I sat and watched him, hardly saying a word to him...no matter how much I was tempted. I could tell that he was getting more frustrated – not only with me, but with himself. I didn't know how long it would be before he burst from all the pressure, but I didn't want it to be now. The mission weighed more on him every day, I could tell. A bowtruckle would have been able to tell. Draco was becoming more and more afraid for his life with each failed attempt at mending the Cabinet _I _had helped destroy.

I wonder if he was surprised when I began to drift off – he couldn't have been disappointed, I was sure he wanted me to sleep so that I wasn't watching him with such a scrutinizing gaze anymore. But it didn't matter how much he hated my judgement; like always I felt him kiss me as I began to give into the lure of sleep. Just like last night. And the night before. And the night before that. Only now, with all my new lessons and plans of prevention with both Sirius and Snape, I had something to look forward to even more than his kisses when I woke up. There was no hiding that power was as gratifying as Draco's early morning kisses...

Though the power may have been less intoxicating.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, she knows! At least about the Cabinet. Poor Audrey is not done her torment, though – we all know what happens and with only a few installments left in this part of the story, there is a lot still to come. Questions for this chapter:<strong>

**How do you think this will change their relationship? **

**How do you think this will change the ending? **

**Now that Sirius and Snape are working with her will she gain control of her magic again? **

**Will she be able to become an Animagus; if so, what do you think she'll become?**

**Thank you so much to everyone for your supportive and wonderful response. I loved reading this, it really made my days. To my fantastic reviewers:**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Thanks, the computer is still out for repairs but they said I should be getting it back in the second week of December so I'm looking forward to the day fondly. I'm glad that I was able to describe the mead scene and Draco's guilt in a believable way; I also still liked she had her sass with Ron, Tracey and Lillian as well. You're right that Seren will do anything for Tom and I agree that it looks like Audrey would do anything for Draco as well, but she is manipulating Draco at the same time so we'll see who she'll resemble more. The HBP arc is almost coming to an end, it's true – but I still have a lot of excitement to write about before it does! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked this new chapter :)**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I believe Audrey has elements of both Seren and Voldemort as well, but it will be interesting to see which path she decides to follow – whether she'll purposely turn to the more dependent side of things like Seren, or whether she'll take the reigns to the darkness within her like Voldemort did. Sorry that there was a bit of a wait on this chapter, but I only get to use the computer I'm borrowing for about an hour or two every few nights before I fall asleep, so it's been a long process. I hope that this chapter was as exciting (notification to this review response) as it could be and thank you for your review!**

_animagirl_**: Bringing up the kiss in a later argument is definitely something that Draco would do; hopefully he's not so cruel. A lot of crazy things happen in the next few chapters so I'd like to think he's more mature about it...but it IS Draco Malfoy, so you never know. It is strange how his sorrow is considered romantic, even though he felt like he was tearing himself apart – but I agree. I liked writing it. Aw, I'm glad that you like the story so much and that this story has made your top picks...I'm pretty proud of it. Thank you for reviewing and hope you liked the chapter!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thanks, the hard drive thing has definitely been throwing me off my game, luckily I could salvage some things from emails I had sent or journals I had previously written some of my shorter things in; but I'm taking my time to get back on my feet. At least the passion for the story hasn't gone away despite the upset it caused. So I guess that's a good thing.  
>I was really excited for all the possibilities being poisoned opened up as well – I mean, the guilt of it all drove Draco to admit his plan to her; I couldn't imagine any other way for her to have been able to find out. Plus it was really exciting to write.<br>A few people have guessed that Harry helped Ron before Audrey, it's a clever thought but Harry would never admit it; so who knows if we'll ever find out? Well...I have a reason that I'll let you know, but why would I give that away so early? We'll be getting to see how Theodore is handling everything with Audrey before the end of the HBP portion of the story; but honestly with everything I'm fitting into the next few chapters (and what those things include) I don't know if we'll see him much. His part to play is definitely there, but I don't think Audrey will have time for all the guilt that comes with Theodore when she's trying so hard to undermine Draco's Death Eating efforts.  
>I agree, Audrey is a bit like both Seren and Tom; the trouble is I don't think she'll know which one she really connects with until a deeper connection is made – such as by the more 'kill or be killed' mentality that we explored in this chapter.<br>I did try to show a bit about how the Veritaserum went. I planned to have a longer conversation between her and Draco about it in the Room of Requirement, but my fingers just couldn't find the right place for it and I don't like forcing conversations like that; so there was just the small mention earlier on in the chapter. It was supposed to be more specific and dramatic, but there were other things I decided to convey – hopefully that's okay. Did you like the parts with Snape in this chapter? He'll be in it for the remaining chapters as a more constant character (oh, how I've missed him!) and hopefully I'll be able to use Snape's magnificence to help keep Audrey and Draco in character. I'm worried that because of how close their getting and that fact that fondness is totally built on guilt and manipulation that their characters may get a little lost – hopefully not.**

_momorocks101ful_**: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter, too.**

_Leanna Drobis_**: I already have a Tom Riddle JR/OC story planned out with Seren Malmore (the character from the memories we've seen) and it was partially written, but it was sadly lost in my destroyed hard drive. It will eventually be posted, when I can start writing it again :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I really liked that she drank the poison as well and Draco's response was literally one of the three ideas in my head that made me start writing the entire story, so I'm glad that you liked it so much. Now that he's told Drea a part of his mission, do you think that their lives will get better or worse? We see that they're supporting each other – but they are obviously both keeping secrets as we know Draco has been asked to kill Dumbledore and we know that Audrey is keeping her Animagus training from him. Yes, the bathroom scene will be exciting, I'm really excited to write it. And Theo will be coming in a little bit later, don't worry. He still has his part – which is a very important part – to play in this book and in the Deathly Hallows, I haven't forgotten about him. Hope that you enjoyed the chapter and thanks, as always, for reviewing.**

_incitanemxx_**: Yes, she does see herself a little more manipulative; but does she see herself as dedicated as Seren had been? Honestly, it is a trick question. There are too many variables in it to have a concrete answer.  
>What did you think about Draco showing her the Vanishing Cabinet and explaining a part of his mission? Of course, he kept quite a significant amount from her, but he did come clean about where he's been hiding himself – and now they're cuddling up together as he plots to take over the school. Only Audrey could nap knowing her boyfriend is planning on slaughtering people in their sleep, haha.<br>Thank you! The poisoning part was...oddly really satisfying to write. That's probably because I've had that scene planned since before I started writing it, but I may have gotten too much satisfaction in nearly killing my own heroine. Quite a few people believe that Harry gave Ron the bezoar first, but sadly we won't know for quite some time (if ever).  
>We did hear that Harry and Drea are awkwardly avoiding each other – she's afraid that he'll ask about Draco and he's distant because he probably knows about Draco...probably not good news. As you see, I did not answer the "things you had to listen to" very clearly – though that will be outlined more in later chapters (particularly when I write his POV in Audrey's Prelude). Audrey doesn't know if Harry said Draco did it or if it was the voices in her head – we will never know. I'll just tell you that now. It's not really that big of a mystery, it was just supposed to get her thinking about it...but voices like that will come back to play later on. Speaking of later on – sixth year is coming to a close in five chapters. It doesn't even feel real. I'm so excited for how everything is about to play out – it's about to get crazy. I'm glad you understand why Draco won't switch sides; I don't blame him. On pain of death and all that (including for his family). If someone threatened my family I'd probably do anything they said.<br>I'm really sorry that the chapter was so late. I'm going to try to stay up a few hours later each night so that I can have more time with the computer I'm borrowing; hopefully that will help get the next chapter out faster than I got this one out.**

_Zabi101_**: I'm glad that it was so engaging, hopefully this one had a bit of that intrigue as well. Thank you so much for reviewing.**

_anon1_**: Yeah, Audrey's poisoning was a fun twist I was really excited to write. I'm glad that it went over so well. We'll find out how Draco knew that something was being said to Audrey in the one-shot I write for it later on...that one shot is what drove this entire story to be written (or at least it was one of three scenes in my head that I wanted to write) so I want to do it proper justice instead of just explaining. I could imagine that Audrey would be really mad if she found out that Harry had helped Ron first and that's why she was so sick, but I don't think Harry would tell her either way, do you? I hope that you liked this chapter and thanks for the review!**

_CLAMPsFluffMeisterGirl_**: I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, I took a lot of time with the poisoning scene to try to make sure that I was describing it in a way I hoped people would be able to almost feel her pain – sorry that you had to be one of the ones that did, haha. No, but I am glad that you enjoyed it. We'll be seeing some more of Lillian, Tracey and Houdini a little bit later in the story; they're too funny to keep out for long. And even though I made Draco tell her about one part of the mission, they are still keeping secrets from each other. They're Slytherins, they'll never just play their hand; they have to bluff first. Thanks for the review :)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Audrey could definitely be a weakness for quite a few people, you're right about that, even if she would never see it that way.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Ha, you're right; as soon as you mentioned the line from Pirates of the Caribbean I went and reread it. Funny. I'm glad you caught onto the idea of the reversed roles of Draco waiting for her to come out of the room (or in this case, Dumbledore's office) but I don't know if Audrey will ever be able to turn him in. She likes him a lot more than she's letting him know...and the affection they feel for each other is dangerous for the both of them. Hope you liked the chapter!**

**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I really like that you "wish them a happy ending"; that's sweet and oh-so fitting.**

_sara253xxx_**: Don't worry about not reviewing every chapter, I'm glad you decide to review at all. I'm glad that you've been enjoying it (particularly the Draco/Audrey fluff) and I hope that you liked the fluff in this chapter too. **

_BowTiesAreCool_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you think the length of the chapters is worth the wait for an update, I try really hard to keep them like real chapters in a novel. I also try to keep the original characters as true to themselves as possible (it would just be a shame if I didn't) as well as keeping Audrey a true person instead of a "Mary-Sue". Audrey and Voldemort won't be meeting face-to-face for a while, but I'm hoping that when they finally will, I do it justice. Thank you for taking the time to review, particularly if you don't often, and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_applecandykiss_**: Happy belated birthday! I'm sorry that I didn't get the chapter out on your birthday or anything, but I've hardly had any time with the computer that I've been borrowing. Hopefully you liked this chapter; it might not have been as action-packed as some, but there were some interesting things that happened. Plus we got to see some characters we've been missing – or at least, I have :)**

_DarkTendncies_**: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope you liked this chapter as well. Thanks for the review.**

_JrSnape_**: I'm sorry it depressed you so much. Hopefully this chapter made it a little better.**

_katie93319_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! You are silly if you think things are going to change in a good way...because we sitll have the bathroom scene and book seven. Sadly, there's not even a "happy-bubble" to pop. I'd love to see Draco on the good side as well, but you can't deny he has some very good motivation and points why he shouldn't leave the Death Eaters. Poor boy. Life is not being fair to this couple. The computer will hopefully be back in a few weeks and then I can write more – that's the hope, anyway! I hope that you liked this chapter and thanks for the review.**

_Blue Luver5000_**: Thanks, hope you like the new chapter.**

_Kimm-Norwood_**: Hopefully the confusion was somewhat answered and you are even more enticed than last chapter!**

_hat_**: That's a good theory about Harry possibly helping Ron before he helped her; but I don't think he'd ever admit it if he did, do you? Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like the new chapter.**

_Ahsilaa_**: Hopefully the fact it was a really long chapter is a good thing. I don't know if I'd be any help in a post-war story setting, but I could always give you some pointers if you want them, or if you have questions. Thanks for reviewing.**

_OddPotato_**: Yes, I definitely think that if Audrey goes the way of Seren she would go about it differently. It's a good base idea, that this may change Draco's fate of being in the Death Eaters or in the Order; I can't wait for you to find out. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter :)**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: Of course, not poisoning her would have been a disservice to my passion for the dramatic. I agree, as horrible as it was to see her in pain I like what it ended up triggering in Draco. It's going to be what drives the plot for the rest of this story arc and maybe even for the Deathly Hallows portion.  
>Yeah, Seren is a lot of fun to write. Well, not fun, it's actually really dark and depressing...but I enjoy the depth of the 'relationship' between she and Tom. Maybe I'M becoming sadistic, haha. Hopefully I did well since you were looking forward to Draco explaining a bit about his mission, even if he didn't explain the entire thing. Hope you liked this new chapter, thanks for reviewing.<strong>

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: I've actually been hearing so many people say this! I looked in my junk folder and even saw some of my messages were left in there too so they must have changed something somewhere along the way. Strange. I would never make Audrey force Draco to choose a side considering that she, herself, can't really choose a side. Even as she's fighting for the Order here she's not even saying to fight with them, just to be protected from them – to her they shouldn't have to fight at all. Harry will definitely be pissed when he finds out that Audrey and Draco are together once again...it will be fun when it happens. I become more excited the more I think about it. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter; thanks for the review!**

_Annaismyname_**: Aw, I'm glad that Audrey's made enough of an impression that you think of her when you're reading the genius that is the original series. I'd like to think she sticks around in other people's minds that aren't my own; she's certainly stuck in mine. Angsty Draco is a lot of fun in all forms – to write, edit and read over – so I'm glad that you liked seeing him. He was around a lot in this chapter, too. He'll continue to be around, too; guilt eats people alive.**

_Skittle-CrazyAnime-Addict_**: I'm so sorry you're in the hospital, I hope everything's okay! Please feel better and thank you for reviewing when you found the time.**

_AHeartFullOfLove_**: Ah, I see. I have a fond love of Les Mis and it's one of the better ones, so I agree with your song choice. Ugh, losing your internet sucks. My internet was spotty for a while and I thought that I would shrivel up and die – I pillaged my poor data plan to ease my sorrows. The waiting game for her Animagus form does seem to make sense, but I have to ask if you have guesses after her talk with Sirius this chapter? Call me curious, I like to see if people can guess. If they can, I know it's not too crazy and out of nowhere. But yes, I totally agree that Draco and Audrey ahve reached a whole new level of depth thanks to this poisoning of hers and the way they are supporting each other, it will only root more deeply. I LOVED the banner you made, thank you so much! I loved the quotes. It's great to see what people liked and remember from chapters so far back. It looks like you made one for Seren but I can't open it for some reason...I'm sure it will be amazing. Thank you so much :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Don't worry about not reviewing, I know life gets in the way. I hope that everything is okay; if you feel the need to talk remember that I am more than happy to lend an ear. I'm glad that you've been liking what you've been reading, I've missed our talks! Again, I hope that you're feeling alright and that everything's okay. **

_Littlemissvengeance_**: Happy birthday, even though it passed forever ago! Yes, Draco clearly isn't feeling very great over what happened to Audrey and the fact it's his fault; but she'll knock him out of it somehow. Or, maybe even better, she won't...  
>If I released a chapter every day I would not only never leave the house but I would never get to sleep. I wish I had that power...but at the same time, now that the end is so obviously nigh, I'm kind of liking to concentrate and obsess over a chapter so it's exactly how I want before I release it. Now's the time to be diligent. I'm going to continue on with <strong>_**Audrey Potter's Prelude**_** when this is done for a while, I think. But then I'm going to put her to rest – she doesn't deserved to be heckled forever. I think when her story ends, it'll end. I don't want to overkill it.**

_bookreader1617_**: Don't worry about it, I've heard a few people have been having this problem. I'm glad that you liked what you got to read and hopefully you can get the alerts again. Thanks for reviewing when you could!**

_Guest_**: Thank you so much! This is really sweet. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and Audrey/Draco's coupling; they can be a lot of fun to write. One of them was from Draco, but the others we won't know and I can't tell until later on. Sorry, but that would ruin the surprise. I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Ella710_**: Wow, this is quite possibly the longest review I have ever gotten; but that is good. And I love it. I saved it for last.  
>Yeah, making her drink the poison was fun in a way that should probably be considered wrong. And I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much – particularly thanks to Draco's reaction. I totally could imagine it in my head so I'm so glad that it seemed to translate through to people...poor boy was all torn up. Don't worry, I pretty much have the entire scripted version of what's happening in his chapter of Audrey Potter's Prelude which happens from just before the poisoning to the first night he's in the ROR with her...I'M SO EXCITED. It'll be intense, I promise you.<br>Yes, the delirium including Snape continued in this chapter. Wasn't it so happy? I was so happy. I can imagine you were so happy. And Sirius too? I was in heaven. Were you in heaven? ;)  
>It's not insane that you want her to be like Voldemort. I think in a way she wants to be like Voldemort, I think she's afraid of being used like Seren was. I think that both Draco and Audrey have elements of both Seren and Tom. I'm hoping they don't have the same end...but what kind of author would I be if I gave that away? But do you think that Audrey couldn't find her weakness in Draco too? we've heard her voice it now; do you think that she will be his "knight in shining armour" like he has been hers? Because I think Audrey is far too protective to just let a dragon eat him.<br>So...she's in the Room with him. How does this make you feel? There was Snape, but no Snape in the process, so I'm hoping that you're still satisfied. Draco isn't happy with him, Audrey isn't particularly pleased, and Snape isn't pleased with them, so I couldn't have involved him like I think you expected. I'm hoping that it was still acceptable. As for Theo...I promise there will be some intimate moments with him in the next five chapters before the HBP part ends...but I can't really tell you when. There won't be many. But they'll be intense so...hopefully that makes up for it?  
>Holy crap, my computer. How do I even describe the drama with my computer? Um, the one I'm been borrowing is the computer of someone taking a Computer Sciences degree...so I don't get it often. And when I get it, it's usually late at night because she's a procrastinator and then I'm fighting for consciousness. This was the hardest chapter EVER to get down. It was horrid. And that doesn't even touch on everything that I lost because of my own computer's difficulties. I MIGHT get it back in mid December. You know, 6 weeks after I sent it in...Oh god, I'm getting upset again. I can't talk about it too much. I may cry.<br>Anyway, I hope you liked this new chapter. Your review was epic and fantastic – as always, but this one was INTENSE – so thank you for being so specific. I loved it :)**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Don't worry, you've written your own novel-reviews in the past, I don't judge who writes the longest ones. I like long ones because I like seeing detailed thoughts; not necessarily because of the length itself. I appreciate all your reviews :)  
>I'm really glad you were able to do that cover-picture; it really is the closest girl I've been able to find to the Audrey in my head. The picture looks great – thank you for your quick and amazing photoediting abilities! And yes, first name buddies all the way! I don't meet a lot of people who share the name, so it's always really exciting when I meet someone with it. Didn't you hate growing up and not finding your name on anything, though? It was my pet peeve growing up. I was always so mad at my mom. I had wanted to be named Betty Black so that when teachers called my name in class I could start singing "Black, Betty"...<br>Wow. This is when I get back to the proper review now...  
>Oh, I always knew she was being poisoned. Before I even knew what kind of dragon she was fighting. Poor girl, she had no chance. I'm glad that Draco's guilt was relatable (well, not relatable, but at least believable) and that you understood why he had some of the reactions that he did. Hopefully that was still obvious in this chapter; I hope it's still believable and not too much.<br>I'm glad you liked the poisoned mead scene! I couldn't tell you if I liked the first version or the second version I wrote better, but I'm still glad with how it turned out. Most people said they could really feel her pain, which was a good sign I guess. You know me, I love to make my readers feel like they drink acid with each passing chapter...**

_BOOMitsMegan_**: It's alright if you don't review every single chapter, it's just nice to get reviews at all. I'm glad that the chapters are long enough for the monotony that is the public transit; I know the feeling well. Audrey is constantly fighting against her good and bad sides, because I genuinely believe that she has both. And I like that she embraces them both...though maybe she holds her dark side a little closer to heart than the light, haha. Forbidden love stories are my favourite too – it's why I started reading Twilight, favour love triangles and wrote a Harry's-Twin Draco/OC romance, haha. I feel your pain – it's one of those John Mellencamp "Hurts So Good" ones.  
>Yes, Audrey downed the mead and as we can see, Draco is not really happy about his involvement in it. I don't think it's that Audrey doesn't care, I think it's that she understood there was an ulterior motive that she knew went beyond his actions. Hopefully you liked this chapter, thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Melody_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter (and all the other chapters you've said it for, as you mentioned, haha) but I really am. And that you dream of it? That's wonderful! I'm no Shakespeare or Rowling or...well, anyone...but I'm glad that it's wormed it's way into your heart. Speaking of "heart" the L-word may be coming soon, but I think that these two are a little too stubborn to be one of those classical couples, don't you? We'll be seeing Theodore soon, he has an important part to play. I hope you liked this chapter, too – thanks!**

_Kate Of The North_**: I'm glad that you thought the chapter was realistic, writing the poisoning took a lot of concentration, haha. Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_theeejupiter_**: Oh, thank you! I really like being able to write it from the flip-side of the coin (or the "bad guy's" perspective) like you said; I think it makes the story a bit different. I've recently decided who my other save is, but I can't tell you and sadly I think voting's out for who I get to kill and save – neither one necessarily makes me happy. Anyway, I'm glad you've been liking the story and I hope that you continue to with this newest chapter :)**

_ZabuzasGirl_**: Here's the new chapter, hope you like it!**

_SwiftAlice_**: Hi there! How is everything? I'm hoping that you're well and that you haven't melted with summer coming your way. I've been freezing over here – we have over three feet of snow; there's no place to hide anymore.  
>I was still able to get something into the competition, but I'm not very happy with it and I'm pretty sure that it's not anything worth cheering over. The accomplishment was that I managed to get something in within the deadline; but I'm not proud of the work itself.<br>Draco and Audrey would probably hex people into oblivion if they heard us fawning over their relationship. And then they'd go a snog in a corner after we were all incapacitated. Clearly that's the only answer. I do agree that Audrey has always been a protective character – more than she really knows about herself. Which I think makes it even more genuine...or that's at least what I'm going for.  
>I'm glad that the poisoning went over well. People seemed to really identify with the pain she went through which was good; I was worried the rushed chapter would have watered that reaction down. You're also not the only person who believes Harry helped Ron first – a majority of people seem to. It's definitely an interesting theory...I wonder if we'll ever find out?<br>I really enjoyed writing her scenes with Draco in the last chapter. The earlier scene when he was explaining about his mission in this chapter was a difficult one; but the last part was more enjoyable to write. Hopefully they were both okay. She interacted with a lot of people in this chapter (or at least, in comparison to how she has been lately) and made some definitive plans that we'll see happen in the next few chapters...I'm hoping that it wasn't too much filler or that it was at least acceptable filler.  
>There is a VERY fine line between love and hate and I think that Audrey and Draco are finally deciding which side of the line they like more. I don't think they'll ever be free of arguing – that's in their nature – but the hope is that they'll start to love their little arguments ;)<br>I'm glad the memory was intense for you! Most people didn't mention it (rightly, there was a lot in the chapter, I understand why) but with seeing everything it was nice when people talked about it. I mean, we always knew that Tom could do Magnuse (I talked about it in the GOF version, I'm sure of it) and of course that he's manipulative but it was really...fun to write it. Oh no, I'm turning into a sadist. Still...it's such a different dynamic than one is used to writing that I can't help but enjoy the newfound things I have to portray.  
>What did you think of this new chapter? I'm hoping that people liked it because it included so much even though in reality it was filler. I mean, it has to happen to get from Point A to Point B, but hopefully it was as enjoyable as filler could be.<br>I hope everything is well with you!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: Nope, that last chapter just started a little bit differently because poor Audrey didn't know what was going on. No, Snape wouldn't make fake medication, even if it did keep Audrey away from Draco – but clearly he's still succeeding thanks to all of these detentions he's been giving her. That's a good theory about Voldemort incorporating Audrey into Draco's mission, especially that Audrey may be doing the exact same thing against our favourite Slytherin. Yeah, Harry wasn't really in the past few chapters, but we'll be seeing more of him in the next and the one after that – Audrey has her own things she's working on now; kind of reminiscent to when she was working as a spy for Umbridge in fifth year. Sometimes that sacrifices twin-time. Draco may have had something to do with Circe's death, but we won't find out for a while yet. Still, I hope that this chapter was a good one for you and thanks for the review!**

_Guest(2)_**: Thanks, I loved your review!**

_canttakeabreathe_**: I know that this was for chapter 41, but I'm really glad that you're so excited for the time when Audrey and Draco will kiss. Hopefully I do it justice for you and hopefully if you manage to make it all the way to this chapter you're still as excited as you were way back then. **

_HazelCurls29_**: It took a lot of time the first time I wrote it and then I pulled an all nighter when I lost it and had to write it again, haha. In all each chapter takes me anywhere from 10-15 hours. It's not always pretty.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Audrey is definitely straddling a dangerous line when it comes to who she's comparing herself to. But as Voldemort said: it's clear that Audrey is now afraid of death and maybe even the death of her loved ones. Voldemort is afraid of dying, as you said – the poor girl is feeling tugged in both directions. I'm glad that you liked the chapter and hope that this one was enjoyable as well...thanks for reviewing!**

_patternedcomicstars_**: If you get this far, I hope you can also ship Audrey/Draco! They're my favourite, if you can't tell, haha.**

_emely dash_**: Aw, thank you so much! Especially coming from someone who isn't that big a fan of the category, it's really nice that you have taken to the story as you have. I'm glad that Audrey is someone you can understand and picture and I'm really glad you think everyone is still in character – I strive for it. Thank you again and I hope you enjoyed the newest installment. **

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: I agree that not knowing whether she's the manipulator or the manipulated is a dangerous path for Audrey to try to walk down and understand – sometimes I think it's better not to know the answers to questions like that. I hope that school's been going well and don't worry about not reviewing for a while, I'm glad you do at all! **

_BlackRose_**: Thanks for the reviews, you really know how to spoil a girl. Audrey's wand will eventually be explained, yes, but it won't be fully explained for a long time. You'll get bits and pieces to think about and try to figure out before she figures it out for herself.  
>Draco is opening up finally! He didn't really tell her everything, but Audrey's a smart girl; I have faith that she'll be able to find her own way to mess up his plans. As for the question about the House Elves, we won't know that for quite some time – but Harry would not have had Kreacher to order around as he did in the original because Sirius is still his master instead of Harry (just to put that in perspective).<br>The twins visited both Ron and Audrey in the hospital wing, Snape was mentioned to have been angry with Draco after the poisoning. The girl in the memory was said to be dead, she was around before the Death Eaters really were marked, but yes she was in the circle.  
>I will be continuing Audrey's Prelude, but it will take some time to get back the chapters that were lost with my computer. The hard drive was destroyed – I have no idea how. It's not an old computer and I had a virus. The company was liable because I had sent it in earlier warning them that something was wrong and they didn't do the scan on the hard drive...ugh. It makes me angry just thinkinga bout it. I'm not going to answer all of your questions because it just wouldn't leave anything exciting for the rest of the story, but hopefully some of those answers were enough to keep you interested. Thanks for reviewing and I'm sorry it took so long!<strong>

_Shannon_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it – hopefully that continued in this chapter :)**

_noir_**: I'm not really sure what to say to this one...so...good luck? I'm glad it worked out?**

_Magimagus_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much – hopefully this one was interesting, even if it was mostly filler. It was nice to have Audrey converse with people again, though; particularly with Snape. Oh how I've missed him.  
>I'm glad that Draco's reaction was believable. I could picture it really clearly in my head so I had hoped that I was able to translate it well into words. Hopefully this chapter was in-character and still enlightening. Who knew writing romance would be so difficult; neither of these characters are made for classic romance and yet all I want is for them to be lovey-dovey! What a conundrum.<br>Ron is a fun one to write. He's one of my favourite characters, but I really don't see Audrey finding him as amusing as I do. Just like Luna (probably my absolute favourite character). Audrey is a no-nonsense kind of person and realistically, she'd want to tear their heads off every time they're near. Either way, even if she doesn't like them as I do, they're fun to write.  
>Yes, Sirius was back! Hopefully it was enjoyable. Poor Audrey is pushed to her limits thanks to being ill and his own suspicions, but we're starting now. And now she's also having lessons with Snape again! Yes! I am ridiculously excited to bring him back into Audrey's life. I've missed him terribly. I've missed them together.<br>Yes, the story is being translated into Spanish which is honestly too amazing. She's far too kind to me – I love it. Anyway, hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you, as always, for your wonderful review :)**

_loquacious gabby_**: Oh, wow, thank you! I know how you feel about waiting – I actually hate waiting to update and having to go through the process; but I'm glad that it's not ready to end yet. I'm afraid to part with it. Anyway, I'm glad that you're liking it and thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Geri_**: I know that these were for chapter 41 and 44, but I'm really glad that you have enjoyed it as far as you have gotten and if you reach this point of the story I hope that you have continued to. Hopefully even by this point you'll be a Malfoy and Audrey supporter. That I've softened you up from being a Malfoy-hater is actually an honour (not just because I love him, but because I was able to portray the side of him I think exists). I'm glad that you've enjoyed the other characters (save for Percy, because as you said: who really likes him anyway?) and hope that you enjoy the story from where you're reading now. Thanks for reviewing!**

_P0tions_**: She does have a much darker personality, it's true. I'm glad you like it, thank you.**

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><p><strong>Wow guys, thank you so much for all your reviews. This was honestly such a joy to read, particularly after everything that's been happening with my computer. I hope you liked this chapter – remember only FIVE CHAPTERS until the end of the Half Blood Prince story arc...what do you think will happen in that time?<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, updates, sneak-peaks and Q&As!**


	74. Hidden Meanings

**Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrated it today, Happy Holidays to those of you who don't! Whether you celebrate or not, I have a chapter for you all to read! Now, it's not my longest but it is amping up for the coming insanity that is the last four chapters of the Half Blood Prince section of this story...so without further ado: Hidden Meanings.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 73 – Hidden Meanings<p>

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><p>"No," I repeated for the fourth time. It was impossible not to hear the edge to my voice as it cut across the desk. "I said I'm not practicing Occlumency with you."<p>

"Is this out of fear for Mr Malfoy, or out of fear for your own discretions?" Snape asked me snidely, his face crooked with a sneer. "If that be the case, I believe neither are relevant arguments."

"You never see anything you like seeing anyway – it makes you just as tetchy as me. I want to work on something else," I told him, crossing my arms around my chest. Snape and I had been taking the past few weeks to focus my time and energy into my Magnuse but now that he wanted to move on I was hesitant. It wasn't fair that he was trying to get information out of me by ways of Occlumency – though he denied this motive – but I didn't have to be a master Legilimens to know that was his plan. "I want to work on my Astral Projection."

"Hardly of use now that you can use Magnuse, don't you agree?" Snape asked, raising a curious brow. "I would think Occlumency a more useful tool."

"It's not. If anything, I'd like to continue working on my Legilimency." Snape frowned; I couldn't help but wonder if he sensed the threat lingering in my voice. "See? It's not that appealing to you, either."

"Using your Legilimency is actually a good idea," he said slowly, though he seemed loathe admitting it. "I have not yet seen example of it and you say that it only works while in trouble?"

"No," I drew out the word so I could take the time to sit back down and finally take a moment to stretch out my feet. I was getting exhausted quickly; realistically after doing so many Magnuse-related exercises I wouldn't be able to do many more exercises of any category tonight. I still wasn't fully healed from the damned poison when it came to my lack of energy and dearest Snape was doing a horrible job with hiding his concern. "I was able to use it on command once with Draco."

"Ah yes," my professor sneered, "most things involve Mr Malfoy nowadays."

"Be happy that things are involving _you _nowadays," I fired back, bristling immediately at the newest mention of Draco while I was stuck in a lesson that was supposed to be about ruining him _and _saving him all at once. "I want to be able to look into people's minds instead of just letting people glimpse into mine."

"Have you ever gone so far as to accomplish this?"

"Never," I told him honestly, unable to keep the disappointment from my voice. "Not that I've really given it a go. And like all my magic, it seems I can only put thoughts into people's minds using skin-to-skin contact."

"A suspicious complication," Snape thought aloud. "Never have I known someone incapable of projecting their Magnuse outside oneself."

"I'm an anomaly," I told him bitterly, even though it was supposed to be in jest. "I always have been."

"You are the Girl Who Coerces Dragons," he told me, a smirk tugging at his lips. Godric, he knew how much I hated when people brought that up – it really was an accident, not a special feat of skills. It's not like I had done it on purpose, I was dying: I don't know why the dragon actually decided to listen to me...perhaps senility or a fit of post-partum madness? "But still, it is a flaw to your magic and frankly it is a liability."

"I agree," I muttered. "So help me fix it."

"Your Magnuse is under enough stress as it is," Snape said carefully. "We may just have to admit that you are not one who will be able to properly project your magic."

"But that's not fair," I couldn't stop myself from sounding like a child by whining. "I'm likely the only person to ever be unable to use Magnuse properly – I mean, the idea is if you're strong enough to _use _it you should be smart enough to _control_ it."

And on top of the regular disappointment I felt with myself for failing something that should have been simple, I couldn't deny the deeper irritation that helped fuel my motives. No, there was no denying how much it bothered me that I now knew Voldemort was a practiced user of this kind of magic as well. If Harry or I would end up going head-to-head with him I wanted to be as prepared as I could be – and that required being able to use as much and as powerful of Magnuse as he could. It would have been horrible enough if his magic beat mine because he was either more powerful or because he could conserve his energy better, but to not have a chance because I was the only person capable of this kind of magic who couldn't project past myself? I would have died of shame before he even bloody killed me.

"Perhaps there's a cause to all of this," Snape said simply. "You've been unable to control certain kinds of magic for the entirety of your educational span – there may be a deeper reason."

"I think there is," I told him, though I felt a little too embarrassed to admit to him that Dumbledore and I were almost only talking about how it was linked to my own off-balance. "I've been trying to work it out."

"Your visions," Snape said slowly, a spark behind his eye that I couldn't quite catch. "Have they returned?"

"No," I bit out, rubbing my knuckles against the wood of his desk in frustration. "Not yet. I've been trying everything from waiting to forcing them...but all _that _does is give me a headache if I concentrate too hard. Firenze tried to help me, but his advice didn't really make sense and between his advice and Dumbledore's it's like reading my instructions in Latin; and that's a dead language."

"Latin is not a dead language here in the Wizarding World," Snape said without humour.

"Well, it may as well be a dead effort," I corrected. Snape nearly smirked at my frustration rather than my quip.

"Perhaps I'll bring Firenze into one of these detentions of yours. W can see if he has any advice that I can translate to you," Snape thought, moving around to his desk again. "Not that it would do much good."

"Are you saying I'm hopeless?" I asked, unsure whether or not I was genuinely insulted.

"I am saying that you need quite a deal of work," Snape responded simply. "Which we have luckily begun."

"Yes, how wonderful for me," I burred out darkly. "But I can't say I'd be opposed to some further help. I don't think he really paid attention to me when he told me."

"Though I know this must be a shock to you, Miss Potter," Snape mumbled his drawl low and mocking. "There are other students, beside yourself, that he has been preoccupied with helping through their courses – not that you've made much of an effort."

"I was just poisoned for over a fortnight!" I cried out. "Is that not enough of an excuse for you?"

"And the other seven months of study?" He drawled, his voice low.

"Well, I have other excuses for those. And if this is about that damned essay-"

"The essay you did not write," he countered snippily. "Nor did Miss Davis, I'm beginning to suspect."

"Well how am I supposed to have time to keep up with t ridiculous amount of homework if you keep me for detentions every night?" I whined, feeling even worse when this seemed to cheer his charmingly horrid disposition. "They aren't lessons if you aren't teaching me anything, you know. And you seem to forget that the day only has 24 hours when you assign us 26 hours worth of work."

"It is lucky for you that you are already in these detentions or else you may have been expelled for the plagiarism," Snape told me with a raised eyebrow. I wondered briefly whether or not anyone else would be able to tell he was taunting me. "And on that note about lessons – you will be late to your meeting with the Headmaster if you don't leave now."

I cursed under my breath, looking at the clock over his desk and gritting out a lacklustre apology when he berated me for my language. After humiliating myself, I rushed to grab my rucksack from where I'd thrown it when I came for my detention before running as quickly as I could from Snape's office to Dumbledore's – a jaunt that wasn't particularly kind to my respiratory system, though probably needed thanks to my general lack of exercise. The stone gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office was annoyed when I tried to run past him without saying the password, but after a huffed out "pumpkin pasties" he let me through to take the stairs two at a time. I gave myself a long moment to catch my second wind – and whatever breath I had left in me – before knocking on the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore greeted me cheerfully. When I entered his office, I was surprised by just how wide his smile seemed to be. "You're late, but I can see the sincere effort made was almost as if you had arrived five minutes early."

"My detention ran late, sir," I explained, puffing a little embarrassingly while I walked farther into the room and shut his heavy oak door behind me.

"I am sorry I disturbed your detention," he told me, his smile still stretching his face in a way I had not seen in months. "I trust it taught you a lesson?"

"A few," I mumbled ironically, setting down my rucksack and sitting in front of him as he held out his charred hand to offer the seat as per usual. "What will we be learning today, sir?"

"I am overly pleased to inform you that today we will be finally coming to the pinnacle of your lesson-work," Dumbledore grinned while he indicated toward the Pensieve sat at the corner of his desk. "And afterwards, I will be somehow even more pleased to inform you of your task in the dawning future."

"My _task_?" I repeated, my eyebrows furrowing. "I have a task?"

"I have recently assigned one to your brother, as well," Dumbledore explained, ignoring my curiosity as he began to speak in that Latin-like language I had just described to my Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. "There was a specific piece of information I needed to know about a particular interaction between Professor Slughorn and a young and very manipulative Tom Riddle – your brother was to retrieve the memory from Horace and he did this just the other night. It is to my regret that it is worse than I feared."

"Worse than you feared?" I repeated again, my heart thudding against my ribcage. "Define 'worse'."

"I would much rather show you," Dumbledore said simply, taking a vial from his side drawer and emptying it into the Pensieve. Moving over to the side of his desk I let him lead me into the memory – the swirling silver currents forming into a familiar scene of Slughorn's office – nothing changed from now but for the upholstery on his overstuffed winged-armchair. Slughorn, though younger, looked almost exactly the same as he cradled the glass of wine; he looked relaxed by the present conversation. Half a dozen teenage boys – some familiar to memories I had already seen in my lessons with Dumbledore talked raucously in the background...but I was too distracted by Voldemort to notice them. Voldemort – or rather Tom Riddle – looked oddly different within his younger body. For starters his red eyes were gone and obviously he was younger – something about him screamed that he was less experienced in killing than the other memories I had seen. But that didn't make him innocent; it was impossible not to see it in the twinkle in his eye or the confident smirk on his lips.

"Sir," Riddle's voice was again lower than I expected it to be. "Is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?"

"Tom, Tom, if I knew I couldn't tell you," Slughorn chortled, wagging his finger at the boy. "I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy, more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are."

Riddle was of course proud of this and he seemed overly aware of the admiring looks from the rest of the Slug club gathered around him.

"What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't, and your careful flattery of the people who matter – thank you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favorite – I confidently expect you to rise to Minister of Magic within twenty years. Fifteen, if you keep sending me pineapple, I have excellent contacts at the Ministry."

The boys around him laughed, something that Tom Riddle didn't seem to feed off of like normal rude, pompous Slytherins. The fact he was a sociopath probably made his motives different, but it was still something to be noted. He was not the strongest, oldest, nor did he have the best robes – yet he had all the power of the conversation, that was clear. Maybe, if my guesses were right, he held a little more than power over _conversation, _as well.

"I don't know that politics would suit me, sir. I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing." Because being the heir of Slytherin wouldn't help with that – not that Riddle seemed to flaunt that around too much, even though he was twirling a familiar gaudy gold ring on his finger. I turned to Dumbledore.

"Sir, that ring – is that the one in your office?"

"An heirloom, of sorts." Dumbledore answered simply, not looking away from the scene.

"Nonsense," Slughorn had said quickly, "couldn't be plainer you come from decent Wizarding stock, abilities like yours. No, you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet."

He still wasn't. Voldemort had definitely gone far...off the deep end, sure, but he had definitely been successful as all shite at it. The golden clock standing upon Slughorn's desk chimed eleven o'clock behind him and he looked around.

"Good gracious, is it that time already? You'd better get going boys, or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay in by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you, Avery."

Lestrange, Avery...Death Eater names that I remembered vividly. But these men looked very little like the men I had encountered in the Department of Mysteries – did that mean that the Lestranges and Avery I had met were second-generation Death Eaters like Draco had been forced to become?

One by one, the boys left the room. It was impossible not to notice the hesitance and slow stalk to Riddle's steps as he waited for his friends to leave and for he and Slughorn to be alone. The walrus-like professor didn't seem to realize that he still had a guest until he saw Riddle move from the corner of his eye – a twitch from the teenager that I was sure he needn't have made, but made to grab the man's attention.

"Look sharp, Tom, you don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect..."

"Sir, I wanted to ask you something." Riddle's voice was thick with meaning, though Slughorn did not seem to catch the intensity of his words.

"Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away..."

"Sir, I wondered what you know about...about Horcruxes?"

Horcruxes? I'd never heard the term. It bit my tongue as I tested out the word quietly from the sidelines, a harsh word with immediate dark implications. Slughorn seemed to intuitively think the same, for he began to absentmindedly play with the stem of his wine glass.

"Project for Defense Against the Dark Arts, is it?"

"Not exactly, sir," said Riddle; this was a good decision as it was quite clear that Slughorn knew that was not the case. "I came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it."

"No...well...you'd be hard-pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruxes, Tom, that's very Dark stuff, very Dark indeed," Slughorn huffed, walking farther into his office as if he could walk away from this conversation.

"But you obviously know all about them, sir? I mean, a wizard like you – sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously..." Riddle weighed each pause and stutter perfectly; he was quite the actor. "I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could – so I just thought I'd-"

Riddle was a master of manipulation in ways I couldn't dream; something obvious but still shocking to see in the flesh – or rather, in the past. The flattery, the stuttering, the well-thought-out lie...but he could not disguise his excitement; the thrum of electricity running through his veins as his body, his magic, his _being _excited itself over the thought of getting it's answers.

"Well," Slughorn refused to look at Riddle as he spoke, "well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."

"_What_?" I couldn't help blurting out. Dumbledore did not answer me.

"I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir," said Riddle, his voice still too excited for it to be idle curiosity. Don't answer, Slughorn – it was so obvious that something was very wrong.

"Well, you split your soul, you see," said Slughorn, "and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form...few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable."

My heart was pounding while Tom's eyes seemed to grow hungry. My entire being wanted to scream out to Slughorn to just stop, to just stay quiet – I didn't want to hear anymore and I wished that Voldemort wouldn't either...he couldn't, he _couldn't _find out about something so dangerous...

_Immortality_...

"How do you split your soul?"

"Well," said Slughorn uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."

"But how do you do it?" Riddle's voice was not innocent or hypnotizing anymore and part of me wondered whether or not Slughorn was intimidated into answering him, rather than willing.

"By an act of evil – the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage: He would encase the torn portion-"

It rips the soul apart, how rightly that was explained. I had said the same to Draco; how it haunts you, how it tears you apart – but to think that that devastation could be used for that kind of magic...to think that Voldemort was able to keep a part of him safe and hidden from us all...

"Encase? But how-"

"I believe there is a spell, but do not ask me, I don't know!" Slughorn seemed to be growing pale just by the mention of it all. " Do I look as though I have tried it – do I look like a killer?"

"No, sir, of course not," said Riddle quickly, his voice falling back into its measured and hypnotizing quality again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend..."

"Not at all, not at all, not offended," said Slughorn gruffly and though I doubted he was offended I could tell he was disturbed. "It is natural to feel some curiosity about these things. Wizards of a certain caliber have always been drawn to that aspect of magic..."

"Yes, sir," said Riddle. He and I knew very well what caliber he was, but I was starting to wonder whether or not Slughorn was beginning to catch on as well. "What I don't understand, though – just out of curiosity – I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces, I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven-"

"Merlin's beard, Tom!" yelped Slughorn, looking as sickly as I was beginning to feel. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case...bad enough to divide the soul...but to rip it into _seven_ pieces..."

Yes, Slughorn could see it now. He knew that having this conversation may have been a mistake. Riddle tried to placate him, tried to hide his true colours while the conversation happened...but it would do little good now.

"Of course," Slughorn muttered, trying to comfort himself, "this is all hypothetical, what we're discussing, isn't it? All academic..."

"Yes, sir, of course," said Riddle quickly.

"But all the same, Tom...keep it quiet, what I've told – that's to say, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know, Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it..."

"I won't say a word, sir," said Riddle before leaving. And something told me he never did...but that didn't mean that he had not followed through with these hypothetical problems of his.

"_Horcrux_," I repeated as we left the scene in the Pensieve. I was nearly afraid of the conversation that we were about to have, even if my stomach gurgled for the information. "Are they...real?"

"They are very real, indeed," Dumbledore sighed, standing from his position in front of me to look out the window of his office. The sun had just starting to set and had dragged away the blue from the sky to replace the sky with purple. The days were slowly becoming longer now that we were about to enter May. "The darkest of all magic."

"And Voldemort, he has one." I realized, my mind reeling as I tried to take a pill that was far too difficult to swallow. Dumbledore turned to me, clearing his throat slightly while he took his seat once again, leaning toward me.

"Not one, Audrey," Dumbledore began, his voice heavy. "Voldemort is far too fearful to depend on something so fragile."

My mind was starting to spin, a headache beginning to pound behind my eyes as if I was supposed to be seeing something that I was not. It was like I was reading between the lines with such fervor that I was reading too closely and not able to focus on the big picture. And then it hit me like a cool gust of air that sent shivers down my spine...a feeling of instant nausea while I began to realize what he was saying, what he was actually telling me.

"What?" I asked, my voice harsh.

"There are _seven_, Miss Potter," Dumbledore explained. I felt myself start to shiver just at the thought, at the memory of what I was seeing – yes, I _had _seen this before. I had seen this two years ago when I was lost in that maze; two years ago when everything began to fall apart. I mean, it wasn't something I hadn't expected – that Voldemort was willing to kill seven people for apparent immortality. What I hadn't expected was that he and all his Horcruxes would have to be killed _seven times. _And to make it worse that itching feeling at the back of my mind assured me that this was exactly what my entire life had been leading to. Perhaps this was why I'd had all my lessons with Snape, all the lessons and memories I had watched...it had something to do with the end show; the end of this mess – when I would have to begin destroying Voldemort piece by piece.

I took a deep breath, Dumbledore leaned a tiny bit closer. "And I think you may know where they may be."

"I don't know where anything is," I spit out, the words felt like they had rotted in my mouth, like what I was saying was something rancid. I could remember feeling hostile in my vision during the third task, but now I understood that it was blatant, vengeful disbelief. How could this mission have gotten harder? How could my future look anymore bleak now that I knew not only was Voldemort immortal – but he was immortal seven times over.

"My dear, you know far more than I fear you'd ever have to," Dumbledore sighed, leaning back in his seat. "These Horcruxes, these seven – you have mentioned them already."

"I have not," I said quickly, shaking my head. "It's impossible – he can't have _seven._"

"He does and I can assure you that you have," he argued back, calm in that way of his that seemed to eat away at my stomach with a boiling anger. "Last year you informed the entire Order of them. At the time I was not sure, of course, but now it is not something that can be misconstrued."

"What do you mean?" I paused. "Do you mean my vision – the one during the Third Task? Because that was just a mess of random events that no one really cared a thing about beside Umbridge's tirade."

"I think you saw each and every one of them," Dumbledore gave a wry smile, his expression grim.

"That's impossible," I shook my head. "I'm telling you that vision made no sense and it was about everything and anything – meaning it was about nothing all at once! It went from seeing Mrs Figg to kissing Ron to Umbridge trying to intimidate me – I've never Seen a Horcrux and I hope I never have to."

"You have seen them," Dumbledore seemed so certain that I nearly faltered in my stubbornness. "Not that you were aware."

"I haven't!" I said quickly, standing up from my seat.

"Tell me Audrey, have you seen this?" Dumbledore asked with that damned twinkle in his eye. He moved his charred hand toward me and even though no part of me wanted to look, it was impossible not to notice the gaudy gold ring that sat in his palm. It was large and distinctively familiar; the black stone seemed to throb around the rough crack down its center. I had seen it before – I remember seeing it on my own finger during the mess of the third task. I had thought it was set in silver instead of gold, but it was so long ago that everything about that mega vision felt distorted.

"It's familiar," I gritted out.

"That's because you have seen it in your visions," Dumbledore explained, moving to place the ring on the desk between us as if it was too heavy to hold any longer. "And that ring was a Horcrux."

"I'm sorry?" I blinked, moving forward to gaze down on the ring with a little more of a surgical eye. I reached out my hand to take a hold of it. Instead I stopped myself, watching my own hand shake as it hovered over the ring before I backed my hand away again. This is what had blackened my headmaster's hand – but now what? What did that mean for someone like me? "Is it still...a part of him?"

"I have destroyed it," he explained, moving to hold the ring again.

"It looks nearly perfect," I said slowly, my eyes narrowing.

"Perhaps I should rephrase," Dumbledore elaborated, moving his hand to display the ring to me again. Somehow he ended up dropping it back into my hand, though I do not remember raising my hand to reach for it. It was heavy and unearthly cold against my skin. "It has been neutralized."

I doubted that. There was something about this ring that made me wonder whether or not a part of Voldemort were still in it, because it didn't feel 'neutral' at all. It felt dark...and powerful. "How?"

"Magic," he smiled, his blue eyes twinkling like a calm stream in summer. "And a very sharp sword."

"So...there are six now that the ring is destroyed – er, neutralized?" I breathed. "What are they?"

"Five," Dumbledore corrected simply. "The other was given away as a gift by your brother, you may recall. It was Tom Riddle's diary."

"The one that Ginny nearly killed me over?" I asked, my eyebrows rose. It was impossible not to feel bitter when I remembered losing months of my life to paralysis thanks to her own delusional obsession. "I remember it well."

"I had assumed you would," he chuckled at my tone. "Because that and the ring have been destroyed, that leaves five more for our hunt."

"What are they all?"

"That, I do not necessarily know. Though I have my suspicions," he explained, sounding more disappointed than I would have expected him to sound in front of us. Normally he would have played it calm and collected in that way that I hated; that he wasn't even pretending set my nerves on edge. "But I nearly know where to find the next."

"Nearly know? Does that mean you _don't _know?" I asked, my tone clearly beginning to sound concerned.

"I am headed somewhere significant in Voldemort's past," he explained, folding his hands over one another on his desk as he tried to make himself more comfortable. "I am investigating locations and when I discover it, Harry and I will go to destroy it."

"But-" I paused, the sting of rejection pinching me as it always did when my brother was mentioned and favoured over myself. There was no part of me that wanted to go destroy a Horcrux – in fact, that sounded far too heroic and dangerous for my taste – but it was always insulting not to be considered. I liked turning down offers like my brother liked receiving them. "Why would you bring Harry? Why not-"

"Because that is not your task," Dumbledore cut across me in that cryptic way that I hated so much.

"You keep saying 'my task'; what does that mean?" I asked, unable to keep myself from feeling bitter and insulted that I was again being left out of Dumbledore's master plans.

"Like Harry will have to face Lord Voldemort as we now know him, you will have to face your own demons as well," Dumbledore explained his voice heavy with implication. "Your task will be to ensure they are destroyed."

"So...Harry finds them and I destroy them?" I asked, my voice betraying my disbelief. "You think that he and I will work as a _team_?"

"For the betterment of the Wizarding world...would you not?" Dumbledore actually sounded curious, though he kept calm and did not look insulted over the long pause that I couldn't help but let permeate the air. No, I did not want to work with my brother; never did I want to work with my brother and be in close enough quarters to him that the only thing keeping me from slaughtering him was my own damned memory that we are blood-related. That just seemed like a bad idea all-around; a good argument for normal people, perhaps, but not one for a Slytherin and Gryffindor set of twins who stand for everything the other doesn't.

"Can't you do it?" I asked him. When he raised an eyebrow I couldn't stop myself from blushing. "Not that I don't want the betterment of the Wizarding world and whatnot – I just have a strong tendency to ruin important events. Usually it's for fun, but sometimes it's just unavoidable...and destroying Horcruxes seems like one of those things I'll wreck."

"I have no doubt it will be difficult and potentially dangerous," Dumbledore smiled softly. "But that tends to be your favourite kind of adventure."

Er – did Dumbledore know me at all? Danger does not usually make it my favourite kind of adventure...but I understood what he meant about how much I loved trouble and proving myself of difficulty. Especially if I got to ruin said important events.

"Why are you taking Harry but not me if we're both going to end up doing this together?" I asked him, frowning. "I don't understand. And I don't understand why you won't be doing it – you're clearly more qualified than two inept teenagers."

"For now, you don't have to understand."

I hate crypticism. Really, where was that going to get me?

"Do you know what you're going to find – which Horcrux?" I asked, crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair with a sigh.

"I do not know which Horcrux is where," he explained. "Just as I don't know all the Horcruxes in themselves; this is why I will ask you to find your Visionary for tomorrow."

"You want to read my Visionary?" I asked, feeling nervous. It's not like I hadn't already read him all of the things in it; it's just that now that they'd started coming true, I wasn't sure that I wanted to draw attention to some of the more humiliating ones...or the ones that compromised both Draco and myself.

"I would like you to try to find patterns – objects that you see and gave you the feeling that you felt when you read Tom Riddle's diary." He smiled. "I am sure you are capable."

"Of course," I explained. "But-"

"Which brings us to the end of this lesson, unless you have any questions you need answered immediately?" I raised my eyebrows, shocked by the abrupt halt in such a serious conversation.

"Er, I'll need some time to think about them," I told him honestly, moving to look down at the destroyed Horcrux on the table again. "This has been a lot to take in."

"Very well, then just one more thing before you leave – Severus?" The door behind my chair opened and for some reason I found myself hiding the gaudy ring behind my back like a kid who got caught with a cookie. My face quickly began to burn red while Snape tried to understand why I looked so guilty.

"Headmaster," Snape greeted, giving a swift nod. Behind him walked in a girl with vibrant red curls and vividly pink skin – Astoria Greengrass had tried to ambush me? Brave...and stupid.

"You're trying to corner me at the headmaster's office? It's not like he hasn't heard my story," I explained to Greengrass, my voice dripping with disdain.

"Miss Potter, I think it time that this ends. Now, this regular antidote does not work," Snape explained, producing a large vial of blue, bubbly liquid. This liquid took two days to make and was the regular antidote for paint splatter hexes. "Miss Greengrass and her cohorts have suffered enough, don't you think?"

No, not at all. Dumbledore chuckled at my clear hesitance.

"Do I have to?" I asked, looking at Astoria and frowning. "I think she looks better this way."

"Miss Potter, it's time."

"My terms are not difficult," I bit out, glaring at the clown in front of me. She huffed, crossing her arms and looking away. Pointing her nose up like that she highly resembled a specific reindeer...

"You have to face your own demons, Audrey," Dumbledore reminded. His voice was so meaningful, so impactful that I nearly felt guilty...but not quite. Still, he was my headmaster and I had much more important things to think about now that I had learned about the existence of Horcruxes.

"Likely you added something into the concoction," Snape broke through my thoughts, shoving the vial toward me. "What was it?"

I sighed. It felt horrible giving in like this...

"Pomegranate to stabilize it; one drop of red, two of blue and four drops of yellow dye to personalize," I took the vial from him and made a display while I spit into it. "And that was for insurance."

Snape's lip lifted in disgust. "Pleasant."

"Always," I smirked to him, taking the time to look over to Astoria. "You can consider me compassionate. Your apology was assumed."

Astoria didn't seem able to make words, her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she tried to hold her temper in front of the headmaster. I couldn't tell what would have happened were she and I only with Snape, but something told me it wouldn't have benefited me. Dumbledore looked like he was enjoying the show, so I sighed, running my hands through my hair.

"Can I leave?"

"Is that all that's needed for the antidote?" Snape asked. I nodded my head.

"Then yes, you may," he explained. I moved back towards Dumbledore and put the ring back on his desk. I frowned down on it – it was a strange feeling. Maybe it was because I had seen the ring on my finger before but it made my skin crawl just by touching it and leaving it all at once. I nodded to Dumbledore before leaving, sure to bump hard into Astoria's brightly coloured shoulder on the way out.

I nearly skipped down the steps, ready to start my night and leave for Draco's secret room...but I had to stop. I was surprised that when I saw someone leaning against the wall – at first I thought it was Draco, that's how he had leaned on that wall all those years before. It shocked me even more when I realized that it was my brother.

I stopped in my tracks, my eyebrows raised. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

"I figured we haven't had a lot of brother-sister time," he said back, pushing himself off the wall. I couldn't help but be suspicious – he had hardly spoken to me since he had left the hospital wing when I had been poisoned. Ron nearly seemed suspicious of me as well – whenever he could separate himself from Lavender's face – and Hermione had been oddly quiet. I had no doubt that they were probably suspicious of my own slip of the tongue about Draco when I had been on that love potion...which immediately set me on edge every time my brother was around.

"We haven't had a lot of it," I agreed, moving to walk beside him. I checked the corridor around me both looking for a way out and to ensure that no one was listening. "So...Horcruxes."

"Oh good," he breathed, sounding genuinely relieved. "Dumbledore told you."

"Of course he told me – apparently we need to find them and destroy them," I explained. "That's kind of a big deal. They're dangerous."

"They're a part of Voldemort," Harry reasoned. "Of course they're dangerous."

"He's taking you to find the next one," I told him, Harry nodded. "I'm not going."

"You're not?" I was shocked that Harry actually seemed not to have known this. He looked at me, eyes wide as he tried to rationalize the thought in his head. "But...why?"

"I don't really know and I don't really care," I shuddered as I thought back to the man's hand. "I want to stay far away from those things until the moment I have to destroy them."

"Why do you think you're the one destroying them and I'm finding them?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked. "You're a better finder than I am and Dumbledore said that it will _seduce _you into trying not to end it. You're not..."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not what?"

"You're not the kind to ignore something trying to seduce you," he sneered slightly. "You give in too easily."

"Thank you for your faith, brother," I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help my suspicion as I realized the implications in his words. That arse didn't deserve to judge me on things he didn't know where true. "I'm so glad we'll be the wonder-twins again. This conversation really makes me feel confident about it."

He smiled, it seemed forced. "Any time...where are you headed tonight?"

"I'm off to cause misery and chaos, what else?" Harry rolled his eyes but let me leave; a little too easily for my liking. Then again, with everything that had happened I was just glad to get somewhere that I didn't have to think; not about Horcruxes or Harry or anything else that I've been told to.

I made sure to weave through the school to distract him if he decided to watch on the map. What should have taken me five minutes took me thirty before I finally made it up to the seventh floor corridor. In front of the door to the room of requirement were Summers and Fawcett – fifth years that were dating each other. But for a couple they were sitting rather far apart and not interested in each other, besides the cupcakes that Summers still had and Fawcett was eyeing. I was surprised, Crabbe and Goyle were actually on duty today and had yet to sneak away for supper – or they'd already snuck back.

"Little pigs, little pigs, let me in," I taunted. Whoever was the girl, Fawcett, frowned.

"He's really busy today." The voice was high and rather innocent in comparison to Crabbe or Goyle's brogue, but that did not mean that I didn't catch the tone to it.

"He's really busy every day," I explained as if I speaking to a four year old. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to go in."

"You're not supposed to be distracting him!" The girl cried, her face going pink. "He's taking too long as it is."

Good. That was exactly what I wanted...I think.

"Then why don't you grow some brains and help him," I asked him with a blink. "Or is your skull too thick for there to be room for growth?"

"No," the boy said, his mouth moving as if trying to speak the words in his head to make sure that they would sound right when he said them – that meant that the boy was Goyle. "Our skulls aren't thick at all."

"Oh, just empty then," I observed. "Now move so I can go in."

"No, stop-" Crabbe, dressed as the girl, took hold of my arm and I turned surprised and dangerous eyes to her.

"Crabbe, Goyle, whichever you are," I said calmly, even though I was nearly certain it was Crabbe. "If you don't take your hand off me I will injure you so badly that you will never be able to stand watch for Draco ever again. And if you don't trust me injuring you, trust the fact that my hands are already itching and already starting to burn."

To prove my point, I placed my hand on the arm that held me and I felt as the bodyguard gasped and jumped back from me as if I had slapped him. It was only warm, not at all hot, but he got the idea that I was not in the mood for his little games and dropped his potions scales loudly on the floor before he picked them up and dropped them a second time – our signal that I was here to meet him.

Draco opened the door not a moment later, peeking out carefully before I slunk in and closed the door behind me. As soon as I was in the room with him his lips were on mine – quick and passionate. They seemed warmer than usual and a bit rough; he seemed excited to see me. Or maybe anxious that I had taken too long from when I told him I would be here. I giggled when we nearly tripped over the potions I had taken to brewing in the safety of this room, two of them clanking together noisily. I straightened up with a quick look to make sure I had not spilled the brewing cauldron of Liquid Luck that was on the end of the row of them before turning a smile back at him.

"Why the warm welcome?"

"It's been a long day," he explained with a sigh. "Did your detentions go well?"

I internally winced at the lie I had told him, the guilt trying to tear through my perception of right and wrong once again. Draco had no idea that Snape and I were working on my magic or that Dumbledore wasn't actually checking up on how I was doing after the poisoning. Draco remained thinking that I was still in trouble...but how was I to tell him I was preparing for the battle he was causing? How was I to tell him that I was planning to uproot his future attempts to get Death Eaters in this castle to hurt my friends and enemies alike? Draco had enough on his plate without knowing just how much I was trying to overthrow all his efforts.

"As well as they could," I shrugged off, hoping that he wouldn't ask me for too many details like he had on Thursday – which had been a particularly exhausting day that seemed to leave him suspicious.

"Has Snape left you alone yet?" He asked, his tone a little sharp. His eyes and tone usually matched whenever Snape was mentioned, so I rolled my own so I didn't have to meet them.

"No," I responded bitterly, thinking back to his pressing at Occlumency. "He's still asking about you."

"And you haven't given in?" He didn't seem as assured as I would have thought he would by now, so I scoffed.

"Besides contemplating sharing vivid recounts of our sexual tension? No."

"It doesn't have to be so tense, you know." He smirked, raising an eyebrow tauntingly. I smirked back, trying – though failing – to ignore the way he pulled me closer to him. It's not like we didn't play like this all the time, but he was much better with distracting me than I liked to admit and he was far too pushy for me to allow; this left us at a stalemate that usually resulted in one of us sulking.

"Don't you have a job to be doing or-" I stopped midsentence, I even stopped midstep as I finally turned to where I could see the Vanishing Cabinet. Something looked off about it – or rather, something felt off. It looked no better than yesterday, but it was not like it was yesterday. It looked more intact than when I had first started spending my nights here; the cracks were filled, the wood nearly perfectly repaired...but now there was something else about it, an aura that had not been there before. An aura that made my skin crawl.

"I'll fancy you less if you're deaf," Draco's voice cut through my thoughts and I turned to him with wide eyes. He paused, blinking slowly. "You haven't gone deaf, have you? Because then that joke would be in bad taste. I'd have to contemplate guilt – or, perhaps on the bright side, a way to make it up to you..."

"No," I said slowly, my eyes flickering back to the Cabinet. "I'm not deaf."

"Did you talk to Crabbe and Goyle for too long?" He asked with a frown, taking hold of my shoulders and placing himself perfectly in my line of sight while he tried to analyze what had changed without so much as a warning. "Their stupidity may have rubbed off on you."

"I'm not stupid," I said just as slowly as before, taking a step closer to him and away from the Cabinet. His joking seemed to cease for a minute when he slowly began to realize that I was not playing with him.

"Is everything alright?" He asked carefully. "You're...not yourself."

"Something just feels...wrong," I whispered, fighting against the instinct to look at the Vanishing Cabinet again. I didn't want to let him know that this had to do with the Vanishing Cabinet, both because it was a bad sign and because it would have drawn his attention to the fact the Cabinet needed to be worked on even while I was here. Still, it was hard to resist glancing the way of the wooden cupboard again. It was like my eyes were drawn to it, like instinct was warning me to keep my eye on it in case it attacked me. Or maybe that someone else would. It was warning me something was wrong.

Or, maybe more appropriately, maybe I was being warned that something was working _right._

I found myself moving over to the Vanishing Cabinet despite my best efforts to stop myself, Draco's footsteps echoing behind me as I took the time to touch the repaired wood. He sounded like he was about to protest, but I was already opening the door before he could argue; it was empty. The cracks in the wood were more obvious from the inside, it looked more ragged in here – but it still felt as if the wood had a heartbeat that was echoing in my ears...maybe that was my own. After all, the blood was pumping through my veins so quickly that it made me dizzy.

"Have you gone mad?" He asked cautiously, taking the hand not touching the door and trying to pull me away from the Cabinet – it did not work. "It's not like I was hiding people in there."

Not yet, no. But it felt like he would soon be able to. My skin began to crawl again.

"Would you tell me?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to him as I gripped the door. "Will you warn me when it happens?"

Draco looked conflicted with his answer and he took more time than I would have preferred to answer me. He tugged on the hand he had grabbed earlier and when he realized I would still not be moved he took my other hand in his so that he could pry my fingers from the door. After a moment of ensuring that I could be separated from the Cabinet without fear he lead me back over to the familiar, dusty couch. "I don't know."

"They'll come for me," I whispered. "And Harry."

"They'll try," he nodded, his posture stiff as he sat beside me. "The Dark Lord says he's the only one who will...take care of your brother. No one else can hurt him."

"They'll hurt him, they just won't kill him," I assured him, remembering the Prophecy and shivering as the disembodied voice chorused in the back of my head; _and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._ "There are things worse than death," I explained to him, repeating Dumbledore's words from the Department of Mysteries.

"I don't know about that," Draco muttered, mostly to himself. I shook my head, knowing he was wrong but not having the heart to convince him otherwise. He didn't need to know that sometimes living – or, even worse, _out_living someone – could be so much more painful. Luckily he seemed like he was able to tell the turmoil my thoughts were under and he pulled me closer to him – I couldn't help but let him do it. I was fully aware that I should have been pulling away from him to show him how much I disapproved of our conversation and why we had to have it _again_, but everything that's happening suddenly seemed to become very real with the new aura radiating from that damned Cabinet.

"Then again," Draco tried to joke. "Fancying you has been horrible."

"Horrible how?" I tried forcing a smile, appreciating the lighthearted conversation even if I was not quite ready for it. "Fancying me is something to be proud of. That you get things in return is an honour."

"You're so much work," he sighed dramatically, placing his hand on my hip and squeezing it gently. "My lips always go raw when you're around."

"If you want to stop snogging, I'm more than happy t-" Draco did not seem more than happy to stop snogging as I had bluffed. I was glad that he had pulled me in for another kiss – this one less quick and passionate but more soft and cautious...he was nervous. I was making him nervous and he was trying to be gentle, trying to comfort me. I couldn't help but smile against those lips of his – lips that I knew full well were not at all raw. "Oh, so you were just crying wolf."

"I never said that I didn't like my lips having gone raw," he smirked back, squeezing my hip a little more encouragingly and pulling me into his side. I didn't stop him from dragging me and I couldn't help as my head rested against his shoulder – the support was more than I had expected...or dared to hope for. I knew I'd have to appreciate it for the short time I would get it.

"Do you think this works because we know it won't, or because it could?" I asked him slowly, feeling as his heart sped up and his breathing became hollow.

"I try not to question it," he answered simply, shrugging noncommittally. "Which of course doesn't stop it from happening anyway, but I still make my attempts."

"And with everything that will be happening?" I asked carefully. "Do you still not question?"

"I try not to, though it makes it harder," he answered, his voice firm.

"You'll warn me, won't you?" I asked him again, looking up at him and feeling cool panic start to course through me when I realized that his eyes were starting to steel over, that he was slowly starting to pull away from me because of what he'd been told to do. "Don't you dare do that, Draco Malfoy. Don't you dare run scared – just tell me you'll warn me...tell me that I'll know when you're going to leave. When you're going to leave _me_."

His eyes were melting again instantly, something that I tried not to feel proud over even though it warmed up the cool panic that had started to fill me up just seconds before. Draco seemed to curve in on himself when he realized just what that meant – just how badly this would tear us apart...and just how much I both loathed and feared the day.

"I'll warn you," he told me, his voice low and gritty in a way that reminded me almost of when he was back in the hospital wing, admitting his failures to me. "I'll be with you, I'll warn you, and I'll keep you safe. I swear it."

I leant into him, glad to know that I would at least be warned before everything I knew was torn away from me...again. And now that I felt this panic, now that I understood how soon everything was going to happen, now that I knew I'd have warning on when to act...now was the time to make a plan. Now was the time to make a plan that kept Draco safe – with me – to keep his promises and to keep him innocent of all the things he ignorantly wished upon himself.

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><p><strong>Again, not my longest chapter ever, but hopefully it was a good one. Audrey learned about Horcruxes, she learned about her part in the upcoming hunt for them, and best of all Audrey is actively creating a plan to stop Draco from making the mistakes he made in the original plot. Will she be able to do it? Will Audrey be able to change Draco's ways? You only have four chapters before you find out...<strong>

**To my wonderful reviewers:**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Well, there are obviously some new things that can be taken into consideration – like now Audrey may be the key to finding the Horcruxes thanks to that vision in fourth year. Quite honestly I'm glad you can't just tell what's going to happen in the end though – it wouldn't be as fun that way. And yes, I am planning on taking a break between HBP and DH. I'm so behind now that I've lost everything, I think it will give me time to write without as much stress and get a bit ahead so I can plot-twist more easily. I'm wondering if you have any new guesses with everything you just read though. Anyway, thank you for your longer review and hopefully these last four chapters will keep you at the edge of your seat!**

_animagirl_**: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it. We'll see more of how Sirius and Snape feel about Drea/Draco soon, so stay tuned :)**

_incitanemxx_**: Well, it certainly looks like their relationship has become more serious – for their sake I hope you're right; things are about to get very messy. Though the ending you think will happen is sad, it would definitely be exciting – how would Audrey handle that? Luckily you won't have to wait too long to find out; there are only four chapters left! More good ideas about her animagus form (I really love hearing what people think; some people have guessed it, sadly I can't tell you if you're one of them) and that's an interesting thought particularly about the raven or how the crow is the mark of death. I'm really sorry for the wait thanks to being computer-less. I have it back now, so it shouldn't be so long again!**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: A snake is a good guess for Audrey's patronus, it's covert and sneaky, like she can be. Snape and she are back to bickering – which remains fun to write and hopefully to read – and don't worry, we will be seeing some of Theodore before the HBP arc is over. I promise. Anyway, hopefully you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_tessastarchild_**: I don't mean to tease! Alright, I do a bit, but don't worry all your questions will be answered in time. **

_Nicky-Maree_**: I love that Snape has come back into these chapters too, it's really been something I've missed. We'll have to see if he can help her like she wants to be helped or not; so far she hasn't been able to do everything she's wanted. I also don't think that her godfather and her mentor would be pleased to know they are both back in her life again, but it could make it interesting haha. But I do agree that Audrey is a smart girl; also an intuitive one – I mean, she figured out that something was very wrong (or, maybe in his case, she was learning that something is going right). She got a little bit of an apology, so hopefully that still left you feeling fulfilled. We won't be seeing an excessive amount of Theodore in this arc, sadly, but he will be represented and you'll still have time between he and Audrey before HBP ends. Hopefully this chapter was interesting enough with the introduction to Horcruxes and Audrey's reaction to the new developments. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, Snape and Audrey will have a lot to work on and now with everything that's happening, she's going to have to push herself even harder. If she can. Good guesses on her animagus form (it always excites me to see what people think!) and I agree that she's somewhere riding the line between the manipulation of Tom and the determination of Seren – hopefully she'll learn to be her own person instead of following either of their paths. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!**

_Fantasy-Mania31_**: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

_Magimagus_**: Snape will always be one of my favourites, I totally agree with you. Though we didn't get to fully see one of her lessons, hopefully their conversations will be enough to keep you sated. A cat is not a bad guess, most people are guessing something feline thanks to the cunning and the sneaking she could do. I know that the antidote being given to Astoria wasn't as exciting as it could be, but don't worry – that rivalry is not over. In fact, I'd imagine that Astoria would want revenge, wouldn't you? Haha! Sirius will be coming in every now and then as well with the lessons he is teaching her; but considering how much I'm about to shove into four chapters, I can't promise on direct conversation with him. The plot is about to move quite quickly...  
>Yes, I still maintain that it's painful how much Audrey dislikes Luna, as I love her so, but realistically Audrey is not patient enough to pay attention to her. Ron is kind of the same way except trading Luna's flightiness for Ron's ignorance.<br>It's also so nice that you're liking the Spanish version! It's actually really exciting to go and see that it's been written in another language – I only wish that I could speak/read it! Sadly as a Canadian I didn't have to learn a word of it and instead chose to focus on French and German, but maybe it will help teach me, haha. Thanks for the review!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Yes, I'm Canadian so my Thanksgiving was back in October, but thank you for the well-wishing anyway! I have friends that celebrate Hanukah so that's not a lost sentiment for me, haha. I'm glad you like the fluff, we'll be seeing a fair bit of it now that Audrey and Draco have started opening up to each other and then we'll get to see a sour Snape in response, haha. I hope she regains her magic as she needs to because this is about to become very complicated now that HBP is ending and with four chapters left, you have to know that it's going to be a giant mess in a very short span of time. Thanks for the review!**

_BerserkMoon_**: Indefinitely; and it's going to be a tempest.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Aw, I'm glad that I could brighten exam-period; I know how horrible that can be. Hopefully you like that I kept talking about her relationships with people and that she is starting to get some answers (such as Horcruxes and what her part will be when the time comes to hunt them). She and Harry will talk again soon – there aren't that many chapters left in this part of the story. Theo will also come into play during this story arc as well, promise!**

_SwiftAlice_**: As always I thank you for your wonderful and long review, these always make me so happy! I hope my response won't be so boring, but I'm sorry if it rings up a bit short because it is Christmas morning and I'm trying to sneak off every few minutes to type more, but my family is demanding my time. Merry Christmas! I hope that your day is filled with joy and family; it's my favourite time of year.  
>Yeah, I went back to read the poisoning scene a few days ago and I decided that I was pretty happy with it. Now that I've moved on and such it's easier to look back and look at it in a more analytical way – I've decided I'm happy with it. Maybe not as happy as I was during the first write-up, but happy nonetheless. But I totally agree that Harry is more impulsive – it's my favourite clash between the twins. Harry is impulsive, Audrey is calculated; Audrey needs a plan, Harry needs action; etc.<br>The relationship between Seren and Tom will be a fun one to write because it's going to be entirely different from anything I've ever written (you know, besides the first draft that I lost, haha) but it's not sweet like my Jacob/OC fanfiction, it won't be at all like the Audrey/Draco relationship...Tom and Seren are going to be completely based on power and manipulation. It will be a really interesting dynamic.  
>No, I can't see Audrey and Draco ever pushing past nature and being lovey-dovey or less argumentative. I think a part of them (or at least, this is what I thought as I created Audreyshe began writing herself) likes arguing not only because they're good at it, but because they're so well matched in intelligence and motive. Audrey is as cut-throat as Draco and even though she has a different perception thanks to her upbringing, I'd like to think during arguments neither can truly out-gun the other. That keeps the arguments less heated and more...I don't know, clinical sometimes?  
>Anyway, I'm excited that Snape is back in this. I also kind of made he and Audrey's personalities mesh in a way that suited my own need for him to be in this story. Hopefully I keep him in character, but I think they feed off of one another's morose outlook on life. They are both so negative, expecting the worst because they have already had to live it and they are both so straightforward. A quality I really impacted and identified with Slytherin house. I hope that makes sense and comes through in the writing. Anyway, I was just caught by my grandma so I have to go but I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the wonderful review, as always!<strong>

_xxz0eyxx_**: Thank you, I'm glad! There was a bit more interaction between Audrey and Astoria here, so hopefully that was to your liking. Snape was in it again too, which was fun to write – I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!**

_JrSnape_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you think Draco's starting to mature. Hopefully he keeps up the good work and hopefully I can keep it all realistic for you.**

_LoveInLittleStars_**: I like your name here too! It reminds me of Juliet's monologue when she talks about Romeo.  
>Yes, there are only five chapters left – it's pretty crazy. Clearly they're about to start getting more exciting after (and also kind of including) this one. Your guesses are really good ones for her Animagus form – I guess we'll just have to see. She might not even be able to do it, remember. It's also really sweet that you're thinking of making a banner for Seren at all! I appreciate it a lot. I've liked all of the things you've posted, thank you so much. When you're done with it, I'd love to see it :)<strong>

_bookreader1617_**: Good, it's nice to know the alerts are going out again. She's slowly working everything out whether it be boy-related, teacher-related or battle-related; I hope that you're enjoying it and thank you for reviewing :)**

_BlueLuver5000_**: Thank you!**

_CLAMPsFluffMeisterGirl_**: I agree that Snape kind of disappeared for a while, I'm really glad that he's back in Audrey's day-to-day life; even if he still bullies her...then again, that might be what I enjoy most about the two of them. Audrey does really blur the lines of what did happen in the original and what could happen with her involvement, but like you I can't help hoping for the best. I'm glad you like the story and hope you liked this newest chapter :)**

**: If you end up reading all the way to this final chapter, thank you so much for reviewing in the earlier installments and I hope you're still enjoying it!**

_JabberGuest_**: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully Audrey is helping Draco in the way that you thought she would (or in a way that you still find yourself enjoying) and don't worry; we'll be seeing more of Fred after this school year is over. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Yes, Sirius staying alive was a huge change on my part, but hopefully I made it believable. I'm glad you're enjoying it. **

_katie93319_**: The last five chapters are going to be intense – strap yourself in now. I will be taking the month break, I think, just so I can get ahead. Now that I've lost everything (including notes and some rough chapters for Audrey's Prelude) I'm feeling really behind and scatterbrained; the month will be nice to recollect my thoughts and write them down formally again. Especially because the seventh book is going to be very complicated for Audrey. I'm really glad Snape is in it too (I've missed him!) and we will be seeing Theo before the break, I promise. Hopefully you liked it and thanks for the review!**

_BlackRose_**: Audrey is pretty smart, so hopefully she finds a way out of Draco's plan without getting him in trouble with Voldemort. Yes, only four chapters left – things are about to get dramatic, so buckle up tight because it's going to be a bumpy ride! hopefully you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_Zabi101_**: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. It is one of those things you have to think about – the stress of this on a person should definitely make them break. I think her relationship with Draco is healthy for her; hopefully that will keep her together for a little bit longer. Hopefully you liked this chapter and thanks for the review!**

_Geri_**: I've seen some stories with over 100 chapters – maybe not necessarily with this word count, but they exist so I should be good until the end of this story. Thanks for taking the time to review some of the chapters as you went, I really appreciated knowing your insight, especially since I haven't thought of some of those chapters in a while. I'm glad that you've liked how I've turned things around now that Audrey knows about Draco's mission and I hope that you grow to like Snape before things start to get messy in the final stages of battle. Hopefully some of the characters you said you disliked got a second chance in this spin on perception and I'm even more hopeful that you still enjoy the characters you originally enjoyed. Thank you for your reviews!**

_HazelCurls29_**: Thank you, this chapter has a totally different feel than last chapter in my mind; hopefully you enjoyed it. She did give the antidote, but don't worry – that won't be the end of that rivalry!**

_Fifi-themusicgeek_**: Thank you, I'm so glad that you've been a reader and feeler of this story. I really thought about the redhead she kissed in her mega-vision as Ron, but she has been kissed by Fred as well, which is something to be considered. We'll be learning more about Circe's untimely end, I promise. As Draco starts letting Audrey in, I can tell they're getting closer emotionally too – hopefully you enjoy that process. Draco is a very lost soul right now and I really hope that Audrey can lead him down a safer road...maybe not the right road, as we have discovered she doesn't believe in a stereotypical 'right and wrong' but hopefully she can teach him what is best for him and for those he cares about (including her). Snape is one of my favourites as well, so I'm glad that you like how he interacts with Audrey – particularly as he teaches her to control her magic. Theodore will be coming in again soon; it's sad to know that he still feels he can't be friends with Drea, but I couldn't really blame him – she killed his father. That's something that you could never forget and that would plague him every time he looked at her. Poor guy. Thank you so much for your reviews!**

_GinnyWeaslyFan_**: Thank you so much! I quite enjoyed your review :)**

_Melody_**: Aw, don't worry I love your reviews! Audrey doesn't really have any plans, she's mostly working off of instinct – hopefully she'll be able to change something for the better. I'm really glad Snape is back too! He's my favourite. Theodore will be coming in before the HBP portion is over and as for Draco and Astoria there was never mentioned they were promised to each other, they just married in the epilogue...so I get to have my fun there, haha. You'll have to wait and see for that one! Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_anniekins_**: Aw, thank you. I'm sorry I deprived you of sleep but I'm glad that you liked them enough to stay up. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Ahsilaa_**: Messaging me would probably be the easiest, yes. Draco changing does sound like a nice idea – we'll have to wait and see before we'll know if he's brave enough to do so. Draco and Audrey's relationship really gets me too and I agree, Draco's always kind-a liked her; it's just now they're taking it seriously.**

_Annette_**: I can't believe you read this in one night! That's a lot of material, good for you. I definitely couldn't have done that. I have trouble going back and reading a few of my chapters a night to try to remember certain references, haha. Audrey is a lot of fun to write so I'm glad that you enjoy her character, her relationship with Draco can be just as fun too. I'll try not to tear out too many hearts...but I can't make promises. That boy is quite the heartbreaker. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Any time, really. I'm glad that it's settled or plateau-ed; now that I'm older I really appreciate simplicity. At one point it was boring, but now I love things being settled. I hope that it stays that way (if not gets a lot better) for you. This chapter was kind of hard to write, so I'm hoping that it worked out. Hopefully you enjoyed it!**

_Guest_**: Aw, thank you so much! Hopefully you still think that Dreaco is a good match if you make it all the way to this chapter. I'm glad you expected Audrey to make the first move, too – I was happy when it happened!**

_Courtney-Tamara_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like Audrey; she's fought her way into my heart as well. We may get to see some intimacy between Audrey and Draco in these last four chapters before DH, though it won't be sexual (or at least, I won't write those details) but since things are about to get crazy, we'll have to see. Thanks so much for reviewing :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, Audrey's finally in the loop! Not that being in the loop is necessarily a good thing as it's a loopty-loop in a really intense rollercoaster. They have been hanging out nightly now and it seems like they are starting to get closer; we'll find out soon whether or not it means anything thanks to Draco's mission.  
>It is crazy that the HBP arc is coming to a close; I don't even know what I'm going to do when I start the seventh book – maybe cry. It's so close to ending that it doesn't even seem right! I hope that one day Audrey will be able to perform a Patronus, but she's not really a very happy person who appreciates her happier memories – maybe she'll be able to get over it? Or, maybe a Dementor will eat her...you won't know 'til it happens! Thanks for the review.<strong>

_Crystal Blue Butterfly_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I was concerned about starting a Twin-Fic, but I'm really proud of how Audrey's character has progressed and that she is her own person who doesn't need Harry around all the time for the story. Hopefully you continue to like her intense personality. Thank you for reviewing!**

_merrylucy_**: Hello there, thank you so much for starting this story – I'm glad that you've liked it. Things are about to get a lot more complicated for the story, so like you I'm excited to see how Audrey and Draco take it...this poor couple just can't catch a break. My computer is back and finally in my grasp again, so I can get back to writing like I should be! Hopefully you haven't gone too mad because how long I took to update ;)**

_Cookie Seller On The Dark Side_**: Aw, I'm glad that you're enjoying it. Hopefully you continue to and thanks for the review!**

_David Tennant_**: Well, luckily I have a brief knowledge of who all those characters are – but sadly Audrey doesn't. She lives in a world of no television and in the 90s; which is pretty much how I spend whatever free time I have, haha. I'm glad you like the story and thank you for your very detailed review ;)**

_Perry_**: I have a few songs in my head that remind me of them, but not enough for a full playlist. I've been thinking of trying to put one together for them and posting it in **_**Audrey Potter's Prelude**_**; if you have any suggestions I'd be happy to give them a listen.**

_MimsyTower_**: That's a pretty logical guess, but it would be so heart wrenching if it was anyone that close to her. We'll find out soon who killed Circe, I promise. Hopefully you continue reading through to this chapter and still enjoy it. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Lorelei Lovegood_**: Don't worry about being late, it's really just nice that you've taken the time to review at all. If it makes you feel better I'm super late on the update...so let's call ourselves even.  
>Yes, Audrey knowing about the Vanishing Cabinet could have a new impact, but I can't tell you whether or not it will...yet. Really you don't have long to wait – four more chapters! Any predictions? A lot of things are about to happen very fast so enjoy the slow nature of this chapter while it lasts; this is pretty much where it ends until DH. Snape is back; hopefully she's not going to hate him forever and hopefully she'll be able to change how things work out. Hopefully with his and Sirius' help she'll be able to be in control for not only the near future, but for later on in the series...<br>Anyway I hope you like the chapter and thank you for your review!**

_Dwarfsun_**: Thank you! **

_ .Singer_**: Thank you so much, this story has really helped me grow; I'm glad you like it. **

_Lovely Kaplan_**: So I don't know if you're aware, but you left me 30 reviews during the course of your reading – thank you SO much! Really, I appreciate it. Yes, there are only 4 chapters left now before things move into the seventh book – and hell, for some characters – but then we get to see Fred (who I know you want to see) and all the drama that comes with the Horcruxes that Audrey finally learned about! Anyway, thank you so much for all your reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Thank you all so much for your reviews, they were really wonderful and brightened up my days without a computer. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and are strapping yourselves in for what I'm about to throw at you <strong>–** the next chapter is going to be crazy! Happy Holidays, folks :)**

**Please REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**

**Also, follow me on Twitter as **EgyptsLegend **for updates, sneak-peaks, excerpts and more!**


	75. Quiet Truths

**Happy New Year, everyone! This chapter is going to be longer and more dramatic than the last (as I promised), but I apologize ahead of time for all you sticklers for detail. As a fair warning, I did skew the timeline a bit to get this chapter as I wanted it...but hopefully you'll think it's worth it as you read on.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 74 – Quiet Truths<p>

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><p>"I just don't understand what more I can do," I whined, my voice airy as I tried to keep myself quiet to all the surrounding ears. "Firenze even came and gave me that same nonsense about 'separating myself' and 'clearing my mind', but like hell will I let Snape wiggle through there – a girl has to have her privacy!"<p>

"You didn't mind showing off last year," Harry mumbled, keeping his eyes on the fireplace in front of him. There was no stopping the roll of my eyes and the appreciative glance at Hermione as she sighed heavily from the seat beside me. At least I wasn't alone in thinking my poor excuse for a brother was being immature. Actually, immaturity might not have even covered it – Harry had been a right arse during this _entire_ visit. Here I was, trying to reach out and be somewhat sisterly – as well as distract him from that damned map while Draco finally left the bloody Room of Requirement for some sleep, but never mind that – and there _he _was being completely rude about the entire encounter. We were still twins; something that he seemed to easily forget.

"Well last year we didn't have things like Horcruxes to worry about," I explained to him in hushed tones, happy that it sounded as convincing as if I were telling him he was stupid. "I don't really want Snape poking through all that information, do you?"

Harry gave a sour grimace – if there was one thing I could always count on, it was his distrust for all the people I tended to trust the most. Including myself, apparently.

"Wow," Ron said again, lost in his own thoughts. "It's just so crazy. The two of you are actually going to go with Dumbledore...and try and destroy..."

He trailed off. Apparently because saying Voldemort's name was hard enough for him he also was unable to speak a word that hinted towards having a part of his soul in it. To be fair, that was more understandable – Voldemort was a git but this new little piece of information was just plain _creepy._

"I'm not actually helping them find them. My jobs in the destroying part," I smirked up at the ceiling dreamily, much like Ron had been. "It makes sense, really – who else can cause such massive destruction?"

"Without meaning to, or just for laughs?" Harry asked me, his voice low.

"You say that as an insult," I told my twin with a straight face. "But I take that as a compliment."

"Ron, you're making it snow," Hermione mumbled, grabbing his wrist and redirecting his wand somewhere that it wouldn't make as much trouble. She was right, it had started snowing. I leaned a little bit closer to the fire in case I should expect a temperature drop but none came, it was still as toasty and warm as the Gryffindor common room always felt – a definite change from my own common room.

"Oh yeah," Ron muttered, dusting off his shoulders and then moving to ruffle the snow out of his hair. "Sorry. Looks like we've all got horrible dandruff now..."

While Ron took the time to brush some of the snow off of Hermione's shoulder, he didn't have time to stop Lavender's beady eyes watching the action and bursting into tears. Ron took a moment to look guiltily away from his girlfriend's wails and red-rimmed eyes before leaning closer to Harry and me.

"We split up," he explained out of the corner of his mouth as if Lavender would try to read his lips. "Last night, when she saw me coming out of the dormitory with Hermione. Harry was with us under the cloak, but obviously she couldn't see him, so she thought it had just been the two of us."

"Scandal," I smirked, winking over to Hermione who turned a vibrant shade of red. "If this is how she reacts to a walk around the castle I can only imagine what would have happened had she found out about our passionate little affair, Ronald."

"Get off it," he muttered, his ears burning the colour of his hair.

"I wasn't the one _on _you."

"Oh, please stop!" Harry groaned, finally taking the time to look at me. I was surprised by how harsh and poitned his glare was...this couldn't be because I had just made sexual reference between his best mates – no. No, something more delicate was definitely brewing under that mess of hair.

"You don't mind it's over, do you?" Harry asked, turning towards his friends and cutting me out of his line of sight. What a git. It's not like I didn't know that he was just angry with me, but he could do a better job about hiding it. Subtlety is key – then again, Harry was about as subtle as a dragon in a Remembrall shop.

"No," Ron admitted, leaning in a little closer in case Lavender should overhear. "It was pretty bad while she was yelling, but at least I didn't have to finish it."

"Coward," Hermione and I said together. We gave each other a grin before she continued. "Well, it was a bad night for romance all around. Ginny and Dean split up too, Harry."

"Merlin," I rolled my eyes. "Thank you Hermione, now my brother is going to start droo – ow! What the hell?"

Hermione had stepped on my foot rather forcefully and I found myself wincing at the feeling of my toes pulsating. Her eyes shifted from Harry, to Ron, and back to my brother – ah, Ron didn't know. How Ron didn't know about my brother's crush on his little sister was beyond me, but apparently it was not something I was allowed to publicize. Yet. On the other hand, Ron may have found out on his own considering my twin couldn't look indifferent if he tried – which I'm pretty sure he wasn't. Or maybe he was and he was even worse at it than I remembered.

"How come?" He asked with his voice higher than normal. He was struggling with hiding his excitement.

"Oh, something really silly – she said he was always trying to help her through the portrait hole, like she couldn't climb in herself...but they've been rocky for ages."

"Good for her," I nodded, feeling myself smirk. "Chivalry is dead."

"No," Harry muttered, his eyes sharp against mine. "You just prefer gits that push you through."

I couldn't deny that my face might have made a funny expression as I took in his words. A part of me flared up and wanted to defend myself explaining that Draco actually came from his pile of garbage to let me in _personally _every time I went to visit him – but that wasn't really the way I wanted the conversation to go. Hermione's groan of impatience was enough to snap me out of my shock enough for me to put on my well practiced, cool expression that I had perfected for these exact instances.

"You mean gits who push me around like you, dear brother of mine?" I snapped back. Harry gritted his teeth and looked over to Ron and Hermione, who opened their mouths like fish out of water while searching for a new subject.

"Of course, Ginny and Dean breaking up-" Hermione won with her impressive decision-making skills; my brother was nearly sedated by the mention of his _actual _favourite Weasley. "This puts you in a bit of a dilemma, doesn't it?"

"What d'you mean?"

"The Quidditch team," Hermione said slowly. I myself wondered if that was slow enough for him to catch on or if he needed a little extra time to kick-start his brain. "If Ginny and Dean aren't speaking..."

"Oh – oh yeah," my brother stumbled.

"Silly how everyone's breaking up," Hermione said, before raising her eyebrows and looking away from Harry and me. "Well – not everyone is breaking up, of course. That would be silly."

Was that some kind of hint? Her subtlety was definitely more fine-tuned than Harry's but that didn't mean I didn't miss the intonation to her words. Hermione was a smart girl, that's true – but was she smart enough to have caught on to the fact I was dating someone? Or even worse, was she smart enough to have caught on to the fact I was dating the one 'someone' I shouldn't be?

And why _was _everyone breaking up? They'd better not be giving me some sort of hint – even if I was starting to think that Hermione might be trying to be. Still, besides the possibility of Hermione knowing about us, no one really knew that I was dating Draco at all; so I wouldn't have to face this problem. Yet.

I might be living my life by a rule of too many 'yets'.

But it's not like I didn't know that one day people would find out. They would, likely when I tried to save him from all the troubles a Death Eater has to face when he fails a mission – the mission that I was intentionally trying to ruin. I just hope that that day will be later rather than sooner...for everyone's sake.

And at the thought of his mission, that suffocating fear of what would soon happen began to loom over me like a tall, dark shadow. The fear that reminded me of that damned Cabinet and just how _alive_ it seemed. Walking into the Room of Requirement now felt like I was walking into a hospital ward: things seemed alive in that room like never before. There was an energy to that room that just radiated danger. And that _Cabinet _was in the bloody middle of it, seeming alive and ready to yield to whomever finished the last few steps.

I feared what would happen if I _wasn't _that person.

"Katie, you're back!" Hermione cried, making me jump a foot out of my seat while Katie Bell tried to fight through the group of seventh years that surrounded her so that she could reach us. My stomach turned at the sight of her, the guilt gnawed away at my insides; Katie Bell had not been supposed to take that necklace, _I _had been supposed to take it – a necklace that my own boyfriend had set there as a trap. She looked fine, but knowing how many months she had been gone made me wonder just how fine she could possibly be...

"Are you okay?" Hermione continued.

"I'm really well!" Katie smiled. It looked genuine and true, she looked radiant in comparison to when I saw her having fits in the snow. "They let me out of St. Mungos on Monday, I had a couple of days at home with Mum and Dad and then came back here this morning. Leanne was just telling me about McLaggen and the last match, Harry..."

"Yeah," Harry couldn't keep the bitterness from his tone. "Well, now you're back and Ron's fit, we'll have a decent chance of thrashing Ravenclaw, which means we could still be in the running for the Cup. Listen, Katie..." my brother pulled her closer to Hermione, Ron and I, while lowering his voice. "That necklace...can you remember who gave it to you now?"

"No," Katie shook her head. "Everyone's been asking me, but I haven't got a clue. The last thing I remember was telling the Slytherins to leave Audrey alone before walking into the ladies' in the Three Broomsticks."

"Audrey said that she heard a voice in there," Harry explained. "Someone trying to get her to take a package – do you remember hearing that?"

"No," Katie looked confused. "Not at all. I didn't know that you had seen the package too, Audrey."

"Yeah, it was sitting on the sink," I explained to her. "Did you even get to use the toilet?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is I pushed open the door," Katie explained, "so I suppose whoever Imperiused me was standing just behind it. After that, my memory's a blank until about two weeks ago in St. Mungo's. Listen, I'd better go; my friends are just as curious as you are..."

Katie moved to go with her friends back out the portrait hole, heading down to the Great Hall to make her grand re-entrance in front of everyone for dinner.

"So it must have been a girl or a woman who gave Katie the necklace," Hermione whispered, "to be in the ladies' bathroom."

"Or someone who looked like a girl or a woman," said Harry. "Don't forget, there was a cauldron full of Polyjuice Potion at Hogwarts. We know some of it got stolen..."

"We do?" I asked, my expression curious, before I shook my head and ignored the fact I knew Draco had stolen the potion for Crabbe and Goyle. "No, that still doesn't make sense. I didn't see anyone in the bathroom, remember?"

"But you did hear that voice," Hermione whispered. "Could you tell if it was a man or woman?"

"No," I furrowed my brow, concentrating hard and shivering at the memory of how that voice had ricocheted off of every corner of my mind. "I haven't really thought about it since that day but – do you really think that Katie was Imperiused?"

"Of course she was Imperiused," Hermione responded. "She doesn't remember a thing and she just happened to _need _to take that package off to the headmaster?"

"Then..." I paused. "Why didn't it work on me?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if that voice wasn't actually a voice, but part of the spell?" I asked, looking at Hermione seriously. She was the only one who I trusted to listen to this with an open mind – she was also the only one I trusted to have reliable answers. "What if I had been Imperiused, too? Why didn't _I_ take it?"

"Maybe you could fight it," Hermione suggested quietly, looking around to make sure no one was hearing us. "We've seen that Harry can."

"But why can we?" I asked, looking over to Harry again. "We're not _that _good at magic."

"It's not about being good at magic, it's about having a strong mind and resolve," Hermione explained. "Being able to fight off something like the Imperius curse is about fighting off another's influence that you don't agree with; it's about your mind, not your skills."

Your mind – yes, this whole mind, body and spirit thing was really starting to make its rounds in my everyday life. It was apparently the reason I was good at things and – more commonly – the reason I was bad at things. It was like it was constantly circling, trying to get me to understand my own deficiencies and how to fix them. Clearly my mind was strong...strong enough to fight the Imperius curse. Hell, my mind was strong enough to fight off Voldemort...

So maybe it was time to try Occlumency with Snape after all.

It seemed that Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were all lost in our own thoughts, but I was the first one to become uncomfortable thanks to it. I jumped up from my chair, clapping my hands to get their attention and not even hiding my pleasure when they all jumped.

"Let's head down to dinner. I'm starved."

"Why are you so excited?" Hermione said. "You were all complaints five minutes ago."

"Because now that I know I can shove off the Imperius Curse I am going to wreak havoc on Snape's mind. Occlumency, here I come!" Harry huffed to himself quietly. "What? You get to go find Horcruxes, I get to harass teachers – it's a fair trade."

My brother rolled his eyes. "That has nothing to do with fighting Horcruxes."

"Er – yes it does. I'm doing my own preparation," I frowned, turnign away from him. "You're being such a git – what has your wand in a knot, oh Chosen One?"

My brother actually winced at my words and glared at me with a viciousness I had not expected. I couldn't deny that I reeled back from it in shock – Hermione was quick to save the atmosphere between us again.

"Why _do _you think you aren't helping find them?" Hermione asked me, leading the way through the portrait hole. "Dumbledore gave the impression that you would be helpful during the hunt because of your visions-"

"Or lack of 'em," Ron helped supply once we were out. I took the time to glare at him.

"So why aren't you going with them? Why are you destroying them instead?"

"Probably because I'm the most powerful," I winked while we all stretched from exiting the portrait hole. That was one thing I liked about the Slytherin commons more – we didn't have to duck or crawl to get in and out; the wall moved _for_ us like the lazy gits we were. It was much more efficient. After our bodies were righted the four of us wordlessly went on our way to the Great Hall. "Come on, the old man has to have some kind of reason – isn't he all-knowing or something? He's not just making these decisions on whim."

"She's right," Hermione hummed to herself. "I just can't see why..."

"Maybe it has something to do with her comrades," Ron bit out. "He's worried the Slytherins will try to stop her from finding them."

"As if the Slytherins wouldn't want Voldemort dead," I scoffed, speaking to him in the most condescending tone I could. "You fail to remember that everyone hates him. _Everyone; _hell, I bet his own mum would have. Slytherins hate him just as much as you do – possibly even more."

"That's why everyone that follows him is a Slytherin," Harry bit out. "Like Malfoy."

"No, since Voldemort _forces _Purebloods to join him and Purebloods tend to be in Slytherin, there's a bit of a skewed ratio there." Harry moved to argue again and I let out a huff. "If we have to get into this again, Harry, I swear to Merlin I'll give you detention with Snape for the rest of the year. I will. Don't test me-"

He was wise and didn't.

"I think I'm going to take another swig of Felix and have a go at the Room of Requirement again," Harry mumbled while we moved past a corridor that led towards the room in question.

"That would be a complete waste of potion," I sneered, "not only because you don't know who is doing what in there, but because that potion is hard to come across and it shouldn't be used because you're _curious._"

"Luck can only get you so far, Harry," Hermione agreed, also sounding frustrated while she stopped walking. "The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn't enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don't go wasting the rest of that potion. You'll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him."

"When," I corrected.

"Couldn't we make some more?" Ron asked Harry, ignoring both Hermione and I. "It'd be great to have a stock of it. Have a look in the book..."

"Ah yes, the all-powerful book," I sneered while Harry took out his graffitied copy of Advanced Potion-Making. "You're only going to be disappointed to see I'm right: it's hard to come by."

"Blimey, she's right," Harry sounded very disappointed as he said this. He sighed after another moment of rifling through the pages. "It's seriously complicated...and it takes six months. You've got to let it stew..."

"Typical," Ron sighed back.

Yes, Felix Felicis was a complicated potion to brew...for amateurs like Harry and Ron, that is. My cauldron full of it had been brewing successfully for two and a half months. It would be finished by the time we finished our summer holiday – the hardest part would be getting all my potions into my trunk without spilling them during the journey back.

Harry took another quick look at his book before shoving it into Ron's rucksack – he never would have trusted one of us with it. Harry knew that if Hermione and I were able to nab it from him that the damned book would be gone for good.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit with us tonight?" Hermione asked as we made our way down the staircases. "I've heard Astoria Greengrass still isn't pleased about what you did to her."

"Come on, Drea," Ron shrugged. "It'd be better than sitting next to her or the other Slytherins. They're out for blood."

"You'd think she'd be happy," I grumbled, kicking at a crack in the flagstone. "I gave them the antidote. I didn't even get my apology."

"How long was it before you handed over said antidote?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow. I couldn't keep my lips from twitching, no matter how hard I tried to stop from smirking.

"A little over three months."

"Yeah," Harry drawled, clearly thinking I was stupid. "Why wouldn't she be happy?"

"Hopefully she learned about the three-fold rule," I bit out. "I will _fold _her in three if she tries anything again."

"You're asking for trouble," Ron snorted, unable to keep himself from finding humour in the same way that I did.

"Oh Ron, I _am_ trouble."

The group of us walked into the Great Hall and went our separate ways, they went over to their fellow Gryffindors and I made my way over towards the Slytherins. It wasn't necessarily a comfortable walk; the farther down the table I went the more glares I seemed to receive. I would be hard-pressed to try and decide who hated me more: my sixth year classmates or Astoria's fourth year possé. Tracey and Draco were the only faces that didn't sneer or look away while I approached – Lillian and Daphne weren't there, neither was Theodore...but Astoria, Alya, and Millicent all looked shiny and new with their proper skin and hair tones. Pansy flanked them, looking particularly perky to again be sitting across from her lost lover, Draco.

I was unnerved when I realized that they had _all_ decided to sit across from me, but it gave the appearance that I was being forced to sit beside Draco – that I didn't mind as much. I sat down, my senses immediately heightening as his hand gripped onto my thigh...he was feeling fruity. Not really appropriate when we were supposed to pretend to hate each other, but least I knew he had gotten a decent amount of sleep. By the end of today's last round of enchantments on the damned Vanishing Cabinet he'd hardly been able to think properly.

"What do I owe the dishonour?" I asked, looking over to the Slytherin bitches that were crowding into Lillian's usual place across from me. I couldn't really tell when the power-struggle between the lot of them had changed from Pansy to Astoria – but when it came to Drea-Hating, Astoria seemed to have taken the crown. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me she had ripped it right off of Parkinson's head.

"We're trying to be nice to you, Potter," Astoria smiled; it was impossible not to notice that it resembled an animal baring its fangs. "Since you never did get your apology."

"I think seeing you all break down and creating a rainbow with your own multicoloured tears," I told, relaying the same baring of fangs. "Was good enough for me."

Astoria's face had dropped in anger; it was so much more beautiful than any rainbow.

Draco squeezed my knee under the table, nearly making me jump from the strange sensation. I couldn't tell if he was trying to tell me to behave myself or if he was telling me he was proud that I wasn't. Of course, I couldn't help figuring the latter.

"We won't have to worry about Potter much longer," Alya told, her nose sticking up in the air with her re-found confidence. "Not with the Dark Lord back in power."

"Oh, Rivers, you really know my weak points," I mocked, feigning concern.

"Weakness is a good word for it," Parkinson's nasal voice intervened. "She'll feel _powerless _when the Dark Lord actually comes for her."

"Yes, we may as well humour her," Millicent seethed, I gasped.

"Holy Dragon-tits; Bulstrode, you have a voice?" I asked her, my eyes wide in jest. "I mean, I always knew you could repeat orders like a parrot or you could scream to show some sort of distaste, but I never suspected you actually had firing neurons! Has the connection between your brain and jaw always been there, or did my potion do more than just make you a lackluster witch again? Because if it did, I should patent it – it can clearly work miracles."

"All we want is to eat our food in peace, Potter," Pansy said with a fake pout. "Can't you just leave us be?"

"Yes, because _I_ infiltrated _your_ part of the dinner table," I rolled my eyes, moving my eyes from them to inspect the food selection. I was upset to see that each of my enemies had stolen an apple from the now empty apple dish – it was my go-to dinner; particularly when I didn't want to spend time with rats like them. Then again, I did feel pretty comfortable with Draco's hand on my knee and we weren't planning on spending time with each other tonight because I'd made him promise that he would get a real night's sleep in the dormitory...maybe I should stay a _little _longer. He'd only hound me until I ate anyway.

"Tell me Potter, are you planning to begin starving yourself again, or do you actually _enjoy_ looking like a little dead girl?" Astoria asked, making me glare at her from my spot on the table.

"_Look_ like a little dead girl?" Pansy repeated, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. Alya laughed.

"Potter _is _a little dead girl; she just doesn't know it yet." She smiled, baring her crooked and sharp looking front teeth. "You'd think she'd start to appreciate life when she knows how suddenly it will end."

I reached over the table and nabbed the apple right off of Astoria's plate, watching as her jaw clenched and she stopped breathing. I gave her a cheeky smile before biting into the apple; ugh, gross – it was a red apple. This one was too sweet and I preferred apples sour and green – but taking the apple from Astoria had been worth it. I took another bite, watching as Astoria's face screwed up. I glared meaningfully before taking a third.

And then Astoria burst into laughter.

"Astoria," Pansy whined, slapping her hands on either side of her plate. "You gave it away!"

"I can't help it; I just can't believe she's so predictable!" Astoria giggled making my face drop. "Oh, Potter, who would have thought you'd be so reliable?"

"What are you chortling about now?" I asked, my eyes narrowing. "You'd better have a good excuse for squealing like a pig being gutted. It's hurting my eardrums."

"It should be something you're enjoying, we're finally going to give you that apology," Pansy giggled, reaching over the table as if to make sure Draco was paying attention, he sneered at her and leaned back on the bench; but still she smiled. And that was not like her at all. Usually she would have run away crying by now...something warm began to gurgle in the pit of my stomach. Something that felt like combustion and _dread._

"What are you four harping about?" Draco asked, trying to sound like he was snapping and nonchallant all at once. He couldn't admit that he was worried about whatever it was that was happening, but I assumed he was trying to come up with a reason that he was asking. "Is this really the entertainment of dinner? I don't see why people insist I come if your ridiculous laughter is the highlight of the evening."

"Oh, Draco – the _apology_ will be," Astoria assured, looking quite serious with her wide eyes. "We are _so_ _very_ sorry, Potter."

"So sorry," the other girls tittered, hiding their mirth behind their hands.

"Is that it?" I asked, my expression grim. My stomach was no longer just boiling with dread, I was starting to feel sick and lightheaded with fear. I felt like sweat was beading from my hairline in some sort of anticipation; my senses hyperaware that something was devastatingly wrong.

"Oh yes. We are _very_ sorry that we forgot to warn you the skin of that apple had been drenched in Belladonna."

_Belladonna_?

Belladonna was bad. Worse than bad, Belladonna was terrifying...

"You can call it an apology," Pansy smiled at me. "I prefer to label it as payback."

She was right, that's _exactly _what it was. And bloody Hell, payback certainly was a bitch.

This was not the apology I had anticipated. And this was not the way I had planned on any retaliation happening. I mean, of all herbs? Sure, it explained the pyrotechnics happening in my stomach and it explained how bright the Great Hall was growing in my peripheral...Belladonna was dangerous. That plant could easily be a deadly poison if they had combined it with anything else. On its own in a dose that would cover an apple, however, it was just-

"A drug," Astoria smiled like the kneazle that had caught the snippet. "A hallucinogen, if you want to be technical – but you knew that already, didn't you? It's just enough for a few hours, of course; not enough to hurt you or alarm the teachers. We don't want anyone getting punished severely, do we? Luckily you can now experience how it feels to embarrass yourself in front of the entire Great Hall."

"Are you mental?" Draco hissed, his voice low but sounding like a gunshot beside me. "Belladonna could kill her!"

"Theodore measured the dose," Astoria smiled. "He assured us that it wouldn't."

For some reason that didn't comfort me; my once friend had every reason to want me dead and horrifyingly my thoughts seemed to be spinning too quickly to be able to make sense of them. What was a fatal dose of Belladonna? I was certain that it would be more than what would drench an apple this size, but I had no idea if it was on the skin or injected into it – what if Theodore had thrown in a little bit of Aconite to finish me off, what if-

"Do you think it's working yet?" Bulstrode whispered to Pansy. Pansy smiled over to Astoria, grabbing her own apple.

"Let's see – catch, Potter!"

Pansy flung her arm back and threw the apple at me – but it wasn't an apple that soared through the air. What came at me looked like an asteroid hurtling toward my face and I screamed, ducking for cover. The laughter that started to fly from them sounded like cackle of hyenas, all ravenous for my blood. I screamed against the noise of the animals; their call sounded loud enough to shatter my ear drums. I opened my eyes, terrified to see that everything in the room seemed to have taken on a rosy-shade – the setting sun outside had turned the sky to blood like a scene from my nightmares.

_This is not a nightmare, Audrey Potter. This is death._

No! No, the voices cannot be back! I hadn't heard Voldemort's voice in my head since I was in the hospital wing dying from the poisoned mead – why would I hear it now? Why would I hear it...unless I _had _been poisoned, unless I _was _dying?

I screamed again at the realization, not quite distracted enough to not notice that the table had lifted inches off the ground and had fallen again; making all the other girls scream and the contents of the table quiver and tumble. I checked my hand – since when did I have my wand in it? I could never remember my wand feeling so gritty under my fingers. I dragged the wooden bench backwards, crying out when the sound grated against my senses and made me shoot up and out of the seat.

The hyenas were cackling again, pointing at me with distorted fingers that looked like they were turning into snakes that had wrapped around their wrists. I stumbled away from them, fearing that the snakes would bite me...

No. No, those couldn't be snakes. I hadn't heard any of them use an incantation and I was positive that none of them could perform Speechless Spells well enough to fool me like that. It had to be the Belladonna; it had to be my mind boiling and seeing things that were not there.

I dashed from the sound of the hyenas, knowing that people all through the Great Hall must have been cackling at my misfortune – it was the only way that my eardrums would have been thrumming from the volume of the laughter; not even Pansy's snores were loud enough to cause damage like this. I had to get out, I had to get away from them and ride out the length of the Belladonna on my own – or better, I had to find an antidote for it.

I hit the Entrance Hall and slid to a stop in front of the staircases. They were multiplying and moving in front of my eyes – these things did move on you, that was true – but I knew they couldn't have been moving like this. I moved towards the staircase on the far side, the one that should have led to the dungeons...I'd be able to get to the Potion's room to make an antidote for this. Two parts ginger one part monkshood...no! Not Monkshood, what was I thinking? Monkshood was another name for Aconite; the exact concoction that would kill me. No, I needed Moonstone. Moonstone would clear my thoughts. One part moonstone, two parts ginger to settle the reaction it was causing in my blood. Maybe add some peppermint to make it work faster...yes.

No, no wait, that didn't sound right. You couldn't just make a potion out of three ingredients – could you? Shite, this Belladonna was messing up my brain. I was good at potions, I knew I was good at potions – but none of the ingredients were making sense. I couldn't picture them, I couldn't picture them boiling in a cauldron...

But now I was starting to feel warm. I needed to get to the Potions room, now.

_Audrey...Audrey...you can't leave us, Audrey..._

The voices, they were back. Not Voldemort's voice this time, but the voices that had been behind that damned veil in the Department of Mysteries. They wanted me – they wanted me to go back to them...where were they? It didn't matter where they were, I just needed to go. They would be gone when the Belladonna was neutralized.

I rushed towards the stairs but paused on the third step when I began wondering why I couldn't feel the proper sensations anymore. The railing under my hand felt like steel even though I was positive that it had been made out of marble and I couldn't tell if I was coming or going, moving up or moving down...

_Come back, Audrey, come back to us..._

I really hoped I was going farther away.

I moved forward. It was the only thing that I could be sure I was doing – I'd know by the time I hit the first landing whether or not I'd gone up or down a floor and then I would just have to move the opposite way I had been before. I moved on the stairs, nervous after every step – I was too disoriented to know which ones were the trick steps that I would sink into and which ones were the solid ones that I could tread on safely.

I ran and ran, watching the steps carefully – they all looked stable and I could tell that I was moving, but it didn't _feel _like I was moving and even the solid steps didn't _feel _solid. It felt like the more I moved, the more I was sinking into each stair and when I moved a stair, the next one felt made of an even softer substance.

I let out a sob. I didn't know when I had started crying but it felt like the tears had started to dry on my skin and it made my cheeks feel as if they were cracking every time I moved them. My body refused denying me another sob – I was not a crier. I did not do this and yet my body refused to let me keep my composure. What I could hear of my voice sounded normal and it was a comfort that I knew _something_ hadn't been distorted. I let out a third sob...and screamed when the window near me shattered.

I looked around myself, stopping mid-stair. I had moved up levels, not down. I was a few stairs up from the landing that was in the center of a well-lit corridor. It was a tad better lit now that there was no glass in the high window – but the sunset still stained the walls red.

_You fear what I fear, Audrey Potter. You are just like me..._

No. I was not _anything _like Tom Riddle and I refused for the memory of his words to keep haunting me no matter how high I was. Alright; I was up on a totally different floor and who knew if I'd be able to make it down to the dungeons again – there was no point trying the stairs when they were moving and warped in my vision. New plan.

I ran in one direction, tripping over myself and scraping my knees and palms more than a few times before I managed to find a bathroom. I threw myself into the closest stall, forcing my fingers down my throat to try to throw up the pieces of apple that were still brewing with the terror that had twisted my stomach.

It didn't work – there had to be something in my stomach to throw up, I distinctly remembered eating that apple. Didn't I? When was the last time I ate; was there enough food in my stomach to throw up at all? I couldn't remember, I couldn't tell – everything felt like a lie. I leaned over the toilet again, sobbing when I realized I wouldn't be able to throw up anymore and pulling my head out of the bowl when I realized that it was shrinking, trying to catch my head like some sort of trap.

Suddenly there was something bright rushing toward my face. I screamed, throwing my arms over my face while I heard something crack and rush toward me. I blinked four – five – six – seven times before my vision cleared enough to realize I was looking at Moaning Myrtle. She was floating in front of me carelessly, hands over her mouth as she tried to hide her horror. Or maybe she was laughing; there _was _cackling still lingerinng in the air.

"Oh," she trilled, pulling her hands away from her face. "You're going to be in trouble!"

"Shut up, Myrtle!" I screamed.

"Oh, you're so rude," Myrtle pouted. "And you're bad, too. Lying to your brother about Draco – he stopped visiting me since you were here, you know. You're so selfish, taking him away like that."

"I can't take him away when he's _mine._" I growled.

"He's _yours_? Then where is he?" She asked tauntingly. I growled, moving forward to hit her and falling all the way through – slamming my hands back down on the ground. My wrists seemed to cry out in pain and I was sure that I heard them yelling at me – but my wrists could not scream, that didn't make sense.

And then I noticed it. _Water_. The sound of rushing I was hearing was _water_.

I jolted upright, stumbling backwards away from the stream that was rushing out from the broken pipes of the sink. I hit a wall, hardly acknowledging the lights that danced in my vision from how hard the back of my head had hit – the spots dancing in my sight were nothing in comparison to the other things I was seeing. The jets of water were swelling and aiming themselves for me – I dodged. Nothing hit me. Had I dodged properly, or was there really nothing aiming for me at all?

_He is coming...he is coming..._

I didn't know whether it was real, but there was no denying that it looked it.

I let out a scream, dodging the title wave of water that targeted me again. A dry sob escaped me – my shoes were soaked. It felt like the water was trying to absorb into my body and kill me from the inside out. Or maybe it was the outside in. A dry sob escaped me – the water was rising – rising – getting higher, trying to drown me... How could it have filled up the bathroom by now? I had to have been imagining it. This couldn't be real.

_Come back to us, Audrey..._

_Don't leave us, Audrey..._

_Malfoy did it..._

No, Draco had not done this. This was Astoria's fault – Astoria and Pansy and Alya and...and Millicent! Her too, they had done this! They had stuck me in this nightmare-

_This is not a nightmare, Audrey Potter. This is death..._

No it's not!

My mind would not make sense of what I was seeing, what I was feeling. I knew it had to be wrong, I knew this all had to be a lie – this had to be because of the Belladonna. These things wouldn't just happen out of nowhere while I was drugged; there weren't coincidences that worked like that...

I needed to leave and get somewhere I could barricade myself until this was over. Whether or not the water was aiming itself for me, I could _feel_ the water leaking into my shoes – it was here. The water was really rising. I needed to get out of here.

"Draco," I sobbed, unable to control myself. I gripped at the bathroom stall, trying to move my way through the bathroom but hating the feeling that my fingers weren't able to grip the door.

"Draco, Draco!" Myrtle's voice mocked from somewhere I couldn't see. "He's preoccupied. Maybe he just doesn't want to see you."

I closed my eyes; but it was like I could see through the lids. I could see – I could _sense – _that the water was rising. I tried to hold back the fear that was rising in me, the fear that I knew I could turn into energy if I tried. If I let out another blast like I had, I'd only burst more pipes; the water would only rush faster. I'd be in so much more trouble – I had to stay in control. I had to focus. Snape taught me how to focus...

"Draco, please," I sobbed – the energy burst out of me like a shockwave that cracked the wood against my hand and rattled the porcelain of the sinks around me. I felt the room shake from the intensity of it – the water ebbing closer to me in response. What was happening to me? Why wasn't my Magnuse under control? I'd been practicing for weeks! Why was this going to be how I died?

"Sh, shh, it's okay. It's alright."

Were my eyes closed? I couldn't tell if they had been closed when I had heard his voice, but I could tell they were when I felt his arms fold themselves around me. One of his hands was cradling my head into his shoulder; the other was holding me steady – was I swaying? I felt like I was swaying and he was struggling to keep me still. I wanted to stay still. His voice – his voice was still normal. It still sounded the same...

"What's happening?"

"There's some water on the floor, it's alright," Draco whispered, holding me a little more tightly.

"I'm going to drown," I told him, clutching to his robes. "I can't swim."

"There's hardly two centimeters on the floor, Potter; you're alright. It's alright," he explained to me. His voice was so calm, like he knew that I needed him to be certain. But wait – what if it wasn't his voice at all? What if his voice was actually someone else's voice? Who was holding me – why hadn't I seen them – whose arms was I in?

As much as he kept saying it, it didn't help me feel alright at all. Not when I hadn't seen him – not when I didn't know how _he _was. I hit his chest, tugging myself away from him. "It's not alright! It's going to keep going! You're going to leave and it's going to keep spraying – get off me, get off me!"

_Draco Malfoy will no longer choose your side, Audrey Potter..._

No! _Stop_! I shouldn't hear these fucking voices; I was not insane!

"No, ow – damnit Audrey, stop! Stop hitting me...Audrey. Audrey – alright, enough of this-" Draco finally pulled himself away from me – it _looked _like him. The bright flame of hair, the pale skin, the perfect posture...I couldn't catch his eyes before he was walking over to the sink and pulling out his wand toward it. I called out, trying to get him away from the geyser before it would drown him in its grip, my eyes closed as the terror made me double over... "_Redintegro._"

The rushing sound stopped and I dared to open my eyes, watching Draco move around the sink as he inspected it like a fine craftsman. I took a step closer, recoiling again as the water splashed around my feet.

"Is it fixed?"

"Almost," he grumbled, pointing his wand at the ground. "_Scourgify._"

I was terrified as he started to change and morph in front of my eyes – his bright hair had begun to glow under the torchlight and his features grew more pointed and sinister. The shadows seemed to colour his skin in a deathly gray that made me want to shiver, even as I watched him try to help me by repeating the incantation multiple times to clear the water. There were still puddles leftover on the ground, but it no longer felt like I was being drowned. I moved toward him, hesitant thanks to his new and corpse-like gasping when he took me by the waist and pulled me off the floor. My eyes couldn't leave the puddle that was underneath my feet, watching as my shoes dripped on the floor as if it was waiting for me to be set back down so that the water could take hold of me again. I could see it moving, writhing like some serpent digging a trap...

I looked at the sink I had been sat on. There were cracks, I tried not to notice how they seemed to be forming and branching out to grab me – that couldn't be real. The extra weight could break it but it made no sense for it to be reaching for me...but it was. It was reaching for me, I could see it, I could see the cracks moving to grasp onto my robes and-

"It's not working," I whispered, shoving my head into Draco's robes so that I could keep my eyes closed. "I can't stop...seeing..."

"It's the Belladonna," he assured me, grabbing onto my shoulders as if to keep me from swaying again. "Astoria's a Grade O bitch for having done it; too much of it could cause serious injury, she knows that-"

"Not without more than a layer on the apple. Not on its own," I muttered. "It has to be mixed with other poisons..."

"See, you're still making sense," he told me, scoffing as if this were a joke. "Well, about the same amount of sense as you used too, anyway."

_That boy, the one you love; he has the mark too._

_That curse holds the plague of death...that is the end of your story, Miss Potter._

"Nothing's making sense!" I snapped at him, moving away and burying my scraped palms into my eye sockets so I could try to push against all the things I was seeing despite my self-induced lack of sight. "You sound like you but I'm not seeing _you_. I can hear them, in my head-"

"Who? Who do you hear?"

_Shh, shh..._

_Come with us Audrey, don't listen, Audrey..._

"The voices," I whispered, letting out a sob. "They're trying to get me to – I can't. I can't do it. I won't listen!"

"Audrey, look at me," Draco whispered, grabbing onto my face. I tried to shake off his hand and felt like I was falling off the sink. He took hold of my palms and hissed as if I had burnt him. "Look what you've fucking done to yourself – Audrey, look at me."

I opened my eyes, daring to look at him – but he wasn't him. His eyes were red, his skin looked sickly. His teeth poking at his lips like that vampire whose voice was echoing in my mind...

_He has the mark too..._

_As a harbinger of death, I assure you: he does._

_That is the end of your story, Miss Potter._

I blinked against the voices.

I blinked again against the image of Draco that was in my vision.

I blinked _again _for good measure.

"What's happening to me?" I cried, looking at him carefully, watching his face change and morph as if the cells couldn't stay still.

"It's the Belladonna, it's not you," he repeated, his voice cold. "Nothing is wrong with you, do you understand? Fucking Greengrass is going to pay for this-"

"Draco, you look like him," I whimpered, blinking my eyes again. "You _sound _like you, but..."

"Like who?"

"Voldemort!" I cried out loudly. "I can see him, I can _hear _him-"

_You are a murderer, Audrey Potter. You are just like me..._

"I am not like you!" I screamed. Draco placed his cool hands on my face, moving to get into my line of sight again and squeezing my face when I tried to flinch away.

"Audrey, listen to yourself – this is the drug. The Dark Lord isn't setting foot into this school, Audrey. You're safe, I'm here."

_He is coming...he is coming..._

Yes, I'd heard that before that he was coming – and he had come. Voldemort had come to the Department of Mysteries; he had tried to kill us...

"He will, he will...the-the Cabinet," I closed my eyes, leaning into his hands – testing, making sure they were there. "You can't finish it. Don't let him get me, don't you dare-"

"No one will touch you," he promised me, gripping onto my shoulders and placing his forehead against mine. I tried not to cry because of how tightly he held me. "No one will touch you, I wouldn't let them. Ever. You know that...just like you know unless I do it soon...he says he'll kill me..."

I let out another sob, moving my hands to touch the sides of his face. They were shaking, twitching, unable to stay still just like his face was unable to keep his features. "You can't leave me."

"I don't want to," Draco closed his eyes, nuzzling into my hands like they were warmth against a winter chill. I opened mine as I heard his voice crack. "I don't want to."

_Draco Malfoy will never choose your side..._

_Have they already left you?_

I closed my eyes against the voices in my head. "Can you hear them? They hate me..."

"What the hell is this, Drea?" My eyes snapped open and I fell forward as Draco was suddenly away from me. I felt like I fell onto the ground but I was somehow on my two feet looking at the door where Moaning Myrtle floated ahead of a black blob – no. Black hair. And black robes. A pale blob _in _black.

The voice – it was familiar because of it's rough R's and slow skip, but otherwise it was unfamiliar. My brother had that pattern to his voice, that I knew – but the voice was so low, too deep for my brother at his sickest...

"Harry?"

_You made your choice between he and your brother. Just leave your brother now. Leave him again..._

"I knew it," he sneered, his voice sounding like the roar of a dragon as he raged forward, coming toward me. I backed up instinctively – he looked like he was ready to kill. "_I knew it!_ Audrey, you've been with him for weeks, haven't you?"

"What – I-" my mind was racing, I knew that I was supposed to answer this with a lie but I couldn't seem to remember what the lie was. "What's _happening_?"

"Get out, Potter," Draco sneered. "She doesn't need your shit right now."

"_You _get out!" Harry growled, moving so quickly to Draco that I was sure it must have been a side effect of the hallucinogen that was pounding through my skull. Draco drew his wand quickly, aiming it straight for my brother's chest.

_That boy, the one you love; he has the mark too_.

I couldn't tell who had cast the first hex, but it made me scream. I backed up, bending awkwardly against the sink to try and avoid the curses flying at each other. It was like fireworks going off in front of my eyes – I could feel the burn and the heat from them; I could hear the sounds as they shot past my ears; I could feel their fury. The voices in the back of my mind screamed in a symphony matching the performance as they watched.

One jinx nearly hit Draco right in the shoulder before he blocked it and sent it flying to my left. I screamed, darting to the side as the sink that had just been fixed exploded again.

"No! No! Stop it!" I bellowed, running over toward the stalls to try to avoid the water that was now acting as its own waterfall around where I had been standing moments before. "Stop! Harry, Draco, stop it!"

_They won't stop_, one of the low voices cooed. _They will never stop fighting. Not for you._

"You've been dating this git all year," Harry spat, his voice like venom. "Haven't you?"

"Harry stop, please! You don't understand – they want you to do this!"

The voices were cheering like they were watching some sort of sport. My knees were buckling under me – the colours, the lights, the walls which were dancing every time they were hit were enough to make the strongest stomach queasy. I called out to them again, but neither boy gave me so much as a glance before they were firing curses again. One shattered the mirror behind the fountain of water erupting from the broken sink and I screamed again, trying to scramble up the stall wall to get away from the tide that seemed to be rising for me.

"Someone _listen to me_!"

"Your sister's been drugged Potter, dare you show any concern?" Draco hissed to my brother, flicking a blue hex his way. "Not that you did the last time. Why _was_ that?"

_He has it too..._

_Lord Voldemort sees all, Audrey Potter._

"Go to Hell!" Harry screamed, ricocheting the hex back to him before sending his own stunner and growling when it was deflected. Harry had moved in front of me and for a moment I was worried that Draco may hex him and I wouldn't be able to move – it felt like the spells were coming from everywhere _except _their wands; like the spell was coming from the walls themselves. "_You _were the one who spiked those things, weren't you? Why are you sending all those dangerous things to Dumbledore?"

What – since when was Draco sending those things to Dumbledore? I had known that he sent the necklace to him and I had known that he had spiked the mead – but I hadn't figured that there was a pattern; that they were both for Dumbledore. Could he be trying to – to _kill _Dumbledore? I'd known that things were getting difficult and I had assumed he was trying to find a way around having to fix the Cabinet for the Death Eaters' entrance into the school...I had never considered that he actually wanted to _murder _the man just to ensure he was dead.

"Why would you kill Dumbledore?" I found myself asking.

_Remember: you are a murderer, Audrey Potter._

Stop speaking to me! There was no way that Voldemort was here, there was no way that he had access to my head. If he did I highly doubt he would be giving me such riveting inner dialogue or that he would be saying the exact same things he had been saying for a year – if he were really in my head, I had a feeling he would be doing more important things...like taking over the world or killing Dumbledore himself.

So why was I hearing his voice? Why was I hearing the voices from the veil?

What was happening to me?

"Audrey," Draco warned, motioning with his wand for me to move so that he could attack my brother...it was no use. I was too terrified to move.

"Don't like it when she's lucid, Malfoy? Not that I'd be surprised if _you _were the one that drugged her today!"

"Like _you_ were?" Draco bellowed, moving toward Harry as if he was going to throw his wand away and settle the argument with his fists. "Tell her, Potter – tell her why she was so sick!"

"I'm not sick," I whispered nervously, the voices in the back of my head hardly silencing to help my theory. They couldn't have known just how persuasive these voices were...could they? Either way, Harry didn't respond to either of us; he merely shot another curse at his opponent. Draco had to physically dodge it thanks to the force that had been whipped at him.

"Tell her, oh Chosen One," Draco sneered again. "Tell her that she wasn't the one _you _chose first!"

_Draco Malfoy will no longer choose your side...but will you choose his?_

_You made the choice between he and your brother. Just leave your brother now. Leave him again..._

"What?" I asked, screaming when Harry hit another curse at the sink, causing the pipes to fully rupture and create a downpour in the room around us – it was like I was sitting in the middle of a waterfall and the water was boiling hot. "Choose me for what?"

"You don't know anything," Harry growled menacingly, he had now moved to the side and Draco was quick to notice – finally able to shoot a jinx without me being in the way.

"I know that you gave Weasley the first bezoar!" Draco howled, nearly able to stun my brother were it not for the fact it looked like my brother had been punched in the stomach – had he not bent down from the pain of it, he would have been hit with Draco's curse. "I know that you're not so ruddy noble after all; no wonder you haven't been able to face her."

"That's not how it looked!" Harry growled. "And I haven't faced her because I knew she was sneaking behind our backs with you!"

"Is that why you decided to save her last?" Draco sneered, finally able to land a jinx that touched Harry's leg, making it give out on him. "Some fucking hero you are!"

Harry had slipped from the jinx, but he was not finished. He shot another, but his aim was off and it hurtled just past Draco's ear. Draco, looking more furious than I had possibly ever seen him, raised his wand.

_Murderer...murderer...murderer..._

"_Cruci_-"

"_SECTUMSEMPRA_!"

What unfolded before my eyes was something worse than anything I had ever heard, anything I had ever seen. Gaping wounds seemed to erupt from Draco's very pores, opening and spilling as if his body was cleansing itself. He stumbled backward landing in the water with a splash, his chest now sliced open as if with a whip, his face following in a way that ruined his eyes. His hand fell from his hand and he lay limp; not even making a sound of pain.

_No_.

No, this was another one of these damned hallucinations. It had to be. There was no way that this could have happened. I couldn't be seeing everything that I was seeing, it was impossible. It was so impossible that something could go so wrong so quickly and that I could be so powerless against it. I stumbled forward, blinking my eyes like I was the one who had them slashed against me – but he did not change back, he did not get better. His eyes did not open, his skin did not clear...Draco did not move.

"No," I whispered again, tears welling into my eyes to save me and blind me from what I knew must have been true. "No, no, no! Draco, Draco, wake up!"

"No – I didn't-" was that my brother or was that one of the voices?

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!"

_Murderer...murderer...murderer..._

I didn't care whose voice that was. It was right.

"Draco, please wake up," I sobbed, blinking my eyes again. It had to be a dream, it had to be a vision of something that I could prevent or something that was too impossible to ever happen in the first place. This couldn't be real.

Draco couldn't be dead.

_This is not a nightmare, Audrey Potter. This is death._

No. No, it couldn't be...

"Audrey, get away from him," Harry whispered, the door behind him banging open while he dared to lay a hand on my shoulder.

_They will never stop. They will never stop fighting, not for you..._

"_YOU GET AWAY!_" I screamed, shoving his hand off of me and hearing while he hissed. I hoped I had burnt him. I hope I had scarred him for life – like Draco would be if he ever woke up. No, not if – when. _When _he woke up. I turned away from my brother, no longer interested in his pitiful tries to move me. "Draco, please-"

I took hold of one of his hands, crying out in happiness as he gripped mine back tightly. He was alive – Draco was alive! His hands were weak, they couldn't have crushed mine like I'm sure he always could have if he had wanted to...but the grip was firm. It was aware and it was steady – he was alive. He was conscious. Oh no, he was conscious – the pain he must have been in...

I looked around the room, noticing that dark figures – shadows – had seemed to separate themselves from the walls and leaned toward him. In the back of my mind the voices were screaming, calling – but I couldn't tell who they were calling for. Were they calling for me, were they calling for Draco? I didn't know why they looked so dangerous, but I feared for him. The shadows looked dangerous...but the voices were so alluring that I had a feeling they were worse. I moved forward, taking him in my arms and sobbing against his chest, watching as his wounds seeped from the pressure I tried to apply. He let out a groan of pain and the anger returned as my eyes caught my brothers'.

_Murderer..._

"Miss Potter, you need to move." When had Snape gotten here? He was stepping through the shadows as if they were nothing more than that; but still they seemed to move with him, leering closer to Draco no matter how tightly I held him. "I need to heal him. Now."

"Make him leave!" I barked toward my brother. The voices in the background growled with me, screaming their own siren's to match my fury.

"Both of you need to leave while I address his wounds," Snape said quickly. "If you do not do so quickly, I may not be able to help him-"

"I'm not going anywhere." I said, gritting my teeth. "I refuse."

"Miss Potter, I can't let you stay. It would be detrimental and you are wasting time that I cou-"

"Audrey, let's just leave. He needs to help Draco, he-he needs t-"

"_I love him_!" I screamed at them both. Both men stopped talking, they stopped breathing. I couldn't see them properly, the lines of their silhouettes still moved as if to taunt me – but I could tell that they were actually standing still. The fury that built up as I looked at them, as I bowed over Draco's body to protect him from the shadows was unlike anything I had ever felt...they wouldn't have been able to move me if they tried – and they had better not. "I – won't – leave – him."

"Then move," Snape hissed, all but pushing me aside while he bent over Draco's wounds. I could hear him muttering some sort of complicated incantation while he traced his wand over Draco's deep wounds. They did not just disappear as I would have hoped, but the red torrents pouring from his cuts seemed to have slowed. I felt like my eyes may have been deceiving me again – maybe none of it had been real at all. It was too lucky, it was being healed too easily. Draco must be so close to unconsciousness, he must be in so much pain...

_As a harbinger of death, I assure you: he does._

Stop it, please. Stop. I wanted the voices to stop, to go away – to leave me and Draco alone.

Snape performed the incantation again and again and again. Considering how long the actual incantation was, I couldn't tell how many times he actually went through the motions and my eyes were too blurry and confused to be able to see the movements his wand made. After a moment, Draco let out a great cough that had me lunging toward him again.

"Are you okay?" I demanded, placing my hands on his cheeks and trying to hold in my sobs when I felt the blood sizzle against my fingers. "Draco, are you okay?"

"You need the hospital wing," Snape explained, pulling me off of him and lifting Draco to his feet with one swift movement. "There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that...Come. You two...you wait here for me."

_Can you leave them, Audrey? Or have they already left you?_

And then he left as if I would not follow. It took me a second to understand what had happened and then I took another second to pretend like I had considered listening to him. The next second I was breaking his order.

I threw open the doors to the bathroom, slipping twice on my way before I caught up with them. I immediately put Dracos' arm over my shoulder to help support him; not that I was much help. Both he and Snape were far taller than me and I would only have made it more difficult if he tried to put his weight on me.

"Miss Potter, go wait with your brother until I can get Mr Malfoy to the hospital wing-"

"I'm not leaving him," I hissed out. "And if you think you can make me, think again. I've been dealing with a lot worse than your punishments and your goddamn rules today."

"As sweet as this sentiment is, I need to help heal him and that will require privacy because of the potential that you see something you shouldn't-"

"If you're referring to something sexual, you're ridiculous," I hissed. "I won't leave him if you beg me."

_Are they so ridiculous? You want to hurt me as you hurt them..._

That was not Snape's voice. It wasn't Snape's voice, I knew it wasn't – this was Voldemort. I'd heard this before. I needed to ignore it, there were more important things to focus on.

"I have no need to beg, you cannot be in the hospital wing while he is being treated," Snape said coolly, meeting my eye. I tried hard to keep the glare, but his face was dancing around in a way that made it impossible to know if I was really looking him in the eye. "This is a matter of-"

"She stays," Draco wheezed out, his voice having too much breath to have tone. "She knows."

"She _knows_?" Snape asked, looking past Draco's arm to me. I glared at him as best I could, even though his features were distorting in a terrifying way, before I took hold of the left arm that was around my shoulder and grabbed onto his forearm to make my point.

"I know," I repeated for the third time, looking from my hand which covered his Dark Mark to Snape's wide, disbelieving eyes. "Can you hide it?"

"The Dark Mark cannot be hidden-"

"Fine," I closed my eyes, focusing on all the energy that seemed to be ready to bounce out of me like a spring. "I'm so sorry, Draco."

"Wh-" Draco could not finish his sentence before he let out a horrible bellow of pain and a colourful array of curses. The voices in my head chorused with him, their words distorted and impossible to understand. I ripped his melted shirt away from the melted flesh of his forearm – there was no sign of any Mark anymore. "What did you do?"

"I fixed our problem," I mumbled, wishing that he knew just how many meanings there were to the sentence. "Will it stay gone?"

"No," Snape informed me. "The Dark Mark is never gone."

Yeah, that's definitely what it felt like.

* * *

><p>It didn't matter how much fussing Madame Pomfrey did when Draco had gotten to the hospital wing, it didn't matter how much Snape explained the process to me, it didn't matter how much Snape assured me that Harry would be severely punished...no part of sitting here and watching Draco heal was okay.<p>

It was over two hours before Madame Pomfrey noticed something was wrong with me and gave me the correct concoction to dilute the Belladonna in my system and it was another hour before Snape came back to check on Draco and I both. Draco was asleep of course, Madame Pomfrey had given him a Sleeping Draught nearly the moment he had walked in with such intensive injuries. I was dutifully sitting in the chair next to his bed.

I couldn't stop looking at him, memorizing his face. It had been terrifying being so ruined by that Belladonna that I couldn't concentrate on what his face looked like. I knew – I could tell each pore of his face from the next but there was a moment, a stray thought it my mind that wondered if I would have been able to if he had died today.

If he had died today, would I have been able to remember his sharp cheekbones or just how childishly round his chin was? Would I be able to remember just how thin his lips were and how deep his cupid's arrow was? Had I ever even noticed that his eyelashes were three shades darker than his hair and that they were longer than mine?

What would I have done if I had lost him today?

"Miss Potter, you should rest."

I can rest _here_.

"Miss Potter, Mr Malfoy needs _his _rest."

He can rest with me _here_.

"Miss Potter, Professor Snape would like a word."

He can talk with me _here_.

"Miss Potter," Snape's voice was shrewd enough to make my eyes wander to him. I could feel how swollen they were, the things that had seen – the things which had haunted them today had filled them to the brim and I had yet to cry and release all the things I had seen. "We need to talk."

"What for?" I asked, looking away from him back to Draco. "I'm really not in the mood for a lecture. And since you'd better be brave to even try to give me one there should only be one reason you're here."

"And what might that 'one reason' be?"

"It had better be to tell me that you've expelled or burnt my brother at the stake; otherwise I can't see there being anything else to say."

"Clearly that won't happen...no matter how many times I have tried to argue that he needs to be," Snape said sourly, taking another step forward so that I could just see him from the side of my eye. "And by your behaviour today I'm wondering if it would have been beneficial to have gotten you expelled at some point, as well."

"Today had no grounds for expulsion on my part – particularly if you're including all the other things I've done just a few weeks back. Besides, whether or not I was in this castle I'm sure I could have managed finding other ways to upset you," I mumbled derisively, blinking slowly and wincing at the warmth behind my eyes – it felt unnatural. I was not a crier; I had never been a crier and yet I still felt like my chest was going to tighten and shorten my breath again, that the warmth behind my eyes would spill...

"I'm sure you could have," Snape sighed. He moved forward again, flicking his wand so that the curtains around Draco's bed closed. I watched in mild interest while he cast a silencing charm around the area. "Miss Potter, we have to talk – we need to understand one another."

"Why? Harry tried to kill Draco – I don't know what else there is to understand."

"I do not want you to recount what happened today between your brother and your-your _boyfriend_," Snape sneered as if I had just insulted him. "I am going to implore you to see reason – this has gone too far."

"Harry and Draco's rivalry? I agree," I told him, my voice low and steady. I sounded robotic, like he always did when he was explaining what people did wrong on their papers. I couldn't bring forth the passion in my words – it would just bring back the anger I'd barely been able to dissipate. "I think you should go back and fight to expel him."

"You know of Draco's mission, I take it?" Snape asked, I frowned.

"I already told you I had."

"In all honesty, Potter, I'd figured that he had lied to you and you were living some form of deluded fantasy – to know that your accusations hold such ground is not only a shock...but an opportunity." Snape sounded as if he just explained something to me, but none of it made sense as I went over the words. I shook my head.

"Do you...not know his mission?"

"I know his mission," Snape cleared his throat, moving to be in my vision so he could catch my eyes. "I do not know his _plan_."

I looked back to Draco, watching him sleep – looking at his long eyelashes, his high cheekbones, and his childish chin. He had been so close today – so close to leaving me...for good this time. I couldn't imagine having him do it again. I couldn't imagine him leaving – whether it be of his own free will or by someone else's – when he could stay safe and he could stay here with me. I couldn't imagine if it _wasn't _by his own free will.

I couldn't imagine if it was because I did something wrong.

It was my fault that Harry was so angry, it was my fault Harry had followed us into the bathroom at all – what if the same thing happened but it was a Death Eater on the other end of that wand? Would Draco die? Would Draco die because of _me_?

"The Death Eaters," I whispered, closing my eyes in annoyance while my voice cracked and betrayed me. "He has to get the Death Eaters into the castle."

"This I know...but how is he doing it?" Snape urged, crouching down so that he could try to be eye-to-eye with me. I didn't trust him when he did things like this – I had been so sure I should attempt Occlumency with him earlier today but after the mental beating I'd just had I was sure I couldn't have held Harry out, nevertheless someone practiced like him. I turned my eyes away just in case, refusing to answer his question. There was only so much trust of Draco's I could break at a time.

"That's not the worst part," I shook my head, my eyes burning. "I think...I think he has to kill Professor Dumbledore."

"And how will he do that?" Snape asked again.

"Why doesn't this sound horrible to you?" I barked, turning my head and glaring at him. "Why are you so calm?"

"I've already had my suspicions Miss Potter; just tell me what you know." Snape said in a surprisingly soothing voice. I did not hear this voice from him often – it only came when he knew I might not be in control of myself.

"I _don't_ know," I cried. "Draco's been working so hard on how to get them in – I knew he was hiding a part of his mission but I thought it had to do with _me, _not that it had to do with killing the most powerful wizard of our time. Draco can't do it, Snape – letting Death Eaters in is one thing but actually _killing_? He can't – it'll destroy him. He can't live through the-the _guilt_..."

Snape watched me carefully, examining me closely as I took Draco's hand in mine. I could feel how cool his hand was – was this how he had felt when he had watched me; when he had made sure that I was healing exactly as he had wanted me to? I felt horrible betraying him – but I couldn't imagine anything happening because of something relating to my own failings again. First it was because of _my _brother he was in here...I couldn't have it be because of _my _blindness that he was worse off. I didn't know how to help him with something like this; I wasn't a Death Eater. I wasn't an Order member – I didn't know how these things worked.

But Snape did, he could help him. He _had _to help him.

"How could you love someone like him?" Snape asked me, his voice low. "He's everything that can destroy you. His duty is to keep you in danger."

"I didn't really realize that I started to love him," I admitted. I couldn't help but laugh at myself slightly – of course I had realized I was falling in love with him. Perhaps I hadn't really had my epiphany until now, but I think a part of me had known long ago. Why would I have kept his secrets? Why would I have fought my brother? Why would I have thrown away everything...just to be with him? "He may be dangerous, but being dangerous doesn't mean that he's bad for me. It doesn't mean he's wrong for me. It means that we have to fight to make it last – and I...I like fighting for him."

"This love between the two of you could get you killed."

Well, the love was not between the _two_ of us, that was obvious enough. Draco only admitted that he fancied me when he was trying to coerce me into doing something or when he was bragging that he had finally wooed me – there was never any talk of love until my ridiculous confession in the bathroom. Still, it felt like all the lines had been blurred because now I didn't know who was right – which side of myself ruled: was Fear really what governed me, or could it really be a twisted form of Love for those I thought I didn't?

Clearly I loved Draco. Clearly I needed to take time to re-evaluate all my previous claims.

"Maybe," I nodded. "I can't let anything happen to him, Snape. You have to help me keep him safe; please."

Snape did not promise me anything, in fact he didn't say a word. Instead he stood by my side, a silent support that didn't need to be justified. I don't know how long we just watched Draco; I don't know how long we watched his wounds knit themselves into fine lines and pink puckers or while I watched his burn scab and flake away to be replaced with something so much more dark and vile...

The Dark Mark was a stain on his skin. He was so pale and the Mark stood against it unlike any tattoo or burn. You could tell it was dark and dangerous, the way it seemed to leap off his skin, the way it seemed to emanate and glow with power – it was a stain on everything fair about him. It was a symbol of the scars that his childhood and his fear had permanently latched to him. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen...and yet, it seemed to be the most meaningful.

It reminded me of what had to be done, of what was coming. Voldemort was on his way and he wanted himself and every one of his followers in this castle so that they could sway the battle and the numbers of their warriors in their favour. A war was coming...and I needed to stop trying to run from it.

It was later, much later, when Snape suddenly left me. For a moment I wanted to ask if something was wrong; he had left abruptly and had not given me a reason for such tension – but it was only moments after that I noticed Draco was stirring in his sleep. And moments after that, his eyes opened.

It took him a long moment to focus on me. His eyes were not red as I had remembered them from earlier today, even though there was still a nice stain of it on the iris of his right eye. His eyes were the liquid mercury that I remembered them, the molten steel that bubbled as his thoughts raced to piece together what had happened. His skin was pale, but otherwise looked better – he was no longer gray...but he was scarred. One small scar on his temple seemed to be healing a little less kindly than the others, and another small knick on his chin looked like it may never really fade. His chest...would have damage that I would never admit to him was as noticeable as it would end up being.

Still, his eyes were open and he was seeing me – I tried to fight the burning of my eyes again, which was difficult considering I had cried so much today, and I tried to distract him from my watery stare with a smile.

"Draco," I whispered. "Are you alright?"

"I've felt better," he admitted, trying to shift and groaning when his muscles seemed to stop moving midway through his stretch. "Are you alright? Is the Belladonna-"

"I'm fine," I scoffed, looking away and blinking again to try to clear my eyes. "Who cares about a little hallucinogen? You escaped death today...always _such_ a show off."

"It's a talent," he mumbled, trying again to sit up. I shuffled my chair closer to his, taking one of his hands in my own. "You're a bitch, by the way."

"What?" my mouth dropped. "Why the hell would you say that? I've sat here for hours, you prat!"

"Did you sit here for hours because you felt guilty for _burning _me?"

"You were _dying_," I repeated, raising my voice and over annunciating the syllables as if he were deaf. "I was trying to make everything a little bit easier for you."

"By burning me," he repeated, looking at me with eyes that danced in amusement. I crossed my arms over my chest, looking away and trying to hide my grin.

"By _disguising _you. You clearly do not know proper spy strategy-"

"Your logic is ridiculous," he muttered. It was a long moment before he cleared his throat. I turned to look at him and regretted it instantly when I saw just how serious and meaningful his gaze was. "I'm sorry those wenches poisoned you."

"I'm sorry my brother attacked you like a banshee," I mumbled, scratching at a freckle on my arm so that I didn't have to look back up at him. "I asked Snape to expel him."

Draco sighed, I heard his head flop back onto his pillow. "I take it he didn't?"

"Don't worry," I smirked, looking back up at him now that I knew he wasn't looking at me. "I'll make Harry wish that Snape had."

Draco smirked a bit, avoiding my eyes. "I didn't mean to tell you about your brother that way – I had it mapped out much better in my head. It involved you cursing him instead of him cursing me, actually..."

"Do you mean about Harry giving it to Ron first?" I grimaced a bit, moving back to picking at the freckle on my arm. "I probably would have worked it out on my own."

"But you weren't trying to," Draco muttered. "So maybe you wouldn't have. And I shouldn't have been the one to tell you about it."

"You're the only one that would ever tell me about that – it's why I trust you," I whispered, sighing deeply. "Besides, I think a part of me already knew. It's not normal for one person to be so much sicker than the other – unless there was a difference in time. And no matter how much Ron tried to assure me it was because of my impeccable drinking talents, I knew better."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Draco nod to himself slowly, lost in his own thoughts before he turned to me, a twinkle in his eye. "So...your brother knows we're a couple now. I guess there's no point in hiding my fantastic accomplishments from the world. Draco Malfoy: The Man that Tamed the Beast."

I shoved him playfully on the shoulder. "If by 'Beast' you mean 'Spectacularly Talented Witch' then I'd agree. You should definitely get your moment of fame by bragging about catching such a fantastic specimen of power, brains, and beauty. I think people might finally be proud of you."

"Power, brains _and _beauty, yeah?" He asked me, his tone playful. "So I'll assume that you can use that 'spectacular' amount of mind power to explain the reason behind you telling Snape and Boy Wonder that you're in love with me?"

My face all but burst into a red mess while I shoved him again, ignoring his bright smile.

"So you _are _in love with me?" He repeated and upon seeing my reaction raised his eyebrows a few times to taunt me. "How adorable. Though, I'm not really surprised. I did expect you to be a little classier about it – shouting it out like a barbarian in the middle of the loo hardly sets the mood, does it?"

"Shut up."

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><p><strong>Well, it's happened! I think everyone secretly knew it would happen, but did anyone expect it so suddenly? Audrey's an in-the-moment personality, particularly when it comes to Draco, so hopefully it didn't come too far from left field...even if she was completely high when she initially said it. What's going to happen now that Audrey has professed her love, now that Snape is in on Draco's plan, now that Audrey knows what Harry has done? Who has guesses for me? I didn't get the most enthusiastic response from the last chapter, so hopefully there will be more after this bomb. To those wonderful readers who did review:<strong>

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, finally is finally on board – and now she has Snape in on helping to make a plan as well. Do you think it will change anything?  
>I think Audrey was so adamant she had never seen the Horcruxes because she didn't really understand what it was – when I first heard 'Horcrux' I never really thought it would have been stored in something like a ring, or a diary; I figured it would have been something a lot more dark and dangerous. So I figured that Audrey would have responded in the same way. She believes that people expect the worst of her and she was trying to prove that what Dumbledore was saying about her wasn't true; that would have no way of knowing because she wouldn't know such dark objects.<br>I was pretty happy writing in that Audrey had to spit in the antidote too – I nearly laughed myself off my couch when I thought of it at the beginning of the whole mess. As for the Dreaco moments, I hoped you liked this newest one...it was definitely dramatic, but I'd like to think some good came out of something so horrible. Thanks for reviewing!**

_animagirl_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it.**

_Dwarfsun_**: Hopefully you liked all the interactions between Snape, Draco and Audrey in this chapter – it was definitely a different tone than the last!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Audrey definitely has a lot of men in her life, it's fun seeing how she interacts with all of them because they are all so different. Hopefully the emotion you felt behind it could still be read in this chapter – a lot of drama happened from start to finish, so I hope that you enjoyed it. Happy New Year and I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!**

_Lycoris1305_**: Happy Holidays to you, as well. Hopefully they were great; particularly now that they are over. And thank you so much for getting your sister to read it – I hope she's been enjoying it as well! I always get so giddy when I hear that other people are talking about this story...it makes it so much more real that way. Anyway, I hope the last chapter was worth the six-hour wait; I feel like I update when people are always busy. Sorry about that.  
>Yes, people are definitely rubbing in the fact that Audrey is dating Draco. It's only going to get worse now that Harry knows – which means Ron and Hermione will know, which means the Gryffindors will know...do you think that will mean that the world will know? Quite possibly. If you like the scenes I write between Audrey and Draco, I really hope that you liked the drama that just happened in this chapter – there was a lot of it and lots of love (quite literally). <strong>

_katie93319_**: Yes, the last three chapters are only going to get more and more complicated and fast-paced now that Audrey is determined to stop everything that's about to happen. Audrey's relationships with Draco and Snape are definitely going to become complicated as well now that she's told Snape Draco's plan and with Draco thinking that Snape is tormenting her with her "detentions". Audrey and Harry are at odds right now, but don't worry, it'll get better. It always does. They're both just really stubborn and they have very different ways of looking at things (you know, like right and wrong, haha). Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_merrylucy_**: I hope you liked this chapter, particularly if you really liked the Dreaco moments in the last chapter – this one was a whole new level for them. Well, mostly for Audrey, but also for Draco because of Audrey's little epiphany. I hope you're having a good start to 2014 and thank you for reviewing!**

_Geri_**: Yeah, when I started the story and drafted it out I was wondering whether or not I should split it up into different sections, but I kind of like it all being together. I think it's just easier that way; then you only have this and Audrey Potter's Prelude with all the things grouped together. Otherwise there would have been five different sections. You don't have long at all wait to find out what Audrey is doing while Dumbledore and Harry go off to the cave, so don't worry :) I hope you like the chapter and are getting excited for the upcoming ones – thanks for reviewing!**

_BlackRose_**: Audrey and Harry are definitely a strange pair of twins, with a newly strained relationship thanks to the happenings in this chapter. Hopefully it was believable and you liked it, it was a really fun chapter to write (probably more fun than it should have been considering the content, haha). Thanks for the review.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Lots of fluff! Even in this one there was a bit of it before and after the whole 'almost dying' thing...anyway, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_incitanemxx_**: I had a nice Christmas, thank you. Yes, it's actually super cold and ridiculously snowy here in Canada; at least you have escaped it for now! Last chapter was definitely a shorter one, but it was just because I couldn't start any part of this chapter during the last one and from here-on-out everything is going to be very quick and hectic. It was the last chapter that will tend to make sense, haha. Snape is definitely a great character – I hope you liked his interaction with her during this chapter, what with finding out she loves Draco and accepts him as a Death Eater. Audrey is definitely a little self-centered, even with just wanting to be ASKED to go on the Horcrux Hunt...but it will probably be a good thing she doesn't. Happy New Year to you, thanks for reviewing!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Yes, the next three chapters are going to be as (if not more) fast-paced than this one, so if you were on the edge of your seat here; you may want to strap in for the next. I really wish I didn't have to take a break between books too, part of me wishes I already had it all written out so you could read it and this damned ending wouldn't be a secret anymore...but then it would be over. So I'm trying to take the good with the bad, haha. Either way, I'll be able to update more quickly if I have a headstart and all I'm doing is editing them as I update if I'm five chapters ahead of each update. It tends to work for a time and I have a feeling that DH will end up being shorter than 25 chapters, so maybe I can make it fluid updating if I wait. But you have some good ideas for what is coming up – I'm hoping that it's going to be a shock to people and that it won't be what everyone expects. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I do celebrate Christmas/Boxing Day and New Years; it was a really nice holiday season. I hope that it was a great end (also beginning) of the year for you as well! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Toolazytologin_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad that you could find the time to get into the story; I know it's kind of a giant. Also, it's really cool that you speak three languages and don't worry, I couldn't tell until you mentioned it. It's really nice that you can see Audrey's flaws and still love her for them (as there are quite a few) and that you think she's well-balanced. Reading your review and then knowing I was writing the bathroom scene next made me giddy; I hope that you liked her reaction and thought that she was in character (or as in character as she could be considering she was high on poisonous substances). As you see, he does have the Dark Mark and I also wondered how he would ahve hidden it during school when he lives in a dormitory with so many boys – but I figure Crabbe and Goyle know about it, Theodore is probably aware because they lived together during the summer and Blaise hasn't really been present since Draco doesn't often sleep in the Slytherin dormitories anymore. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and are ready for all the craziness that's about to come. Thanks for reviewing!**

_JabberGuest_**: Yes, Astoria is no longer a clown and it is sad that she got payback (even though her punishment had been deserved) but there are so many things about to happen that Astoria being a witch might be the least of Audrey's problems. But don't worry – that contemptuous relationship will not be forgotten. As for Harry and she...it's obviously complicated between them, but I do promise that it will get better – mostly in the next book and not exactly at the beginning, but it will get better.  
>I'm really glad that you like my portrayal of Draco. When I started writing him I really worried that he would lose that jerk-ish charm that everyone loves about him...but I figure: I've dated jerks and I know that when I dated them they were still jerks, so my goal has been to work off that and keep him as much the same as I could. I really hope you like the new chapter and thank you for reviewing!<strong>

_Lovely Kaplan_**: Hopefully the anticipation is still lingering in there, but the Dreaco moments throughout this chapter made it worth it. Everything's happening in the next three chapters so I hope that you liked this one; because this was only the beginning! Thanks for reviewing.**

_rjnkr_**: I'm sorry I deprived you of sleep but I'm really glad you liked it. Thanks you so much for the compliments and the the review!**

_Cookie Monster_**: If you end up making it to this chapter, thanks for continuing to read. I know that where you were in the chapters you hadn't seen any major changes (such as Sirius being saved) so maybe now you'll realize anything is possible with Audrey :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_SwiftAlice_**: Happy New Year! I don't know if you ended up reading the email I sent you yet, but as a random note I wanted to inform you that the first draft was 9938 words and the final one I just posted was 14, 712 words. Pretty crazy...but I won't deny I'm proud. As I said in my email I hope that everything is going well and that you're finding ways to beat the heat – I'm staying inside with hot chocolate and tea to beat the cold! My family and I had a really nice time and we all got to see each other, even some family members who hadn't come to family Christmas in years – it was honestly my favourite Christmas in...well, probably as many years as those family members weren't able to join us.  
>I'm really glad you liked the last chapter – I'm SO excited to hear what you think of this one. Sadly I haven't started rewriting the Seren and Tom story yet, but I'm going to get on it soon. I think that during my month off I'm just going to take a bit of time off work and sit in my room and not allow myself to do certain things until I reach writing goals. It's kind of how I do things, haha – for instance, I have a few tattoos and I'm getting my next one after Green Eyed Monster...sad, but it will be totally worth it and it drives me to avoid writers block, haha.<br>Snape is back and he is finally in on the secret! Kind of. I mean, it's so exciting that Audrey is willing to talk to him about what's going on and hopefully it's going to change some things that are about to happen when the Death Eaters try to get into the school...we'll have to see. Also, I don't know if you caught it, but there was some of the Mega-Vision in this chapter too, with the whole water spraying at her and her calling out for Draco...too cute. And she finally said she LOVES him! Ah...I'm so giddy right now...it could also be because it's four in the morning and I wanted to be done writing two hours ago, but c'est la vie!  
>Good call on the way he, Ron and Hermione have been acting being thanks to the poison. Ugh, I was so excited to have that powerful moment of Draco being like "tell her – tell her what you did"...I hope it came off as powerful as it rings in my mind.<br>Only three chapters left...it's going to get so crazy next chapter (and the two after, obviously) that I'm not even sure how to handle it all. Hopefully because they'll be so quick it will be easier and faster to write them. I hope you liked the chapter and thank you (as always) not only for your review but for translating and being wonderful and so kind!**

_myblacktears_**: Thanks, T! Hope you liked this one too.**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm glad that it being a shorter chapter didn't disrupt the storyline; this was definitely a longer chapter to make up for it, though. Audrey definitely was on the losing end of her battle with the Slytherins in this chapter, but she's not one to forgive and forget so I'm sure that will come back to haunt them at some point. I'm starting to work on tying up the loose ends on this part of the story – the next three chapters are going to be intense, I warn you. Hopefully Audrey will be able to fix as much as she can and get out unscathed...but this is about to be a bloody battle as we all remember, so I can't make any promises. Thanks for the review and Happy New Year!**

_Guest_**: I hope he won't let in the Death Eaters either; have to wait to find out though! Thanks for reviewing.**

_Melody_**: Yeah, I did some research to make sure I wasn't lying to you but it's never actually said that Astoria and Draco were promised to each other; I think that's what we Fanfictioners just like to believe. I used to read stories about it all the time (I even wrote some) but technically it wasn't in the original plotline. It still can be cute though, haha.  
>Even though Audrey doesn't have a plan (yet) she did confide in Snape, so hopefully something will change because of his knowledge. Audrey won't be going to find the Horcruxes, but surely Dumbledore had a reason for it – don't you think? You'll have to wait to find out about Audrey's visions...though you may find out sooner than you think. Happy New Year and thanks for the review!<strong>

_uhoh_**: Don't worry, Audrey's a smart one...she will never go into anything without thinking about plans and ways out first. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest(2)_**: Aw, I loved your review. Thanks!**

_FreckleFacedFrieda_**: Thank you, I'm glad you're liking the story enough to find the time to review; I really appreciate it! You have really good guesses about the Deathly Hallows portion of the story, hopefully I won't disappoint you when those chapters arrive. There are only three more chapters of the Half Blood Prince before I go on hiatus for a month, so hopefully you'll get a good fill of Draco and Snape as well as Audrey's interactions with them – this chapter had a good chunk with them in it so with any luck you liked that! It's nice that you like how Audrey perceives Harry in this part of the story, he is a little more rough around the edges than the Great JKR's version...but I think that's mostly because Audrey wants to see him that way. She is a stubborn one. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I have had a great Christmas and New Year, thank you – I hope you are having a great New Year as well! Hope your assignment went well and I hope that you liked the chapter :)**

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I would really love to hear your response – let's see if I can make it to 2000 reviews before the next chapter :D Also please keep in mind that I have a new poll on my homepage about what story I'm going to start after <strong>_Green Eyed Monster_ **is on its way to being finished (how sad! Also keep in mind that I will still be writing Seren and Tom Riddle's relationship as well as the story you can vote for on the poll). Remember, the more response I get the more I'm inspired to write...**

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

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	76. The Mission

**Hello everyone! First, thank you so much for getting me over 2000 reviews, as promised I got the chapter out before the weekend. Also, I feel the need to apologize for any extra notifications you might have gotten...some of you may know that my computer was hacked. I later found out it was by my cousin. So all has been returned to what it was before, but I'm sorry if they bothered you. Now, I'm just going to move straight on to the chapter. There are some answers here and a lot of action...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 75 – The Mission<p>

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><p>"Audrey, please," Harry jogged to catch up to me...not that I really understood why. Over the past few weeks he should have learned that I did not want to talk to him and when I did, it was never a pleasant conversation. Besides swearing, jinxing him 'accidentally' and shattering a window or two – we had remained virtually silent.<p>

"I have nothing to say to you," I repeated my mantra, nose in the air, while I made my way towards my lesson with Snape.

"How many times do I have to say it?" He cursed under his breath lightly. "I didn't _mean _to use that curse, I didn't even know what it did!"

"You knew well enough to cause him harm," I jabbed back, though I continued on my way to Snape's office as if he wasn't worth a glance. "Tell me, were you upset that he and I were being romantic, or were you upset that you hadn't caught him doing something bad?"

"Being romantic with you _is _him doing something bad." I turned a harsh glare on him, making him sigh. "You're my sister, Audrey – my little sister, my _twin_; how could I just let you snog some no good ninny whose goal in life is to make mine miserable?"

"And to make mine enjoyable," I bit back. "But you have to kill that too, didn't you?"

"I'm not a killer, I didn't mean-"

"But I have been, haven't I?" I growled, finally twirling on my heel and shoving my finger in his chest. "And the only urge I have ever had to do something as bad was that day – the day you cursed Draco and I found out what you did about that poison. So if you dare to touch my _boyfriend _ever again, I will skin you more easily than a snake sheds its skin. Am I clear?"

"That's not how..." Harry noticeably deflated, shaking his head from the open form of rejection. "I really didn't mean it."

"That doesn't change the fact it happened," I hissed.

"I got rid of the book." As if that would help him.

"As much as my grades are flourishing again and as much as I enjoy watching you fail miserably: that's not good enough." I glared at him. "Draco is scarred for _life _because of you."

"He was already scarred for life because of his Dark Mark!"

"Salazar's spit, Harry!" I shoved my finger into his chest again, he flinched away and patted his shirt as if I had touched him with a cigarette. "Do you really think that if Draco had the Dark Mark I wouldn't see it? Do you really think that while Snape saved his life and Madame Pomfrey spared him the pain of your damned curse no one would have noticed a giant black tattoo across his arm?"

"Snape could have covered it up-"

"You can't hide the Dark Mark, Harry. It cannot be hidden on skin. Maybe for once in your life you should listen to Hermione and read," I rolled my eyes, turning away from him to continue my trek. "Or have you been too busy celebrating with your new girlfriend?"

"This has nothing to do with Ginny-"

"It has everything to do with you seeing no consequences to your actions," I nearly sang, trying to keep myself from getting too frustrated. I didn't have the energy to spare on him if I wanted to have a successful lesson with Snape. "Detention every Saturday? Please, I've had it worse all year and I _didn't _nearly cause manslaughter on school grounds to a student. A student, by the way, who had done nothing wrong!"

"He was cursing me, too!"

Alright, this was true...but I didn't really want to take the time to deal with him. I shook my head, trying to reign in my fury. I was much better at it than before – windows weren't shattering right now, at least. Snape would be proud when I was finally able to leave my brother's side and tell him. I turned on my heel, ready to start weaving through corridors to lose him, but Harry turned me right back around.

"Look, there are some things you need to know-"

"Is it how much of a sensation you've become thanks to your Quidditch teams' win the other week?" I sneered. "I've already heard how people can forget the bad in you but still manage to remember the heroic."

"No, it's about...it's about Voldemort." As much as I wanted to curse him and head on my way, the tone of his voice told me this wasn't just any kind of news. I found myself slumping in acceptance, even if I refused to look him in his puppy-dog eyes.

"You have sixty seconds."

"Dumbledore is taking me to find a horcrux...tonight," Harry seemed nervous, his words were rushed. "He says to be ready at a moment's notice to come to his office so we can work to destroy it."

I tried to seem nonplussed by this news, even though my muscles vibrated with awareness of how dangerous this might have been for my brother. To hide this anxiousness, I shrugged. "Fine. Is that all?"

"No," he kicked at the ground. "But I don't think you'll want to hear the rest."

"I hardly ever do," I acknowledged, gritting my teeth. "Out with it, then."

"Do you-" he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Do you know why Malfoy might have been so happy this morning? Happy enough to whoop?"

"Besides our rampant sexcapades?" Harry shivered and closed his eyes, breathing deeply to try and get the rude visualization out of his head. There was no stopping myself from making eye contact now, not while he was squirming.

"No. I mean..._really_ happy. It was during lunch; you were with Tracey then." I tried not to glare at him, that would give away what I knew...and that was that I knew nothing about why Draco would have been happy. I hadn't seen him since last night when he had told me to get some sleep in the dormitories and head to the kitchen on my way.

"Perhaps his 'I-Hate-Harry' fanclub finally got a better following," I offered dryly. "I've been pouring money into the foundation for months now."

"Alright, I get it," Harry sighed. "There's one last thing...and you might like this the least."

"I feel like I'm reading the newest edition of the Quibbler – what more gossip do you possibly have for me to shoot down?"

"It's not gossip," he muttered, looking at me as if he was worried I was about to burst into tears of some kind. I couldn't tell if I should be amused by his wary look, or if I should become wary myself.

"I'll be the judge."

"The prophecy, the one about Voldemort and me," The cheeky smile melted off my face. First he was talking about Horcruxes and now he's putting Voldemort in a different category? A category that included that ridiculous prophecy that ruined our lives? As much as I didn't want to hear Harry's voice, I knew I had to hear what he was saying. "Voldemort only ever heard the first half, right? That's why he wasn't prepared for what happened. It was because the eavesdropper was caught and thrown out before the second half."

"This isn't news to me," I said dryly, though it was certainly not as rude.

"The eavesdropper..." Harry took a deep breath to prepare himself. "It was Snape."

I blinked, everything from my brain to my heart seemed to stutter in shock and misunderstanding. "What?"

"Snape...he was at the Hogshead and he heard Trelawney make the prophecy – or at least, part of it. And _he_ was the one who told Voldemort about the part he heard."

There was no stopping the red hot rage that started to creep up my throat and sting at my eyes. I couldn't tell if I was trembling or shaking my head to cause him to quiver as he was. "You're lying."

"I wouldn't lie about this," he shook his head. "Ask him if you don't believe me."

"I can't believe after all these years you just can't trust-"

"That's not what this is about," though I could tell that for him it was. "It's just – ask him. Trelawney told me herself taht it was him and...I'm sorry I had to tell you."

"You didn't have to, you chose to." I spit out, curling my hands into fists.

"I would have wanted you to tell me," he said simply, shrugging as if that was all he could do. "I'll see you when we get back – Ron and Hermione are ready in case anything goes wrong...maybe you should stay with them tonight."

"I'll be staying with my boyfriend, thank you."

"I think it might be your boyfriend who's causing the trouble," he muttered. "Just stay safe, yeah?"

I scowled at him the entire time I watched him walk down the corridor. When he reached half way he began to run, his stupid invisibility cloak completely conspicuous under his arm while he sprinted. Apparently he was in a hurry – perhaps he and Dumbledore were leaving now.

It didn't matter how angry I was with Harry, the worry still felt like a heavy rock in my stomach that didn't seem to go away no matter the fury over his words. What the hell had Harry been talking about and since when was he more informed than I was? He was not supposed to be telling be about my mentor and his possible part in our parents death, nor should he have been the one to ask me why _my _boyfriend was so happy.

Besides, Snape couldn't have been the one to have told Voldemort about the prophecy. That just wasn't possible. As for Draco being so happy that people heard? That could have been anything – it may not have even been Draco at all! Crabbe and Goyle went everywhere he did – if they found a week old dinner roll on the floor they would have been happy. There was no proof to anything he said and yet...the worry weighed more heavily the more I thought of it.

I was surprised when I managed to find my way to Snape's office; my feet had led me there without much help from my mind. I was too busy with my thoughts racing after everything I had just heard, everything I now had to analyze. I stepped into the room without knocking – an old habit which only further reminded me how much I should have trusted this man, how much we trusted each other...but all I could imagine was him being caught eavesdropping and running off to a snake-faced demon.

"You're late," he mumbled, turning from the cupboard up against his back wall to face me.

"I'm sorry, I was hassled on my way," I couldn't look at him and bowed my head as I walked further into his office. I pulled my wand out of my jeans pocket and took it in my hand for him. "I brought my wand today."

"Very good. What would you like to work on today: more Occlumency, shall we continue our worthless _attempts _to hone your Legilimency, or should we continue and do a general review of all you've practiced?" Snape asked me. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Today, I was wondering if we could talk."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Talk?"

"Yes, talk..." I took a deep breath, looking him in the eye to guage his response. "I want to talk about where my brother got the outrageous idea that it was you who told Voldemort about the prophecy."

Snape's face twitched, but his expression did not change. I watched his skin bleach itself and like me, he could no longer keep eye contact. Oh Merlin...was it true? My hands began to sweat just with the possibility.

"I would assume that he got the idea from Sybill Trelawney," Snape said, his voice particularly low. Hearing that tone was like a hit to the stomach; a hit to the stomach that was so hard I actually forced myself to lean against one of the desks to help gather my breath.

"I am surprised he was not told sooner," Snape continued after a few moments, his voice still low and strained.

"Why didn't _you _tell me sooner?" I asked him, finally looking up.

"Would it have helped you through your past years of guilt and despair, having known that I was the one to cause it for you?" Snape asked me simply. I blinked, furrowing my brow.

"Why did you tell him?" I asked. "Why would you do that to us?"

"I had no way of knowing who the prophecy was about," he assured me levelly. "All I knew was that I had heard something I shouldn't have and it involved the master whom I was deeply indebted to."

"You didn't know it was about us?" I repeated. The way he shook his head was careful, as if he were expecting me to start screaming or shattering the windows of his office...but this was Snape I was speaking to. I didn't want him to be the one to have done this to us as much as he seemed to not want to speak of it. "Do you swear it? Because I seem to recall a vivid hatred you held for my father and his friends."

"Your father and his friends were bullies and torture-artists of their own merit," he admitted. "But not even I would have wished death upon them. A good hex or a terrible bought of misfortune, yes – but I have never been a murderer. And I never wish to be."

"Voldemort has never made you kill anyone?" I asked, looking at him carefully. "Then...why would he ask it of Draco?"

Snape sighed, walking around his desk so that he could press his hands against it...it looked like he may have been short of breath, too. "You do not know for sure that the Dark Lord has asked this of him."

"I can feel it," I shook my head, gripping my wand all the more tightly. "Part of me thinks its Dumbledore – but Voldemort couldn't possibly think Draco would be able to do it; does he?"

"I do not know."

"At the same time, besides Dumbledore...who else would it be?" I shook my head, pushing myself off the desk as I felt a shiver run through me. "Draco can't live the life of a murderer."

"I can promise you, Miss Potter, that Draco will never kill Albus Dumbledore," Snape's voice sounded very certain, but even his comfort was not enough to stifle the anxiety.

"But what if he's _supposed _to?"

"That I cannot say," Snape said simply, his words short and clipped. "This will only be a problem if Draco completes the next part of his mission; how far has Draco gotten in mending the Vanishing Cabinet?"

Occlumency had not been the kindest in consideration of Draco's secrets – or my own, for that matter – but there was no denying how safe I felt now that Snape was in on the plot. This was what I needed, an extra mind to figure out how to help me keep him safe. Sure, Snape rooting through my mind had been rude and unpleasant, but now we could form plans...and that was worth every embarrassing memory he'd seen.

"He hadn't yesterday. But he's close, I can feel it," I explained to him, running a hand up my arm to avoid the shivers that didn't seem to want to stop. "The Vanishing Cabinet feels...alive."

"Alive?" He repeated, his voice unamused.

"I don't know how to explain it – but he's close. I know it. How are we going to stop him from letting Death Eaters into the castle without setting Draco up for punishment from the Riddler?"

Snape sighed deeply at my use of nicknames. "It would help if we could know when he was planning on letting them in. Perhaps if you got that map your father made-"

"I can't, Harry's gone."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "He's _gone_?"

"Er – yeah," I said nervously. I had been very good about avoiding the thought of Horcruxes, it was only made easier thanks to the concern over everything that was going on with Draco. I was very open with the fact that Dumbledore was on the hunt for things to stop Voldemort, but I was not going to be the one to tell him what had really happened. If Dumbledore had wanted Snape to know, Snape would have known. Not that I really understood why he didn't seem to; he'd be much better at finding them than Harry would be. "He and Dumbledore left the castle."

Snape seemed to pale even more than he had earlier. "Where did they go?"

I shrugged, trying to keep myself on guard in case he tried to use Legilimency. "I don't know."

"Where did they go, Potter?" Snape snarled, as if he was ready to attack me for the information. I frowned, taking a step toward the door to let him remember just how close to it I was.

"I don't know! He told me that he would contact me the moment he returned – he didn't tell me where he was headed; that was Harry's part of the job." I told him honestly, Snape seemed to believe me.

"You are to stay with Mr Malfoy at all given times until the Headmaster returns, do you understand me?" Snape sounded more urgent than I could feel comfortable with. I started to protest and question, but he was quick to interrupt. "If anything seems amiss I want you to inform me at once. If he has mended that Cabinet, now would be his time to strike."

"You don't think-" I shook my head. "No, he promised he'd warn me."

"Not all promises need to be kept," he informed me with a tight jaw. "You are dismissed."

Well...that was possibly the fastest detention or lesson I had ever had with Snape and that unnerved me. I felt like I wasn't really told what I was supposed to do. Was he really that anxious? Did he really think that Draco could have mended the Cabinet and that tonight would be the night that he would let Death Eaters into the castle? It just seemed so fast. Snape and I hadn't really had time to come up with a plan – I had thought of sealing off the door so that they couldn't leave the Room of Requirement, but no matter how much I tried all the person inside had to do was want a way out and the room would grant it for them...what else was there to be done but destroy the Cabinet?

And destroying the Cabinet could get Draco killed.

I was hardly outside Snape's office door when I was joined by a familiar presence. Draco was wearing that expensive cologne that was too distinct to confuse and the shampoo he used radiated from him. I turned to look at him and was shocked – he was _smiling. _It was an odd one, true, but it was a smile: breathless and striking. I rarely got to see him in this mood, particularly outside of the Room of Requirement where others could see it.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Or...what's not wrong?"

"Nothing either way," he informed me simply, slipping his hand into mine and squeezing it tightly. "I'm just walking you down to dinner, Potter. I know you must be so excited after a day of not seeing me, but calm yourself."

"I would have thought you'd be working on the Cabinet tonight," I said lightly. I was careful to watch if his expression would change. It hardly did – he remained looking ahead...but I saw his temple pulse slightly. Still, that was not enough to tell me what it meant. "Will you be spending the night with me?"

"Some of it," he looked down at me and smirked slightly. "Tonight's the party in the common's Potter, don't you want me near you?"

"I'd prefer it," I answered honestly.

"How adorable," ugh, this had become one of his favourite taunts since that day in the hospital when he had made fun of me for admitting I loved him – words which I had never dared to speak since. "_The_ Audrey Potter nearly sounding needy...something must be wrong."

"Says the boy who couldn't wait for dinner to see me," I smirked back. He rolled his eyes.

"I was making sure you'd actually go there," he sounded nonchalant. "Not that I blame you for being wary about your food after the Belladonna incident, but you realize food is essential to life, correct?"

"Correct," I muttered, swinging our hands a little bit. It was still a strange feeling, walking through the castle and not caring if we were spotted. It was a privilege that Draco had been using to his full advantage since the bathroom incident. "But having it poisoned kind of goes against that very rule, wouldn't you say?"

The Great Hall quieted as we entered; people were still in shock about the newest revelation of a Potter dating a Malfoy. It was unheard of and yet, now that it was out in the open, we weren't trying to put any of the rumours at ease. Sure, they rarely saw us thanks to us being in that room, but that didn't mean that we weren't hounded by their curious gazes. It was headline news in the school; I feared picking up any form of paper or magazine since Draco was no longer telling me he was batting away reporters. Anyone could know about us – I just didn't want to know whether they knew.

We took our seat at the Slytherin table. Tracey, Lillian and Draco's two goons always sat across from us and kept the Slytherin bitches far away from my pick of food. Draco's lackeys had actually offered to test all my food before I ate it; but I refused on fact their saliva would be a poison in itself. Blaise had taken to sitting a little closer than he had before, even though he never dared to speak to me directly as Theodore was usually sat on his other side. Today Nott was missing leaving Daphne to take his place – it was strange, like a table full of people who were my enemies at the beginning of the year, but who were making their way to being my friend again.

"You two look cozy," Lillian giggled from across from me, looking over to Daphne who hid her smirk by playing with her pasta. "How long have I been saying its love?"

"It's not love," I muttered, my face going red. Beside me, Draco snorted and bounced his knee anxiously. "Shut it."

"It is romantic though, how you stayed at his bedside," Lillian gushed. "All the girls were talking about it, you know-"

"You've said," Draco said simply – this was not new subject matter.

"-and that you've officially fought against your brother for him? It's just so-"

"Romantic? Yeah, you've said," I interrupted, trying not to show my boredom.

"-romantic, exactly!" Lillian slapped her hand against the table energetically. "And it's been coming for so long, I mean, everyone knew you two would get together for years now-"

"You've said," I muttered again.

"I feel like she's not even really paying attention," Draco muttered to me.

"She's not," I sighed. "She's imagining her own romance now."

"Hopefully not with me," Draco whispered, winking at me while she continued to ramble. We didn't interrupt her for the benefit of those few chuckling...but there was no hiding the relief I felt when Tracey finally placed a silencing jinx on her, like Lillian had done to Tracey months ago.

"Thank Merlin," Blaise mumbled, giving Tracey that eye that he always tended to give her. "I'll thank you properly later."

"Ew," I muttered, taking a sip of my pumpkin juice to hide my snicker. I hit Draco's knee under the table as he continued to fidget.

"Yes, because you and Draco are so much more discrete with your infatuations," Tracey rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Hypocrite."

"Draco and my 'infatuations', as you call it, benefit me," I informed her. "Your infatuation with Zabini does not."

"Will you please tell your girlfriend to shut her mouth unless she's finally shoving food in it?" Blaise asked, his expression amused even if he refused to speak to me directly.

"He's right, you know," Draco leaned in to me. "You haven't eaten today. It'd be interesting to see where feeding you could lead, but I think you'd rather not shag for the first time in the Great Hall or kitchens."

"Well, aren't I glad you're my keeper?" I asked sarcastically with a roll of my eyes. He placed a piece of chicken on my plate with a wink, making me sigh before I started to eat it. He smirked, feeling proud of himself before he started putting food on his own plate. It was hard not to notice that he wasn't really eating any of it, just listening to the conversations around him and playing with a galleon that he was weaving through his fingers like an expert.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, frowning while he stopped playing with the coin.

"Fine," he answered, taking a deep breath. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Just that coin. When did you pick up that habit?" I asked, watching him carefully. On the outside he seemed so content, but his fidgeting told me otherwise. I was then surprised by his flirtatiousness as he grinned and practically pulled me on top of his lap. I made a sound of protest which made everyone else laugh.

"It's no matter; you're my favourite habit, after all." He smirked at me.

"Point proven: you are not discrete," Tracey smirked. Lillian, still silent, seemed to swoon.

"It's true, that was awful," I told him with a grin, tugging myself farther away from him. I watched as he took a good look at the coin and put it back into his pocket...and resumed bouncing his knee.

"So, you lot are staying in the common room tonight, then?" Draco asked with an edge to his voice. "For the party."

"I'm so excited!" Daphne spoke up from beside Blaise. "There hasn't been a common room party in ages – when will the Firewhiskey get in?"

"It should be delivered soon," Draco said with a glance at Blaise's watch. "Crabbe, Goyle, Audrey and I will be heading to get it when we're finished here."

"Oh, will we?"

"We will," Draco said simply. "Now eat more so you don't get too piss drunk tonight."

I rolled my eyes, going about eating some more chicken and a few chips. After I was done as much as I could be on my plate, I looked to him with a raised eyebrow. "Happy now?"

"Almost," he muttered to himself, standing and taking out his coin again. "Let's get to the common room, shall we?"

Crabbe and Goyle followed us and I was shocked again to find Draco take my hand in his and hold it so firmly. I frowned as we walked down the stairs towards the dungeon. He still seemed so content – he was being so sweet...but why was he so anxious? Particularly if it was true and Harry had caught him in a moment of such happiness? I could only hope it wasn't what I feared.

"Are you sure that everything's alright?" I asked him. "There's something off about you."

"Off?" he frowned. "Off how?"

"Well, your new nervous habit with your coin for one," I looked pointedly at the coin he was holding. He immediately placed it back into his pocket. "And let's not forget the excessive amount of affection you're showing – I don't know what to think of it. Besides that someone gave you love potion, but it seems excessive as we're already dating."

"Don't you like it?" he asked, looking down at me with a furrowed brow.

"I never said I didn't, I'm saying I'm confused by it – why are you being so...sweet?"

"Oh, so you're feeling concerned because I'm being too sweet?" his voice dripped with sarcasm while he chuckled at me. "Consider it pre-emptive for whatever I'll fuck up later."

"Later?" I asked, my heart stuttering in my chest. There was no reason that I should be this concerned – Draco would not be acting this cool and collected if he was about to let in an army of Death Eaters to attack the school. Not even he was that well trained in the art of deception. But still...he was acting odd enough to keep my nerves on edge. Instinctually, fear was already creeping along the tips of my fingers in case something went wrong.

"Just later," he shrugged. I took a deep breath.

"Why aren't you in the Room of Requirement today, Draco?" He turned to look down at me, his face pinched into that steely expression I had grown to hate so much. The happy Draco from the Great Hall seemed to have stayed there. We stepped down to the sublevel and continued our walk toward the common room before Draco spoke.

"I don't have to be there yet."

"You're taking the night off, aren't you?" I asked him, my stomach playing horrible tunes with the food I had just eaten.

"Not all of it," he admitted, stepping toward the wall. "_Scales._"

The wall opened for us, leading us into a completely deserted common room. Everyone must have still been in the Great Hall for dinner, though I wondered briefly where Theodore may have gone considering he had not eaten with us.

"You two stay here," Draco ordered to his two bodyguards while he pulled on my hand to urge me forward. "Potter and I are headed into my dormitory – I do not want us disturbed."

I thought about arguing that it was also _their_ dormitory considering they shared with he, Theodore and Blaise, but decided that it might not be in my best interest considering how he was pulling me with such urgency. When we got into his dormitory – a place I hadn't entered since last year – I couldn't help but feel nervous. I'd never been in his room alone with him before. Sure, we stayed alone all the time in the Room of Requirement on that old couch, but there was no denying the different feeling of seeing a bed there waiting for us.

"Draco..." I said slowly. "What's going on?"

"I promised," he explained, his voice surprisingly gravelly while he tugged me over to sit on his bed. Between the nerves of my own suspicions and the thought of being in his bed with him, I was scared to move. "Audrey, everything is about to change."

I closed my eyes, my stomach churning more. "Why would that be?"

"I've finished it," he whispered. "The Vanishing Cabinet works."

"Good," I said slowly. "Now you can make your excuses as to why they can't come in, even though you finished it. Voldemort can't be mad-"

"He won't be," he whispered. "Because the Death Eaters are coming. Tonight."

My blood seemed to freeze in my veins entirely; the room seemed as if the oxygen had gotten so cold that it hurt to breathe it in. I shuttered, my voice coming out in a whisper. "Draco, you don't have to do this. Your mission is complete, you've found a way for them to get into the castle – that doesn't mean you have to be the one to let them in."

"You're playing on his words. I have to be the one to let them in," he argued, closing his eyes and gripping my hand so tightly it almost hurt. "Because they're going to help me carry out the last part."

"The last part?"

"I need to get rid of Dumbledore," he explained, his eyes cool and anxious.

"Get rid of...or kill?" I asked knowingly. He answered me with his silence. "You don't have to do this, Draco."

"Actually, I do," he whispered. "Because if I don't do it, he'll kill me – because there's no way I can succeed on the rest of the mission. I'm taking the lesser of two evils."

"The lesser being to kill our headmaster?" I argued, pulling my hand out of his. "Draco...murder is not something to scoff to. Murdering the only man strong enough to defeat that snake is not the lesser of two evils!"

"It is when the second evil is to hand you over to him," he whispered, his eyes now steeled away from me. I recoiled from him.

"What?"

"That's the mission, Potter. I bring in the Death Eaters. I kill Dumbledore or I find a way for them to kidnap you." Draco explained. I blinked and realized after a moment that I was shaking.

"Draco...he'll kill me..."

"I know," he explained, his voice low. "I think you're missing why I said 'or'."

"I guess so..." I said slowly.

"I have to kill Dumbledore _or _hand you over. I only have to do one or the other," he explained, looking sick to his stomach as he said it. "Which is why I have to kill Dumbledore – he'll be so pleased when he's dead that he won't mind that we didn't bring you back."

"Draco, that's not how it works," I frowned. "He won't just let you trade-"

"He will! It's part of my exception for being underage. So it will have to work because I won't let anything happen to you," he growled, grabbing onto my wrists. "Don't you get it? It's him or you, Audrey...and I'm picking the old man."

"I don't understand. Why don't you just take me...why _are _you taking me in the first place? Why am I here? Am I the backup plan?"

"You're a weakness, Audrey. I told you, he knows that." Draco had told me this, back in the hospital wing after he had inadvertently poisoned me. I shook my head, feeling like I was about to be sick.

"I'm not a weakness."

"You're _my_ weakness, Audrey," he admitted, his tone cool. "You're Saint Potter's weakness. You're Snape's weakness and the quickest way to the Order. To have you would be like holding all the cards in his hand – Saint Potter would _have_ to rescue you; the Dark Lord knows that I would keep you safe and not hurt you..."

"Why does Voldemort know shit all about us?"

"The _world_ knew about us, Audrey!" Draco growled, standing from the bed and beginning to pace. "If you hadn't have had your damn visions, if you hadn't have tried to warn your stupid brother-"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Triwizard Tournament! When The Dark Lord came back, your brother had on him a letter you wrote and one of the articles about your magic and our – at the time – non-existent tryst. After all the extra articles the next year, how could the Dark Lord not decide to use it? You threaten the Death Eaters after what happened to Nott, Audrey. He knew he could lure you in through me..."

"So what?" I asked, my voice raising. "Was that all this is then?"

"Of course not," Draco turned away from me and continued his pacing. "Why else would I have tried to avoid you at the beginning, Potter? Why else would I have kept my distance – I didn't wantyou to be lured in like _he_ wanted...even if it happened anyway."

"So you'll murder the only man capable of freeing you so that you can keep me alive and only see me on the battlefield?" I asked, shaking my head in disbelief. "Think about what you're saying."

"It's better than watching you murdered!" He roared, turning on me. I was shocked by how red his eyes were – the red I commonly saw on myself when I was holding back tears. "I won't let him have you – I won't let _any _of them have you. I swore I'd never let you get hurt again; do you think that the Death Eaters are going to honour that if you're caught?"

"I can protect myself," I told him, standing up and walking up to him. He stopped pacing, just so that he wouldn't have to get any closer to me.

"Not well enough," he muttered. "Remember how easily Montague cornered you? That is _nothing_ compared to what they'd be capable of – they'll use Unforgivables without flinching, they'll outnumber you-"

"I'm stronger than you think," I assured him.

"But what if you're weaker than I fear?" He snapped back. "I'm not taking chances."

"So what are you going to do, lock me in your dormitory and just hope I sit and stay quiet?" I asked him. "I refuse."

"If you don't stay hidden, they will kill you, Audrey. Please, keep this simple."

"It's not simple," I growled. "Not when students and teachers alike may die because they weren't given the same warning!"

"I don't care about other students and teachers right now, Audrey, I don't have the time. I'm going to lock the common room from _everyone _so that the Death Eaters can't get in and you can't get out; it's part of their promise, not to hurt us-" he had told me that, but I had never guessed that this would have gotten so complicated. "But I don't trust them. I need _you_ to promise to stay in this room. You'll be safe here."

I looked at him carefully, watching as his eyes begged me just to stay put; to stay silent and safe. I wanted to; I would always want to take the coward's way out – I would want nothing more than to be safe. But what about my friends who weren't Slytherins? There weren't many, admittedly, but even if I didn't necessarily _like _them that didn't mean I was ready to see their bodies strewn across the flagstone.

"I can't do that, Draco." I told him. "I'm sorry."

"You're not," he whispered. "It's for those bloody Gryffindors – let them risk their own necks; don't let them risk yours!"

"_I_ will risk mine and I will do it to save theirs. Unless you make it so no one has to risk anything..." I took hold of his hands squeezing them for a moment before I buried myself into his chest. He let go of my hands simply so that he could wrap his arms around me. He held me tightly, as if this was the last time he would be able to hold me again. "Don't do it, Draco. Stay with me. Let me keep _you _safe."

He held me for so long that I wondered whether or not he was contemplating the idea or if he was trying to wipe it from his mind's eye. I held on to him just as tightly – I feared if I let go it would be like letting _him _go. Letting him leave me for an idea of safety that would never be there under the Dark Lord's reign; and I wasn't ready to let him go to that.

"I won't let them have you, Audrey," he whispered. Cool dread seemed to climb through me like an animal – an acceptable reaction considering he treated me like one. Thick, sharp binds wrapped around me like angry boa constrictors and squeezed until I felt like I wouldn't be able to inhale and survive them. Draco moved me carefully over to his bed and from there placed a jinx on me to keep me still. I screamed in the back of my throat, but the sound was hardly louder than me speaking normally. He looked into my eyes, watching me with a sadness that I was too familiar with, but had never seen – he looked so lost that I wondered if he would ever find his way back.

"I can't do it," he sounded agonized me. "I can't let you leave."

He kissed me in a way that you read in books, the kiss that was so desperate you knew it could only ever be a kiss goodbye. I couldn't respond to it properly, not with the curse to keep me from moving as I wanted to. Draco flicked his wand again to silence my screams from the outside world before he went to the door to his dormitory and gave me one last look; the look said as much as his kiss had. He was terrified.

"It's time, I have to go." He said to the side of the open door. "Watch her."

With that, he disappeared. No more looks, no more trying to make me understand – and I didn't understand. I couldn't understand...I had to stop him, I had to make sure that he saw some sort of sense and realized what he was about to do. I was trying to figure out how to burn through these binds and work off this immobility jinx...until I saw who was here to be my babysitter.

"I'm not doing this for you," he muttered, his eyes glaring holes through me. They were the same sunken brown eyes that I had learned to fear and mourn. "I'm doing this for _him._"

Oh, Theodore...what have you gotten yourself into?

* * *

><p>How long had I been sat here, unable to make myself speak and too afraid to break out of my binds? Had it been ten minutes...thirty? Were people already being shot down by rogue Unforgivables while I sat here battling with myself about how to get out of my situation? There was only one way to get past Theodore and that would be to grab hold of my wand – after I'd both broken my bonds and my body bind – or I would have to use my Magnuse...neither of which could be considered appealing. I couldn't hurt Theodore, not again. Clearly I needed to make myself some new options.<p>

If I could only know what's happening! Had Harry been honest when he said he had warned Ron and Hermione? had Dumbledore already left the school, or were he and Harry still preparing? had Snape noticed what was going on and done something to stop Draco before he made the worst mistake in his life?

I didn't really want to do what I was about to...but there really was only one way to find out...

Snape and I had not worked on Astral Projection during our weeks of review. It had seemed so pointless now that I was nearly decent with my wand and I had my Magnuse under control – but considering that I couldn't currently use my Magnuse, I really wished we would have practiced. Astral Projection was hard; especially considering I wouldn't be able to take my wand in both hands to help with the flow of energy. And that helpful flow of energy I needed, I currently didn't know if I could spare...but for answers? Maybe it would be worth it.

My eyes darted back over to Theodore, who was sitting on his own bed and watching me closely, twirling his wand in his hand while he waited for something to happen. There was no way I could do anything aggressive with him on guard like that, not the Transfiguration King...so Astral Projection it was.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the feel of the binds around me and hoping that I would be able to dispel them by separating myself from my body, becoming Astral, floating away...

The first attempt did nothing.

Alright, focus _harder_ then. Salazar's spit, how had I been able to do it two years ago during the Triwizard Tournament? I had been able to concentrate so much more easily when all I was worrying about was water and having someone fake-drowning in the lake; how was I supposed to do it now when I knew that people could _really _be dying?

No, this is exactly what Snape always used to berate me over; I need to clear my mind. I need to clear my mind and think of nothing other than wanting to be free of these damned ropes. But how was I supposed to clear my mind when all I wondered was if Draco had really put the charm around the room to keep people from hearing my screams...or if it was to keep me from hearing theirs?

If only I could get a message out to Snape, or Hermione, or Ron – someone who would be able to make a difference, or who would be able to get me out of this blasted dormitory. That had to be my end goal here; maybe writing on a chalk board or a piece of parchment-

A blank piece of parchment! That's what Cedric had told me, two years ago, when I was panicking before the Second Task. He told me that for Occlumency his father would clear his mind by thinking of a blank piece of parchment so that he could draw whatever he wanted onto it; like where he wanted to go. It had worked then...why couldn't it work now?

I concentrated, imagining the thick parchment, the smooth material and aged pages. I imagined all the clouded and rougher sections of the parchment, all of the indentations from what had been written on the parchment that had been over top of it...it was easy enough to imagine. I had spent my last six years in school; parchment was easy.

And so was falling into a less scatterbrained state...Cedric had come through, even after his death. But right as I felt like my body was going to give into what I was trying to demand and free me, a strange sensation took over. It was not the sensation of floating or journey past myself...this was something older. It was the familiar sensation of the light behind my eyelids brightening while a cold glass of water was being poured down my spine, slithering over my senses. It was the sensation of being pulled from the nothingness of a clear mind, into the complicated web of the future.

I watched as Trelawney ran through the walls, waving her arms in the air. In one hand she held her wand – not that it seemed to be doing much good – while in the other, she held a tarrot card of the Lightning Struck Tower.

I watched as Draco ran up a high flight of steps – a spiral case of broken down, stone stairs. Like the last scene, these colours were bright and vivid – something that would happen soon, if not in moments.

It was like a skip in the track, where Draco was suddenly outside, the breeze was echoing in my ears. I watched as Draco cast a bright, vivid green firework into the sky above the Astronomy tower. It was the Dark Mark, announcing a Death Eater's kill – had he succeeded? Had he murdered Albus Dumbledore?

It was a quick vision, one warning me exactly where I needed to run – when I dared to open my eyes again I was no longer inhibited by my binds, but floating, transparent away from Theodore. I was relieved, I felt like crying out in victory. He didn't seem to notice anything was amiss, it looked nearly like I was asleep or perhaps like I was trying to hold back tears.

Why had I been able to have a vision now after a year of having none? It didn't make sense. It had felt so easy to force one this time, even if I hadn't known I was doing it. The feelings were exactly the same, the brightness – the chill – the falling...but I had no reason to suddenly have one after a year of dormancy, did I?

At the same time, at the back of my mind, it was like the answer was given to me. _You need to separate yourself_, Firenze had said to me throughout both of his years here. _Separation is always what leads to the answer. Self-identity is the thing most commonly lost from worldly-understandings_.

Did I have to _separate _myself in the way of separating myself from my own body? Damnit, this would have been good to know _months _ago! Why the hell do these people feel the need to be so cryptic?

I couldn't think too much on this now, I didn't have a lot of time...perhaps I didn't have _any_ time. I floated through the common room, ignoring the sounds of my friends having fun and partying with their firewhiskey and focused on dematerializing through the concrete wall blocking entrance and exit through the common room. I all but floated through the floors, weaving my way through the quiet corridors of the school: why was it so quiet?

I made it to the Room of Requirement by memory alone. If I had really floated there, or had managed to Apparate somehow – I did not know, but out of the door and walking past Draco were dark robed figures with high hoods and gruesome masks.

The Death Eaters had invaded the school.

Draco looked sick to his own stomach, particularly when one of them – a short, squat one – dared to pinch his cheeks. He all but snarled at her.

"Don't touch me. Leave the Slytherins alone; I'll draw Dumbledore back."

The half-dozen Death Eaters barely paused in their stalking before they began to head toward the Gryffindors – it was the only real thing in that direction. I knew I could act faster than them considering that there was an entrance from the seventh floor corridor straight to Gryffindor tower, it was no shock that it would be their first destination. I ignored the Fat Lady's horrid singing, flying straight through her frame as I descended upon the common room.

"Bloody Hell, I'm so confused," Ron put his hand to his forehead as he spoke. His head was joined with Hermione and Ginny's over the common room's table. Ginny looked up from the table, staring past me through the door.

"Is the Map malfunctioning?" Ginny asked. "She's not here."

"Audrey, are you here?" Hermione lifted her head as well. My eyebrows would have shot up my forehead were I in my own body but as I was not I only gravitated closer to them.

"She doesn't have the cloak though, Harry took it," Ron informed them.

"It says she's right beside me...but she was _just _with Theodore," Ginny whispered. "How?"

It was true. The genius Marauders Map was displaying only this part of me – my body did not even make it onto the map as a dot. It was a blank slate, Draco's bed, where nothing could be seen other than Theodore's hovering body beside where I once had been. A strange thing to consider, knowing that the majority of myself was still back there...

"There has to be a reason," Hermione, reasonable as always, again looked around the common room as if I would suddenly just appear sitting beside Ginny and laugh at their blindness. After a long moment of obvious deliberation, Hermione moved over to her rucksack and dug through it to find parchment and a quill which she dipped into ink.

She knew.

I tried to grab hold of the quill – it was hard using Magnuse without my proper body. It was even harder because I wasn't really able to project my Magnuse outside of myself...but I had done it before during the Second Task so I could do it again. It just took concentration and power that I knew I had, I just had to harness. When I was in the Triwizard Tournament I hadn't even known I was able to do half of the things that I could so it should be much easier now...

It wasn't. Maybe it was because grabbing Theodore's hand in the water had been an instinct and I had been more panicked – though that didn't really make sense considering the adrenaline that must have been pumping through my body right now with the _invasion._

Pick up the quill, Audrey...

Pick up the quill...

Get the quill...

"Merlin's magnolia's," Hermione whispered, "she _is _here."

The quill was moving. Hopefully they'd be able to read the horrible writing I was producing, but it was really difficult trying to move a quill when you were intangible.

"_Death_ _Eaters_," Hermione read aloud. "Death Eaters what?"

Sod off, Granger; this is harder than it looks.

"_Here_," Ginny finished. "No way – Harry was right?"

"Are the Death Eaters here?" Hermione asked. Deciding to go against writing anything, I bobbed the quill up and down a few times as if I were nodding. "Oh my God..."

"How do you know?" Ron demanded, looking like he was about to run back into his dormitory to hide. I scribbled quickly enough I doubted any of them could understand it.

"_Saw_," Ginny whispered. "Where did you see them Audrey?"

"_R-O-R_?" Ron read in confusion. "What's that mean?"

"The Room of Requirement." Hermione closed her eyes, looking defeated. "Oh no, Harry – he...Audrey, where are they headed?"

"_Here._"

"When will they be here?" I didn't dare to drop the quill, even though I had the urge to check. The minute that I dropped it meant it would take that much longer to pick it up and tell them.

"_Now._"

"How many?"

It was getting more difficult to write, I could feel my energy slipping away. "_6_."

"Where are you, Audrey?" Ginny asked suddenly. "Why aren't you warning us here?"

"_Captive,_" Hermione gasped as she read it. "_Don't rescue._..Audrey, how can we not rescue you?"

"_HP and AD gone,_" I shivered, it was getting harder to keep my focus, I was getting tired. Still, Hermione read diligently while Ron and Ginny started grabbing everyone who was in the dormitories to warn them. "_Must kill AB or kidnap me. Warn. Will run._"

Hermione took a deep breath, grabbing her wand and gripping it tightly. "Run when you can, do not come back for anything, Audrey. Keep yourself safe and send word when you are."

"_No. Help-_what?" Ron read over Hermione's shoulder; Neville was now at his side. He read through it all, as if he hadn't read the few lines he had been gone and hit his hand on the couch back. "No helping, this is not the time for you to become like Harry!"

Funny, he was kind of right.

"_Warn. Leaving. Be safe._"

I didn't have time to respond to them; I immediately dropped through the floor as many levels as I could and took the few turns to get to Snape's office. There was a part of me that just wasn't comfortable going into his private chambers, so I focused hard on my hands; throwing them through his door at least half a dozen times before finally making a harsh knocking sound. I moved to the stack of papers on his desk and working hard to grab a quill. Writing on some student's paper was the least of my worries.

I focused hard but felt too weak to pick up one of his quills – fine; time to improvise. I shoved my fingers into the ink bottle, the first time not even rippling it. It wasn't until the fourth time, while Snape appeared and was walking toward the door to see who was knocking, that I was able to coat my fingers in black ink. It was like finger-painting in primary school and learning your letters all over again.

_THEYRE HERE. HELP._

I bottled up the last of my strength and tried to make my arms as tangible as possible as I started flailing my arms around. After a moment, everything higher than a few paper's tall was knocked off his desk.

That was all the warning I had energy to give. The sickening sensation of being ripped overwhelmed me – the sensation of being ripped from one reality to another and I opened my eyes to find myself gasping in Draco's bed again. I gasped from the pain of it which told me I was mobile again, the body-binding jinx must have worn off while I was outside of myself.

"Theodore," I gasped, his head snapped up from where it had been hanging to glare at me. "Theodore, these Death Eaters are going to kill everyone-"

"Not anyone here," he muttered. "And since when did you care about killing people?"

"Theodore, don't make this about the Department of Mysteries...this is so different."

"Everything is about what you did in the Department of Mysteries, Potter. You don't realize what you did to the people around you. You don't realize how you ruined all of our lives." He hissed, snarling like a beast.

"Theo, what I did to your dad was..." I closed my eyes to fight off both emotion and exhaustion. "It was horrid. But I didn't mean to kill him. Never, in my life, would I have purposefully killed the father of my best friend, Theodore. If you can never forgive me...I understand that. But you have to know that I didn't _mean _it."

"You didn't _mean it_ when you burnt his face until he died, Audrey?" he sneered. "Really?"

"I didn't," I told him honestly, closing my eyes and shaking my head. "When I started burning him I was trying to make him flinch away. When Bellatrix's spell hit...I don't know. I don't know how long I held on for. I don't know how long I was under the spell for..."

"Don't make excuses," he whispered, looking away from me. "You were the one that killed him."

"It was me," I agreed. "But then again, you tried to poison me the other week, so..."

"I didn't try to poison you," he rolled his eyes, scoffing to himself. "Little Greengrass had measured out three times the dose I had; I convinced her that seeing you suffer was better than seeing you dead."

I blinked, my chest seemed to constrict the more I realized what he had done. "So...you saved me?"

"Don't get any higher on yourself," he snapped. "Not _all_ of us want to be murderers."

"I know...so don't let me be one again," I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Please don't make me be the one who lets all these other people die, Theo. Please."

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. "You just want to run."

"Theodore," I looked at him with more serious and judgemental eyes than I had looked at him for the past year. "Please remember that every problem you have ever blamed me for is because I _refuse _to run away. This, the Department of Mysteries, the Triwizard Tournament, the altercations with Umbridge and the Squad...you can say a lot about me, but I do not _run_."

It was something I had never considered before. For all the times I had called myself a coward, I never took into consideration that I never really ran away from the _big _things. My fears, or slight problems I was more than willing, yes – but the substantial problems? The ones where other people are hurt?

Theodore seemed to be thinking along the same lines, his brow furrowing as he considered what I had said. I wondered if he thought about all our years together, all the times he had told me to just back off and all the times I had told him I'd shove things down other people's throats. I was making my mark, I needed to keep using that.

"Theo, I don't expect you to ever forgive me – but can you forgive yourself if anyone in this castle dies because I wasn't there to warn them?" A guilt trip, probably not my best move – but it was my most honest one. It was probably more manipulative than I would be able to feel good about later; but a necessary evil in the bought of lesser evils Draco was so keen on following.

Theodore looked at me before smirking for a quick moment. "I missed that."

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"When you fight back," he smiled sadly, before raising his wand. With a flick I felt the binds around me loosen on my skin and stop turning my appendages blue. "This doesn't mean I forgive you."

"I never expect you to," I repeated, I don't know if I was able hold back my grin. "Thank you."

"Is it true?" Theodore asked me as I peeled off the cords that had cut mercilessly into my skin. "Is it true that you two love each other?"

"I love Draco so much that I still haven't told anyone what he's done," I whispered. "Is that enough of an answer?"

"Keep him safe, Audrey." It was the first time he had said my name in...I couldn't even recall. I doubt he had said it on the few times we were allowed to patrol together. Perhaps it was the last time he had said it since he had found out I'd been the one to kill his father. A year ago. How long a year could feel.

I sprinted as quickly as I could out of the dormitories. Above me the lake was as black as its name and I didn't have the time to feel unnerved by the water surrounding me on all sides. The common room really had erupted in a party; all around me I could smell the Firewhiskey and the lack of inhibitions. I ignored the sounds of Tracey and Daphne calling for me while I moved toward the enchanted wall that separated me from what battle was likely about to begin and cried out in anger when it wouldn't open for me.

"I'm not giving up that easily," I shoved my hand into my pocket, grabbing hold of my wand. Why Draco had decided not to take it from me, I'd never guess – perhaps he had reasoned that I was no good with it anyway. Perhaps he thought Theo would never let me go. Either way, with the lack of energy thanks to all the Astral and Magnuse energy I'd used, this simple fix would be best made with a wand. "_Confringo!_"

The wall exploded, sending rocks both toward me and into the corridor beyond the wall...but when the dust had settled I could see that the fissure it made was only the size of a small hole. Realistically if Hermione had used this curse, half the wall would have been separated – but I was lucky it had worked at all, today was the day I needed it to. I looked backwards, grabbing Daphne's shoulders while she swayed on her feet.

"What are you doing?" Daphne asked. "Why are you blasting up the room?"

"You cover up this hole and barricade yourselves as soon as I'm out, do you understand? Don't let anyone in until the morning." I demanded while I grabbed onto her shoulders. She looked at me with wide eyes.

"What's going on?"

"The Death Eaters are in the castle," I explained to her; I listened as other students began to whisper and move closer to overhear what I was saying. "The Slytherins have been given immunity from them as long as you stay in here – but I wouldn't trust it if I were you. I have to go and make sure everyone's okay."

"Audrey, no," Daphne gasped, grabbing onto my arms as well so we were holding onto each other. "_You're_ a Slytherin. Don't go out there; let the others fend for themselves. Just stay-"

"Not while Draco's out there," I growled, nearly sneering at her by the way it had immediately played out so simply for her. I wish I could live in a world where I could have everyone in one room to know they were safe as well...but life was not that simple for a Potter, was it? "Keep everyone in this room!"

I got on my belly to climb out of the two foot hole I had made and didn't stop to see if Daphne had listened and decided to barricade it behind me. I doubted most of the Death Eaters would come down here anyway, and if they really wanted to get in: they would. If I could break the wall with one blasting charm, they could too.

Well, they could fend for themselves, as Daphne put it. I had more important things to worry about right now.

My vision had been up the Astronomy tower, I could tell because it was the highest point of the castle; the Observation Deck was the only place you could get high enough above the castle to not have any light pollution to examine the stars for class. I ran toward it like an athlete; the corridors were full of students who seemed to know something was happening but who were completely unprepared. Professors were trying to usher them back to their common rooms, at one point during my run I heard Professor McGonagall's voice call out around the school that we had been infiltrated, that we should all seek cover. Of course, this brought more students into the corridors.

I pushed past them all as I ran, hardly earning second glances from the students who seemed to run toward the fight and even less of an acknowledgement from the ones that were running away. I couldn't make myself care that I was leaving them to deal with this themselves – I had given them their warning, I had done my job. Now it was time to make sure Draco couldn't do his. Draco was my priority – it may be selfish and it may be childish, but it was all I could think of. This was life or death now...and I couldn't let the latter consume him.

By the time I made it to the entrance to the Astronomy tower, my chest felt like it would burst. I could feel the sweat and the exhaustion creeping in – but I couldn't give up yet. When I made it up to the top of the Astronomy tower, I could all but see the glow around the door; a glow of some sort of enchantment to keep me out. I pressed my hand against it, concentrating on getting through and why I needed to. I could feel the door quiver under my anxiety and Magnuse before it unlatched itself. I didn't give myself time to breathe before I grabbed hold of the iron ring and pushed the heavy door open. There was no stopping my gasp as the unearthly chill met me, as the silence rang in my ears and the light tried to blind me.

I was too late. The Dark Mark had already been cast in the sky.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all so, so much for getting me so many reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad (most of you) like where Audrey and Draco are heading and have finally gotten...hopefully I can make it all the more exciting for you in the last two chapters of the HBP arc. Please remember that I will be taking a month break between the final chapter of HBP and the first chapter of DH where I will try to be updating <strong>_Audrey Potter's Prelude_** as much as possible. Here are the shout-outs for my fantastic reviewers:**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: It's cool that the chapter was enough to make you laugh and cry; it's good you're so connected to Audrey. As you can see the Astronomy Tower scene is about to happen, as you guessed, and this scene was really only the start of what's going to happen in the next chapter. Any guesses on what's going to happen now that Audrey is up in the Astronomy Tower and the Death Eaters are in the castle? Thanks for reviewing!**

_19irene96_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, thanks! The bathroom scene was probably more fun to write than it should have been, but the fact that everyone liked it is what really makes it worth it to me. As you saw, Theodore did know about the Belladonna, but in a twisted way he did what he did to help her. I'm pretty much dreaming of falling in love as Audrey is with Draco; maybe one day, haha. It's really fun to write them being so sweet (and such jerks) so they can express their feelings. We'll be hearing more about Harry and the ordeal with the bezoar later on, as well as more details about Circe's murder. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review :)**

_incitanemxx_**: When you make that list I seriously want to read it. You'll have to give me reasons too, haha. As many different lists and reasons as you want; I just like getting into people's heads. Either way, I'm glad you liked it so much! I've grown to really love the jibes between Ron and Audrey too, at first I wasn't really sure how the two characters would mesh, but as soon as I tried the 'bickering' relationship between them it just fit like a glove.  
>Theodore kind of fixed what most people ended up thinking was broken in this chapter (or at least, I thought so). I'm surprised by how seriously everyone took it, particularly when it came from Astoria's mouth, but hopefully I elaborated enough that people aren't quite as upset as they were. The uproar about it was actually very sweet – it's good to know that everyone still loves him as I do.<br>The action in the last chapter was fun, but I enjoyed writing this one a little more. Or at least, maybe I enjoyed it more because of where it will be heading next chapter (and the plot twist about the mission, of course!) but don't worry, the plot points that haven't really been touched on as much as they should have (the bezoar, Astoria's revenge, etc) will be elaborated on later on. I promise. Anyway, hopefully you liked this chapter and thank you (as always) for reviewing!**

_animagirl_**: Thank you so much, particularly for the recommendation! I'm honoured :)**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Ron and Audrey's bickering is really fun to write; they're actually a lot more similar than I had always imagined they would be but when I started comparing their lines, I could see how they meshed. Astoria, on the other hand, was pretty much made to be a personality that Audrey would forever loathe, haha.  
>I've been waiting to write the Sectumsempra scene as long as you've been waiting to read it, I assure you! I'm glad you liked it. And Voldemort's voice in her head didn't say anything she hasn't already experienced in the other times she's heard voices...that's the only answer I can give you. But it did help lead to her admitting her love for Draco, so yay! It happened! Dumbledore still could live, Audrey has the ability to change it and I can still save someone, but you'll have to wait for the next two chapters to know for sure. As you said, it's going to be one hell of a ride...strap in :)<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you! It's a relief to know that Audrey's admitted her love for him. As you can see, Theodore still got to play his part (and that's not the last we'll be seeing of him in this series...though we probably won't in these last two chapters), there may still be hope for he and Audrey yet. You only have two chapters to find out what happens here before we start getting into the Deathly Hallows. I'm excited, I hope you are too :)**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Yes, Audrey has finally admitted to the world that she loves Draco and as we saw in this chapter, he obviously has very strong feelings towards her. I hope you liked this new chapter and are excited for the next. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Lou467_**: I know, it was a long time coming! Thanks for the review.**

_mrsdansmith_**: Oh, thank you, that's so sweet. Astoria is totally a witch, you don't have to worry because Audrey will get payback. Audrey did admit that she loved him, too...it was a pretty emotional chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope that you enjoyed the Theo moments you were waiting for in this chapter!**

_WillLoginLater_**: It's sweet that you took the time to review now, so thank you. Happy Belated Birthday! I'm glad you got such a dramatic and fluffy chapter to go with it, haha. There are only two more chapters in the Half Blood Prince arc of the story, then I'll be taking a month break to get a head start on the Deathly Hallows portion (I've taken a break between each of the books). You are right, it is possible that I could have either Audrey or Draco die during this story...but you won't know until it happens. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_Guest (1)_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I will be updating APP during the month-long break between HBP and the DH storylines. That's when I tend to update that portion :)**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you! It was so great to write; this one was a bit harder...but I'm so excited for the next chapter. There probably won't be a long wait, haha. I hope all is well!**

_May_**: Thank you, I hope you liked it!**

_JrSnape_**: I'm sorry that I took away your sleep, but I'm glad that you liked it enough to keep thinking about it. Hopefully this chapter was just as exciting as the last; thanks for reviewing.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Draco may have been more angry about the Sectumsempra scene if he didn't wake up to the girl who confessed her love at his bedside, I suppose, but I figure that he was conscious enough to know what had happened and was just happy she was there. But maybe that's the romantic in me, haha. You are right though, the fact she's admitted to herself (and everyone else) that she loves him is already complicating it...but it makes for a better story, no? Haha. Do you feel any better about what Theo did now that you knew the context? Thanks for reviewing!**

_AdelphiBahana_**: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Now that you know the threats Draco is really facing – losing Dumbledore and admitting to the world what he is, or losing Audrey – I'm interested to hear what you think. This is definitely not going to bode well for their relationship; but maybe, just maybe, Audrey can talk Draco towards the safer side. I hope you liked this new chapter and thanks for the review and kindness :)**

_JabberGuest_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked it. I do put a lot of work into these chapters, at least ten hours each (on average). I tend to write the chapter, go over it once to add things, and then a third time to delete the unnecessary bits – that's my process, at least. It also helps me keep them in character because each read through I can say "that's too sweet" or "that's a little too harsh" or even "nope, they'd scrap that whole conversation and kiss instead". It can be fun, haha.  
>There will be more chapters in Draco's POV during the break I'll take. You'll see them in Audrey Potter's Prelude; I'm really excited for the ones that I'm planning but if you have any specific scenes you want to see from any particular person's POV, let me know; I'll see what I can do. You are right about Draco obviously caring about her more than he'll admit, though – if he didn't, this mission could have been made a lot easier for him.<br>Don't worry, Astoria won't get away with what she did. Audrey can hold a grudge for far longer than a summer away from her, or even a year if she has to...she'll get her back. Hopefully you see Theodore in a bit of a better light now that you understand more. I'm surprised so many people were so hurt by it; I tried to keep it vague for the possibility to be there, but most people seemed to jump to the worst. Don't worry, Theo doesn't hate Audrey that much...at least we got to see it this chapter. We'll be seeing our favourite characters soon, I promise. As for who I'm killing off and saving...you'll know when it happens. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Ilovecupcakesandcookies_**: I'm just going to do both of your separate reviews under this username, I hope you don't mind. Thank you for not only leaving one detailed review, but two. I really love seeing what goes through readers minds, so never worry about a review being too long. I live for them, haha.  
>Yes, the moment finally happened when Audrey admitted her feelings for him. I always planned the kiss to be after the Quibbler article and the confession to be during the bathroom scene, so this is a huge weight off my shoulders. The biggest moments are out and even though Draco has yet to say he loves her, I feel like now that one of them has said it I can breathe again. And yes, Audrey's going to end up fighting with Harry (as you can see) but there are some things worth forgetting and after the insanity that's about to ensue, this might be brushed slightly under the carpet...you know, until they're mad and one thing sets them off about everything. The school (and most importantly the Gryffindors) know about Dreaco...which is now overly complicated since Draco let people into the school who are on the hunt for Drea. Needless to say, they aren't still in the 'honeymoon' stage of their relationship. Realistically I don't know if they'll ever get one.<br>You totally called that it was better for Theo to measure out the poison than Astoria, as stated in this chapter. A lot of people really went off about how annoyed they were but it was nice to see someone who had my thought process, I hope I reaffirmed some people's love for him when I further explained it. It kind of was Theodore who drugged her, but it was only to prevent someone stupid like Astoria from killing her – I think it was a fair trade for him when he was so hurt. He still got to see her humiliated, but he also didn't make it so she was hurt.  
>Your thoughts on her hearing the voices are pretty good. She has only really heard them when she's not lucid...besides when she was actually in the Department of Mysteries, of course. I think it's obvious that Audrey has some connection with death (randomly seeing Thestrals, the vampire's warning) but of course I won't tell you what it is :P<br>We will hear other people's opinions on she and Draco after the battle, probably in the DH portion of the story. I still plan to rewrite Sirius' point of view during the hospital scenes in fifth year, hopefully during this upcoming break. I'm excited to hear what you think of the switch about either kidnapping Audrey or killing Dumbledore – it was obvious which one Draco would choose, don't you think? Poor boy had little to no choice, in all reality. I also picture Audrey standing about 5'2" tall and I always pictured Draco about 6' or 6'1" – so there is nearly a foot difference between them. You'll notice she is usually lifted during makeout scenes, haha. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest (2)_**: Thank you, hope you enjoyed!**

_Holly_**: I outline my story five chapters at a time with a general idea of where I want to get by reference of chapters in the book. I figure out what I want to happen at the beginning, middle and end. From there, I write a chapter three times - the bones first, then I add more detail for the meat, and then I skim through and take out things that weren't really necessary. Hope that helped!**

_rjnkr_**: I'm glad you liked it! Thank you.**

_Nyx and Athena_**: Haha, thanks! I'm glad you liked the last chapter (even if it made you hate Harry); hope you liked this new chapter.**

_Lovely Kaplan_**: I know what you mean about your eyes seeking out bombs, I'm terrible for it...but it sounds like it was still exciting nonetheless; which is great. The Sectumsempra scene has been whittling away in the back of my mind for...well, far too long, so it was really great to finally get it written. We're at the point in the story now where every chapter is exciting to write because I've been waiting so long to get these moments onto a document and posted – hopefully that will ward away any writers block that tries to find me. I don't think I'm as good as JKR, but I hope to publish my own trilogy – I'm working on it now. If it goes anywhere, I'll be sure to let you know :) and yes, I made it to 2000 reviews! It's awesome. Thank you for your contribution to that!**

_Melody_**: Last chapter was definitely intense, I'm glad you liked it. The 'I love you' moment was a lot of fun and the voices were...interesting. They were actually kind of hard to write in considering I didn't want them to actually say anything new, but I think the effect worked well. Technically nothing said by those voices was new, so I leave it to you to figure out if they were drug-induced or real. It is suspicious that they keep showing up, though...  
>Don't worry, Audrey will have her chance to get back at those witches, she just has other things on her plate right now. We'll be finding out about Circe's killer eventually, I promise, and it might be sooner than you think. Thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Dwarfsun_**: Well, Audrey and Snape are pretty open now so I hope that you like that, it's great to write him into the chapters. Hope you liked this chapter, it had a few answers for you...thanks for the review!**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm sure you did great with your assignment and you probably did on your newest one, too! I'm glad you liked the last chapter as well – I know it's upsetting that Draco didn't say it back in the last chapter...but at least they're all cozy in this one. Try to get some sleep between projects and thanks for taking the time to review :)**

_Magimagus_**: Haha, I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, the last chapter was pretty intense. Snape's involvement, as always, was a pleasure to write and his concern for Audrey is always heartwarming (for me, at least). We'll be hearing more about why Harry saved Ron later when there isn't an imminent battle happening, but she wasn't too angry to hear him out or warn Ron (and the others) so at least she's not homicidal over it.  
>Audrey WILL have revenge on Astoria. I swear it. But it will not be during this part of the book, clearly she has other things to worry about (as said in this chapter, she was worried about the others but she couldn't quite care enough to help them instead of checking on Draco). She did make time to warn Snape that the battle had begun though – do you think this will make any sort of difference?<br>I'm glad you like the Spanish version! It's so strange to see it posted, but it's outrageously flattering. I wish I was good enough in French to translate it. I could probably do the bone structure, but I'm sure my grammar would be all off. It's my third language I've learned, haha and my second I cannot write in, only speak. It's cool you speak other languages too! Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and thank you so much for the review!**

_EveryNewDay_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We'll eventually find out whether or not Draco loves Audrey as well, though it's clear that there are some very deep feelings here. I hope you liked this new chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_simslovr1_**: We'll get to hear more of why Harry made the choices and I promise that Audrey will have her revenge on the Slytherins who poisoned her. She's not one to let something like that go. We'll find out more about Circe's murder soon as well as some hints to where Theodore may end up landing in this whole mess. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.**

_Guest (3)_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it, hope you like the new one.**

_MimsyIsland_**: I don't know Frozen, but I'll try to see if I can find out. There is only one book left, it's kind of mind-boggling but like you I am excited for the Deathly Hallows part. Thank you so much for the review and I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_LoveInLittleStars_**: Don't worry about delaying with a review, it's just nice that you do it at all. It is crazy to think that GEM is almost finished (at least with the HBP portion), but I promise to keep it as exciting as I can. The Tom and Seren story is a lot behind on my writing-radar – I sadly lost nine chapters when my computer crashed – and I'm still trying to work on my passion to write it again. I'm honoured that you think I can do more than fanfiction and if I do end up publishing anything of my own, I'll be sure to announce it. I've written things, but have not gotten far enough to get them published or looked into...maybe one day. I read nearly constantly, actually; I'm the classic bookworm. I haven't read Fault in Our Stars by John Green, but I have read Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. He's good.  
>It's good that you were excited for the last chapter. Hopefully you didn't actually claw hair out or fall to the ground, but I'm glad you enjoyed what you read. With any luck, this chapter will have been even more exciting than the last one! Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

_Kago of the Funk_**: Thanks, it was a fun one to write. Hermione and Ginny will have their moments with Audrey to talk about what's happened, but it will be a little bit later on in the story. You called that Ginny and Harry were going to start getting together; but that's just something to be expected. I'm very Pro-Ginny and was far before I knew she would end up with him, haha. Anyway, I hope you like the story and thanks for reviewing!**

_Anon1_**: Yeah, Astoria isn't one to sit quietly after being humiliated...but Audrey isn't one to let someone else have the last word. This won't be the last of the torture that Audrey uses against that girl; I swear it. Theodore is at least understanding that Audrey might not quite be the person he's started to believe she is, even if he can't forgive her yet, and Harry...well, he has some explaining to do. It's interesting that you see Theodore a lot as Snape; I'd never really considered it much before. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest (thinks Audrey sucks)_**: I'm sorry you feel like I made Audrey look like a "fucking pathetic fool", but if you really think that is the end of that war I have to question whether or not you've read all the chapters leading up to the last one. Audrey won't give in like that; I'm sorry you expect it of her.**

_Curmudgeon_**: I don't know whether or not you will decide to read this far, or if you have stopped reading because Audrey is a "Cunt" but I just want to apologize to you. Clearly I cannot make Audrey to your specific ramifications of what a teenage girl should be like (as I, nor none of my friends, have ever lived through that six year stage). I'm also sorry you find her vulgar and blackguarding...though since you used the word "cunt" so freely, I wonder what your boundaries for that kind of thing really are. Thanks for reading all the way to chapter 26 and if you've read this far, thanks for proving to yourself that you're more like Audrey (with the angst and crass of a teenager despite what your years may be) than you think you are :)**

_myblacktears_**: Aw, thanks – you're too kind. Don't worry though, I'm not really too concerned over it. Hope you liked this chapter, thanks for being so sweet :)**

_Anne_**: Thank you! Don't worry, I'm not really concerned about them. I am proud of what this story has become. Though I'm glad that if they can't enjoy it, that you are. Thank you for defending me and reviewing, I really appreciate it. **

_canttakeabreathe_**: Yes, she finally said it! It's such a relief to finally ahve it out in the open; I'm glad so many people got so excited over it, as well. If you upset with the last chapter ending you probably weren't too happy with this one, haha, but I hope you liked it anyway. Thanks for reviewing!**

_swanrage_**: I don't know, there's no proof of who killed Circe and he did have an answer for why he measured that poison for Audrey, but if you hate him then I understand where you're coming from. Hopefully you liked this chapter, and the slight progress between the two long-lost friends – thanks for reviewing :)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Thank you, I'm glad!**

_MissLaufeyson_**: I'm glad you like it. You'll find out what will happen to Audrey in just two chapters. Also thank you for your multiple reviews, I really appreciate it.**

_SiriusStar_**: Yes, it was finally said! Hopefully you liked this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.**

_ChloeMalfoy_**: I'm glad you didn't break your phone and hopefully this chapter didn't cause the same kind of tension that almost broke it last time, haha. Pansy and her posse are definitely on my hate-list, but they do add a lot of great things to the story, no matter how terrible said "great" things are. She and Draco are definitely not going to have it easy from here on out, but I can assure you that neither of them will just 'give up' in general senses of the word. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing. **

_Guest (4)_**: Hope you liked it :)**

_HeartsAsMinds_**: I agree. Audrey just wants to be loved, both for being Harry Potter's sister (so she gets that recognition) and also for being Audrey; without the labels and the fame attached. Thanks for reviewing.**

_Guest (5)_**: She does love him, isn't it exciting? Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for revieiwng.**

_SwiftAlice_**: I'm doing really well, thank you! I think I still might be on a bit of a high from reaching 2000 reviews (thank you for the congratulations) and how exciting this chapter was. My heart was racing as I read it. How are you?  
>Don't worry, you're not a late reviewer. You still reviewed before I got the next chapter out and that's all that matters! I'm glad that the heat is starting to break for you. The cold has started to break here, as well. It's back to its normal cold temperatures (which I now refuse to complain about after that never ending deep-freeze) and feels like a regular January in Canada. No more days of us being colder than the temperature on Mars! As for New Years, we've all usually separated by then. I actually made my way into the city and spent it out with my friends playing drinking games to Will Farrell movies and going to the bar. It's been a good year thus far. How is yours going?<br>Don't even worry if you have to ask questions about the Spanish translation; I'm more than happy to answer them. Just give me an email any time you think of them and I'll try to answer them as best I can. The Order of the Phoenix version (I randomly checked and Audrey's version of GOF was 26 chapters, OOTP was 31 and HBP will end up being 20! Crazy, no?) its long and complicated so I'd be surprised if you didn't have a few questions popping up. Feel free to ask! It'd also be cool if you could get a friend reading, but don't feel any pressure. I like you tons without you doing extra work, haha!  
>Yeah, last chapter was pretty crazy with the Belladonna, the bathroom scene and the love confession – how crazy was this one in comparison? I'm glad that you got so into the being-drugged scene though; hopefully that's less you and more me for your own benefit, haha. The Mega-Vision was again talked about in this chapter, considering she saw Voldemort with the two pieces of paper. And if you think that the last chapter was horrible for her fear of water...just wait until you see what I have planned for later. Poor Audrey; I am so cruel to her. Don't worry though, she will find out more detail about why Harry saved Ron first. Oh, did you notice that I put in that little bit with Theo not really meaning to poison her? The poor boy is so lost; but this was definitely a step in the right direction. What did you think of Snape's involvement?<br>I really hope I can start Seren and Tom's story as well. I'm hoping that whenever I have a bit more time to work on the story it will all come back to me – so far I have exactly what I want to write, but my passion for it is kinda zapped knowing I lost nine chapters when I only expected it to be about twenty or twenty-five chapters long.**

_HackerCousinJerk_**: Simply put...you suck. Stay off my computer and stop changing my things or I'll tell your mom. And I'll tell her that you were lying about your age online and watching porn just to make it worse for you. It takes two to wage war, dear one. Love you!**

_JaneAustenFan_**: I would probably steal that baby from them (likely die in the process) and keep it for myself if they had one, haha. Hope you liked the angsty-fluff here!**

_gabbyswan_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it enough to be hooked; I assure you that I'm as hooked to writing it as you are to reading it. Sometimes I daydream about what it would be like if JKR would read this...and then I worry that she'd hate what I'm doing to her lead character and the fantasy ends, haha.  
>Yes, I did get a few flames during this past update period...I'm honestly not really ashamed of them. When people flame with worthwhile critiques, they have no need to use words like those in the flame you're referencing – I've gotten real flames that made me think about my story...those two flames were not some of them. The fact that they were both left anonymously within a very short time frame also hints at a troll...and not the cool Harry Potter kind. But thanks for the support during it; it's really sweet of you to defend this story. Probably more sweet than my own defence of it (and most certainly more sweet than the responses I left for them, haha) but again thank you for reviewing and defending me :) <strong>

_HeartsUpPhoenix_**: Thank you so much! Don't worry, this story won't be going on Hiatus before it finishes (besides the month break I take in between each of the Harry Potter books). This story will be finished and it'll go out with a bang! I appreciate your review!**

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><p><strong>Thank you all for your thoughts, I always appreciate hearing them. I hope this chapter left you on the edge of your seats and that you'll crave the next enough to review. <strong>

_**PLEASE REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter as **EgyptsLegend **for sneak-peaks, excerpts, Q&As, and updates.**


	77. Run

**I WILL BE TAKING APPROXIMATELY A MONTH BREAK AFTER THE NEXT CHAPTER IS RELEASED****. I've done it after each book and it will be the same with this one, I'm sorry for the inconvenience guys...hopefully it will make updates faster in the future. Now, I'm not going to hold you guys up any longer; this chapter was exciting to write and I hope it's more exciting to read. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 76 – Run<p>

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><p>The Dark Mark blazed in the sky like a green firework that wouldn't fade. Everything looked sickly and dangerous under its glare, making the world around me look twisted. I took a step forward, my wand drawn and nearly snapping under my grip – I needed to be ready for whatever I was about to find; including corpses. I stopped in my tracks when I came face to face with a disturbing scene...Draco had, somehow, disarmed Dumbledore and had cornered him.<p>

"What did you do?" I asked, my voice low. "Draco, stop it."

He looked at me, wand still trained on Dumbledore and growled. "Well done; I didn't think you'd hurt Nott to get away, Audrey..."

"I didn't," I told him honestly, stepping forward slowly. "He let me go when he realized what a mistake you're making. A realization you needed to have a month ago."

"You should have stayed downstairs, Potter," Draco muttered, his eyes not quite as sharp as his tongue when he dared to look at me.

"You should have put better security on me if you wanted to keep me out of this battle," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Honestly, when will you people learn?"

"Go away, Audrey – hide while you still can. The Death Eaters will be here any minute," he advised, his eyes again moving to Dumbledore. They looked much less confident on him than they did on me.

"I can't let you do this, Draco," I whispered, shaking my head carefully. "Draco, you are not a killer...and you don't want to be."

"I'm afraid Miss Potter is right," Dumbledore voiced. I was startled by how weak he sounded, crumpled up against the wall. Had Draco already cursed him somehow? "The guilt of death leaves more than a scar, Draco. It leaves a curse-"

"How do you know?" Malfoy snapped at him.

"_I_ know," I edged in again, taking another step forward. "Just lower your wand before I have to hurt you. I think it would really impact our relationship if you were deformed."

Draco didn't even roll has eyes at me, he couldn't take the time for jokes now. No, he was far too determined. He wrapped his hands more firmly around his wand, trying to stop the small shivers of nerves.

Alright, maybe it was time to handle this like adults.

"Miss Potter, I dare to wager that Draco will wait for his reinforcements before he decides to act – perhaps you should leave before they arrive," Dumbledore reasoned cordially, I shot him a look of wide-eyed disbelief.

"I'm not waiting for them! I don't need to," Draco said forcefully. "You don't know what I'm capable of, you don't know what I've done!"

"Oh, yes, I do," Dumbledore sounded grave and lightly conversational all at once while he pulled himself up a little taller. "You almost killed Katie Bell, Ronald Weasley and your dear Audrey. You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but they have been feeble attempts...so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it..."

"It has been in it!" Malfoy answered vehemently. "I've been working on it all year and tonight..."

I instantly took a step farther away from the door when a muffled yell came from the foot of it. Draco stiffened, glancing at me as quickly as he could to make sure that I was still there with the two of them. Maybe he figured that the sooner they came, the sooner I'd be captured...I couldn't deny that the possibility was making me become anxious as well. Dumbledore smiled in the garish green glare of the Dark Mark which still hovered over us as if it had just been cast.

"It seems as if your heart has been preoccupied, Draco," he explained. Draco's eyes again flittered to me. "Isn't that right?"

"Draco, just tell him-"

"No!" Draco snarled, taking another step closer to Dumbledore, which in turn made me take two steps closer to him. It was like watching your footing while fencing, or even worse, like some sort of dance.

"What was it you were saying, Draco?" Dumbledore asked. "Ah, yes...you have managed to introduce Death Eaters into my school which, I admit, I thought impossible...how did you do it?"

Draco looked over to me, his eyes reflecting the fear that he was unable to mask.

"Perhaps you ought to get on with the job alone," Dumbledore encouraged lightly. Were he not so brilliant I would have to ask how senile he had turned over the years – encouraging someone to kill you was not usually considered a sign of sanity. "What if your back-up has been thwarted by my guard? As you have perhaps realised, there are members of the Order of the Phoenix here tonight, too. And after all, you don't really need help...I have no wand at the moment; I cannot defend myself."

"They haven't been thwarted," he whispered.

"And if they have?" Dumbledore asked. "What happens if you cannot fulfil this job tonight?"

Draco's eyes shot to me again, even more terrified than before.

"I see," Dumbledore stated kindly. "You are afraid to act until they join you?"

"I'm not afraid!" Draco bellowed. "It's _you_ who should be afraid! They need to be here, they need to see me do it-"

"But why?" Draco still didn't answer him, so Dumbledore continued with his voice soft. "I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe...so tell me, while we wait for your friends...how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it."

"I had to mend that broken Vanishing Cabinet that no one's used for years. The one Montague got lost in last year."

"Aaaah, that was clever. There is a pair, I take it?" I couldn't tell if Dumbledore had groaned it or sighed with the realization, but either way it was a pained sound that came from the headmaster. I winced, knowing the part I had played. The _multiple_ parts I had played. From the fact I had broken the Cabinet, to the fact I had been the one to shove Montague in there and later give Draco the idea...it was my fault that he had worked out the plan. It was my fault that Voldemort had needed another Death Eater when I had murdered another.

No, I had no time to think about that now – now I had to focus on keeping my boyfriend and headmaster alive. Part of me knew I might be able to jinx Draco right now...but my wand was so dodgy and he was so close to the edge of the building – what if he fell off? What if he countered and I lost my chance? Or, even worse, what if I could convince him not to do the things he already feared doing without any violence? I had to try.

"The other's in Borgin and Burkes," Draco seemed relieved to say it aloud, considering I was the only one he had ever really talked about it with. "And they make a kind of passage between them. Montague told me that when he was stuck in the Hogwarts one, he was trapped in limbo but sometimes he could hear what was going on at school, and sometimes what was going on in the shop, as if the Cabinet was travelling between them, but he couldn't make anyone hear him...in the end he managed to Apparate out into the pipes, even though he'd never passed his test. He nearly died doing it, not that the rat didn't deserve it. Everyone thought it was a really good story, but I was the only one who realised what it meant – even Borgin didn't know – I was the one who realised there could be a way into Hogwarts through the Cabinets if I fixed the broken one."

"Very good," murmured Dumbledore. If I hadn't known better, I would have said that the headmaster may have been impressed. "So the Death Eaters were able to pass from Borgin and Burkes into the school to help you...a clever plan, a very clever plan...and, as you say, right under my nose."

"Yeah," Malfoy's pride was almost visible "Yeah, it was!"

"But there were times," Dumbledore went on, "weren't there, when you were not sure you would succeed in mending the Cabinet? And you resorted to crude and badly judged measures such as sending me a cursed necklace that was bound to reach the wrong hands...poisoning mead there was only the slightest chance I might drink...things which hurt students you may not...or may have been close to?"

Both Dumbledore and Draco's eyes skirted to me for a moment before turning back to each other. I lowered my wand slightly, watching while Draco's face mutated into that look – that same look of guilt that I had seen when I was in the hospital wing and all the nights until I had recovered.

"I meant to kill _you_," Draco admitted, his voice thick. "I didn't mean to hurt Bell, not even Weasley...especially not Audrey."

"Of course not," Dumbledore said comfortingly. "A job is a job, is it not?"

"Yeah," Draco said, his voice hardening again. "And you still didn't realise who was behind that stuff, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," said Dumbledore. "I was sure it was you."

"What?" I asked, raising my wand again when Draco's wand twitched towards me by instinct.

"Why didn't you stop me, then?" Draco demanded.

"Because of Miss Potter," Dumbledore admitted, looking over to me with no regard to keep his eyes on his captor. It gave Draco the courage to look toward me as well; both giving me strange looks before I widened my eyes, taking a step back under their scrutiny.

"What are you talking about?" I shook my head. "I didn't do anything."

"Miss Potter, who had been coming to me since the beginning of term, was also quarrelling with herself over the idea of how to deal with you and your mission. I saw through her right away, of course, as she questioned good from bad, right from wrong, love from fear...it was not difficult to determine who she was tearing herself in two over," Dumbledore explained, his eyes turning to Draco again; their twinkle looked eerie in the green light. "I watched her progression of trying to help you, trying to save you and convince you what you were doing was wrong. I watched you go from becoming sickly, to becoming joyful again – I had thought her attempts may be working..."

"So had I," I admitted quietly.

"Particularly after she was poisoned," Dumbledore's voice lowered slightly. "Anyone who knew would have been able to tell what it did to you, Draco. Audrey had torn herself in two trying to decide how to save you from yourself, but you tore yourself into pieces as you were the only one willing to punish yourself. Why it set you into a new resolve to finish the Cabinet and endanger her more, I do not know, but luckily Professor Snape was able to watch over you more easily on my orders after-"

"You're lying!" Draco sneered. "He hasn't been doing your orders, he promised my mother-"

"Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but-"

"He promised _me_," I interrupted, walking right up to Draco. It appeared he didn't know whether his wand should point to me or Dumbledore now. He eyed the wand laying far away from the older man, before he eyed my own. "Snape has known about your plan since Harry cursed you."

"He hasn't," Draco denied quickly.

"He has. I was the one who told him," I explained, grimacing under his glare. "You're a moron if you think I'd just let you try to get people killed. Can't you see what this has done to you, what you're becoming? Snape and I agreed to try to let you finish the Cabinet and then destroy it before you could let them in so that if Voldemort did somehow get you, you would have your alibi...but you didn't warn me, not like you promised."

"I warned you," he argued.

"Warning me then tying me up is not the same thing, you jackass," I snapped back. "Snape knew the whole time. And if he knew, then I suspect Dumbledore had, as well..."

"This is true," Dumbledore stated. "Professor Snape and I spoke of it nightly."

"Stop it! He's a double-agent, you stupid old man, he isn't working for you, you just think he is."

"We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape-"

"Well, you're losing your grip, then," Draco uttered lowly. "He's been offering me plenty of help – wanting all the glory for himself – wanting a bit of the action. 'What are you doing? Did you do the necklace, that was stupid, it could have blown everything'," Draco had manipulated his voice to sound like our professor, the monotone really did the trick. "But I hadn't told him what I've been doing in the Room of Requirement, even if Audrey did. He's going to wake up tomorrow and it'll all be over and he won't be the Dark Lord's favourite any more, he'll be nothing compared to me, nothing!"

"Very gratifying," said Dumbledore mildly.

"And very wrong," I interrupted. "I warned Snape tonight, twenty minutes ago. I warned everyone else as well – Gryffindors and Slytherins alike."

Draco sneered. "How?"

"By magic," I spoke to him as if he were a toddler. "The only person who knew about your plan happens to be able to use not only Magnuse-magic, but can use Astral Projection, Draco. It was easy," I lied. "And then I convinced Theodore to let me go – he was smarter than you were about it. And you forget – he was my friend. He was worried about _our _friends-"

"Our friends will be fine! They're not allowed to touch the common room," Draco growled.

"And what about Nott's friends in Ravenclaw, or my friends in Gryffindor? What about all the other students who aren't given that _gracious_ immunity?" I shook my head, sneering at him. "Draco, your plan is already failing...give up while you still can."

"I can't and you know it," Draco shook his head, his voice barking as he tried to hold down his hysteria. "Not with what can happen, not after what _has _happened!"

"We all like appreciation for our own hard work, of course," Dumbledore nodded, trying to straighten himself up again. "But you must have had an accomplice, all the same...someone in Hogsmeade, someone who was able to slip Katie the – the – ah..." Dumbledore seemed to sag with the weight of his realization. "Of course...Rosmerta. How long has she been under the Imperius Curse?"

"Got there at last, have you?" Malfoy taunted. I looked at him with wide eyes.

"She was the one who tried to give me the necklace? She was the voice I heard?"

"Not _you_," Draco said pointedly, as if he again wanted to maintain that I was not the one he had been trying to target. "It was never supposed to be _you._"

"But it was, Draco. And it will be if you do what Voldemort is too afraid to. Dumbledore is-" I was cut off by another loud bellow from the stairs below us. Draco looked over his shoulder, to Dumbledore, then back to me – at first I thought he may have been shaking his head at me...until I saw that his wand was quivering just as quickly.

"So poor Rosmerta was forced to lurk in her own bathroom and pass that necklace to any Hogwarts student who entered the room unaccompanied? And the poisoned mead...well, naturally, Rosmerta was able to poison it for you before she sent the bottle to Slughorn, believing that it was to be my Christmas present – yes, very neat, very neat – poor Mr Filch would not, of course, think to check a bottle of Rosmerta's. Tell me, how have you been communicating with Rosmerta? I thought we had all methods of communication in and out of the school monitored."

"Enchanted coins," Draco answered quickly, his eyes flickering to me as if to apologize for having lied to me about the coin he had been fiddling with all day. "I had one and she had the other and I could send her messages-"

"Like Dumbledore's Army," I groaned out, gritting my teeth.

"Yeah, I got the idea from them," Draco smirked, clearly feeling proud of himself. "I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood, Granger, as well – I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognising potions..."

"Please do not use that offensive word in front of me," Dumbledore stated firmly.

Draco barked out a laugh. "You care about me saying 'Mudblood' when I'm about to kill you?"

"That's not the greatest of your problems, sir," I agreed with him, hearing the scuffling downstairs again. Someone was going to come upstairs soon and I couldn't tell if it would be a friend or foe; the lights around me were burning in warning – something was going to happen. Something was warning me that something was about to go wrong. I needed to get Draco to come to his senses and then we all needed to leave. Dumbledore couldn't be killed, Draco couldn't become a murderer and I sure as hell did not want to become a hostage...

"I do care," Dumbledore informed. His foot made a bit of a scratching sound as he seemed to slide a little farther down the wall he was leaned against. "But as for being about to kill me, Draco, you have had several long minutes now. Miss Potter does not look able to attack you, nor do you seem capable of attacking her – so for all intents and purposes, you have me cornered. I am more defenceless than you can have dreamed of finding me, and still you have not acted..."

"You're not a killer, Draco," I whispered. "Please, don't do this."

Draco's mouth sneered as if I had just spoon-fed him bullshit, my stomach dropped at the expression alone. It was the same expression he had when he was speaking to Crabbe or Goyle, or he was ready to have a go at Harry...he _wanted _to fight. He wasn't going to give in.

"Now, about tonight," Dumbledore continued, his words sounding formal and not at all afraid. "I am a little puzzled about how it happened; you knew that I had left the school? Ah, but of course, Rosmerta saw me leaving. She tipped you off using your ingenious coins, I'm sure..."

"Now is not the time to flatter him," I muttered. "He takes that kind of flattery too close to heart; then again, maybe you'll remind him of his beloved _Lord _if he has your praise-"

"Shut _up_, Audrey," Draco hissed, as if I had just revealed some kind of secret. "The barmaid just said you were just going for a drink, you'd be back..."

"Well, I certainly did have a drink," Dumbledore actually turned his eyes to me and gave a small smile – there was something about it that looked completely downtrodden. "And I came back, after a fashion. So you decided to spring a trap for me?"

"We decided to put the Dark Mark over the Tower and get you to hurry up here, to see who'd been killed," Draco laughed, though it sounded hollow. "And it worked!"

"Well, yes and no. But am I to take it, then, that nobody has been murdered?" Dumbledore asked, giving away just how interested he was in the subject. Draco, however, did not seem smug about knowing the answer.

"Someone's dead," Draco confirmed, closing his eyes for a moment as if he could see the body in front of him. "One of your people – I don't know who, it was dark; I stepped over the body. I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way."

"Yes, they do that," Dumbledore smiled fondly. "And still, you let one up to corner you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Audrey here has been working with the Order of the Phoenix, Draco," his eyes moved between the two of us, an eyebrow raised. "Surely you knew this."

"Audrey won't pick sides," he said shakily, though he sounded unsure.

"Oh, Draco, how naive the sides of war will keep their soldiers," Dumbledore nearly sounded bad for him. "Audrey's friends, her family, her brother...they are all working with the Order of the Phoenix – she may have not chosen this side, but surely you didn't believe she would work _against _it?"

Draco smacked his mouth together a few times as if he had become a fish out of water and he was drying himself out. Finally, he seemed able to string together a sentence, even if he sounded like a stubborn child. "But...Audrey hates her brother."

"No one can hate their family," Dumbledore said fondly. "Though admittedly, Audrey and Harry do have trouble agreeing – particularly when it comes to you."

"I love you, Draco," I said again, my voice shaky. I watched as his wand seemed to drop. "You know I love you; I loved you when you poisoned the mead, I loved you when I stayed with you to ensure that you weren't dying – but I can't stay with you if you become a killer."

Draco's face contorted, his wand now pointing at Dumbledore's stomach.

"If you kill Dumbledore, Voldemort wins – it's that simple. I _know _you don't want that. I know you hate him, hate everything he's done to you. There is no happy ending for anyone; you will eventually die by his hand, or by his orders. I will be tortured and murdered, you know that-"

"I have to do this, Audrey," he whispered, his voice low. "_You_ know _that_."

"You think the Death Eaters will value what you asked? You think Voldemort will?" My voice rose as I growled at the idea. He winced at the sound of his name and how angry I sounded. "If you kill Dumbledore, they'll still aim for me. They won't just ignore that I'm here because you _asked _that I be ignored. You're not important to them, Draco! You're important to _me._ I'm here now and the only one who can protect the _both _of us is the one that you're holding a wand against."

"If you believed that, you would have taken away my wand," Draco muttered, trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me. "Get out; hide now before they see you and this won't be a problem."

"I won't do that," I told him, looking at him seriously and taking a deep breath. Slowly, I unwrapped my hand from my wand and raised it up in surrender as I bent down and placed my wand at my feet. Draco's face contorted, looking as if I had just hit him in the stomach.

"Pick your wand up, Audrey."

"No," I told him, straightening up.

"Pick up your fucking wand and get out!"

"No," I said even more stubbornly, taking a step away from it. "I'll leave when you do, I'll pick up my wand when you put yours down."

"Then you're going to leave in the arms of a Death Eater!" He raged.

"I hope I do," I informed him. "Let's leave, right now. You don't have to kill Dumbledore, you don't have to answer to Voldemort. We'll run; just like we imagined at Christmas. We'll leave, go somewhere that no one can find us. Just us. No war, no danger, no killing."

"There is little time, one way or another," Dumbledore agreed. "So let us discuss your options, Draco."

"My options!" Draco roared, though his wand was no longer aimed at Dumbledore's chest at all. "I'm standing here with a wand – I'm about to kill you..."

"My dear boy, let us have no more pretence about that. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it when you first disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means; nor would you have taken the time to listen to the offers from Miss Potter." Below there was more noise – the sounds of battle were getting closer and closer; we were running out of time. Draco, also hearing this, seemed to realize what this meant while he raised his wand to Dumbledore again.

"I haven't got any options!" He screamed. "I've got to do it! He'll kill me, he'll kill my whole family! My only option is killing you because I'm _not _handing over Audrey."

"What's this?" Dumbledore raised an inquisitive brow.

"Draco was given the option of getting rid of you, or giving me over to be gotten rid of," I explained. "Someone will die tonight, either way-"

"It can't be _you_," Draco bellowed. "It was never supposed to be _you_!"

"Now I understand," Dumbledore seemed to sigh, as if the knowledge hurt him. "I appreciate the difficulty of your position, Draco. I was informed of some plot involving Miss Potter – but I never would have guessed his cruelty for giving you such limited options. Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realised that I suspected you."

Both Draco and I moved wide eyes to him. "Sir?"

"Audrey, our time together has been leading up to this moment – but I didn't believe that you would be such a pawn in Lord Voldemort's game. I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which I knew Draco had been entrusted, just as I did not dare use my influence in case he used Legilimency against you, Draco...but now at last we can speak plainly to each other. No harm has been done, you have hurt no one, though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived; I'm sure you realize this now that Miss Potter is safe. I can help you, Draco."

"No, you can't," Draco shook as he spoke, his wand no longer aimed as it should have been. "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. He told me it's you or her – I have no choice."

"Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise," my chest seemed to fill at the idea, that Draco could be safe and that his mother – Draco's main familial concern – could be hidden. I took a few steps forward, stopping when Draco's wild eyes met mine in a warning to keep my distance. "Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban; when the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco...you are not a killer."

Malfoy stared at Dumbledore.

"But I got this far, didn't I?" He asked slowly, looking at me carefully. "If you're wrong...they thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here. You're in my power – I'm the one with the wand – they'll be here and they'll know they have to take Audrey if you aren't dead. You're at my mercy..."

"No, Draco," Dumbledore said meaningfully. "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now."

"Draco, please," I begged, moving the rest of the way toward him. He couldn't speak as he looked at me; part of me was glad that I didn't have to hear him say no to me. I put my hand against his arm, feeling no resistance as I pushed his wand down, away from Dumbledore. I let go of his arm and took his face in my hands, placing my forehead against his own as I listened to him breathe. "Stay with me."

"He'll kill us," Draco whispered, his jaw tense beneath my fingers.

"No he won't," I explained. "We'll run. We'll hide."

"He'll find us," he whispered again.

"I'll kill him," I told him firmly. Draco's eyes opened as he pulled away to look into my own. "If that's what it takes, I'll kill him."

"You can't-"

"I will," I told him. "Whatever it takes. If that's what makes us safe-"

"You can't _kill _the Dark Lord," Draco was skeptical and hysterical all in one sentence. "He kills _you._"

"Maybe I can't," I accepted – even if I didn't really believe it – before I looked at Dumbledore who was noticeably grinning. "But he can. Just like he can keep you safe..."

"I want _us _safe," Draco corrected, placing his forehead against mine again. "Both of us. You don't honestly think after all this I would go anywhere without you, idiot."

"As if you could get rid of me," I smirked back, watching as a grim smirk pulled at his own lips. "Just trust him...trust _me._"

"Your stubbornness is going to get us killed," he mumbled.

"It would have been one hell of a ride," I responded. He didn't seem to think it was funny. "I'm not leaving you, Draco...so just stay."

"I'm not staying," he muttered. "We're running."

"Quickly," I agreed. Footsteps thundered up the stairs of the Astronomy tower, a loud sound blasting up the door and splintering it to the point it all but disappeared. Draco grabbed me, shoving me to the side – close to the edge of the tower. I looked down in fear, not able to see the bottom thanks to the darkness and the splash of green that polluted the night. It was a long drop; a deadly looking one.

A pair of rough hands took hold of me, ripping me away from Draco – I screamed when I momentarily was swung off the ground and was momentarily airborne overtop of the ledge. Draco bellowed something to whoever had grabbed me, but I couldn't make out what was said before someone had their arm around my neck and their other arm tightly around my waist. I felt revolted, knowing full well I was no longer in Draco's care...I could feel that I was pressed up against someone, I could feel a wand at my pulse point.

"Dumbledore cornered," a man to my side me sounded joyful. "And the girl for good measure – both wandless, both alone! Well done, Draco, well done! Both of them – the Dark Lord didn't expect that much of you. Who knew you could do something right?"

"Good evening, Amycus," Dumbledore responded calmly. "And you've brought Alecto too, charming..."

A woman to the same side, closer to the door, gave a giggle. "Think your little jokes'll help you on your death bed, then?"

"Jokes? No, no, these are manners," Dumbledore responded.

"Don't use those," I sneered. "I doubt she could pronounce the word."

"Shut your mouth! You can't talk near me, _Potter_," she sneered, her voice either raising or she had taken a few steps toward me. "A Slytherin Potter – a disgusting disgrace to the House!"

"Do it," a different, more gruff voice, growled.

"Is that you, Fenrir?" Dumbledore asked politely. I felt the wand dance against my pulse-point as it sky-rocketed in fear. Great...a werewolf had joined the party. And it wasn't the one who tried teaching me how to defend myself.

"That's right," I could all but hear what I knew to be a wolfish grin. "Pleased to see me, Dumbledore?"

"No, I cannot say that I am," Dumbledore said as if he were admitting to disliking the weather.

"But you know how much I like kids, Dumbledore..." I felt him come up to me and breathe in my hair deeply. I shivered, trying to squirm away from him.

"Stop it," Draco's voice growled. "She's not to be touched, Greyback-"

"Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual...you have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?" Dumbledore asked, his words a little faster than before. I let out a grunt of disgust when the werewolf's finger grazed against my cheek.

"That's right. Just can't help it, you see. Shocks you, that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?"

"Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little," Dumbledore admitted, still sounding oddly pleasant. Now was not the time for manners.

"It disgusts me a lot," I sneered, squirming farther away as I made a gagging sound. "You smell like a kitty-litter box. Ironic, but not as funny as it should be."

"Potter, shut up," Draco hissed.

Dumbledore hummed lightly to himself. "I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live..."

"I didn't," Draco breathed. "I didn't know he was going to come – Carrow, lighten up on her, I said!"

"Oh, protective of the little lass, ain't he? Oh, he always knows, Audrey Potter," the girl let out a loud cackle of mirth. "The Dark Lord always knows! And you, so protective, Malfoy...tell me, haven't yeh liked choking her a bit before? Or is she a shy one-"

"I'll choke _you_," Draco hissed. "You weren't supposed to come, either-"

"Couldn't miss a trip here, could we?" She giggled, taking a few steps forward. I could see her now; small, squat and ugly – considering her giggles I couldn't help but wonder if she was any relation to Dolores Umbridge...

"Yes, I wouldn't want to miss a trip to Hogwarts, Dumbledore," Greyback agreed, moving his finger down my cheek again to move down to my throat. His nail was jagged and scratched at my skin. "Not when there are throats to be ripped out...delicious, delicious..."

He had taken to sniffing me again. I was going to wretch, I could feel it.

"I could do you for afters, Dumbledore..."

"No," a different Death Eater grumbled. "We've got orders. Draco's got to do it. Now, Draco, and quickly."

I couldn't tell what was happening thanks to the wand pointing my chin up, but right as I started to say Draco's name, I felt something hot slap me across the face. It burnt my skin, I could hear the sizzle before I felt it, and I let out a wail when I realized my prison guard had tried to brand my lips shut like with a hot rod.

"Don't listen to her, Draco. The old man's not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!" The man holding me exclaimed. "Look at him – what's happened to you, then, Dumby?"

"Oh, weaker resistance, slower reflexes, Amycus," Dumbledore seemed to wheeze. "Old age, in short. One day, perhaps, it will happen to you; if you are lucky..."

"What's that mean, then, what's that mean?" the man behind me, Amycus, yelled, suddenly violent as he tugged me to his side so that he could get a good leer towards Dumbledore. I felt my foot slide slightly off the edge of the roof and let out a grunt in the back of my throat – I wouldn't scream for them. That I would not do. "Always the same, weren't yeh, Dumby, talking and doing nothing, nothing, I don't even know why the Dark Lord's bothering to kill yeh! Maybe we should let that old age take 'im and hand over the girl!"

"No!" Draco bellowed, his voice finally sounding commanding. "This is _my _mission!"

"Then come on, Draco, do it!"

I stomped hard on Amycus' foot, enjoying the howl that escaped him as he released his one arm. I dropped to the ground easily enough, I could do nothing more than hope that Amycus hopped to save his foot a little too energetically and happened to fall off the lip of the tower. In fact, I may as well help him...I slammed my hand against the stone flooring, nearly making the roof we were standing on tremble; my hand steamed from the impact of heat from my hand mixed with the cool night air.

_Accio wand!_

"What was that then?" I heard one scream.

"Get the girl!"

"The Master said not to let that girl touch anything, you dolt!"

"Where'd my wand fall to?"

_Accio wand! Give me a bloody wand!_

The sound of wood rolling met my ears before I was able to get a hold on any of them. I could hear a fight going on to the side somewhere – maybe it was down the stairs, I couldn't tell; I was too distracted by the Death Eaters running around like chickens with their heads cut off while they rummaged around the ground, trying to distinguish one wand from another.

A piece of wood hit my hand first and I lifted it, not taking the time to notice which it was.

"Stop those wands!" Someone screamed. "Don't let her get those wands!"

_Crucio!_ I thought as loudly as I could, the first spell popping into my head being the most appropriate – but it didn't work as I would have liked. Instead of hurting someone else, I let out a cry of my own when my hand was stabbed repeatedly with tiny little knives. I dropped the wand instinctively, seeing the hilt covered with my blood – was that...was that Harry's wand? It was the only one that cut me as if I had splintered it...

I picked up the one closest to my foot, hearing a Death Eater coming toward me from his scream of fury – I heard the crunch before I heard Draco bellow that I wasn't supposed to be touched; I heard a slap on skin, someone screaming at him that he was going to be killed if he didn't do his job...

"_Crucio!_" I screamed, ignoring the ripping sensation of my lips from how they had been branded together. This time the wand didn't falter, nor did it didn't hurt me – I had aimed for the Death Eater that was standing between Draco and I. I couldn't tell who he was, perhaps it was the man who had been holding me because after a moment his sister was leaning over him, fumbling for the wand that had rolled between us, so that she could try to fight me off while the man on the floor screamed.

"Now, Draco, quickly!" a brutal-faced, blonde Death Eater screamed to him. "Take her down or kill the old man!"

"I can't," He yelled back, not sounding as frightened as he should have. "She has my wand!"

"I'll do it," Greyback came toward me with a grunt. I could let the curse off of his fallen comrade, or...

My free hand slapped his face with the same force Amycus had slapped his wand against my lips. I could feel the skin sizzle under my palm as I pulled away and he released a howl most befitting of his monthly little problem.

"I said no!" Draco shouted. "This is my mission, I have a choice – Potter is armed and you know she's volatile-"

"Then get rid of her now!" The brutal-faced man with the lowest voice grumbled. "She's attacked two of your own!"

"Audrey, stop it – get out now and I won't have to-"

"Draco, do it, or stand aside so one of us-" the woman screamed, holding the splinters of whatever wand her brother had stepped on in her hands. Under my spell he still writhed. I didn't let up and I didn't want to, even when I heard the door burst open once again.

"Enough," a familiar voice hissed. I looked up, eyes wide, to see that Snape had joined the lot of us. His eyes were dark, his wand clenched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles looked pale enough to split open and show bone. His eyes stayed on Dumbledore, moved to Draco, then landed on me. He followed the line of my wand hand to the Death Eater still writhing under my spell, he watched as the werewolf howled from the burning over his face, and his eyes flickered to me. "That is not yours, Miss Potter."

With a swipe in the air, the wand in my hand flew in an arc back to its rightful owner. Draco gripped it tightly, his eyes closely watching Amycus, who was breathing heavily and looking more than ready to kill me. I reached for another wand – any wand – fuck, give me Harry's wand; I'd take the mutilation...but they rolled away from me as if someone had spelled it. Maybe someone had. It was only a moment before Greyback charged at me, holding me against him and choking me much like Amycus had done; but this time it wasn't a proud hold to keep me still – he was purposefully trying to hurt me. I refused to wince.

"We've got a problem, Snape," Amycus grumbled, standing up. "This girl is in the way – I say we take her to the Dark Lord and have her done with. And the boy...the damn boy doesn't seem able to do anything at all with either of 'em!"

"Snape, please," I cried. "Don't let him-"

"Shut up!" Greyback slapped his wand against my throat.

"You can't let Draco-"

"Since you won't shut up, I'm going to rip this little scar open," Greyback sneered, his voice quiet. "Let's see if you can survive getting your throat slit twice, yeah? It'll be a nice re-enactment – too bad you won't have mummy here to save you this time..."

"That's enough, Fenrir," Snape's voice was cold and nearly unrecognizable. "The girl is not to be harmed – we know this from our orders. The Dark Lord is the one to finish both of the Potters."

"Doesn't mean I can't-"

"It does," Snape hissed, his tone final. "We have orders and a mission to complete. You know your options, Draco – which will it be?"

"Take 'em both!" The girl howled. "They both deserve to die! Kill 'em, Draco-"

"Draco, no," I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I couldn't let them fall – I didn't want to be caught off guard because I couldn't see what was coming. If I was going to die, I was going to look my murderer in the eye...and fight for as long as I breathed. "You can stop this."

"Oh, how sweet – do you _love _him, Potter? Are you trying to protect the ones you _care _about?" The girl cooed mockingly. "Finish him, Draco! Kill them!"

"You promised!" I screamed to Snape, who was watching Draco intently, as if waiting patiently for a test answer. "You promised me!"

"Severus..." the voice was so quiet that at first I couldn't have been sure that I had heard it. Dumbledore's voice was older than I had ever heard it and so disturbingly desperate...he was pleading. He was _pleading_ to die...

Snape did not respond in words. He stalked forward slowly, like an animal to its prey, and roughly pushed Draco away so he could stand in front of the headmaster. I had never seen a man look so broken – I had never expected the most powerful wizard of our age to look so defeated. Snape's expression was also unlike anything I had ever seen – I had seen hints of it, when we would talk of my father or when we would talk about my brother...his face was etched with hatred and disgust.

"Severus...please..."

_Forgive me._

Snape's voice bounced through my mind so powerfully that the words he spoke were drowned out – but there was no mistaking the green light that shot from the tip of his wand and blended in with the glare of the Dark Mark while the greatest wizard of our age sailed over the tower; hanging limply in the air for a moment as if he could simply fly away...and then he was gone.

* * *

><p>I felt like I was falling, but there was no hitting the ground. There was no smack against the stone, or no rude awakening after having fallen out of sleep – there was no waking, for I was not asleep. I was living my nightmare now.<p>

Dumbledore was dead – if he had somehow managed to survive the killing curse as my brother had, there was no way he could have handled a fall from the top of the Astronomy tower. Dumbledore was dead, he had to be.

"Out of here, quickly," Snape's voice broke the silence of the night and with that, it was as if all the other sounds seemed to start again – the battle within the school, my ragged breathing, Amycus' groans of pain...but none of it felt real.

"No," Draco's voice was weak, closer than I would have thought. "We're leaving her."

I hadn't realized that Greyback was dragging me along behind him, I hadn't realized that I was being jerked up as if he was about to throw me over his shoulder like some sort of doll.

"This bitch is staying with me," the werewolf sneered, picking me up as I had feared. Part of me was too shocked to move – I felt like someone had immobilized me even though I knew I could move thanks to my quivering. The other part of me wondered why fight at all – Dumbledore was gone. Dumbledore was dead. There was no reason to fight now.

We couldn't win this war, now. Dumbledore was dead.

_We _were dead.

He moved me up on his shoulder as he started to descend the stairs. Behind us, I heard something hard drop to the ground – it only made Greyback move more quickly to get back into the fray so that he could either fight or flee.

It was when we were back into the battle that my senses started to come back to me – all around me people were battling. I couldn't see Ginny, but I could hear her voice. I could hear Hermione using spells that I had never heard, I could hear the Death Eaters calling to each other that it was over, it was time to go, that they had no time for _fun._

"Let me go!" I snapped, realizing that I was moving away from people who were fighting for their lives, it was as if my strength had come back with a gasp. Greyback let out a laugh, forcing his way past other Death Eaters who cooed at me and tittered when they saw that I had been captured by them. I didn't have my wand – I had no idea where I had left it up there or if one of the Death Eaters had taken it with them.

"Look at this," Greyback jeered, lunching forward and grabbing someone even with me on his shoulders. "A matching pair!"

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" I knew that voice anywhere. Greyback fell backward, meaning the crown of my head was one of the first things to hit the ground. I instantly saw spots, bright ones. I wasn't sure if they were paint splotches, spells, or some form of concussion. Someone was quick to roll the wolf off of me and pull me up...it was Harry. He looked completely unscathed; I was glad. I looked at him, trying to get his face centered in my vision – it was as if he was swaying...but something told me that was me. I had hit the ground hard; surely there was some damage.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He didn't have time to respond to me; twenty feet to our right, Amycus Carrow was throwing hex after hex at Ginny. I could tell by her ginger hair flying around that she was trying to dodge them – but who knew how long that would last her.

"Get them!" A voice, which may have been Professor McGonagall, cried. "Get the Death Eaters, they're escaping!"

_No._

They couldn't just _escape,_ not when they had all but taken Draco prisoner. He hadn't gotten what he needed; he hadn't killed Dumbledore – he would be murdered as soon as he got back to Voldemort's side. I had to catch up to them – I had to stop Draco from leaving, I had to make him see sense. I had to get him to escape.

I ran through the fight, pushing and punching through bodies and jumping over people who were left bound or immobile on the ground. Not that I was doing it well...or quickly enough. It felt like I was running and dragging my head behind me, like I couldn't watch where I was going because my mind was so fogged that it was eight steps behind. Still, as I looked around I couldn't seem anyone who looked dead – but there were a lot of people who I was ignoring as I ran past them. I could apologize later, I could help people _later_...I had my own problems to deal with. Problems like running...because running with this damned concussion was as easy as running through water – though possibly a bit more enjoyable. I could tell that I was swaying, every now and then I was hitting my shoulder against the walls and tripping over the people that got in my way – but I couldn't let myself stop.

"Audrey, don't run _toward _them! I'll catch them!" I heard Harry behind me, his voice sounded furious, determined – we had very different reasons for wanting to catch the Death Eaters before they escaped. He would kill Draco and Snape now that he had caught on to the fact that they were running _with _the enemy.

I ran down the stairs, slipping and falling down four of them when I miss-stepped on one; then I got my toe caught in one of the trick steps and lost a part of the sole from my shoe. I couldn't stop to try and get it back – Draco had to have made it to the grounds by now; I needed to rush some more. Who knew how quickly I was actually running – I could feel the lag to my mind, as if I were half asleep...I could feel the concussion trying to take me down and stop me from getting my way.

The doors to the Entrance Hall had been blasted apart, slivers trying hard to sneak through the hole in my shoe. Blood seemed to have been rubbed all over the flagstone, like bodies had been dragged out of the way...maybe there had been, because students were cowering together in groups; ducking and weeping as I ran past.

I could see them, both Snape and Draco running down the grounds as if I was the threat following them. There were other Death Eaters with them, running toward the castle gates so that they could Disapparate and escape the battle that they had already won.

They stopped running for a moment; spells illuminating them as they watched in horror – Hagrid had come out of his hut to hear the ruckus and stop them. They stopped just past him, trying to look and see if Hagrid was going to follow them, or keep attacking those who were still trying to follow, as I was...

"_Impedimenta_! _Impedimenta_!" I heard my brother yell, his voice gurgling in a way that made me stop – that didn't sound right. He sounded injured and he hadn't been just minutes earlier. I took another look at Draco, watched as he stood still from the fear of Hagrid attacking the large, blonde Death Eater that was running along with he and Snape.

"Harry!" I yelled, spinning a little too quickly and having to right myself before I could try to pick him out in the darkness. The spells weren't too far away from me, but I couldn't tell how far they really were – the world seemed to have tilted on its side thanks to the fall on my head.

"Drea, look out!" there was no way I could have looked out in time. A spell, a colour that was too bright to even distinguish hit my chest and I felt my feet leave the ground from the force of it. I spun in the air, trying to curl myself into a ball so the impact wouldn't hurt me as much – but when the pain hit I realized I was still splayed on my back anyway. Everything hurt as if my pulse was making my injuries worse.

"_Audrey_!" I shook my head; trying to shake the blotches out from my vision. They were back with a vengeance and at this point I wouldn't be surprised if I may have had a cracked skull – I felt like something was pushing against my brain...it was likely a piece of my own bone. Or maybe I had brain swelling. Maybe this was it.

"Come on, Audrey, get up-" something tugged on my arm and I cried out when my head dragged against the dirt, speeding up my pulse and magnifying the pain. "Audrey, come on – they're coming!"

I was yanked again, back where I had come.

"Get off of her! _Stupefy_!"

"Run, Draco!"

"Get _off of her_!"

"_Labellum!_"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

Too many voices, too many sounds – my head was going to explode from all the sounds and the colours. What was going on? Harry would never have told Draco to run and I was sure that they wouldn't be pulling me from side to side like a rag-doll, that didn't make sense. They hated each other. Harry wanted Draco gone. Draco wanted to leave. Draco didn't _want _me to go with him, he didn't _want _me to be with the Death Eaters...

There were spells, Unforgivables being called out, Hagrid's booming voice yelling something about Fang...someone pulled me again and I thought my own scream would make my ears bleed...

"Stop playing games, Potter!" Snape's voice shouted. "Avery, it is time to go!"

"We'll bring the girl!" another voice bellowed.

"Get away from her! _Impedi_-"

"Enough! We have done our duty, we must flee." Snape's tone was final again. Either way I was picked up, I felt my head loll back against my shoulders as I tried to get a hold of myself. I was stronger than this; where was my rush of adrenaline to avoid the pain of my head injury?

I felt my hands heat up in response – I had the adrenaline, I could feel it – I just needed to use it. I needed to clear my mind so that I could use what magic I _could_ control...

"Get away from me!" I yelled, placing my hands on whatever was holding me and feeling the grip on me release. I stumbled as I tried to stand upright and looked around, keeping my hands in front of me as if I would burn whoever came close. Not as if I would – I _would. _No one was touching me again.

Snape and Draco had backtracked, or maybe I had been thrown so far that I had met them half way. Avery, the big Death Eater, was stumbling away from me and cradling the arm I had burnt. Harry stood a bit away from me, one of his feet locked in a sink-hole so that he couldn't move, no matter how much he used his left hand to yank at it while he aimed his wand toward our Defense professor.

"_Cruci_-"

"No Unforgivable Curses from you, Potter!" Snape parried, blocking the spell before it was even out of my brother's mouth. "You haven't the nerve or the ability."

"I do!" I screamed, looking back at him. "Snape, what the hell are you doing?"

"Avery, it is time to go!" Snape ignored me, moving a few steps closer to yank Avery up by his injured arm. "The Dark Lord is expecting us-"

"_Incarc_-" Harry tried again, but Snape deflected him even more easily than the last time. Harry all but roared in anger. "Fight back! Fight back you cowardly-"

"Coward, did you call me, Potter?" Snape hissed back, his voice black. "Your father would never attack me unless it was four on one, what would you call him, I wonder?"

"_Stupefy_!" Draco moved back, barely avoiding the spell from my brother. "_Impedimenta_!"

"Blocked again and again and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed, Potter!" Snape sneered, mocking him like he was always told he wasn't allowed to. With Dumbledore gone there were no rules now; not now that he had become everything he despised. "Now come! It is time to be gone, before the Ministry turns up..."

"_Impedi_-"

"_Avada_-"

"NO!" I screamed, shoving myself forward and slamming my hands against the Death Eater's face and watching him fall, screaming all the way. Now that his arms and face were ruined, he seemed less excited to use those Unforgiveables of his. I unattached my hands from his face, feeling the blood coating them and rolling it between my fingers with a sneer. I stomped hard on Avery's stomach, making him squeal. "I'm already a killer, I have no problem killing again!"

"Have you forgotten our orders? They belong to the Dark Lord – we are to leave the twins! _Go_!"

"Leave him," Amycus' voice howled as he pointed his wand to Avery's weeping form. "But we're to keep her!"

"Dumbledore is dead," Draco's voice was firm, even if it trembled toward the end. "We don't need her now!"

"Take her anyway! Gibbons is dead – she'll be enough for the Dark Lord's forgivenness in his failure," the girl, Alecto, as Snape sneered at her, screeched.

"You're not touching either of us," I bellowed, my eyes slapping to Draco's. "None of you are going _anywhere._"

"_Sectum_-"

"No, Potter!" Snape screamed with a low snarl. The others began to walk closer to him, Avery crawling with his good arm as he sobbed. The flames from Hagrid's burning house were enough so that I could now see everyone as they ran...including Draco. He was half pivoted so that he could run when he absolutely had to. Still, his eyes didn't seem to be able to leave mine, just as mine couldn't seem to leave his.

"We're not killing them, Harry," I growled.

"He killed Dumbledore!" Harry growled. "_Sectum_-"

"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter?" Snape sneered. Both Harry and I paused for a moment as his words started to repeat in the back of our minds. _His _spells..._Snape's _spells... "It was I who invented them – I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you'd turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father, would you? I don't think so..._no_!"

Harry's wand was rebounded from his hand, landing feet away from me when Snape took it away from him. I clenched my fists, my eyes flickering from Draco, to Snape, to the wand that lay ten feet away.

"Kill me then," Harry urged, sounding as if he would rather be dead than let Snape leave alive. "Kill me like you killed him, you coward -"

"Don't call me a coward!" Snape screamed, slashing his wand through the air. I heard Harry let out a yell and that was all I could take – I blindly dove for his wand. I hit the mark near perfectly, only having to crawl for a second before the wand was gripped in my fist. It immediately cut into my hand again – the cuts must have been even deeper than they had ever been thanks to when I was already attacked by the wand up on the Astronomy tower.

"No," I spit, holding Harry's wand like the weapon it was. I could feel the blood dripping down the hilt as I pointed it right to Snape's heart. "You aren't even enough to be called a coward."

"Block your mind, Audrey!" Harry reminded me, his voice muffled. I looked to Snape, my eyes burning.

"You're _weak._" And that was so much worse, we both knew it while I held my wand up to him. "You said you weren't a killer – you said you never wanted to be...but I see how it is. You would rather kill than be killed; you have no morals, you have no values – you're just another one of those fools, those liars."

"I am as much a liar as you are a fool," Snape sneered, his wand held towards me but he did not dare to use it against me – my mind was perfectly blocked...and he knew well that I didn't need a wand to attack him. "You foolishly ignored all your warnings; from the headmaster, from your _boyfriend_, from me...not even from your precious kneazle before I euthanized her, did you?"

My stomach all but dropped and it forced all the contents up my throat. I swallowed thickly, refusing to open my mind and refusing to show the sickness the words caused. "_What_?"

"She was giving away what I knew she shouldn't have known. You were starting to pick up the pieces thanks to your infatuation with Mr Malfoy and I knew she had to be put down – little did I know that even her warnings weren't enough to keep you away from the danger. You were fool enough to ignore her, fool enough to _ignore _that Mr Malfoy was sent to give you over and leave you to rot!"

"He wouldn't have done that!"

"Circe certainly didn't know that," he sneered, spitting her name as if it was my father's. I felt like my stomach was being turned inside out; I wouldn't be able to keep the bile down for much longer – I couldn't, it was climbing up like a spell that had to be cast... "At least with her gone you got your few months of your ridiculous make-believe. You could never have been with him, Potter – he is everything you hate and you are everything he has sworn against!"

"You're lying!"

"Audrey, kill him!" Harry screamed from behind me. "He killed Dumbledore – don't let him get away!"

"Yes, don't let me get away," He mocked, his eyes dark on my own. "Will you attack us, Potter? Will you kill and devastate those who you care for most – _again_?"

I did nothing, I said nothing – what was there to say? Had Snape been with them this whole time, had he never been trying to keep Draco from the dangerous side? Had he never actually been protecting him from the life of a Death Eater, but rather the life of a dangerous one? Maybe Harry was right – maybe I was a bad judge of character. Maybe they were all bad after all...

"Will you attack him, Potter?" Snape asked, moving backward with his wand still drawn, now a step behind Draco as if he was letting him into the spotlight. "Will you kill us all, like you always swore?"

Draco looked at him, fear shining in his eyes before he looked back to me. I adjusted the grip on my wand, trying to avoid the burning in my eyes – trying to hold back the tears in case I wouldn't be able to see him. I could feel myself swaying, I could feel the sickness building and trying to ruin the threat I was trying to appear – I couldn't be distracted. They couldn't escape...they couldn't take Draco with them...

Snape was much farther behind Draco now, as were the other Death Eaters. I looked at Draco, watching as he looked back to his fellow Death Eaters; now meters away from him. He looked like the antelope that ran too slowly from the lion...his eyes were shining with the same fear, the same desperation to stay alive.

"Draco, stay with me." I begged, my voice breaking with desperation. He watched me for a moment, a long moment, trying to weigh his options, trying to decide whether or not I could keep him safe, whether or not he would die by my hand or by Voldemorts.

Then he turned to run and escape with the others.

And I let him.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, anyone else cry? Because I was teary pretty much the entire time. Second last chapter, everyone...we have one more and then I will be taking a <strong>**ONE MONTH BREAK ****to get ahead of the race on writing the Deathly Hallows portion. To my wonderful reviewers from the last chapter:**

_ChloeMalfoy_**: Thank you, the 2000 reviews is so overwhelming...I never thought this story would get to where it is. It's an honour. I'm sorry for your poor phone during the last chapter (and possibly during this one) I hope that you didn't squeeze it into malfunctioning; these have definitely been a few nail-biting installments. It is so sad that Draco had the choice between Audrey or Dumbledore (or rather, he didn't have any choice at all) but at least it let us know just how strongly he feels for her. Theodore being in the chapter was really refreshing as well, especially since we now know that Draco won't be in the upcoming few chapters after he fled. Hope you liked it and thank you for reviewing!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: It's true, Theo doesn't want her dead; I just think he doesn't want her forgiven for what happened in the Department of Mysteries. I don't blame him – it can't be easy knowing that someone who murdered your father got away without any ramifications. Especially when that person was your friend. But don't worry, we'll be hearing more from him soon...thanks for the review.**

_animagirl_**: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: Yes, that was the battle – it's now come and gone...what did you think? It was definitely tragic, as you mentioned, but I hope that it was still enjoyable. I'm also sorry that I didn't let Dumbledore live – I see that you were really excited for it...but that would have been too easy and too many horrible things need to happen in the next book that I'm sure Dumbledore would have been able to save these characters from. Since when have I given them the easy way out?**

_Magimagus_**: I warned you that the action in the last few chapters of HBP were going to be intense...apparently some people didn't believe me because everyone seemed surprised, haha. Poor Audrey is feeling betrayed by Snape now that she knows what he's done; it will be interesting if she ever finds out about his love for Lily. We'll be finding out about the bezoar incident in just a little bit...it'll be emotional and wonderful. Next chapter won't be exciting, per se, but it will be a nice chapter to tie up some of the loose ends and answer some of the questions that were posed a little earlier on. I never actually planned for Audrey to realize her own talents there (when she realized that she doesn't run) but it was really nice to have her finally notice. I was going to save it until a plot point in DH, but it fit a bit too perfectly in her conversation with Theodore. The prelude will be fun to write, even if it's upsetting that I lost the two chapters I had written for it. But there will be some really nice POV chapters from characters we don't always hear from. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this new chapter :)**

_incitanemxx_**: Haha, I'm glad you liked it and it IS amazing that you push other books aside...I'm actually really flattered. I read a little bit of everything, but I have a huge love for fiction and fantasy; particularly when it has to do with mythology, ghosts, ghoules, and all things mythical. I was a huge supplier of the vampire franchise, as well. Book stores got a lot of money from me to fuel the craze. I'm also a huge poetry reader; I started reading Shakespeare when I was six and since then I haven't really put a book down unless I'm picking up another.  
>The last chapter was nice to write but I think this one was more fun...and heartbreaking. My eyes fogged up quite a few times when I was writing it. And of course Audrey was going to face the Death Eaters! What kind of rebel would she be if she let them get away without enduring some of her fury? I hope you have fun in Turkey, it was one of the places I didn't get to see on my trip, but I've heard it's beautiful! Thanks for reviewing.<strong>

_Nicky-Maree_**: Yeah, the last chapter was pretty crazy; I can't tell if this one was even more so, or if this one was a bit more predictable...hopefully it was still an exciting read. I agree that Harry definitely got the short end of the deal when it came to Audrey's wrath, but at least they'll start to rekindle their relationship from this point forward. He was very brotherly here and Audrey tends to forgive him when she feels important to him.  
>Draco was pretty sweet in the last chapter, even if here he was a coward. I felt awful for him from start to finish, but I'm still pretty disappointed in him. As for Theo, I was pretty proud of him in the last chapter...he'll be showing up in the next, as well. I'm surprised how many people assumed that Theodore or Draco killed Circe; was it a shock when it was revealed this chapter? It was a shock even for me to write (though I knew it was coming) and I felt Audrey's pain when she realized that she was betrayed by her own mentor. I loved your thoughts that Draco may have used her to test the Cabinet, though – but sadly it hit a little closer to home. As for the bezoar incident, we'll be hearing more about that next chapter too...with darkness comes the dawn. And then the blazing hot sun of Audrey's scorned heart, of course ;) As always, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the drama!<strong>

_OddPotato_**: It was a lot of fun to write in the Audrey or Dumbledore twist for Draco, no matter how cruel it was; I also loved putting Theodore back in the plot and having the world know about Dreaco's romance. Who knew that it would be such a moment of backfiring for Audrey – because the world knows, Voldemort used it against Draco. Poor guy. I hope you liked this chapter; thank you as always!**

_Fantasy-Mania31_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this one just as much :)**

_xxz0eyxx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully I kept up the excitement in this one. Harry was even more protective here than he was in the last few chapters, which was really nice to write, and Theodore will be in the next chapter again. It was a pretty sad ending to the chapter but I hope that you ended up liking it. Thank you, as always for reviewing!**

_19irene96_**: Audrey's definitely kicking some butt in this chapter, even if she got beaten up a bit, herself. I hope you liked the chapter!**

_loquacious gabby_**: Thank you, I'm glad I could give a good start to your morning and I can only hope this one was brightened your day as much as the depressing matter could have :)**

_Guest_**: Hope you liked it!**

_Katie_**: It's okay if you cried in the last chapter...I was pretty teary during this one. I'm glad you liked it so much that you were so attached; hopefully this one got a similar reaction!**

_Lycoris1305_**: Haha, I love you too. These chapters have been even more fun to write than back when I was writing the Triwizard tournament...the excitement just makes my fingers race! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and thank you so much for the review!**

_ . _**: And I love your review! Thanks :)**

_Eudora Z_**: I'm glad that you couldn't put the story down; I'd really like to think that people haven't made a TwinFic that included a girl like Audrey before. I think that she and Ron are made to bicker and she and Hermione are two logical minds who have different standards, but rationalize things in a similar way. She and Harry are very different (impulse vs calculation), though in the end they retain some of the same general morals (loyalty, saving everyone instead of just their friends, etc).  
>Seren is going to be a really fun character to write (well, re-write, I had written nine chapters for her story then lost them all) but I'm not trying to replace her with my favourite Lestrange. She was born in 1925 (Tom born in 1926) and was dead and gone before Bellatrix was even born. My favourite set of identical twins will be back soon (early in the Deathly Hallows portion of the story) and as will the rest of the Order. Anyway, I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you for your reviews!<strong>

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I don't blame you, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen it's pretty crazy and confusing to think of what will happen from one chapter to the next. It's a lot of drama, that's for sure! We'll get to see more Theodore in the next chapter and I hope I answered most of your questions in the bulk of the text. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: The last chapter was definitely bittersweet – this one was certainly more bitter, though. Theo and Audrey did get to speak and Draco showed his feelings for her by trying to protect her; but with everything that happened in this chapter I don't think it will be enough to keep her spirits high. Thanks for the review, I hope you liked the update.**

_Yavanna_**: Audrey narrowly avoided being captured, but as you see she made it out. Yes, sometimes I think that Audrey and Harry's relationship is unbelievable because he seems out of character – but I never actually make him do things that aren't in the book; it's really her perception that poisons it against him. Poor guy. Don't worry; one day it will all make sense! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_BlackRose_**: Aw, I'm glad you liked the chapters! These past few have been more than a joy to write. I get giddy like some of my readers say they do, honestly. To comfort you about the Slytherin girls who tortured Audrey: she'll get her revenge (I swear it. It'll be sweet, too) and even though Draco left in this chapter we'll get a few more moments with some of the other Slytherins and Audrey in the next. Good call that the Dark Mark was used to lure Dumbledore back to the castle; I'm glad a few people remembered. I thought it would have been done already for her to go with Draco, plus I have a few things planned for Audrey that I couldn't make happen if she was captured – this early, at least ;) I'm sorry that this won't be finished quite yet, but it will be finished very early February. Thanks for reviewing! **

_Ahsilaa_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like seeing the Slytherin side of things; it's really fun to write. I hope you liked this last chapter!**

_lemonlime2926_**: I hope I updated quickly enough that you haven't died; it was a pretty exciting chapter. I'm really glad you like the story. Thanks for reviewing!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Wow, the last could have been the best chapter? I'm glad it went over so well! Where does this one rank? It was definitely exciting as we saw some of her more Gryffindor qualities again and she tried to save Draco...thanks for the review!**

_Leo Douglas_**: I know, I have an addiction to cliff hangers...I hope it was worth the wait!**

_anonymousreader_**: Thank you :) I will be stopping this story at the Deathly Hallows, but I think I'll keep posting flashbacks and one-shots in Audrey Potter's Prelude so you can still get a taste of the story even after it's finished. We found out who killed Circe in this chapter; I hope that it was a bit of a surprise (even if it was a sad one). Thank you for taking the time to review.**

_MissLaufeyson_**: Thank you! I'm honoured that you enjoy the HP series now. It's been a lot of fun to write, even those cliff hangers that seem to have shocked you, haha. I hope you liked this chapter and I'm so glad that you're liking the story; thank you again!**

_katie93319_**: Good call on knowing that they were trying to draw Dumbledore back to the castle; Draco did put the Dark Mark there first...but it was a fun way to end the last chapter. We'll be seeing a little more Theodore next chapter; I hope you liked it!**

_Yui-chan'starrysky_**: I missed Theo too, he's such a great character. Draco couldn't keep Audrey safe unless he stayed there with her, he should have known she wouldn't just stay complacent. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you enjoyed this one just as much :)**

_Ilovecupcakesandcookies_**: Yes, the last chapter was a crazy one...hopefully you liked this one as well; it was a little less chaotic but hopefully just as exciting.  
>You're right that Audrey will forgive Harry, she always will. They're twins; they're very different, but still twins. When Snape told her to stay with Draco, I assumed it was to watch him and know what he was planning to do...not that she should try to fight the Death Eaters off. He knew that Audrey would come to warn him if Draco would do anything foolish, as she did. As you can see, we'll be spending quite some time with the Gryffindors now that she wasn't taken by the Death Eaters...so you'll be able to see their reactions to most of the things that will continue to happen.<br>I agree that Slytherins don't give up. They're specifically credited to being determined, ambitious, sly, cunning and self-preservative. They also have a strong sense of leading qualities and a sense of fraternity...I could see them fighting for their own (as with what happened between Montague and Daphne) even if they won't fight for others that aren't "with" them. As you said, I believe a lot of them are quite brave...I just think they have higher expectations as to what they'll get out of helping people.  
>Questions like why the Gryffindors were following Audrey and what they knew about she and Draco's relationship will be elaborated on in the last chapter.<br>Yes, she realized once in OOTP that while she went to go into Astral Projection she had a vision. But that was only once while she was working with Snape in Fifth Year. We are about to find out that it is now the only way she can force her visions (or we will in the next chapter) whereas she used to have them organically.  
>I have two very different endings in mind for this story. I was very conflicted up until OOTP, but now that I know which ending I'm choosing I plan on posting the OTHER ending tin Audrey Potter's Prelude. I love them both so much (and they are so unbelievably different) that I'd like to give people the option to read both if they'd like to.<br>To be fair, in real life, you hear a lot of people who live through traumatic events like wars and disasters, they usually end up together. It can be because they feel like the only other person who understands is someone who lived through the chaos, or because of how safe they feel with said person after it's over. I think some people would have ended up together...but I like that not everyone did (I always thought Neville/Luna may, or Draco/Pansy, for example). Then again, I was a Ginny Weasley fan from book two. Anyway, thank you so much for the in-depth review. I hope you liked this new chapter :)**

_SwiftAlice_**: So many things DID happen! Sorry I was a little late responding to your email, it's been a crazy week in the life of moi. Yes, it was colder than Mars and we just got ANOTHER deep-freeze, so it officially feels like there is no end to Canada's unnaturally cold winter. I hope that your heat has given you a rest, even if our cold has it...but now I'm starting to wonder if they might be related (when you have heat-waves and we have cold-snaps). Hopefully not.  
>Yes, it's crazy how much longer OOTP is than the other books. I don't know how long DH is going to end up being; I don't want to stretch it out too long but at the same time, I don't want it to end up too short. I have a lot of plot points to get through though...so...guess we'll find out. Anyway, yes, last chapter was totally crazy...but this one was even crazier. I think. I guess that's just my own opinion. The next chapter won't be AS exciting, of course, it's mostly just to tie up the loose ends and kind of simmer everything down until DH starts. But I hope this one was good enough to ignore that. Theodore wasn't in it, but he will be in the next chapter (this did take place over like...fourty-five minutes, if you think about it).<br>Draco RAN. Yeah, it was heartbreaking to write. I knew this was coming, of course (hence the chapter name) but when I actually write moments like this down...ugh, it hits me just like it hits everyone else, I swear. Sometimes I wish I could just change it, but these characters write themselves. I actually expected Draco to admit how much he cared for her (not necessarily loved her, but cared for her) but it just didn't work. As I said, they write themselves, they just use my fingers to do it.  
>Audrey will explain more about why her visions work and did not work later on, that will be during the loose-end-tying-up. And of course Audrey wasn't too late! I couldn't let myself miss out on that drama. I hope that the later part, when they were chasing after Draco and Snape turned out well...especially when we found out about Snape and his confession about Circe :(<br>I'm upset for my month break too – I really am – but at the same time I will hopefully have such a head start that I can release chapters more often than I have been. Besides, I need to get everything in order. The next book is still a little bit in pieces – I have it all figured out, I just haven't gotten it on a timeline yet. Oh, I'm so excited for you to write it. Audrey is going to be...badass, angry, demon.  
>Hopefully during this break I can get a start on Tom and Seren's story as well. You know, again. And I have some really great scenes I'm excited to write for Audrey Potter's Prelude (including the moment when Draco is made a Death Eater and told his mission...oh yeah, I'm going there)!<br>Anyway, thank you as always for your wonderful review and all your work (if you haven't read my email, a reader from your translation came to read this version because they couldn't stop...gah, I'm so honoured!) so thank you, thank you, thank you! **

_Arabella Ella_**: I know! A part of me wishes the story was already written so that I could just release it a few times a week...but honestly I fear the days of the last few chapters, it's going to be heartbreaking for this story to end. I'm glad that you think this story is different and breaks the mould, it's a lot of fun to write. I missed Theo too, we'll be seeing him in the next chapter, as well as the other Slytherins and their reactions to what happened during the battle. I love Loki too...obviously I have a thing for bad boys. They're so fun to write! Thanks for the review :)**

_MimsyIsland_**: I've had a lot of people tell me that Audrey is like Amy from Doctor Who, so you're not too weird, haha. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_HeartsAsMinds_**: It's true, Draco really doesn't care that Audrey happens to be the sister of the Boy Who Lived; I think he likes her because she challenges him. He likes her for who she is, as you said...I'm glad you like the story and hope you liked this newest chapter.**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: Perfect, hopefully you were on the edge of your seat during this chapter as well! Thanks for reviewing.**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. This chapter was a pretty exciting one, so hopefully it was as exciting as the last :)**

_narratoroflife_**: I know, this story is a beast in length, but I'm glad you took the time to read it and I'm even happier to know that you're enjoying it. I think that Harry and Audrey just give each other their space; Audrey just is more negative about it. Since we see things from her point of view, it seems worse. Sadly people will die in the final battle; that's how wars work. I wish they didn't have to die too, trust me...but people will. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_Melody_**: Don't worry about being late to review, it's nice to get one in general – it doesn't have to be "on time". I hope that the chapter was everything you wanted it to be after the cliff hanger from last time and that this one wasn't too upsetting...I know I got emotional. Theodore was back in the last chapter and he will return in the next, though Draco iwll not be making an appearance and Snape has...well...mortally wounded Audrey. Either way, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked it!**

_ .okumura_**: I agree, I liked that we got to see how much Draco cares. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Colette Hyuga_**: It is great that she finally admits to loving Draco – if only he had said it before he ran! **

_Dwarfsun_**: The big finale...did you enjoy it? It was great and horrible to write all at the same time. As you can see, I couldn't let Dumbledore live; he had his reasons for dying in the book and you're right, it was necessary for him to die in this version as well. It would let the twins take the easy way out if he was still alive...and that's just not my style :P **

_Alex Dumbledore_**: Oh wow, I'm actually so honoured that you liked the Spanish version enough to come and tackle this long version! Thank you so much, it's really sweet of you. I'm so glad that you like the characters (Audrey, in particular) and how she changes the plot; I hope that you continue to enjoy the story as it goes on...again, thank you, I'm really flattered!**

_Lovely Kaplan_**: Oh yeah, Audrey may be a bit of a coward and a little selfish, but she isn't the kind to run away from a challenge; she's the kind to try to out-think the problem. It's why I made her the one to warn people and try to get the action started. Anyway, hopefully you liked this dramatic addition to the story!**

_Geri_**: Oh, don't worry, it's nice that you're taking the time to review this chapter; I know that life can get in the way. Thank you for all the compliments, I really appreciate that you like the story so much – it's really become a part of my daily life. The Deathly Hallows is going to be really exciting to try to get a start on and I'm also excited to write some scenes for Audrey Potter's Prelude. The next chapter will (hopefully) be an emotional one if all goes as planned, so I hope you enjoyed this one enough to get you through the wait until the next!**

_OfSoundMind_**: Thank you :) It's really fun to write (particularly Audrey's snarky-ness and spit-fire attitude) and the plot points and twists are always something I get excited to get down onto my computer keys. I hope that you liked this chapter and I'm so glad that you've grown so fond of the story. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Blackhooded001_**: Yeah, this story is a beast to read but I hope that it was worth the many hours of storyline! Thanks for taking the time to review. I write all my one-shots in Audrey Potter's Prelude and have been asked a few times to write some pre-Hogwarts moments, so I started by writing the day they found out they were going to Hogwarts. I plan on writing more of their earlier years as well, if you were interested in reading that :)**

_StarrySky0103_**:Thank you! Yes, the chapters seem to get longer and longer, but I hope it's because there's more in it, not because I'm rambling, haha. I'm glad that you think it's worth reading despite the length and I'm glad you like Audrey; she's really fun to write. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this newest chapter.**

_EmTaylor_**: If you reach this far into the story, thank you for reviewing and I hope you've been enjoying it :)**

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><p><strong>Thank you all for being so great and reading this far into the story! I know it's been emotional and it's been a rollercoaster, but I hope you've been enjoying it. Please remember that after the next chapter I will be taking approximately a month break to get a head start on the chapters for the next portion of the story and I will be updating Audrey Potter's Prelude in the meantime. Thank you so much for all your support<strong>

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter as **EgyptsLegend**for updates, Q&As, sneak-peaks and more :)**


	78. Picking Sides

**Happy Valentine's Day! I thought it would be a fitting occasion to release this on a holiday. Please remember that I will be taking approximately a month break from this story, but in the meantime I will be trying to update **_Audrey Potter's Prelude _**as much as I can. When I come back, I hope to have a bunch of chapters ready to edit and then release so there won't be as long of a wait. Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites that I have gotten during this section of the story; I really appreciate all your support. **

**Enjoy the end of The Half Blood Prince :)**

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><p>Chapter 77 – Picking Sides<p>

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><p>Invisibility had never really seemed important to me as it always had to Harry. When he had been sneaking, I had been distracting; when he would hide, I would be lying; when he had been spying, I'd usually been the one he had spied <em>on<em>...but I understood the compulsion now. Now that I needed my time to think and to figure out everything that had happened, invisibility was all that I craved...but the luxury would have been as much an illusion as the calmness that had settled over the castle after the battle.

Madame Pomfrey had been one of the few to see me, thanks to my injuries. The concussion was too great to ignore and as tempting as the idea of never having to wake up to this mess seemed, I was not ready to die in my sleep – she tended to that first. She made sure that very few knew that it was me behind the curtains of the last bed on the right. I was laid beside Bill, whose face had been mauled by Greyback during the fight; we were assured he would stay human, even if he was scarred, more gruff, and now had an affinity for very rare meats. I hadn't stayed or gotten to speak with him for very long, but the way he was asking for each meal to be served raw was enough to know the damage.

Ron had found me that day, thanks to visiting Bill when Mr and Mrs Weasley were in the hospital wing tending to him. Ron had been more than pleased to inform me that not only were the Slytherins in twists, but my brother wanted to talk – I had gotten myself discharged before he was out of the room to tell Harry where to find me.

I spent half the day in the Room of Requirement after that – not that it had been easy to go back and face that place. I had initially convinced myself that I was going to grab the potions I'd left to brew there – things like nearly completed Liquid Luck and Polyjuice potion were not something I was willing to give up on...but I was lying to myself. I was really there for that moment; the odd breath when I could forget that Draco wasn't here with me, that he wasn't waiting behind one of the shelves like he always had been. This was where I had seemed to spend all year with him...it seemed comforting to be there for the few seconds I could pretend he was with me. But he wasn't; and it was incredible how easily erased he had been from the room, as he had been from my life.

From there it hadn't been that difficult getting down to the common room unnoticed; those who dared to be in the halls were walking in groups that were noisy and easy to avoid, but most stayed in the common rooms besides meal times. It was during meal times that I heard parents tended to make grand entrances to steal their children away from their friends and comforts. I didn't feel the need to join the hordes, I didn't feel like I _deserved_ to join them. There was a part of me that I couldn't deny felt like it had never been a part of this place – not really. I didn't feel like I had ever been like everyone else here. I had been a spectator, not a partaker. I had been someone who watched in classes but could never perform, someone who watched the world fall apart but never stopped to hold it together. I was reaping what I had sown with no one to teach me how to mend it. My mentor, the monster that I refused to accept, had finally taught me my most valuable lesson – nothing was permanent.

The first day that I was in bed no one dared to open the curtains.

The second day Daphne and Lillian had started trying to coax me out, though they ended up giving in and leaving me food with a few words to convince me to keep myself healthy.

The third day they tried to sic Tracey on me, though even she didn't have the nerve to try and open the curtains and face my wrath.

It was the fourth day that they had finally found my kryptonite. Though Tracey had tried using intimidation while Lillian and Daphne had tried to use comfort, it was guilt that worked the best – a blind man could have seen that it was what I needed to pull myself out of my own head. So they fetched it for me, the guilt rearing its head with the rude _rip_ from my curtains as they were torn from my bed.

"Up," the low voice commanded, footsteps sounding before the opposite side of curtains were torn from the bed frame. I groaned at the harsh light of the room. "It wouldn't be so surprising if you'd stop being such a prat, Potter."

"What do you want, Zabini?" I groaned, throwing my pillow over my face so that Blaise would not get to comment on what my hair could only have done after four days of tossing, turning and tugging at it.

"Besides for you to take a bloody shower," he began, I heard the ruffle of curtains again while he moved the last bits aside much more gently than the other part he had actually torn away. "I want you to stop feeling like everything's your fault. I hate martyrs."

"Luckily I don't give a flying fart what you think," I mumbled into the pillow. I heard a deep sigh before someone grabbed my pillow and ripped it from my face. I all but bared my teeth as I turned to snap at him, but fell short when I saw who had taken it from me – it was Theodore. He was standing there looking stoic while dressed in his fancy robes, they all were. All of them had fine robes on, made of the darkest materials. My face screwed up.

"Is the funeral today?"

"Yes," he told me simply. "You'll be going if I have to drag you there myself."

"It doesn't matter how thin I am, I will not make that easy," I responded lowly, running a hand through my hair to try and tame it. By the knots that pulled at my scalp and stopped my fingers from moving, I could only guess that there were lots of them and that taming them was a lost cause.

"Luckily I don't give a flying fart," he mimicked, rolling his eyes. "If you're feeling so guilty than you may as well be using it in a productive way – like attending the funeral of the person you feel guilty over doing whatever it is you did. It could be alleviating."

"Or disastrous," I grumbled to myself, looking through my eyelashes at the group of Slytherins around me. I didn't know what to make of my dorm mates having invited Blaise and Theodore in on this intervention, but I couldn't deny the suspicion I felt for their acceptance of it. "Come on, we know that you two would love to feed me to the wolves. People don't want me there now that they know the part I played-"

"You're forgetting all the different parts you played," Daphne spoke up, weaving her fingers around one another anxiously. "You warned the _entire_ school about the threat."

"And then let the threat escape," I let my head fall into my hands. "I _let_ them run."

"Most people don't know that part," Tracey said, sounding nervous. I raised my eyes enough to see that she and Blaise were motioning to each other, trying to stay quiet – it appeared that Blaise had been one of those people to have not known. I sighed, digging my face back into my hands again.

"A lot of the Slytherins feel indebted to you," Lillian explained after she saw my upset. "If you hadn't told Daphne to barricade the wall, if you hadn't have warned us, we never would have been able to be ready for when Alecto Carrow was down here..."

Yes, Alecto Carrow had made a very brief detour to the Slytherin commons before she had found her way to the Astronomy tower. Apparently she was infamously not a fan of anything Anti-Voldemort and since Voldemort was about Pureblood power, Anti-Voldemort included people like Tracey – a fellow Halfblood. Maybe that was why Blaise was here: not necessarily to support me, but to thank me for keeping her guarded.

"We stick to our own, Audrey," Daphne said softly. "And you did that by warning us. The Slytherins are not only realizing that but they're appreciating it..._appreciating _it."

"And the other parts of the night?" I asked, my eyes narrowed. "What have you heard about that?"

They all sent anxious looks around to each other, all of them nervous and uncomfortable...all of them except for Theodore, whose eyes were determinedly not looking anywhere but at me.

"You let Snape and Draco go," he said simply, as if stating that the weather was sunny. "You saved them from a life at Azkaban – if not worse."

"You didn't make them do anything, Audrey," Daphne agreed, taking a step forward as she weaved her fingers through each other again. "You let them make their own choices."

"Choices that got people killed," I elaborated sourly, my eyes darting to Theodore. "And those are bad choices."

Theodore kept his gaze on me for a long moment, weighing and measuring his thoughts and my responses. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he decided what the appropriate to say would be while I was grieving. He was also trying to figure out what was inappropriate, no matter how badly he may have wanted to say something else. It was a war that I had only started seeing in Theodore since last year, after he had grown to know the real shadows that life could cast over us – the shadow was now behind his eyes, warring over whether or not he wanted to hurt me with his words.

"They were bad choices," he muttered, his voice meaningful. "But they were the right ones to make."

It was an immediate reaction, feeling myself tear up. It would have been impossible to stop the sting to my eyes, even if I had wanted to. I couldn't help but wonder whether or not he realized what he sounded like – did he realize that he almost sounded as if he were forgiving me?

"Let's get you ready," Daphne broke the silence, moving over to my wardrobe. "You shower while I find the most suitable outfit."

Theodore moved away to give me enough space to reach the lavatory. I showered in something that must have been akin to a daze; even though I couldn't stop a few tears mingling with the water I had let run hot enough to burn me. By the time I had calmed myself, I was no longer able to smell my own sweat, so I stepped out. Daphne had come in while I was still showering and laid out my dress robes.

The tears had either not gone away, or they had come back with a vengeance.

The robes laid out on the chair for me were the dress robes I had bought this summer. They were the robes made of the expensive material Draco had worn, the same robes that I had been wearing when Draco and I had finally gotten together again, admitted that we didn't want to be without each other anymore. I couldn't wear those, not to Dumbledore's funeral, not after everything Draco and I had gone through to try to keep him alive and send Dumbledore to the grave I was thinking of standing beside...

"Why aren't you wearing your robes?" Daphne demanded, looking over at me and trying to hide her disgust when I appeared in my already dirty clothing.

"I'm not wearing them," I told her. "I'm not going to the funeral either."

"Audrey," Lillian sighed, "you can't just _miss_ it."

"I won't miss it," I shook my head. "I just won't go with everyone else. I have no right to be there with everyone else and quite honestly, I don't want to be. I don't belong with them, I don't belong _here_."

"That's not true-"

"It is true," I interrupted. "That's what this whole thing boiled down to: I had to make the hard choices. I may or may not have made the right ones-" I cast a look at Theodore, who bowed his head slightly. "None of us have made the choices that we're going to have to. But we _have _to. We have to decide what's important and protect those things. We have to pick sides. All of us."

"We can't just pick sides. That's not how it works," Blaise growled, his teeth grit as if I had insulted him.

"Audrey, it's not that simple," Lillian agreed, looking over at Daphne nervously.

"I'm not saying it's _simple_," I told her. "I'm saying it's what's right to do. I'm not saying that you need to join the Order of the Phoenix and I'm definitely not promoting getting the Dark Mark on your arms – but it's time to decide. We're not just kids anymore; we're kids in the middle of a war. People are _going_ to die...the question is which of those people you'll fight to save."

I looked at all of them carefully, letting my words sink in, before I cleared my throat. "That's what Dumbledore was trying to teach me all year – and I've picked my side. You need to pick yours."

"We'll die," Theodore muttered. "Some of us don't have the choice that you do."

"Yes you do," I argued, shaking my head and trying not to scoff at all of their scared expressions. "Of course you do. Draco did, I did – clearly we chose differently, but that doesn't mean..." I cut myself off when my voice broke, unable to continue talking about what it meant now that Draco had run away from me. Now that he had left me for _Voldemort_. "I understand that you will choose whatever you choose and don't make your decisions based on me – make your decision based on who you want to see alive when we've seen this through."

No one spoke, I don't think any of them had anything to say. I think that I would have been insulted if they'd tried to speak; it would have been discrediting my words...and none of them could do that. I'd given them more than enough to think about – which was why I was surprised after the few moments of silence when Daphne came toward me and took hold of my shoulders, looking me in the eyes and sighing deeply.

"Get changed."

"I'm not going to the funeral," I told her again, my voice firm.

"Oh, I know you're not going to the funeral," she told, her voice displeased, but holding a slight humour. "But if I'm going to spend any more time with you, I'd really like the ability to breathe through my nose."

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><p>It was a beautiful funeral, from what I could tell. There were hundreds of people who had come to pay their last respects to Albus Dumbledore. The school had been herded out to the edge of the lake and sat farthest from where Hagrid had carried Dumbledore's body – I could only tell what had happened thanks to Hagrid being so large that he was impossible not to see, even from so far away. I couldn't tell if anyone had gotten up to speak, but there was such a long pause between things happening that it was easy to assume. The only thing I could really see from this far away after Hagrid had taken his seat was the final display as a great white flame rose into the air in spirals and symbols that I'm sure Hermione would have been able to identify as ruins. With one last flame that distinctly looked like a crying phoenix, the flames simmered into a hard, white faced tomb that encased the area that Dumbledore's body had been put to rest. As a finale, arrows shot from the sky, a silent tribute from the forest dwellers and ripples from the lake to symbolize the merpeoples tears.<p>

"It's exactly how he would have wanted it," I spoke. It was the first time I had spoken to either Theodore or Daphne since I had dragged them up the Astronomy tower with me. We sat in between the parapets of the castle wall, the small rails that had not been able to stop Dumbledore's body from falling to the grounds were the only thing keeping each of us safe as our feet dangled from the highest point of the castle. It was terrifying, but it was almost a silent tribute to him – showing him how I knew I had to start overcoming my own fears for the greater good that he had tried to teach me.

"It's devastating," Daphne sniffled from the grove in the wall to my left. If I leaned forward I could see her legs, but I could not see her face thanks to the rock between us. Theodore did not dangle his legs as she and I did, but I could feel him to my right even if I could not see him.

"I guess I never thought Draco would do it," Theodore explained, his voice loud enough to speak over the wind, but quiet enough to sound like a whisper. "I think it's why I let you go to him – just in case he would."

"Well, he didn't," I answered shortly, my chest brimming with the venom that seemed to burn through my lungs again. Every breath felt like an insult, knowing that I could have stopped it – that I could have captured them – that I could have done _something _to stop Dumbledore from dying. To avenge him after he had...

"I never thought Snape would have done it either," he amended, nearly sounding like his factual again. "Quite honestly I never thought he would die."

"It makes sense," I whispered, my brow furrowing. "Considering my visions and the lessons I was having with him. It was like he expected it."

"Poor Draco," Daphne sniffled again. My chest constricted as I thought about what she had said – _poor Draco_. Yes, Draco had definitely received the pointed end of the wand here, but I wasn't yet ready to say '_poor Draco'. _But it was a fantastic, freeing feeling – someone agreeing that Draco _had _been out of options. I knew that today, when I had to get onto the Hogwarts express, that Harry wouldn't understand. Harry wouldn't be saying that to me, the Gryffindors would be against what he had done...but it was comforting to know that not everyone thought he was a monster.

It was even more comfortable to be sitting here, talking about it all. If I had not killed Thuban Nott last year, would this all have been avoided? Would the three of us have been able to sit down and have a conversation, work out a plan so that we could protect Draco and give him the options that would not only keep him safest, but the smartest?

But it wasn't last year and I _had _finished Thuban Nott. I felt no pity for myself about where I was now; I had gotten myself here. I had landed myself without allies to trust and without people who trusted me enough to inform me they knew what had been happening to Draco. Theodore had known, this he told me today. Daphne had suspected. But I had _known._ It was my fault I hadn't stopped it, just as it was my fault I'd had no one to help me try.

"People are getting ready to leave," Theodore informed, breaking me out of my spiralling thoughts. Looking down on the procession, we could see people starting to move and shift from our spot above them. There were a few people even headed back toward the castle – one caught up with the other, closest toward us.

"Is that your brother?" Theodore asked. I looked down, trying to focus in on the two figures, but there was no way I could have been able to tell who it was. Hagrid was the only one recognizable in the group of people thanks to his size and he was currently sitting in his chair – which had sunk into the dirt thanks to his giant brother's comforting pats – and was sobbing into a handkerchief...I could hear the honking from here. The person I could not see, the one who had caught up to my possible twin, seemed calm. Then his movements became more erratic – yes, he was definitely talking to my brother. Only my brother could so quickly make someone _that _annoyed.

"Is he talking to a lion?" I asked, noticing just how the mane of hair seemed to flash during the man's angry movements.

"That's Harry and he's talking to the Minister," Daphne affirmed, leaning forward far enough that I could see her nose, which was red from crying. "Do those two tend to chat often?"

"Just when the Minister wants something," I sighed, leaning back so that I could try to see Daphne fully. "Do they look upset?"

"When doesn't your brother look upset?"

"Touché," I sighed, watching as the Minister seemed to grow more and more upset. Two other figures – whom I could only assume would be Ron and Hermione – were coming up towards Harry, as if waiting for word that he needed their support.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Theodore asked me. I frowned, shrugging my shoulders as I watched the display as closely as I could – I really needed glasses. If Daphne could tell who he was talking to and how upset he looked, I should at least be able to see that it was my own twin.

"No."

"Don't you think you should do that before you're on the Express?" He asked again, his voice thick with an obvious fact that I felt I was missing.

I screwed up my face. "Do I have to?"

He sighed, as if I were being foolish – it was a sound I was all too used to and even though last year I would have been frustrated by his condescension, it was a comforting familiarity. "Yes."

Without another word, Theodore sent a red firework up in between our place high up on the Astronomy tower and where my brother was apparently being harassed by the Minister for Magic. It got their attention, as well as most others, while they turned to see what had been shot into the sky. I couldn't see expressions from here, but I wouldn't doubt that many people had turned around in fear – where Theodore had shot that firework was precisely where the Dark Mark had hung itself six days ago. It made me ill just comparing the red flashes to the green glare that had hollowed out Draco's anxious eyes...

When the two men on the ground tried to focus on us I could finally tell that it was my brother. It only took a minute before Harry seemed to realize that it was me too, because after another quick word to the Minister he waved over the two people who had been eavesdropping from afar – _definitely _Ron and Hermione – before he made his way into the castle.

"That wasn't kind of you," I muttered, knowing that Harry was now on his way to talk to me.

"It needed to happen. Your brother is worried about you...we all are. Things are going to change now that Dumbleodre's gone," Daphne explained, climbing out from her place between the high castle bulwarks and looking down at me with red-rimmed eyes. "You told us that we have to pick sides; you realize you have to pick too, don't you? Now's the time for you and your brother to stick together or split up...so stay safe _together_."

That didn't seem like she was giving me very much of a choice.

"She's right," Theodore muttered, getting up from his own place between the high walls. I did the same, brushing off my muggle blue-jeans so that I could stand with them. There was something about the tone of their voices that let me know this was the two of them saying goodbye. "You two are no good together if you can't decide whether you want to help each other or not."

"I'm more help to him when we aren't together," I admitted, my voice amused and rueful. "Not that he tends to agree."

"Maybe there's a reason for that," Theodore offered, still sounding factual even if there was that pushy edge to his voice now. "Goodbye, Potter...see you when I see you."

"Yeah," I didn't really know how to say goodbye to him other than that. There was no moment to hug him – things had not progressed that much – but it felt wrong to keep it so simple. After everything that had happened this week, I knew I owed him more than a simple 'yeah' or even a simple 'goodbye'. "Theodore? Thank you."

He gave me a stiff nod before he scratched his neck and awkwardly left – maybe he was trying to give Daphne and I privacy, maybe he didn't like that I was acknowledging this new civility between us, or more likely he may have been trying to escape before he was forced to come face to face with my brother. I couldn't tell and part of me was afraid to know the answer. Daphne turned to me, her eyes still glossy.

"I pick you, you know," she informed me. "I'm sorry I haven't always – but I pick you."

I smiled grimly, nodding my head. "Thank you, Daph."

She nodded, letting out a little sob before she hugged me, nearly squeezing the life out of me. Daphne and I were not a hugging kind of friendship – even at our best, our closest, we had not been that way. It felt odd, hugging her...which made it even stranger considering how supportive it felt.

"Stay safe, will you? You know where to find me if you need me...or, well, I'll do what I can." Her voice faltered at the end when she realized there was probably very little for me she would be able to do, but the sentiment was sweet in itself.

With another sniffle she ran off to meet up with Theodore, leaving me at the top of the Astronomy tower, alone again. I went to look back over the grounds again – Dumbledore's tomb stuck out blindingly from the edge of the lake and nestled near the forest – the only tomb on Hogwarts soil. It was a beautiful accomplishment, being buried here. He would have enjoyed it; the placement, the tomb, even if people were still gathered around it and painting it with their tears.

"Audrey?" I didn't need to turn to address Harry, Ron, and Hermione but I did anyway. They cringed at the sight of me, something even my Slytherin friends had worked hard to avoid doing. Hermione cleared her throat, licking her lips nervously. "You haven't been applying Murtlap essence to your injuries."

"My concussion's healed, the rest can take it's time," I informed, not really feeling the need to further explain myself to her. I wanted to look in the mirror and be reminded exactly what I had gone through and exactly why I needed to hold onto the anger and betrayal that I had felt that night, nearly a week ago. I wanted to remember that the burn against my mouth was so that they could try to silence me, that the the cuts and scrapes had gotten me so close to Draco that I could see the fear in his eyes as he ran away...these were things I did not want to forget. They had scarred my mind enough; I would let my body decide if it would do the same.

"You ran away from me," Harry muttered, frowning as he took a step forward. "I've wanted to talk to you...to make things right."

"You just went to a funeral for our dead headmaster – what needs to be made right?" I snorted derisively, looking back over my shoulder to see that many people had begun walking toward the castle. It was as if someone had told them that it was time to leave, even though we had hours before we were meant to go to the train.

"We need to talk about that night," Harry furthered. I frowned to him, my eyes narrowing.

"I don't _want_ to talk about that night," I growled, clenching my jaw and fists in tandem. "Are you here to tell me how right you were? Are you here to chastise me for trying to save Draco, even when I knew he was a Death Eater? Because I don't feel bad for it, Harry. I don't regret it for a second. So if you're here to make _yourself _feel better-"

"Malfoy showed some of his true colours last week," Harry muttered, running his hand through his hair as I always did. "They weren't...er..._quite_ as ugly as I thought."

I raised an eyebrow, falling back onto my heels and crossing my arms. "I'm listening."

"He was scared...he had given up," Harry shook his head. "I saw that he had given up. I was there, on the tower with you. I was underneath the cloak."

"I'm sorry, you what?" My anger flared in an instant. "If you were there why didn't you _do _anything?"

Harry's face screwed up in pain. "I couldn't. Dumbledore had immobilized me before he lost his wand...all I could do was watch."

I felt like I had been hit in the stomach then. If Harry had been immobilized _before _Dumbledore had lost his wand, that meant that Harry had been here – in this very place where Dumbledore had died – with the three of us for the entire time that _I_ had been there. Even longer. He had heard everything.

"He didn't want to do it," I felt myself defending him as if I were defending myself, the words coming out rushed and desperately. "He had to try to kill Dumbledore or Voldemort wanted him to kidnap me-"

"I know," Harry hung his head slightly, as did Hermione. "I heard."

"He was going to give himself up, Harry," I said just as sternly, trying to convince him to see what I had seen, even if he was too against the Malfoy family to believe it. "He doesn't want this life."

"Malfoy still ran," Ron pointed out, his arms crossed. "He may not want that life but he sure isn't willing to stick up for yours."

"That's not what it was about!" I hissed at him. "It was about saving _both _our lives!"

"Ron," Hermione agreed with me that it was too much, her tone low and very disapproving. Harry took a moment to look at him too, his brow furrowed.

"She's right, Ron. He tried to save her," Harry agreed. I tilted my head slightly; afraid I hadn't heard him correctly.

"I'm sorry?"

"He tried to save you...a few times," Harry sounded ashamed to admit it and distracted himself by shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress robes. He moved forward so that he was a little bit closer to me, almost like he was too afraid to say the words too loudly – just in case someone would hear that he was admitting he may have been wrong. "The whole deal with you or Dumbledore, him giving you his wand, he came back to check you were okay after you were cursed...he tried, I guess."

"He ran back when I was cursed?" I closed my eyes, fighting the swell of hot, stinging emotion that ran from my chest up to my eyes. "He _gave _me his wand?"

"He didn't give it, I guess," Harry shrugged. "But when you tried to conjure those wands, he may as well have; he all but kicked his wand over to you when he saw how mine had cut you. And when you were cursed he ran faster than I think I'd seen him fly...I may not like the bloke, but he certainly likes _you_."

"So you forgive him, then?" I couldn't help asking, I could hear how hopeful my voice sounded and I took the time to sniffle and rub my nose to distract from my fogged eyes and childishness.

"Not at all," he admitted, his voice devastatingly honest. "But I get why he did it."

I nodded. I guess I couldn't blame him for not being ready to give Draco a handshake or a hug, but it was some kind of progress that not only saved Draco some spite, but also saved me from having to hear about how stupid I had been. Maybe if Harry saw what I saw, it meant that I hadn't just been blinded by infatuation. Maybe there had been a chance for the two of us, even if I hadn't nursed it enough to have anything come of it. Maybe he could have been saved...or maybe he still could be.

"And Audrey," Harry continued, shaking his head and nervously ruffling his hair again. "About the bezoar...it really was a misunderstanding..."

I found that hard to believe, but I had no right to interrupt when he had just been so forgiving to the man who had aided in, or at least attempted to kill his mentor. I grit my teeth, ready to pretend to accept whatever excuses he had for me. "How?"

"I'd gotten the two from the potion's cupboard, Ron was closer, so I jumped to him first – it had nothing to do with it being about you or him, he was just closer to the potion stores...I rolled the bezoar over for Slughorn to give to you, because he hadn't moved...but he hadn't moved because he was – oh, I dont know, in shock or something. It took me a few moments before I realized he wasn't doing anything..." Harry trailed off, grabbing at his hair and pulling in his frustration. The break in his voice, the low and humiliated tone was enough to tell me that he was being relatively honest – Harry was a horrible liar, after all. Besides, what right did I have not to believe him after everything I had lied to him about this year? "By the time I had gotten to you, you weren't even convulsing. I knew that the damage had to be worse – that's why you were the first in the hospital wing...even if you weren't the first for the antidote."

"I thought you just thought of him first," I admitted, trying not to let my own feelings on this show through my voice as his had. "You always think of him first."

"He's always there to notice first," he argued, looking shocked. It was such a simple statement that made me wonder what he had really meant behind it – if he had really meant anything behind it. After a moment he looked pained, coming up to me and taking hold of my shoulders. "You're my _sister, _Audrey. I'm always thinking about you, even if you hate having to think about me."

There was a swell of shame with that – I know I had never focused on hiding my bitterness towards his higher morals and fame, but I hadn't really noticed that it was something he realized was as substantial as it was. There was a part of me that resented him – no, resented may not have been a strong enough word for the bitterness that he provoked when he was as perfect as he was. But it was strange, hearing him actually name it; give it a life outside of my head and my group of friends just as tainted as I. But still, it was true: Ron was at his side more often than I was. Ron was always there...whereas I wasn't. That line had been drawn in first year and it was a line that I had thickened each day I had felt betrayed by him...could this gap between us really have been caused by myself, as much as him?

I turned away from him, moving over to the jagged wall where Dumbledore had fallen and leaning against one of the parapet's so that I could look over the grounds. It was a straight shot to Dumbledore's tomb from here – it seemed the perfect backdrop for my troubled thoughts.

"I can't bear the idea that we might never come back," Hermione said softly, joining me on my left where Daphne had sat ten minutes before. Harry moved to my left, where Theodore had occupied. "How can Hogwarts close? What will become of it?"

"It will burn," I responded. All three looked at me in shock and I closed my eyes against the images that burnt into my memory. "I had a vision of it – I watched Hogwarts burn."

"You're having visions again?" Harry asked me. I shrugged noncommittally.

"I've found a way to force them, I think. Astral Projection seems to push them forward – it's a temporary solution while we try working all this out. But that vision was from the Third Task. It's been a long time coming."

"Because that was a long time ago," Hermione swallowed thickly. "You've changed your visions before, we'll do it again. Maybe we've already done it."

"Exactly," Ron agreed, sounding a little less harsh than before. "Maybe none of the bad things will happen. We're not in any more danger here in the castle than we are at home if it closes, are we? Everywhere's the same now. I'd even say Hogwart's is safer, there are more wizards inside to defend the place. What d'you reckon, Harry?"

"I'm not coming back even if it does reopen," Harry admitted. I turned to look at him and he looked at me seriously. He was right – there was no reason to come back. There were no classes we could take, no things that we could learn. The only thing we could do was _hunt._

"There's nothing here for us now," I realized. We were _both_ realizing just how right he was and I couldn't help but agree with him as the revelation happened. I never would have thought of it on my own, admittedly, not until I had woken up from the shock I still suspected I may be in – but it made sense. We had other things to do now and school was not one of them. Harry had lost his mentor, just as I had lost mine. There were no more lessons to learn about the real world here – we had to use the lessons we'd already learned to change what the real world was coming to.

"I knew you were going to say that," Hermione said sadly. "But then what will you two do?"

"Go back to the Dursley's once more, because Dumbledore wanted us to," Harry explained. "But it'll be a short visit, then we'll be gone for good – we'll start hunting. I find, you destroy."

"I'm good at that," I muttered, placing my chin on my hands as I looked back over to the lake as it rippled with merpeople moving to see Dumbledore's tomb now that the human spectators were dispersing.

"But where will you go if you don't come back to school?"

"I thought I might like to go back to Godric's Hollow," Harry mentioned. "It started there, all of it. I've just got a feeling we should go there. And I can visit my parents' graves, I'd like that. Wouldn't you, Drea?"

"I'd like to find the Death Eaters," I spoke, my voice low. "I want answers."

"What other answers do you need?" Ron asked, his tone ruthless even as he tried to calm himself for my sake. "Malfoy's a coward and Snape's a traitor – there's not really anything else to say, is there?"

"No," I shook my head, pressing my palms against the rock and feeling the grit under them press and ache against my skin. "No, there's more to it."

"Maybe you just want there to be more to it," Hermione suggested quietly, I appreciated her trying not to upset me, but it didn't really work.

"None of us expected Snape to be that much of a monster," Harry agreed. "But you were there with me; you saw him. He killed Dumbledore."

"No," I pushed myself off the wall, shaking my head again as I turned my back on them. "You weren't there for the whole of it like I was, Harry – you didn't know the lengths Snape had gone through to protect me, to protect Draco. It doesn't make sense for him to really be on their side; not after all these years of protecting us. If he really wanted us dead, why would he save us for so many years? He had multiple chances to see us dead. If I can't keep my bitterness towards you a secret, how could I have not seen through to the bitterness he felt for me? I've been inside Snape's mind, Harry – that's not who he was."

"Of course it was! He hid it because he didn't want you to know just how much he _was _with them," Harry argued, his voice passionate. "Drea, he killed Circe-"

"There's more to it!" I pressed my palms into my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "I know it. Snape definitely has answers for me and I'll find them even if it kills me."

"Don't say that," Hermione whispered, sounding pained.

"And then what?" Ron asked.

"Then we're tracking down those Horcruxes," I informed him. Harry nodded.

"No matter whose side Snape was on, Dumbledore knew that it had to be done and that's what he wanted us to do. That's why he told us all about them, isn't it? If Dumbledore was right – and I'm sure he was – there are still four of them out there. I've got to find them and destroy them and then I've got to go after the seventh bit of Voldemort's soul – the bit that's still in his body. And I'm the one who's going to kill him."

"And I'm the one that's going to teach you how," I told him, my voice rough. "I'll teach you how to tear him into shreds, even worse than he's done to himself with these damned Horcruxes."

"Yeah," Harry pulled out a thick, heavy locket from his pocket. It was simply crafted and engraved with an emerald, serpentine S on its front. Usually this locket gave me sickening, poisonous chills before I touched it and it would burn me...but this just made me feel confused.

"How on earth did you get that?" I asked.

"This was the Horcrux...or, it was supposed to be," Harry sighed, handing it over to me. "It's a fake. It had a note in there saying that someone had stolen it and was trying to rid the world of the Horcruxes. Signed R.A.B."

"Who's R.A.B?"

"Not a clue," he mumbled, adjusting his glasses which had fallen down his nose. "But whoever it was has the real Horcrux and I have no idea if it's been destroyed or not."

"It hasn't been," I breathed deeply, handing it over to him.

"How do you know?"

"Because it's around Dolores Umbridge's five chins," I told him with a sneer. He took a moment, looking at me as if I were insane before I smiled. "Honestly, I'm doing your job for you Harry. Maybe you should be destroying them and I'll do the hunting...because if that's really a Horcrux, I found it last _year._"

"Umbridge has the Horcrux," Harry breathed. "Of course she would. Only someone like her could have something that horrible."

"Of course," Ron sneered. "I bet she killed R.A.B when she found out he was trying to do away with her master."

"I can't say that Umbridge being a Voldemort supporter would surprise me," Hermione mumbled, her voice intergued. "You said she had it last year, Audrey?"

"Yeah," I answered. "I tried to tear it from her – it burnt me."

"We have to get it from her," Harry ordered, gripping the fake Horcrux in his fist so tightly that I wondered whether or not he was trying to mould it into a different shape.

"Consider it done," I clenched my own fists, knowing that if that locket was in my fists, I could have done what Harry was pretending to. "I can hardly wait to see her again."

"If she's still working at the Ministry we may have to break into it, or break into her home to find it," Hermione sighed. I raised my eyebrows.

"We?"

"No," Harry started arguing immediately. Hermione's eyes rolled.

"You've said to us once before that there was a time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?"

"We're with you whatever happens," Ron agreed. "But both of you are going to have to come round to mum and dad's house before we do anything else, even Godric's Hollow – Bill and Fleur's wedding, remember?"

That seemed so inconsequential, a wedding in a time like this. It may have been an optimistic attitude, that someone could find happiness in times like these, but it felt like something that would slow me down – I wanted this to be over with. There was no real happiness when around every corner someone could be dying.

Well..._almost_ no real happiness. I knew full right I would feel happiness: with every Death Eater I maimed, with every traitor I burnt and with every plot I foiled. Not for the Order, no – for me. For my revenge.

I would find my happiness in ripping Voldemort apart...one Horcrux at a time.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's it for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, folks! What does everyone think? Thank you, again, for all your support for this story. I'm really glad that you are all enjoying it and I hope you're ready for the craziness that will be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! To my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: It was sad that Dumbledore still had to die, but DH would be nearly pointless if he were around helping the entire scenario play out smoothly and safely. Snape still betrayed others and made poor Audrey feel like crap, particularly after telling her that he had killed our beloved Circe. I wish that Draco could have stayed, but that would have been too easy and not really that believable – Draco is not a soldier and he is not brave in the way we expect of heroes. For him to have come back with Audrey would have been to alter his character, something which may have been comforting but not genuine. Even if I wish it would have been, haha. I hope you liked this new chapter and I'll see you when I start to release the Deathly Hallows!**

_Leo Douglas_**: It was definitely sad to know that Snape was the one to kill Circe, it hurt to write. Maybe we'll find out why later.**

_katie93319_**: Yes, Snape's betrayal was definitely a sad one. Audrey is a smart cookie, so hopefully she'll be able to figure out that not everything is as it seems. I hope you liked this last chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Anon1_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I hope the finale had some answers for you :)**

_animagirl_**: Thanks for reviewing, I hope you liked this last chapter.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad the last chapter was such a surprise! Yes, Snape was the one who killed Circe, Draco almost gave in, and Audrey is left alone again. I'm glad that you enjoyed how the last chapter was written and hope that this chapter had some answers and loveable moments within it. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Skylar97_**: Aw, thank you so much, I'm glad that you like the story! Audrey and Harry will have many more sibling moments, particularly in the next book. The DH portion of the story will be put into this as Chapter 78 and on, but I'm not really sure how long it will take to write and release, hopefully not too much time and at the same time slowly enough that I can get ready to part with it, haha. Hopefully I answered some of your questions in this chapter; I will be taking about a month off between now and starting to release chapters for the Deathly Hallows but I will try to release some flashbacks in Audrey Potter's Prelude from other people's POV. I'm sorry to say that I don't think I have time to write a story together. The little time I have to put towards Fanfiction goes to GEM, which is why all my other stories are on pause, and the other time goes to life and writing my own original novel. I'm sorry!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Snape killing Circe was definitely a painful reveal on my part, but it was essential for Audrey to lose someone important to gather Draco's comfort and Circe **_**was **_**giving too much away. I'd like to think that she and Draco could have made something work if the Death Eaters wouldn't have ruined their moment, but I don't know if he really would have had the guts to betray them and if she would be alright just running away and not doing anything but watch as a war erupted around her. I hope you liked this last chapter of HBP, I'll see you during the Deathly Hallows!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Not only is Theodore back, but Theodore seems to be on her side. Hopefully they'll be able to overcome everything that's happened, but I can't make any promises. I can't really say I'm sorry for making you sniffle, it's awesome that you were so affected by Audrey's slights, but I AM sorry that you happened to be reading it at work, haha. I hope that you enjoyed this final chapter, especially as it's a bit happier, and that I'll see you over on the Deathly Hallows side!**

_Arabella Ella_**: Thank you so much, I hope you liked the last chapter of HBP!**

_Guest(1)_**: That would be pretty cool, a fanfic of a fanfic, haha. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, thank you.**

_Ahsilaa_**: I almost wish Draco could have stayed...but then what fun would the next book be?**

_ChloeMalfoy_**: Ha, maybe I should have warned you to have the tissues ready for the last chapter, I'm sorry! Still, I'm glad that you could get into it enough to cry. I think I've become a sadist because every time I got a review when someone would say they were crying I'd tap the shoulder of whoever was next to me and say "I made someone cry!" like a giddy little kid, haha. I'm just glad that the chapter was as powerful to you as it was to me.  
>Draco leaving was so sad. I wish that there would have been a way to make it work out, but it just wasn't realistic. Especially with the Death Eaters already in the castle. But don't worry, Audrey won't let a little distance stop her from getting what she wants.<br>Snape...yes, that's a conundrum. Now that we know he's Circe's murderer, it's going to be a lot more complicated for Audrey to be able to see the line between his good and bad sides. Still, I hope that you liked this chapter and how it finished up the HBP part of the story, I hope it gave you some answers and felt like more of a major chord to end on than a minor. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Magimagus_**: Audrey hasn't quite been convinced that Snape is evil, as we saw in this chapter, but there is no doubt that she feels betrayed by him. How couldn't she, considering she now knows that Snape killed her animal familiar?  
>Harry and Audrey are definitely different, which was fun to write (for instance, how she was so quick to jump to an Unforgivable during the battle) and as we can see, Harry doesn't necessarily forgive Draco for what he has done, but he doesn't blame him quite as much as we saw in the original story. I hope I answered some of your intrigue with the conversations she had between her friends and twin during this chapter. There were a few loose ends that I was glad to tie, even if some of the bigger questions will only become more convoluted during the upcoming chapters of DH.<br>Yes, a few people are concerned that Audrey may now be the bearer of the Elder wand. I realize now that I didn't write it clearly enough – she didn't actually disarm the people in the room; that requires a disarming spell. She just made a few of the Death Eaters drop their wands by making them either fall over, or in shock. I tried to make that a little more clear here, that was definitely my bad.  
>Anyway, I hope you liked this final chapter of HBP!<strong>

_narratoroflife_**: Thank you, I always worry whether or not I've kept people in character – it's always nice to hear what people think. I hope you liked this last chapter and thank you for your review.**

_Eudora Z_**: That would be an interesting twist, if Audrey had...but she did not disarm him in a traditional sense, so I don't think it counts. Great thought, though. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Qualme_**: I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break your heart, hopefully at some point I'll be able to fix the damage...but you might have to wait a while before that can really happen. Snape killing Circe was hard for me to write – I accidentally let it slip to one of my friends before I had written it and she was devastated, so I had an idea ahead of time just how much it would affect people...then with Draco running? Yeah, it was a pretty sad chapter. I wish it could have played out differently, but these characters pretty much write themselves now. I just use my fingers to actually post it, even if I don't always agree with how macabre it can be. Hopefully this chapter was a little more encouraging towards a happier-ish ending, especially since we'll be seeing Fred soon ;) Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_LovableAmethyst129_**: I don't normally cry either, you're not the only one to come undone by this! Why can't life be simple for them?**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: I'm sorry about the hole in your heart...but I'm glad that Audrey and Draco are capable of it.**

_Akuya the Kitsune_**: Hopefully with the month pause I will be able to get updates out faster than I have been. It usually works for the first ten chapters or so...hopefully I can make it a steady flow of chapters. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_ .okumura_**: I'm glad you liked it enough to cry, thank you for the review!**

_majoraan_**: I won't really be explaining why Snape felt the need to kill Circe because Audrey doesn't know yet and it wouldn't make sense to give insight that she doesn't have. I hope you liked the final chapter of HBP and I hope you enjoy when we finally reach the DH chapters!**

_Lycoris1305_**: I'm glad that I could still surprise you, considering how everyone could have assumed where that last chapter could have gone. You're right that Audrey doesn't really seem to like many people, it's exactly why she couldn't bring herself to attack Snape or Draco as they ran away – she is loyal in her own way and she's also cowardly in her own way, too. Luckily Audrey did realize that what happened that night wasn't all that it seemed; like how she knew that there was "more to it" when it came to Snape and his actions. She's a smart cookie, she knows how to read people...it's why she's in Slytherin.  
>I'm actually honoured that I got you to go out and see the movies of the last two segments. It's definitely going to change what you saw when you watched them to have Audrey in it, but hopefully it'll be a good read. I already have my two endings plotted out, I just need to write them...I think I'll post both though, just so people can see where it could have gone, either way. Anyway, thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked the final chapter of the Half Blood Prince!<strong>

_Guest(2)_**: I'm glad the story has been exciting enough to keep you fully involved with all the characters and their emotions. The story has gone with some of the original plot, but as you can see I have made some changes (such as Sirius living, Nott SR dying, etc) so that it works for Audrey and it is not just like reading the same plot all over again. I hope you continue to like the story and thank you for your review!**

_SanityIsOverratedXD_**: I'm glad it was a surprise, even if it was a sad one.**

_JaneAustenFan_**: He definitely took her heart with him, she's very torn up. I'm glad that it was emotional enough to get that kind of response, thank you for taking the time to review.**

_Em Taylor_**: If you make it all the way to this chapter, I hope you've enjoyed the story. Thank you for your reviews and I'm glad that you're enjoying it. As you can see, I've never really shipped Theodore with Audrey, but Daphne has been subtly shipped with Theo. Audrey's meant for Draco with slight hints at Fred and Cedric, so you don't really need to worry. I'm glad that you've liked the first chapters so much and really appreciate all your compliments and reviews :)**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Yeah, that last chapter definitely caused some tears. Poor Audrey is just not on luck's side. I'm glad that I was able to portray Dumbledore's death like that for you, I hope this chapter was powerful too. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, thank you, I'm glad that it was so consuming.  
>I wish that I could have made Audrey and Draco run away together, but as I said to another reviewer: Draco would have been too scared to betray the Death Eaters and I doubt the idea of watching a war erupt around her (while not being able to do anything) would not sit well with Audrey. I agree that it had to happen not only to keep the story interesting, but to keep them in character. They're both cowards, to a degree, but they're both smart enough to know that they wouldn't last long on their own.<br>Snape killing Circe was PAINFUL to write. I only touched the scene once, quite honestly, because I couldn't bear to write it again. I probably could have fine-tuned it in some way during editing but...I just couldn't read it (or write it) a second time.  
>As you can see, the Twins did get their moment of sibling-bonding. It wasn't necessarily happy, considering the events of the chapter itself, but I found it comforting they were close. They'll have moments of it in the next book too – maybe more from Harry's side than Audrey's, though. Theodore was fun to write as well; he doesn't forgive her, but I'd like to think we saw a bit more understanding as to just what she went (and will have to go) through. Thank you for giving a great review, as always, I really hope you liked the chapter!<strong>

_Undefined and Fine with It_**: I asked myself the same question as I wrote it. I hope you liked the chapter!**

_loquacious gabby_**: I kind of hate myself for the last chapter, too. I'm sorry that you happened to read it while you were in public, but I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_tessastarchild_**: A sad surprise, indeed. I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Mezzem313_**: The last chapter was definitely a crazy one, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I agree that it's nice to have Theodore back, even if he doesn't necessarily forgive her...but it's great having the Slytherins able to interact with her again (and who knows? Maybe we'll see them in Deathly Hallows before the final battle). Audrey could use Astral Projection because she had the energy and she had the focus (knowing that she had to do something) which, we've discovered, forces her visions to come back to her. It's a fun twist.  
>Snape killing Circe...yes, it was sad. He did kill Circe, it was not him trying to cover for anyone...though sometimes I wish it was. And Draco running; that was just as heartbreaking as Snape yelling at her. Poor girl just can't catch a break! I hope you liked this new chapter and hope to see you during the DH arc! <strong>

_SwiftAlice_**: Hello, darling! I hope that you have a wonderful vacation and that you spend the time relaxing, even if the rain continues. Thank you for taking the time to try to figure out what to do about the chapters in the first place, nevertheless posting them at all (as always, I can't help but thank you). I'm doing fine here, in a few hours I'm heading off to meet up with my friends in the city to celebrate Valentine's Day as a single lady, haha – I celebrate the holiday with alcohol and cinnamon hearts; I hope you have more interesting plans than I!  
>The deep-freeze ended yesterday, but I wouldn't be surprised if we're getting another. I've never lived anywhere warm, per se, but I've NEVER seen a winter like this one. My mom and I realized that we used 10% more gas for our heating this January than last year, that's how cold it has been...it's been horrible. I just want winter to end! It's nice your weather is being nice (even if wet), I hope it continues to do so.<br>I'm glad that DH isn't the longest of JKR's books, considering I don't know if I could trudge through another phase like in the Order of the Phoenix – it just seemed to never end! Then again, maybe I wish it was as long...I don't know what I'll do once this story's over. There is a lot that will happen though and I'm excited to sit down and figure it all out, especially with the changes I plan on making.  
>Yup, the last chapter was horrible...in that "what just happened, my heart is aching" kind of way (I hope). Hopefully this one was a bit more lighthearted, considering she made up with Theodore and Blaise (Daphne also, in a sense) and then that she sided with Harry and is determined to destroy all the Horcruxes.<br>As you can see, Audrey isn't quite as quick to blame as Harry is about the Snape thing (or the Draco thing, but that one was kind of obvious). It was so sad that it had to be Snape to hurt her like that – especially now that she knows he killed Circe – because he was her mentor, like you said. That she had to insult him back and she felt the need to hurt him but couldn't bring herself to do it...Gah! It makes me upset just thinking about it.  
>I love writing Audrey's darker side; the moments like when she was threatening to kill again and using the Unforgivables – there's definitely something darker in her than there is in Harry and it's what I love about her. It's what makes her different. They have different values and morals, the Potter Twins, and it's exciting to see those put in effect by the way Harry couldn't cast an Unforgivable and Audrey didn't even hesitate.<br>Draco...yes, he deserves a paragraph all his own. That he ran was upsetting, but it had to happen – that was sadly obvious to me before I even started writing their romance. He was so scared, he is such a coward in some ways – and in those ways that he IS a coward, Audrey is not. It's a clash that's really obvious to me, but wouldn't be obvious to someone like Harry (or maybe that's just in my head, I'm not sure) and I like the rifts it causes between characters like Audrey vs the Gryffindors, Audrey vs the Slytherins, or Audrey vs just about anyone else haha.  
>Anyway, have a great vacation and I hope you like this completion of the Half Blood Prince, I'm sure I'll talk to you in emails before I update this again but I hope all is well!<strong>

_Geri__**: **_**I'm really excited to get a start on the Deathly Hallows chapters, I have a lot planned and I'm excited to start writing it all down. The last chapter was definitely emotional, but it was nice to answer some things during this chapter, even if we didn't get much more elaboration on Snape's motives or get to see Draco. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked the last portion of the Half Blood Prince!**

_incitanemxx_**: Don't worry about a late review, I'm glad you took the time to do it either way, so thank you. I'm glad you had a good time in Turkey, I've seen my friends' pictures who went there while I went other places and it is beautiful.  
>Yes, Dumbledore left them with very few answers...but it makes it all the more fun for them to figure it all out. Especially because Dumbledore was advocating for Dreaco to happen so wonderfully – it was really fun to tie in how he could see it in Audrey when she would speak to him, how he could see it in Draco as he worried.<br>Yes, it was a sad ending to the chapter: Snape having killed Circe, Audrey feeling betrayed, Audrey being left alone...but as you predicted, Audrey is having her doubts about his loyalty being strictly to any side. But I promise that this won't be the last we see of either Snape or Draco...we may even see both of them before the final battle (though I make no promises).  
>I hope you liked the end of this book and thank you for getting your sister to read it. I'm excited to see this list of your favourite chapters, whenever you have the time to make it! <strong>

_xxz0eyxx_**: I actually think I remember you mentioning that you thought it was Snape who had killed her. Very few people guessed it and every time someone would, I would get all giddy and excited that people were thinking along the right lines. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, even if it was ridiculously emotional. Audrey and Draco are over until the next time they see each other...and who knows when that will be? I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of HBP and I will definitely enjoy the month of concentrating on chapter by chapter writing. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Ilovecupcakesandcookies_**: The French thing didn't sound rude. I know full well that Quebecois-French and France-French are really different. If you go to parts of Africa it's completely different there, as well (not that many people seem to know that over half of the countries in Africa speak French. Apparently that's a little known fact). I found out while in France that I'm not nearly as Quebecois-sounding as my friend but that's probably because I already spoke a different European language before I started learning and my grandmother speaks seven languages, so I've always kind of been a master of sounds, so to speak. I was definitely confused by the slang there compared to the slang here, though haha. But don't worry, I was not at all offended.  
>Continuing onto the chapter, I'm really glad you liked it. Hopefully you can have this long weekend (if you have this as a long weekend, it might only be North America) to relax from all the work.<br>As you can see, Harry has softened to Draco a bit. It won't be an easy transition – there has been bad blood between them for years, but it's an improvement. Hopefully you liked the interaction Audrey got to have with some of the traditional characters; it was nice to write, particularly the bonding moments between she and the Slytherins as well as she and the Gryffindors.  
>Audrey clearly isn't happy with the answers she doesn't have from Snape, hopefully she will get them before the final battle (that I agree with). But Audrey's a smart cookie and she knows that Snape couldn't have been pretending for that long, so hopefully she'll start piecing things together now that they're on the hunt for Horcruxes...even if she's a bit blinded by the betrayal. Draco leaving was sad, too. If I'm being honest, I never even considered having him stay...but it still hurt to write. I am trying to find ways to squeeze Draco and Audrey together in the plot of DH, but realistically there will be very few times they are together. I am already mourning for their relationship.<br>I am excited to get to work on DH because of all the loose ends I'll be tying up. There are a lot of things (some of which you've asked about) that will finally be able to be answered and that's exciting and worrying...I'm not sure I'm ready to let this story go, but I'm so excited for others to make all the connections. I hope you liked this last chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: Yes, Snape having killed Circe was definitely a sad surprise. I dreaded writing that moment from the chapter that Circe died. You're right, poor Draco and Audrey have never really gotten a proper chance...but this is a war and not all is fair during it. One day all of Harry and Audrey's confusing interactions will make sense, even the behaviour between their wands. I hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_BlackRose_**: I don't mind that you didn't review right away, it's awesome that you decided to do it at all – so thank you. Yes, last chapter was a bit cruel of me...I cried a bit too, believe me, but it was what had to be done.  
>Poor Draco just doesn't get why she has to fight to keep people alive; it's the real difference between them (between most characters and Audrey), that she has a level of understanding and acceptance for people's flaws that isn't easily found in someone. I wish I could have let them run away together, but it just wouldn't have worked – Audrey wouldn't just sit still, whereas Draco would be too scared of the repercussions.<br>It was fun to write when Audrey started fighting the Death Eaters; any time that she goes rogue like that and doesn't care who she hurts is fun to write. It's a passion that some people find cruel, but I love the desperation at the depths of it. I guess that it's more fun in a sadistic kind of way, haha. We will be told the mystery of Harry and her wands later on in the story, when the plot point comes up. It's an important one though, so it has to wait.  
>Snape...ah, it was painful to write. Probably one of the worst parts in the whole story, thus far, for me. I can't tell whether or not it beat out when she had to tell Theo about killing his father. It might be a tie.<br>Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I hope to see you in a month when I continue GEM, or earlier when I update Audrey Potter's Prelude :)**

_cluricaun_**: It was difficult to write, as well, but I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Hopefully, though not as exciting, this one was a good end to the HBP arc...it was sad that Snape had to be the one to kill Circe and that Draco had to leave, but it's all means to an end. Thank you for your review.**

_applecandykiss_**: Thank you, I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story and that you find it unpredictable. I also love Draco's original personality, so it would be a shame if I changed it; I'm glad that you like how he's written. I will be writing in Audrey Potter's Prelude for the break, though I'm not sure how many chapters I'll be able to release considering the starts of them were all lost when my computer died. If I were to write a chapter from the Christmas Party, I would like to do it from Snape's POV instead of Draco's...but I have other ideas to try first, so you never know!**

_preeves_**: Wow, 10 days and 77 chapters is a lot of reading, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it enough to keep reading! I hope you liked the end of HBP and that you'll stick around for the month break before I continue into the DH portion of the story. Thanks for reviewing.**

_Tara10000_**: Wow, thanks for putting all the time into reading the story from front to finish! I'm so glad you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to review :)**

_Melody_**: Yes, Snape killing Circe was rough and hard to write, but Draco running away was horrible in its own way. Audrey won't let either man just 'get away with it', so to speak, so you don't have to worry: they'll know that they wronged her. Even though it was an upsetting chapter, I'm really glad that you liked it. Hopefully this chapter (which was a bit more 'happy' like you hoped) was enjoyable too. Thanks so much for reviewing!**

_Guest(3)_**: Aw, thank you so much for taking the time to read the story from front to back. I hope the story doesn't drive you too deeply into madness, especially with the month break I'm about to take - but I'm glad that you have been liking it! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the finale of the Half Blood Prince!**

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><p><strong>Well guys, that's all she wrote! I will be taking a month or so for a break but I will try to update a few chapters into <strong>Audrey Potter's Prelude** so that you can see some other perspectives into the story - if you have any ideas, let me know but please be advised that I won't have time to do all of them, or I may be already imagining that scene in a different point of view. I hope to see you all when I am back; thank you for sticking with Audrey for her sixth year :)**

_**PLEASE REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**


	79. Memorabilia

**Hello, dear readers! First, I would like to apologize for the extended leave I took. Things have gotten in the way of my writing and it took me a long while to find my footing for this story because of it; but I am back and I have some exciting chapters for you. Welcome to the Deathly Hallows, everyone...**

**Enjoy the Beginning of the End :)**

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><p>Chapter 78 – Memorabilia<p>

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><p>What little space there was under the sink was dirtier than I remembered. I didn't why, but that bothered me. There was no reason for it to be clean anymore, after all; now that it wasn't my prison cell there was no one else to clean it and rid it of cobwebs and grime. Now that I was too old to be in there, they seemed to have kept it messier than ever before, too. The space under the sink was now the storage space for everything the Dursleys were not ready to throw out, though they weren't quite willing to use it to clean the house...not unless Harry or I were the ones doing it, at least. It didn't matter how hygienic Aunt Petunia pretended to be; she never liked doing the dirty work herself.<p>

"Bloody-" my brother trailed off, tromping past me with the grace of an elephant while he leaned over the top of my head to run his hand under the tap.

"Is packing so laborious that you've put your blood and sweat into it? Because that's just an expression," I informed him. "Most people don't take it literally."

"I think Dudley tried to get me to step on a teacup," he muttered. "I got my finger first, though."

"And how exactly did you cut your finger on something meant for your foot?" I asked him, trying to stretch as far as I could to see his finger – it was no use, I was far too short. He rolled his eyes, annoyed with my prodding.

"Something in my trunk cut my finger, not the teacup. And _why _exactly are you sitting cross legged on the floor, staring below the sink?" he retorted, trying to sound as condescending as he appeared to think I was being. I did nothing more than shrug.

"Sirius told me to absorb the memories," I informed. "These are the ones I remember best."

"You're terrified of water because you burst those pipes," Harry stated blandly. "Why do you remember _those _best?"

"Well, that speaks more to the Dursleys' character than mine, doesn't it?" I asked rhetorically, standing and brushing the dust off of my jeans.

"We should probably learn how to heal things before we start the search," Harry thought to himself as he displayed the jagged wound on his finger to me. "Start getting ready to be completely self-sufficient and all that."

"We were pretty much raised self-sufficient," I snorted to him, taking a look at the cut a little more closely. "I can heal that with Magnuse."

"Don't waste your breath," he sighed, pulling it away.

"You mean my energy?"

"That either," he said. "You're supposed to be practicing doing the harder things, remember? You're not supposed to be healing my cuts because our cousin is a prat."

"Our cousin being a prat is one of the harder things to deal with here," I told him, but he only rolled his eyes and started walking back to our joined room. I followed behind him, taking the time to absorb the ugly wall paper that Aunt Petunia had been so proud of and the stairs that creaked and used to wake my brother every time Dudley would jump down them. He'd always been a little git...alright, maybe not a _little _git, but he'd always been a pain.

To anyone else who may have been looking, they might have believed our room had been ransacked – but I knew that this was just my brother's process of cleaning and later packing his rucksack in record time. I was already packed; the few things that I was leaving here were messily strewn in the corner, though contained – something my brother had never learned, even after six years of having roommates. My bag was larger than his, but I was sure that when we were retrieved someone could shrink it more – there were potions in that rucksack, the last of which had only just finished brewing four days prior. They were vialed and packed specifically so as not to jostle, but I took every precaution to make sure they wouldn't break in whatever way we were being transported out of this place.

Harry got lost in reading the many newspaper articles about Dumbledore; getting more and more frustrated the longer he indulged. It was for this reason that I hadn't read them; that and I hadn't really been able to bring myself to. That didn't stop Harry from reading them to me, of course, but even then I was upset every time he started – the man was dead. People were taking sides on whether he was worth grieving for, or if he was just as bad as Tom Riddle in his earlier days. I thought that it was taking a firmer stand to ignore the articles than to read them – even though I had broken my own rule by picking the Order I still didn't like the idea of picking sides, nevertheless over the argument of a dead man's past. I knew Dumbledore for who he was to me, I didn't really care who other people thought he was.

"Drea!" Harry suddenly screamed out. I looked up from my clouded thoughts and saw that my brother looked nearly frantic, a shard of something broken and shining in his hand. I raised an eyebrow. "I thought – I swear I saw..."

"A ghost?" I asked him dryly.

"No," Harry shook his head, looking shaken, as he checked over his shoulder and back to the mirror fragment in his hands – it was the mirror fragment that he, Sirius and I shared from when Umbridge had ruined my dorm room mirror in fifth year. It was the first time I'd even seen Harry pay attention to it.

"Is Sirius playing tricks on you? He does it to me when he wants to get my attention without grabbing anyone else's," I told him. I paused for a moment, sighing when I realized that wasn't necessarily true. "Then again, sometimes he does it when he wants to check on me and thinks I don't notice him. He's worse at that one."

"No, it looked..." he shook his head, placing the mirror fragment into his rucksack with the rest of his junk. He shook his head, now looking annoyed with himself. "Who am I kidding? It had to be Sirius."

"If it wasn't, maybe you caught a glimpse of something in my rucksack," I offered with a shrug. "I'm bringing mine with me for good measure. If its Sirius, he'll just have to wait until the guard comes to get us...shouldn't be too long, now."

"Oh! You two!" Uncle Vernon screamed up the stairs. I rolled my eyes.

"See? Right on time."

"Might as well see what he wants," Harry muttered, standing and stretching. "It'll be the last time."

"Maybe he has champagne?"

"_NOW_!"

"Somehow I doubt it," Harry sighed back to me, opening the door and being careful to look out for the teacup by the edge of the door that he had been too lazy to move out of the way. We walked half way down the stairs where our uncle could see us under the bulkhead before he spoke.

"You took your time," he informed us. "Get down here. I want a word!"

"Just one?" Harry asked, sounding bored.

"Promises, promises," I taunted quietly, watching Harry's mouth quirk slightly before he lead the way down the stairs and into the living room. All three of our last living blood relatives were there, dressed in their most rumpled clothing for while they packed. They each looked various levels of uncomfortable: Dudley's legs shaking as he bounced them nervously, Aunt Petunia staring uncharacteristically down at her hands, and Uncle Vernon's face was back to that inexplicable purple that could only symbolize some sort of heart defect.

"Yes?" Harry asked for us.

"Well, sit down!" Uncle Vernon ordered. I crossed my arms over my chest, making sure to show him that I was not impressed with his tone. He seemed to realize the glare was a real one and he sneered a bit while he added on a bitter "please."

If I had known that all I had to do was ruin a television with my Magnuse to get them to fear me, I would have started smashing expensive property _years _ago.

I looked to Harry who just sighed quietly and taking his lead, we sat across from them. They had moved two kitchen chairs into this room so that we could sit more comfortably in front of them. This talk couldn't have been preplanned considering I hadn't seen the chairs in this room, but rather they were still in the kitchen while I was down here by the sink. Uncle Vernon, now that we were sitting, seemed very constricted by the lack of movement around him and got up so that he could pace. I watched him do this for a while before I stuck my foot out, ready to trip him – he caught me and stopped to glare at us.

"Problem?" I smiled innocently.

"Hmph," he grumbled. "I've changed my mind."

"What a surprise," Harry muttered.

"Don't you take that tone-" Aunt Petunia, as always, immediately came to her husband's defence. Uncle Vernon, ever the talker, raised his hand to silence her.

"It's all a lot of claptrap," he informed us, as if we were the ones that were misinformed. "I've decided I don't believe a word of it. We're staying put, we're not going anywhere. According to you, we – Petunia, Dudley and I – are in danger. From...from..."

"Much more intimidating people than you're pretending to be?" I offered. Harry sighed.

"Some of 'our lot'," he corrected. Uncle Vernon narrowed his eyes again, looking between us before shaking his head.

"Well, I don't believe it. I was awake half the night thinking it all over, and I believe it's a plot to get the house."

"The house?" Harry asked, blinking for a moment as he tried to register what was said. "What house?"

"This house!" Uncle Vernon stamped his foot, the vein in his forehead pulsed sickeningly, ready to burst. "Our house! House prices are skyrocketing around here! You want us out of the way and then you're going to do a bit of hocus pocus and before we know it the deeds will be in your name and-"

"Are you out of your mind?" Harry demanded. "A plot to get this house? Are you actually as stupid as you look?"

"Don't you dare-" Aunt Petunia screeched, standing as if to walk over to us. I leaned back in my chair.

"Don't you _bother_," I corrected, before turning my head toward Harry even though I did not bother to keep my voice down. "If they want to die, let them. They've never protected us so I don't see why we're going through all this effort for them."

"Just in case you've forgotten," Harry elaborated with a tight, annoyed voice. "We've already got room and board with other people-"

"A much bigger, better house; in London, no less." I added on. "And that's only with the relative."

"Exactly. So why would we want this one? All the happy memories? Audrey was just telling me her most vivid memories were from when you would punish her by putting her under the sink!"

"The affection I feel," my voice dripped with sarcasm while I grinned darkly at them. "How about one more time for old time's sake? Then we wouldn't have to worry about whoever may get the house in the end..."

"You wouldn't," Aunt Petunia squeaked, suddenly sounding a lot less angry.

"Don't test her," Harry interrupted. "We're doing this for your safety, not for your _belongings_-"

"You claim!" Uncle Vernon cut in, starting to pace the length of the living room again. I couldn't tell if this was from frustration or from anxiousness – he had to make up his mind and he knew he was running out of time to do it. "You claim that this Lord Thing-"

"Voldemort," Harry and I corrected together. Harry sighed and continued, "and we've been through this about a hundred times already. This isn't a claim, its fact. Dumbledore told you last year, and Kingsley and Mr. Weasley-"

Uncle Vernon seemed to reject the memory from his body and posture. I didn't blame him to try and forget how a few days into the summer both Kingsley and Mr Weasley had shown up and told them what would be happening. It was one thing for Mr Weasley to have been so rude to Uncle Vernon in fifth year, but to return with someone as naturally authoritative as Kingsley Shacklebolt and be told that your whole life is going to change had not been one of the family's better days.

"Kingsley and Mr Weasley explained it all as well," I continued for Harry. "When we're seventeen, the protective charm that keeps us safe will break, and that exposes the lot of us. The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where we are, or because he thinks by holding you hostage we'd come to rescue you. Now to be clear, I told the Order to let him torture you-" I relished the look of horror that crossed my cousin's face, "-then we'd have the upper hand and look more powerful, you see. So maybe you should listen to Harry because for some reason _he_ seems to value the family who constantly let us down."

Aunt Petunia's eyes rose to meet mine, looking confused and terrified. I glared slightly at her before Harry cleared his throat – he had been trying all summer to keep these conversations from happening; as well as to keep me from breaking anymore windows.

"You've got to go into hiding and the Order wants to help. You're being offered serious protection, the best there is," Harry informed them, making eye contact with each of them to try to express the seriousness of the situation.

"I thought there was a Ministry of Magic?" Uncle Vernon argued suddenly, making my eyebrows rise. It seemed Harry felt just as stunned.

"There is."

"Well, then, why can't they protect us? It seems to me that, as innocent victims, guilty of nothing more than harboring a marked man, we ought to qualify for government protection!"

"Oh, I'd love to let you argue _that_," I laughed. Harry did as well; we should have known he'd want to have something like the government on his side.

"You heard what Mr Weasley and Kingsley said; we think the Ministry has been infiltrated," Harry tried to stifle his laughter.

"All right," Uncle Vernon stopped in front of us, hiding his family from our eyesight. "All right, let's say for the sake of argument we accept this protection. I still don't see why we can't have that Kingsley bloke."

"Kingsley's protecting more important people," I told him as if I were speaking to a five year old. "Such as the Prime Minister – you don't warrant _that_ much help."

"But he's the best!" Uncle Vernon roared. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, he's taken," Harry said simply. "But Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle are more than up to the job-"

"If we'd even seen CVs..."

Harry stood, clutching his fists. "These accidents aren't accidents – the crashes and explosions and derailments and whatever else has happened since we last watched the news. People are disappearing and dying and he's behind it...Voldemort! I've told you this over and over again, he kills Muggles for fun. Even the fog – it's caused by Dementors, and if you can't remember what they are, ask your son!"

Dudley paled before our eyes and his hands jerked towards his mouth, as if his soul was going to leave him as we sat here. He watched us in fear, his eyes wide. "There are...more of them?"

"More?" I laughed darkly. "More than the two that attacked us two summers ago? Of course; there are hundreds, likely thousands by this time...seeing as they feed off fear and despair. Did you know that a war produces that, Big D?"

"All right, all right," Uncle Vernon muttered. "You've made your point-"

"Have we?" I sneered. "Because you still seem pretty willing to die and I'm very _un_willing to come back to save you."

"You've made your point," Aunt Petunia repeated, the statement sounded final.

"I hope so," Harry muttered. "because once Audrey and I turn seventeen, all of them: Death Eaters, Dementors, maybe even Inferi – which means dead bodies enchanted by a Dark wizard – will be able to find you and will certainly attack you. And if you remember the last time you tried to outrun wizards, I think you'll agree you need help."

"This time they aren't bringing letters," I agreed, looking at them all with a clenched jaw.

"But what about my work?" Uncle Vernon blustered, his face turning a more vibrant shade. "What about Dudley's school? I don't suppose those things matter to a bunch of layabout wizards-"

"What don't you get about this?" I hissed, my teeth grinding at the thought of any of the witches or wizards involved in any part of this war being considered 'layabouts'. "They are going to torture you like you're a piñata! Our parents died quickly, you won't get that kind of respect-"

"Dad," Dudley started in a loud voice, interrupting me. My eyes cut to him as if I could injure him and I watched as he shrunk a bit into the safety of the couch cushions. "I'm going with these Order people."

"Dudley," Harry said with gritted teeth, "for the first time in your life, you're talking sense."

Uncle Vernon looked like he would combust at any moment; his face was no longer a human shade and he looked as if he was going to spout out more reasons – but Dudley held firm in what he believed. If we had Dudley on our side, our aunt and uncle would follow blindly in the rut that he left behind him. Dudley may not be able to walk on water, but his parents certainly acted like it: he was the best convert we could have had to ensure their safety – not that I was really keen on putting effort into it.

"They'll be here in about five minutes," Harry said. "Audrey, help me come pack up."

"Lazy," I muttered under my breath, following my brother as he walked away from the Dursleys and continued toward our bedroom. The room had never really felt like my bedroom – it would always be 'Dudley's second bedroom', to me. This was the room where they had put my bed in the closet, expecting me to live there for the rest of my days. This place had never really felt like home – even Dumbledore had admitted to that last year when he'd visited us. To think that it would no longer be home, that the Dursleys would be gone forever, that this place would be barren of all but memories was a feeling to be celebrated...even if my nerves kept making my hand shake.

When we left this place that would be the end of something horrible and the start of something _worse_. There would be no more of our mother's protection, there would be no more living in blissful ignorance, and there would be no more safety from the big-bad world at war. We were about to be thrown into the thick of it, into the world of Horcruxes and Dark wizards and assassins that want nothing more than our heads on their most extravagant, bloody platters. There was no more being a child, no more complaining about the atrocities here...because now we were going out to face the terrors of the real world.

"We're leaving soon, really soon," Harry told Hedwig, giving her one of her owl treats as he pet her feathers through her cage. "And then you'll be able to fly again."

I wish I had Houdini to pet and comfort myself. I had left my Pygmy Puff with Ginny, who probably took a lot better care of him in the past three weeks than I could have. I'd see him soon...then I would be leaving with him and braving a world that wanted nothing more than to see me dead...

I'd feel braver if I didn't feel so alone. Harry was by my side, but I wish I had someone who was _on _my side like Circe always had been. But she was gone. Circe had been stolen by the big, bad world. No, not the world – Snape; _Snape_ had taken her from me, just like he had pulled Draco away with the Death Eaters...

"I'm not ready," I told him, turning around and trying hard to not sound out of air from the thoughts that had just taken my breath away.

"Why?" He turned to me, another owl treat ready in his fingers – Hedwig nipped for it, falling short by a foot. "We don't know how we're leaving yet."

"I don't care that we're leaving this house," I told him, crossing my legs on the bed – it fell under the weight considering I had accidentally cracked the frame a week earlier during a nightmare. "I'm not ready to leave what it represents_. _I'm not ready for what's out _there._"

"Out there is terrifying," Harry agreed. "But I'm the only one that can stop it – I have to go."

"And I have to stick with you," I sighed. "You know, sometimes I hate being your sister."

"But you don't hate me?" He asked, giving me a grin.

"Not today," I smirked back. We stood, smirking at each other in a goofy way before the doorbell rang. Both of our faces fell – this was it. This was the first step to our leaving. Both Harry and I sent each other one of our famous looks that said a thousand words before we nearly tripped over each other to get down the stairs and open the door that the Dursleys refused to go near.

"Harry Potter!" Dedalus squeaked like a rodent when Harry opened the door for him. "An honor as ever! Oh and Audrey Potter, such a pleasure..."

I highly doubted that it was a pleasure to see me; I had never really been kind to the man.

"Thanks, Dedalus," Harry tried not to sound too embarrassed, even though I could see his cheeks reddening. Hestia Jones, behind him, looked nearly as annoyed as I felt by her companion's jubilant behaviour. "It's really good of you to do this. They're through here, my aunt and uncle and cousin."

Harry led the way through to the living room, not that he needed to considering that Dedalus all but skipped there.

"Good day to you, relatives of the Potter twins!" Dedalus greeted, again far too happily, to a less than pleased audience. Dudley shrank away from him as if his enthusiasm was contagious and Petunia held up her hands as if ready to cover Dudley's ears.

"I see you are packed and ready. Excellent! The plan, as I'm sure the twins have told you, is a simple one," Dedalus explained, somehow not able to sound informed himself while he spoke and examined his pocket watch. "We shall be leaving before Harry and Audrey. Due to the danger of using magic in your house – as the twins are still underage it could provide the Ministry with an excuse to arrest them – we shall be driving, say, ten miles or so before Disapparating to the safe location we have picked out for you. You know how to drive, I take it?"

Uncle Vernon went from a nervous sheet-white to a tomato red in seconds. "Know how to – of course I ruddy well know how to drive!"

"Very clever of you, sir, very clever. I personally would be utterly bamboozled by all those buttons and knobs," Dedalus was wasting his breath. Nothing that a witch or wizard ever said would be considered as a compliment to the Dursleys, but it was kind of him to make any effort at all.

"Can't even drive," my uncle mumbled bitterly, his moustache twitching in irritation.

"You two," Dedalus continued as he turned toward Harry and I, "will wait here for your guard. There has been a little change in the arrangements-"

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked, jumping on that at once. "I thought Mad-Eye and Lupin were going to come and take us by Side Along-Apparition? Or they were going to distract anyone lurking while Audrey took us-"

"Can't do it," Hestia said firmly. "Mad-Eye will explain."

Dedalus' pocket watch then decided to scream that we needed to hurry up, knocking the Dursley's out of their confused states and scaring them senseless. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of it – my poor family.

"Quite right," Dedalus nodded at his watch, as if thanking it, while he tucked it away in his waist coat. "We're operating to a very tight schedule. We are attempting to time your departure from the house with your family's Disapparition, thus the charm breaks the moment you all head for safety."

"Clever," I explained. "So we'll be leaving _really _soon. Harry, are you sure you're packed?"

"I've got all I need," he muttered, looking up at the ceiling as if he could see and regret all the things that we had to keep behind.

"Well, are we all packed and ready to go?" None of the Dursleys seemed able to answer Dedalus. They looked so terrified by the wizard – and the wizard's pocket watch – in front of him that they looked as if they were ready to back out of their own rescue mission.

"Perhaps we should wait outside in the hall, Dedalus," Hestia offered.

"There's no need," I explained to her, watching while she paused and looked confused. I guess she assumed that there would be some sort of goodbye needed – and that was exactly what I didn't want. Goodbyes were awkward enough, but goodbyes with people you had never liked? That was just torturous.

"Well, this is good-bye then, boy," Uncle Vernon said, standing a meter away from my brother and holding out his hand as if he were going to shake it. It seemed that he was ready to shake Harry's hand but he decided last minute that it wasn't worth the effort and put his hand away before he turned to me.

"Goodbye, er – Potter," he said just as awkwardly. I kept my arms crossed over my chest so he wouldn't even have to pretend to want to give me any more departing gestures.

"Maybe there will be stronger pipes where you're going," I offered in a lame way of making them look forward to where they were going. I tried not to sound too sarcastic or condescending – I doubt I succeeded. "Or fewer people to torture."

Uncle Vernon mumbled under his breath, likely something that involved the existence of wizards and his hope that they would never be near him again.

"Ready, Duddy?" Aunt Petunia asked, looking toward me for a long moment before ducking her head and heading away from us.

"Come along, then," Uncle Vernon yelled to him, but Dudley stood in front of the sofa, looking awkward in his own skin.

"I don't understand," he whispered, barely audibly.

"What don't you understand, popkin?" Aunt Petunia was instantly concerned, looking up at her son as if he had asked what his own name was.

"Why aren't they coming with us?" He asked, turning toward us with a pained kind of expression. I raised my eyebrows, unable to stop myself from looking around suspiciously while my aunt and uncle tried to control their heart palpitations.

"What?" Uncle Vernon asked loudly.

"Why aren't they coming too?" He asked, looking at me. "Where are you going?"

"Well, they don't want to..." Uncle Vernon glared at the two of us. "You don't want to, do you?"

"Not in the slightest," Harry said immediately.

"There you are," Uncle Vernon clapped his hands together as if he were an enthusiastic cheerleader. "Now come on, we're off."

Dudley didn't move as his father turned to leave; Aunt Petunia stopped in her tracks, looking at her son as if he had just grown a second head. Uncle Vernon, who had made it all the way out the door, stormed back in the house just like in the olden days when he wasn't afraid of us, his face so red I thought he might pop like an angry boil.

"What now?"

"But-" it looked as if my cousin had lost all ability to reason; not that he'd had much to begin with. "Where are they going to go?"

My aunt and uncle shared a look around the same moment that Harry and I did – I could see it on my brother's face; he didn't know what to think of all this either. Maybe he had bumped his head, maybe he had been put under a spell when Harry and I hadn't been paying attention...that was the only logical explanation here. Luckily, the outside perspective was the first to make sense of his question.

"But...surely you know where your niece and nephew are going?" Hestia asked, looking shocked.

"Certainly we know," Uncle Vernon responded with an audible sneer, even though his face was far too swollen and purple to be able to see it. "They're off with some of your lot, aren't they? Right, Dudley, let's get in the car. You heard the man: we're in a hurry."

"Off with some of 'our lot'?" Hestia repeated, sounding outraged. Of course people wouldn't understand why the famous Boy-Who-Lived was treated in a way that they didn't _care _if he lived any further. 'Our lot' – as Uncle Vernon called them – never understood the disinterest our 'family' took toward us.

"It's fine," Harry assured her, his voice bland. "It doesn't matter, honestly."

"Doesn't matter?" She seemed even more enraged by my brother's shrug.

"It really doesn't. It's best if we don't have each other's mailing addresses – as much as I'd love to see my Aunt receive another Howler, I think I'd be in trouble for sending one." I informed her.

"Don't these people realize what you've been through? What danger you are in?" Hestia asked, shaking her head as if she could deny the words she was hearing. "Don't they understand the unique position you hold in the heart of the anti-Voldemort movement?"

"Not at all," I informed her, my voice conversational. "They'd probably have an aneurysm if they did."

"Exactly," Harry agreed. "We're wastes of space to them actually, but we're used to it, s-"

"I don't think you're a waste of space."

The house fell into a violent, abrupt silence. It was my cousin who had spoken and if Harry didn't look so awe-struck, I might have believed that I had imagined it.

"Well – er, thanks Dudley," Harry muttered, stumbling awkwardly over his words.

"You saved my life," Dudley said again, looking like the words were being spoken by a demon that was possessing him. Still, I was surprised to see that it didn't look like he didn't believe them. He just looked like he was going to vomit with his nerves.

"The Dementor would have taken your soul, not your life," I informed him. "But that's...nice."

"A cup of tea kind of nice," Harry muttered back to me, as if he had just understood that maybe Dudley hadn't been trying to trip him up with that trap earlier in the day at all. I raised my eyebrow.

"Seems you were paranoid," I muttered right back to him.

Aunt Petunia – as surprised by this outburst as we were – fell into a fit of tears, lunging forward and taking her son in her arms. "So s-sweet, Dudders! S-such a lovely b-boy, s-saying thank you..."

"But he hasn't said thank you at all!" Hestia howled, looking mortally offended. "He only said that he didn't think the twins were a waste of space!"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, still looking as if he felt uncomfortable. "But coming from Dudley that's like 'I love you'."

"What?" Hestia's eyes bulged.

"That's probably the nicest thing I've ever heard in this house," I informed her, honestly.

"Are we going or not?" Uncle Vernon shouted, cutting off the wailing of his wife as she seemed to think her son was the next Messiah. "I thought we were on a tight schedule?"

"Yes, yes we are," Dedalus agreed, checking his pocket watch once again. I hadn't noticed whether or not he had left the room, but I suspected he did considering how quiet it had been without him. "We really must be off. Harry..."

The excitable man pulled my brother into a hand shake, both hands gripping onto him and flapping as if he were a bird trying to take flight. He then turned to me, muttering my name before doing the same, even if I had only let him grab on to two of my fingers in distaste.

"Good luck," he told us, his voice squeaky and oddly emotional. "I hope we meet again. The hopes of the Wizarding world rest upon your shoulders."

"Fantastic," I muttered. "I wouldn't want to feel pressured, or anything."

"Right," Harry agreed, still trying to grin awkwardly. "Er – thanks."

"Farewell, you two," Hestia stepped forward, taking Harry's hand in her left and mine in her right as she clasped onto us tightly. "Our thoughts go with you."

"I hope everything's okay," Harry said, giving a sharp glance towards our last living relatives.

"If they bother you, just show them a little magic. It usually shuts them right up," I informed. Dedalus giggled slightly, shaking his head.

"No need, I'm sure we shall end up the best of chums. Oh-" Dedalus cut himself off as Dudley had appeared beside him. He had somehow escaped from his mother's clutches and walked toward Harry, his large and swollen hand extended and trembling.

"Blimey, Dudley," Harry's surprise somehow managed to be heard over Aunt Petunia's sobs. She looked at my brother as if to berate him for his language and I glared at her, trying to shut her up. If Dudley had suddenly grown a heart, I didn't want her to burn a hole through it. "Did the Dementors blow a different personality into you?"

"Dunno. See you, Harry," he turned to me then, his hand trembling just as much. "Bye, Audrey."

"Bye, Dudders," I mumbled, grabbing his hand and fighting against the instinct to send an electric pulse up his arm just to make him more jittery. "Try not to associate with any more wizards – they aren't always as nice as me."

"Yeah," he muttered, pulling his hand away from mine. His voice was unconvinced – smart boy.

"Take care, Big D," Harry said again while Dudley watched for half of a moment longer, as if he didn't know if that was a good enough ending to his part in our story, before he walked right back out the door. Aunt Petunia gave us a look after her son had left. Her eyes flickered for a moment between Harry and me before she shook her head.

"You're so like her," she mumbled, shaking her head softly, before she shoved her handkerchief in her pocket, her eyes hardening again as if she realized that what she had just said sounded nearly tender. "You're probably going to die like her, too."

"Good-bye," Harry said stiffly, not liking her tone. There was a moment where Aunt Petunia stopped in her tracks, looking over her shoulder and opening her mouth as if she had something she felt she should say, before she shook her head, mumbled something that sounded like what she had just said before, and closed the door on the life she had never wanted.

Besides the rumble of the engine as the car pulled out of the laneway, the house was silent after they had left. Neither of us seemed to think that it was fitting to move or break the quiet. It was surreal, the idea that this was the end of all those memories – of the cramped staircases and closets, of the bursting pipes and humiliation, of the ridicule and the apathy...all things that I hated, and yet I was afraid to leave the certain safety to those memories. A safety of a place I always knew what to expect, unlike the world Harry and I were about to try to conquer.

Harry was the first to move and break the trance we'd been caught up in. He set a hand on my shoulder before he sighed and headed up the stairs to grab his things. He didn't bother bringing mine down, whether it was because his hands were full or if it was because he thought I might want to have a moment alone, I couldn't tell. I heard him whispering softly to Hedwig, trying to share his parting thoughts with someone who wouldn't judge him as he assumed I would. I didn't blame him; I very well might have. And I knew that I could be judged for the thoughts I was having – how could I consider this place safe when so many treacherous things had happened here?

Maybe I was going mad.

I took my time going from my spot by the door back up to my room; not bothering to take the time to look in the closet that I used to be made to sleep in, or under the mattress which had been my brilliant idea for a hiding place when I was five – after all, some things weren't _worth _remembering. I took hold of my larger duffel bag, sure that someone would transfigure it into something more dependable, before making my way down the stairs. I hadn't found where Harry had lost himself before there was a deafening roar on Privet Drive. Had I not known better, I would think the Muggles would have come out of their houses in fright – but the Order was far too intelligent for that and no one seemed the wiser when I opened the door and narrowly missed being entangled in Hermione's bushy hair.

"Oh, Harry!" She cried, having thrown herself at my brother. I made a face as I tried to rid her hair from around my mouth and was distracted from my efforts by a clap on the back from Ron. He did the same to Harry once he was released from Hermione's talons. Another form came into the house as soon as Ron had moved out of the way to reach my brother; a hulking figure that had to bend at the waist just to fit through the door.

"Hagrid," I greeted, a genuine smile pulling at my face.

"All righ', you two? Ready fer the off?" He asked, patting my head and being careful not to break my neck as he did so. I still winced from the strange, heavy sensation.

"Definitely," Harry breathed, beaming around him. It would have been impossible not to feel the happiness radiating off of him. "But I wasn't expecting this many of you!"

"Neither was I," I said to myself, inspecting the scene before me. Why there were a dozen people here, I couldn't really imagine _or _understand. I thought that the point of moving us was to be inconspicuous, not to host an army to come to our aid – still, even I could not deny smiling at the faces that surrounded me. "Hey, where's Sirius?"

"Not his part of the plan," the sound of the eldest Weasley brother was impossible to forget, particularly as he beamed at me and walked through the door. "Some of us need to make sure that you don't do anything stupid – we couldn't trust him for _that_ job."

"Wise move," I muttered to Bill, taking a look behind him to examine everyone who had entered.

The Weasleys were certainly represented: Ron, both Fred _and_ George, Bill, and Mr Weasley had come to witness or help with our transport in some way. Bill looked as rugged as ever, even more-so now that he had that scar across his face from his unfortunate run-in with Greyback just weeks before. Still, it really helped with his more dare-devil appearance and we both knew well that I had scarred Greyback in the face even worse than what Bill had been left with.

Hermione was here to come to Harry's aid, as always. As sweet as it was I was jealous of the turnout obviously for Harry's sake more than for my own. Still, it was great to see her – it was great to see Hagrid and Mad-Eye Moody beside her, again constant players in this game that Voldemort seemed to have less valuable pieces to play with. Remus Lupin was here, looking shabby thanks to hiding out with the werewolves as a spy and he was flanked closely by Tonks; her hair back to her regular shade of bubble-gum pink. Standing off to the side was Kingsley Shacklebolt, the very man that we had just convinced our Aunt and Uncle was too busy for work that involved normal people and hovering in the corner...

"_You_!" I hissed, glaring holes through Mundungus Fletcher. The little slug gave a noticeable step back as he flinched away from my words and the hand that had not only burnt him last year, but was now pointing towards him dangerously.

"Now isn't the time, Audrey," Hermione muttered.

"Why not? You haven't realized your valuables are gone yet?" I asked shrewdly, taking a step towards the man who quaked as I drew nearer. Moody put out his hand to stop me, his magical eye rolling in his head for a moment before it also focused on me.

"Not now," his gruff voice ordered. "There's been a change of plan."

"A change in plan?" I repeated lowly, sighing when there was a general consensus around us.

Great. He may as well have just spelled _disaster_.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, now that we're back into the characters and the ideas I can promise you that the next chapter is going to be intense. Thank you so much for waiting – again I apologize for taking longer than I intended – and I hope you enjoyed the first of the last chapters.<strong>

**For my ****fantastic**** reviewers:**

_VanillaSnowdrops_**: It's crazy to think that HBP is over and we're into DH...it's actually kind of sad, I'm almost afraid to finish it. It was nice to see that some of her Slytherin friends were on her side at the end of the last book, but we'll have to wait to see if they're brave enough to stay on it. They're going to have more pressure put on them than anyone.  
>Yes, Harry and Audrey are kind of getting along – something that will be very important for the future of this story...let's see if it lasts. Drea's bound to get annoyed with Harry eventually and you have to know that he or Ron will end up saying something stupid. I hope you're as excited for this part of the story as I am – it's going to be an adventure!<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked the end of HBP, it's crazy to think that it's finally the Deathly Hallows. We have a lot of things happening in this story so strap in, it's going to be an emotional ride. Thanks for reviewing here and in Audrey Potter's Prelude :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yes, Harry admitting he was wrong is more than rare, but it's nice that he's trying to connect with Audrey; he knows that she's pretty torn up. That Audrey, Daphne and Theodore were all together at the end of the last book was nice – hopefully we'll get to see them together again while they aren't battling. We'll see soon... Thanks for reviewing! **

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I'm sorry that you had to wait more than two months before the next chapter, but hopefully you were able to read Audrey Potter's Prelude and aren't too mad at me. Trust me, I've thought about writing this forever, but I just don't think it'd be fair to the ending I have planned. I don't plan on a sequel, either – but I will continue putting chapters in to Audrey Potter's Prelude (that was the only way I could justify letting myself end it, haha). I hope you liked the start of the final book – thank you for reviewing!**

_preeves_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully this one was a nice start back into the story :)**

_Polki_**: Don't worry, I appreciate the reviews when I get them. I'm glad that you're still involved with the story and that you think the chapters are worth waiting for. I hope you had a good Spring Break and I'm sorry for the extended wait.**

_Arabella Ella_**: It was really nice to have Audrey's Slytherin Allies able to be in the last chapter, I wish they would be able to show up more often in this book but it's just not realistic with her planning to skip out on her final year at Hogwarts. Audrey has definitely had to go through some hurdles last book, but this book will be even more emotional (or that's my hope, at least). The things I have planned in this book for Audrey are...dramatic, so I hope that you enjoy it.  
>Yeah, I kept the goodbyes between she and the Slytherins brief because she doesn't know which side they'll be on, nor do they, and she doesn't want to sway them. That's not in her nature; especially when she understands what awaits them if they're found out to be traitors. I promise we will be seeing some of those characters in the nearer future and I am so sorry for making you wait. Thank you for reviewing and I hope this chapter was enough to get you excited for the story again!<strong>

_Mezzem313_**: I thought about making Audrey more devastated after what happened in the last book, but decided that she had too much at stake to fall into that kind of depressed state again and that is something she would take into consideration. She's not just going through a normal summer and then going back into routine anymore; now she's going to end the tyranny of Voldemort instead – that's something she needs a level head for and someone like Audrey would think ahead and appreciate that. As emotional as she is, she's a very logical mind.  
>As for Harry and Draco, they'll never really get along in my opinion, but it's nice that for Audrey's sake he's not ripping him a new one – that's the Harry we know and love. It's also the side of Harry that Audrey needs right now, because to keep logical she also has to keep her emotions in check. I actually wrote that last line before I was done the chapter and then worked my way up to it; I'm all about a catchy ending, haha. Thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Beware of the NightsFury_**: I'm sorry that I took longer than I thought to update, thank you for reviewing and I hope you're excited for the start of the Deathly Hallows :)**

_Nyx and Athena_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter as well.**

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: Yes, she chose the side that would have let her choose sides instead of forcing her – a fair sentiment considering Draco was torn away. I don't think anyone would have taken that well. I'm glad that you enjoy the twist on the story and I hope you continue to like it as we venture into the Deathly Hallows. Thank you for your review :)**

_Electroholic_**: Thanks for letting me know, I might not have caught on that you were Lovely Kaplan without warning, haha. Yes, Theodore and Daphne are starting to dry off the burning bridges, Astoria will be making a few appearances in this story, and Audrey will be demanding answers from some of our favourite Slytherins...this I promise you. Drea is definitely going to shake things up with the Horcruxes...it will be fun and dramatic all at the same time. I'm sorry for the long wait, thank you so much for reviewing.**

_mrsdansmith_**: Thank you! I hope that this chapter has you excited for the Deathly Hallows. Thank you so much for the review and I'm sorry for the longer wait. **

_Ahsilaa_**: I'm sorry that I made you wait longer than intended, but the next book is all mapped out and I'm ready to start releasing chapters. Thanks for reviewing. **

_narratoroflife_**: I'm sorry that I made you wait, but I promise that I'll try to make it as worth it as I can! Thank you for your review and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_BlackRose_**: HBP is over and it's a bit strange to be writing an entirely different part of the story, the last part of the story, no less. Yes, it seems like Audrey might have some people on her side again, even though they know the dangers. Fred, as you can see, is in this chapter and will be in his fair share during this part of the story...and we will see Pansy again, she and Astoria still need their butts kicked. I hope you liked the beginning of this part of the story, thanks for the review!**

_Nack3490_**: Thanks you! **

_katie93319_**: There are definitely going to be some changes throughout the Deathly Hallows; Audrey isn't one to go around with more questions than answers or without some sort of plan. I'm sorry that I was away longer than I had planned but I hope that this next chapter has gotten you back into the flow of the story; thanks for reviewing :)**

_Geri_**: The Deathly Hallows is here, thank you so much for waiting and I'm sorry for making you have to. No, Theodore doesn't necessarily forgive Audrey for everything that's happened, but he knows that her side is the right side to root for if he wants his own freedom. I hope that this chapter was a good start to the story, especially since the last chapter hit so deeply for you. Reviews don't bore me, I think it's really sweet that you take the time to write them at all, so I always appreciate them!**

_SwiftAlice_**: Hello there, how are things? As always I want to start by thanking you for not only being someone I've been able to talk to, but also all the work you've done translating the story and reviewing here and in Audrey Potter's Prelude. You are far, far too kind to me.  
>I don't even know what I'm going to do when this story is over. Well, I do – I plan on focussing on my original novel and writing Fanfiction (including APP and new stories) when I find time...but it's intimidating. For every 10 000 words I write of GEM I find I write 2500 for my original novel. It goes so much more slowly and I'm not exactly confident in my characters yet – it'll get there with time, I hope.<br>Alright, on with the actual review...yes, the last chapter of HBP was a little more lighthearted, especially considering what had happened in the few chapters before it ended. I don't necessarily think this was lighthearted or dark; it was a bit of filler and mostly to show how scared Audrey was about the future, but the next chapter is definitely going to be paced more quickly and much more exciting. I love the ending for the next chapter too; you'll have to tell me what you think about it when you read it. Anyway; Theo and the other Slytherins have definitely proven their care for Audrey (we will be seeing them again) and Daphne really has grown in a character. I originally based her off of someone I know (one of my own friends, in fact) but since the story started she and I are no longer friends...I think, secretly, this was the evolution I wished that my own friend would have had before we'd 'broken up' our friendship. Daphne is still rough around the edges and certainly entitled, but at least she's starting to realize what's important and worth fighting for.  
>Yes, Harry and Audrey have kept the bond that they had in the final chapter of HBP. Of course, Drea will naturally find something to be annoyed about sooner rather than later, but the rare occasion where they get along is always something to look forward to. I think right now Drea realizes that they have a common enemy and it's amazing what knowledge like that does for any relationship, nevertheless the bond the Potter twins have. Like you said, they are quite different (from personality to reactions to Houses) but they do have a common goal...you know, to live past this year. Anyone can appreciate that.<br>I don't blame Draco for running. I mean, it sucked and was painful to write and I wanted to hit him and scream at him (or at least make Audrey do it) but like Audrey said: his running saved his life and possibly her own. He did have the opportunity to turn away from the Death Eaters and try to go with the Order, but it would have been a suicidal choice – particularly with the Death Eaters interrupting the process of his pick. Like the Slytherins in the last chapter said, they don't have choices like Audrey has choices – if Audrey defies the Death Eaters, it's no bother because they're already after her and the only family she has left. If THEY were to do it, while their family is already within reach of the Dark Lord's reign...well, it would be a bloody end. I feel bad for all of them; it's half the reason I write the story as I do...I don't think people consider that not all 'bad guys' are actually bad. Some are as much victims of circumstance as those on the losing side.  
>Anyway, I hope you liked the beginning of the final sequence. Thank you, as always, for your wonderful and detailed review. I'll talk to you soon!<strong>

_ .okumura_**: Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you liked the beginning of the Deathly Hallows :)**

_Leo Douglas_**: Um, first off THANK YOU, I've never been nominated for anything before! I honestly don't know what to say, it's so sweet that you consider this story worth mentioning – thank you! I'm sorry I had to thank you so long after I said I would update.  
>Honestly, I can't think of an actress that would play Audrey. The Audrey in my head is someone of my own imagining and even when I try to find people that look like her they're always missing something, or their voice isn't right, or her eyes aren't the right green, etc. One day maybe I'll copy and paste a bunch of people together and post that, haha. I haven't seen In Secret yet, but I really want to. I'm a huge fan of Jessica Lange too. Have you seen it? Was it good?<strong>

_IrregularClara_**: I can see a bit of Sophie Turner in the picture, but she's not really who I imagine in my mind as Audrey. If you have any other actresses in mind, I'd love to hear them. I still haven't found "the one" that reminds me of her through and through.**

_The Princess Andromeda_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I know that this chapter wasn't as exciting as the last, but you will not be waiting very long for the next one – I swear it. The twins are getting along, things are about to get a little bit crazy and even better: the Deathly Hallows has begun :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm glad that the last chapter was a good finish to the last book. I know this wasn't the most exciting opening for the Deathly Hallows, but hopefully it got you excited for the transport of the twins and got the characters back into their place – I'm sorry that I was gone for so long; it's why I figured a nice refresh of Audrey's mindset was necessary. Seeing that Harry and Audrey are getting along was important too – usually they aren't, after all.  
>I'm really nervous about this last piece of the puzzle, believe it or not. Now that all the mysteries will be solved and all the secret meanings behind chapters will come to light, I'm just hoping that people will like the way I plan to end the story. That's the other part that worries me: the end of the story. I love Audrey so much it's going to be hard to finish this, since I've decided I won't write a sequel. Extra chapters in Audrey Potter's Prelude, yes, but no sequel. I hope that this chapter was an alright beginning; thank you (as always) for your wonderful review :)<strong>

_Happyville_**: I don't know whether you have made it this far in the story, but if you have stuck to it thank you so much for reviewing earlier on and continuing to read. I'm glad you find this story original and I'm really happy that you seem to be enjoying it – hopefully that will continue!**

_EleKat_**: Thank you so much! I hope that you're still reading and that you can forgive the long pause between chapters. Thank you for reviewing.**

_Magimagus_**: Thanks for reviewing last time and on the chapters for Audrey Potter's Prelude, I really appreciate it (especially after my disastrously long break from writing). The last chapter of HBP was definitely a chapter to show the conflicting sides between the Slytherins and Gryffindors about how they react to the situation and how they see the upcoming battle; it was nice to see the differences and likewise the similarities between the two houses and their points of view. As much as Harry may hate Draco, I think he's more surprised that Draco saved her the way he did instead of just handing her in – I don't think he likes him or appreciates his sacrifice, but maybe it's closer to just being happy that Draco hadn't been able to go through with it in the first place.  
>Yeah, DH is going to be quite the rollercoaster ride – there are going to be a lot of twists and turns that I know people aren't expecting so I'm excited to show everyone what I came up with...hopefully you like it as much as I do!<strong>

_Tweedle Dum_**: Here's the update, I hope it has you excited for what's to come!**

_Ella710_**: It's always a pleasure to hear from you, whether it be through reviews or tweets – thanks for all your support during these past few months, life's been pretty crazy and thank you for your long review – you know I love them.  
>Honestly, it is really weird to think that I'm in the final sequence of GEM. I knew I'd get here eventually because I never planned on abandoning this story, but it's not at all how I expected it to be – I didn't expect people to be so involved, nor did I expect so many people to follow along in Audrey's adventures...I'm proud of myself for being able to keep trucking through the bouts of writers block and I'm proud of Audrey for being such a strong character that she pretty much writes herself.<br>Yes, we will be seeing more of Audrey around her fellow Slytherins – not a lot more, mind you (as she's not really going back to Hogwarts)...but we'll see them.  
>Yeah, it was important to me to have Harry redeemed in Audrey's eyes and I really wanted to point out to people that just because Audrey is so jaded and negative when it comes to her brother doesn't always mean her perception is the "right" one. She doesn't always see things objectively; so I wanted to make people saw that before the seventh book (since emotions will run awry now).<br>I don't even know where to start with the betrayal-talk (meaning Snape and Draco, of course). First, sadly Circe **_**is **_**dead – I know you weren't saying it seriously, but sometimes I have to remind myself so I may as well write it now. Secondly, Snape DID kill her – we will learn some of the more intricate details later on in this book. Writing the moment before and when Draco ran away with the Death Eaters was neither exhilarating nor draining, necessarily...I was definitely energized when I wrote it. It almost felt like when you're in a race and you know that people are running behind you but you don't look back (such as I wouldn't reread what I wrote for a long while) because you know that it will be devastating to see how close they actually are; all the while your stomach is fluttering from the excitement and also rolling because you're moving so quickly without stopping – that's the best I can describe it. I don't know if that makes sense, necessarily. It was that feeling that if I stopped I would lose – lose the idea or lose the energy, I'm not sure...but it was pretty intense then and even thinking about it now.  
>Oh, how I love theories – I'm sure you're fully aware of this (hence why you probably include them) but I thank you for them. Interesting development about how Audrey watched the school burn; I will neither confirm or deny your thoughts...but I promise that it will not be as easy as what you think. You know me, I love complications. It's true, rereading the story is very important – hell, I'm even doing it. I'm picking up things to use for later sequences, but I'm rereading every word myself...I envy people who read quickly.<br>Honestly, I barely read Harry Potter fics anymore. I wouldn't be able to know what any of those stories would be. I don't mean it to sound rude (I REALLY don't), but there's just something so...consuming about Audrey (for me, as a writer). She's all I see now; so reading any Draco fics or fics that are supposed to go along the same lines all end up molding into Audrey and even when I try reading one that isn't anything like GEM all I can think about is how "Audrey would never do anything like that...in fact, I should write about how different she is right now!" and I move on. I think I'm slowly graduating from fanfiction, which is actually quite terrifying. It means spending more time on my own book which I've neglected...and for some reason writing a chapter of an original story is so much more intimidating than writing a chapter of GEM. Anyway, I hope you're excited for the start of the story and thanks for leaving one of your wonderful reviews :)**

_Littlemissvengeance_**: Oh, yay! I'm glad that it wasn't what you were expecting and that you got so into the chapter. Audrey is definitely going to have a lot of things to think about during the Deathly Hallows, but it's going to be interesting...especially with all the twists I will be adding. I'm sorry for the extra-long wait, please forgive me – I'll make it up in long updates :)**

_C.C_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you like the story! It's taken a lot of work and time, but I'm really proud with how it's turning out and if the final book can translate onto the screen as it does in my mind, I'm hoping that it will only be more intense. I really like playing with the idea of sides and who actually picks them – it's funny how the victors are usually the "good guys", never the "bad guys", and it was something that I wanted to play with...I think it really helped evolve who Audrey became. Houdini has been mentioned in this chapter, but he's just not as influential as Circe was. Whereas Circe was like a guard-dog (or rather, guard-cat), Houdini is closer along the lines of a rodent whose purpose is to cheer her up rather than protect her. He will be around in the story, I promise, but Audrey didn't want to be cheered in the later part of the story and Houdini would have contrasted too harshly against her angst. Thank you for your review and I hope you are excited for the Deathly Hallows!**

_Wingwizard161_**: It's so nice to hear that you have found ways to relate to Audrey; hopefully not in some of the ways when she feels inadequate or misunderstood, but secretly I think it's what really humanizes her. Thank you for taking the time to read the story and I'm glad that you've enjoyed the story thus far – I'll try to keep it just as interesting during the chapters in the Deathly Hallows. I hope you liked the new chapter, thank you for reviewing.**

_ . _**: I don't plan on making a chapter from Malfoy's POV while he's a ferret because the problem was he couldn't think as a human (which was what kept him a ferret), but I have considered having a chapter of the first kiss from his POV. It all depends when I have time!**

_0.0-MIDNIGHTROSE-0.0_**: I'm sorry that it was a longer wait than anticipated, but thank you for your review and I hope you stuck around through the wait to read again :)**

_Spottedjay_**: Thank you for all your reviews, it's really sweet that you left your thoughts as you went through the chapters. I'm sorry that you lost out on some sleep but I'm glad that you liked it enough to keep reading anyway. I'm glad that you like it and hope you continue to (and I'm totally jealous that you know someone that reminds you so much of Draco Malfoy).**

_senabean_**: Aw, thank you, I'm so glad you like it! I'm sorry that you had to wait longer than I'd planned for an update, but hopefully the chapters I'm about to release will have been worth the wait. I will not be doing a sequel to Green Eyed Monster, but I will be updating Audrey Potter's Prelude with some of the important scenes we have not and will not see. Thanks for reviewing!**

_The Darkest wizard_**: Thank you! I'm sorry I didn't update as quickly as I'd expected to, but I really hope that you were able to stick around for the chapters; they won't be nearly as long of a wait now. I really like the shades of gray between right, wrong and self-serving, so I'm glad that it's translating in the story and thank you, it's not often people comment on the idea of Astral Projection and Magnuse. I hope that the last portion of the story doesn't disappoint and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

_P0tions_**: I'm glad you liked it and I'm sorry for the extended wait; I honestly feel horrible. I had actually written out multiple chapters for a Tom Riddle/OC story involving Seren (from the memories) but my hard drive crashed and I lost the entire thing! I plan on rewriting it, but it was a lot of time gone and a lot of inspiration that felt wasted. It'll come back to me though, don't worry.**

_Kate_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! Audrey has become something I'm really proud of and it's even more amazing that people relate to her and like how different she is. I'm going to try to update once a week or so now that I'm updating again. I'm sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy what's left of the story!**

_Guest (1)_**: It's nice that the prologue was enough to start an interest in the story for you. The story is definitely a long one and it took a long time to get my chapters up to as many words as they were – don't worry, it comes with time. I hope you were able to continue reading the story and thank you for your review.**

_Guest (2)_**: Circe's death was tragic, it still gets me when I think about it. Audrey will not be having another kneazle in this story, but she will get some answers. Thanks for reviewing.**

_blacklionsirius3_**: I'm a fan of Snape too, he's the ultimate anti-hero so it only made sense that she and Snape would be close once I decided that Audrey would be one as well. Fred and George help add that rebellion to her and Sirius is a great support system, it's been great to work with all these characters. I'm sorry that you think that the sexual references are inappropriate. I've been working on this book for two years and I've grown as a writer and quickly started realizing that it isn't realistic to have characters that don't mention sex. I know my friends certainly did at these ages (some of them did far more than mention it) and I'm all about keeping the story realistic. A few of my other stories mention it very lightly or less, but when I read over them later on I saw that it's impractical to think teenage girls (nevertheless teenage boys) don't think or mention it...I'm sorry if it bothers you and your friend. **

_Witherwings_**: Thank you, I'm glad you've liked it thus far and I hope you continue to!**

_Melody_**: Even if you had reviewed twice you know I wouldn't have bothered – I appreciate all your messages! Audrey and Harry have grown a lot closer, we'll see if they can keep it that way for long – Drea is always looking for a fight, even if she has to make one herself. According to the book Drea/Draco won't have a lot of time together...but I'm not very good with following rules, haha. I like twists, so maybe I'll be nice and write some scenes between them...anyway, I hope you liked this new chapter and thanks for the review :)**

_Ilovecupcakesandcookies_**: Don't worry about not reviewing every chapter, I'm glad you took the time to do it now (and during Audrey Potter's Prelude), so thank you. The ending of HBP was definitely different than the beginning of DH, but with the next chapter I think you'll see that I'm not going to be taking much of this book as slowly as some may think. It's nice that I don't have to write Audrey slipping into depression, even if it is warranted – but she's a Slytherin and her need for revenge is currently outweighing her own devastation. I hope you liked this first chapter and promise more excitement in the next. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Guest (3)_**: Here's your update, I'm sorry it's so late!**

_AMalfoyFanGirl_**: Sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**

_AsphodelVeelaMx_**: Wow, I can honestly say that I am jealous of how quickly you must be able to read. To read it in one sitting is legendary; well done. I'm sorry that you had to wait so long for an update; I'm not proud of how long my pause was, but it was definitely time that I needed – now this story is ready to go and hopefully it started out strong enough. The Deathly Hallows is definitely going to be an adventure, one I'm almost nervous to write for fear of not being able to translate my thoughts properly onto the screen and also for fear of it being over.  
>I'm glad that I was able to bring out so much emotion in the last few chapters of HBP – Snape and Draco really were heartbreaking, but Audrey won't just let things finish like that. No way. She wants answers and knowing Audrey, she'll do whatever she needs to get them. I hope that you liked the beginning of the last book and thank you so much for reviewing!<strong>

_Guest (4)_**: Thank you!**

_LegalAddiction20_**: I'm sorry for having worried you, life has been crazy lately – but I really appreciate the concern. I'll continue apologizing in ways of chapter updates and I'm sorry again.**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I wrote the "it's time to choose sides" scene a few different times until it sounded the most realistic. I agree that it's great to see the Slytherin Triad back together again (trust me, I missed them as much as you did) and I promise some answers and revenge for some of the things that happened last year, haha. I hope you liked the new chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_Kei Ren Ayuzawa_**: Thank you for not minding that I took my time, I would never give up on this story and it's nice that people understand the need for a break. I'm glad that you think the story flowed (through the moments that don't go with the original and the parts that are closer to what we already knew). Audrey will be trying very hard to become an Animagus, but I can't tell you what animal she might be able to accomplish transfiguring into. Thank you again and I hope you liked the newest chapter!**

_emsaduem_**: I'm glad you were enjoying the earlier chapters of the story and I hope that you have been able to make it all the way to this point. Thank you for your review!**

_gabbyswan_**: Do you know that this message melted my heart? Because it did.  
>All of it. Every single word.<br>Thank you for showing so much support – as I said earlier, it's been a hard few months but I've finally gotten to the point where writing makes me feel better again and I no longer just sit there, pulling at my hair and feeling pressured for something I couldn't quite imagine. Messages like this honestly got me to this point, so thank you. I don't think you understand just how much this helped; even the joke about me being JKR in disguise (ha! I WISH I were a tenth as talented). If I ever get the book I'm working on published, you'll be one of the first to know :) Thank you so, so much.**

_LoveInLittleStars_**: Audrey discovered she was a Seer back in third year during Divination. Before then there was a lot of reference to her having horrible headaches (this happened a lot in fifth year when she could no longer have visions) which was pretty much her visions trying to push themselves into her minds-eye. Audrey will never have a conversation with Seren Malmore, but she has learned a lot from her memories; I will be covering more about Seren when I find time to rewrite the Tom/Seren fic that I had started and lost. We will eventually find out the trouble behind Audrey's wand, yes. I know I didn't answer all of your questions, but I hope this was enough to get you by until they were answered in the story!**

_violet tsubaki_**: Thank you, this is such a compliment! I hope that you continue to find the story as much a page turner as time goes on.**

_hermioneisajeditimelord_**: I'm glad that you have found this story and are so attached to it! Deathly Hallows is turning out to be more exciting than anything else I've ever written; I hope you can enjoy it :)**

_Marzipan_**: I'm glad you like it and hope that this was a good beginning to the Deathly Hallows for you. Thanks for reviewing!**

_ASimpleMind94_**: I'm always so impressed when people tell me they read this in a few days – honestly, I wish I could read like you do – I'm the slowest reader in the world! I am so thankful that you decided to review at all, so I don't mind that you only left one long review, I appreciate it all the same. I'm glad you like Audrey; she's such a fun character to write and her interactions with other characters (such as Draco, Snape and Theodore) are what really drives this story. Audrey is going hunting for not only Horcruxes in this story, but answers so you can guarantee that she will not have simple interactions with all aforementioned characters when the time comes to finally see them. Audrey doesn't like change, even if she's about to be drowning in it. Thank you for your review!**

_Madeline Cullen_**: Wow, thanks for reading all the way through until the end! Yes, Audrey is definitely the shading to her brother's purity, just as Harry is the tint behind her shadowed personality. I'm glad you think that she's developed and something unique; I'm quite proud of her. She will definitely be feeling the brunt of siding with her brother while her friends feel drawn to the opposite side of the battlefield, but it's what will make the story more interesting. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter to the last portion of the story and thank you for reviewing.**

_Lynn D. Mariza_**: I started showing the blossoming romance between them in Audrey Potter's Prelude, if you're still reading this story and want to know about Seamus and Audrey. I haven't really gotten too deeply into it, however. **

_accio-logic_**: Wow, thank you! I've never had someone do something like a collection of Audrey-related things before; it's so great. I was wondering if I could have permission to use this link and post it on places like my twitter and profile so that other people could see what you've created? Thank you for creating Audrey's wardrobe and reviewing!**

_Guest(5)_**: No, I won't be writing an intimate scene between Audrey and Draco. I won't say whether or not it will be implied, but I will not be writing one in the book. I'm sorry!**

_Elementess_**: If you've made it all the way to this chapter, congratulations. I'm glad the prologue was enough to get you interested in the rest of the story. If you want to see scenes from her earlier years at Hogwarts, I slowly release one-shots and moments in Audrey Potter's Prelude :)**

_Guest(6)_**: Ha, yes Audrey should just get it all over with...if only she could! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you make it all the way to this chapter!**

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews (for this and for <strong>Audrey Potter's Prelude**), I appreciated every single one of them – especially those of you who showed support for the rough time I was going through. The next chapter will be out in a week's time and it will be when the story starts to speed up and get really interesting. **

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter as **EgyptsLegend **for updates, excerpts, sneak-peaks and more!**


	80. Backfire

**Well everyone, this is the second installment of the Deathly Hallows. I'd like to thank every one of you who has been so supportive in the recent months. I'd also like to thank everyone for their reviews, follows, favourites, the follows on Twitter as well as the pictures, voting on polls, wardrobes, song ideas and even those of you who help support the Spanish translation of this story by **_SwiftAlice_**. You guys are amazing and you deserve exciting chapters all the time; hopefully this one starts expressing my thanks.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 79 – Backfire<p>

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><p>"So is this change of plan likely to get us killed?" I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest while I examined the group of people that were now starting to crowd the Dursleys' entryway. "Because I vote for sticking to the original."<p>

"Your vote isn't important," Bill smirked, hardly moving over in time to avoid his younger twin brothers storm towards me and lift me in a hug that resembled some kind of sandwich. I didn't return it properly thanks to my arms being pinned at my sides, but that did nothing to stop the immediate blush from Fred beaming at me like he was. Holy Helga, it would be a lot easier to get past the fact he fancied me at one point if he wasn't always so damned happy to see me.

"No votes for you; you're still sixteen," George mocked, raising his eyebrows teasingly. I rolled my eyes.

"For four more days!"

"You're sixteen, nonetheless," Lupin interrupted, making the twins finally let go of me so that some of them could explain what was about to happen. "There are rules for the Order to follow."

"There were age rules for the Triwizard Tournament too," I reminded him simply. "Well, what's the new plan then? Something involving a battalion?"

"A _wonderful_ battalion-"

"-a wonderful battalion to beat all _other_ battalions..." I rolled my eyes at the twins, though I was unable to fully keep the smile from my face. It was good to see them; as much as Ron and Hermione were here for Harry – as much as _all_ the Weasleys were here for Harry – it was nice to know that the twins liked me best.

"I can't believe you're all here. Kingsley," Harry stepped forward a little, even though the man was all the way across the room. "I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?"

"He can get along without me for one night. You two are more important."

"Aw," I cooed dully. "How sweet."

"Guess what's sweeter?" Tonks asked excitedly, shoving her hand toward my face and wiggling a ring at me. A ring that happened to be on her left finger...

"Merlin's mullet, Tonks," my eyes widened as I looked up, switching my eyes between her and Lupin – both were beaming, both were proud.

"You got married?" Harry nearly yelped, looking more shocked than I was.

"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, it was very quiet," Lupin explained to the two of us. I smiled a little tightly, trying not to think about how odd it was that while I felt scared and miserable, people were still living out their lives in normal ways. They got _married _while I was contemplating how to kill an evil overlord who's been plotting my twin's death for sixteen years – just another Thursday.

"You're right," I tried not to sound bitter considering I _was _happy for them, even if confused by how they could find such happiness in times like these. "That's much sweeter."

"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later," Moody announced.

"Unless we die," I pointed out.

"Always the optimist, Audrey."

"Enough," Moody interrupted again, banging his cane on the floor to get everyone's attention. Heads snapped to him like soldiers in combat – which unnerved me more. He dropped the heavy sacks he was carrying to his feet, kicking it a bit further away from him and toward the group of us. "As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable offense to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you."

"Well, that's bullsh-"

"Yes it is," Moody interrupted my cursing. Fred and George, beside me, finished the swear in a quiet, slow motion whisper – I tried not to roll my eyes. "It's absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that already. What he's really done is to stop you getting out of here safely. Second problem: You're both underage-" these next four days had best pass quickly or I was likely to curse someone if they continued on with their daily reminders, "which means you've still got the Trace on you."

"I don't-"

"The Trace, the Trace!" Moody sounded frustrated, as if he had already explained this to twenty others...which he probably had. He'd already explained it to us, after all. "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters."

"Who cares? The moment they find out we'll already be gone," I told him. "Let's just Apparate and then leave-"

"They'll be able to tell where the spell took you. Even if we stopped eight times before reaching the destination," Moody argued, his magical eye swivelling in his head to look for people who could be eavesdropping. "And we can't just wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short, Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper."

"I'm sorry," I muttered bitterly. "Was _any _of this supposed to be encouraging?"

"What are we going to do?" Harry agreed.

"We're going to use the only means of transport left to us, the only ones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, Thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."

I could already feel all of the things that were bound to go wrong – especially if I got stuck with a broom. A nervous sweat began to build on my hands as I remembered the _last _time we had tried this little tactic – it hadn't gone well. Sure, we'd gotten to our destination each time I'd flown, but something always went wrong.

"Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or when you no longer call this place home," so had the charm _ever_ worked for me? Interesting concept with no real answer. "You and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never going to live together again, correct?"

Both Harry and I nodded; there was no hiding the fact we both felt relieved just being reminded of it.

"So this time, when you leave, there'll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. We're choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize the two of you the moment you turn seventeen.

"The one thing we've got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight. We've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: they think you're not leaving until the thirtieth. However, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we can't rely on him getting the date wrong; he's bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in case. So, we've given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at them. They all look like they could be the place we're going to hide you, they've all got some connection with the Order: my house, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel's...you get the idea."

"A dozen?" I frowned. "Couldn't the Death Eaters just check them all? There are enough of them now."

"Not when most of them are trying to keep up appearances – it'd be too obvious if they were there _really _sticking their noses in. Besides, as much as they're connected, the safe houses are all very random and spider-webbed across the better part of Britain."

"Alright," Harry agreed, sounding slightly breathless.

"You'll be going to Tonks's parents house, Harry. Audrey, you'll be headed to the old Linen house. Once within the boundaries of the protective enchantments we've put on their houses you'll be able to use a Portkey to the Burrow. Any questions?"

"Er – yes," Harry said, looking as if he was missing a large piece of the puzzle. "Maybe they won't know which of the twelve secure houses I'm heading for at first, but won't it be sort of obvious once fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks's parents?"

"Ah," said Moody, looking almost pleased that he had asked. "I forgot to mention the key point. Fourteen of us won't be flying to Tonks's parents. There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house."

I blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a large silver flask, popping off the top I could see what looked like mud. I instantly backed away, in sync with my brother, while I shook my head and gagged.

"No!" Harry said loudly. "No way!"

"Never," I gasped, nearly made dizzy by how much I was shaking my head with my refusal. "I will _not _turn into my brother! That has to be illegal on some level, or incestuous, or...no! I will not grow my brother's privates!"

"I told them you'd take it like this," Hermione sighed.

"If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives-"

"Who cares about their lives?" I asked, glaring at them all. "I care that if I live my _sanity _will have gone!"

"It's not like this is the first time for all of us," said Ron.

"I have never turned into my brother," I glared. "And I never want to."

"I mean for risking our lives," Ron abated.

"Oh, then yes – that's a common happenstance."

"This is different," Harry interrupted immediately, shaking his head and taking another step back. "Pretending to be me..."

"Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred earnestly. "Your sister already looks suicidal. Now imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."

I blanched. So did my brother. Oh shite, was I already starting to look like him before I was even forced to take this potion? I was happy to put a sneer on my face – that was much more like me.

"You can't do it if I don't cooperate, you need me to give you some hair."

"Well, that's the plan scuppered," said George, looking at me and rolling his eyes. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."

"Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we've got no chance," Fred said in the same disappointed and sarcastic monotone.

"Why can't he turn into me?" I asked, shaking my head. "The Death Eaters find me intimidating, don't they – isn't that why they want me put down? Why not have six other Audreys instead of six other Harrys?"

"That wasn't even a creative try," George frowned.

"You're losing your touch, Drea," Fred agreed. "We've clearly been parted too long."

"Funny," said Harry, "really amusing."

"If it has to come to force, then it will," Moody explained, his eye flickering between my brother and I. I knew I could make it difficult for him if he actually forced me; I was ready to fight for my basic magical rights. "Everyone here's overage, Potter, and they're all prepared to take the risk."

"Er – I'm not," I offered. Mundungus, from the corner, piped up as if he were actually going to agree that he wasn't willing to help either, but a glare from the majority of the room – including myself – stiffened him from moving or showing his disinterest again.

"Let's have no more arguments. Audrey, if you want to stay here until you're seventeen, you are more than free to – but I will not leave someone here to protect you if you think you're better than the plan." I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. They would never have let Harry stay alone, but I'm glad they were willing to make an exception for me. And besides that, I did not need to be reprimanded like a child...any sibling would detest the idea of becoming their other sibling; it was just fact. "Time's wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now."

"But this is mad, there's no need-"

"No need!" Moody took a step forward, crashing his cane against the floor and sending a vibration up the staircase I was leaning against, making my stomach quiver with nerves I couldn't possibly already feel. "With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we're lucky he'll have swallowed the fake bait and he'll be planning to ambush you on the thirtieth, but he'd be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping an eye out, it's what I'd do. They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother's charm holds, but it's about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can't split himself into seven."

"Don't jinx it," I muttered.

"So, Potter – some of your hair, if you please." My brother did not budge. "Now!"

I watched as my brother, moving as if it was against his own will, plucked some of the hair from the top of his head and handed it over to his commander like it were a snake; Mad-Eye Moody looked more than pleased as he took out the hair for the potion.

"Good," the old Auror praised, pulling the stopper out of the potion again. "Straight in here, if you please."

Harry dropped the hair into the polyjuice potion, watching carefully while it made contact with the surface. The muddy potion looked distasteful already, but I didn't want to imagine what it would be like when it absorbed my brother's _essence. _I also didn't want to imagine what it would be like to drink it – this was the worst plan the Order had ever come up with. As soon as the hairs sank beneath the surface of the potion, the gunk smoked, frothed and sputtered while it folded over itself to become a smooth, bright gold.

"Oh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry," said Hermione happily.

"How lucky for us all," I muttered, unable to stop myself from pouting.

"Oh, you know what I mean – Goyle's potion tasted like bogies."

"I think I'd rather the bogies."

George slug his arm over my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. "Cheer up, Drea-"

"-we'll be right there with you-" Fred agreed, copying his brother's motion and wrapping me up in an awkward hug.

"-and when we turn back, you'll be able to appreciate evermore how attractive we are-"

"-really, how I am: I _am_ the oldest-"

"-well, that defeats the purpose. Harry is technically older than Audrey, isn't he?-"

"-you're much better looking than your brother-"

"-yes, you're much more Fred's type-" when George said this he received a sharp elbow to the ribs from his older brother, though he kept all other forms of composure.

"-I can neither confirm nor deny that."

"Alright, enough," Moody barked, luckily stopping the torture that was making my face burn from the embarrassment. "Right, fake Potters line up over here, please."

I begrudgingly walked forward, lining up with Ron, Hermione, Fred and George – the last of whom went on either side of me so that they could nudge me to try to better my mood. It didn't work – nudging was only further irritating me and Fred's stupid little smiles were making me uncomfortable. It was two whole years ago the prat kissed me, he should just leave it alone. I don't plan on dating anyone after the disaster that was Draco and I.

Godric, just the thought of him hurt in itself.

"We're one short," Lupin noticed, examining the line-up with a frown.

"Here," Hagrid moved to the side to grab Mundungus – who was trying to hide behind the giant's massive form – by the scruff of the neck and dropped him on the other side of George. I pointedly looked away, making Fred laugh at me. It wasn't funny though, I would always hate that little toad – actually, I'd probably prefer him much more if he _were _a toad.

"I'm a soldier, I'd sooner be a protector," Mundungus argued.

"You can't protect your own dignity," I sneered.

"Exactly," growled Moody. "As I've already told you, you spineless worm, any Death Eaters we run into will be aiming to capture Potter, not kill him. Dumbledore always said You-Know-Who would want to finish Potter in person. It'll be the protectors who have got the most to worry about, the Death Eaters'll want to kill _them_."

For some reason, I still was not comforted. I didn't really want any of these people to die, but I couldn't really say whether or not I trusted Bill, Mad-Eye, Lupin, Kingsley, Mr Weasley, Tonks or Hagrid with my life. I also didn't trust that they wouldn't do something stupid that ended up backfiring – which was bound to happen during a last minute plan. Luckily, I didn't have too much time to be nervous or have my thoughts spiral considering Moody was pulling out small Dixie cups from the inside of his cloak. He handed one to each of us, pouring a small amount of potion into each one.

"Altogether, then..."

We didn't drink altogether. Everyone else drank before I did – and the fact I drank at all came down to the glare I got from Moody's creepy magical eye. How the man could make a fake eye glare was beyond me, but the intensity was enough to make me shoot the potion down as if it were Firewhiskey or, as I found out in March, poisoned mead.

I had never taken Polyjuice Potion to turn into Crabbe or Goyle, but if their potions tasted worse than this, I wouldn't have been able to imagine it. The pretty liquid-gold consistency was far less appealing than it looked and I could feel my features melting as if I were a candle that had been burning for too long. I was getting taller, I could feel my legs lengthening. It felt as if someone was pulling my hair from _inside _of my skin while it shortened. I could feel my nose growing and my mouth shrinking; it was like I could feel every freckle _pop _back into my skin in the same way that blemishes exploded out of it – not that I would have been able to see them considering how everything around me started to blur with his poor eyesight. There was one comfort I tried to take solace in: that other people were suffering with me.

"Alright," I muttered, rubbing my eyes and trying not to grimace when I heard my own, low voice. "I'm never doing that again. That was horrible. Your essence tastes like burnt mushroom and pineapple curd soup in a metal bowl along with some kind of...of..."

"Cilantro."

"Yes, burnt cilantro. Godric, it's disgusting! What have you been eating?" I sneered, shaking my head and stopping when I didn't feel hair hitting my shoulders as it always did.

"Wow," the twins – or the twins who now looked exactly like _my _twin – on either side of me smiled. "We're identical!"

"I dunno, though. I still think I'm better-looking," Fred said to me, examining himself before he looked at me and frowned dramatically. "Audrey, I was wrong – you, as your brother, still might be my type."

"I knew it."

"Those whose clothes are a bit roomy, I've got smaller here," Moody explained, pointing to the sacks at his feet, "and vice versa. Don't forget the glasses, there's six pairs in the side pocket. And when you're dressed, there's luggage in the other sack."

"I don't want to know if I need more clothes – can't I just go like this?"

"I'll dress you," Harry – well, Fred who looked just like my brother – wiggled his eyebrows at me in a way that made my stomach churn. "All my dreams come true."

"Seeing my brother naked?" I openly grimaced. "What a bizarre twist."

"What were we saying about your optimism?" Fred looked to his actual twin. "She's been in the snake pit too long."

"Time to come back to the lion's den!" George smiled, making a noise that sounded almost like a roaring lion. It was strange to watch and hear – my brother would never make sounds like that or expressions in that way – and yet they were his clones. It was overwhelming. I rolled my eyes, watching as they landed on the fuzzy image of my brother – my _real _brother, thanks to the clothes and glasses – who was watching all as if we were freaks. I was about to fire off an insult before Fred threw me a set of clothing. I looked at the clothes in my hand – styled closely to what Harry was already wearing – and threw them to the ground, wrinkling my nose.

"I refuse to put these on."

"You need to look the part, Audrey," I couldn't tell which Harry had spoken as they were all undressing, but by the know-it-all tone I could only assume it was Hermione.

"I _refuse _to change while I am in my brother's body – what if I see something I'm not supposed to? It's not only Voldemort we'll need to fear, it's my psychotic break."

"Here," Harry – the real Harry, who still looked absolutely mortified – came and shoved a shirt over the thin t-shirt I had already been wearing. He pulled a sweater up my shoulders and zipped it half way up. Then he looked down at my pants, contemplating whether or not to change them. My own pants which were acid washed and now six inches too short did not fit his clothing style. "This is the worst thing that's ever happened to us."

"It's not even happening to you," I told him.

"Really?" He asked me irritatedly. Two other Harrys' walked up behind him, both of them shooting me identical knowing looks.

"It kind of is," one of the Harrys' – who I assumed were actually the Weasley twins – mentioned.

"Since we all technically look just like him," the other agreed. I couldn't tell who was who now that they were dressed in nearly identical clothing. This whole thing was starting to really disorient me.

"Though I'm prettier." Alright, so the one on the left was Fred.

"Just do it, Potter. You're wasting time," Moody barked at me. I frowned, giving him the best glare I could even though he was so blurry that I couldn't tell whether or not I was actually looking into his eyes. Without daring to look down at myself I shimmied my own trousers down and grabbed the pair Harry handed me, tugging them up my legs and jumping so that they went on in one swift motion. Even if I would have put them on backwards I'm not sure if I would have gone through the process again.

"I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo," said one of the Harry's looking down at his bare chest.

"Harry, your eyesight really is awful," the know-it-all tone made Hermione the most identifiable of us all. Moody handed me a pair of glasses and I put them on...it was a strange sensation, seeing the world completely clearly for the first time.

"My vision isn't as bad as yours, I'll give you that," I admitted, raising my gaze towards my brother. "But when we're done this, I'm keeping these."

"They're yours," Moody accepted, moving to get our attention again. "Now, the pairs will be as follows: Audrey will be traveling with me, by broom-"

"Why do I have to be on a broom?" I widened my eyes dramatically.

"Because they will expect you to be on a Thestral," Moody explained calmly.

"But they'll be expecting Harry to be on a broom," I began to argue, "and I'm not the best with defending myself, even if you are – you'll have to steer the damned broom and I'll be completely useless!"

"She's right," Lupin said from the side. "And they'll expect either of the twins to be with the most experienced fighters, like you registered Aurors. She should be with someone less suspicious."

"That rules out you, Tonks and Kingsley," I noted quickly to Moody. "And I assume you're all on brooms?"

"You'll come with me," Bill said pointedly. "They wouldn't expect it."

"You two are close enough to notice," Tonks said quickly. "Wouldn't they expect you to want to protect her?"

"Not any more than he'd want to protect Harry." It was hard to admit but everyone knew that the people who were here were not really here for me – why would we have seven identical Harry's if they were? "We don't write or anything, we just enjoy each other's teasing when we're locked in a house together. He's a good choice."

"Fine," Moody grumbled. "Audrey's flying by Thestral with Bill. Mundungus, you'll be traveling by broom with me then."

"Why'm I with you?" Mundungus whined in a voice and accent that was very unlike my brother's.

"Because you're the one that needs watching," Moody explained, his magical eye swirling in his cranium to try to make his point. I felt awkward by the swirling motion before I realized what he had said.

"Hey!" I gasped, understanding now why I had originally been placed with him. "What are you trying to say?"

"Arthur and Fred-" Moody continued on, ignoring me.

"I'm George," the Harry that Moody was pointing to sighed theatrically. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?"

"Sorry, George-"

"I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really-"

"Enough messing around!" snarled Moody. Fred looked over at me and winked – it might have been endearing were he not the carbon copy of my overprotective twin brother who I fully believe has never been sexually active or suggestive and I will continue to believe that even after he has children. "The other one – George or Fred or whoever you are – you're with Remus. Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by Thestral-"

"Which leaves you and me, Ron!" Tonks smiled brightly, taking the time to wave and knock down a mug tree in the process of her enthusiasm. Ron did not look as excited as she did.

"An' you're with me, Harry. That all righ'?" Hagrid asked, looking a little wary. "We'll be on the bike, brooms an' Thestrals can't take me weight, see. Not a lot o' room on the seat with me on it, though, so you'll be in the sidecar."

"That's great," Harry looked nearly as uncomfortable with the idea as Ron, currently his carbon copy, was exhibiting.

"As Audrey said, the Death Eaters will likely expect you to be on a broom, Harry," Moody explained. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he's never mentioned before, so if we do run into any Death Eaters, we're betting they'll choose one of the Potters who looks at home on a broomstick."

Snape's name alone nearly felt like a kick to my stomach and I saw multiple pairs of my brother's eyes dart to me nervously at his mention. It seemed that everyone was as aware as my brother that it still hurt to think about the betrayal we had faced not two months ago. Would it be true, that Snape had told them everything he could about my brother? And, if he had done that, would he have told them everything he knew about me? It wasn't impossible to imagine that he knew more about me than he did Harry – is that why we were all disguised as Harry instead of me? No, likely it was because no one could fake Magnuse to pull off being me. Still, the knot of doubt that coiled in my stomach was sickening.

"All right then," he went on, slowly handing out the fake luggage sacks to us and tying up the extras to leave there. "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking."

"What about my real luggage?" I pointed to the bag in my hands. "I need it shrunk down a bit more, if that's alright. I figured I'd ask one of you to do it."

"We can't risk charming it here," Lupin was quick to say. He moved over to the luggage I had and pushed it into one of the other sacks. It fit snuggly until he pulled the drawstring and it shrank to half the size with the simple movement. "Luckily, some things were already charmed."

"Perfect," I gave him a small grin that he seemed to replay. I wonder if he would have been so kind to me if I looked like myself instead of my brother...No, Audrey! Now was not the time for this kind of negativity.

The group of us all filed out into the middle of the front yard, Bill leading me toward the Thestral that stood closest to the street. Before we made it all the way toward it, he put his hand out quietly.

"They could be watching so don't be sweet to it," he said quietly. "They know that you're the only one who'd do it and Mad-Eye is right: they already expect you on a Thestral."

"Right," I muttered, instinctively looking down considering I was already getting ready to coo it. It was a good call to be with Bill – I'd fare much better if this start was any indication. Everyone was getting onto their brooms. Kingsley was helping a Harry – Hermione, if I remembered correctly – onto a Thestral of their own. Harry was climbing into a snuggly fitting side car that made him look like a giant all his own – but as soon as Hagrid stepped near the motorcycle he no longer looked too big for the side car, but too cartoonish beside the giant man. I couldn't stop from pointing and laughing, which made Harry glare and caused me to laugh even harder – I could tell it helped to ease both of our nerves.

"Please be careful, Hagrid," Mr Weasley asked, moving to stand a little bit closer to them. "I'm still not sure that was advisable and it's certainly only to be used in emergencies."

"What is?" I asked, looking at Bill, who was now grabbing the reigns that he had put in the Thestrals mouth. I frowned; I wasn't the biggest advocate for reigns in the first place – particularly after I had successfully flown a brood of Thestrals without them to the Ministry of Magic just two years prior – but this Thestral looked antsy. Then again, maybe it knew there was the distinct possibility it was flying to its death.

"The bike has some shiny new gadgets," Bill explained. "You should probably sit behind me instead of in front of me, even if you are still a child."

"I am not a child!"

"Close enough," he smirked, chuckling at me while he climbed onto the Thestral. "Now hurry up, it's been fifteen minutes on Polyjuice already."

I had to keep myself from blurting out an insult while I climbed on after him – it was much easier when I was Harry's height than it had been when I'd done it on my own. Still, sitting on the back of the Thestral made me nervous...I wouldn't be much help with my arms wrapped around him, but I couldn't risk falling off – and besides that, I wouldn't be much help if we weren't allowed to use magic, anyway.

"All right, then. Everyone ready, please. I want us all to leave at exactly the same time or the whole point of the diversion's lost." Moody moved as he spoke, making everyone prepare for our separate journeys. Sounds filled the air as people prepared; the Thestrals whinnied, the motorcycle roared and drowned out the sound of the brooms kicking up to hover just feet from the ground. The tension in the air around us was so thick that it was hard to imagine being able to fly through it. "Good luck, everyone. See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On the count of three: one – two – three!"

I think I might have let out a string of vulgar words as we took off, but I couldn't be sure considering I had dug my face into Bill's back. Taking it out when I saw that we were steadily moving upwards, I took a moment to look at everyone around me. Hermione had the familiar look of Harry's nausea on her face while she was moving past us on her own Thestral and the Harry that was behind Moody looked like he was hesitant to hold on to him, but also too afraid not to cling for dear life. All the other versions of my brother seemed completely at ease with the height; they were the Quidditch players and they would be the ones to follow if we were...

Salazar's spit.

We hadn't gone up two hundred feet before the figures descended around us – thirty of them, maybe more, all garbed in long black cloaks with high hoods.

Death Eaters.

"Get out your wand!" Bill yelled back to me, though he'd had no need to. By some form of magic or instinct I didn't know I'd had, my wand was already wielded in my hand and aimed at the Death Eaters who hovered, waiting for us to make the first move, to make the indication on which Harry was the _true _Harry.

Moody went first, climbing higher to try to escape them that way. The spells began as soon as it happened – green and vibrant and aiming to kill.

I should have sat in front of Bill; I would have been more help steering the Thestral than I would be with my wand. It didn't matter how much work I had done with Snape before he'd run, it didn't matter how much Magnuse I could do, or Astral Projection...this time I had to rely on the wandsmanship I didn't actually have. I would fall to my death if I went unconscious for Astral Projection and my Magnuse was still disastrously stuck within my own veins.

A jet of green light flew past my right knee and it made the Thestral whinny and start to move all the more quickly. We climbed as Moody had done, breaking past the circle of Death Eaters like we were breaking out of water. I could barely hear Bill as he screamed something back to me, possibly to hold on...but there was no hearing him past the howling of the wind in my ears.

We were heading North, I could tell by the bright star in front of us. Polaris was shining brightly tonight and the lack of moon made it hard to distinguish the Death Eaters trying to creep through the darkness around us. The only thing I could see was what their green and red spells illuminated; because of those spells I could see Moody and Mundungus, not one hundred feet in front of us. They had three Death Eaters around them. I dared to take a look over my shoulder as more green spells lit the other duo of Order members in front of us.

"_STUPEFY_!" A jet of light that was not the right colour burst from my wand and narrowly missed one of the Death Eaters behind us. I shouted again, watching as they broke rank so that it wouldn't end up hitting any of them. One – two – three – four – five – six – seven..._wait_, no. Impossible. That couldn't be a person, there was no broom...there was no...

_No_.

Cutting through the Death Eaters like water – looking more like smoke than like a solid being – was the white, serpentine face of Lord Voldemort. It didn't look real; it looked like something that came from some horrific nightmare, something that couldn't actually happen. Who the bloody hell could just _fly? _Fly without a broom, without a Thestral, without boundaries or limitations?

Apparently Lord Voldemort could.

"_Incarcerous!_" I shouted, before I could even hesitate. It didn't work. Nothing came out of my wand at all, but just in case Voldemort had moved to the side swiftly as if he really were smoke...and I was starting to wonder if he wasn't. He was gaining speed as if our Thestral was trotting through the night instead of flying with all his might. I could feel the creature's heartbeat even over the pounding of his wings – he was overexerting himself. He could feel the danger.

"That is not him," I heard Voldemort shout. "Kill him!"

So much for only wanting to capture Potter.

Apparently I was the wrong Potter.

"Keep aiming spells!" Bill encouraged. "We need to warn Mad-Eye..."

Voldemort had disappeared as if he were never there; the Death Eaters at our back were not as quick as he was, but that didn't stop me from shouting out spells anyway. Some of them even looked the right colour, but mine were not nearly as close to hitting them as their spells seemed to almost hit me.

I was going to be the reason both Bill and I were killed.

"He's caught up to Mad-Eye!" Bill bellowed.

I shouted one last spell, a spell I couldn't remember as soon as it had left my lips and turned my head to the scene. Voldemort had caught up, that was for certain – which was terrible considering we were just as close. Only twenty feet away, we could hear Harry screaming. No, not Harry, Mundungus was screaming. I could hear Moody trying to calm him, trying to make him be more discrete because Harry would _never _scream like that – I had never heard that sound leave my brother's mouth...

And then Mundungus was gone; popping so quickly that the sound was lost to the night.

"COWARD!" I screamed, taking only a moment to point my wand behind me and think of the first spells off the top of my head. If Snape had ever done any good as a professor, it was teaching us Speechless spells; and if I had ever done any good in his Defence Class, it was being able to accomplish them. I didn't have time to check if they had worked, I didn't have time to see if they had actually hit any of the other Death Eaters because in front of us, Voldemort had finally caught up with Mad-Eye's broom.

A green jet of light surged from the tip of Voldemort's wand; Moody, righting himself on the broom that had just lost Mundungus' weight had no time to react or dodge the spell that seemed to web out like a net so he had nowhere to hide-

"NO!"

The spell hit Mad-Eye Moody in a way I'd never seen a killing curse hit a person. It hit him right in his face; so forcefully and fluidly that it toppled him backwards off the broom as if he had been tightrope walking.

"NO!" I screamed again, feeling my throat tear apart at the sound while I watched one of our protectors plummet. I reached the hand that wasn't holding my wand out as if I could stop him or catch him with it – but his body fell between my fingers like water, disappearing through the clouds and out of sight.

"WE HAVE TO GO GET HIM!" Bill said, I felt his muscles tense as he started to pull hard on the reigns, trying to make the Thestral move in the direction of the body that was already lost to the night. Realizing that there was no part of me holding on to him, I lurched forward, hitting his shoulder hard on the way.

"Wait," I blinked, shaking my head out of my stupor. "No, Bill, no! We have to fly away. _Away!_"

"But Mad-Eye-"

"Voldemort is HERE!" I screamed back at him. As sad as it was that Moody was gone, his body wasn't going anywhere. He was dead and there was no reason to find his body right now or else we would be joining him. "There's nothing we could do for him now. Even if Voldemort didn't favour the Killing Curse, he never would have survived the fall."

"We can't just-"

A curse cut him off, hitting the Thestral in the hind and making it cry out and lurch to the side that it had been struck. I turned away from Bill, not hearing if he was planning to continue our inappropriate and idiotic conversation so that I could try to get rid of the Death Eaters on our tail. There were fewer of them now, only by a few, but there were noticeably less. They must have thought that with Voldemort having eliminated our duos from consideration of being Harry, all that was left to do was kill us.

Well they really were left with the wrong Potter then.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" I screamed, pointing my wand back behind me. A Death Eater was nearly hit and had to swerve heavily to the side to miss the shot. It was a rush to see that it was the right colour, that even if I couldn't distract them I could _dispose _of them. I bared my teeth like an animal as I wound back, ready to strike again like the snake I was. "_AVADA KED-_"

I was cut off as a spell narrowly missed my ear, Bill's saving grace being only how he was bent over trying to push our Thestral to fly faster. I nearly screamed from the fury that was building up while I repositioned myself to strike again.

"_CRUICO!_" Someone cried out in pain and it was beauty to my ears. I saw a broom slow and waver like the rider was drunk and watched with a sick pleasure while the broom started to sink lower into the darkness.

"HE GOT AVERY!" I heard one of them cry.

"I GOT 'IM," another bellowed. "_CRUCIO_!"

The heavy voiced man missed me, but then again, perhaps he wasn't aiming for me. The spell hit the thigh of the Thestral and immediately halted our flight. The Thestral writhed and his wings flapped irregularly while he let out a cry I had never before heard from an animal. I let out a dry sob, both from the worry for the Thestral and for my uprooted stomach – we were falling, losing air quickly.

"I CAN'T CONTROL HIM!" Bill screamed, grabbing onto my arm with one of his hands while his body stiffened to keep himself seated.

I could, I know I could.

"Hold me!" I screamed, moving forward and pressing my bare palm against the thigh that the spell had hit. I couldn't keep my hand steady because of how the horse bucked and how my arse was starting to lift because of our downwards momentum. I pushed my hand against him, gripping a portion of his muscle and knowing that I couldn't hurt him any worse than the pain he was feeling now. I focused hard, trying to imagine the red spell like a red cord – a cord that I could cut; a cord that I cut so that it had no power over this creature, no power over anything at all. I felt his bucking start to cease, I felt his wings start to beat in unison again...

"IT'S HER! IT'S THE GIRL!"

Perfect.

"Cover's blown!" Bill shouted, tugging me back up now that the Thestral was flying properly. "Keep firing, Audrey!"

I wouldn't have argued even if it were Pansy Parkinson ordering me about. I was sending out more spells than I was saying – any spell that was brought to my mind was shot out of my wand in rapid fire – hardly any hitting their marks and even fewer the proper colour, but at least it was distracting them with their need to dodge which in turn slowed their own spells.

And then, with a successful casting of the blasting curse, the Death Eaters fell back; almost as if they were afraid of me. I was about to let out a shout of victory, but Bill did it for me – only it wasn't out of happiness, it was out of fear. To the side of us, having materialised like the smoke he appeared in, was Lord Voldemort.

"_We meet again, Audrey Potter_..." it took me a moment to realize that he hadn't actually spoken to me. I wouldn't have been able to hear him over the wind from how quickly we were moving alongside each other. His snake like mouth was closed, hiding the venom that dripped from his words.

"GET AWAY!" I screamed, flinging my wand out to him. I didn't even have time to think of a spell good enough for him before he knocked my arm away with his own. His arm was solid – not at all like smoke – and even though my arm was covered, I could feel how cool his skin was from his flight.

I tried another way, thrusting my hand forward, my wand balanced between my palm and thumb while I raked my fingers across the snake's face. It burnt him, I could tell immediately because it even burnt me. The pain of it nearly knocked me from my position on the Thestral and were it not for him drawing back, I wondered if I would have fallen the opposite way myself. Still, despite my pain it was heavenly to hear how the strongest wizard alive howled from my magic. I could see the mark I had left on him; a burn that had burrowed through his pallor, breaking it apart with bright and ugly crimson.

"STAY-" I grabbed my wand with my improper hand, using that to cling to Bill and my magic before I shoved my injured hand out again, watching as he swerved to avoid it. "AWAY!"

I curled my fingers around the hilt of my wand once again, begging it to fire at Voldemort – but again it sat like a regular stick in my hand.

"_Stupefy!_" The sound came from Bill, so familiar and confident that I had to wonder whether or not he'd been shooting spells the whole time and I just hadn't heard them over the wind. He hadn't moved to take hold of his wand; he must have had it in his hand already. Still, the spell was enough to make Voldemort move back.

"THEY FOUND HIM, MY LORD!"

"NO!" I screamed. There was no needing to question which 'him' they were referring to. The white hot rage was pushed aside for a moment as thick dread started to seep in – and they collided into a dangerous, boiling mixture that welled up in me like the urge to vomit. I moved as if to fling myself towards Voldemort – just to burn off his gleeful expression, just to stop him from getting his way and hurting my brother – before Bill moved his arm back so that he could stop me.

"You need to stay here, we're almost there!"

"NO!" I screamed again, watching as Voldemort fell back to his Death Eaters for information. I raised my voice as loudly as I could, ignoring the ripping sensation it caused. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR IT!"

"AUDREY, STOP!" Bill shouted. I hadn't realized I had been fighting to get around his arm. Voldemort had disappeared, but there were still three Death Eaters after us. Three were easily dealt with when I was this furious.

Spells didn't falter like they had seconds before with Lord Voldemort at the tip of my wand. They flew from me again before I had time to think them – one actually managed to entangle one of the Death Eaters in rope; even if it was supposed to be a stunner.

But we didn't need to dodge and dive for long; they suddenly stopped flying as if their brooms malfunctioned – yet they stayed in the sky. They watched us go, shouting and bellowing as if we had thwarted them and I kept my wand raised, waiting for them to advance and try to take us by surprise.

"Is he back?" I called to Bill, hearing the waver in my voice. _My_ voice – apparently some time during the battle I had started to turn back into myself. I could hear in _my _voice what I was feeling, all the anger and fear and shock and denial. It was impossible that everything that had just happened _had _happened -nevertheless that we had lived through it.

The Death Eaters were lost to us now, but my eyes were peeled on the trees that had engulfed us. Having Harry's glasses on would help to see them all the more clearly if they appeared.

"No, we're here," he breathed, keeping quiet as if the Death Eaters would hear us and follow us again.

"Here?" I asked, watching as Bill started to land the Thestral with the grace as if we had only been out for an evening ride. He waited until we had touched the ground before he nodded.

"Here," he repeated, taking a moment to breathe. "The old Linen house."

We were at the safe house. We had made it out alive.

"We should have looked for him," Bill said quietly.

No. Not all of us had made it out alive.

There was a long moment before either of us could dare to move or to speak. I could feel the events of the past hour and a bit surge through my memory and numb me to the surprisingly chilly summer breeze that swirled around me so gently it was like it was trying to give me air; but the air did not help lift the weight off my chest and the numbness did not stop the trembling.

Mad-Eye Moody was dead, his body fallen somewhere and I didn't know if we could find him again. We had been attacked – attacked by dozens of Death Eaters, not just a few on watch. It was impossible, it was impossible that tonight could have worked out the way it had. Or at least it was impossible unless they had known we were being moved tonight...

"We need to go inside," Bill broke the silence after a few moments while he slid off the side of the Thestral. It let out a loud cry when he dismounted and I winced away from the noise, the trembling instinctively getting worse.

"There's a Port Key here?"

"Inside," he repeated. I was terrified for a moment to hear how low his voice was. Did he blame me, for leaving Mad-Eye where we had to? Had I been wrong to leave him in the heat of the moment, or had it been because of the heat of the moment I had realized we would die if we tried?

"Can they find us?"

"Not here," he told me, placing his hands around my shoulders first to comfort me, then to stop my shaking and finally to help pull me from the Thestral. He held on to me for a moment after, almost as if he needed the same reassurance that we had survived that I felt I needed. I didn't know if this meant he forgave me for the choice I made about leaving Moody behind, but I was glad that he could at least find it in him to hope I was alright. Bill turned his eyes to the house, breathing heavily as if he hadn't been able to breathe until that moment. I followed his eyes, watching a shadow move across the windows and open the door.

At first, I couldn't understand what I was seeing. We were a fair distance away, but I was wearing Harry's glasses so logically I should have seen it clearly – but the sight in front of me just didn't make sense. The wheat blonde hair, the familiar expression of disbelief...

"What are you doing?" I asked, my eyes wide while I realized that I really _was_ seeing a person. I was watching a _real_ person walk towards me...someone who couldn't possibly be here, walking towards me after I had just fought Death Eaters with the Order of the Phoenix as my guide. It was impossible.

"I'm picking a side," she explained as if it were the simplest but the most important thing she had ever stated. And even though it didn't make sense and I knew it was wrong and I was probably hallucinating from all the stress, I hugged Daphne Greengrass as tightly to me as I ever had...because finally, for the first time, she had picked _mine_.

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><p><strong>Daphne is finally supporting Audrey! I won't deny that I got a little teary there; the beginning of the end is certainly emotional...at least I was. But hey: that could just be me. What did <strong>_**you**_** guys think of that twist? For those of you who reviewed on the last chapter:**

_KwC1994_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope this one was a nicer, exciting one!**

_ChloeMalfoy_**: I really am sorry for the wait but I'm glad that you still liked the beginning of the Deathly Hallows. Thank you for reviewing :)**

_Zabi101_**: Audrey doesn't hate Snape, she's just very confused and hurt by everything that's happened. We saw in this chapter that even the mention of him makes her feel betrayed. I'm glad that you're liking the story and I hope you continue to – thank you so much for your review.**

_GrossEwww_**: It's good to be back, I've really missed updating. I'm sorry they didn't end up looking like Audrey, but I liked the idea of so many of them looking like Harry and her contemplating why. Thanks for reviewing!**

_accio-logic_**: I tried not to make it too long of a wait for the chapter; what did you think? I'm glad you were so excited for the last chapter, hopefully this one brought about the same fervor. Also, thank you again for the clothing collection for Audrey; I love it and I was sure to retweet and favourite it so if people want to look through they can :)**

_Madeline Cullen_**: The last chapter wasn't that long but it was an important chapter to see how Audrey was taking everything that had happened just before the summer; this one was more action packed and a tad longer so hopefully it evened out how much you got to read. Thank you for warning me about my typo in the beginning, I was quick to change it once I read your review. I try to update once every week or week and a half, but sometimes life gets in the way – I'm trying very hard to be on time, though. Thank you for your support and I hope you liked the Seven Potter's scene!**

_katie93319_**: Harry will learn that Audrey feels hurt by the fact they always side with his friends and not her own, but that will come in time. As you can see she felt the same way in this chapter too, but luckily the twins were there as a nice buffer. Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Aw, thank you! You're too kind. I shouldn't have made you guys wait so long but I'm glad that it went over so well and people weren't as upset as I thought they would be. Yeah, some things have been going on in life lately that have made it hard to sit down and write (no matter how much I want to) but it's gotten to the point I have the inspiration and the ability to write again, I just needed to get over some things first. But thank you for your virtual, online support; I really appreciate it!**

_The Darkest Wizard_**: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I'll be doing Draco POVs later on in Audrey Potter's Prelude, but for now I'm going to really focus on this last part of the series :)**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: Whoops.**

_LegalAddiction20_**: Yeah, Audrey's a little more uppity in this one but it's more out of determination and trying to keep her head in the game than actually being happy. The poor girl just cringes at the mention of Draco or Snape, but that's to be expected after the betrayal she just went through. Don't worry – it will get better. Worst first, but then a little better.  
>Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it. It's taken a long time to get this story out but now that I'm in the final haul it's really intense, you know? It's really helping everything pass because I can remember that there are other things besides focusing on the negatives and reading reviews like yours are a definite help :)<br>I did accidentally put the Half Blood Prince instead of the Deathly Hallows and there was a typo; I went to correct the first but not the latter. I might do it later on if I can remember, haha. It's also alright that you don't review every time, as much as I love reading reviews I don't like to really hound people for them and I appreciate the ones I get.  
>I probably won't do an APP update in an Alternate Universe just because that isn't the style of the chapters, I'm sorry, but maybe one day if I find the inspiration I could write one up and post it under something else :) Thank you for your review!<strong>

_Dark Rose Princess_**: It's good to be back, thank you for the warm welcome and well-wishes, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you again.**

_LadyBritish_**: I hope your exams are going well; I know they just started but I wish you well for the ones you've written and the ones that you will sit soon – I know they can be stressful.  
>I'm glad that you like Audrey; she's a real joy to write (in fact, she pretty much writes herself) and I'm glad you think she's different. Your story sounds interesting, I hope it turns out well and that you keep finding inspiration for it – take it from me, long stories can be hard to trudge through, haha. I won't promise to write an AU chapter in APP because that's not really the style of Audrey's story and character, but if I find inspiration I might post it somewhere else some day. Thank you for reviewing!<strong>

_S38_**: Wow, if you finished the whole story in one sitting, I'm impressed! Thank you, I'm so glad you like it (and honoured you'd take all that time to sit and read it at once). Audrey wasn't always as bitter as she was; she was a bit darker than Harry pre-Hogwarts, but we really see the switch during her first year when Harry gets all the attention for being the Boy Who Lived. I wrote another story full of one-shots called Audrey Potter's Prelude that has more information on it if you're interested. Thanks for the review!**

_BlackRose_**: Yes, the Deathly Hallows has started and I'm glad you liked it! Fred and George will be spending quite a bit of time in the chapters with Audrey coming up, if that interests you. Also thanks for the note about the error there, I fixed it soon after :)**

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: It is the last book – I'm so wonderfully excited and scared and upset that it's over. What if people don't like the ending I have planned? What if I can't live without writing Audrey after it's done? Too many possibilities. I'm glad you've stuck with me for so long and thank you for reviewing!**

_narratoroflife_**: I know, it feels crazy that it's come this far! Honestly, I'm pretty proud that I didn't get bored with it at some point and now that we're in the final stretch there's no chance of that happening. Thank you so much for your review, I hope you liked the chapter.**

_Kate_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it and I hope you only continue to :)**

_incitanemxx_**: Exactly, Audrey knows that it's not productive for her to feel sorry for herself right now and she has more things to worry about than whether or not Draco's thinking about her. Now, of course he's going to plague her thoughts but that doesn't mean that she gives into the sorrow: this is a war.  
>It's interesting that you think she's going to leave Harry, Ron and Hermione considering she's been one of the ones most determined to destroy the Horcruxes. She would definitely be an interesting personality if she were on Potterwatch, but she is more of a lone wolf – really, all of them are possible. I guess you'll have to wait and see what happens – it's alright, you only have to wait a few chapters though. I also can't wait to hear this list of yours! Thank you as always :)<strong>

_gabbyswan_**: Audrey is definitely monopolizing my thoughts, she's just so consuming and now that it's in the final stretch it's all I can really focus on.  
>Again, I want to thank you for how helpful you've been. I really appreciate all your encouragement, it was really sweet. Writing has definitely helped me even though at the beginning it wasn't something I could bring myself to do. I'm definitely glad that part is over! I hope that school is going well for you since you've been so busy with it and I'm glad you liked the last chapter; hopefully you liked this one even more because there was some action and some of our more loveable characters in it. Thank you again!<strong>

_I_**: Thank you, hopefully you like the others as well :)**

_Guest_**: Thank you!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm emotional about it being the end too, but it only gets better from here on out. Thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_mrsdansmith_**: I'm not sure I'm ready for it to end either but I'm glad that you've been enjoying it. I could totally see Audrey and Draco driving each other crazy as they grow old together – they would have the most stubborn children on the planet. Thank you so much for your review (and reading the story all over again)!**

_Guest (2)_**: Oh yes, Draco and Audrey are some interesting young love, that's for sure.**

_WeTheTreatys_**: I'm glad you've liked the story so much; hopefully you make it all the way up to here so I can thank you properly for all the reviews you've been leaving! **

_TheWitchDemigod_**: Everyone understands the bitterness and jealousy of Audrey, I think it's what makes her relatable; I never knew that she would become what she has, however. I'm glad that you like her and hope that you make it all the way to this chapter and past :)**

_DarkTendncies_**: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the newest installment.**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Yes, Dudley did show his true colours there and it was so sweet. I was so upset when they cut it out of the movie. I hope that you liked the Seven Potters scene, it was fun to write. Thank you for your review!**

_Shannon_**: If this is an addiction than I'm addicted to writing it! Thank you for your review, I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Guest (3)_**: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it :)**

_EveryNewDay_**: The last chapter wasn't necessarily an exciting one but hopefully you got a good dose of it during this latest chapter. Aw, it's so sweet that you wanted to reread the chapter and APP; it's always nice to know that you like the story enough to read it twice – what kind of foreshadowing did you catch? I'm always curious to hear people and what they think might become of later chapters.  
>I will write the Poisoning scene from Audrey's POV. I was hoping to do it this last chunk, but decided to go with Draco's summer instead and I didn't want too many from the same approximate time or situation. That's a pretty cool idea about Audrey's connection with death; but sadly you're going to have to wait to find out. The story is on the last leg though, so you won't have to wait long! Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

_SwiftAlice_**: Hello there! I'm not doing too badly; better everyday. How are you? It's been a while since we've spoken. Also, I wanted to warn you that your review got cut off and it's obviously in the middle of a sentence so I probably won't cover everything you had in mind to be answered, but I'll try.  
>Yes, the original harder is much harder, especially because I find out what everyone likes and does not like here; whereas I'm almost completely on my own with my original novel. It's also a very different writing style than what I'm used to and a different genre...but the idea is too good to just let it slip away. The characters are also hard to nail down because I'm currently so obsessed with Audrey and my heroine in my original is very different. I think it will be easier to write when Audrey doesn't absorb all my focus, which is both sad and thrilling all at the same time.<br>Yes, as you saw here we are still seeing some Slytherins – yay, Daphne! It's about time she got her head out of her butt (no offence to the character I've helped portray, haha). Honestly the first time I wrote it I teared up and then I told my mom what I wrote and even she teared up (though she wasn't even done the sixth book) so I'm interested to see how other people take it. I also really like the Slytherins; it's a really interesting cultural, 'mob mentality' kind of psychology to write between them and it's fun and really makes me open up my mind in ways that I don't always think so that I can imagine how they would handle things. I'm all about writing things that I've never written before, heard of before, and things that I can fully explore – it's both good and bad, haha.  
>And as a side note, I couldn't see you being a Slytherin-bitch at all. I think of fourth year Daphne, Pansy, or Astoria when someone says something like that. I don't really know, but I always pictured you as a Ravenclaw. You're smart and you give very sound advice.<br>I also think it's nice that Audrey's kind of back to her old self; she really deserves to have some time to breathe since we know that everything is about to get crazy (or just did, considering this last chapter). I also agree and put the idea in this chapter as well that all of Harry's familiars and friends are around but Audrey is really the odd-man out. She's the only Slytherin there (until the very end) and will continue to be the one who is kind of on her own. These next few chapters are going to be a little crazy (considering it's supposed to be cleaning for the wedding, birthday, and then the wedding) so hopefully it ends up turning out. Thank you, as always, for being so wonderful :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, it feels good to be back. It's crazy how much I actually like to update; I probably get as excited as some readers to post a chapter and see what people thought of it or their theories on what will happen because of it.  
>Oh, Dudley's part gets me every time too! It's so disappointing they cut it from the movie, it's such a powerful moment in the books. It shows that there really is some hope for the Dursleys yet. Hopefully the humour from Audrey's apathy towards the Dursleys translated well into her traumatisation over having to become her brother. It was fun to write, I even had to calm it down a little bit because I got too excited and she ended up getting <strong>_**too **_**vocal about her disgust, haha.  
>I don't really like the reminder of the story almost being over either, but at the same time I'm really excited to finally get to write down all the thoughts that have been floating around in my head for YEARS at this point. Honestly, only I know the ultimate ending and it's been hard to keep to myself – so as sad as it is, I'm excited to see what people think of it. There will be an epilogue and even an Alternate ending, because I have two very different endings in mind for the story. Thank you for your other reviews in Audrey's Prelude, I'm glad you liked the chapter. As always, thank you for your review(s) and I hope you liked the Seven Potters escape :)<strong>

_Guest (4)_**: I'm sorry, at the beginning I wasn't as fond of description as I am now. Hopefully you make it to this chapter and it's made a difference. Thank you for your review, I hope you continue or have continued to like the story :)**

_MissLaufeyson_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! I'm not really sure what story I'm going to post yet. I might take a break because I'm writing my own original novel – but fanfiction is definitely fun and a nice distraction so I have yet to decide.**

_Maeve_**: Thank you so much, this review was really touching! I updated before 12.87341 days, but it's interesting to know that's my average; thank you – I'm terrible in math and probably couldn't have done that myself. I did know her name means "noble strength", I really love hidden meanings in names...for instance I know that Maeve means "intoxicating" or is after a mythological queen and I believe it's Irish. It's one of my favourite names, believe it or not, and I'm not just saying that to get on your good side. Anyway, thank you so much for your review, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!**

_Mockingjay2001_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like Audrey enough for the story not to be centered on Harry – after all, we've already heard his version. I'm sorry that you understand that kind of competition between you and your twin but I'm glad that you've found something to relate to with Audrey. She's definitely flawed and definitely her own character apart from Harry; she really writes herself more than I do. I'm glad you like the story and thank you so much for reading and reviewing.**

_MooNOrchiD_**: I'm glad you're reading it now, thank you :)**

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><p><strong>Daphne is finally helping, Audrey had a short encounter with Voldemort and she even got her wand to cooperate! I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter and all that went on, also what you think WILL happen since the time for the group to hunt Horcruxes approaches...<strong>

_**PLEASE REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for Q&As, facts, excerpts, updates and more!**


	81. Alliances

**Hello my lovely readers! I'm glad that you guys are getting into the final portion of Green Eyed Monster and all that the Deathly Hallows entails. Hopefully this next chapter gives you a little more to go on; I tried to throw a bit of everything in for you!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 80 – Alliances<p>

* * *

><p>"You're late," Daphne stated simply, looking calm and collected when she finally pulled away and glanced from Bill to me. "You're trembling. I take it something went wrong since-"<p>

"Wait," Bill stated, grabbing my arm forcefully and pulling me farther away from Daphne. He raised his wand right to her eye-level, not even registering Daphne's shocked expression.

"Bill, what are you-"

"Who did you speak to when you asked to help the Order and how?"

"Sirius Black," Daphne responded, her face had fallen as if she wasn't surprised she was being interrogated. "And I talked to him through one of those annoying little Pygmy Puffs I ordered from the Weasley twins."

Bill didn't lower his wand, his eyes narrowed. "You still could have been the one who betrayed us."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Weasley. Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean-"

"You're the newest and the one with the most incentive to turn over on the lot of us!"

"Why are you so paranoid?" She sneered, finally looking like the Daphne I remembered. She even popped out her hip and crossed her arms, her look of distaste immeasurable. "I don't recall giving you a reason not to trust me."

"They knew," Bill stated firmly, his voice low. "They were ready for us when we left with them."

Daphne's expression melted into one of horror, her arms even dropped.

"Salazar's snakes," she cursed, looking at him with a new understanding. "Has everyone – oh, Audrey, is that what happened to your hand?"

"No," I answered briefly, taking a look at the burn on my hand. It looked nasty and I had a feeling once I took the time to pay attention, it would feel even worse. "That was Voldemort."

She winced at the name. "What do you mean?"

"I burnt his face," I told her quickly. "But this is nothing...Mad-Eye Moody's gone."

"Gone?" She repeated, giving me a look as if to try to get me to explain, but something on my face must have warned her off of further digging into the subject. I walked further into the room, looking up and down the walls as if spells were going to start dripping from them; I didn't trust those boundary spells enough.

"Have you heard from any of the others?"

"No," she responded, not showing her usual offence while Bill walked right past her and into the house without acknowledging her again. "Your Port Key's already left. I was worried, but Sirius warned me it could happen. I'd never thought..."

"I'll make another," Bill stated. "Is there anything I can use?"

"Take whatever you want," she waved her hand vaguely towards the entirety of the old, dreary house. "It's not mine, anyway."

"A good point; whose house have we infiltrated?" I asked, looking around at the gray, cob-webbed infested room we had moved to stand in. It was a plain house – quite obviously abandoned; the layers of dust were caked to every surface, the wood beneath our feet creaked and made the furniture that was covered much more eerie. It almost felt as if the room was still inhabited by the ghosts of the past owners – I had no doubt the rest of the house copied the mood.

"It was Theodore's grandparents from his Mother's side. She outlived them, for the short time she lived at all. No one wanted it after she died," she looked around as if she were seeing the house for the hundredth time – which was impossible considering the dust that showed only her newest set of footprints. "I thought it would be a good place that no one would think of looking for."

"But the Death Eaters know now," I reminded her, my tone cautious. "They followed us here."

"Oh, it's been abandoned for years. Muggles have even lived in it once or twice," she waved it off as if it were preposterous that the Death Eaters could actually get through to hurt her. Her confidence did nothing to improve my own. "You needed a safe house, I found you one. I'm upset that I'm not being admired for my bright thinking."

"Your bright thinking? I'm more impressed by your gall," I admitted, taking a step towards her and dropping my voice in case Bill was trying to overhear. "What were you thinking, joining the Order of the Phoenix? You live in a house full of Death Eaters."

"Mummy and Daddy aren't Death Eaters," she corrected, her voice its usual volume. "When they do come around, mummy helps protect my thoughts. It doesn't really matter though, it's not me they ever want an audience with, anyway..."

My heart plummeted at the thought, at her very insinuation. "Theo?"

"They're trying to recruit everyone they can," Daphne rationalized, doing a poor job with keeping her voice from wavering into its true nervousness. I didn't need to be in her shoes to know her stomach was churning just as badly as mine was. "Theodore knew this was coming, he told me weeks ago. He won't be able to stall them forever, of course, but he's doing a good job coming up with excuses to stay away from them, even though..."

She trailed off, looking at me from the corner of her eye as if she were worried about what she was going to say next. I raised an eyebrow, trying to demand silently for her to continue. I was still in shock, I had to be to want to hear what I knew she had to be about to say – and I really _was _in shock. I could feel that the numbness from the shock of our journey here was still weighing on me – but that didn't mean that I couldn't understand the severity of her information...no matter how much I didn't want to hear it, knowing was better than wondering when you were in the middle of a war.

"Theodore's been helping Draco a lot," Daphne finished, her voice wary. It was for good reason, as Snape's name had taken the breath from me earlier, Draco's name seemed to zap away the rest of my energy. The trembling from the mix of watching a comrade die to having to relive the terrible moment when he turned away from me and ran almost made my knees wanted to give out. Not almost, it did; it hurt to stand when I knew that the people I had spent my entire schooling beside – and not just any of them but Theodore and _Draco _in particular – may have been on the brooms that I had just shot out of the sky.

I should have known this would happen, I should have expected that I would be faced against my own allies, the people I spent each day with for the past six years – I shouldn't have been so heavy-handed with my curses, so unforgiving in my attacks. I should have realized that I might be murdering my _friends..._

"Malfoy, is he..." I shook my head, not liking how the words rolled around on my tongue. I couldn't bring myself to look at her when I seemed to choke out the question that's possible answers suffocated me. "He's alive then?"

"Alive and well – er, maybe not well, I guess. He's fine, but humiliated. He was in trouble for failing, sure, but the job was still done. The Malfoy name has become a bit of a joke, rather than something to be feared..." Daphne explained, watching for any sign that I was going to burst into tears. It seems that she instinctively knew that I wasn't taking this as well as I was pretending to. "I think he likes it, to be honest. I think he likes not living under those expectations anymore."

"But he did so well last year," I tried to make it sound humorous, but there was no denying the bitterness that laced the words. "Did he help the Death Eaters tonight, when I watched a man die in front of my eyes, as I raced to save my own life?"

"Audrey, Draco's felt-" no, I couldn't let her go on. Not while her voice was dripping with that sympathy, that _pity _that I hated so much. It was exactly why I didn't speak of him; it was exactly why I was so furious. People shouldn't _pity _me, or _pity _what happened that night – they should be as angry as I was! It had gotten a great wizard killed, it had snuffed out our beacon for a safe future, and now another man died and what did she feel? Not sorrow, as she should, but _pity._

"No," I put my hand in her face to stop her from speaking, to stop those stupid brown puppy-eyes from trying to empathize with what they didn't understand. "No, I deserve better than to hear all that. I deserve more than to hear how badly he feels for what he did – because that doesn't mean a rats arse. I feel badly too; none of that feeling makes up for it."

"Of course not," she started.

"And it doesn't make it better that you're the one telling me," I continued, knowing by her tone of voice that she still wanted to defend him somehow. "If he _really_ wanted to make it up to me, he wouldn't have run. If he _really _felt bad, he could have contacted me afterwards – apparently all the Death Eaters know my daily routine as it is, so I'm sure he could have managed."

"Draco had nothing to do with tonight, I made sure when-"

"Just stop making excuses for him!" I roared. "Just stop. Stop the excuses and the pity and validating his actions – I've already done that a million times in my head; I went months thinking that he was doing the right thing, helping him ruin the world for everyone who lived on it so long as I was with him when it fell..."

"Audrey, that's not how it happened..."

"That's exactly how it happened," I snarled. "And do you know what it didn't do? It didn't help _anything. _So great, he got away – I'm glad he's living under a microscope, that he's humiliated. I may have given him the opportunity to run but _he_ was the one who decided to run _away. _From me. He could have warned me about the Death Eaters, he could have helped me stay alive, we could have gone to the far corners of the earth...but he didn't. Sure – he saved me that night when he kept me from being kidnapped; but he took a lot more care in saving _himself. _I'm glad he's safe, I'm glad he's fine..." I cut myself off for a moment, realizing that I was rambling and ranting because of how fresh the wound still was; how much it still hadn't had time to heal. I shook my head, still unable to look at her because of the _pity _almost pouring out of her eyes in lieu of tears. "I'm glad he's safe, but that does not mean that I will let you validate his betrayal. He made his choices; he should respect mine."

Daphne nodded, accepting my words even though she looked torn about it. I didn't blame her, I felt torn as the words fell from my own mouth. It was true, all of it was true: I didn't deserve to hear how guilty Draco felt. If he felt so guilty he could have changed his mind, made another decision, found a way to talk to me _himself _during the time we had before, during _and _after the tragedy_. _It wasn't fair that I was hearing these words through Daphne. Even if she was telling me what I needed to know about Theodore and the Dark Mark he was sure to get, even if she was telling me about Draco's safety...I didn't need to hear his excuses.

"They're both safe," she told me firmly, as if she knew that in a way I still wanted to hear _that_. "And though they refuse to speak your name, they miss you."

"They're that scared of me, are they?" I asked. Daphne scoffed, the familiar sound easing the heaviness that had spread over me and even allowed my lips to fold into something close to a grin. "Good. They should be."

"They're not scared, they're ashamed," she corrected pointedly. "But of course youwould prefer _fear_."

"It gets the job done," I responded. "Do they know what you're doing, Daphne?"

"Er," she looked down to the ground and started fiddling with her hands; I couldn't tell if she were embarrassed or if she was lying to me. "No, they don't. Draco is deep within their operations and Theodore can't properly shield his mind yet. Mummy's teaching him, too. It's the only magic I've seen him do poorly in; he's just always thinking so much_..._"

"He's the one I thought would learn first, not you."

"I'm learning slowly," she defended, I could hear her struggling not to use that condescending voice she used to use towards me all the time. "But it doesn't matter. I've never seen You Know Who in the flesh; I'm not a target for their suspicion like you are...Pansy's bitterness saw to that."

"_Parkinson _is a Death Eater now?" I gasped. It was nice that I could still find humour in Parkinson even through the numbness of the shock I logically knew I was going through but somehow still only understood in theory. "Are they trying to bring themselves down?"

"She's not a Death Eater, but..." Daphne bit her lip. "There's a movement happening between all the pureblood families, Audrey. He Who Must Not Be Named is moving to keep the bloodlines pure, so we are always spending time together at these fancy parties and living as if we can't see the war around us...Pansy still likes me and since she's the one that hates you most, I'm keeping a low profile by being right out in the open. Haven't you heard about how they're starting to-"

"Audrey, I have a Port Key ready," Bill said, stepping into the room from the front door. He had gone off into the house, so I assumed he must have found a back door that led him back around the perimeter of the house to come back to where he started. "An old spade in the garden. It's set to leave in ninety seconds."

"Alright," I informed him, turning to Daphne. "Are you coming with us?"

"Merlin, no!" Daphne looked more like herself than I had seen her for a year, her nose crinkling as she cast a contemptuous look over to Bill. Of all the Weasleys, he was probably the one she would naturally hate most thanks to his rock-star appearance, earring, and ponytail – the new, pink scar across his face probably wasn't making her any more comfortable either. Add in all the years of ingrained hatred for the Blood Traitor family she was now helping, I was surprised a wrinkle to her nose was all she let slip.

"How are you getting somewhere safe?" I asked her, looking towards the door instinctively.

"I'm going to get the Thestral," Bill said awkwardly, as if he thought he was interrupting some sort of grand exodus between us. "Say your goodbyes quickly."

With that, Bill walked out into the garden and left Daphne and I be. She rolled her eyes at me, even though it was unable to mask her smile. "Unlike some, Potter, I'm not a _baby. _I can Apparate. Theodore doesn't know it, but he's about to be my alibi, anyway."

"Just make sure you don't Apparate wherever you're going directly," I reminded her. "Make a few random stops; it'll throw them off your trail."

"I wasn't born yesterday," she informed me with her nose in the air, the same Daphne I've known and loved since first year. Still, despite the pompousness, she moved forward to hug me again. "Be safe, Audrey."

"You too," I said into her shoulder. "You're the one in the snake's pit, not me."

"Maybe if you weren't with the snake _bait_ I wouldn't be so nervous," she laughed to herself, the sound watery and filtered as if she were trying to suppress some kind of emotion. "Try not to bludgeon any innocents who get in your way."

"I make no promises," I informed her with a smile. From outside, I heard Bill call to me; softly, but strongly enough to be overheard. I looked to Daphne again, nodding at her. "Keep them safe for me, Daph."

She smiled sadly. "I will."

"If you ever get the chance," I pulled away from her, headed towards the door. "Tell them I miss them."

"You could find a way to tell them yourself..."

"I'd rather tell them how I'm going to kick their arses if they ever try to ambush me again," I informed her. "So if you find time, you should just do both. It will be for their benefit if the message doesn't actually come from me."

She smiled, this time it looked teary. "Go before I'm stuck with you for good."

"Find a way to get in touch with me," I informed her. "That Pygmy Puff? Start with that."

"Go, Audrey!"

I nodded, but she was already pushing me out to the garden and towards Bill who was had a tight grin on his face. He must have seen the look of annoyance on my own because he looked a little friendlier before he pointed to the Port Key, which was starting to grow white; I only had a few seconds left, now.

"Get on him," Bill told me, picking me up as if I were a child and putting me on the Thestral's back. "I'll hold on to the spade so that the Thestral can come with us."

He had barely handed me the spade before it started to vibrate in my hands. Bill and I held onto it tightly, squeezing our legs against the Thestral hard enough to make it cry out – but it was the only way to make sure he was transported with us.

When we crashed into the Burrow's yard, I fell off the Thestral's back. I let out a cry at the same time that the creature did, batting its wings and rearing on its hind legs. Bill pulled me out of the way before the Thestral would have had a chance to trot on me as it ran off somewhere in the vast yard of the Burrow. I took his help readily, wondering briefly if this shaking had been here the whole time or just since the Thestral had bucked me off of him.

"Bill! Thank God, thank God! Oh, Audrey-" Mrs Weasley cried, springing forward. She looked absolutely exhausted and haggard; she had clearly had an exciting night as well. She gripped her son to her as if she knew what we had gone through; Bill pulled away instantly, looking to me and then over my shoulder, his mouth dry.

I turned to see who he was looking towards, but it was only a moment before I was grappled into a bears arms. Or a hug. More likely some sort of hug that was restricting my breathing. It was impossible not to know who was hugging me considering I had just spent an hour in his skin and only my brother would dare to try to squeeze the life out of me.

"You're here," he sounded relieved.

"Harry, away from her," I looked to see that Lupin had his wand aimed to me. "Bill, what did your fiancé say to you when you told her about the wedding?"

"She didn't want the grass to ruin her dress," he responded. "It's us, Remus."

"Audrey," Lupin turned to me again. "What are yours and Harry's corporeal Patronuses?"

"His is a stag," I answered, feeling a little flustered. "I can't conjure a Patronus at all."

"I'm sorry," he breathed, storing his wand in his pocket. "It seems you've seen we were betrayed."

"I know," I muttered, looking over to Bill, wondering if I had somehow missed whether or not he had told them what we'd gone through; it appeared he hadn't, even though Mrs Weasley clung to him as if the story was fresh in her mind.

"We thought you were dead," Harry continued, his voice low.

"Not me," I pulled away, looking at him and then meeting the eyes of as many of the people gathered around us as I could. "Mad-Eye; he's gone."

The words were enough to silence a banshee.

"We saw it," Bill explained for me, breaking the silence as his voice cracked. "It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad-Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too. Voldemort – he can fly...Godric, he can fly – he went straight for them. Dung panicked, Audrey and I could hear him cry out. Mad-Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated. Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward off his broom and – there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on our own tail. I wanted to go get him, but-"

"I wouldn't let him." I told them, trying to keep my eyes away from the crowd as the guilt finally started weighing on me appropriately. Maybe he _had _survived, maybe Voldemort _hadn't _hit him with the killing curse, maybe I had left him for dead when he hadn't already been gone...I felt myself bristle and get defensive as reason tried to take over from the guilt again – of course he was dead. I watched that curse hit him, I watched him fall...Moody was dead and we could have been too. "Our bodies would have joined his if we'd gone back. We saw the curse hit him...he wouldn't have survived the fall even if it hadn't. I'm sorry."

"Of course you couldn't have done anything," Lupin said quickly, looking to both Bill and I. "And you, are you okay?"

"Shaken," Bill stated. "But Audrey-"

"It's just a burn," Harry immediately had my hand in his own, inspecting it closely.

"I saw the burns on Voldemort's face; I knew they were from you – but when you didn't come back..."

"A little faith, brother," I pulled the burn away from him, not liking the concern that was etched across his face. This was not the time to be worried about a _burn, _it was nothing serious. "Is everyone else all right? Is anyone-"

"George isn't quite himself," another voice came down which helped to distract from the fact I was being handed down the line to Sirius. After he had hugged me and told me how much he was happy that I was alright, he passed me to George and Fred who hugged me at the same time. They seemed their peppy-selves.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, my voice quiet while I tried to pull away to look at him.

"I'm sorry, do you not like me here? I couldn't actually _hear _you," he took a moment to point a blood-stained finger towards the bloody bandage wrapped around his head. He actually looked quite pleased with himself. "Geddit? I'm _here _but I'm not _hearing _you?"

"He lost his ear," Sirius elaborated. I looked at Fred with wide eyes, who only shrugged.

"The worst part is he completely missed the humour in it; a holey joke! The shame," Fred sighed, looking sad for a moment before his eyes zeroed in on the burn I'd gotten from Voldemort. "What about you? Why are you back so late, did something happen?"

"Mad-Eye," Mr Weasley answered for me. "Dead."

Again, the silence struck me. It was so strange to think about it: Mad-Eye Moody, the ultimate Auror, the consummate survivor, the one who showed such constant vigilance...he was gone forever. The guilt tugged at my navel as I realized how literal that very thought may be – would we ever find his body, or had he fallen into the abyss that was death?

Bill moved over to one of the cabinets by the wall and with a flick of his wand firewhiskey started to pour itself into separate glasses for us all. After the glasses were divvied properly, he held his own drink aloft in a solemn toast. "Mad-Eye."

"Mad-Eye," everyone repeated his name with a dull, lifeless murmur. It was hard to believe that one of the toughest we had was lost so quickly, so _easily _during something that was supposed to be routine and harmless. Now one of our best warriors was dead and we were at a loss.

"So," Sirius spoke softly, coming up to me and putting his arm around me. I looked up at him, trying not to show just how torn up this night had made me feel. He of course could see right through it. He took the rest of his firewhiskey down in another gulp, his jaw clenching as a spark ignited behind his eyes. "Mundungus disappeared, then?"

"He did," I muttered, my voice low and sharp. "Next time I see him, he's going to wish he'd only had to fend of the Death Eaters..."

"Audrey," Hermione scolded, but her voice didn't hold its usual scorn.

"Could he..." Lupin exchanged a glance with Sirius over my head. "Could it have been him?"

"I wondered that too," Bill nodded. "They seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus can't have betrayed us. They didn't know there would be seven Harrys, that confused them the moment we appeared...and in case you've forgotten it was Mundungus who suggested that little bit of skullduggery. Why wouldn't he have told them the essential point? I think Dung panicked, it's as simple as that. He didn't want to come in the first place, but Mad-Eye made him, and You-Know-Who went straight for them. It was enough to make anyone panic."

"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Audrey and Mad-Eye expected him to," Tonks tried to keep her voice strong, even though it wavered. Her hair and eyes had faded to a dull lavender. "They said he'd expect the real Harry to be with the toughest, most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first, and when Mundungus gave them away he switched to Kingsley..."

"Not before he had a go at Audrey," Bill explained.

"Voldemort's a Slytherin; he expects power and forethought, not impulsiveness," I explained, looking to Harry who gave a sad grin when he also noted it was the vast difference between the two of us. "But we learned something valuable...that I'm _not _that valuable; he left me as soon as he heard that they knew which Harry was the right one. He was right beside me but he didn't even care-"

"That's not true," Harry started to argue, though I had no idea why.

"How did he know it was you, Audrey?" Hermione asked.

"I used Magnuse," half the order gave me a look as if I were an imbecile. My defenses immediately flared up as if I were in battle again – well, maybe this time I was battling for my pride. "I had to! The Thestral had been hit with the Cruciatus curse, we were falling from the sky – I negated the effects."

"She was great out there," Bill defended strongly. "Fast thinking, even if she has some wand-work to practice. But Audrey, you're forgetting what else you did – Voldemort didn't just leave us because he heard about Harry, he left us because he couldn't _get _to you. You burnt his face – I don't think many people can say they've maimed Lord Voldemort."

"It's a victory," I nodded, "but it didn't do much good in the end, did it? The problem was that he was there at all."

"She eez right," Fleur stepped in, sounding agitated. "None of thees explains 'how zey knew you were moving ze twins tonight, does eet? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'hole plan."

"It makes sense," I voiced, looking up at Sirius. "And if that were the case, it could have been anyone."

"If somebody did make a mistake," Harry pointed out, "and let something slip I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault. We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell either Audrey or me to Voldemort."

I didn't necessarily believe that. I knew from my own experiences what people would do if they thought it was the right thing to do – I had lived with it all last year. If they thought that leaking something like that to someone would save themselves, or someone else; or even lure the Death Eaters into a trap that we hadn't actually gotten to set...it was still their fault. Someone had betrayed our secret and we needed to find out who so we could make sure it didn't happen again.

Harry took another sip of his Firewhiskey, just so that he could avoid all the eyes on him. To help him out – or rather, mostly to help myself out – I distracted him from the glances by taking his half-drunk glass and taking the rest in one quick swig.

"Well said, Harry," Fred said unexpectedly. I looked over to him, my eyebrows furrowed, to see that both the twins were grinning sadly.

"Yeah," George continued. "'Ear, 'ear."

I rolled my eyes.

"You think I'm a fool?" Harry asked, sounding angry. I looked to see that _look_ in Lupin's eyes – the same thing that had infuriated me earlier: pity. I took a moment to try and dissect its intention, but he answered it for me.

"No, I think you're like James," he corrected. "Who would have regarded it as the height of dishonour to mistrust his friends."

I think that dishonour overrules the fact that Peter Pettigrew _had _been untrustworthy and had gotten my parents killed – maybe that's the look Lupin was giving. He understood that sometimes it wasn't a dishonour: it was just a fact. Had my father ever suspected the man who was the reason for his death? Sometimes I wish I knew. Sometimes I wonder if they were as observant as me, or if they _would _have been as observant as me, if they could have lived to tell me about that betrayal...but they didn't. And what I had to care about right now was knowing whether or not I was going to go the same way as they did. I would much rather suspect everyone and be right, then suspect no one and be wrong.

"There's work to do," Lupin turned away from Harry's glare. "I can ask Kingsley whether-"

"No, I'll do it. I'll come," Bill said quickly, throwing a glance to me. Part of me felt guilty, like I should go along with them to get Mad-Eye's body; but even as Fleur, Tonks and Mrs Weasley argued that they should wait, I didn't bother volunteering. The Death Eaters could be waiting for signs of our compassion and I had found out tonight that I may not be important enough to be captured anymore; I might only be important enough to be killed.

"Be safe, if you really _have _to go," I said to them; they hardly said a goodbye to me as they walked out the door. Perhaps they could see my cowardice because I sure felt it. Everyone seemed to deflate as they left, falling into chairs and any surface that would support their weight. Harry, Sirius and I, however, stayed standing – I felt like if I sat I would end up curling into a ball and trying to disappear into myself...that could wait until I was alone.

"I've got to go too," Harry said after a long moment.

"Like hell we do," I said immediately, only registering after a moment that I had just immediately assumed that where he was going, I would follow. I sneered at the realization.

"Audrey's right, don't be silly," Mrs Weasley frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't stay here," he said quickly, looking at me and rubbing his forehead as if to subtly tell me the reason...I have no idea why he needed the poorly concealed reason: we all knew he was feeling guilty over that damned scar of his. "You're all in danger while I'm here; I don't want-"

"But don't be so silly," Mrs Weasley said, sounding terrified at the idea of letting him go and yet trying to hide it behind a strong voice. "The whole point of tonight was to get you two here safely, and thank goodness it worked. And Fleur's agreed to get married here rather than in France, we've arranged everything so that we can all stay together and look after you-"

I winced, feeling both terrible and disgusted at the idea...and then a little more terrible that I was more disgusted than guilty. Harry and I didn't need looking after, that's not really what this was about. What this was about was gathering our senses before we headed out into the battle, blindly getting ready to destroy the Horcruxes.

"If Voldemort finds out I'm here-"

"But why should he?" Mrs Weasley argued. "There are a dozen places you might be now, Harry, and he doesn't know you and Audrey are together. He's got no way of knowing which safe house you're in."

"And even if he did, the Protections around the houses worked tonight, didn't they?" Sirius asked, shrugging his shoulders as if this was just another complaint my brother often had. "You don't need to run, you have no need to be worried-"

"It's not me I'm worried for!"

"We know that," Mr Weasley coaxed him in that ridiculously caring way that everyone coaxed me when I was upset, "but it would make our efforts tonight seem rather pointless if you left."

"Yer not goin' anywhere," Hagrid said firmly. "Blimey, Harry, after all we wen' through ter get you here?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "It'd be such a waste."

"Exactly, what about my bleeding ear?" George demanded, pushing himself up on the cushions. I frowned at him, noting that he had somehow managed to hog a majority of the couch – besides Ginny and Hermione who had let him drape his legs over their laps. I couldn't help but wonder how much his ear was _actually _hurting him right now.

"Mad-Eye wouldn't want-"

"I KNOW!" Harry bellowed, moving away from the group of us so that he could stand in the doorway and hold his head in his hands. I looked up at Sirius, who was watching him worriedly, and pulled his arm from around my shoulders so that I could walk up to my brother. I watched him carefully: the way that he was pushing against his forehead, the way his eyes were squeezed tight...he didn't look hurt, so there was only one explanation.

"He tried to get in to my head tonight," I stated quietly, knowing that people were listening and trying to keep the question as gentle as I could. "Is he still in yours?"

The muscle in his jaw jumped at the question, it was enough of an answer.

"Should I-"

"No."

"Where's Hedwig, Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked us, interrupting my questions on whether I should try to close off Harry's mind for him. The look on Harry's face was enough to tell me that the anger was somehow sedated. "We can put her up with Pidwigeon and give her something to eat."

Harry turned to give me a side look, one that he hoped wouldn't draw attention as he looked from under the hand that was pushing against the negativity seeping through his scar. In the quietest of voices; or perhaps he had only mouthed the words, he explained "Hedwig's dead."

My insides clenched at the news: two casualties. Two casualties just because they needed the two of us to come to a _wedding. _No, I was exaggerating; we needed to get out of the Dursleys' house before our birthday, that was true, but it still seemed like such a waste. I moved my burnt hand, letting the pain bring me back to the reality of the situation, where I could feel the same hopelessness that Harry had just expressed as I realized that we had lost even more than I had already known...what else had been lost to the clouds between us and Number 4 Privet Drive?

"Wait till it gets out yeh did it again, Harry," Hagrid hiccupped behind his fourth glass of Firewhiskey. "Escaped him, fought him off when he was right on top of yeh!"

"It wasn't me," Harry said simply. "It was my wand. My wand acted of its own accord."

After a moment of people looking around with a loaded look I didn't understand, Hermione cleared her throat. "But that's impossible, Harry. You mean that you did magic without meaning to; you reacted instinctively."

"No," Harry corrected. "The bike was falling, I couldn't have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn't even a spell I recognized. I've never made gold flames appear before."

"Often," Mr. Weasley began factually, "when you're in a pressured situation you can produce magic you never dreamed of. Small children often find, before they're trained-"

"It wasn't like that," Harry cut him off through gritted teeth, his shoulders slumping as he tried to hold in his own irritation. Sirius stepped forward, his eyes darting around to the adults as if he were asking them, even though he posed his question to my brother.

"Then could it be wandless magic? Your sister is a master of it-" no I wasn't. "It wouldn't be unheard of if it started to manifest in you."

"I'm telling you, it was my wand," Harry insisted.

"Wands can't perform magic without their handlers-"

"They can," I argued. "I've done it before. It can happen when you need it to; it happened for me tonight. I was shooting out spells before I was thinking them; even if they weren't necessarily the colours I expected. I've done magic like that for a long time; it's not as uncommon as you think."

No one said anything for a long moment; I could tell that they were suspicious about something that we had said. Could these people really not do those things? Was it actually something that was strange, even for the two of us? Harry looked over to me, appearing as if he were starting to doubt himself as well.

"It must be some sort of wandless magic," Hermione rationalized quietly to herself. "Audrey can do it, of course Harry could show signs of it, too..."

Not even she sounded convinced. The sound of her voice was enough to make Harry huff out something about needing some fresh air and head into the garden. The door didn't slam as I had expected it to, but the silence after it was as startling as if it had. I looked around the room, feeling uncomfortable with all the sudden quiet.

"Who wants to make bets on the next disaster?"

"Audrey," Hermione frowned.

"It's not really morbid if it's true," I shrugged, moving my foot along the shaggy carpet and feeling the tread try to tangle itself under my sole. "I've been through an ordeal – let me distract myself with meaningless conversation."

Sirius gave me a stern look. "Are you alright?"

"Better than some," I said pointedly, sighing at the look I got in return. "_What_?"

"You're deflecting."

"I'm tired," I corrected. "Can't I have one night without the Order of the Phoenix on my arse? Can't I have one night with my friends before we dissect this newest battle like a bloody frog?"

Sirius gave a look over my shoulder – I could imagine him making eye contact with all the adults to see if my idea were at all plausible. After a slight nod from him, Mrs Weasley sighed.

"The boundaries are holding," she mumbled to him. "As long as they promise to stay in the house..."

"Tell that to Harry, not me," I told her.

"Should someone go check on him?" Mrs Weasley asked the group of us, but it was only Hermione and Ron who immediately stood to go retrieve him. They headed out to the garden like soldiers; I thought about following them but was unnerved by the sudden desire to help my brother and to agree with him, as I had been all night, and stayed out of spite for my own emotions. It was only a moment after I'd already decided that I'd stay before I was held in place by one arm slinging heavily over my shoulder – it was quickly followed by a second.

"Right," Fred stated, sounding as if he were making some kind of grand proclamation. "We'll make sure she doesn't go anywhere-"

"-not to the loo-"

"-not to her room-"

"-maybe to _our _room-"

"_Fred_!"

"-alright, fine, the living room will do." Thanks to a harsh glare from the majority of the living room he rolled his eyes. "Bonding time by the fire then, the whole lot of us?"

"Unless you want to go to sleep," Mrs Weasley asked me, her voice taking on that horrible tone that I still hated. She'd already used it with Harry, it seemed ridiculous to try the tactic twice in the same night. "You've had quite a night, Audrey. Perhaps you should get some rest."

"I'd rather not be alone," I couldn't tell whether or not I was lying as I said it. Sirius gave a curt nod while the adults sent subtle looks and gestures to head into the kitchen. They were going to have a senior Order meeting – the meetings that I was technically not allowed to attend even though I'd once been at the head of one. Sirius wavered at the door, looking back and forth like the confused dog he was.

"Duty calls," I all but sang to him. "Go ahead, debrief. I'll try to be safe within the perilous dangers of the living room."

"You're the only one I know who really _could_ find danger in the living room," he stated.

"I resent that," I frowned. "I'd _cause _the danger in the living room – don't you forget that."

The adults left after another look of discomfort, leaving me in the room with Ginny, Fred and George. Tonks looked like she wanted to stay in the room before Sirius gave her the signal that we should be left alone – it was comforting that at least someone thought us mature enough to handle ourselves within the boundaries of a safe house. Still, when they left we all sat there silently; none of us really knowing what to say. Eventually, Fred smiled and moved toward the top of the fireplace, fiddling with the dial on the radio.

"At least this isn't silent or cruel," Fred smiled. "It'll cheer the room, won't it?"

"Unless they're talking about the ongoing war," I muttered.

"No one talks about it," George informed lightly. "It's hard to 'ear – geddit? Hard to _ear_?"

"You already made that joke," I blinked slowly to display my boredom. "Here, give me a peek at that disaster you call the side of your face."

"Er, it's really ugly, watch out-" Ginny warned me too late.

"Oh, George, you're _hideous!_"

"Your burn is no better," he frowned, grabbing my wrist to show me the burn that marred my own hand. "See? Hideous."

"Mine is my hand, yours is your _face!_"

He pouted but was quick to give me an actual look at the wound. I fully pulled the dressings away this time and winced – it was worse than I had expected. I had expected his ear to just be gnarled, not for it to be _missing. _There was just a deep, angry looking hole in the side of his head – if I hadn't known better, I'd wonder if he were missing part of his skull and all the angry pink shades were part of his brain. The lines that seemed to have dismembered him looked like it came from one, clean spell – something that brought horrible memories of last year to the forefront of my mind.

"Did you see who did it?" I asked, my voice hoarse. None of the Weasleys in the room spoke, letting me know my answer – _Sectumsempra_. "I know the curse; I'll see if I can't get Harry to remember the counter for it. He would have had it in that stupid book of his – he might remember it."

I moved away, away from the thoughts of Severus Snape and the night that I dared not remember – I couldn't go back to it again; I tried to think of it as little as possible...so why did I still think of it so much?

"We really should sleep together tonight," Ginny said suddenly. We all looked at her with raised eyebrows, her eyes rolled at our expressions. "In the living room, I mean. All of us. After what happened to Mad-Eye tonight...I feel like if we leave each other, someone won't come back."

What else was there to say to that? Someone very well might not. The fact she was right didn't need further acknowledgement and I took the time to busy myself in analyzing George's missing ear. The hush between us – even in the presence of the radio – was overwhelming. I knew that they were grieving, reliving the night in their minds...I wasn't ready to relive _anything_ quite yet.

"Your mum's right, you can't spell it better without that counter-curse," I muttered to distract myself. "I'll see if there's anything I can brew up to help it, though. The scarring alone-"

"No ear, though?"

"I can't grow it back," I sighed. "I can try to trick something up, though."

"Perfect. While you're at it, if you could give me super hearing that would be earnormously helpful – geddit? _Ear_nor-"

"Audrey!" Hermione all but stormed in the room, stomping her feet like an elephant and looking twice as determined. All four of us redheads hushed her immediately, looking to the door to the kitchen and expecting the entire Order to break the door from its hinges.

"The adults have only _just_ left us alone!" Ginny admonished.

"Yeah, Hermione-"

"-I really don't want my mother hearing what I plan to do tonight-"

"-he's talking about Drea."

Fred gave a cheeky grin. "We got permission to use the living room."

"Oh, be serious!" She chastised, even though her voice was alarmingly quiet. "Audrey, Harry needs his mind closed off – he's seeing Voldemort's thoughts again."

I looked over her shoulder to gaze towards my brother. He looked sheepish, ready to be berated further.

"Obviously. Well?" I asked simply. "What did you see?"

"_Drea_!"

"What?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders and making a face of annoyance at Hermione. "We just had a battle; knowing his thoughts wouldn't really be to our detriment, would it? If Harry's seeing it, it could be an advantage."

"Unless Voldemort is planting thoughts-"

"Exactly why I asked what he saw, Hermione," I said back scathingly. "He doesn't get to decide when to head into battles anymore; I do. So?"

Harry looked a little muffed that I had just told him he had no say in our future – as it seemed like an endless battle now – but he was quick to weave his tale for us. It was a hard story to accept: Voldemort holding Ollivander captive – I would have thought the old codger would be dead by now; Riddle had then stolen Lucius Malfoy's wand so that he could try to break the Priori Incantatem between he and Harry's joined cores.

Obviously that had failed.

"The problem was it still happened," Harry explained. "We still connected."

"And Malfoy definitely doesn't have a phoenix core, not from Fawkes at least," I realized, my brow creasing the more I thought about it. "That doesn't add up. This whole battle doesn't add up-"

Harry groaned, pushing his palm into his forehead. "Exactly. It was strange enough to run into a Slytherin in my safe house, now to think-"

"Watch it," I warned.

"Well, it's true. You didn't see Tonks' mum – she looks _just _like Bellatrix Lestrange. They're sisters. It was a surprise." He shrugged listlessly. "You're the only Slytherin I'm used to trusting, Drea."

That was a bold statement considering half the time he didn't trust a ruddy thing I said – if he did, we wouldn't be in half the danger we found ourselves in. I thought about bringing this up, arguing with him and defending my friends and alliances that I know I still had...but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Daphne had risked a lot by hosting a safe house, I couldn't just risk her anonymity to prove a point to my discriminatory twin brother.

"We're more trustworthy than you think," I settled with. "More loyal, too."

"Which is why all dark wizards happen to be in Slytherin," Ron scoffed dismissively.

"Funny, so was Merlin," I sneered back. "His Dark Witch of a sister was a _Ravenclaw_."

Hermione, at least, flushed in shame. Harry closed his eyes, pushing his palm more harshly against the scar that marred his forehead. You know, I hated the blasted mark on my neck – it was impossible to hide – but at least mine didn't twinge whenever the Lord Bitchsomemort was angry...which, obviously was all the time or else he probably wouldn't have been considered a Dark lord.

"The Slytherin in my head, however, is the one I worry about," he muttered, shaking his head against his hand.

"_Finally_," I took a deep, dramatic breath and moved forward so that he could sit down on the ground in front of me. I wiggled my fingers around, making sure that I had full function of my hands around the ugly burn that I refused to have healed just yet. "Something I can fix. I fear that your prejudice, however, is beyond even _my_ help."

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><p><strong>There you go guys, I hope you liked the chapter! Sadly Daphne isn't staying, but we will be seeing her around throughout the story. What did you think of the path the Slytherins are taking, or how Harry and Audrey are reacting? What about Fred and his obvious flirting? <strong>

**To the lovely reviewers from the last chapter:**

_DarkTendncies_**: I was happy to update quickly, I hope this chapter was updated quickly enough; hopefully you liked it as much as the last, if not more. Thank you so much for your review!**

_accio-logic_**: I was proud of Daphne too and it was really emotional to write down what was happening for the Slytherins behind-the-scenes. It is sad that the story is ending but I'm going to write every chapter to the fullest of my abilities now that we're in the final stretch. I won't be making a sequel for the story but I will be writing one-shots in Audrey Potter's Prelude from her early years and the aftermath of the war :)**

_Fantasy-Mania31_**: I'm glad you liked it; hopefully you enjoyed this one!**

_flamegirl100_**: I try to upload every week or week and a half depending on my schedule. I am a few chapters ahead now, so as long as I stay a few chapters ahead there won't be long waits. If I catch up to myself, then it might take longer to update. Audrey is planning on going with Harry, but if she will or if she will stay with him, you'll have to wait and see. She has a part to play in this, whether she's good with magic or not. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: He was more worried about seeing the burn on Voldy's face, as we saw here – which I thought was the proper brotherly emotion. No, Audrey is definitely not afraid to use the Unforgivables; it's one of the things I like most about her: she is ruthless. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but when something gets done she makes sure that it's done right – and the only way, in her mind, to keep those Death Eaters away from her was for them not to be able to chase them anymore.  
>Daphne's surprise visit was wonderful to write – it made it finally feel like Audrey did have a side in this war, even if it wasn't as traditional as most. I hope you liked Daphne's explanation and how she reported on the other Slytherins. I wish I could have kept her with Audrey, but it just wasn't realistic. She still has her sister, her parents, and of course Theodore (who is living with her) to think about and leaving them for the Order would kill them – she's already risking their safety by helping keep Audrey safe. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for your review!<strong>

_Nack3490_**: Thank you, I hope you liked the new chapter!**

_UndeadKitty_**: You raise some very interesting questions, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see :) Thank you for reviewing!**

_Guest (1)_**: Yes, Audrey's wand sometimes does tend to co-operate and it was a good thing that during that battle was one of those times! She definitely got to kick some butt, she burnt Voldemort and she even helped her Thestral when it got hit with the Cruciatus...she should be proud of herself. You're right, she really got the short end of the stick because everyone is always so supportive of Harry and no one really cares about her the same way simply because she's a Slytherin – but the important part here is that we see she has some of the Slytherins on her side...even if they can't always take sides for her, it seems they like to side with her. I agree that she's more important to that and hopefully, before the end of this book, she'll have the chance to prove it. Thanks for reviewing!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Yes, they will be leaving to hunt the Horcruxes in just a few chapters and you wouldn't believe all the things that can happen in between now and then! Daphne was put in these chapters to show that Slytherins stick to their own and though everyone says it negatively, Audrey IS a Slytherin...and that means she's not alone.  
>Audrey really is the contrast to Harry in that way: he'll be impulsive, she'll calculate the risks. She doesn't see in black and white, she sees the shades between them. I will be continuing to update Audrey Potter's Prelude (during and after this story finishes), but right now I want to stick on getting this story started :) Thank you for reviewing.<strong>

_Melody_**: It's alright, I'm glad you reviewed in the first place! Seeing the Dursleys' goodbye was really important because we also got to see how Audrey was taking everything and how nervous she was over leaving the safety of Lily's magic. She knows that everything's real now and as proven by the last chapter and this one, real life for her will be hard. Harry and Audrey won't necessarily be fighting for a few chapters, but you have to know that Audrey will get annoyed with Harry because they can't stay happy for too long! Thank you for reviewing :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it – it was definitely fun to make Audrey squirm about having to turn into her brother. Sadly we won't get to see Theodore for a while, but I made sure to keep people happy by telling us what was happening in his life. Daphne can't hunt for the Horcruxes because she needs to try to keep her family safe now that she's betrayed the Dark Lord...things are getting harder for her and she needs to stay put. Thank you for the review!**

_animagirl_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.**

_Colette Hyuga_**: Yes, turning into your sibling would be terrible – poor Audrey. As for Daphne, it's nice seeing the good side of her; it hasn't always showed itself. Now to see what else will happen now that some Slytherins seem to be on board with Audrey's plan to rid the world of Voldemort...**

_summerneverlasts_**: Thank you, I'm glad! I hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_Lemonlime296_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you were so happy with the update – I hope that this chapter was just as exciting for you and that you continue to like the story as much as you have. Thank you again!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: It has been a long time! I haven't heard much from you lately and I hope everything is going well. I've had a rough couple of months, but I'm hoping that things are starting to finally stabilize so I can start living normally again. The summer is coming up, which means a bit more freedom. My best friends are both taking leaves from work so that we can spend a significant amount of time together for the first time in a over a year and a half. It's just the pick-me-up I need :) How have things been with you? How is your husband, how are things going with your business?**

_S38_**: Theodore sadly can't come, he's having some problems of his own – but it's not as if we won't be hearing from him or seeing him. I can assure you, we will be. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_Guest (2)_**: Thank you :)**

_Little Messers_**: Honestly, it's alright that you haven't reviewed. Not only did your **_**amazing**_** review make up for it, but I'm just glad that you've liked it enough to stick around for so long. I don't hear from a majority of readers, but it's crazy to think of how many people have (or may have) been with me from near the beginning of this story and I'm honoured that you found it interesting enough to stick around since it all began. Truly, thank you. Your review did much more than make me blush – it's one thing knowing what Audrey means to me and how much I have not only grown with her but **_**because **_**of her, but to hear that other people have had the same experience really touches me. The way you summarized each year was exactly as I wanted them to be remembered, the way you talked about each of Audrey's relationships with the characters she holds most dear was how I want them to be thought of – so know that all your thanks from your review can only be returned with thanks of my own :)**

_MooNOrchiD_**: I'm sorry that you don't like Harry, Ron or Hermione at all; they still are important characters. Audrey's view of them may be negative, but that doesn't mean they're any different than in the original book. I'm also sorry that you're upset I made her go to the ball. Important things happened in the chapter, including the initial attraction to Draco AND Fred, so I wasn't going to let her simply miss it. Also, she tried to blow up a teacher's storage space – she wouldn't have just been able to avoid the punishment. She could have been expelled for something so dangerous; she really didn't have any other way besides trying to off herself – which is something Audrey wouldn't do, even to avoid going to a ball. **

_FallToJupiter_**: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the aftermath of the battle!**

_Bloody-Asphode11_**: Poor Moody is right; it's hard to say if Bill forgives Audrey or not – but she saved their lives by not letting him turn back. The Order actually pulls Harry aside and tells him that he shouldn't be just using stunners, so I assumed that they were using them as well; Audrey using her Magnuse is definitely a dead giveaway though. They should have realized by the fact her wand was firing off wrong spells when she said the Killing Curse, haha!**

_mrsdansmith_**: I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for reviewing :)**

_tessastarchild_**: Boys sometimes are, but it's alright: Audrey will set him straight! **

_BlackRose_**: Yes, Daphne finally picked Audrey. It was well overdue, but it came at a good time, I think. I'm not necessarily glad I almost made you cry, but I'm glad that you care enough about the characters to feel that way, haha. George did lose his ear – it was a casualty of war, in a way – but I tried to keep it as lighthearted as it was in the original. She did cast the killing curse (a few times), she isn't necessarily one for forgiveness and if her life's at risk, she'll do whatever she needs to eliminate the risk. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope that you liked this one, as well.**

_Mezzem313_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! She doesn't really belong with the Order or the Gryffindors; like Audrey said she's on HER side and the only reason she's picking the Order is because the Order is the only "side" where she could be herself without being punished for it as the Death Eaters do to their followers. She wants revenge and it's not on the Order. It is interesting that the Unforgivables tended to work a little better for Audrey, but we'll have to wait and see if it could have just been in the heat of the moment. Thank you again!**

_music anomaly_**: Daphne isn't coming on the Horcrux hunt, as interesting as that might make it. We will be hearing from Theodore soon enough, but as stated it's too dangerous for him to do or know too much right now. I'm glad that you think the emotions are understandable and that Audrey deserves the help she's finally getting. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you like the newest chapter :)**

_katie93319_**: I'm glad Daphne being there was such a shock, it was meant to show just how much someone can change; I'm glad it was unexpected. It was unfortunate that I couldn't keep Daphne around, but it's just not realistic considering Daphne's family is in the cross-fire; but she will be helping out Audrey soon enough. This year is going to be a crazy ride for Audrey, but I'm glad you feel like she fits in the seats. Thank you!**

_The Princess Andromeda_**: Yes, Daphne is turning over a new leaf. We won't have to wait too long before we hear more about him, don't worry. Draco will be back! I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for the review. **

_GrossEwww_**: Thank you, I thought it was pretty funny and the idea of turning into my brother definitely helped spark that one, haha. I hope you liked the chapter and the idea behind Daphne's assistance. Thank you for reviewing!**

_6ADS_**: I absolutely adore Damon Salvatore so I take that as a huge compliment, thank you! She definitely has a bitter, dry humour like he does but I don't think even she is as cut-throat as Damon is. I started a love story with him, but haven't been able to get back into it after I became so obsessed with this story. Anyway, I'm glad that you thought Daphne's change of heart was powerful, I was tearing up when I wrote it so I'm glad I'm not alone! Also, I can't tell you about whether or not Audrey will have anything to do with the Resurrection Stone part at the end, but I can tell you that you'll find out sooner than you may think :) Thanks for reviewing.**

_LRH_**: Wow, congratulations! Reading 80 chapters in 3 days is impressive, especially for a slow reader like me. Audrey will be working on her visions in just a few chapters, so don't worry, you'll be seeing her use that ability and I can promise there are tons of twists in store. Thank you for reviewing! **

_Ilovecupcakesandcookies_**: You were Draco; you must be very observant over people then, haha. Yes, I try to update every week-week and a half when I have chapters pre-written like I do now. We'll see how long it lasts before I catch up to myself, haha. The first chapter of DH wasn't exciting but it was important to see Audrey's relationship with Harry, her views on the betrayal, and the fact that she's living in blissful denial – with a very angry edge that she can't quite hide. The last one was more fun of course, someone died after all – completely joking, not fun, but exciting – and it was great to write Daphne's sweetness and the twins antics. Fred hasn't really given up yet and he won't any time soon; in a chapter I have yet to write he says something along the lines of "you haven't given me a chance and you haven't given me a chance to get over you yet"...he'll be smitten for a while. Audrey doesn't really think of herself as impulsive, but when you're fighting for survival, she would be willing to kill to get away. She's a survivor – she thinks of survival first and guilt later. Harry is a hero – he thinks of guilt first and his survival last ;)**

_JrSnape_**: Obviously the Order hasn't really accepted her, but nor is she hoping to be accepted by them. We'll see if her bravery sticks or not; but I can say that she really is trying to help Audrey. **

_Kate_**: I'm glad, thank you! I'm not sure how many chapters Deathly Hallows will have. I only have the next ten chapters charted out and then the rest is a general "I need this to happen and at some point this has to happen" list of points. I'm going to assume that it's going to be around 100 chapters for the finished story.**

_Geri_**: Don't worry about a late review, I appreciate that you took the time to review at all! All you have to do is keep writing, I promise. Sometimes I wrote half of a story before I come up with the beginning. For my own original novel, I didn't even start at the beginning, I started in the middle with the main conflict and went back to the beginning later on. Just don't stop writing, you'll get it done. And then you rewrite it. I rewrite each of these chapters two or three times before posting them :)  
>Anyway, I'm glad that you liked these chapters. I also don't think that Audrey will take Ron's leaving Harry very well, I suspect she's going to be much more than angry. You are right, there wasn't a lot of talk of Dumbledore, but I'm trying to make it seem like it's because Audrey refuses to think about it (mostly she doesn't want to think of her involvement, nor of Draco or Snape). It's not like she isn't mourning him, but she wasn't as close with him as Harry was; her mentor is still out there, spelling off people's ears. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!<strong>

_MissLaufeyson_**: No, Draco would never side with the Order after what he's done – though a part of me wished that it was him as well, haha.**

_Geinah_**: I definitely did not expect this story to be 80 chapters when I started it, I can tell you that much; but now that I'm finishing it up sometimes I find myself surprised it's only that much. There is so much to work off of on this story (and of course this story is working off of the long original novels) that I feel I could stretch these on for another 80! But I won't, haha. I'm so glad you are enjoying the story and that Audrey has broken a few of the 'Potter-Sister' boundaries for you. Thank you so much for reviewing :)**

_angrypixels_**: Theodore sadly won't be in the Order, or the next number of chapters (then again, nor will Daphne) but we will still hear of him and possibly even see him later on...**

_sakuraddiction_**: I really hope that you like the story enough to make it all the way to this chapter so that I can thank you for your review properly. It is hard to get used to how Audrey treats Harry, but she is such a negative character and it sometimes makes Harry seem worse than he is because that's just how she sees the world. She really gets better over time, even if she also seems to get more frustrated, but blood is thicker than water and right now that water has to go under the bridge since Voldemort wants to burn it down, haha. I'm glad that you've been liking the opposing view of a Slytherin instead of a Gryffindor and I hope that you continue to read and enjoy the chapters. Thank you!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Fred and George were always some of my favourites as well, so I try to keep them as funny and true to character as possible. There will be some scenes in the next few chapters where I'm trying to make Fred flirt with Audrey more and it's really nerve-wracking because I'm afraid it tears him out of character a bit. It's really nice being able to add the bit of humour into these chapters as we all know that henceforth things start to get a lot darker and gloomier. The twins bring a really nice lightness to the scenes they are in and I love the tension that is (and shall) brew between Audrey and Fred.  
>I'm glad you liked Moody's death! I was kind of worried about it because there wasn't a lot of detail and it went so quickly. I went back to it three separate times but each time all I could think was how it was <strong>_**supposed **_**to be fast and sudden and even though that left out a bit of detail, the idea was that people die in wars and it's abrupt but not unexpected.  
>Daphne! Yes. It was great for her to be in the last chapter and elaborate on the lives of the Slytherins in this one. It always made me wonder what happened after the Death Eaters took over in seventh year, it's really fun to write what I guess would happen.<br>I've been loving updating. I've been super busy, but thanks to being a few chapters ahead it's not as much work to do a final re-write/edit and then respond to reviews. I've been trying to keep ahead and write one chapter for each that I release, but life has been busy! I hope you liked the chapter and as always thank you for your review :)**

_Arabella Ella_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it. Hopefully this chapter was as enjoyable.**

_Nonsensical Username_**: I don't get moody over Moody jokes...though I do get giddy over puns, haha. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope this one was interesting as well, especially with Daphne's side of things. Thanks for reviewing!**

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><p><strong>Well, what did you all think? What do you think of Fred, of Daphne, of Harry's wand and Audrey's reaction to all the devastation around her? I'd love to hear your thoughts :)<strong>

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, sneak-peaks, Q&A, facts and more!**


	82. Distractions

**Here you go, ladies and gentlemen; a new chapter of Green Eyed Monster! This chapter focuses on the mission a little bit more, so I hope you enjoy it. We get to see how Audrey's really getting along with people and how differently she's being treated now that she's with the Order of the Phoenix.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 81 – Distractions<p>

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><p>"I love your Mum and all, but if she continues to order me about like this..." I shook my head, not really wanting to finish my threat in front of the Weasley twins; who knew if they would take it personally. I wouldn't, not if I just sat and watched the torture as they were. As much as it was annoying that they just sat and watched me, however, it was nice they were here. Today was one of the few times Fred and George had taken a day off of work to come visit with us...not that the two of them running a business was the actual problem, rather they didn't want to have to do all the grunt work that we were doing for this blasted wedding of Bill and Fleur's. "Honestly, my hands are bleached, that's how much cleaning I've done – look!"<p>

"They're as white as normal," George informed, even though he had hardly glanced at them.

"Which look bleached as they are," Fred agreed, tickling at my little green pygmy puff that sat on his shoulder. The high pitched buzz, as cute as it was, was hardly uplifting my scrubbed-clean spirit. "Should Houdini and I kiss it better?"

"After I scrub the toilet," I bit back, gritting my teeth and moving to and scrub the old bathtub, mostly to ensure he couldn't see how red my face was getting. Fred needn't get the wrong idea, after all – he was already confident enough when he had no prompting at all. I scrubbed a little harder, secretly hoping I was strong enough to scrape off the colour on the porcelain. Neither of the twins helped me, in fact – like most people had done this week – all they did was watch me as I did it. Again. It was almost as if they thought they were supervising me.

Then again, some of them actually may have been. Mrs Weasley had not let Harry, Ron, Hermione or I stay in the same room for anything but dinner. When we were working we were always supervised and we were always doing the jobs that exhausted us the most so that we couldn't manage to find time together between work and sleep. Those involved in the torture and those who weren't all seemed to know it was a plot to keep us from planning our leave from the Burrow. Mrs Weasley was already upset to hear that we were not going to attend our final year of Hogwarts, but to hear that we were going to leave for something that she wasn't allowed to hear about?

Mother bears are protective...sometimes overbearingly so.

Like the hundreds of times before now, I wished that this hadn't become the makeshift headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. If we could still go to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place then I wouldn't be stuck with people I didn't necessarily enjoy seeing and I would be able to escape at my own leisure. No one dared to speak about Order business in there after what had happened with Snape last year – I tried hard to avoid remembering a face to the name – and since Kreacher had betrayed us as he did in fifth year, it was hardly a suitable place to conduct business. Unlike being able to throw Snape out of the Order we couldn't just throw Kreacher out of the house thanks to everything he'd already heard. If he had run to Lucius Malfoy once he was sure to do something equally as dangerous again.

Of course I'd offered to have him drowned, but Hermione would hear none of it.

After Fred and George were done delegating my bathroom scrubbing – while also mocking my lack of humour about my own misfortune – they ushered me down the stairs for dinner. Order meetings had started to be moved to a dinner setting now that we were at the Burrow all the time and almost all of age; this made for awkward conversations and a lot of arguing...and all the while Mrs Weasley was trying to shove food down my throat. I don't know if she was worried about how much she could fatten me up before I leave, or if she wanted to fatten me up so that I wouldn't be able to escape through the door.

When we were sat down to dinner tonight I found myself sat right alongside Fred and Sirius, my brother taking his usual space in front of me. Normally we had a few less people at the table and because of the extra seats taken Harry was crammed beside his lost love, Ginny – the awkward tension between them was surely something I'd hear about from Ginny later as she failed to sleep and dragged me along with her.

"Bill," Harry cleared his throat, trying to distract himself. "Still no news about Mad-Eye?"

"Nothing," Bill responded, keeping his eye firmly on his plate. I knew he was trying to keep from looking at me. There was a guilt there, knowing that the Death Eaters had probably taken the body after we had fled – but we had fled for our _lives. _Voldemort was flying at our side, for Merlin's sake – I, for one, was not just going to hover there and let him kill me. I felt bad that we had lost a man...but I didn't feel bad for saving myself after he was already dead. If I could have saved him, that would have been another story...apparently Bill was struggling with remembering just how impossible it would have been to save his life.

"The _Daily Prophet_ hasn't said a word about him dying or about finding the body," Bill went on. "But that doesn't mean much. It's keeping a lot quiet these days."

"And they still haven't called a hearing about all the underage magic we used escaping the Death Eaters?" Harry asked Mr Weasley, who was sat a few seats down from me. He shook his head, taking off his glasses to examine and clean them.

"Now is that because they know we were outnumbered – since some people in the Ministry helped plan the ambush," I asked sarcastically, "or because they don't want to tell the world Voldemort attacked us yet again?"

"The latter, I think. Scrimgeour doesn't want to admit that You-Know-Who is as powerful as he is, nor that Azkaban's seen a mass breakout."

"Again," I added.

"Yeah," Harry sounded just as annoyed as I felt. "Why tell the public the truth?"

"Isn't anyone at the Ministry prepared to stand up to him?" Ron grunted.

"No," I scoffed, my tone made Mr Weasley sigh.

"Of course Ron, but people are terrified – terrified that they will be next to disappear, their children the next to be attacked. There are nasty rumors going around; I for one don't believe the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts resigned. She hasn't been seen for weeks now. Meanwhile Scrimgeour remains shut up in his office all day; I just hope he's working on a plan."

"You mean an escape plan?" I asked with a bitter laugh. "No one at the Ministry plans to do a thing – present company excluded – because the Ministry is corrupt. I wouldn't be surprised if Scrimgeour ends up being a Death Eater."

"I think the opposite," Mr Weasley told me. "Scrimgeour is a colourful character, but he's definitely not a bad one. He may not know exactly how to deal with the situation but at least he's not running into battle and making You-Know-Who more angry than he already is. He's trying to save people by staying quiet – I'm not quite sure I blame him."

"I do," Sirius grumbled. "It makes him a coward."

"Sometimes running away is smarter than staying and making it worse," Lupin sighed, looking over to me as if it was some grand notion that I should appreciate. I tried not to, even if I secretly did. It wasn't easy to ignore that he was talking about the men who had run away from me just this spring, it wasn't easy to ignore the fact that Sirius stopped arguing with him because he knew what Lupin was referring to. A child would have known what Lupin was referring to. I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them, sneering when I realized that _everyone _was looking at me with that stupid look of _pity _in their eyes. I stabbed at my chicken with particular emphasis to make them look away. Mrs Weasley took the cue to magically bring our empty, nearly empty, or in my case nearly untouched plate over to the kitchen counter so she could serve up the apple tart for dessert.

"We must decide 'ow you will be disguised," Fleur eyed Harry and I as if she was only talking about designing our robes for the wedding instead of our entire appearance and identity. "Of course, none of our guests are Death Eaters, but we cannot guarantee zat zey will not let something slip after zey 'ave 'ad champagne."

"Yes, good point," Mrs Weasley took out her long roll of parchment that told of all the jobs that had to be done before the wedding. I groaned, placing down my spoon – she was about to assign more chores. She gave me a look to silence any oncoming complaints before glaring at the spoon as if to say 'eat it, or else'...but really, what 'else' could be worse than the torture and cleaning she's already inflicting on me? "Now, Ron, have you cleaned out your room yet?"

"Why?" Ron looked as if he were actually surprised by this. "Why does my room have to be cleaned out? Harry and I are fine with it the way it is!"

"We are holding your brother's wedding here in a few days' time, young man-"

"And are they getting married in my bedroom?" Ron asked sardonically. "No! So why in the name of Merlin's saggy left-"

"Don't talk to your mother like that," Mr. Weasley wagged his finger at his son. I gave a look over to Sirius who, like me, seemed to be holding back laughter. "And do as you're told."

"Really, Ron," I scolded, trying to keep my voice serious. "How hard is it to clean a bedroom? I bet Houdini over here could do it for you if you asked really nicely..."

Ron took turns scowling at his parents and then me before he picked up his spoon and viciously devoured the last bits of his apple tart.

"I can help, some of it's my mess," Harry offered, but Mrs Weasley was quickly ready to put the blinders on that horse.

"No, Harry, dear, I'd much rather you helped Arthur much out the chickens. Audrey, you'd be best with helping Fred and George find all their little experiments and get rid of them so they don't accidentally hurt any of the guests and Hermione, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd change the sheets for Monsieur and Madame Delacour; you know they're arriving at eleven tomorrow morning."

And back to the life of a slave.

I sighed, picking up my dish and taking it over to the sink to be polite – I refused to wash it considering I'd washed just about everything else. I looked up to the twins, making a face of exhausted acceptance.

"It's so unfair," I whined to them. "Why don't you have to do anything?"

"Because we're not the ones plotting a runaway," George informed.

"It's not a runaway," I countered as Fred started to lead us towards the staircase. "It's a mission – it's all on the front lines of the war – a benefit to the Order's cause!" I said loudly over my shoulder. The only one who acknowledged that I'd spoken at all was Fred who rolled his eyes and shoved me up the stairs.

I followed George all the way to their bedroom, still sprawlingly dirty – something that Ron would be devastated to see now that he had to clean his own room – and I sat heavily on the edge of one of their beds.

"So, let's start here – where are all the hidden pranks, then?" I sighed. The twins raised their eyebrows and even took the time to look hurt by the question.

"She must be joking-"

"-it's like she doesn't know us at all-"

"-it's blasphemy-"

"-insulting, really-"

"-no, it's obscene!"

"Can you get to the point?" I yawned loudly. "I'm dead on my feet."

"We're not getting rid of those pranks-"

"-there are much better uses of our time-"

"-besides," Fred smiled in that way that made you both smile and worry all at once. "I rather like them hidden as they are. At least there will be something to look forward to besides the cake at this blasted wedding."

"Lies," George said immediately. "All you've been talking about is seeing Audrey in dress robes-"

"-that's not true-"

"-it is. Audrey don't believe his lies-"

"-well, she's going to be disguised anyway so I won't be seeing Audrey in dress robes at all, will I-"

"-should I give you rose-tinted glasses?"

"Alright," I interrupted them, frowning awkwardly as I looked straight at George – avoiding Fred's eyes. "If you haven't brought me up here to embarrass me or make me clean your dirty knickers, then why am I up here?"

"To talk to your brother, of course," Fred said simply.

"Also us, if you're up for it-"

"-we doubt you will, of course-"

"-but the options there-"

"-we want Moldyshorts dead as much as you-"

"-alright, likely a little less considering he doesn't care if we're alive or dead-"

"-well likely he _does _want us dead, I doubt he appreciates good humour-"

"-which is sad, I have so many jokes about him that others seem to appreciate-"

"-but, like we said, the option is there." I looked at the twins with narrowed eyes, trying hard to make my tired mind follow where this conversation had headed. I looked between them and shook my head to clear it – they were...providing a distraction?

"You planned this so Harry and I could get together?" I asked slowly, they seemed impatient for my own mind to catch up with their plan.

"The lot of you, actually," Fred explained. "We heard how Mum explained it: she doesn't know that Dad's done with the chickens to make room for Sirius' motor bike and Ginny and Hermione already did the sheets yesterday – I heard Ginny complaining last night."

"Wow, guys," I smiled. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," George waved off.

"-after all, we're not like Mum-"

"-we actually highly approve of your dismissal of schooling-"

"-very wise choice-"

"-though we did it better."

I let out a laugh, shaking my head for a second. "You certainly did. Merlin, you two are unbelievable."

"Greatness usually is," George said, feigning innocence. I snorted.

"Tell me when greatness needs help to re-grow his ear."

"Oi, that's low!" George pouted, moving to hand over Houdini even as he acted as if he was still insulted with me. I laughed a moment, taking Houdini and holding him to my face for a moment before holding him between my cupped hands.

"Apparently it isn't low enough for you not to hear it," I wiggled my eyebrows and ducked as he threw a pillow to me, closing the door to avoid any more thrown objects. I found myself dragging my feet no matter my excitement as I made my way to Ron's bedroom. I didn't bothering to knock on the door before I went in and closed it behind me. At first it looked like all three of the Gryffindors were nervous that they had been caught, but they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you."

"How lovely," I smiled sarcastically. "You really know how to make a woman feel special, Ron."

"Shut it," he grumbled, going back to slowly cleaning his room. It looked like he was just waiting for the proper time to give up, considering he was the only one whose job still needed to be done.

"And how did you manage to get away?" Harry asked me, making room on the bed for me to sit. I took it immediately, stretching out my feet with a groan. Houdini was quick to leave my hands and jump onto my lap, stretching out and purring contentedly – he'd hated all the cleaning I'd had to do as well; it meant less time for him to cuddle with me.

"Fred and George concocted the plan when they heard about Hermione's job having been done and figuring that Mr Weasley would want his secret Muggle motorcycle kept safe."

"Right," Harry nodded. "I'll thank them."

"I'm sure we'll find time later. So, what's going on?" I asked, looking carefully to the piles of assorted books surrounding Hermione.

"We were just talking about Mad-Eye," Ron told me. "I reckon he might have survived."

"But they saw him hit by the Killing Curse," Harry said, it sounded as if this argument had been had before. I nodded.

"I can assure you he's gone."

"Yeah, but you were under attack too," Ron argued. "How can you be sure what he saw?"

"I saw him get hit _in the_ _face_ by a green spell and topple arse over teakettle off of his broom, Ron," I frowned darkly, giving him a dark glare. "He's dead."

"Even if the Killing Curse missed, Mad-Eye still fell about a thousand feet," Hermione agreed quietly, now closely examining a book called 'Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland' that she balanced within her hands.

"He could have used a Shield Charm-"

"He still fell limp from his broom down a thousand feet," I stated.

"Well, all right, if you _want_ him to be dead," Ron grumbled, punching at his pillow to try to distract himself. I fell back on the bed, grabbing at my head and sneering at his ceiling.

"No, I want you to make sense," I argued, digging the heels of my palms into my eyes. "He's dead – stop being an optimist, we don't have time for it. We're wasting it right now arguing about something obvious."

"Audrey's right," Hermione said sorrowfully. "And of course we don't want him to be dead – it's dreadful that he's dead...but she's right, we need to be realistic."

"The Death Eaters probably tidied up after themselves, that's why no one's found him...look at Sirius' brother Regulus, or even Ollivander," Ron explained. "So what do you think your friends want with him, Audrey?"

I sat up on my elbows so that I could throw him a dirty glare. "Funny; I seem to recall it being _your _friends who attacked and incarcerated people like Stan Shunpike even though he was Imperiused and had no say over what he was doing-"

"That's _his _story!"

I ignored while Houdini shuffled from my lap right into my pocket, as if knowing that my anger was growing and I was likely to move and strike Ron any moment. "They use magic to get new people and get _rid _of old ones all the time, Ron. They probably transfigured Moody and stuffed him-"

"Don't!" Hermione cried out, closing her eyes so that she could try to better hold her tears at bay. Both the boys blanched immediately; I don't know how often they saw tears from Hermione but it was clear that they weren't comfortable with it. Considering I couldn't count the times I'd cried in front of them on one hand and Hermione was nearly as stubborn as I was, I doubted they had much exposure.

"Oh no," Harry winced, fidgeting beside me. "Hermione, we didn't mean to upset-"

Ron all but propelled himself from the bed with his arse muscles and launched himself at Hermione. It would have been slightly romantic if he hadn't have smothered her in the process of stopping his momentum. He put one arm around her and fished into his pockets to pull out an old, dirtied handkerchief. To make the moment that much more sweet, he pulled out his wand and siphoned off the grease so that she could use it without fear of dirtying her face.

"Oh, thanks, Ron. I'm sorry..." she blew her nose softly. "It's just so awf-ful, isn't it? R-right after Dumbledore...I j-just n-never imagined Mad-Eye dying, somehow, he seemed so tough!"

"No one's tough against the killing curse," I told her stoically. She nodded.

"Yeah, we know," Ron gave her an awkward squeeze. "But do _you_ know what he'd say to us if he was here?"

"'C-constant vigilance'," Hermione whimpered, dabbing at her eyes.

"That's right," said Ron, nodding. "He'd tell us to learn from what happened to him."

"And what's that?"

"That's not to trust lowlifes like Mundungus Fletcher," I answered. "And that people on _your _side can be as much arseholes as the others."

Ron gave me a quick glare, but Hermione took a shaky breath before moving to occupy herself with her books. It only took a moment before she dropped the _Monster Book of Monsters_ on his foot – it nipped angrily at his ankles and he tried to keep his howl of pain quiet so that Mrs Weasley wouldn't find us out.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hermione cried as she and my brother tried to right the damage. I crossed my arms over my chest with a satisfied smile.

"Why? It's funny _and _deserved," I mocked. Ron threw me a look to show he was not pleased before he started to limp over to his bed.

"What are you doing with all those books anyway?" He snipped.

"Just trying to decide which ones to take with us," she continued in a whisper, as if we weren't alone in a room. "When we're looking for the Horcruxes."

"Oh, of course," Ron clapped his palm to his forehead. "I forgot we'll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library."

"Ha-ha," she looked down at one of her old Rune textbooks in contemplation. "I wonder...will we need to translate runes? It's possible...I think we'd better take it, to be safe."

I clicked my tongue in taunt. "If that's a probability, we should probably take '_How to Handle Hormonal and Homicidal Housemates_'."

"That's not a book," Ron said carefully, almost as if he expected Hermione to correct him.

I shrugged. "It should be. You might need to read it if I have to lug those books everywhere. Honestly, I don't understand how you can read them so many times and still think you can learn someth-"

"This is never going to work if you're going to be such a harpy all time, Audrey," Ron quipped.

"It will never work if you're going to be such a Pansy, Ron."

"Take that back!" He growled at me. I felt like starting to argue with him some more – as we always argued – but was quieted as Harry finally sat up straight so that he could put himself between us.

"Alright, listen," Harry sighed, looking at all three of us with a look of determination. "I know you said after Dumbledore's funeral that you wanted to come with me-"

"Here he goes," Ron breathed a sigh of exasperation.

"As we knew he would," Hermione agreed, turning back to her books as if no one had spoken at all. "You know, I think I will take _Hogwarts, A History_. Even if we're not going back there, I don't think I'd feel right if I didn't have it with-"

"Listen!" Harry said more sternly this time. Hermione turned to him with such a look of defiance that it even caught me off guard.

"No, Harry, you listen: we're coming with you. That was decided months ago – years, really."

"But-"

"Shut up," Ron didn't necessarily sound angry, but he was obviously done with the conversation. I didn't really blame them; it was nearly insulting how Harry was so determined to do this alone. At least he knew better than to argue with _me_, but were I in their shoes I would be just as annoyed.

"Audrey and I need to go find them – I find them, Audrey destroys them – nowhere in Dumbledore's description did it say that you two have to risk your lives...I just want to be sure you've thought this through-"

"Let's see," Hermione suddenly sounded just like Daphne when she was annoyed and wanted to beat you to death with some of her most insulting words. "I've been packing for days, so we're ready to leave at a moment's notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Mad-Eye's whole stock of Polyjuice Potion right under Ron's mum's nose.

"I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me – or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you.

"Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't – well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see."

My eyes were wide as I watched Hermione's own eyes begin swimming with fresh tears. Ron got back off the bed to go comfort her again, frowning at Harry as if to reprimand him. I could do nothing but look at Harry, my eyebrows raise.

"This is where you apologize," I informed him.

"Right, er – I – Hermione, I'm sorry...I didn't-"

"Didn't realize that Ron and I know perfectly well what might happen if we come with you? Well, we do." Hermione looked up to Ron and they shared a moment that actually made me look away – bloody hell, I've dated a few boys but I certainly hoped that I never looked at them like _that. _"Ron, show them what you've done."

"Nah, they've just eaten," he shrugged and took a step away from her.

"Go on, they need to know," she encouraged. Ron sighed, motioning for us to follow him. "C'mon."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Am I going to see something inappropriate? Because the last time Fred and George told me to go up into the attic I found a rather nasty supply of Wild Witches Monthly-"

"It's not that, _Descendo_," Ron muttered, pointing his wand to the ceiling by the door to his room. A hatch opened right over their heads and a horrible sucking, groaning sound made me jump farther away from it.

"Is this all a plan for you to sic that ghoul on me?"

"No," Ron rolled his eyes. "Though it wouldn't be my worst; come and have a look at him."

Ron moved to go up the latter towards the ghoul and Harry followed after him, I gave Hermione a look that clearly expressed just how much I didn't want to go. She waved her hand, dismissing me to follow them anyway. I sighed, climbing up after my brother – it wasn't hard to find what I was supposed to be looking at: there was the ghoul, fast asleep with its large mouth open, his body was covered in boils and pustules that made me feel nauseous – and the smell! It definitely smelt like it had already died five times over...

"But it...it looks-"

"Foul," I finished for him. Houdini was shivering in my pocket and making that high pitched sound that let me know he was uncomfortable – apparently the smell was getting to him, too. Harry nodded, taking half a step closer as he turned his head from side to side like a curious dog.

"Do ghouls normally wear pajamas?"

"No," said Ron. "Nor have they usually got red hair or that number of pustules. He's me, see?"

"No," my brother grimaced. "I don't."

"Oh, I do," I smiled innocently to Ron. "Spitting image."

"Shut up, Drea. Stay in here with the smell since we know you're comfortable with disgusting creatures, then. The smell's getting to me," Ron huffed. He climbed back down the latter, Harry following and I was quick to leave the ghoul to his sleep. Hermione was still in the corner, sorting out her books but I could see that her eyes were red – she had shed a few tears when we were gone.

"Once we've left, the ghoul's going to come and live down here in my room," Ron explained. "I think he's really looking forward to it – well, it's hard to tell, because all he can do is moan and drool – but he nods a lot when you mention it. Anyway, he's going to be me with spattergroit. Good, eh?"

"Have you ever even _seen _what spattergroit looks like?"

"No, that's not the point! Virtually no one has because it's – urgh," he sighed in frustration. "Look, when we four don't turn up at Hogwarts again, everyone's going to think Hermione and I must be with you, right? Which means the Death Eaters will go straight for our families to see if they've got information on where you are."

"But hopefully it'll look like I've gone away with Mum and Dad; a lot of Muggleborns are talking about going into hiding at the moment," Hermione elaborated. Ron nodded.

"We can't hide my whole family, it'll look too fishy and they can't all leave their jobs; so we're going to put out the story that I'm seriously ill with spattergroit, which is why I can't go back to school. If anyone comes calling to investigate, Mum or Dad can show them the ghoul in my bed, covered in pustules – that's why it's fine that it doesn't look exactly right, Drea," he looked at me in annoyance. "Spattergroit's really contagious, so they're not going to want to go near him or think of little details like that. It won't matter that he can't say anything, either, because apparently you can't once the fungus has spread to your uvula."

I nodded carefully. "Can I _give _you spattergroit somehow?"

Ron gave me a withering look in response but I didn't really mind; I was still miffed about the rude Death Eater comment and if he wanted to fight fire with fire, he was soon to realize that mine burnt hotter.

"And your mum and dad are in on this plan?" Harry asked, looking unconvinced.

"Dad is. He helped Fred and George transform the ghoul. Mum..." he paused, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Well, you've seen what she's like. She won't accept we're going till we're gone."

Harry looked like he couldn't think of anything else to say and the room fell into an awkward silence. It was like we all had things to say: I was sure that Hermione would have something reassuring to say, that Ron would have something stubborn to say, that Harry would try to warn them away from helping us and secretly, all I wanted to do was argue about _anything _so that this all seemed normal...luckily I didn't have to because Mrs Weasley's angry voice drifted through the door.

"Ginny's probably left a speck of dust on a poxy napkin ring," Ron sighed, grabbing his pillow so that he could throw it angrily back onto his bed. "I dunno why the Delacours have got to come two days before the wedding."

"Fleur's sister's a bridesmaid, she needs to be here for the rehearsal, and she's too young to come on her own," Hermione explained, not looking up from whatever book she was reading. "Audrey, did you bring any books?"

"I'm sure you already have them," I shrugged, sitting back down again, "but yeah, a few."

"Well, guests aren't going to help Mum's stress levels," said Ron while we listened to her yell again.

"What we really need to decide," Hermione explained, not looking up from the books she was sorting through, "is where we're going after we leave here. I know you said you wanted to go to Godric's Hollow first, Harry, and I understand why, but...well...shouldn't we make the Horcruxes our priority?"

"If we knew where any of the Horcruxes were, I'd agree with you," he sighed irritably.

"Going to Godric's Hollow is a bad idea," I informed him.

"Why?" He sounded shocked. "Don't you want to see where it all started; how is that a bad idea?"

"Because it's the _obvious _idea," I informed him, looking at him as if he were as stupid as he sounded.

"She's right, Harry. Don't you think there's a possibility that Voldemort's keeping a watch on Godric's Hollow?" Hermione asked, looking to me nervously before looking back to emphasize the importance. "He might expect you to go back and visit your parents' graves once you're free to go wherever you like."

Harry didn't say anything, this was something that obviously hadn't occurred to him and I sighed.

"We're not going," I stated firmly. "We'll go when it's safe to go and visit their graves...or be buried with them, whichever happens first."

"_Audrey_!"

"What?" I rolled my eyes. "Weren't you just the ones just exercising your appreciation for the consequences here? We all might die: let's not otherwise delude ourselves."

All three of the Gryffindors looked at each other awkwardly, none of them knowing how to really respond to the facts. It's not like we didn't know or it wasn't true: hell, they'd just said it themselves...but I could tell me saying it so nonchalantly bothered them.

"This R.A.B. person," Ron said suddenly, obviously trying to change the subject. "You know, the one who stole the real locket? He said in his note he was going to destroy it, didn't he?"

Harry moved to his rucksack where the fake Horcrux was stowed. He took out the gaudy Slytherin engraved locket and examined the note inside before he read aloud, "'I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.'"

Ron nodded, frowning at the fake locket in my brother's hands. "Well, why didn't he?"

"Or she," Hermione interrupted.

"Whichever. Or what if he did and the locket Umbridge has is a fake?" Ron asked with a frustrated sigh.

"It's the real thing," I said immediately. "I've never felt energy like it – it was smart, strong. I mean, even when I had the Diary, there was nothing as persuasive as it. The book was...alluring almost but that locket was pure power. The way it burnt me, the way it attacked to keep itself safe...it reacted almost as if it knew that I was going to melt it off of Umbridge's fat neck."

"Sounds like something Voldemort would want," Harry offered.

"So how are we going to get it off of Umbridge? Break into her house?"

"More importantly," Harry looked at me. "How are you going to destroy it?"

Yes, this was a problem considering that Dumbledore had failed to explain this part to me. I had tried to hurt the locket back when I had grabbed hold of it in fifth year and that hadn't worked at all. So since my Magnuse might not be a consideration, I didn't really know what help I would be in the destroying aspect, even if I had been the one to locate it.

"Well," said Hermione, "I've actually been researching that."

"Surprise, surprise."

"How?" Harry asked, moving towards her. "I didn't think there were any books on Horcruxes in the library?"

"There weren't," Hermione looked away, her cheeks turning pink as she suddenly turned bashful. "Dumbledore removed them all, but he – he didn't destroy them."

Ron sat up straight in his bed, looking at her with his mouth open. "How in the name of Merlin's pants have you managed to get your hands on those Horcrux books?"

"It – it wasn't stealing!" that was far too defensive to be true. "They were still library books, even if Dumbledore had taken them off the shelves. Anyway, if he really didn't want anyone to get at them, I'm sure he would have made it much harder to-"

"Get to the point!" Ron groaned.

"Well... it was easy," Hermione shrugged modestly. "I just did a Summoning Charm. You know – _Accio Horcrux books_ – and they zoomed out of Dumbledore's study window right into the girls' dormitory."

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"Just after his – Dumbledore's – funeral," she almost sounded ashamed, I was pretty sure Dumbledore would have been happy that of all people to discover them, they had been found by her. "Right after we agreed we'd leave school and go and look for the Horcruxes. When I went back upstairs to get my things it – it just occurred to me that the more we knew about them, the better it would be...and I was alone in there...so I tried and it worked. They flew straight in through the open window and I – I packed them. I can't believe Dumbledore would have been angry, it's not as though we're going to use the information to make a Horcrux, is it?"

"No one plans on killing someone," Ron winced as the words left his mouth before he shrugged awkwardly. "Well, you know – except Harry...and Audrey, who's already done it..."

"Have I ever told you that you're my least favourite Weasley?" I growled, narrowing my eyes. "You even outrank Percy."

"You'd better take _that_ back-"

Harry sighed, moving in between us again, though he didn't bother looking away from Hermione so they could get the conversation back on track. "Where are these books anyway?"

Hermione moved to the bag and rummaged through for a long time – good Godric, how many books did she have in there for it to take that long? – before she pulled out a dusty, black leather-bound tome. She ran her hand over the cover, frowning at the book in her hands before displaying it for us.

"This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest Art – it's a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic. I wonder when Dumbledore removed it from the library... if he didn't do it until he was headmaster, I bet Voldemort got all the instruction he needed from here." I raised an eyebrow.

"Can I see it?"

"Planning on making a Horcrux, Audrey?" Ron teased.

"As if I need one; out of you lunatics I'm going to be the most likely survivor considering you all try to be _brave _instead of _smart._" Hermione was obviously ready to argue but decided against it for the benefit of continuing the conversation. It was, ironically, the smarter choice.

"Why did he have to ask Slughorn how to make a Horcrux, then, if he'd already read that?" Ron asked.

"He only approached Slughorn to find out what would happen if you split your soul into seven," I corrected. Harry nodded.

"Right. Dumbledore was sure Riddle already knew how to make a Horcrux by the time he asked Slughorn about them. I think you're right, Hermione, that could easily have been where he got the information."

"And the more I've read about them, the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six." I blinked, looking at her with a furrowed brow. _Six_? "It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that's just by making _one_ Horcrux!"

"Well, Voldemort has never really been considered 'stable' and since we've now deduced he's a soulless monster, I think this is all pretty self-explanatory. Had we known what Horcruxes were, I would have been able to guess it before I was told he'd made them." I informed.

"Isn't there any way of putting yourself back together?" Ron asked, looking nervous.

"Yes," the edges of Hermione's lips pulled sadly, "but it would be excruciatingly painful."

"Why? How do you do it?"

"Remorse," she answered, looking around at each of us with a frown. "You've got to really feel what you've done. There's a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can't see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?"

"No," Ron snorted. "So does it say how to destroy Horcruxes in that book?"

"Yes," said Hermione, now turning the fragile pages as if examining rotting entrails. I climbed over to her side to look at the pages, readjusting where Houdini sat in my pocket so that he could sit on my shoulder and not be in harm's way if I decided to move quickly again. They were written by hand in ink that had faded with time. The pages had yellowed and looked ready to crack in two if bent at all. She looked to me, turning another page so that I could read what she was referring to. "Because it warns Dark wizards how strong they have to make the enchantments on them. From all that I've read, what Harry did to Riddle's diary was one of the few really foolproof ways of destroying a Horcrux."

"What," Harry raised an eyebrow, "you mean stabbing it with a basilisk fang?"

"Oh well," Ron waved his hand as if to indicate that was easy. "Lucky we've got such a large supply of basilisk fangs, then. I was wondering what we were going to do with them."

"It doesn't have to be a basilisk fang," I corrected him as I read through the pages. Hermione nodded, her frizzy curls tickling the side of my face as she did.

"Exactly, it has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux can't repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and it's incredibly rare-"

"Phoenix tears," Harry responded, nodding with a defeated sigh.

"Exactly," said Hermione.

"And Fawkes has left us now that Dumbledore's gone," I muttered, lolling my head back on my shoulders to try and ease the tension that was growing there. "Do we have any other friends with a pet phoenix; anyone? No? I'd thought not."

"Our problem is that there are very few substances as destructive as basilisk venom," Hermione explained. "And they're all dangerous to carry around with you. That's a problem we're going to have to solve, though, because ripping, smashing, or crushing a Horcrux won't do the trick. You've got to put it beyond magical repair and the closest thing you could get to fixing it with regular magic is destroying it with the object that created it. Before you ask, I doubt that will work for us – most of the time that's the wand of the owner and if they are powerful enough to have created a Horcrux already there is very little chance that you'll get a hold of their wand for long enough to rid the object of the soul fragment."

I breathed, nodding my head slowly as I tried to take in all this information. It was a lot to process, especially since we had gone so many days without talking about any of it to suddenly having an all out plotting-session. I felt like I was lagging a little bit behind what I normally would be because I was still trying to get in the mindset of leaving to destroy a Dark Wizard who had ruined my life in so many ways...right in between when I should be scrubbing the sink and the toilet. Still, it was easy to remember the anger, the determination that went with revenge...

"Alright," I breathed, trying to calm myself down. "Would my Magnuse work?"

"Your Magnuse can be reversed and it needs to be beyond magical repair," Hermione repeated. "You can heal and mend things, so it isn't destructive enough-"

"That's the only time you'll ever hear that," Ron muttered.

"Watch it," I warned.

"Besides that, your Magnuse is a part of you that can't be removed – it would be too dangerous. The Horcrux could kill you for trying, or worse: travel inside of you." She looked at me meaningfully, as if she thought I still may be stupid enough to try using my Magnuse anyway. I wasn't my brother; I wasn't the kind to make that kind of stupid sacrifice.

"No Magnuse, got it."

"But even if we wreck the thing it lives in," Ron began with an animated frown, "why can't the bit of soul in it just go and live in something else like you said it could for Audrey?"

"Because a Horcrux is the complete opposite of a human being," I didn't quite understand what she meant and it seemed the boys didn't either so she shifted her weight to get comfortable and explain further. "Look, if I picked up a sword right now, Ron, and ran you through with it, I wouldn't damage your soul at all."

"Which would be a real comfort to me, I'm sure." Harry laughed at Ron's comment.

"It should be, actually!" Hermione said confidently. "But my point is that whatever happens to your body, your soul will survive, untouched...but it's the other way round with a Horcrux."

"Or a Dementor. Dementors take your soul, but your body sits there like nothing: alive, but useless," I muttered, shivering at the thought of how the Dementors used to attack Harry and I, of how I hadn't been able to repel them in Third Year, or when they had come to get us after the Triwizard Tournament...

"Exactly, Audrey," Hermione agreed enthusiastically. "The fragment of soul inside a Horcrux depends on its container, its enchanted body, for survival. It can't exist without it."

"That diary sort of died when I stabbed it," Harry screwed up his face, trying hard to remember what it had done when he had stabbed it.

"And once the diary was properly destroyed, the bit of soul trapped in it could no longer exist. Ginny tried to get rid of the diary before you did, flushing it away, but obviously it came back good as new."

"Sadly for me," I sighed. Otherwise I couldn't really contribute to this part of the conversation thanks to the fact I had nearly died prior to him having the Diary in the first place. Something I had surprisingly forgiven Ginny for...perhaps I should put her through the ringer a bit more about the 'dating my brother after trying to kill his sister' thing.

"Hang on," Ron said suddenly very alert. "The bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasn't it? How does that work, then?"

"While the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don't mean holding it for too long, it's nothing to do with touching it," she shook her head to try and figure out the proper words. "I mean close emotionally; Ginny poured her heart out into that diary and she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You're in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux."

"Well, when I held the one Umbridge had it certainly had to do with touching it; the bloody thing attacked me," I screwed my face up with the memory of it. "Besides, I'm still confused. If we have to find the seven Horcruxes-"

"Six," Harry corrected.

"Dumbledore told me seven," I corrected him again. Harry honestly didn't seem like he understood why he was being corrected; he looked completely confused as he looked from Hermione, to Ron, and back to me.

"He told me six," he shook his head, speaking slowly. "I'm positive."

"Alright, six and his body then," Ron said simply, waving his hand. It seemed this was not the part of the conversation he cared about having. "Six and the body he's using; that has to be made from a Horcrux, doesn't it?"

"Right," Harry nodded slowly. "Six and his body."

"Fine, six and his body," I rolled my eyes, frowning that no one had listened to me – if his body counted, that was still seven. "How many are left? Dumbledore got the ring, you got the diary-"

"We've found the locket, we just have to _get _it," Ron chipped in.

"That leaves three to find, four to destroy and then facing off with Voldemort himself," Hermione answered for us.

"I wonder how Dumbledore destroyed the ring? Why didn't I ask him?" Harry sighed, sounding frustrated with himself. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's fine, I'm the one that's supposed to do it and even I didn't-" I was going to continue on but was interrupted by the bedroom door flying open with enough force to shake the walls around us. Hermione shrieked and let go of the Dark Magic book which I immediately shoved behind my back. Crookshanks jumped under the bed, Houdini moved into my neck nervously, Ron got up so quickly that he slipped on something on his floor and hit his head on a wall – it was a disaster, because Molly Weasley had seen it all. There was no playing dumb now; she knew we were all hiding something.

"I'm so sorry to break up this cozy little gathering," she did not sound sorry at all, but rather enraged that we'd had a gathering to break up in the first place. "I'm sure you all need your rest...but there are wedding presents stacked in my room that need sorting out and I was under the impression that you had agreed to help."

"Oh yes," Hermione said immediately, jumping to her feet and discretely looking for the book that I had already hidden behind my back. When she was sure that it would not be seen by Mrs Weasley's weaseling, she continued forward. "We will...we're sorry..."

With a look resembling both terror and guilt, Hermione trotted immediately out of the room with Mrs Weasley. I considered following her – after all, I'm sure that she didn't only expect one of us to follow along with the two of them – but decided against it. I was far past finished with all this cleaning.

"It's like being a house-elf," Ron complained, rubbing the place on his head that he had slammed against the wall. "Except without the job satisfaction. The sooner this wedding's over, the happier, I'll be."

"At least she's really doing work for her SPEW organization," I offered. Ron laughed, shaking his head and placing his hand back on his forehead as if it were throbbing.

"I'll still be happier when the wedding's over," Ron explained. Very suddenly, he looked nervous as he eyed Harry and I with great worry. "You don't think we'll be made to dance again, do you?"

"Who cares?" I asked. "I simply won't."

Ron looked like he considered that before his eyes followed back to the door where Hermione and Mrs Weasley had just left. Apparently just refusing to dance was not so simple for Ron after all.

"And then we'll have nothing to do except find Horcruxes...It'll be like a holiday, won't it?"

Some holiday, starting with dancing and ending with murder. A typical holiday for me, really. But how could I be excited for the wedding, for the last day of normalcy considering the memories that always seem to go with those experiences? I didn't want to think about the dance I'd been forced into with Montague, the dance I had missed with Cedric, or even worse...the dances I'd gotten to share with Draco.

Merlin, it hurt to think about him...but that was exactly why I needed to remember that reasons like this were why we were fighting; people like _Draco_ were the reason that I was continuing on this stupid mission – because people like him didn't have anyone to fight for them, like I'd always felt no one would fight for me. Someone needed to stand up and do something. I just wished that I could stand a little bit taller...or, in general, that it wasn't me standing up at all.

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><p><strong>Something tells me that finding the Horcruxes isn't going to be like a holiday at all, but you can't blame them for trying to find some optimism in it. The next chapter is going to be during Harry and Audrey's Birthday and I have some nice surprises in celebration of it :) Now, to the wonderful reviewers of Chapter 80...<strong>

_GrossEwww_**: Thank you, I'm glad that the last chapter was a nice little reminder of the differences between Audrey's 'side' of the war and her brother's, so I'm glad that you liked it. Hopefully all this talk about Horcruxes and the upcoming plan has you excited for the next few chapters when it all finally gets put to action :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, especially seeing Daphne. It won't be the last we see or hear of her, I promise. We'll have to wait to see what happens between Draco/Audrey/Fred – I can promise that it's going to be complicated, haha. Harry has been a good brother in the past few chapters...let's see if they can keep the 'good twin' connection going. Somehow, I doubt it ;)**

_anima_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully you liked this one as well!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I really like her ability to calculate the things around her too, it's the trait that really makes me think of her as a Slytherin. The wands working on their own did happen to Harry in the original, but it is interesting that there's now an extra little tidbit about Audrey and the difference (or similarities) between them. Hope you liked this chapter and as always thank you for reviewing.**

_mrsdansmith_**: The ear puns really get me, I had to keep all of them in and then add some, haha. Fred and George are definitely going to play a bigger part in Audrey's story than Harry's, but I sadly can't explain how yet. The possibility of a budding romance could definitely be part of it ;) I miss Draco and Theo too, but we'll be hearing from them sooner than you may think. I pronounce it Theeo, though I do have a friend who pronounces it Tayo – but as he goes between Theodore and Theo, I keep it traditional (especially because the group they surround themselves with is typically traditional). Thanks for the review!**

_SparrowLilies_**: Then you'll be happy with the next few chapters ;) **

_summerneverlasts_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it and don't worry your sentences were perfect. Sirius will have a part to play later on in the story, which is why I kept him alive and Fred is definitely all flirty with Audrey, haha. He'll have some important parts in the story. As for what's happening with the Death Eaters, what I explained this far is all you'll know for a little bit – but you will hear later on :)**

_JrSnape_**: I can't think that quickly either so don't worry, Audrey's just sharp-tongued. **

_Madeline Cullen_**: Thanks for letting me know the errors; it can be hard writing about 10 000 words a chapter and not making a mistake (especially without a beta), haha. I'm glad that you liked the chapter otherwise, with particular mention to her emotions and the way things are playing out. She and Harry have realized that there are more important things than their bitterness and fighting, hence her general civility with him. It won't last forever of course, that's not Audrey's personality, but after seeing what she saw in the spring I think she's ready to grow up a bit and prepare for the more immediate problems. She now knows just how real the war is, as we saw when she was afraid to leave the Dursleys for the 'real world' where there were no guarantees. I hope you liked this new chapter!**

_music anomaly_**: Thank you, I hope you still do!**

_flamegirl100_**: I'd like to think that Audrey is strong as well, but I like that she's not actually as strong as she perceives herself, nor is she as ruthless. Her emotions are only going to get more complicated, so I hope you like what becomes of it all :)**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: I was a Ravenclaw on Pottermore, but I don't really go on there much anymore. I'm glad that you think Fred's flirting is funny (there's only going to be more) and I promise we'll be hearing a lot more of the Slytherins during the story. Anyway, thank you for the review and I hope you liked the new chapter!**

_katie93319_**: Exactly, Daphne doesn't want to put anyone in danger: including Audrey, hence why she plans on helping out when she can and only then. Still, that little help went a long way! Yes, Harry is definitely being a supportive big brother right now, let's just hope it keeps up that way. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Little Messers_**: Thank you for reviewing again, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry that there has to be a wait between chapters – part of me wishes I already had it all written out; the other part of me is glad that I can keep it going...ending this story will be very sad for me. It's nice to know that the Slytherins aren't all bad – when McGonagall sent all the Slytherins away in the final battle I remember thinking "but not ALL of them are bad, some must want to help"...and so began the creation of Audrey, haha. I also love both Snape and Sirius as well; it's a pleasure to still incorporate them both. I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope that this one was just as enjoyable, thank you!**

_Melody_**: Don't worry about being a little late in reviewing, I appreciate that you do it in the first place. The Polyjuice potion was one of the easiest things to write because it was so easy to picture the disgust of turning into a sibling of the opposite gender. It also helped that it was fun, haha. Thank you for reviewing and hope you like the new chapter!**

_Geinah_**: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad that you like the story so much and that you think this story is so original; it's really nice to hear that people like it as much as I like writing it. The story is a slow build for right now, but don't worry...next chapter is Audrey and Harry's birthday, which means that there will be a lot more to think about and the wedding is the next day...  
>Thank you again!<strong>

_Melanie007_**: Your English is wonderful, don't worry for a moment. Thank you for reviewing and liking the story so much, it's very sweet of you. I'm glad that you like what and who the Slytherins have become, especially Audrey. She's more than a joy to write, in fact, I'm pretty sure she writes herself sometimes. We won't have to wait until the final battle to see how Audrey will respond to seeing some of those Slytherins again, so stay tuned! Thank you again :)**

_Yavanna and SunStar_**: Don't worry about not reviewing earlier, I'm glad you're doing it now. I hope the essays went well and that the final portion of the school year has been going well. Hopefully you liked the other two chapters and everything to do with the Slytherins and getting back to the Burrow!**

_Geri_**: It's good to hear that you found a beginning for your story, I hope that it goes smoothly from there. It probably won't, writers block is as common as the headaches you can get from writing for too long, but hopefully you're able to work through it all easily. Yes, Sirius being back made a lot of people happy (including myself) but he has more purpose than my own sorrow over his death, we just haven't hit that part yet. You're not the only one worried about Audrey's future (again including myself) but you're going to have to wait to see whether or not she'll pull through this battle and this story. I can promise you that I won't just kill her because I can't think of an ending for her; in fact, I have two that I can't decide between... Thank you for your review!**

_MissLaufeyson_**: We won't have to wait as long as you may think to read more about Draco, but I'm not going to rush it no matter how much we all miss him, haha. Thank you for your review! **

_DarkTendncies_**: Aw, thank you – I'm glad that you used your break to read the chapter and even more glad that you enjoyed it. Hopefully I don't have to take too long to update, I'll always try my best, but it's nice to know that you'd wait patiently. Thanks again!**

_Lady Syndra_**: Thank you, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_SlytherinSweet3_**: I wish I had all the chapters already written, but sadly I'm only a few chapters ahead and as long as I am, the story can update a bit more regularly. Encouragement will not make Audrey's wand work, she's tried that a few times and nothing has happened; but we will find out just why Audrey's wand isn't as functional as others. I'm glad you like the story and hope that you continue to. Thanks for the review.**

_eMRALDeYEZ_**: Here's your update, I hope that you are still enjoying the story!**

_siriusloverofpadfoot_**: Aw, thank you so much! It's been really fun writing it from a Slytherin's point of view and I'm glad that it ended up working out as well as it did. Fred isn't one that will just give up and who knows? Audrey had a small crush on him at one point. I promise that this story will be finished and I hope that you like it right up until the end :)**

_Kari_**:****The flirting with Fred isn't about to stop any time soon, so hopefully you still like it – just remember that her heart belonged to Draco first. Thanks for reviewing!**

_DarkRosePrincess_**: Yes, the war has finally begun and it's started with a vengeance. Audrey and Draco aren't really the type to have a typical reunion, but we'll have to wait and see how they'll react when they finally meet again. Thank you for your review.**

_Guest_**: Who knows? That might be the ending, but I don't think Audrey would just go down without a fight...or alone. Thanks for reviewing.**

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><p><strong>Thank you to those who reviewed, I know that it's that time of year where a lot of you find yourselves busy but please try to remember to review – I always appreciate it. Also, I hope that you find the time to pay really close attention to these chapters because things are starting to piece themselves together and you don't want to miss out on the clues!<strong>

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, facts, Q&As, quizzes and more!**


	83. Birthday Gifts

**Hello, my dear readers! Thank you so much for all your response: whether it's been through twitter, through PMs or through reviewing I've loved hearing from you. I really appreciate everything you guys are doing and I hope that enjoy this long, new chapter :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 82 – Birthday Gifts<p>

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><p>"<em>Drea<em>," a voice whispered through my foggy dreams. I groaned in protest, rolling onto my stomach and shoving my face into my pillow – it couldn't be time to clean yet; it just couldn't. Had the Delacours not already come like I'd dreamt? Was the cleaning really not over yet? It seemed impossible...no, it _was _impossible – I was never going to clean that much again. No, that wasn't enough – I would never again clean anything at all. Hermione was wrong: House Elves want to work and I would give them free food and board as long as I never had to lift up a cleaning utensil _ever_ again.

"_Drea_," the voice whispered again.

"Bugger off," I muttered into the pillow. I couldn't really hear how it might have sounded, but if Mrs Weasley was the one to wake me I feared what sponges I would be given as punishment. I heard someone muttering something – someone that didn't _sound _like Mrs Weasley – and the muttering turned into some sort of quiet argument. Then, suddenly, I was jabbed violently on the exposed part of my cheek. I let out a groan again, digging my face further into the pillow only to have them continue to poke me while I felt like I was suffocating.

I came up for air, not even letting my eyes focus before I was glaring at the person who had dared to wake me and order me about again. The complaint fell short when I saw that my privacy had vanished and my room was infiltrated: it was not just my tormentor but a _slew _of people standing over my bed. I could see the entirety of the Burrow here, my brother and Sirius at my bedside while Fred and George were leaning over top of me with-

"Bloody Hell!" I snatched my wand from Fred's hand, holding it out of his reach. "What are you thinking poking me with that? Do you know how testy it is? It could have gone off and-"

"Oh, shut up and use it," both Fred and George ordered together. That was strange, them ordering me to hex them – especially when they knew just how ready I was to jump on the opportunity. People here were far too happy, after all. Still, it didn't make sense for them to offer themselves up like that – if anything I was sure they'd offer up Ron – and I felt suspicious of their motives. I was about to question what they meant when the realization struck me. It wasn't just any morning that I woke up to half a dozen people around my bed, nevertheless with Sirius holding a sandy coloured box in his hands...it was my birthday. I was seventeen.

The Trace was gone.

"Holy-" I stopped, pointing my pale wooded wand towards the box Sirius held. "_Accio present_!"

But of course, the present didn't move. I glared while someone in the group snorted.

"I said _accio present!_" I repeated. When it again didn't move I shook my wand angrily and used it like a baton to hit the fawn box and knock it out of Sirius' hand. I scooped it up before he could grab for it and shrugged. "We'll just pretend that was me."

"Happy Birthday, Drea," a few of the people chorused. I smiled at them, turning to my brother.

"Happy Birthday to you, old boy," I said to him. He rolled his eyes, but didn't hold back his smile.

"We were going to let you sleep in," Mrs Weasley said from the door; I absently found myself worrying whether or not she had heard my language and planned on punishing me with some sort of overly-hygienic torture. "But Fred and George would have none of it."

"It's her seventeenth birthday!" they defended in unison. "She shouldn't miss a second of it!"

"Arthur also sends his birthday well-wishes, but he had to leave early for work. He'll be back by dinner, it's just too bad he'll miss the presents – bring that one with you and we'll go down to them."

I was half upset that I had to keep from opening the present I already had in my hands, but was quick to follow the horde of them down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sirius held me under his arm the whole time – an awkward situation whilst descending stairs – but I didn't want to burst his bubble; it appeared he was pretty proud I had made it this far. Then again, so was I...I half expected to be dead by now.

When we all entered the kitchen I was surprised by the pile of presents that seemed to be trickling off the table and onto one of the chairs; there were at least a dozen of them and they didn't seem to fit properly on the small work table.

"Half of those are Harry's, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Mrs Weasley said, heading over to the stove so she could start on breakfast. "I'm sure he'll be right down."

"Well, where'd he go?" Sirius asked. I looked behind me and frowned when I realized that he was not there; at that moment something in Ron's eyes sparked as we both realized the next problem: Ginny wasn't here either. Two negatives equal a positive after all and Ron all but ran up the stairs to stop the fornication, Hermione quick to follow and try to give the two of them privacy. Well, Harry probably was enjoying his birthday a lot more than even I could.

"Open my gift before that war wages," Sirius said. He didn't need to explain how he meant the war that Ron was about to start with my brother to get his point across. I turned the wheat coloured box around in my hands, weighing it – it wasn't heavy, but it did have a slight movement inside – that felt slightly dense. Sirius gave me an encouraging nod toward the box, watching as I unwrapped the thick packaging. Whatever wrapping he had used was thick and nearly felt like burlap as I ran my hands over it to take it from the box – it wasn't well attached; it all but fell in one piece into my hand. I unravelled the contents and stopped, looking back up at my godfather with wide eyes.

"Sirius," I whispered, looking down at the paper that wrapped another box. It was a gift in itself and I didn't need to express it for us both to know it – why would he have given it to me otherwise? The purple, velvety box had been wrapped in a frayed section of the Black Family Tree that once took residence on a wall in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. It had obviously been cut away with a knife and the large section I'd received had not only he and his brother Regulus...but Narcissa and Draco as well.

"Don't let Molly see," Sirius whispered, folding it over slightly and hunching so that no one would be able to look over my shoulder. "I thought it would be a nice reminder to keep with you: show you that not all of us are as different as others may think."

I didn't know if I could find words to express what the little piece of his history meant to me. Sirius knew that talking about Draco was harder than anything else I tried to avoid...it was a subject that was constantly brought up and yet something that was not to be spoken of. The picture itself was honestly a horrible piece of him to keep with me – the fabric was oddly oblong, it must have been hard to get both he and Draco into the cut considering how far apart they were on the actual wall, and the expression on Draco's face brought me back to fourth year when we still disliked more than one another's ethics. It was that sneer that I hadn't seen cast in my direction in quite some time...but his eyes were the same as they always were: silver and emotive and striking. It was hard to bring down the defences I'd built up against imagining them so that I could see his eyes now – and yet I couldn't believe how much I'd missed them.

I forced myself to take a deep breath and force the air in my lungs to return. "Thank you, Sirius."

He laughed at me, patting the hand that still gripped at the burlap. "You haven't even opened the real gift yet. That was just a little less traditional. You see, Harry got a watch because it's traditional for wizards to have them when they come of age, but for girls..."

He trailed off when I had finally opened the velveteen box; inside was what looked like an old fashioned key. It was thick and gaudy looking and yet was magnificently detailed, crafted out of heavy silver. It looked too large for the bit of black leather it hung on and yet, as I pulled out the key and held it in my hand, the key hardly weighed anything at all. I raised my eyebrows, looking from the key back to my godfather.

"What's it to?"

"It's supposed to symbolize your heart or your future," he shrugged, taking it out of my hand and taking time to place it over my head. It fell just under my collarbones. "But I figured that was a little too cookie-cutter for you and that it might be better if I enchanted it."

I smiled, turning around to face him. "Too right. What's it supposed to do?"

"It's supposed to help you when you go," Sirius he sounded sad as he said it, he couldn't look at me either. I knew he was disappointed that Harry, Ron, Hermione and I wouldn't be bringing him along with us – but he was needed by the Order; Grimmauld Place was still a 'safe house' and when the Death Eaters finally caught on it would be a great time to ambush them. "It will open anything that's closed: doors, windows. Harry broke the knife that would pick any lock; I thought it might be useful."

I grinned, trying to look sympathetic considering how badly he felt. It may sound horrible but I didn't know if I wanted him with us – he would be too protective and who knew if he would let us do what had to be done when he realized how dangerous it was. "It's perfect; thank you, Sirius."

Our moment was interrupted by Harry, Ron, and Hermione moving through the kitchen to go through the backdoor and into the garden. I raised my eyebrow at the way they were walking – stiffly and angrily. Great, the war had started in the safe house – how convenient.

"You ditched her," I heard Ron whisper as they headed out the door. I looked back to Sirius, about to tell him that I was going to be right back, but he waved me off. It was that kind of understanding I would miss the most.

"Go save your brother. You redheads can be vicious," I rolled my eyes at his jibe but gave him a nod of acknowledgement as I followed the Gryffindors outside. It was a beautiful day – bright blue, clear and warm; not something you always saw in Britain. There wasn't one cloud in the sky, no cool tinge to the breeze – it was the perfect day.

"I'm not messing her around," Harry was saying.

"Ron-" Hermione began, only to be silenced when he stuck his hand in her face.

"She was really cut up when you ended it-"

"So was I. You know why I stopped it, and it wasn't because I wanted to," Harry defended, sounding a little more gruff than I was used to.

"Yeah, but you go snogging her now and she's just going to get her hopes up again-" so _that_ was why. Harry was upset that Ron had stopped his snogging and that now he was getting in trouble for it while Ron was upset that Ginny would get her hopes up – though they'd never really been crushed to begin with. It was funny, really...I seem to recall Harry staying pretty objective when he was tearing Hermione's heart out by snogging Lavender in front of them all last year.

"She's not an idiot, she knows it can't happen, she's not expecting us to-to end up married, or..." Harry trailed off, kicking at the dirt by his foot.

"If you keep groping her every chance you get-"

"You're a moron," I stated. The three Gryffindors seemed surprised that I was actually here – their argument had been riveting, after all – so I emphasized my words by placing my hands on my hips to glare at Ron. "Honestly, don't you get what that was?"

"What do you mean?" Ron's face reddened. "Did you know he was going to-"

"Oh, the tension between them is palpable, it was bound to happen." I rolled my eyes. Ron opened and closed his mouth, as if ready to argue that – he was either blind or living in denial. "And that wasn't just any old snog that they were having, Ron; that kiss was important."

"For what?" He glared, taking a step toward me but being sure to glare between my brother and I. "For making Ginny miss him again? Because that's all it's going to do, Harry."

"She obviously still misses him if she bothered kissing him at all," I stated, bringing his attention back to me. "It was a goodbye kiss. The last one before we leave – it's to make sure he remembers what he has to come back for."

"Oh, was it?" Ron sneered, his eyes narrowing. "Is that what your Death Eater boyfriend did before he helped kill the Headmaster, then?"

Whatever look I'd had dropped off my face like a load of weights. It was painful to think of – to think of that last kiss between us at the end, when he had told me of his mission and how he needed to keep me safe. He hadn't been able to, of course – I had escaped, I had run to him, I had fought the Death Eaters and I still lost Dumbledore...and he still ran.

I clenched the burlap in my hand, trying not to draw attention to the fact that the fabric rippling from between my fingers showed that a 'goodbye kiss' didn't always give the closure it was supposed to.

"He did," I told Ron emotionlessly, watching as his own face dropped. He at least had the decency to look really uncomfortable with what he had said: his face was red and his gaze dropped to show that he had given up; he even took a step back as if he was submitting.

"It won't happen again, Ron," said Harry harshly. I didn't know if he was referring to my kiss with Draco or if he was back on to the idea of his own kiss with Ginny, but I assumed that the real purpose was to have the entire subject dropped. "Okay?"

Ron stuttered out how he agreed while we went back into the kitchen. Sirius was quick to wedge himself between Harry and I, giving us a very parental look as if to examine exactly what damage Ron had done while we were outside. I smiled at him and turned toward the mound of presents before us.

"Well, let's open them, shall we?"

Harry had gotten a gold 'coming of age' watch from Sirius, I had given him enchanted trainers that would keep him from making a sound, Mrs Weasley had given him a set if robes for the wedding, he'd gotten an enchanted razor from Bill and Fleur, chocolates from the Delacours, a Sneakoscope from Hermione, a giant gift of products from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes by the founders themselves, and apparently a book on how to charm a witch – courtesy of the only wizard who'd never have a chance at it: Ronald Weasley.

As for my own haul of free merchandise, I'd been pleased with it. Harry's Sneakoscope could come in useful – so Hermione had given me one as well, Harry had gotten me a pocket cauldron that was expandable with a charm, Ron had given me a potion's kit – though I suspected it was his old one and he had just topped up the ingredients after class last year, I'd received chocolates from the Delacours as Harry had gotten, a book on 'Muggle's Mythical Myths and Magic' from Bill and Fleur, and of course all of Fred and George's new products that had yet to see the shelves. Sirius' gift had been my favourite, of course, which could be told by the silver key that still hung from my neck.

The pile of presents was...depressing, to say the least. It wasn't because I had to share it with Harry, or that he had more presents than me, or that he had _better _presents than me – no, the reason wasn't as petty as it normally was. Harry and I had the same amount of gifts for the same amount of value...and that was the problem. All of _his_ friends had felt it necessary to buy me gifts...but I still had none from my own.

It was foolish and selfish to go and get upset over, but it still was something that cut at me – it made me remember just how separated I was from the people I felt the most connected to. While my brother could pick his friends over and over because their path was already cut through the thicket, my friends had to wade through the mess to find out which side they ended up on when they got there; most didn't know their way through that stupid forest at all. And though I would pick my brother again and again but...it hurt not to have any other viable options.

This was denoted again at our birthday dinner later that night. Since I had woken up closer to lunch than breakfast – something that obviously displeased Mrs Weasley considering she hated my missing meals – dinner had come quickly...as had all the people that came with it. The already overcrowded kitchen was now stretched beyond comfort, even if the people there were all comforting faces. The headcount nearly doubled so I was quick to suggest putting tables out in the garden so we could appreciate the finest day in the summer thus far. There was also the fact that I hated how many people were brushing up against me to get through the crowd – I shouldn't be so crowded on my own bloody birthday. Harry, Sirius, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mrs Weasley, Bill, Fleur, the Delacours and I sat between the several round tables, getting up too properly greet Charlie, Lupin, Tonks and Hagrid.

The twins had taken the time to bewitch lanterns with a purple number seventeen to float over each of the tables, Hermione conjured purple and silver streamers to decorate the trees and bushes – something that Fred was happy to get tangled in my already ratty hair. It was a nice enough effect.

"How does it feel to be seventeen?" Lupin asked me as he sat down to my side.

"Magical," I gave him a tight grin that made both he and Sirius laugh.

"Remus actually got the key for the necklace from where I'd ordered it," Sirius explained to me. "I enchanted it."

"Thanks," I said simply. There was no need to get all mushy over it. "How's living in the packed Pack?"

"Funny," he stated dryly. Apparently he still wasn't fond of my well-thought-out werewolf humour. "It hasn't been as useful as we thought it would be. Greyback is still the one that people listen to and sadly all he talks about is how fruitful it is over on Voldemort's side."

"I can euthanize him if you'd like," I offered.

"Are these jokes really necessary?" He was in a lousy mood, it was obvious – which was strange considering Tonks looked happier than I'd ever seen her; her hair was more pink than I had thought possible – it had somehow gone from bubblegum to neon.

"Of course not, but it's my birthday so you finally can't complain." I told him firmly. Sirius laughed at me, swinging his arm over my shoulder while Lupin excused himself to get a drink.

"Out of the way, out of the way!" Mrs Weasley sang, moving through the mass of us with a giant basketball sized snitch floating in front of her. After noticing strange rivets in its side I realized that the crinkling was actually icing. That gigantic snitch was a birthday cake.

"This is your cake here, Harry." I furrowed my brow, trying not to note how clearly his name was mentioned. Harry, of course, was as gracious as ever as he stuttered out quickly how amazing the cake looked.

"Mum," Fred looked at her pointedly from the table beside mine. "Audrey hates Quidditch."

I didn't really say anything to confirm or deny that. Part of me thought about defending myself by lying because the cake had obviously taken a lot of time to make, but at the same time I _did _dislike Quidditch. That cake was quite obviously made for Harry, not for me.

This was something I'd have to get used to again...being the one that didn't really matter in a group of people who _did_. At least with the Slytherins I wasn't considered special. There I wasn't a Triwizard champion or a dragon whisperer or a potion's genius; there I was just Audrey...and surprisingly, I liked it that way.

Here, however, I was clearly just "Harry's sister".

"Her cake is coming home with your father," Mrs Weasley said easily. My frown deepened as guilt threatened to eat at me when I realize that maybe I hadn't been forgotten about and I had been too quick to judge her. "I hope you don't mind, Audrey, but one of Arthur's associates practically begged for the opportunity."

"Someone from the Ministry made me a cake?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "We will be checking this for potions, poisons and life-ending hazards, won't me?"

"Oh, of course," though Mrs Weasley didn't seem at all bothered with it. I tried to catch Harry's eye but he was far too busy trying to keep his own eyes away from Ginny – I'd let him suffer alone for this one. No matter how friendly we had been lately we would never be _that _close.

"Seventeen, eh!" Fred had offered Hagrid something resembling a bucket in place of a wine glass. After he'd rid his arms of that, Fred started handing out normal goblets out to the rest of us. "Six years ter the day since we met, d'yeh remember it?"

"Vaguely," my brother grinned widely. "Didn't you smash down the front door, give Dudley a pig's tail, and tell me I was a wizard?"

"I forge' the details," Hagrid chortled. "All righ', Audrey?"

"Wonderful," I said plainly, accepting the goblet from Fred. He snorted, as if he didn't believe me and pointed to the drink in my hand.

"It's mead," he told me. "Try not to drink yourself into a coma this time, yeah?"

I rolled my eyes at him, trying not to snort myself. I distracted myself from Fred's mischievous smile by turning back to Hagrid. "How's Tenebrus?"

"Not bad. Yeh fixed 'im up good," he told me as he began to rummage through his pocket. I was glad to hear that the thestral was okay; I had been worried after he'd been hit by the Cruciatus curse – Hagrid had assured me he could take care of him, but it was nice to have it confirmed. "I've bin busy though, we got some newborn unicorns. I'll show yeh when yeh get back – ah, here! Mokeskin. Hide anythin' in there an' no one but the owner can get it out. They're rare, them."

He had pulled out two small, slightly furry drawstring pouches with long strings so that they could be made into necklaces. I took mine from him with a thank you, taking the time to really examine it – it didn't look that big, but I had no doubt it would get the job done. Maybe it's where I'd stash some of my potions when we were on the run so that only I could get at them.

"'S'nothin'," Hagrid blushed when Harry thanked him. "An' there's Charlie! Always liked him – hey! Charlie!"

I thought about explaining to Hagrid that Charlie had been at the party the entire time but stopped when Charlie came towards us. The poor bloke was smiling awkwardly as he ran his hand through the shortcut Mrs Weasley had insisted on giving him. It was far too short – he was right to be self-conscious about it. His shiny scar-tissue from the many burns on his arms caught my eye...of course Hagrid liked him; Charlie liked dragons. It was rare that Hagrid found someone with whom he could share such common ground.

"Hi, Hagrid, how's it going?" His voice was just higher than Ron's but lower than Bill's and the twins.

"Bin meanin' ter write fer ages. How's Norbert doin'?"

"Norbert?" Charlie looked confused for a moment before he laughed. "The Norwegian Ridgeback? We call her Norberta now."

"Wha-" Hagrid gasped. "Norbert's a girl?"

I turned to my brother and smacked him on the chest. "I told you!"

"How could you have known that?" Harry rubbed the spot I'd hit him. "And how would I have known that you would have known that?"

"How can you tell?" asked Hermione.

"They're a lot more vicious," Charlie said vaguely. He looked over his shoulder for a moment and leaned forward, lowering his voice while his eyes skirted over to his mother. "Wish Dad would hurry up and get here. Mum's getting edgy."

She was; she couldn't stop looking at the gate. I hoped that some of that concern was because she planned to test my cake and make sure that it wasn't going to kill me upon its consumption. Feeling our eyes on her, Mrs Weasley straightened herself up and turned to the large group in her garden.

"I think we'd better start without Arthur," she let out an airy breath, trying to quell her nerves. "He must have been held up at – oh!"

A streak of light came flying across the yard, inches in front of Mrs Weasley's face and onto the table where I was sitting. It looked around at everyone and it took me a moment to realize that it was a weasel – a corporeal weasel...it was a Patronus. The weasel stood up on its hind legs.

"_Minister of Magic coming with me_."

And with that, the silver wisps of the Patronus blew away on the breeze.

"That was your dad's voice," I said, immediately throwing a look to Fred and George, who sat only a few seats away from me. George took the time to look confused while Fred could only shrug his shoulders. At least he didn't seem worried, just confused.

"We shouldn't be here," Lupin all but jumped from his seat as the last of the Patronus disappeared. "Harry, Audrey, I'm sorry – I'll explain some other time. Sirius, hide."

I was going to make a 'time of the month' related joke but as I was opening my mouth he was already leaving. I couldn't deny I was surprised by how quickly he grabbed his wife's wrist and started to pull her away. It only took a moment before he was over the fence and turning on his heel to Disapparate; Tonks giving a quick wave over her shoulder as they vanished.

"The Minister," Mrs Weasley hummed, apparently as perplexed as the rest of us. "But why? I don't understand..."

"Do you know why he left?" I turned, turning in my seat to speak to Sirius. I was a little shocked when a great black dog with my godfather's most innocent expression was sat beside me instead of a human, but he still looked away to avoid answering as he normally would have. This obviously meant that he did. I didn't have time to pry, however, considering that in less than five seconds after I'd asked, Mr Weasley had appeared in front of the gate, accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour and a very large white box.

They came across the yard in at a march, poor Mr Weasley looked more out of his element and uncomfortable with each step he took. But there was an obvious reason for it – Rufus Scrimgeour looked around with a new level of determination as he walked toward us; he was, however, doing a poor job hiding his exhaustion behind whatever purpose he'd come here to demonstrate.

"Sorry to intrude," he was a bad liar. He brought his stride to a halt right in front of me. "Especially as I can see that I am gate-crashing a party."

His eyes lingered for a moment on the snitch cake before his eyes turned to the white box that Mr Weasley still held in his arms. "Many happy returns."

"Thanks," Harry said cautiously; I didn't even bother to address it.

"I require a private word with you," Scrimgeour went on, looking between Harry and I. "Also with Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger."

"Us?" said Ron, sounding surprised. "Why us?"

"Does it have anything to do with the fact you brought me a birthday cake?" I asked, narrowing my eyes on the white box that still floated in midair. "That is what that is, isn't it? I'll say thank you if I don't die after ingesting it."

"The cake was not my gift to you and I shall tell you what there is to be said when we are somewhere more private," Scrimgeour said stiffly. I raised my eyebrows at his authoritative tone – I would not stand for offensiveness like that, even if he was the Minister. "Is there such a place?"

Mr Weasley looked nervous, considering the lion was all but growling at him. "Yes, of course, the – er – sitting room; why don't you use that?"

"You can lead the way," Scrimgeour said to Ron, still not bothering with the illusion of being polite. "There will be no need for you to accompany us, Arthur."

"Rude," I stated promptly, ignoring the jab in my side from the dog who was on the ground beside me. Though I didn't like his attitude, my curiosity was peaked enough to actually follow Ron and the Minister into the house. His limp was becoming more and more pronounced the more tense he grew – whatever he had to say to us was going to be important. Which was bad – he must have known what we were planning to do; why else would he need to speak to _all _of us? Alright, maybe he didn't exactly know about the Horcruxes, but it wasn't necessarily a secret that we were going on a mission to kill Voldemort.

Harry flicked his wand, spilling light from the oil lamps in the small room. The birthday boy was showing off. Scrimgeour sat across from Harry, Ron and Hermione, who sat squeezed beside each other on the sofa; I was sure to sit on the arm so that I wouldn't have to feel so walled in – if he was thinking of anything he shouldn't be, I wanted to be able to attack him with wand, Magnuse, or fists if I had to.

"I have some questions for the four of you, and I think it will be best if we do it individually. If you three can wait upstairs, I will start with Ronald."

"No thanks, we'll stay right here, Sinister Minister," I told him, crossing my arms. "I don't trust you and my instincts are usually spot on."

"You can speak to us together, or not at all." Harry and Hermione nodded. The Minister clearly did not approve of us fighting against him. His oddly coloured eyes examined us closely, trying to see a tear in our resolve – he would be disappointed. After a long examination he gave an irritated shrug.

"Very well then, together," he cleared his throat. "I am here, as I'm sure you know, because of Albus Dumbledore's will."

I raised my eyebrows and Harry gave me that look from the corner of his eyes that we always threw each other when we knew something was wrong or didn't make sense – such as not knowing we were mentioned somewhere in our dead headmaster's will. That, certainly, didn't make sense.

"A surprise, apparently!" Scrimgeour sounded very interested. "You were not aware then that Dumbledore had left you anything?"

I glared. "Clearly not."

"A-all of us?" Ron stuttered, barely containing his shock, "me and Hermione too?"

"Yes, all of-"

"Dumbledore died over a month ago," Harry interrupted, looking almost as suspicious as I felt. "Why has it taken this long to give us what he left us?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, quirking my head to watch him closely. "They needed to make sure it didn't benefit _them _first."

"Exactly," Hermione agreed, her voice trembling with rage. "They wanted to examine whatever he's left us. You had no right to do that!"

"I had every right," Scrimgeour stated factually. "The Decree for Justifiable Confiscation gives the Ministry the power the confiscate the contents of a will-"

"That law was created to stop wizards passing on Dark artifacts," Hermione argued immediately, "and the Ministry is supposed to have powerful evidence that the deceased's possessions are illegal before seizing them! Are you telling me that you thought Dumbledore was trying to pass us something cursed?"

"Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?" asked Scrimgeour, trying to fight the impressed tone that he knew was leaking from his words.

"No, I'm not," retorted Hermione, sounding the closest to snide I'd ever heard from her. "I'm hoping to do some good in the world!"

"Well done," I smiled, Ron even took the time to laugh. Scrimgeour would hear nothing of our own rudeness, however, because he immediately turned his eyes back to my brother.

"So why have you decided to let us have our things now? Can't think of a pretext to keep them?" Harry asked, his tone condescending.

"No, it'll be because thirty-one days are up," said Hermione at once. "They can't keep the objects longer than that unless they can prove they're dangerous. Right?"

"Would you say you were close to Dumbledore, Ronald?" Scrimgeous asked Ron, ignoring the questions aimed at him. I gritted my teeth, my eyes moving to Ron who looked completely flustered.

"Me? Not-not really...It was always Harry who..." he stopped upon seeing the anger in Hermione's eyes, but it was too late; Scrimgeour looked as though he heard exactly what he needed to hear.

"If you were not very close to Dumbledore, how do you account for the fact that he remembered you in his will? He made exceptionally few personal bequests. The vast majority of his possessions – his private library, his magical instruments, and other personal effects – were left to Hogwarts. Why do you think you were singled out?"

"I...dunno," Ron stuttered; Salazar's spit, were all Gryffindors this bad at lying? "I...when I say we weren't close...I mean, I think he liked me..."

"The man is dead, it's disrespectful to question him as you are," I said, quickly interrupting and helping with my own lie and deflection. "Does your rudeness know no bounds? Being the Minister has not made you all-powerful."

"Nor does having Magnuse make you," he said back. I raised an eyebrow.

"We can always test that," I offered, my drawl low. "I've always wondered my limits-"

"_Audrey!_"

But the Minister was already clearing his throat and pulling a Mokeskin pouch – much bigger than the ones Harry and I had just gotten from Hagrid – from the inside of his robes. Once opening it he produced a thick scroll of parchment and began to unroll it, giving it a good look at it before reading it aloud.

"'_The Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_'... Yes, here we are. '_To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it._'"

Out of the mokeskin bag the Minister pulled out a silver cigarette lighter – but I had seen that lighter before and knew that the only thing it lit were any lights in the surrounding area...and it could just as easily snuff them out. All you had to do was click it. This gift was quite random, particularly to give to Ron; he took it with a look of disbelief on his face.

"That is a valuable object, it may even be unique. Certainly it is of Dumbledore's own design. Why would he have left you and item so rare?" Scrimgeour asked, even as he made it sound like a compliment; like he was saying that Ron's child was cute. When Ron couldn't find any words to continue, Scrimgeour continued to urge him. "Dumbledore must have taught thousands of students, yet the only ones he remembered in his will are you four. Why is that? To what use did he think you would put to the Deluminator, Mr. Weasley?"

"Put out lights, I s'pose," mumbled Ron, I was proud he had finally formulated words. "What else could I do with it?"

"He has a horrid fear of the dark," I stated, batting my eyelashes at Scrimgeour. Ron looked like he wanted to be rude to me, but he seemed to realize that flirting with the Minister's suspicions would be too risky and kept quiet. After a moment of examining him further, the Minister pulled out the scroll to read again.

"'_To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.'_"

The book that Scrimgeour pulled out of the pouch was as old and weathered as any of the books I'd seen in Hogwart's library. It looked like it would fall apart in his hands as Hermione took it from him, being careful of the peeling spine. The title was in Runes; something that only Hermione had learned to read out of the four of us. A tear splashed onto the book cover as she gazed at it.

"Why do you think Dumbledore left you that book, Miss Granger?" asked Scrimgeour, not bothering to be any softer when he noticed her crying.

"He... he knew I liked books," Hermione whispered, her voice already sounding hoarse from the grip the tears had on her throat.

"But why that particular book?"

"Does it look like she's read it?" I hissed out, he ignored me and Hermione heaved a shrug.

"I don't know. He must have thought I'd enjoy it."

"Did you ever discuss codes – or any means of passing secret messages – with Dumbledore?" Scrimgeour proceeded, sounding much more determined than he had with Ron. Apparently a book was much more suspicious than a lighter.

"No, I didn't," said Hermione, still wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "And if the Ministry hasn't found any hidden codes in this book in thirty-one days, I doubt that I will."

It was a good thing to say, even if I didn't necessarily believe it. I wouldn't be surprised if Hermione's IQ surpassed half of the wizards working on decoding something...after you combined them. Still, Hermione continued to sob; she let Ron comfort her as well as he could while the Weasley gave Scrimgeour a particularly scathing look.

"'_To Audrey Petunia Potter_,'" he read, his eyes meeting mine quickly. "'_I leave the Gaunt family ring, to remind her not of the good and the bad, but all the shades of gray between them_.'"

I raised an eyebrow, watching closely while he pulled out a heavy-set ring with a black stone and a crack down the-

_The Horcrux._

I fought to keep myself from glancing meaningfully at my brother as I took it from the Minister, who seemed reluctant to hand it over.

"Are you aware of the coat of arms on that ring, Miss Potter?"

"No," I told him, glancing down at the ring. It shone silver as it was placed in my hand; I tried not to frown and to keep my face even, even as I didn't understand it. The gold must have been tarnishing somehow, but I didn't understand why a Horcrux would be so beaten down – had it been like this when I had last seen it in Dumbledore's office?

"It is not the Gaunt family crest," Scrimgeour began firmly. "Miss Potter, did you and Dumbledore converse about the Gaunt family, or the Peverells?"

"I've never heard of the Peverells," I told him honestly. "But I happen to know that the Gaunts were a piece of work. You incarcerated them all, didn't you?"

"Indeed," he grumbled. "So you have no idea why this was bequeathed unto you?"

"No I don't," I informed him. "I assume you don't either considering I actually get to keep it now."

He pulled a face. "We found nothing to be suspicious over, though a headmaster handing his student a bit of jewelry is something that raises alarm. Did Albus Dumbledore ever dote on you?"

"If anything he doted on him," I snorted while I pointed my thumb over to my brother. "Speaking of which, what did he get?"

"Yes, I suppose I could move on," he cleared his throat, "'_To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill_.'"

Scrimgeour held the snitch between his fingers, holding it steady as the snitch writhed and flapped its wings hopelessly. It didn't even look like it wanted to try – perhaps the probing and prodding from the past month had finally broken the snitch's spirit. My brother's face scrunched before it fell – it seemed he was expecting something much more meaningful.

"Why did Dumbledore leave you this Snitch?" Scrimgeour asked, his voice much more level now – he finally knew something that he was holding back, waiting for my brother to slip up somehow.

"No idea," my twin nearly sounded like me when he was disinterested, but somehow he sounded far less aggressive. "For the reasons you just read out, I suppose...to remind me what you can get if you...persevere and whatever it was."

"You think this a mere symbolic keepsake, then?" He asked formally, not bother to move back in his chair but holding the snitch out for my brother still.

"I suppose so," said Harry. "What else could it be?"

"I'm asking the questions," Scrimgeour shuffled a little bit closer, trying to hide his excitement now that he thought he had caught us in some sort of lie that I didn't know we were telling.

"I notice that your birthday cake is in the shape of a Snitch," he was certainly not a Slytherin, he was not nearly perceptive enough or shrewd with his lies. That was the best he had – that my brother liked Quidditch? He needed a better angle. "Why is that?"

"Oh, it can't be a reference to the fact Harry's a great Seeker, that's way too obvious," Hermione laughed bitterly. "There must be a secret message from Dumbledore hidden in the icing!"

"I don't think there's anything hidden in the icing," said Scrimgeour.

"Just the cake," I corrected him. Hermione shook her head, getting more and more annoyed with the Minister's overbearing questions. He decided to continue, his voice much more level and hypnotic now that he was more confident in whatever it was he knew.

"But a Snitch would be a very good hiding place for a small object. You know why, I'm sure?"

"Because Snitches have flesh memories," she said, answering it as if she were back in a class room. Were it not so obvious that Scrimgeour had already been aware of this little tidbit of information, I would have been annoyed she might have just ousted my brother's secret gift; but she didn't look nervous at all and he didn't look surprised. They both knew that we would find out soon enough.

"Correct," Scrimgeour smiled, feeling like he finally may have won. "A Snitch is not touched by bare skin before it is released, not even by the maker, who wears gloves. It carries an enchantment by which it can identify the first human to lay hands upon it, in case of a disputed capture. This Snitch will remember your touch, Potter. It occurs to me that Dumbledore, who had prodigious magical skill, whatever his other faults, might have enchanted this Snitch so that it will open only for you."

Oh Merlin's maladies, I certainly hoped not. There was a part of me that hoped Dumbledore would be smarter than that, that Dumbledore would have known that it needed to be opened in private if anything were in it – but then again, I doubted he had expected it to be so closely examined for thirty-one days after his death.

"You don't say anything," the lion noted. "Perhaps you already know what the Snitch contains?"

"No," Harry muttered, looking from the corner of his eye to me and then to Hermione who looked like she was trying to work out some kind of plan to stop this all from happening – she wasn't working fast enough. Anything that she could think of seemingly ended up falling short of being subtle or sly. Well, maybe it was time to take a page from the Gryffindors books.

"Take it."

I reached forward, my hand wrapping around the snitch as I took it from his hand. Because he had been expecting Harry to take it he hadn't been holding onto it tightly. I scooped it right from him, throwing it into the air and catching it simply.

"You guys are far too dramatic," I stated, looking at it and frowning as I displayed it for the Minister. "Is this what you expected?"

"Audrey..."

"What? No one was taking it and I wanted to see if anything happened; we're twins after all," I examined the snitch for a moment, not seeing anything different about it. It had all those same intricate designs and the transparent wings that let it move so quickly – there was nothing special.

I swivelled on my heel, turning my back to the Minister while I handed it out to my brother. My hand gripped tightly around the snitch while I tried to hand it on an angle, tried to make it so if something _did _happen Scrimgeour wouldn't have to know about it. Harry looked from the Minister back to the snitch. Scrimgeour was protesting behind me and I could feel his eyes burning into my back, particularly when my brother's hand wrapped around the snitch. He stared at it, obscuring its view from Scrimgeour and I. The snitch's wings flapped restlessly before they suddenly stopped and recognised him as a seeker.

"That was dramatic," Harry said coolly, opening his palm and showing each and everyone one of us that nothing at all had changed besides that the snitch had gone to rest. "Nothing."

"Hmph," Hermione scoffed, crossing her arms. I couldn't tell if that was an annoyed huff or if she was disappointed that we were left as confused as ever. "That's all, then, is it?"

"Not quite," Scrimgeour turned to give me a glare with his oddly yellow eyes. "Dumbledore left both you and your sister second bequests, Potter."

I raised my eyebrows, unconvinced by his uneven tone. "And to think, I said he didn't dote on me."

"What is it?"

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor for you, Mr Potter," he said, his eyes skipping over to Ron and Hermione who both stiffened. "And Miss Potter, the Serpent's Skean is meant for you."

Well, that was helpful considering I had never heard of the Serpent's Skean, but it was undoubtedly Slytherin-based considering its name. I had seen the sword of Godric Gryffindor before – but it was quite clear the Minister didn't have it on him – there was nothing big enough to hold a sword and he was not moving to retrieve anything.

"So where are they?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Unfortunately," said Scrimgeour, "the sword was not Dumbledore's to give away. The sword of Godric Gryffindor is an important historical artifact, and as such, belongs-"

"It belongs to Harry!" Hermione demanded. "It chose him, he was the one who found it; it came to him out of the Sorting Hat-"

"According to reliable historical sources, the sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor," he argued back, straightening up to keep his composure. "That does not make it the exclusive property of Mr. Potter, whatever Dumbledore may have decided. Why do you think he-"

"To defend himself from my morning tantrums," I told him dryly. "Dumbledore knew well that I can be a monster to fight with when I've been woken up too early."

"This is not a joke, Potter!" Scrimgeour looked almost ready to jump out of his seat to try and intimidate me – little did he know how angry I was at the mere fact he dared to raise his voice after he had just been so rude with _our _bequeathing. "Was it because Dumbledore believed that only the sword of Godric Gryffindor could defeat the Heir of Slytherin? Did he wish to give you that sword, Potter, because he believed, as do many, that you are the one destined to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"I'm as much the heir of Slytheirn as Voldemort is," I watched him shrink back upon hearing the name and couldn't stop the smug feeling that followed it. "And I'm sure that Harry got Gryffindor's sword for the same reason that I got the Serpent's Skee or whatever it was-"

"Skean," Hermione obsessively corrected me.

"Right," I rolled my eyes. "Well, where is it then? I've never heard of it so I highly doubt it's of any historical value-"

"You would be wrong," the Minister bit out bitterly. "It belonged to Salazar Slytherin as the sword belonged to Godric Gryffindor, however Slytherin was not a man to battle in such ways and it was hardly ever used. Because it was hardly used, it was lost and it has not been seen in years."

I narrowed my eyes; his tone did not help me believe him. "How many years?"

"Well over a century," he informed fluidly. "Do you know why he would want you to have it?"

"I'm naturally a green eyed monster," I informed him with a grin. "I'm sure he just wanted me to feel as special as he made Harry feel, giving him a sword and all that."

"And the fact it's lost?"

"Well, I highly doubt he's the one who lost it," I told him seriously, as if I were educating him. "Just like I highly doubt that Dumbledore gave the sword to Harry so he could run Voldemort through with it – how do you think that would work, Harry?"

"Probably not well," Harry said, his tone just as condescending. "Do you think anyone has ever tried sticking a sword in Voldemort? Maybe the Ministry should put some people onto that, instead of wasting their time stripping down Deluminators or covering up breakouts from Azkaban."

The Minister's face started to go a very familiar shade of purple that reminded me of the Uncle we had parted with less than a week ago. I was immediately wondering whether or not he had any heart disease that we needed to be aware of if we continued to pester him as we were.

"So this is what you've been doing, Minister, shut up in your office, trying to break open a Snitch?" Harry continued. "People are dying – I was nearly one of them – Voldemort chased me across three countries, he killed Mad-Eye Moody, but there's no word about any of that from the Ministry, was there? And you still expect us to cooperate with you!"

"You go too far!" shouted Scrimgeour as he stood up from his seat. I was quick to stand beside my brother, who had also jumped up to meet his challenge. Scrimgeour limped toward Harry and jabbed him hard in the chest with the point of his wand; It singed a hole in Harry's T-shirt like a lit cigarette.

"HEY!" I screamed, lurching forward as Ron moved to stand beside me, his wand drawn.

"No! D'you want to give him an excuse to arrest us?" Harry growled, throwing out his arm to hold both Ron and I away from the Minister.

"Remembered you're not at school, have you?" the Minister sneered. "Remembered that I am not Dumbledore, who forgave your insolence and insubordination? You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned some respect!"

"It's time you earned it," my brother hissed in the same way...I don't know if I'd ever been so proud. The Minister, however, probably didn't have the same sentiment. He moved forward again, wand drawn and Harry suprressed a wince while he was burnt again – Harry didn't want to give him the power, Harry didn't want to make a scene. Luckily, Harry didn't have to; the floor underneath us started to tremble and Scrimgeour moved back, looking around wildly for a moment as if the house was being attacked before his eyes fell onto me.

"Sorry, Minister," I told him, my voice low. "I haven't got the best temper or control of my Magnuse, lately. This should be a good time for you to realize it's time to leave."

"Is that a threat?" He demanded.

"Not at all," I lied. "Consider it a warning. I do not do well with threats myself, sir, and I am not the best with restraint. You should leave before my Magnuse starts to act up again, considering I've already lost my temper – I doubt you want to test what follows."

It was while we were glaring at each other that half of the party seemed to run into the house to check on us. Apparently I had not only shaken the flooring of the Burrow, but some of the surrounding area – it had caused the adults to be tipped off that something was wrong. The big black dog that seemed to lead the herd barked angrily at the Minister, who didn't seem to know whether or not it was safe to take his eyes off me.

"We thought we heard..." Mr Weasley trailed off when he saw how the four of us were glaring at the Minister, how tall and ready to fight we all stood.

"...raised voices," Mrs Wealsey panted nervously, looking nearly ready to back away from the scene she had just walked in on. It took the Minister a moment to regain his bearings; looking down to my brother's shirt and at least having the decency to look ashamed with his actions.

"It-it was nothing," he informed, his tone formal as he regarded my brother. "I...regret your attitude. You seem to think that the Ministry does not desire what you – what Dumbledore – desired. We ought to work together."

"I don't like your methods, Minister," my brother raised his right fist, showing off how the words 'I must not tell lies' were still scarred into the skin there. "Remember?"

The Minister did nothing to try to redeem himself or seem polite as he turned on his heel and began to walk away from us all. Mrs Weasley followed him out the door and after a few minutes shouted "he's gone!" so that we could all finally breathe again.

"What did he want?" Mr Weasley was quick to ask. It was like we had all been frozen and when we were sure it was safe, we could all resume to act on the adrenaline that was pumping through our veins.

"To give us what Dumbledore left us," Harry explained before I could suggest that maybe we should inspect these things ourselves before we just go passing them around for everyone to see. "They've only just released the content of his will."

I gave a glare to my brother for freely giving out such important information. At the look he mumbled quietly under his breath that "we'll inspect them later, when everyone else goes to bed".

"Not before all those people inspect them for us," I hissed to him. He rolled his eyes, patting my shoulder in that condescending way which meant that he still couldn't agree with my paranoid, suspicious side. You know, that side that was usually right. And even then, it was neither paranoid nor suspicious, I was simply right: our contents were passed around for everyone to see as we went out for dinner. I could barely eat, considering that I was the only one to not hand my trinket over – it was a ring and I wore it to ensure that it would stay with me and me only. I let people like Sirius look at it as he held my hand close to his face, but no one was allowed to take it from me.

"It's not really your style," he informed. "A bit gaudy...and _gold_."

"I think it might be silver," I informed him, pulling my hand away to rub at the ring and try to determine which colour it was. "Some parts of it look it; it might just be tarnished this colour."

"Does silver look like that when it's tarnished?" Ginny asked, sitting down beside me. "I always assumed it went a dark gray."

"Sometimes, but most of the time it's more of a copper or dirty yellow hue," I told her, giving up on trying to rub the colour back into the metal. "Real silver, anyway."

Mrs Weasley brought out the food soon after and most people gave up on trying to understand the things we'd received considering no one could make any sense of it. I didn't understand why this man worked in such riddles – he could have just told us what these things were going to do or what they were supposed to represent instead of making us waste time by figuring this out on our own. Even if the Ministry had to look at it, he could have left us with some treasure map to the _real _reason...

Then again, maybe that's what Hermione's book would lead to.

"Drea, look!" Ginny let out a loud laugh. It seemed so out of place considering how seriously my thoughts were spiralling into thoughts of Horcruxes and death and the fact that I suddenly felt very unprepared and clueless when it came to Dumbledore's apparent 'plan'. I looked up with a glare...which melted away rather quickly.

Ginny was looking up towards the door that lead from the house to the garden. There was a lot of talking for a moment and the chatter turned into the familiar chorus of 'Happy Birthday' before I realized what I was looking at: it was a frog. A giant frog. A giant frog made of cake and dark chocolate, silky icing. It was a _Chocolate Frog_.

Everyone around me was singing and they were watching me to see my reaction and I had to glue a smile onto my face even though it hurt to think about what Chocolate Frogs _really_ reminded me of. This chocolate frog didn't move or leap, but it did look pretty fancy. When the singing and horrible harmonies were through, Fred and George screamed for me to make a wish and I blew out all seventeen candles in one go. Harry, with his cake at the other table, did the same.

"Here you go, Audrey," Mr Weasley moved over to hand me a piece of delicately folded parchment. "I was told to wish you the merriest of birthdays."

I took the piece of folded parchment from him with a smile, trying hard to grit my teeth against the pain of this birthday – last birthday I hadn't even remembered the day it was...part of me wished that I had dwelled back into that abyss. No, I was exaggerating and I knew it; nothing could be done when I was rutted that way. I couldn't think properly and if we were about to go kill Voldemort and find Horcruxes the _least _I needed was a focused mind.

_Stay Strong._

The words were written in slanted writing that made my heart skip a beat...it was Theodore's writing; I could tell it anywhere. I'd copied enough of his homework, graded enough of his papers and sent enough notes during class with that writing to not know the harsh, webbed angles of his t's and y's. Beneath it, another line of words in Daphne's bubbly scrawl:

_We miss you._

And finally, at the very bottom was another footnote. It was in that terrifyingly familiar, loopy scrawl that was neater than even my best attempts.

_Forgive me._

I pushed the card away from me as soon as the words sank in, finding myself shoving it under Sirius' hand while I stood from my seat. Everyone's eyes were on me now, especially when I turned on my heel and made my way out of the gardens. This birthday was officially over for me: I'd gotten my presents, I'd gotten a damned chocolate frog from _him _without the coward even being here and now I was ready to sleep until my next birthday – simple as that.

I was already climbing the stairs when I heard a couple hushed voices whispering behind me. I didn't need to look of my shoulder to knwo who the likely culprits were, but at the top I sighed and took a peek to see whether or not they seemed brave enough to follow me. No one should try to calm me down now; it would only make things worse. It was the usual suspects: Fred, George, Harry, Sirius and Ginny were all whispering together, apparently deciding who would come to get me. Some of them seemed for it, some against it – either way it turned into a task that none of them wanted to face. After what looked like a game of rock, paper, scissors – or possibly the more popular and magical equivalent of pixie, goblin, troll – George seemed to win his way to come up the stairs...until Fred jinxed him to have his foot glued to the bottom stair.

Fred bounded up the steps two at a time, stopping dead when he realized I was on the landing in front of him, having watched the scene.

"Well, at least now I know you're not that upset," he stated. "I would have left you to drown in your own tears if you gone all emotional."

"Lucky you. In fact, you're _really _lucky that I'm not as upset as George may be," I muttered, peeking down over the railing. Fred did the same as we watched George uselessly try to pull his sunken leg out of the stair. "How long will he be stuck there?"

"It works like Devil's Snare, as soon as he stops struggling he'll be free," he took a moment to call over his shoulder. "Mum will skin you if you ruin that stair before morning!"

"Ah yes, the wedding," I nearly grimaced at the thought of it. A wedding was not what I wanted to think about after I had received a chocolate frog from my ex...whatever he was. I hated remembering that I was seventeen years old and going to my third formal function alone. _Again. _I know that originally it didn't matter but it was almost making me self-conscious now – even if it usually is my own decision to pass the events.

"I'm sorry your birthday wasn't as much targeted on you as it could have been," he told me. "I wanted to write your name in the air with a firework, but Mum said it'd be too obvious. Then I was going to wake you up with a firework under your bed – but again, I was thwarted."

"I'm actually thankful for that," I rolled my eyes.

"At least you got some benefit from the gifts. A brilliant cake, too." He tried to keep his curiousity subtle. He failed. "I'm surprised you didn't want to stay to test the possibility of poison..."

"You know very well who got that cake for me," I told him. "I had no intention of indulging them."

"Well, now I wonder if it actually should be tested," he sighed dramatically. "And why you wouldn't eat it; it could be very cathartic, thinking of biting off their fingers."

"How is that cathartic?"

"Alright," he held his hands up defensively. "That might just be my own fantasy."

"I wasn't in the mood to dissect a frog," I said simply, even though I really meant that I wasn't ready to dissect all the memories that would come with it.

"Horrible liar. Absolutely terrible – I mean, it's true, you'd never dissect anything – but I'm disappointed in your lack of conviction," he told, his voice sounding stern even though there was that hint of laughter always hidden behind it. I tried to smile for him, which he made easier with every word, even though the curve to my lips still fell flat with the thought of that cake outside. "Now, my dear Audrey Petunia, you are better than all this moaning and groaning and I demand you stop. That bloke hurt you; I thought you didn't get mad, you got even? I'm disappointed in your lack of effort."

"I'm not mad and I do plan to get even – but that's half the problem, isn't it?" I twirled the ring on my finger, it kept me grounded as the thoughts of how hopeless thoughts of him bounced around in my mind. The thoughts and voices that begged me to do something, to act as Fred told me – to get even. If only I could. "He's who knows where, who knows when I'll see him – possibly on the other side of a bloody battlefield; that's when."

"Well, I'd never do that to you," he said simply. "I'll be beside you on taht battlefield and I'll give him a right piece of my mind. How he could hurt you like that-"

I looked to him, my eyebrows furrowing. "Fred..."

"It's your birthday, Drea," his voice, while still holding that laughter seemed suddenly much more serious. I sighed, turning to face him completely. He looked at me for a moment, as if trying to determine what I was going to say, or what he _should _say to get me to respond. And suddenly he leaned in...

I froze, the way I always froze. Dear Godric, was another Weasley about to kiss me? I mean, Fred had already kissed me once – that was true, but I had always pictured it as a one-time thing; a mistake that had been amde in the heat of the moment, for attention, for a nice big statement as they fled from the school in fifth year. I had never expected it to amount to anything...

Though of course I don't know why; Fred had been dropping hints ever since it happened. For the past week he had barely been able to keep his feelings to himself and before that the insinuation had been far more than that – it wasn't flirting, it was a suggestion. A reminder that, were I interested, he would wait. And now here I was, frozen as he leaned forward...and kissed my temple.

I pulled away from him, my chest contracting painfully as I remembered how Draco had done the very same thing to me; what it had led to and what it had meant. It was that kiss that had really started the spiral, that had really started the stupidity that was _Draco Malfoy. _And here was Fred...ruining himself by promising the same fate.

"Fred, I can't." I told him, backing up even more when I saw the disappointent flash across his features. He looked down for a moment, as if he were digesting the words, before he looked back to me with that same, ridiculous fire in his eyes which meant he wasn't listening.

"It's your birthday, Audrey," he repeated. "And you should get what makes you happy – chocolate frogs, or fireworks, or being able to torment small children that get in your way. Whatever it may be, I want you to get it...and I want you to realize that you make _me _happy. I've felt this way for a long time, you know that, and that you spent your time flirting around with _Malfoy-_"

"Fred, that's not just what this is about." I was not convinced by my own words. "Draco-"

"Kicked your heart to the dirt and gave you a birthday cake as repentance," he finished with a roll of his eyes. "Points for effort, but not for taste – well, perhaps for taste, that cake looked delicious – but the thought is _this: _while you had time to have him meddle with your heart, I've been a little too preoccupied with you meddling with mine. You're afraid that I'll leave you like he did, but I wouldn't..."

"But I plan on leaving you," I reminded him. "Harry, Ron, Hermione and I are going-"

"Oh, I know that," he said simply, leaning against the railing and looking down on me with that constant optimism in his eyes. "But it's not like you're leaving _me_, you're leaving the people trying to kill you – understandable really, I'd prefer it if you weren't dead."

"Fred," I sighed, looking away down the stairs where the other three seemed to have disappeared. "I love him – it's stupid and I hate it and I'd really like it if it had never happened, but it did and I haven't really had time to get over that."

"I know," he said simply. "Sad for you, really, because he's not worth the time. What you don't understand is that while you want this time to get over _him, _you haven't really given me the time to get over _you_."

I raised my eyebrows. "You never _had _me."

"Even worse," he acknowledged. "Forbidden fruit and all that. Besides, even if I haven't had you and he did, he still let you slip away – he's a moron."

"He had to run with them," I found myself defending him instantly. Fred shrugged.

"Or he wanted to."

I was immediately insulted, taking a step forward as I pointed my finger to his chest and glared. "Are you saying he doesn't love me too?"

"I'm saying you never would have left him – so clearly there's a balance off somewhere," he appeased, making my eyebrows furrow while he took my hand and pushed it away from his chest. "I've been giving you your time to get over him, Audrey but you haven't given me any time to get over you – so you're just going to have to deal with it as it lasts."

"I'm leaving," I reminded him. "So it won't last long."

"Oh ye of little faith," he snorted. "It'll just make you miss me more. By the time old Moldyshorts is dead you'll be running into my arms."

I grinned sadly. "Haven't you noticed the pattern of people I run to, Weasley? They die, turn into Death Eaters, or...well, those are the worst ones but it needs to be acknowledged."

"You're not _that _great," he rolled his eyes. "Stop giving yourself all that credit."

"Credit?" I blinked, not understanding how he could still talk about all this so lightly. "That's not at all what I was-"

"Ickle Auddykins," he teased, speaking to me as if I were a preschooler. "Did you give them the Dark Mark or cast the killing curse?"

"You know I have!"

He wagged his finger. "Not the question."

"Is this really the conversation we have to have?" I asked, crossing my arms. "It's my birthday, I should get to choose the conversations I want to have."

"It _is_ your birthday," he reminded pointedly, giving me a cheeky smile. "You should be happier and _not _thinking about all this rubbish in the first place."

I don't know what caused the thought to rise to the forefront of my mind; maybe it really was the fact that Draco was gone and he was here, or that Draco had run away from me and Fred had run toward me, or the fact that I was so alone I could feel my bones calcifying to never allow me to be held again...and I knew that I only had a short time to do it before I went running into a battalion set to kill me. Still, I leaned forward, stepping on my tip-toes so that I could reach his jaw and I placed a kiss there. I could feel his giddiness before I even pulled away and saw it. I nearly regretted it as I pulled away and saw how dreamy his eyes were...but I couldn't deny that the smile that was about to crack his face in two was endearing.

"Fred...Fred, look at me," he turned his bright eyes over to me. "It was just a thank-you kiss on the cheek; nothing more."

"It's a gateway kiss," he assured me, clearing his throat to try and sound more serious, but his voice still sounded too excited. "You'll be craving more in days to come."

"Er-" in days to come I would be gone. I would be on the hunt for Horcruxes and for his own safety Fred could not know where I was going to be headed. I cleared my throat, nodding my head softly against my better judgement. "Right. We'll see."

He gave me a broad grin before walking back down the way he had come. I went into my room and had hardly changed into my pajamas when both Hermione and Ginny came in. Both of them had small smiles on their face, as they slunk in and sat on the bed, their eyes trained on me.

"What a night..." Ginny trailed off. Hermione, just as slyly, picked up where she left off.

"It is. Everyone's in such a chipper mood..."

"Oh, I know you know I kissed Fred, don't try to be subtle," I informed Hermione. "You're horrible at it."

"Should I be worried?" Ginny asked, looking at me with careful eyes. "He really fancies you and that cake...well, I think he's going to murder it now that it's upset you. And if you kissed him-"

"Listen, I'm not going to date your brother. I'm not going to date anyone. The biggest competitor isn't even here to challenge him, is he?" I asked, shoving my pillow against my cot forcefully. Hermione turned to Ginny and quickly whispered that I was 'being passive aggressive'.

"I am not," I muttered again. "But say what you want – as long as it's to each other and not to my brother."

Both girls rolled their eyes, Ginny going to get her pajamas while Hermione came to sit by me. "You remember we're meeting to-"

"Yes. I'll leave when you do." Herimone nodded, moving to get into her own bedclothes while I laid there, staring at the ceiling and counting the speckles of paint that had sprayed onto the ceiling from whenever it was Ginny had last done her room. I couldn't tell you how long I sat there, thinking of the present, thinking of Dumbledore's gifts, thinking of Fred and how much he genuinely seemed to fancy me before Hermione cleared her throat. She was at the foot of my cot, looking anxious as she glanced over to Ginny's sleeping form. I climbed out of my make-shift bed and followed her through the room and upstairs to Ron's attic bedroom. She knocked on the door – not that she needed to – and entered to find the boys with their bequeathings in front of them. The two were playing with the things we had been given, still looking confused.

"_Muffiato_," Hermione whispered softly, pointing toward the stairs.

"Thought you didn't approve of that spell?" Ron frowned.

"Times change," Hermione informed tightly, giving us all a meaningful look before her eyes moved back to Ron again. "Now, show us that Deluminator."

Ron raised his hand, clicking the lighter once and making the light glide towards him and be swallowed whole by the Deluminator. There was a moment of silence as we tried to wait and see if anything else extraordinary would happen...but the room was still and silent.

"The thing is," Hermione sighed, "we could have achieved that with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder."

With another small click the room was illuminated again so that we could see just how defensive and upset Ron was that Hermione was devaluing his gift. "Still, it's cool, and from what they said, Dumbledore invented it himself!"

"I know," she said nervously. Who knew how Ron would react if he continued to feel like his gift was inadequate; she was quick to explain herself. "But surely he wouldn't have singled you out in his will just to help us turn out the lights!"

"Are you really afraid of the dark, Weasley?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "Because when I told the Minister, it was supposed to be a jibe."

"Ha-ha," he muttered, now officially a little embarrassed by the Deluminator that he quickly hid within his pants pocket.

"D'you think he knew the Ministry would confiscate his will and examine everything he'd left us?"

"He knew everything," I sighed, pushing on the knuckle that my ring sat on until I heard it crack. "Including that he would be dying and have to leave these specific things for us – they have to mean something."

"Exactly," Hermione agreed with me. "He couldn't tell us in the will why he was leaving us these things, but that will doesn't explain..."

"... why he couldn't have given us a hint when he was alive?" Ron asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Well, exactly," Hermione rapidly flicked through The Tales of Beedle the Bard. "If these things are important enough to pass on right under the nose of the Ministry, you'd think he'd have let us know why...unless he thought it was obvious?"

"Thought wrong, then, didn't he?" Ron scowled. "I always said he was mental; brilliant and everything, but cracked. Leaving Harry an old Snitch – what the hell was that about?"

"He's told us a lot of things over time," I groaned, pushing my hands through my hair. "I'll never be able to remember it – particularly not the Mermish."

"I've no idea either," Hermione sighed. Who knew that we would all agree? There was no hiding that all of us were tired and defeated; we couldn't understand something that I had a feeling was supposed to be rather obvious. Besides, we needed to get some sleep before the challenges _really _began. "When Scrimgeour made you take it, Harry, I was so sure that something was going to happen!"

"Did I break it by taking it first?" I asked making a face. "Because I just meant to delay it or make it so he wouldn't see whatever happened; I didn't want to _break it._"

"No, you didn't break it," Harry assured me.

"Well how do you know?" I pushed my palms into my eye sockets to push against the exhaustion headache that was mounting behind my thoughts. "It didn't do shite-all for you, now, did it?"

"Well, no, but I wasn't going to try too hard in front of Scrimgeour was I?" Harry asked me. I raised a brow.

"What do you mean?"

"The Snitch I caught in my first ever Quidditch match?" he probed, as if we were supposed to know where this conversation was going. I didn't. At all. "Don't you remember?"

Ron found his voice first, pointing towards my brother and rocking on his bed to try to contain his excitement. "That was the one you nearly swallowed!"

"Exactly," Harry told with a grin. Then, without a pause, he took a breath and pressed his mouth to the Snitch.

Nothing happened.

I blinked dully. "Well that was anticlimactic."

"Writing! There's writing on it, quick, look!" Hermione gasped, pointing to the snitch in my brother's hand. She was right. Right upon the smooth gold a ripple was created that swam into the crevices that weren't there moments before – ripples that made words.

_I open at the close._

"I open at the close..." I asked, watching as the writing disappeared again. "What's that supposed to mean?"

No one seemed to have an answer.

"I open at the close... _at the close_... I open at the close..." Harry muttered, repeating it over and over again until it just seemed like a steady stream of sounds without any meaning at all.

"So nothing, then," I muttered.

"Yet," Harry corrected me, nodding his head encouragingly. "We'll figure it out."

"Well, if you got a snitch – well hidden considering you're a seeker, Hermione got a book – because you're a complete nerd, and Ron got a...er...lighter," Ron frowned because of the pause I had taken. Apparently he didn't like me further discrediting his gift. "Then why did I just get a ring? I mean, I know that this was a Horcrux but-"

"_That's_ a Horcrux?" Hermione jerked forward, lunging toward it and taking it in her hands. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Because there were a load of people around us," I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore how uncomfortable I felt with the fact she was basically holding my hand. "It's a destroyed Horcrux; Dumbledore did it last year at some point. I saw how Tom Riddle got it and how it belonged to his mother and family beforehand."

"The crest is broken – a strange tarnish for this kind of gold," she was muttering to herself as she continued to investigate it. "It doesn't really look like anything special – but of course it's special, it's a Horcrux. It almost glows in the darkness, doesn't it? I wonder if that's some sort of magical residue. It doesn't look like it was spelled to crack, as I predicted, but-"

"Alright," I growled, ripping my hand away and in essence taking the ring from her. "Enough mumbling. I got a Horcrux – what did Dumbledore say in the will? It was something about the good and bad-"

"All all the shades of gray between," Harry finished for me. Hermione sighed.

"I assumed that it was to show you how a Horcrux would be destroyed, but the message indicates differently and we weren't exactly shown _how _that crack in the middle was caused, were we?"

"It has to mean something," I looked at the ring with such a strong gaze I felt like I might be able to strip the colour and the metal and elements from it, as if it the intensity would scare it enough to tell me. "He couldn't have given me something like this without a reason. Maybe it's something about it that will hint towards how to destroy them – can anyone make out the crest? Harry, does it differ from the memory?"

I shoved the ring toward him, watching him move his glasses closer as if he would see better as he examined it. He shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Great, so all we have to go on is a book, a lighter, a ring and a _ball_-"

"And your weapons," Ron added in finally. "The sword and the – er – scene?"

"Skean," Hermione looked up from the book in her hands to correct him.

"How is that spelt?" I asked suspiciously.

"S-K-E-A-N."

"It's letters spell out snake," I sighed. "Very clever."

"Exactly, it's surely a reason why Salazar Slytherin would pick that weapon," Hermione agreed. "It's the dagger that Scotsmen traditionally wear with their kilts."

Sometimes Hermione was her own textbook.

"Why would he want Harry to have the sword and who would want to give Audrey a weapon?" Ron shook his head. "Neither of you need extra protecting. Wands are better than things like that, anyway."

"And why couldn't he just have told us?" Harry agreed. "I was there, it was right there on the wall of his office during all our talks last year! If he wanted me to have it, why didn't he just give it to me then? And if Audrey's has been lost for over a century..."

"He's trying to get us to figure out one his puzzles, I know it," I grimaced. "I hate puzzles."

"And as for this book," Hermione's voice wavered with her stress, "the Tales of Beedle the Bard? I've never even heard of them!"

"You've never heard of The Tales of Beedle the Bard?" Ron sounded genuinely surprised. "You're kidding, right?"

"Er-" I paused. "Has he read a book you haven't, Hermione?"

"Well, Ron," Hermione sounded even more surprised than I was. "Do you know them then?"

"Well, of course I do!" All of us looked at him with raised eyebrows and clear expressions of shock. He seemed just as shocked that we were not following along with his explanation. "Oh come on! All the old kids' stories are supposed to be Beedle's aren't they? 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune', 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump'..."

"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice begging for him to make a fool out of himself again. "What was the last one?"

"Come off it!" he seemed to think _we _were the ones being ridiculous right now. "You must've heard of Babbitty Rabbitty-"

"Ron, you know full well all three of us were brought up by Muggles!" Hermione seemed a little embarrassed, her face red as she realized that hits was a Wizarding subject that even she, the most knowledgeable person I knew, didn't understand. "We didn't hear stories like that when we were little, we heard 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' and 'Cinderella'-"

"What's that, an illness?" asked Ron. I burst into laughter.

"So these are children's stories?" Hermione stated, bending over the book to read more thoroughly.

"Yeah," Ron suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed that he was so read up on them all and that we were not. "I mean, just what you hear, you know, that all these old stories came from Beedle. I dunno what they're like in the original versions."

"But I wonder why Dumbledore thought I should read them?" Hermione asked to herself as if she were frustrated that she didn't understand her own gift and we had all understood ours. Part of me wished that was the case.

"Why did Harry get a little golden ball, Ron get a lighter and I get a ring?" I asked her rhetorically. "Because Dumbledore is clearly mad – or he gives us a lot more credit than we're worth."

"Why _do_ you think he gave it to you?" Harry asked me, looking from each of the four gifts with a careful eye. The ring was obviously the most menacing, the most demanding in presence when you realized what it _actually_ was. Hiding in plain sight was exactly how a Horcrux should be hidden – just like with Dolores Umbridge and that damned locket. Still, there was no reason that made me think of why he would have given me a destroyed Horcrux and told me about seeing things in black, white and gray.

"Who knows? Dumbledore obviously has some sinister, out-of-body sense of humour, though." Then again, considering we were about to hunt Horcruxes that were made by a madman who had already tried to kill us multiple times, after having split his soul into seven parts...the whole _world _seemed to have a sinister, sick sense of humour.

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><p><strong>What did you guys think, everyone? Does anyone have theories of how the wedding in the next chapter is going to go? I can promise that it's going to be exciting. As for this chapter, I hope you liked it! To all my wonderful reviewers:<strong>

_Queen_**: Yes, the big mark is coming up rather quickly; it's actually unbelievable. I know I've written a lot but it doesn't seem like a million words! Thanks for reviewing.**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: The Weasley twins are amazing characters, I enjoy every time I get to read a chapter that they're in...especially when I get to incorporate Audrey. The Potter twins won't get along forever, of course, you have to know that Audrey can't stay so optimistic for so long without bursting at the seams with insults. I hope you liked this longer chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

_accio-logic_**: Ron and Audrey are always at each other's throats; I figure since he's the least forgiving of the Slytherins it would be the most likely – it's always fun to write. I don't have all the chapters mapped out to the point of knowing exactly Draco and Audrey will finally meet again, but we still have a bit of a wait. It's definitely not within the next five chapters and then some. At least there was a little piece of him here! **

_katie93319_**: Hopefully because I updated on the weekend you'll find time to read this chapter, since you (hopefully) can find more time away from work then. Yes, she and Ron are a lot of fun to write – I don't think they'll ever properly get along, but at least they aren't hexing one another or calling each other slags and rapists anymore. I'm really excited to get to the ending too, considering it's been hard to keep a secret while building up to it...but I think I'll be a little lost once I'm finished with this story, so part of me really wants to savour it. I hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Silver Hydrangea_**: Yeah, Ron has a lot of sharp-tongued quips, but maybe he'll be a little nicer now that they have really started focussing on the task in front of them. It will be quite a while before Draco and Audrey meet again, but it felt wrong to make them actually wait until the final battle: Drea is not that patient and will want answers far sooner than that ;)**

_Little Messers_**: Yes, the fact that Audrey was told something different than Harry is suspicious; I wonder if Audrey will figure out whether or not it amounts to anything. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story as much as you are and I hope you continue to right through until the end :)**

_anina_**: Thank you, though I have to admit that Audrey writes herself more than I do. She's turned into someone who seems as real as I am, I just move my fingers across the keyboard, haha.**

_Guest(1)_**: Audrey is observant, that's for sure, hopefully she decides to further delve into why they were told a different number. Considering everything that's going to happen, however, she might not find the time!**

_nzny1998_**: You're right, when Audrey sees Draco again it's probably going to start off with something violent, considering everything she's going through to try and accept what he did to her. As this chapter showed, Fred is definitely pushing for some romance between them; we'll just have to see if Audrey can accept that Draco is gone or not. Like you said, horcruxes need to be hunted as well, so who knows if they'll find the time?**

_Slytherin's Strumpet_**: I take a lot of time to write and it's been a few years of it, but I'm very proud that I've made it this far. I think there was a part of me that didn't think I could do it, haha – but here it is! I'm glad that you like Audrey and her vastly-different outlook on things. I don't necessarily think Theodore betrayed Audrey by ignoring her (and the troubles she went through from other people's bullying); I don't think I could look the person who killed my family member in the eye. I try to remember that though it was a long pause for us in chapters it was only two and half months for him to grieve. That's only 71 days to accept his father is gone and that his best friend was the cause. I will be addressing Snape's murder of Circe, Audrey's trouble with wands, and of course we'll get to see some Draco in later chapters. Hopefully you stick around to read it :)**

_siriusloverofpadfoot_**: I agree that reading on the computer (or electronic devices of almost any kind) can be hard because you can lose your place when you have to scroll, it's one of the reasons I like to write in the smaller paragraphs. Also, it's easier to break them up because Audrey's thoughts are in first person, so her thoughts wouldn't be fluid – I'm glad that you like it and her point of view; Draco will show up later in the story, I just wish it could be sooner...but as you said, I don't want to rush it :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_nannan_**: Thank you so much! It's great to hear that you've become so involved in the story, especially the things I dream up for what Draco may have been going through during the original. I was also disappointed we didn't hear more of him – especially since we know the bits of courage he demonstrates later to make up for his mistakes. I hope to show a little bit of where that courage comes from, even if Audrey wasn't in the original. As for Fred and George, this isn't the last we'll be seeing of them. Audrey is a resourceful Slytherin, so talented wizards like those two will be on her 'speed-dial', so to say. Again, thank you so much for reviewing and I'm glad you like the story!**

_Guest(2)_**: As of this chapter Audrey is 17 :)**

_Ahsilaa_**: Yes, the Deathly Hallows is a difficult one to rewrite, but I have some exciting twists and turns planned to help me get through this final portion. I hope that your own fanfic goes well – it's not the final book that will be the hardest, it's the Order of the Phoenix; trust me.**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: Dumbledore's different warnings can definitely be an issue in the future, but hopefully they can figure it out. Normally I don't read the chapter in the book, just the synopsis. I figure if I read the whole chapter I might just get lost in it and not give Audrey her own portion (particularly when she was in school; I didn't just want her to be where Harry was all the time). I know the books pretty well (alright, I'm completely obsessed so that's putting it kindly) so I usually know when an important moment happens – then I'll refer to the book so I can insert Audrey into that part. I hope you liked their birthday; the wedding is next chapter and it's pretty dramatic. As for Fleur, she's more of a comedic-filler character to me; I've never been the biggest fan of her but I love Bill, so I can keep her around ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Geinah_**: I'm glad you like the twitter account, I also find it really handy. It's great to interact with people and to let you guys know when the chapter will be coming out. I also like giving the quizzes, playlists, photos and the like. Again, thank you for all the compliments and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last.**

_PaulaWaula_**: I'm glad you came back to the story too! Harry and Audrey will always be a little at odds just because of their different (Hogwarts) upbringings, but in the end they'll always be twins and they'll always love each other and put each other first. Thanks for reviewing!**

_TwistedRaver_**: I hope you'll notice this when you get to this chapter, but don't worry: take your time. The longer it takes you to read the longer the story will live on! I'm already getting nervous about it ending so a part of me wishes that I were still taking it chapter by chapter like you get to :) The Order of the Phoenix is probably my least favourite as well, so I'm really glad you liked it. There was a lot of drama throughout it (particularly at the end) and it only gets more angsty as it goes into the Half Blood Prince (as I'm sure you noticed, haha). I'm really glad you like Audrey and hope that when you catch up to the Deathly Hallows you're as happy about it as you were about the fifth book. Thank you!**

_LovableAmethyst129_**: I feel the same way; hopefully the end is worthwhile :) Thanks for reviewing.**

_Geri_**: You're not going to get any secrets out of me, haha! I kind of wish that I could tell people how the story will end but there are going to be so many unexpected (or hopefully unexpected) things happening that I don't want to ruin any of the surprise. If Audrey were to die there would be a really good reason for it, I would never just kill any character off because they weren't necessary; even Nott's death had a purpose, after all. Yes, Audrey is meant to destroy the Horcruxes and Harry was meant to find them; even if Audrey is doing his work for him (what with finding the locket). I don't think that Audrey and Lupin are as close because Harry had more time with him than Audrey did; she was never able to produce a Patronus and I imagine her storming away from the lessons when she found out she couldn't. That left Harry and Remus more time to bond whereas she spent the time learning to trust Sirius :) Thanks for the review!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Your reviews are always such a pleasure: they're sweet and detailed and you always theorize (which you may have realized at this point is my favourite, haha). Audrey didn't really get to hear the end of what Daphne was saying, so we can only hope that it won't be something that will affect her too much...though, let's be honest, it will. Bill is also a preferred character of mine; this sounds silly but I can't actually remember if I liked him this much before I started this story. He just wiggled his way into Audrey's life and I can't really remember if I had a preference for him before that. Hopefully Fred's flirting – which is now quite bold – is still effective and enjoyable. He's just so amusing to write and, were Audrey more of a positive character, they could be a good match. But if we compare him to Draco? As much as I personally love them both, Draco is far better for her. After all, would she be fighting without the motivation to save him? As for Ron and Audrey...I honestly don't know. They'll be patient, certainly, considering what's about to happen...but I don't necessarily know if they'll be amicable. Anyway, I really hope you liked this chapter and thank you, as always, for the wonderful review.**

_Clare13_**: Haha, well I'm sorry it keeps you from sleeping, but I'm glad you like it! I'm trying to keep updating every week to week and a half; the farther into the story the more complicated it will get, however, and I might have to take extra to make sure the chapter is up to par :) As for Draco and Audrey, they will be seeing each other before the final battle, but if they'll be together (as in dating) that I cannot say. Thanks for the review!**

_Bertram Wooster_**: Welcome back and thanks for taking the time to review again! The plot definitely took some time to concoct, but I'm really happy with how it's turning out – I'm glad that you like it. Audrey is pretty much my pride and joy right now; I can't believe how attached I've gotten to her character so to hear all these things are wonderfully sweet; thank you. As for keeping characters in character, it can be hard – I will sometimes write a chapter and then change the whole thing because I think "nope, that's what I want to happen, not what would happen" haha; I've even had to change the plot a couple times to accommodate it! Thank you so much for taking the time to review :)**

_Spottedjay_**: You are actually too sweet. Thank you so much!**

_IrregularClara_**: These are all great suggestions for people. When I looked at them (or already knew who you were saying) I really see Grace Holley and maybe Karen Gillan as the most likely Audrey-look-alikes. No one quite fits what's in my head, but they are pretty good candidates; thank you! **

_Screen-seer_**: Yes, the story has become really long. The word count is also a lot higher because of these review responses, but I'm still over 800,000 words thus far. I never imagined that this story would turn into this, that's for sure! The story is a lot of work; if I had started a year earlier or later it might not have come out the way it did or even have time to be finished, so I'm glad that you like the plot and, of course, the characters – I'm honoured by how much you've grown to like it. I can only hope that I can continue this through the rest of the story and, later on whenever I finally finish them, my own original novels as well. If you have songs that remind you of GEM, let me know – on Twitter we have a Playlist going :) Thank you so much, again, for this amazing review!**

_CaptainAmericanna_**: Thank you! Two days is an amazing feat to read this story in – considering the length it's a monster (no pun intended...alright, maybe a little bit of pun intended). I try to make it as original as I can and I hope I can continue to surprise and break the mold of "Twin" stories. Thank you again.**

_Melody_**: Yes, poor Molly doesn't realize that they are just going to leave anyway. I can't blame her for trying, though; if I had children and they were planning to go off to do who-knows-what to defeat an evil Dark Wizard I would definitely be locking their doors and windows to keep them with me forever, haha. We sadly won't see too much of Sirius in the following chapter because he needs to stay hidden from people who don't know him, but I hope there was a good dose of him in this one. And don't worry; Audrey won't be playing civil for very long...that's not in her nature. Thank you for reviewing.**

_Asia_**: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I can't tell you who will live or who will die, that would ruin the surprise and the emotion behind it – but I can tell you that the epilogue will be quite different than the one in the books. I also have an alternate ending that will be posted (with an alternate epilogue to accompany it) later on. Again, thank you for the compliments and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**

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><p><strong>Lots happening in this chapter, isn't there? Fred's affections are really blossoming, Draco's made a bit of contact, Audrey finally doesn't have the Trace on her, and why did Dumbledore give her Gaunt's Ring? I'd love to hear your theories, guys.<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, Q&As, pictures, sneak peeks and more!**


	84. Fireworks

**Hello everyone, I know you're all excited to get to this upcoming chapter but I have a few quick things I want to say. First, and foremost, with this chapter I will be hitting ****ONE MILLION WORDS****. If that isn't amazing enough, please know that I have also just hit over one thousand follows and favourites, as well as over twenty-four hundred reviews. Guys, I am completely blown away and so grateful that you have followed along for Audrey's story this way. Thank you so much for everything...in honour of these wonderful milestones I have a very exciting chapter for you.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 83 – Fireworks<p>

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><p>"This dress," I threatened aimlessly to the thin fabric while I pulled it farther down towards my knees; it wasn't long enough. This stupid dress was not <em>close <em>to long enough and I was positive that people were going to end up seeing my arse – well, not _my_ arse, considering I was currently dressed as a tall blonde distant relative of Fleur...but an arse that was currently on my body nonetheless. "I can't keep it low!"

"She measured it when you were your normal height," Hermione explained to me, peeking over to the entrance of the marquee where my Ron, Fred, George and my brother waited to show people to their seats. My brother had been Polyjuiced to look like a redheaded Muggle from town, a much more subtle and realistic fit for the celebration compared to the pretty blonde Amazonian that I was made to look like.

"Well, it's still six inches too short!"

"It could be worse considering you're over six inches taller than you were," Hermione mumbled again. She was distracted while she watched whatever it was the boys were doing and I couldn't help but feel frustrated that she wasn't paying attention to my own frustrations. In this head-to-toe disguise I was near six foot, I was in _heels_, and my dress hit a very indecent place on my thighs – Harry hadn't been able to look at me and Bill had laughed when he saw me. The groom had insisted that I was well disguised, but I knew this was some sort of prank between the Weasley boys just to see if I could keep my composure long enough without bothering to commit an impulsive form of murder.

All in all, however, there was a nice turn out. I don't know why I would have assumed that there wouldn't be considering the Weasley family was so vast, but during times of war its funny how many people will lay down their fear for something that might bring them the slightest spark of hope. The waiters that had eased Mrs Weasley's cookie frenzy – and would hopefully later save me from being force-fed – were all dressed in white, dazzling robes which somehow meshed rather well with the gold jacketed band under the large willow tree. The chairs I had been forced to set – and had not believed would fit everyone, while I now worried there wouldn't be enough – were all backed with gold. The golden chairs lined a purple runner that lead to the altar; it was hidden under a marquee tent of white and gold flowers, with enormous golden balloons right above where Bill and Fleur would share their first wedded kiss.

Fred walked past, taking both Tonks and Lupin to their seats. Neither of them recognized me, in the same way that I hardly recognized Tonks with her golden-blonde hair set for the occasion. It was a strange sensation to be able to look at the twins and instantly tell which twin you were seeing. It had always been their favourite game, to pretend to be one another, but after hours of Mrs Weasley trying to hide George's ear behind hair she already deemed too long, she had given up...and Fred and George were officially no longer identical. George had demanded I fix this, of course, but I had yet to think of a potion that could rival my old mentor's Dark curses.

Godric, don't think about him – Sirius had already warned me that my scowl would give me away.

"Ah," Fred raised his eyebrows, bending into a dramatic bow in front of me. "Permetiez moi to assister vous."

"Piss off," I hissed to him. "There's a bald spot on the back of your head. Your French stinks. Go away."

"Oh, Drea," he sounded slightly surprised, but it almost sounded fake. He knew well that his French was bad enough to be charming, that there was no bald spot on the top of his head, and the only reason I wanted him to go away was because I wasn't in the mood for him to try wooing me. "I forgot that was you. You look quite different – a horrible transition, I'm afraid, though I wouldn't be too upset if you kept the outfit-"

"The outfit _is_ the horrible transition," I snapped.

"And to think," Ron muttered, walking past the two of us with one of his red-haired relatives. "Had you not opened your yap, the illusion might have worked."

I sent a solid glare the entire way with him as he walked down the aisle to seat the Weasley relative before he came walking back. Trying hard not to smile at my anger – if he was going to take the mickey out on me when I was in this mood, he was in for a rude awakening. I had no reason to be nice now that I couldn't be reprimanded by Mrs Weasley...

"There shouldn't be too many more," Fred noted as he peeked around me. "Most of the seats are filled."

"Yes, well your family multiples like rabbits, so I feel like there's no guarantee." Fred snorted to himself, opening his mouth to respond before he shook his head. It looked like he was really concentrating on hiding his laughter as he walked away. Ron looked like he had the same retort behind his teeth, but stopped himself as George walked past and grabbed his arm – smart move. The Weasleys may have been down a brother if he tried testing me today. I was so tall I could stomp on him if I wanted to.

"Oh, hello, Audrey." I looked to the side to see the little pudgy redhead my brother had transformed into for the day; beside him were two brightly robed, eccentric magical folk. One was that girl from school, Loony, who I absolutely couldn't stand and the other had to be her father – he had the same quirky style, the same blonde hair, and the same long nose.

"Er – we're supposed to keep quiet," I said to Harry, looking at him heavily.

"Barry-Harry didn't tell me anything," I raised an eyebrow at her innocent explanation. I was pretty sure we'd decided to call Harry 'Barny' today, not Barry. "You frown unlike anyone else I know and you always have your arms crossed when in a foul mood. So this is how I always see you."

"How sweet," I sneered.

"See? I knew it was you," she smiled as if I was genuinely happy to see her. "You look so strange being tall, Audrey."

"Alright, that's enough of that," I muttered. "Barry, dear, why don't you help the Lovegoods to their seats?"

He rolled his eyes at my condescending tone but continued to take them down the aisle so that they could find their seats somewhere in the middle of the horde of redheads. When Ron was coming back from his own trip with another ginger, he wiped his sleeve against his forehead.

"Nightmare, Muriel is," he grumbled. "She used to come for Christmas every year, then, thank God, she took offense because Fred and George set off a Dungbomb under her chair at dinner. Dad always says she'll have written them out of her will – like they care, they're going to end up richer than anyone in the family, rate they're going...er – wow, Hermione, you look great!"

"Always the tone of surprise," Hermione mocked. She really did look nice today; she had tamed her hair – I'd have to ask her secret later – and her lilac coloured ensemble was quite flattering. She looked much nicer than I did, anyway – I looked like a call girl. "Your Great-Aunt Muriel doesn't agree; I just met her upstairs while she was giving Fleur the tiara. She said, 'Oh dear, is this the Muggle-born?' and then, 'bad posture and skinny ankles.'"

"Don't take it personally, she's rude to everyone," Ron waved it off, his ears going slightly red.

"Talking about Muriel?" George appeared instantly, Fred right in toe with him. Fred took the time to give me a wink – I rolled my eyes to make sure that he could see it and then looked away...I didn't know whether or not this girl I had become was an obvious blusher or not. "Yeah, she's just told me my ears are lopsided. Old bat. I wish old Uncle Bilius was still with us, though; he was a right laugh at weddings."

"Wasn't he the one who saw a Grim and died twenty-four hours later?" Hermione asked.

"Well, yeah, he went a bit odd toward the end," George admitted.

"But before he went loopy he was the life and soul of the party," Fred explained. "He used to down an entire bottle of Firewhisky, then run onto the dance floor, hoist up his robes, and start pulling bunches of flowers out of his-"

"Yes, he sounds a real charmer," Hermione giggled; Harry, beside her, was bellowing with laughter.

"He sounds like _you two_," I snorted, pointing to the twins. I narrowed my eyes playfully, looking around for Mr and Mrs Weasley. "Are you sure that your parents are your _real _parents?"

"Well, Uncle Bilius never married, for some reason," said Ron with a smile.

"Still sounds like them," I laughed again. Both boys went red.

George looked away mockingly. "We are too busy for girlfriends!"

"Not too busy, not too busy," Fred corrected quickly, elbowing his brother harshly in the ribs. "There's always time for a girlfriend, George-"

"Oh, sure, you say that because-"

"Let's find our seats, shall we?" Fred asked suddenly, taking his brother by the shoulders and pushing him harshly away from us all. There was no stopping the laughter that made Fred nearly wince away from us all the faster.

That boy would never learn.

"You look vunderful," a voice suddenly said. I jumped at the sound, looking over my shoulder to see another man – a familiar man with dark hair, a heavy brow and a large smile that was boldly set on Hermione.

"Viktor!" she gasped, dropping the beaded bag with our supplies in it – she'd better not make me organize that with her later. Viktor Krum just couldn't stop himself from saying hello – and poor Hermione could not juggle her kindness quickly enough to avoid Ron's quick jealousy. "I didn't know you were – goodness – it's lovely to see...how are you?"

Ron, unable to control himself, decided to greet him far too brashly. "How come you're here?"

"Fleur invited me," Krum was evidently surprised by his tone and looked for help from some of us that happened to be around him. I had nothing kind to say to him or to Ron and I was sure there was a chance Viktor would remember my rude remarks, so I kept myself quiet.

It would be sad not to talk to some of the people here, as myself – but then again, it could be more fun to mess with them while I was someone else.

"She eez my cousin," I said, hoping the accented words were appropriate for one of Fleur's French cousins. Ron looked over to me with such a dark look that he obviously thought I had betrayed him. "She 'as said such good theengs about you."

"Hello. Your friend is not pleased to see me," Krum said quietly to us, as if Ron couldn't hear him. He took a look from each person, stopping at Harry and taking a glance to his matching ginger hair. "Or is he a relative?"

"Cousin." Harry said simply. I don't think that Krum was really paying attention either way – other girls who looked like me, who I highly suspected were veelas, had started to stare at him and titter. He was not only famous after all but he was the most famous here considering that Harry was in hiding. The Weasley twins were famous as well and I found them much more interesting, though for some reason women weren't usually as excited to see them; but I preferred it that way so that I could monopolize their company.

"Time to sit down," Ron muttered, sounding very annoyed.

"Right," I said back quietly so that only he could hear. "Don't want to get run over by the bride."

"Thanks for stopping with that accent," Ron said simply as we began to walk away. "It vas 'orreeble."

"So is your hair," I tried not to laugh as I watched him try to smooth it back. It didn't work. "But I was trying to be polite. Thank goodness you told me it wasn't necessary..."

"Shut it," he grunted, patting at the top of his hair again while he moved to sit down. I was separated from the brood today thanks to being one of Fleur's cousins, which means I sat on her side of the aisle while Harry, Hermione and Ron sat on the other. I got an aisle seat on the far side and apparently wouldn't be alone for long considering the large black dog that came to lay down right at my feet.

"Bonjour Snuffules," I said with my fake accent. He huffed loudly – it sounded suspiciously like a laugh – before he put his head down, panting through his own chuckles. Git.

The tent around Sirius and I was filled with warm, excited chatter that I tried to soak the energy from. There was excitement everywhere me and if I would have closed my eyes, I may have been able to imagine that this wedding was not taking place in the middle of a war. Somehow, the lights in the tent seemed to fade, even though it was still midday and the sun still shone above the flowery canopy. Everyone else seemed to realize it was some sort of signal that the wedding was starting because the entire party quickly quieted down.

I'd never been to a wedding before. I'd seen a few on television when Dudley was watching his programs, but even then he tended to skip over them because they weren't part of his daily dose of physical activity exerted by people who were not himself. This meant that I also didn't know what the difference between a Muggle wedding off the television would be compared to a Wizarding wedding; would there be any difference at all? Likely I wouldn't spot it unless it was some grand, magical movement.

Mr and Mrs Weasley strolled up the aisle hand in hand. They were smiling and waving at all their relatives, dressed in new robes – Mrs Weasley had apparently thought amethyst was a nice colour for the mother of the groom. It didn't look bad; in fact, she looked happier and more vibrant than I'd ever seen her.

Bill and Charlie stood when they got to the front, talking quietly to their parents for a moment. Charlie was Bill's best man – I don't know if that would be the wizarding term for his duties, or if there were duties to being a best man at all, but Charlie had filled the role. He'd even kept his hair relatively tidy for the day, even though I'd heard Mrs Weasley begging him to cut it this morning. I made a note to try and get to know Charlie better tonight; after all, he was a fellow dragon-lover.

After the Weasleys had separated, Bill stood himself as tall as he could and peered over our heads so that he could try to see his bride-to-be. A few of the people behind me gave a rude mumble, saying "elle est trop grand!" as if I wouldn't be able to understand them. I may not actually be French as I was pretending to be, but it was easy enough to understand what they were saying...I found myself sitting a little straighter so that I would block their view even more.

Music began, filtering around us as if from the golden balloons themselves, and everyone swiveled in their seats to try to get a look at Fleur. Again, I didn't know much about weddings...but I didn't need to know much about them to tell that she was stunning. Monsieur Delacour had her arm wrapped around his own and he looked like he was giddy from all the excitement. I didn't know much about dresses either, but Fleurs was much more simple than I would have expected for her grand personality: closely fitted and glowing silver...it made her stand out brilliantly from all the gold in the tent.

When she stopped in front of Bill – who looked so happy that his face might crack in two – Ginny and Gabrielle rushed forward in their own golden bridesmaid dresses to right the silver train of Fleur's dress. Both girls looked more done up than normal, making both of them somehow look prettier – and here I was, dressed like a skimpy giantess.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a man suddenly appeared between both Bill and Fleur – he was short, so perhaps I had just missed him, or maybe I had been as distracted by Fleur as everyone else seemed to be. His voice was whimsical and perfectly suited for weddings but I wasn't sure whether the couple was actually able to acknowledge him at all, considering they didn't look away from one another. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls: William Arthur Weasley and Fleur Isabelle Delacour. It is a wondrous thing, to find such beauty in such devastating times..."

At least I wasn't the only one to think it. I was happy for them, of course, but I couldn't help myself from being preoccupied by everything else that we had to look forward to. As stunning as Fleur looked, as beautiful as the wedding was, today was not only a mark in history for the Weasleys and the Delacours; it was the sign that Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were free to leave.

Not free, of course. '_Free to leave'_ was definitely a poor use of words. I was sure that Mrs Weasley would not feel guilty about keeping us hostage if that made us stay longer, but this was what we had been waiting for, wasn't it? We had said we'd stay for Bill and Fleur's wedding and now it was here, we were watching it unfold – what now? What happened now that they were happy and our keepers – such as Mrs Weasley – were distracted?

Now we ran.

And we would keep running.

And after we were caught, we'd escape so we could run again.

I couldn't help but think back to Draco, it was impossible not to. As much as I tried to ward him from my thoughts by pretending he had never existed, there was no denying how much I missed the simplicity of sneaking through the corridors in fifth year, or even the times I could rip his attention away from that stupid Vanishing Cabinet so that he would spend time with me as I healed. I missed it. I missed him.

But I shouldn't; he'd made his choices and I had made mine...and there was no reason to forgive him for them as he had asked. Just like he had no reason to forgive me for any move I was about to make against him and all of our friends. He had hurt me first and I tried not to resent him for it, I really did, but there was no denying the bubble of betrayal that seared within me when I thought back to the night that Dumbledore had died. He'd had the chance to run with me...and he hadn't taken it. So now here I was, planning on avenging his stupid decisions.

No, that's not what I was doing and it was something I constantly had to remind myself. Though this anger and my willingness to be involved in this plan had been created to be thanks to Malfoy, it was not just for him that I was fighting. I was fighting for everyone _like _him; everyone who had their choices ripped away from them. Because maybe, if Draco had some safer choices to pick between, he wouldn't have made the ones he had...maybe he wouldn't have hurt _me._

Sirius whined under his breath, drawing my attention away from my own thoughts when he placed his large head on my foot. I winced when I noticed that I had burnt the side of my chair as I'd gripped it...considering how much I tried not to think about Draco, he certainly left his mark.

"Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle to be your wife, your partner, the holder of your heart and soul?"

"I do," he smiled at her in that way that every fairytale novel promised every woman. Not that I wanted it, not that love was what I _needed_ right now. In fact, maybe I never needed it again considering the few times I'd taken to say it had been to someone who had _broken_ those words for me...but there was no denying how much one could miss the sensation.

"And do you, Fleur Isabelle, take William Arthur to be your husband, your partner, the holder of your heart and soul?" I could hardly hear her response considering Hagrid had gotten emotional and was blowing his nose into the same handkerchief I'd seen since first year. It sounded like a sad elephant.

"Then I declare you bonded for life," the man said, holding his hands over Bill and Fleur to release a shower of silver stars which fell over them as they kissed. The effect was beautiful and my favourite twins lead a roaring round of applause while gold trinkets melded with the silver stars to float around them for the perfect picture moment, complete with a beautiful happily-playing wind chime.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the little man called as they finally stopped attacking each other's faces. "If you would please stand up!"

We all did so, a few of us moving around while the applause still sounded. The scarves wrapped around the backs of the chairs rose from their places at the same time that the walls of the tent around us vanished. Beneath our feet a pool of molten gold skid beneath our shoes to create a solid dance floor that overlooked the beautiful farms and orchards moving closer to town.

"May I present Mrs William and Fleur Weasley!"

Applause strengthened again while they kissed and made their way from the podium down to the fresh, golden dance floor. I was hardly distracted by the tables that appeared and our chairs, which we had all risen from, forming around them with the scarves from the back of them helping to decorate each table setting. It was really a fluid transition between ceremony and reception; something only magic could have accomplished.

Bill and Fleur were hardly acknowledging the people around them as music started to filter from the golden balloons again. I didn't recognize the song, but it was slow and somewhat traditional – perfect for a first dance after they were wed. They looked good together; they worked in a way I hadn't really expected them to when I had first heard they were dating – Fleur was so uptight and high-maintenance, whereas Bill was carefree and relaxed. But maybe that was why they worked...maybe they created some sort of balance.

"Are you _crying_?" I looked over my shoulder to see Fred looking as if I had just slapped him in the face. I brought the back of my hand up to wipe under my eyes – alright, there was a small bit of moisture there but I was sure that it hadn't been much. There was no way I would have been crying because of Bill and Fleur – if anything, I had cried over the thought of Draco, or the mission or the sun had gotten into my eyes...still, I doubted he would take my excuses and of _course_ Fred wouldn't miss it.

"No, all the gold reflected into my eyes and made them water," I argued, wiping at the other, glad to find it dry. "It's different."

"And to think, I always thought you were a better liar," he commented with a smile, cutting himself off as one of the waiters walked past with trays of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and Firewhiskey. "What would you like?"

I looked at my options but before I had a chance to answer Fred picked up two small glasses of Firewhiskey and handed one over to me. I raised an eyebrow at him, to which he gave a cheeky grin and a simple, "don't pretend it's not what you'd have chosen. You can use it to chase down _this._"

He handed me a bottle of Polyjuice potion that I knew I had to drink sooner rather than later; my hour was probably very close to being up. Besides, Fred was half-right about the drink. Firewhiskey reminded me of my time with the Slytherins, which was a depressing thought in itself considering it was thanks to this wonderful little drink that a lot of the events I remembered best had happened: Draco's fight with Montague, Draco admitting his possible feelings for me, my growing closer with my group of friends as a whole...and then there was the fact that all that had happened because Firewhiskey made everything _seem _so much simpler. So while it brought back all those bittersweet memories, as the liquid burnt down my throat it made them easier to bear.

"Are you alright?" Fred asked after I had taken the shot. He took it from me so I wouldn't have to hold it. "You seem a bit off."

"I don't feel comfortable around romance," I told him simply, using my new found height to scan the crowds to find my new-bodied brother and his friends. "They're so sweet it's sickening."

"Now that's just not true," he laughed. "I don't think this new body of yours is helping your lying."

"Or you're just getting really bad at assuming," I smirked back at him. He decided that he had no comment and resumed to following my line of sight as I looked around the reception.

"Looking for your brother, yeah?"

"Yeah and where might _yours _be?"

He smirked to himself, his eyes flitting off to the side as if he knew _exactly _where George was, even if he wasn't about to tell me. "Off seducing one of the veela cousins, I suspect."

"Like you are?" I raised an eyebrow. He held up his hands defensively, though the smile that was threatening to tear his face in two was enough to see past the pretense.

"I have said nothing of the sort. It's not the veela cousin here that I fancy, love. Besides, I'm sure George is quite capable: he's quite the looker, you know."

"I agree," I winked at him. "George is by far the most attractive Weasley at this wedding. His battle scars really keep him rugged and unattainable."

"And yet," Fred said slowly, raising his brows expectantly. "I can still tell you're lying."

Again I found myself hoping that this girl, who I had stolen the identity of, did not blush quite as easily as I did. I turned away from him with a scoff, scanning the crowd again so that this new body wouldn't betray me.

"Oh, I think I see Harry – er, I mean Barny. Shall we go join him?"

"I'm going to go find George and actually make sure he hasn't scared any of those veela cousins with the hole in his head," Fred said simply. I smiled at how bluntly he had insulted his own twin and not batted an eye – it was why I got along with Fred better; he was the harsher of the two twins. "I honestly believe some of his brain fell out when it happened."

"I didn't know he had brains to lose," I said just as simply. "Tell him I say 'allo."

"Oh, there's no need; I'll be finding you later," Fred smiled. "You owe me a dance."

My smile dropped off my face as if I had forgotten how to – momentarily I might have. I didn't want to dance with anyone, nevertheless Fred; nevertheless when he was saying something like _that_...Cedric had said that. Draco had said that...and look where they were now. Though I had more faith in Fred than I may have in those two, comparing him to them only made me fear for the impending war even more. Would I lose Fred the way I had lost both men to Voldemort?

"Alright, then we'll talk," he said quickly, holding my arms as if he were scared I was about to faint. He wouldn't have been able to catch me if I did; I was nearly as tall as him now. Still I found myself nodding quickly, desperate to get away from him and find some kind of peace with my brother. He let me go more easily than I'd expected...or maybe that was because he saw just how spooked I was. Either way, I was happy when I saw my brother – or rather the little kid from the village that I knew was actually my brother, sitting at a table. He was talking to someone with wide shoulders...as I got closer, I could see that he was talking to Viktor Krum.

"Bonjour, Barny," I said in my poor impression of a French accent. "You must be Viktor Krum."

"I am," he stuck out his hand and when I placed mine in own he actually kissed the back of it. Gross and _so_ tacky. "Who are you?"

"Clémence," I smiled back at him as politely as I could.

"Do you know this man, Lovegood?" I followed where he was pointing to see the man dressed in yellow robes who I had noticed with Loony earlier. Now that he was even closer and animatedly talking to someone about Rowena-knew-what, it was quite clear I had been right about Loony's parentage.

"No," I said simply.

"Viktor here was just explaining how he's wearing Grindalwalds mark," my brother said with a particular emphasis. I sat down between the two of them, trying to keep my interest more polite than it really was.

"Oh, I'd love to 'ear, s'il vous plaît."

"Grindelvald killed many people, my grandfather, for instance. Of course, he vos never powerful in this country, they said he feared Dumbledore – and rightly, seeing how he vos finished. But this, this is his symbol, I recognized it at vunce: Grindelvald carved it into a vall at Durmstrang ven he vos a pupil there. Some idiots copied it onto their books and clothes thinking to shock, make themselves impressive – until those of us who had lost family members to Grindelvald taught them better."

Krum cracked his knuckles as if he were going to go and show Mr Lovegood that very same lesson, which distracted him enough from the look my brother threw me. It didn't really make sense to have someone like the Lovegoods supporting Dark magic and no one else seemed to be upset by the fact it was dangling around his neck...I wouldn't be surprised if he was wrong. Krum had not been the smartest back in fourth year – as seen by the fact he nearly killed his dragon, all its eggs, and he hadn't been able to fully transfigure himself...so I didn't think that graduating and becoming more famous thanks to his broom would help that.

"And 'ou are quite sure, Viktor?" I asked. Krum did not look at me with as much venom as he looked at the man in question, but his eyes were still quite dark.

"I am not mistaken," said Krum firmly. "I walked past that sign for several years, I know it vell."

"Well, there's a chance," Harry interrupted, quick to defend him, "that Xenophilius doesn't actually know what the symbol means, the Lovegoods are quite...unusual. He could have easily picked it up somewhere and think it's a cross section of the head of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack or something."

"The cross section of a vot?"

"Indeed," I muttered, rolling my eyes as I saw that Xenophilius – what a name – was still using large hand movements with the wizard he was talking with. I bet that's _exactly _what he was talking about.

"Well, I don't know what they are, but apparently he and his daughter go on holiday looking for them...that's her," Harry pointed at Loony-Luna who had I hardly noticed was on the dance floor, completely alone with her eyes closed and waving her arms as if swatting at a swarm of bees.

"Vy is she doing that?" asked Krum.

"Probably trying to get rid of a Wrackspurt," Harry seemed quite sure. Krum seemed offended, as if he didn't know whether or not my brother was insulting him and actually drew his wand from his robe, though he didn't bother to aim it. Instead threatening sparks flew from the end and my eyes narrowed.

"And what are 'ou doing, meezter Krum?" I asked, my voice darker than I meant it to be. It immediately seemed to draw the attention of another friend, considering that Snuffles was by our side in a moment – growling viciously at Viktor Krum as if he had just kicked Harry in the teeth.

"Call of your dog," he pointed his wand to Sirius, who did not take kindly to the threat. I put my hand on Sirius' back to try and calm him down, looking over to my brother to see if there was anything he was going to try doing to rectify the situation he had caused, but he was all too distracted.

"_Gregorovitch_!" my brother suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs. Krum looked nearly nervous for my brother's mental state and I couldn't deny that I was with him.

"Eez everytheeng okay?" I asked slowly, Snuffles looking from Harry, to Krum, and back to myself to ensure that a duel wasn't going to break out on the side of Bill and Fleur's dance floor. I don't think he got a straight answer considering that Harry, smiling wide, did not reply to me.

"Vot about him?" So Krum knew this mystery word? Perhaps Harry wasn't crazy as I initially – and commonly – feared.

"He's a wandmaker!" Harry explained to me, rather than to Krum beside us. I raised my eyebrows, still at a loss.

"I know that," Viktor stated simply, again speaking slowly as if it would help Harry catch on to his own confusion.

"He made your wand! That's why I thought – Quidditch-"

"Barny," I said slowly. "'Ou are soundeeng crazy."

Krum didn't seem concerned as I did, but rather very suspicious. "How do you know Gregorovitch made my wand?"

"I...I read it somewhere, I think," Harry answered nervously, realizing that all his excitement had made him lose himself and possibly his cover. "In a...er – fan magazine."

Krum watched him closely for any sign of a lie, but eventually seemed to give up and believe him. "I had not realized I ever discussed my vand with fans."

"So... er... where is Gregorowitch these days?"

What the hell was my brother playing at?

"He retired several years ago. I was one of the last to purchase a Gregorovitch vand. They are the best – although I know, of course, that your Britons set much store by Ollivander."

Harry nodded to himself quietly, not answering and not letting me in on whatever thoughts he was getting himself lost in. I waited with the two of them for a moment, waiting for my brother to clear his thoughts and let me know whatever it was he had come up with, but Krum was the first to break the silence between us.

"You are nice-looking," Krum said looking to me and smiling. Ew – I'd hoped never to see him this way. "Vould you like to dance?"

"She's spoken for," Harry said quickly, looking to Krum with slightly narrowed eyes – aw, to think my brother was being brotherly...for once. "Fred Weasley, that twin over there..."

I widened my eyes, looking at my brother in horror. I lied, he wasn't being brotherly at all! That _traitor! _Harry might as well have just told him I was a bloody squib – what the hell is wrong with him?

"It is too bad," Krum said, looking over to Harry and turning to scan the dance floor away from us. "This girl is very nice-looking, too...she is also a relative of yours?"

He was pointing to Ginny. Oh, Karma is far too sweet to me. I was about to open my mouth and explain exactly how single Ginny Weasley happened to be, but Harry and his own envy were a faster draw.

"Yeah and she's seeing someone. Jealous type. Big bloke. You wouldn't want to cross him."

"Vot," Krum drank the rest of his drink, giving me a wink. "Is the point of being an international Quidditch player if all the good-looking girls are taken?"

"Well, ze boy she eez dating, 'e is not so scary," I said with an innocent smile, batting my eyelashes for emphasis. "'Ou could go chat weeth her. She _loves_ Quidditch."

Krum grunted, making his way toward her. Harry looked at me in much the same way I had looked at him and pushed my shoulder roughly. Had I been my normal size, that kind of push would have toppled me right out of my chair. I made a face of distaste that was ruined by the fact I wanted to laugh at his childish reaction.

"Oi, play nice!" I growled. "You lied first!"

"You just pushed my girlfriend into a dance with some famous bloke-"

"Alright, first: she's not your girlfriend," I stated, straightening myself on my chair and giving him a warning glare to never push me like that again. "Second, if you want her to be dancing with some _other _famous bloke, _you _should ask her."

"But I-"

"I'll tell Ron to sod off if he bothers you; I'm in the mood to hex someone anyway, now that I legally can."

Harry looked torn between Ron, who was dancing with Hermione and Ginny, who was currently talking to Viktor Krum, even though Lee Jordan was still quite protectively dancing near her; as if to step in if needed.

He chose Ginny.

Jealousy always won out in the end.

He didn't really dance with her, it looked like. Even Harry knew better than to turn her off with his rotten dance moves, but he did make some sort of conversation with her. Ron didn't even bother to pull them apart as he delivered the next dose of Polyjuice potion, even when he saw that they were flirting at an abandoned table in the corner...I think he just wanted to find Hermione, who had come on a mission to give me my own Polyjuice fix. Fleur's cousin tasted flowery...which you think would be nice until you actually tasted the dirt the flowers were dug into. That said, _anything_ was better than turning into my brother again.

The rest of the wedding went as I had expected weddings should – with the added flair of the magical and dramatic. The music stopped while Bill and Fleur cut the cake – where two phoenixes took flight from the topper; bottles of champagne floated around to us so we could toast them as they ate their slices. Fred, who was at a table across from my own, took out his wand and looked about ready to jinx the couple as they fed each other...luckily his mother stopped him with a sharp slap to the back of his head. Or maybe, for my enjoyment, not so luckily. But still, it was pleasant: a nice memory to take with me.

"You either need to cheer up," there was no mistaking Fred's voice as he came to plop down beside me. His hand was outstretched with a fancy champagne flute. "Or you need to drink more."

"Won't one lead to the other?"

"Precisely the point," he nodded expectantly down to the glass in his hand and smiled cheekily when I took it from him.

"Thanks," I took a sip from the champagne. It was real champagne, brought in from France by Fleur's parents who insisted on getting the most expensive, traditional champagne they could find. Despite the carbonation it went down rather easily – something I could tell Fred had taken advantage of thanks to the bit of flush to his face and glaze to his eyes. "Having a good time?"

"Brilliant, but it could always be better," he shrugged, taking a sip from his own glass which I was nearly positive he had conjured out of thin air when I wasn't looking.

"I bet," I looked to him with a smirk and a raised brow. "How's your head?"

He frowned. "All I wanted was to create an adorable scene of them shoving cake in the one another's faces. It would have been my crowning glory, hardly even a prank – a _memory_."

"Well, you still provided amusement while you were abused."

"It's my job," he quirked his head to the side, realizing the pun. "Quite literally."

"So clever, Weasley," I drawled, finishing off the glass of champagne. It couldn't have been very strong because my head wasn't swimming and I didn't feel at all dizzy, but I was starting to feel a little warm so the however many glasses of alcohol I'd had were beginning to take their toll.

"You owe me a dance, you know," Fred stated. I looked at him in shock, I could imagine I looked like a deer in the headlights while all the worries started to pile up again. He held his hands up defensively, leaning back in his seat. "I'll give you your time to do it when you please – but you _do _owe me one."

"What a gentleman," I frowned, the sarcasm clear. If I didn't want to dance it would be more gentlemanly to not force me rather than to let me 'have time' to come to terms with it...but he wasn't about to let me off so easily. He knew that eventually, he would get his way or get some sort of trade – either way, he would benefit from his perseverance. It was something I admired and loathed about him. He didn't really say anything, just whistled as if he were actually waiting right _now. _Then again, knowing Fred, he probably was.

There was no part of me that wanted to get up on the dance floor, not the part of me that looked like Clémence or the real part of me that was still Audrey or any other person that I still had to live through now that we were going to start breaking the law. I could have posed as a professional dancer and this still would be something I didn't want to do...and the worst part was that it wasn't just the dancing itself that frightened me; it was the idea of what happened _after._

After the first dance I'd gone to, when I had danced with Draco and not with Cedric, Draco had confused me and Cedric and I had grown closer despite the ruined night. And then Cedric died. _That_ was bad enough of a memory in itself. But then add to it that last year I had gotten to dance with yet Draco again, after lying for him and letting him get away with his Death Eater actions once _again_. After I had gotten in a confrontation with a vampire that talked about death and then_ he _had taken him away to talk to him about Death Eater things...my mentor, my enemy, _Snape._

"Alright," I said suddenly, standing up to stand taller than the fog of misery that was clouding me. I was desperate to think of anything else, to have any other emotion linked to the idea of a dance, of a party, desperate for _something _that didn't lead back to Draco, to Snape, and to everything I had lost in June. "Let's dance."

Fred looked shocked for a moment before he narrowed his eyes. "I thought this would make you unhappy. Now that I'm getting what I wanted, I'm suspicious."

"Do you want to dance or not?" He gave me a blinding smile before taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor. Godric, this Clémence person was nearly as tall as he was – and it was a strange sensation dancing with someone you were nearly as tall as; especially when I was used to being so small in comparison...or, to be honest, just being small in general. Fred held me closely, much more closely than either time I had danced with Draco. He was not as graceful either, but the care he held me with distracted from it. It made me uncomfortable just noticing how intimate he was making it, it made me try to wiggle away from his hold...even if it was comfortable.

I was uncomfortable with the fact I was _comfortable._

Had Draco ever done a number on me.

"I was going to ask you to the ball, you know," he said after a few moments. I looked at him with a furrowed brow. "To the Yule Ball, I mean. The only reason I didn't was because you said you weren't going; George told me how upset you were that I took Angelina."

"Yeah, well, you're brother's a liar." I huffed. Fred smiled a little.

"He's a better one than you are, I'd bet."

"I was upset, but not that you were with Angelina," I said quickly. "I was upset there was no one to have any fun with. That ball was terrible; and don't think I don't know how you work, Weasley – you only wanted to ask me because you knew I'd say no."

Fred laughed boisterously, drawing the eyes of most of the people dancing around us. "I wanted to ask you because I fancy you."

"Fanc_ied_."

"Oh, come on. At this point you have to know that I do," he smirked again, winking slightly. "I did then, too."

There was no point playing coy anymore. I sighed. "And just how long have you fancied me?"

"That's hard to say," he looked away from me as he thought. "As long as I remember, really."

"That's gross," I informed him apathetically. "I was _eleven._"

"Alright, calm yourself," he said in a voice that sounded much more insulted than he actually looked. He was clearly leading up to something. "The crush grew as I grew; it was never anything rude."

"I don't believe you."

He winked again. "You shouldn't."

"You know that I am..._was_," I corrected quickly, feeling my insides lurch as if I had just had just scared myself with my fumble of words. "That I _was_ dating Draco..."

"I said it before and I'll say it again, Drea," Fred began, looking at me with more seriousness than I may have ever seen on his face. I think we stopped dancing, or I had just noticed that we had stopped swaying, so that he knew I was paying full attention to his words. "You need time to get over him, I can wait. But what you don't understand is I would need the same time to get over you...and I haven't had that. So the fact remains: I fancy you."

"I wish you didn't," I whispered, looking down at my feet. He started spinning the two of us in a slow circle so that I hardly moved; it made the small bit of alcohol mixed with the downward spiral of my thoughts seem all the more catastrophic. Fred couldn't fancy me; it would be too painful for him when I couldn't rid myself of Draco and it would be too painful for me having to remember that I was _supposed _to.

"For looking so Irish you don't have much luck," he said to me simply. When I gave him a small glare, he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders confidently. "I'll wait – you'll come 'round eventually."

"And how are you so sure about that?"

"You've always flirted back," he stated confidently, as if he were answering about the state of the weather. "Eventually that has to amount to something."

"And when it's not what you hope?" I hinted, clenching my teeth together out of frustration – I just wished that he would get the point. I wished that he would understand that as wonderful a guy as he was, there was no way it would work. Not only was I still not over everything that had happened in June, not only was I still not over Draco, it was _wrong _to like Fred. As similar as we could be, we were still the difference of spots and rosettes – we looked alike, we camouflaged in the same way, but we came from totally different beasts. We had totally different urges and behaviours and expectations – he had his life all mapped out...and I didn't even know if mine would continue past tomorrow.

"Right now, I hope for you to stop thinking about it so much," Fred told me, breaking the thoughts that were tumbling out of control once again. He shook his head, sighing exasperatedly – apparently my mood was bringing him down. To Fred Weasley, someone putting him in a bad mood was akin to blasphemy. "That's the problem with you Slytherins; everything needs to be planned. You need to know the ins and outs of every situation so that you can escape when needed. How can you escape when you never go anywhere, Drea?"

How the hell was I supposed to answer that?

I guess that he didn't expect me to, because he didn't press the subject – no, no, it was because he was distracted. We were _all_ distracted because suddenly, a few couples away from us something silver shot across the dance floor like a wave across the floor. It was large, something large enough to cause a stir in the crowd. I broke away from Fred, who didn't seem to mind considering he was as curious as I was, while we each took a step closer.

It was a Patronus; a lynx. And from the Patronus came the most frightening, powerful baritone voice I'd ever heard: "_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming_."

It was instant chaos. I doubt that the entire population of the wedding would have been able to hear Kingsley Shacklebolts warning, but everyone reacted as if they already knew what it had come to say. There was uproar and screaming before I had even registered what had actually been said, but as soon as Fred grabbed my arm to start tugging me away from the center of the dance floor, I came back to life.

"What do we do?" I asked, nearly sounding frenzied while I winced and squirmed through the crowd of people who were currently scraping past us as we ran through the herd. People weren't afraid to bump into others as they tried to make their escape. "Fred, we need to do something!"

"We find your brother!" He answered loudly. Right. Harry. If _they _were coming, that meant that _he _wouldn't be close behind – not if the Ministry had fallen. The Death Eaters must have discovered that this was where we were hidden; hell, I was surprised it had taken them this long considering an idiot would have figured out this was the safe house...which meant we were no longer safe at all.

"Harry!" I screamed over the jostling crowd. "Harry, where are you?"

I was trying hard to bring back the face of the boy he had been impersonating. He had red hair, like most in the crowd, but his face was a blur considering everyone around me was running past me so quickly I couldn't see any features. My brother could have been right beside me and I wouldn't have known him from the next Weasley.

Then, somewhere to my right, there was a loud _pop_. And then a dozen others – no, two dozen others...people were Disapparating; the Burrow's enchantments were no longer holding against people who could come in and out of the house boundaries.

They were already here.

"_HARRY_!" I was panicking now, my throat tearing against my own screams. I tore it again and again, screaming my brother's name.

"DREA!" I whipped my head around to look behind me, trying to find it, trying to find him – but there was still such a rush of people that even new Amazonian-Audrey couldn't find him through the crowd of identically robed gingers.

"Fred..." I called out, he stopped moving through the crowd immediately, moving his head this way and that so that he could also try to hear him.

"Drea! Drea, over here!"

Fred, just a few inches taller than me seemed to spot him. "There! Oh no – GET AWAY FROM THERE!"

I could see it now; the black hooded men descending on the party like a herd of Dementors. Maybe they even had Dementors with them, I don't know, I couldn't tell; but they were starting to grab people and rip their heads back, as if trying to identify specific people – specific people like the Potter twins. And there were spells now, not just the popping of Disapparation; spells of every colour shooting through the air like twisted fireworks for the festivities. I couldn't have heard anything that was being said in the tumult of it all; I could only see the spells as they flew past me, as they tried to hit me or the people just past me...they weren't just aiming for Order members, they were aiming for anyone that had dared to be near us.

"HARRY!" I screamed again. I could see him now; fifteen meters away from me, looking around for me as frantically as I was looking for him. Maybe he didn't quite remember what I looked like either, maybe it was a bad idea to look so different than how we usually looked – if we weren't screaming each other's names, I wouldn't have found him through the crowd so easily.

"_Ron_! _Ron_!" Now I could hear Hermione screaming from all the way over here, reaching out her hand to him as he dodged spells and other wizards to get to her. They were giving themselves away by sticking together as they were; it was too obvious – the Death Eaters would discover them before I got there. I ran forward, breaking my hold on Fred so that I could get to them more quickly.

Right in my peripheral I saw a spell shoot from a wand – something green and headed straight for the Gryffindors I was racing toward. I turned around as it nearly grazed my shoulder, hurling myself on the Death Eater that had attacked and clapped my hands harshly over his ears. I finally heard something besides screaming while his eardrums burst against my palms, blood running from his ears as I shoved him back to the ground with a sneer.

"AUDREY!" I turned around from the injured Death Eater's wails, seeing my brother holding out his hand for me, before I felt something hard hit me in the gut and tug me back. Merlin, they knew it was us – we shouldn't have screamed each other's names; why had we screamed _each other's _names? I could hardly remember what my own was in the craze of it all, nevertheless what his was. I screamed as I was pulled back but the sickening strike to my stomach, the pressure hurt and I realized that I had been pulled to someone who was ripping my head back to investigate me – checking to see if I was a Potter or not.

It wasn't a Death Eater that I could identify, someone gruff and ugly who had a murderous smile. I sneered, pulling away from him and letting out a hiss when the tug from my hair brought tears to my eyes.

"Get away from her!" Fred bellowed, cursing the man who held me so that I fell forward onto my hands and knees. There were very few people here now that they could Disapparate and I watched as a Death Eater moved towards Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were only five meters away...I could help them.

I grabbed my wand, aiming at the Death Eater that was charging them so that I could hex him and we could all leave – if we made it dramatic enough, they might leave these people alone long enough for them to Apparate away themselves. I aimed for the Death Eater, who was now so close to the trio...and stopped, not bothering to waste my breath as all three sent me a sorrowful look...and Disapparated into the night.

I screamed out – in shock or anger or fear I didn't know. I felt someone tugging me back, holding me in place and I couldn't tell if it was someone I could trust or someone I may as well have attacked...but I felt blinded, I felt completely blinded and infuriated as I looked to the empty space where my brother's sad eyes had just asked for _forgiveness_. I scrambled forward, my feet slipping along the slick dance floor as I tried to move closer to the place they had just escaped. There had to be a way to find them, maybe I could somehow track them if I got to that place on the dance floor – I fell forward a bit again, grabbing the nearest thing to me to use as a weapon.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" I screamed, throwing a rock with all my strength and falling short from where the three of them had vanished into thin air. There was no joke here – the Gryffindors had saved themselves and left me to fight on my own.

Just like that, they were gone.

Just like that, I was alone.

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><p><strong>A million words and we come to this: Audrey is not with the Golden Trio. Who expected it? I know a few of you mentioned you had an inkling it would happen; to those who thought as much, well done. To those who are surprised, I promise that this is only the beginning of the twists and turns Audrey is going to create in this plot. To those who reviewed the last chapter:<strong>

_SparrowLilies_**: I'm glad. I went through a few different things that Draco may have written, but I thought that's really what he wants from her, "I miss you" was already said and it was a nice tie-back to when Snape had killed Dumbledore :) Thanks for the review!**

_Dustfinger's cheering section_**: The ring is not in the snitch, you're right. You're also right about having to wait – I'd say sorry, but my hope is to make it so worth the wait that I won't have to apologize, haha. **

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: A Skean is a real knife worn by Scotsmen in their traditional kilts; I did some research on it. It fit in too perfectly for me to just say 'dagger', haha. I was really happy to write in the note from the Slytherins, as well. It was risky of them, but Daphne's mother worked at the Ministry (I said it forever ago in the story) and I figured that she would have passed it to Arthur while he was working; that's why they had to wait until he came home. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Little Messers_**: Hopefully it's not so dramatic you start biting your nails again, then I'll feel bad for not being able to update more frequently! I'm glad that you're so invested in the story, whether it be about birthday cakes, or kisses on the cheek – it's nice that you're so enthusiastic about it. Hopefully this chapter kept that same excitement, if not even more of it considering everything that just happened.  
>I don't think that Audrey would fare very well if one of her rocks shattered, as you said. For instance, when Theodore 'disowned' Audrey (for lack of better word) she was beside herself pretty much until it got better. If one of them were to die? No, as much of a survivalist as she is, she's more sentimental than she realizes. It would crush her. I also don't think that Audrey would stay mad at them in the way she plans too – she's more forgiving than she realizes because of how understanding she is: she knows that they had their choices ripped away and even if she wishes they would have stood up for their beliefs, she knows what the consequences of that would have been. I think, like them, she would prefer to live. Thank you for reviewing!<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. The last chapter was more lighthearted than the end of this one, but I hope that this one was an exciting read. As for Fred, I don't see him giving up as long as he's around...now the question is: how long will he be around now that Audrey's been separated from the Trio? ;)**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Honestly, I'm really torn between writing through so you get the whole stories and just telling people what happens at the end, so I feel your pain. I hope you liked this chapter, though and hopefully it reminds you why to stay strong: I love twists! Thanks for reviewing.**

_accio-logic_**: Fred and Audrey definitely have a spark there, there's no doubt about that. I've been hinting at that spark for even longer than the spark between Draco and Audrey...but I'd like to think that I made it so Audrey and Draco are better matched. It also counts for a lot that Audrey has admitted she loves Draco; and that's not just something that you can will away.  
>The cake was from all three of them, it was delivered by Daphne's mom who works at the Ministry with Arthur Weasley: that's why the cake with him and they had to wait. I don't think that Audrey wants to forgive Draco; but she's not ready to just throw him to the wolves either. She knows that he was placed in an impossible position and I think she'll be quick to forgive him once she doesn't feel so wounded by the personal betrayal of him running away. As for why Draco hadn't told Audrey that he loved her, I actually had it written for the end of the Half Blood Prince...but it just didn't work. As much as I wanted it to happen, it didn't work and didn't seem genuine; so I'll wait until it does :) Thanks for reviewing.<strong>

_LoveableAmethyst129_**: You'll have to wait and see what's inside the snitch; I hope you stick around until that point :) Thanks for the review.**

_Mezzem313_**: Yes, she got a nice little birthday gift from her Slytherin comrades and Draco did have the nerve to ask her forgiveness...which, as we saw, she isn't quite ready to give. Ha, I really like the Weasley twins as well. I figured if Fred won the Rock-Paper-Scissors game it would be too cliché; but for Fred to charm a stair so that he could get his way? That seemed realistic, haha. Skean is an actual dagger that happened to rearrange itself – I jumped for joy when I realized it. Good call over Fred making a move on Audrey at the wedding – he even took the time to try and protect her. He's such a good guy. I hope you liked this chapter, thank you for reviewing!**

_SwiftAlice_**: I'm great, as I told you this was a really nice landmark for me with the thousand favs/follows and the million words. Hopefully this chapter is liked by people too so that it makes a nice triad! As for reviewing, don't worry about it. I like hearing theories and the like but because we talk so regularly I know it's that not that you don't like the story or anything, I know you're genuinely busy doing grown-up things that I'm proud of you for :)  
>I've put my original work on a bit of a pause (well, not a REAL pause, I still come back to it at least once a week or when inspiration strikes) but just because I'm going to finish this up since it really crowds my mind and then I'm donating some work in August for Fandom4LLS. I really want to get that out because it's for such a good cause so I'm just going to focus on that so that I don't miss the deadline. Hopefully by then I'll have the majority of GEM done so I can really sit down and focus on getting my own first original book (that wasn't completed when I was twelve) finished!<br>My mom is a writer as well, though a she writes about very different things in very different styles, so she's really rooting for me to write the first novel in my oversized family. As she says, considering how many of us there are, it's amazing it hasn't been done yet. She keeps saying that if I release my own book and become famous that she'll be my live-in nanny for all the children I have with Chris Evans...this is no word of a lie. It's all in my ten-year plan ;)  
>Obviously the way that Audrey has been treated and has been treating others is going to change after the events of this chapter. I've been waiting for this bomb to drop for a while; I hope I did it justice. Every time someone would say "I can't believe they aren't fighting" all I could think is 'wait until you see when it ends...' and now that everyone has, I'm excited to hear the feedback. I decided that it was a bit too simple for her to just go off with them (especially if none of them ended up crippled or murdered by her own hand) and now we can see how Audrey will manipulate the story for her own means, while on her own...I'm excited for it! This also means that we'll be seeing other characters Harry, Ron and Hermione did not get to see during their time away...not that I'm mentioning any names, of course.<br>I came up with the idea of a key on my own, yes. Harry got a watch and I figured Audrey needed something as meaningful...and also as useful considering she really isn't a jewelry-girl. Her bequeathed gifts from Dumbledore are also going to come in handy...whenever she gets the skean and has the opportunity to use/understand the both of them.  
>No, we still won't be seeing Draco any time soon. As much as I wish that we could, it's just not realistic and as much as it saddens me, I really try to stick with the realism...even if I don't always like it, haha. We'll also be seeing more of Fred next chapter and with all things that happen within the time frame of her birthday-the Death Eater raid, I have a feeling that there will be some serious conversations between them. Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend and that everything is going well!<br>**

_Zabi101_**: I can't say whether or not Audrey will always reject Fred – but he now has some more time to dig under that shell of hers and worm his way in, now that she isn't with the Gryffindors for the horcrux hunt :) I still have to leave a few surprises! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Geri: I definitely love hearing theories and yours are very in-depth. It is suspicious that Audrey was sorted into Gryffindor whereas her brother wasn't, also that the Skean may not be lost at all but that it may be hidden. It wouldn't have been spiked with basilisk venom, no, but who knows if it's for destroying Horcruxes at all? It was owned by Salazar Slytherin, so it will have a greater purpose...but you'll have to wait to see what that is, haha.  
>Audrey was disguised as one of Fleur's cousins, as you read, and it wasn't necessary for them all to fit under the invisibility cloak – not when there were so many other things happening at the time. Draco won't be taking any of this well – I assure you that we'll see that when we see him. Fred, on the other hand, won't let himself take it poorly, will he? He's resilient, you have to give him that. Thank you for the review :)<strong>

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, thank you! As always you are far too sweet. I'm not the biggest Scrimgeour fan either, believe me (when I was researching for this story, however, did you know that Scrimgeour was actually killed because he refused to give up which safe house Harry was in? At least he vindicated himself in death).  
>If Harry got a snitch it only made sense that Audrey would get a chocolate frog; it was the only thing I could think of that represented her as much as a snitch represented her brother. Did Fred get any sweeter in this chapter than the last? I'm really curious how people are viewing the flirtations between them. As for not being able to handle if he died again...well, when I first read Fred died I had to put the book down for four hours because I couldn't control myself. When Snape died, I had to leave the book alone for almost an entire day. Who knows what will happen for this story.<br>Yes, I was glad I finally slid in the idea that she's a green eyed monster! I was pretty proud of myself when I read it back to myself, almost childishly so, if I'm being honest.  
>Last review you said that it would be the wedding and then they would search...I have to ask what you think now that this all has happened. So, what are your thoughts? You know how much I love hearing theories, haha. Considering she still is a Slytherin, like you said, I don't think she's going to handle what just happened very well, do you? Thank you, as always, for the wonderful review!<strong>

_LiftUpYourEyes_**: Aw, thank you, I'm glad you like Audrey and her story! We don't really know Snape's motives behind killing Circe, besides what he said about her giving too much away thanks to her sudden hostility towards Draco. Ha, I can't tell you whether or not you or your sister will win that bet – for all you know, you both might lose ;) Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_nannan_**: Sirius is going to have a part to play later on in the story. For now he's a guiding figure who tries to keep Audrey from slipping to the "dark side", considering she's had more than enough opportunity to do so. Otherwise, his ultimate purpose still hasn't been written for you to read. You'll know it when it happens.  
>Sadly it will be more than a few chapters before Draco and Audrey get to see each other again and hopefully Fred won't take up residence in Audrey's heart before that meeting...but I make no promises for anything! When you say that you are curious about "his" chapter from the table scene, who do you mean? Thanks for reviewing :)<strong>

_Spottedjay_**: Aw, you are far too kind, thank you! I'm so glad that you have liked the story so far and I hope that you continue to like this chapter and the ones after :)**

_Takra Matsudaira_**: Congratulations, I know it's a long story to keep up with, but it's great to hear that you've liked it thus far!** **I'm glad that you have such an emotional tie with Audrey and that she has warmed you up to her first person point of view.  
>I'd definitely like to think that Draco and Audrey are an original coupling in the HP universe; I hope that the relationship between them is something most people haven't seen before and that it's unique. I love the song Counting Stars, it's a great choice. I may even add that to the playlist we have going on twitter!<br>I'm glad that the story has been able to surprise you a couple times. I usually try to leave as many hints as I can, but I get giddy when I hear that someone was surprised (for the right reasons, of course). As a side note, I always imagined that little Harry came up with it while they were kids because it was easier to say – my friend who has an English accent says that "Dray-uh" rolls of the tongue more easily than "Aw-dree" in a sentence.  
>I'm glad that you like Daphne and Theodore (as much as one can at this point in the story). Theodore won't choose to become a Death Eater if he can help it, as Daphne said earlier, but I can't say that he won't be forced as Draco was.<br>Also I wanted to say I'm sorry for the loneliness that follows your brother's recruitment. One of my best friends is in the army and it was hard watching him go. It gets easier after boot camp, depending where they're stationed, if that's any consolation. I hope it all works out :) Thank you for reviewing.**

_TheInflictedFinger_**: I'm glad that you came back to read it, thank you for taking the time to go through it all – especially because of the length. It's great to hear how much you like Audrey and I hope that this chapter was as exciting as any other. Thanks for the review!**

_RhiRhi2510_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.**

_royalpurple153_**: I'm sorry that the mega-vision chapter confused you, but that was the point of it – if I made it obvious what scenes she was seeing from the future, then there wouldn't be much of a storyline. If you make it to this chapter, thank you for reviewing and I hope you've liked the story thus far. **

_Sleepyreader319_**: Thank you, I hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Ha, I won't keep Fred vs Draco an easy battle. Haha, don't worry, I think both boys are good picks. Audrey, however...**

_Isabella_**: I love long reviews, so don't worry about it! I am so glad that you took the time to read the story again, even more so that you can relate to Audrey. She's a character that I also relate to, so it's good to know that there are others out there who feel the same way.  
>I have this story pretty well mapped out; I knew from very, very early on what I wanted to happen and how it should happen so that it played out as smoothly as possible. As you said, it's been three years and I'm just as surprised as you that it's been so long and it's become everything it has. As for responding to readers such as yourself, I love doing it! If you guys take the time to read and review the story, I should definitely take time to address your thoughts – so thank you!<strong>

_sarahmichellegellarfan1_**: You are absolutely amazing, did you know that? Thank you so much for taking the time to review so many of the chapters – honestly, I lost count after twenty reviews. And to see how quickly you read through the story? Well done – I never could have done it myself! Thank you for reading through the entire story and being so enthusiastic about it – I only hope that I can keep you as excited while the story progresses from here!**

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for all the reviews, the follows, the favourites, the PMs, the tweets, thank you to everyone who has ever had anything to say about this story. I hope you liked this chapter, from Fred's flirting to the twist. I hope to have the next one out soon, since I know I left it at a cruel place...but don't tell me it wasn't exciting ;)<strong>

_**PLEASE REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, Q&As, quizzes, pictures and more!**


	85. The Gambit

**I know I left you guys with a bit of a cliff-hanger, so I won't leave you here for too long; I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the great response from the last chapter and that I hope you like how this chapter continues the story. Also please note that **there will be a chapter of ****Audrey Potter's Prelude**** updated next week, in lieu of a chapter here...it's an important one you don't want to miss! **  
><strong>

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 84 – The Gambit<p>

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><p>They were gone. Those stupid Gryffindors had left me to fend for myself as the Death Eaters were attacking; they had left to go on their hunt and who knew if they would be back for me – no, not who knew, <em>I <em>knew. _I_ knew they wouldn't be back for me. They couldn't consider coming back now that the Burrow had been discovered as the safe house, now that all of the protections had been dropped. As much as I wanted to blame them for something that haven't yet done – as much as I wanted to blame them for that false hope I had, I knew that there was no point to it...now. Not during the battle. Not when I could see the exact reason why they wouldn't come back_. _Then again, if they hadn't left me this wouldn't be a bloody issue. Those hypocrites said that we would do this together, that we could only do it together...and now look at how apart we really were.

Something tugged me more harshly, pulling me back from where I had raged while I watched my best chance at escape disappear. I looked up to see that it was Fred who had held me back – the bastard – and he was now shouting out spells, trying to keep the Death Eaters at bay. I realized suddenly that I was being absolutely no help to him; I had been completely shell-shocked and was acting stupidly reckless by throwing myself toward the one person the Death Eaters had obviously come for. I blinked furiously, trying to right my brain, trying to make everything stop screaming about how devastated I was that I had been abandoned. _Again._

Abandoned _again_ – that's twice in nearly as many months that someone had run and left me to fend for myself. That's twice that I've been left now – first my boyfriend, now my brother. What the fuck does that say about me?

I looked around wildly at the reminder of what being left _for_ the Death Eaters and what being left _because _of the Death Eaters could possibly mean...What were the chances that Draco could be _here_? We were being attacked by the same people he had run away from me with. We were being attacked by Death Eaters who were on the hunt for me and apparently, at one point, he had wanted to keep me safe from that. Could he be here, looking for me, either to keep me safe or to hunt me down?

And on that note, who else could have been in the crowd of hunters? Could it be Theodore, Blaise, Lillian, _Snape_? Could he be here to finish off the job that he had begun last spring? After all, he had killed the headmaster in cold blood...no, no Audrey, stop dissolving like this. You know that Snape had some twisted reasoning behind what he'd done – he had said he'd never been a murderer and had never wanted to be; he had even begged you to forgive him...possibly. So something else had to fuel him to take Dumbledore's life...just like he had taken Circe's. Like he had murdered my kneazle and left her in the corridor I was patrolling, just so I could see his fine work.

Probably not the most encouraging of thoughts.

"We need to get you out of here!" Fred yelled over the chaos. His words nearly sounded blurred thanks to my own thoughts disrupting everything else my mind could comprehend. "Do you know where they went?"

"Of course not," I grumbled out, slipping my wand properly back between my fingers. "That would have been _logical._"

"Either way you can't stay here," he yelled again.

"I can't just _leave _without anywhere to go! Besides, you all need another wand to help."

"Do you really think now is the time to try to prove the sorting hat wrong?" Fred demanded with as much humour as he could pour into his words during a time like this. He turned to me and glared while I shot at someone who had noticed his turned back. "Get out of here!"

"If you're trying to be funny it's not worki-" I stopped as over Fred's shoulder I noticed someone who had set the long silvery train of Fleur's dress alight just a few meters away. The Death Eater stalked ever closer as she panicked and tried to put out the fire that would soon lick at her legs. "_Crucio!_"

Amazingly, the spell hit its mark, sending the man to the ground as he howled to match with Fleur's cries for help. I moved around Fred quickly, moving to help extinguish the tatters of her train. She was in tears, her hands shaking and losing grip on her wand while she tried to calm herself down. Her wedding had been ruined; the memory charred like the back bits of her dress.

"WHERE ARE THE POTTERS?"

Alright, maybe it was time to go.

After I knew she was not going to start burning up again, I turned to the Death Eater that was still rolling on the ground behind me. After kicking away his wand I tried hard to distinguish who was behind that stupid mask and that ridiculous hood – I didn't seem to recognize him; which may have been to both his benefit and his detriment. At least if I knew him he'd have the possibility to run, as I might feel too guilty to put him under the curse again...but because I didn't know him, I had few grudges held and would feel very little guilt...

But I wasn't going to let anyone run away from me like that ever again.

"What are you looking for?" I demanded, bending down at an awkward angle in this ridiculous skirt so that I could stick the tip of my wand to his neck. "So you're here for Potter, then? Because he's long gone!"

The Death Eater looked at me, panting heavily from the curse while his eyes raked over me. It seemed like he was taking a mental inventory of the new woman that was in front of him – and suddenly, his eyes sparked to life. That probably wasn't good.

"Not him, no," the Death Eater ground out, "for _you_."

This stupid dress came to the rescue again as he shoved me back with his hand, a good hit to the stomach that knocked the wind out of me and made me fall because I couldn't move my legs. I fell flat on my back from the surprise of it – it hadn't really hurt, but it'd definitely caught me by surprise. I heard him calling out to the other Death Eaters; something about having found _her._

It was impossible for him to know it was me; Fleur's cousin looked nothing like me and I doubt someone I didn't know would be able to pick up on my mannerisms like Looney Lovegood had. This could mean that it was something much, much worse. The Death Eater stuck his wand in my face, coming toward me and grabbing a bit of my hair, shoving it in my face. Before my eyes I could see the silvery blonde hair that resembled Fleur's darkening into my usual bloody red. As I watched, realizing that it must have been an hour since my last dose of Polyjuice potion, the Death Eater yanked at the hair he was showing me, throwing my head back and emitting a grunt of pain. The sensation brought tears to my eyes, but I refused to cry out because of him.

"She's 'ere, I got 'er!" He called out while clenching his hand in my hair more triumphantly and rattling me around like some toy he wanted to show off. Well, that wasn't lasting for long. Even if my wand had been taken away from me, these Death Eaters had another thing to learn about who they were dealing with...they really didn't learn. I grabbed the wrist that was holding onto my hair, feeling the palms tingling with anticipation as my skin began to sear against his own. The Death Eater didn't seem to be expecting the attack and yelped while he dove away from me to nurse his injured wrist.

I jumped for my wand. I could immediately feel that the potion was wearing off because I had gotten so used to the extra length of my body during the day that it felt like it took forever as I crawled towards the white ash stick that now seemed so far away. I heard the Death Eater swearing under his breath and knew that he had recovered from the initial pain and shock – I grabbed onto my wand, turning onto my back so that I could get a good aim at his face...

"_Crucio!_"

Nothing. Nothing even remotely happened as I aimed my wand for the man. I could tell by the way he froze that he was readying himself for the pain, that he was readying himself to try and keep his composure as I pushed him through the pain again – but nothing happened.

"Well, well, well," he grinned, pulling off his mask. I was right, I hadn't seen him before. He was older and darkly featured with a very heavy jaw. "I 'eard you were no good at magic – thought it was a lie after that last curse. Guess you're not so bad after all, are y' Potter?"

"_Stupefy_!" The spell rang out from somewhere behind me and the man who'd had a hold of me was blasted away from me less than a blink later. I pushed myself up quickly, not knowing whether or not the spell had hit him intentionally or not – it could have been an enemy. But in front of me, running to my side, was my godfather. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed I was unscathed.

"She don't have to be," Sirius hissed after the man who had landed meters away. He grabbed hold of my arm to give me another look over to make sure I was fine. "We need to get you out of here."

He tugged me to be standing right next to him, pretty much forcing me to look at the battle that was all around us. Fred and George were fighting three Death Eaters ten meters away, Ginny was fighting too many Death Eaters with Charlie, Bill and Fleur were back to back and it looked like he was trying to calm her down...we couldn't just leave. We couldn't just leave them to fight this – I didn't necessarily want to fight as _me, _but I definitely didn't want to leave them to fend for themselves...

"But everyone's fighting, we can't j-"

It was too late, in the second of hesitation I'd taken to look for my friends, Sirius had already had a hold of my arm and apparently knew that I wouldn't give in without a fight because he spun on his own heel and let the world squeeze us right out of the situation. We landed somewhere warm and sandy; the shoes that I had worn for the wedding instantly filled and made me uncomfortable.

There was a house here; small and quaint...slightly shambled and worn. It needed work done to it: a fresh coat of paint, some new shingles and it could be as good as new. The garden around it was overgrown, but the view to the water was beautiful.

"Where are we?"

"Bill and Fleur's new home," Sirius answered, still breathing heavily. "Shell Cottage."

"I didn't know they had a home to come back to," I looked around a little closer, noticing the sunset and that we were on the ocean, not a lake. The water was far too dark and choppy to be from a lake.

"It was a surprise for Fleur," he answered tightly. "Was that you, casting Unforgivables back there?"

"Now is not the time for moral ambiguity, Sirius," I said vaguely, turning back to him with a stern look. "We need to go back. If not for everyone else then for all the things I left there – there are potions and plans and notes...things that the Death Eaters _cannot find_."

"There are more important things right now," Sirius argued.

"Not really," I argued, my voice rising a little. "We need to get everyone out and while we're at it, we need to make sure that they don't find things that can kill us later!"

I turned to spin on my heel, only to hear Sirius make a sound of complaint before his wand was pointed at me. As I spun to Apparate, I felt like I had spun right into a brick wall and thanks to spinning with such force, it actually knocked me flat onto the sand. Sirius came to immediately help me up, even though I refused to take his hand.

"What in Salazar's name did you do?"

"You can't just go back there, Drea," Sirius sighed, retracting the hand that I wouldn't take. "Those Death Eaters are after _you_."

"They're after Harry and he's gone – you know that I'm the one that can do the most damage," I argued, even though there was a part of me that knew I was wrong. That Death Eater had said they were there for me...though why they would be after me when they knew Harry would be present didn't make a lot of sense.

"No," he countered just as quickly. "You're good in close combat because of your Magnuse, otherwise you aren't the best – lets be blunt, here. You're the one who can't defend yourself as well and if someone starts attacking from farther away, Audrey – I can't just let you walk in there so that they can capture you like they'd planned last spring."

"There are people there," I growled, trying to turn again and feeling myself topple to the ground once more. "Let me go – we can't just leave everyone there! There were more Death Eaters fighting then Order members-"

"Is it really the Order you're nervous for, or the Death Eaters that might be fighting them?" Sirius asked brusquely, stopping me in my tracks. There was no denying that it was a good question – was I so nervous about the battle that was waging because I knew someone like Fred was still there...or was it because I knew someone like Draco might be? I wouldn't put it past Voldemort to send Draco in, to try and manipulate me into feeling the way I felt now – had any of those Death Eaters I'd hexed been Draco, or Theodore, or Snape? Would I have been able to hex them like that if I had known they were?

I bet that's exactly what Voldemort was counting on; that weakness that I had shown just two months ago. He had probably sent them in specifically because he was trying to get that reaction out of me, that hesitation that would give them time to do something horrible like run away again...

"We still need to go back," I gritted out, standing again. "Take this charm off me, Sirius, or so help me-"

"What kind of godfather would I be if I let you walk right back into that fight, Audrey?" he asked me just as strongly. "You're completely blinded by your emotions."

"I am not!"

"Of course you are, constantly hoping that Malfoy will reform or that you'll be able to rip him away from the path _he _chose. I understand that he didn't have as many choices as some of us," Sirius added quickly when he saw that I was about to argue. "But you forget that _I_ still made the opposite choice. _I _fought against my upbringing, the same upbringing _he _had – if Malfoy had really planned to do that, he would have done it sooner."

"He didn't have friends like you did!" I reminded him, a bubble in my chest flaring up when he accused my friends the way he did. He didn't understand, he couldn't understand what my friends were going through if he was still arguing against them like this. "You don't know how lucky you are things worked out the way they did because Draco didn't have people like my Dad to guide him to make the right decisions, Sirius."

"He had you." Sirius told me firmly, trying to make that his final point – but that wasn't even close. It wasn't even close if he thought that _I _could have saved him alone...because I couldn't. I'd _tried _and I couldn't.

"How could I have helped him make the right decision when I didn't know what it was?" I hissed. "You're just as selfish as he is if you're going to leave your friends, _our _friends to fight for themselves – I could go and shut the entire fight down, you know I could – just _let _me-"

"So you want me to let you what?" Sirius hissed, officially finished his act of playing nice. "Let you go and get yourself captured, let you go and finally realize that Draco isn't everything you hope he is? That Snape isn't who you want him to be? That Theodore gave in, just like all the others did? You want to be there for your closure, Drea. You want to see that there really is no good left in them but what you don't realize is the moment it's proven to you, you aren't protected anymore! There is something more powerful than you, Audrey its _fear _and that's exactly how Voldemort runs his armies. If you go back for them you will not have the opportunity to come back...and I can't let that happen."

"Well what about Fred and George and Lupin and Tonks? What about Ginny, then? She can't even legally use magic, she's still got the Trace!" I shouted at him, feeling the sand shift under my feet as my patience – and Magnuse – began to slip beyond their surprisingly patient limits. "You're just going to leave them to the Death Eaters that you believe areso ruthless? If you think that they're fighting against and for lost causes like the Death Eaters-"

"They aren't fighting for lost causes, Audrey," Sirius said sternly. "They're fighting for _you._"

I set my jaw, wanting to argue just how much of a lost cause I was. I didn't understand how this had degraded as quickly as it had; I needed to get there to make sure that Death Eaters and Order members alike weren't getting hurt simply to fight someone else's battle. I should be there because this was _my _battle to fight, it was _Harry's _battle to fight, it was _Voldemort's _battle to fight – we shouldn't be sending in pawns to do our own jobs. They weren't expendable...people like Draco and Daphne and Theodore and Fred and George and Ginny should _not _be so expendable. Not to either side.

"I'm not supposed to just sit here," I growled, turning on the spot not to Apparate, but so he wouldn't be able to see just how much my emotions _were _running away from me. If he thought that I was already being overruled by some irrational emotions, him seeing me feeling so overwhelmed would not help my case. "I'm supposed to be with Harry, Ron and Hermione. If I can't be with them, I might as well be fighting with the lot of you."

"You're not a fighter and you know it," Sirius said softly.

"Really?" I bit out bitterly. I didn't even bother spinning around, I'm sure he could hear the disdain drip from my words on their own. "I feel like a fighter – I'm smart, but I've got no idea what to do here, Sirius. All I have is my Magnuse and now that those stupid bloody Gryffindors have left me..."

How was I supposed to tell him how hopeless it all was now? How was I to tell him that Harry was meant to find the Horcruxes and I was meant to destroy them when I wasn't allowed to mention the idea of the Horcruxes in the first place? How was I supposed to tell him that my part in this entire operation _was _to fight and now that my brother was gone and I wasn't allowed to side with my friends, I had no cause to fight for? Because that's exactly what it felt like; it felt like everyone I had put my faith in had run away from me and I was left to pick up the pieces of their stupid plans and broken promises...promises of new worlds and safe havens that would never exist until I somehow got the job done...on my own.

It's how I feared I would always be at this rate...entirely on my own.

"They haven't left you, I'm sure they'll be back the moment it's safe to be." I could hear the grains of sand shift and crunch softly under his shoes as he tried to walk toward me to comfort me. I didn't want his comfort. I didn't want anyone's comfort. I didn't want to sit quietly and be coddled – I wanted to rage, to go out and kill Voldemort piece by piece until he was so broken that he couldn't hold himself together anymore. I wanted to take that last Horcrux and crush it between my hands as I watched him shatter at my feet...

I looked over my shoulder, my eyes cold. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"They wouldn't just leave you here," Sirius almost looked as if I had insulted _him _instead of my brother_. _"Harry will come back for you, Audrey. He always comes back for you – I don't know why you have so little faith in him..."

"Of course you wouldn't, Sirius," I sneered, saying his name in the same condescending way he had said mine as I took another step from him. "You were never around when Harry _wasn't _the lord and saviour that you expect him to be. You weren't around each time he let _me _down – not Ron or Hermione or you or any other bloody Gryffindor he finds worthy of his time – you've never seen how he betrays _me._"

Sirius gave me a worried glance.

"He won't come back," I assured my godfather. "He'll wait for me to go to _him _because it's not in his best interest to come find me. Besides, whether my brother is a Slytherin or not, he knows better than to get himself killed by coming back...whether that happens thanks to Voldemort or by _me_."

Sirius must have realized that it was better not to judge or question me right now: it was a good decision. I was not in the mood to let him boss me around or tell me what the _right _way to feel was or – as he'd already tried – to tell me that I was feeling too much. Alright, maybe a part of him was right: I was definitely too emotional right now. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have to be if my brother hadn't just run away from me in the same way my boyfriend had only months before. I didn't need to be reminded just how pointless my being here was; I was starting to catch on to the idea without anyone helping me figure it out.

"We'll wait for word from the others," Sirius said quietly after the long silence that followed my threat. "Then I'll go find Harry."

"Of course you will," I seethed, moving farther away from him so that I could perch myself on a large rock on the sandy, isolated side of Bill's property so I could better watch the waves tumble over the shore. At least the ocean seemed to be enjoying itself. I wondered how far away we were from Ottery St Catchpole considering the weather seemed to be as nice here as it had been during the wedding. The wedding; it was strange to think that it was under an hour ago I had been sitting there, complaining to Fred and trying to skirt around the idea of dancing with him. Now all I could wonder was if someone – someone like Draco or Theodore or Snape – would have enough of a conscience to dance with the idea to keep people like Fred alive.

And if he wasn't I would blame myself. He had been perfect to me this entire week, after the job to get Harry and I had made George not-so-identical to him. He had been kind every time I had shoved him aside and every time I had openly talked about my feelings for someone I knew he hated. Everyone here hated Draco...even Sirius seemed to.

_That_ was a surprise. I hadn't really expected Sirius to rake Draco over the coals as he was. Sirius knew the extra weight the Slytherins had to bear when it came to these kinds of decisions – what with his brother having gone through the same thing and dying for realizing he'd made the wrong decision. I didn't want Draco to live through that, or die through it. I had thought Sirius had understood more; maybe not necessarily accepted, but understood. I was starting to wonder if I was the only one that did.

I was just so at odds with everyone that was here. Fred, George and I got along just because we liked to keep ourselves happy, even if it was at the misfortune of others and even while I enjoyed having fun with them, to think that they understood me would have meant that it was in the vaguest sense. Sirius, though possibly more open minded than most, did not really understand me either: he was still lost in the days of my parents and though I couldn't blame him – considering he'd been incarcerated for the twelve years following – I wasn't confident he'd caught up with us yet. No one else, really, cared enough to try to get to know me well. Ginny and Bill could be nice and generally understanding – but it's not like I could really connect with them on the same level, especially now: Bill was married and on his way to fight for his bride and Ginny would be forced back to Hogwarts...and there was no way I could follow her. The thought barely had entered my mind before I dismissed it. I would be killed in my bed by Parkinson or Bulstrode, or any other Slytherin that wanted favour with the Riddler. Harry did have a small point: while the Gryffindors weren't generally drafted for the Death Eaters, the Slytherins were – he just had no idea _why. _

Just like last year, if I went back to school one of my house mates – or worse, one of my _friends – _would have their lives or their family's lives threatened by Voldemort until he had my head. I couldn't risk that for myself, or for this stupid mission, or for my classmates – I didn't want to put them through what Draco went through, so it was safer to stay out of sight until this whole war was over.

I hoped that was the right decision, making life easier for everyone it did – or rather didn't – involve. Maybe the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws would be too scared to jinx Lillian and Tracey in the corridors on reason that we were friends. Maybe Blaise would finally admit how much he fancied Tracey and keep her safe – he was a Pureblood after all and now that the Death Eaters had taken over, Slytherin Halfbloods like Tracey were much bigger targets. Daphne had already informed me that she was safe and I doubted that Voldemort would really want someone like her, considering her ineptitude for curses and the fact she was a woman. Besides Bellatrix Lestrange, I couldn't think of Voldemort having any female soldiers; followers, perhaps, but not soldiers. Greengrass had already warned me that Theodore was under a microscope, so I knew there was no chance of getting any word to him safely – I wasn't about to get him killed just because I was feeling lonely.

I was cut off from everyone who understood me and those who were trying seemed to keep disappearing. There was no chance of seeing my friends again, who knew if it would be safe to see the Weasleys on whim, and I wasn't necessarily certain I _cared _to see my brother...this was a whole different war waging: the war I was fighting to do the right thing and to _not _be selfish.

This went against everything I'd learned in the last six years at Hogwarts.

Right as the stars were starting to peak through the clouds that were scraping the sky, there was a moment I thought we were being attacked. I jumped from my perch, hand up and wand drawn only to realize that the quick and silvery light had stopped in the space between Sirius and me. It wasn't the beam of a spell, but rather the silver embodiment of a weasel: Mr Weasley's patronus.

"Family safe. Do not reply, we are being watched."

As soon as Mr Weasley's tenor was heard, the weasel dissipated on the salty wind and left us in the dark again. I briefly wondered whether or not he had known Sirius would bring me here or if those handy little patronus tricks could be sent after people to find them wherever they were. Considering I had never been able to cast a patronus it didn't really intrigue me enough to ask – I had more important things on my mind.

Like relief, for one. I was relieved that the Weasleys were okay and that it had been safe enough, in theory, to send the patronus in the first place. They were being watched, yes, but that could mean a myriad of things: perhaps they were tailing them, perhaps they watched their home, or perhaps the Death Eaters were hidden out of sight...even if not out of mind. The Death Eaters would wait for that moment I had contemplated – that moment of weakness and selfishness. They would wait to see if Harry, Ron, Hermione or I would fold over on ourselves and come back to the safety of the group.

My decision had been made for me. There was no going back.

"Let's get inside," Sirius whispered. "We shouldn't have been in the open as it was. We'll make a fire, stay inside, and wait for them."

"I thought you were going after Harry?" I asked, not really feeling an urge to look at him. Now that I was a few hours removed from the sting of the betrayal, I realized that I had probably been more aggressive than I had needed to be – and I felt ashamed of the fact I didn't regret it. He had deserved my words...I just hoped he wouldn't take them to badly considering we would now have to be in such close quarters for who knew how long.

Sirius didn't answer me and instead moved into the little house. It was quaint. It was as cozy as the Burrow but perfectly fitted for the two people that would be staying here – unlike the Burrow which always felt like it had fewer rooms than the owners had children. While Sirius went to charm a fire, I examined the walls around me...it would be a nice little place to decide my next course of action. Not necessarily my style of home, but something that anyone would have felt comfort in. I, for one, felt safe.

"Drea," Sirius called from the doorway. I jumped from the loud interruption and twirled around, as if to attack and he held his hands up defensively. "I wanted to know if you wanted anything to eat."

"Not really hungry," I told him honestly. He frowned a little.

"Then you should get some rest. There's a guest bedroom upstairs, if I remember right."

"Er...sure," I sighed, knowing that there was very little way out now that he had charmed me from being able to leave. "Oh, Sirius?"

He turned around to look at me again. "When all of this overbearing-protective Godfather routine is out of the way, do you think you can teach me that charm to stop people from Disapparating? Might come in handy later on."

Sirius smirked to himself. "Of course."

"Right," I said simply. "What about turning into an Animagus?"

"Let's make sure this is a safe place to sleep before we figure on going back to classes, shall we?" He asked with a smile. I rolled my eyes and moved my way up the worn wooden stairs. The guest room was small, but the mattress sank in a way that it enveloped you and felt like you were wrapped in warmth. It would have been wonderful to sleep on if I wouldn't have been able to sleep at all. Sirius came to check on me a number of times and each time I would steady my breathing and turn away from him so he wouldn't know the trouble I was facing within my own mind. With all the thoughts rummaging through my head I was sure that I hadn't fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning and because of just how long I'd been awake, I slept just as long afterwards.

* * *

><p>It was a long wait for news.<p>

Too long.

Even though Sirius and I had waited outside the first day of our arrival, he decided that it would be safer if we didn't go outside again. This was particularly painful: being in the same house as him but not being able to really confide why I was so upset – Horcruxes seemed too complicated to tell someone so overprotective anyway. His little crippling charm was still on me – I knew this considering I was on my fourteenth time of trying to Apparate and being knocked back on my arse...and we had not heard more from anyone.

That continued for the first day.

And the second day.

By the third day – while I was beating Sirius in chess _again_ – I nearly peed myself when I realized we had visitors. A group of them: a redhead, a blonde, someone who was quickly going gray, and someone with very bright pink hair. I was nearly devastated to see the twins had not appeared with the rest of the them.

"You're safe," I still breathed, knocking over our chess game and hearing the pieces groan as they fell and scattered across the floor. I was too preoccupied running toward the door, only to have Bill put his hand out to hold me back.

"We could have been followed to the door, just in case the enchantments don't hold stay away from it," he said simply. I sighed and refused to look at Sirius who had been chirping the same warning since we'd gotten here.

"Can I have some explanations please? It's been a few days now and I haven't heard anything besides that you were safe...three days ago. It was highly inconvenient."

"Let's all sit down," Lupin suggested, his face rather red.

"I will make us tea," Fleur suggested, moving around the group of us to put the kettle on. The water was already hot, considering Sirius and I had just each had a mug-full, so I knew it wouldn't be long before she joined us.

"Audrey," Lupin grabbed my attention as everyone was sitting down. "I was asked to give this to you."

He handed over a piece of parchment that had obviously been crumpled for a lot longer than someone had been trying to smooth it out again. The ink that addressed the letter 'to Padfoot' was faded and slightly warped from water damage.

"This is Sirius' not mine," I said simply, handing it over to Sirius as I sat beside him. My godfather looked at the writing for a long moment, even though he seemed not to read it before he handed it over to me. I was terrified to see that his eyes were watering.

"No, I think this is for you." I frowned, knowing that my nickname was not, nor would never be _Padfoot_ and turned to the ink again.

_Dear Padfoot,_

Thank you, thank you, for Harry and Audrey's birthday presents! One year old and Harry's already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself. Audrey can't leave the little kitten alone – I can't tell which of those girls likes the other more. I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know Harry's broomstick only rises about two feet off the ground but he's nearly killed Audrey's cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Of course James thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going. Audrey's quite supportive of him – James doesn't know it, but I've let her on the broom as well. She nearly killed herself by running into the fireplace so I've decided to keep it a secret until the next disaster.

We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda who has always been sweet to us and who dotes on the twins. We were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and they aren't old enough to know it's their birthday anyway! James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell – also Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much. Wormy was here last weekend. I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard.

Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore. I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually because it seems incredible that Dumbledore

My eyes shot up as I looked to all the faces that I hadn't known were watching me. I reread the letter again, turning the page over to find it blank.

"Is that..."

"It's your mothers, yes," Sirius answered, his own voice thick. He turned his eyes to Lupin. "Do you have the-"

"Just this," he interrupted him, pulling something else out of his pocket and handing it to me. It wasn't the second part of the letter as I had hoped, but something that was even more impactful. It was a photograph; small and square with drained colours, but moving and carefree. In the photograph was a young baby with messy black hair that was flying around and giggling on a toy broomstick, just like the letter had said. Behind the broom, not looking at all afraid but who was laughing and looking very awed by the scene was a little girl. She barely had any hair at all and it was so fair that it looked transparent. In her chubby little arms was a black kitten that looked terrified of the wild, giggling boy. Even farther back was a pair of legs that seemed to be chasing the little boy around – I bet that was my father and that giggling little boy was my brother and that little girl who looked so happy...that was _me._

"Why haven't I seen this before?" I asked, clearing my throat as I tried to make my voice sound stronger. I looked up at both my godfather and the werewolf to my side, they looked very solemn as they looked from the picture and back to me. Tonks sat beside her husband, Bill across from her and at the other end of the table across from me was Fleur, who at some point had given me a cup of tea that I wasn't in the mood to drink.

"I just got it from Grimmauld place," Lupin said slowly, his eyes skirting to Sirius' for a moment before catching my glance again. "Your brother wanted you to see it."

Ah, so he'd gone to Grimmauld Place – a juvenile move, but one I should have expected from him. Still...I'd expected more from Hermione, though.

"The Death Eaters have to know about it by now," I said simply. I could feel that my face had dropped and that I was denying all the emotion that was trying to seep through the cracks – it was so hard to believe, to see the picture and know that my brother had sent Lupin to give it to me – as a peace offering, of all things. "You told him to get out, didn't you?"

"He wants to wait," Lupin explained. "To see if you want to go back to join him or to find out his next course of action."

"Right," I said simply, the anger in my voice stung even me. "Let's hear the rest of this update before we get on to the more upsetting subjects, yeah?"

Lupin sighed, though for a moment he looked miffed. "I went there this morning and was...well, rudely thrown out."

"Imagine my surprise," I drawled.

"Harry refuses to let me in on his secret and knowing that you are even more secretive, I've decided to accept that whatever it is you're doing is the right thing: for Dumbledore, at least. But that doesn't mean you have to be alone to do it. Harry agreed – he agreed that _you _shouldn't be alone and should go back to them."

"Funny," I gritted my teeth. "I seem to recall they were the ones who thought I _should _be alone."

Bill heaved a dramatic sigh. "There were Death Eaters after us all, Audrey."

"I'm very aware of that, thank you." I hissed out. "I'm not asking about my brother, I'm asking about what happened after he decided to abandon us like the coward he always accuses me of being. When you get to this morning we can talk about the traitor again."

Sirius and Lupin looked at each other nervously, but Sirius gave the werewolf a curt nod as if to explain that I did deserve some kind of explanation, so Lupin continued on with his story.

"The Ministry has truly fallen in every sense of the word. There is hardly a difference between Ministry members and the Death Eaters now; they are all puppets for Voldemort's greed. There were about a dozen of them that came to the wedding, but they weren't sure you were there until they saw you, Audrey. They also have no definitive proof that Harry was there – though it's easily assumed considering no one would have guessed you two would be apart. Arthur heard a rumor that they tried to torture your whereabouts out of Scrimgeour before they killed him; if it's true, he didn't give you away. It was why they kept searching after seeing you. The only people who saw you leave said that they saw someone garb you who had very dark hair..."

"They think Sirius was Harry," I realized slowly. Lupin nodded.

"Exactly. No one would have expected anyone else." Excluding me, but that was hardly the issue at hand. "The Death Eaters searched the Burrow from top to bottom and found Ron's ghoul, but didn't dare to get too close. After that they interrogated those of us who remained for hours. They were trying to get information on where you two had gone, but even when some of us select members were put under the Imperius curse, we honestly didn't know."

"They're putting you under the Imperius curse now?" I asked, my eyebrows high in intrigue. "With no pretenses or secrecy?"

"Why would they have to?" Sirius asked with a derisive scoff. "The Ministry and the Death Eaters are one in the same; they no longer have to justify their actions or make excuses – they do what they want without any repercussions. It's all Voldemort has ever dreamed."

"Indeed," Lupin sighed. "And while they were interrogating us, others were forcing their way into every Order-connected house in the country. There weren't any deaths to speak of, but they were rough with their raids. They burned down Dedalus Diggle's house, but as you know he wasn't there, and they used the Cruciarus Curse on Tonks's family. Again, trying to find out where you two had gone – that was Harry's safe house you see."

I turned my eyes to Tonks, whose hair did not suit the surrounding tension that built as we talked about her parents being tortured. "Are they alright?"

"They're fine; though my mum can't stop complaining about how if Dumbledore were here the charms would have held. Now that the Death Eaters can do whatever they want, they can also break spells no matter the cost or how Dark the magic is – it's going to make things a little bit complicated, to put it lightly."

"What about the other people at the wedding, the ones who didn't know where we were?" I asked, leaning across the table a bit more and jumping back when I heard the parchment crumple beneath my ribs. I looked down at the letter, the letter with Lily Potter's writing...I needed to keep my mind focused – I was hearing about who had and had not been tortured. Now was not the time to get distracted by things like a letter.

"They told the guests that you were wanted by the Ministry for interrogation," Lupin said slowly, his eyes looking around the table nervously. Bill, Fleur and Tonks all looked as nervous as he did.

"Show her," Bill said firmly. "She has a right to know."

From a deep pocket within his traveling cloak, Lupin pulled out a copy of the _Daily Prophet _and laid it in front of Sirius and I_._ On the front page was a large spliced picture of us: the Potter twice. The picture of Harry from when he put the article in the Quibbler was oddly cut and edited together to fit with a picture of me smirking after the boggart prank I had pulled on the Slytherin girls. I didn't get pictures taken often, nevertheless pictures with my brother – neither of these pictures made us look very innocent...nor did the charges printed boldly beneath them.

_WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE._

_CONVICTED OF MURDER IN THE DEATH OF THUBAN NOTT._

"_What_?" Sirius raged, standing up as he read the caption. "This is ridiculous, no one is going to believe this! This is low of them, even for the Death Eaters, trying to scare her friends into-"

"What did you expect to happen, Sirius?" I asked flatly, blinking at the page and watching my proud portrait smirk back at me – I had been so smug then; that was before anything had happened to either Nott or Dumbledore in the first place. "They're going to do anything they can to flush us out and making people hate me is much easier than making them turn against the name 'Potter'_. _They won't turn against Harry easily, not when everyone thinks – and knows – that he's the one who needs to defeat Voldemort; but to hate me? I'm a Slytherin, I'm a Potter, and the only positive things they've heard about me is from the time around the tournament when they were all sure I was in love with Draco...which ended up being true, which everyone knows. It's a smart move, coupling the facts like that. Enough people know they aren't lying to keep it convincing."

"Well, have they been putting up more posters about Bellatrix Lestrange? She cast that curse that killed him, after all." Sirius fumed, still sweetly furious for me. I shook my head.

"Let's stop the pretenses like they have been: I killed Thuban Nott, it was my Magnuse that did it. It was only a matter of time before it was used against me and I'm lucky that it wasn't earlier." I turned to Lupin who looked kindly sombre. "Who's Minister now?"

"Pius Thicknesse; he's under the Imperius Curse and basically uses the Dark Lord's words verbatim." Bill took over. "The general public doesn't know that Scrimgeour's even dead, most have only heard he's resigned. They'll start asking questions soon with everything that's changing, but for now the infiltration has been quiet."

"It eez muggleborns that are een trouble," Fleur agreed. To help her point, Lupin took the paper that still had the glaring picture of me and turned the page. On the second page was a simple headline that told exactly what the Ministry changes were.

"A Muggle-born Registry, this will split the masses – smart move." I grumbled lowly, making Lupin hum in agreement. I looked down to the article more properly, reading aloud so that Sirius could be as informed as I was. "'Recent research undertaken by the Department of Mysteries reveals that magic can only be passed from person to person when Wizards reproduce. Where no proven Wizarding ancestry exists, therefore, the so-called Muggle-born is likely to have obtained magical power by theft or force'. The more radical Purebloods will get a great sense of satisfaction from this and the Death Eaters have to know that others will be too nervous to argue back like Harry could always manage during school."

"I have a feeling that there won't be any more school uprisings, even if there will be more students. School is compulsory for every underage witch and wizard," Lupin told me seriously. "That was announced yesterday."

"It wasn't before?"

"No, most went anyway, but their parents had the right to teach them at home or send them abroad if they preferred. This way, Voldemort will have the whole Wizarding population under his eye from a young age in case there are any stand-outs."

"Or Muggleborns," I interrupted, shaking my head and clenching my jaw against the repulsive realizations of what my own friends were about to go through. My thoughts drifted to Tracey – strong, powerful, _halfblooded _Tracey... "What about the Halfbloods?"

"They obviously can't be accused of stealing magic, since one or both of their parents must have magical parentage – but I'm sure that the Purebloods will be getting special perks that the Halfbloods will have to seriously work for." Bill shrugged. Lupin looked at me carefully.

"Harry was much more furious than you are."

"I'm resigned," I informed him. "The Ministry's fallen: this was inevitable."

"Either way, they don't have you or Harry yet and the longer we see your pictures in the paper, the more we'll know that you're safe when you've gone off with him." Lupin explained, giving me a heavy and emphasizing look. I didn't understand why – we were still avoiding the subject of even speaking about Harry...he thought that things would just be fine again? "Voldemort will want to paint the messages high in the skies if he finally kills you and he'll want your heads to prove it."

"And people still haven't caught on that we were separated," I stated, ignoring the morbidity of his last thought.

"No, it was a good thing it was Sirius that took you away: he looked enough like Harry in the heat of the moment that whoever saw you believed it was you and Harry who Disapparated together." It seemed that they all saw something on my face that they didn't like to see, because it was immediately as if they were all walking on egg shells.

"Audrey," Bill said cautiously. "You know that Harry didn't _want _to leave you, don't you? I understand that you're angry, but you realize that when you go back you c-"

"Oh, I won't be going back with Harry," I said simply. The looks on their faces was more than priceless and I felt a smile curl to my lips as the uproar began.

"Of course you are!"

"You can't just leave them alone, Audrey – you're the only one with any sense of self..."

"What, you're just going to abandon them? What will you do instead?"

"Where will you go?"

"I thought you had a mission!"

"Harry isn't that bad to you," Sirius told me firmly, giving me a stern look. "His leaving was a mistake, he knows this or else he wouldn't have told you where to find him. Whatever rivalry you hold between the two of you cannot be worth risking whatever it is you're up to..."

"I'm _helping _what he's up to," I informed them haughtily. I hate how they always just assumed the worst of me – I was smarter than _that _and I had definitely earned my dues for all the shite I'd had to put up with. "You said so yourself: people think the two of us are together. I can help him a lot more by keeping them away from him than if I go with him."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius was obviously flustered.

"Think about it: Death Eaters chased after me and questioned you about where _we _were," I said closely as if I were speaking to someone that was hard of hearing. They think we're together which means if they see me, they'll think Harry's close by."

"You want to use yourself as a distraction," Lupin sighed, finally understanding that this was about far more than a grudge – though there was no denying _that_ bitterness was more than present. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I've done worse things for him so using myself as a distraction wouldn't be the out of the ordinary," I smirked down at the picture on the table, watching as baby Harry swooped around the room – as James scrambled after him – and there I was...watching him, waiting to see what he would do...wanting to help him. Maybe this instinct that always got me into trouble was something I'd always had. "Besides, it'll be more fun than what he's doing."

"But he might need your help-"

"He has Hermione and Ron with him; they'll be more help than I will be. Sirius, you were right when we talked on the beach: I only have my Magnuse and my wandwork isn't worthy of a hair charm, nevertheless defending my brother from someone like Voldemort." I told him. Everyone looked about ready to argue – though argue _what _I wasn't sure – so I put up my hand to silence them. "I am better close-combat or for strategy, we all know it. So here it is: my strategy is to buy him as much time and space as he needs to get the job done, or until he _really _needs me."

"What if he's captured and he needs you then?" Sirius bristled. "What then?"

"If you want to help him so much, you go join him – it's not _you_ they're after anymore," I sneered, my voice coming out a lot more vicious than I had intended it to. I backed off a bit; Sirius really had tried to be kind after our row on the beach and considering what I now had planned, I didn't need to be making enemies with the people I would be using as valuable resources. "Or if you're really so upset, we'll find a way to communicate. For now I'm staying right in the thick of it: they want to play games? Fine, but they don't realize the player I am."

"And this isn't because you were left behind?" Lupin asked, an eyebrow raised high.

"Let's not lie to ourselves and say that it isn't," I muttered bitterly. "But that's not really what it all comes down to. Yes, I'm angry and yes, it's true I wouldn't have thought of this if my brother hadn't been such a git, but this is bigger than my ultimate revenge on him – which I still will have."

Bill gave a loud snort and was hit in the shoulder by his wife.

"I'm sick of being left alone," I told them firmly. Bill immediately sobered, his eyes lowering to the table out of some form of humility I didn't understand – as far as I knew he'd been pretty loyal to me...I never understood how Gryffindors could so often feel bad for things they hadn't done. "I'm sick of it, but I'm more sick of people having to make the decision to do it in the first place. People have to leave me behind because we've been torn onto sides that have no level footing either direction. I am unstable enough on my own two feet, nevertheless when I have to support other people's stupidity on top of my own muck ups. So they leave me...and that's it," I tried to fight against the bubble of betrayal that still burnt in my chest like some sort of angry venom. "That's all there is to it – they left me and now I have a hand up: they don't know Harry isn't with me. I'm the perfect distraction. I'm the perfect tool to put those Death Eaters exactly where we want them."

"Audrey," Sirius told me strongly, his voice so full of pity it made me sneer. "You aren't bait."

"No, I'm a strategy." I corrected. "So let's start making them play by _our _rules."

* * *

><p><strong>Ta-da! What did you think? I know that a lot of you were excited to see what would happen after Harry left and now you finally can see how Audrey's going to leave and rough it on her own. I know it wasn't the most exciting, necessarily, but hopefully you got some answers you were looking for! For the wonderful reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_Elekat_**: I'm glad you like the story and hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much, thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Yes, they had to run from the Death Eaters or risk getting caught...I don't think Audrey will take seeing him again very well. Hopefully you liked the twist of her choosing not to meet up with them again – thanks for the review.**

_accio-logic_**: Yeah, poor Audrey just can't catch a break! I'm cruel, I know. I'm glad you liked the last cliff-hanger and hope you liked this newest chapter.**

_flamegirl100_**: I'm glad that there was still some surprise factor to Audrey not leaving with the trio. I wasn't going to let Audrey get taken by the Death Eaters, but I promise that there will be many encounters with them in the chapters to come. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked it!**

_muchfanficaboutnothing_**: I adore Fred too, but I am also all for Draco and Audrey. They fit each other much better; but Draco isn't there and now that Audrey's sticking around, Fred will be...so things might get a little messy. As for whether she'll see Draco, she will definitely see him at some point, but I make no promises over how it will go. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_sarahmichellegellarfan1_**: I'm sorry, I just love cliff-hangers! I didn't even know how much I loved them until I started writing, but clearly I'm obsessed. Audrey is definitely better suited for Draco, but Draco didn't fight for her and Fred was pretty good about protecting her – little things add up. Let's just hope Draco got enough points before they were separated! I will be doing a small Draco POV chapter later on about this time, but the upcoming APP chapter is from someone else's perception. Hope you liked it!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you :) Audrey isn't going to focus on catching up with them now, but I promise that I'll try to keep things as interesting as I can. Fred will be around and she will, at some point, get to see Draco but who knows what can happen in the meantime! I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you, as always, for reviewing!**

_siriusloverofpadfoot_**: Don't worry about not reviewing the one chapter, it's sweet that you took the time to review at all – I appreciate it immensely! I will definitely be continuing (you can't get rid of me, nevertheless Audrey that easily) and promise that there will be twists and turns all throughout the upcoming chapters. I'm hoping that it's going to be a really fun ride for everyone. Audrey isn't ready to forgive Draco yet, but she's going to have a tough time being mad at him in the next few chapters; so it will be an interesting turn of events. As for Fred, he's going to keep fighting – those Gryffindors are pretty brave, after all. I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_dracomalfoyswife1998_**: I'm glad I could surprise you with it! Draco will show up every now and again, but sadly they just aren't on the same page right now. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for taking the time to review.**

_excusemeimalittleawkward_**: Draco and Audrey are better suited than Fred and Audrey, it's true – but Draco is absent and Fred is pretty determined, so we'll have to wait and see if absence really does make the heart grow fonder for someone like our heroine. I'm glad that you like the story so much, thank you for the kind review – I hope this chapter was exciting!**

_quickreader93_**: Thank you, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Lynn D. Mariza_**: Thank you, I actually knew the French spelling, but I think the spell-check corrected it; either way I appreciate you letting me know :) I hope that it was a nice twist that she's not going to go with them, but don't worry – we'll be seeing all our favourite characters again (including Fred, Draco, Harry and the others)...I'm just going to make you wait before it happens! Haha, thanks for reviewing.**

_Dwarfsun_**: I'm glad I could surprise you, it means I've still got some tricks up my sleeves! I hope this was a quick enough update and that it was exciting enough to stop you from hanging off the page, haha. Thanks for the review.**

_momorocks101ful_**: A few people suspected that they might be separated but I'm really glad that I could cause such surprise by how I did it. Audrey isn't going to take her first meeting with Harry well, but at least it will leave for a nice, dramatic chapter in the future. She will have periods alone and with friends, but I cannot say more than that – thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_19irene96_**: Thank you, I'm glad it came as a surprise! Hope you liked the chapter :)**

_CaptainAmericanna_**: Yes, a different version of the story is going to be fun to write, even if I have fear I'll mess it up, haha. I'll try my best, though. Thank you for reviewing!**

_LoveableAmethyst129_**: Ha, hopefully you calmed enough to read the chapter and hopefully it made you feel a bit better! **

_That-Crazy-Psycho_**: Wow, you read this all in a day? Bravo; I've been going through it again myself and it's taking me forever! Sirius is going to have to stay undercover for the majority of the story, as he has in the last, considering he is still an outlaw...but I think they want Audrey much more than they want him; so they can be on the run from the law together. I won't say who Audrey will end up with, whether it be Fred or Draco, but I can say that it's going to be an interesting clash of emotions now that Draco is gone and Fred is going to be there with her – poor Audrey isn't going to know what to do with herself. I haven't decided if I'm going to include the Death Eater meeting from the first chapter, but we will be seeing some of the Death Eater movement later on in Audrey Potter's Prelude :) I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Beckah Godric-Northman_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it and could be surprised. I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for taking the time to review.**

_TheInflictedFinger_**: I try to make it as believable as I can, I hope it can continue to be that way for you. Poor Audrey is just so jaded she only sees the worst of them...hopefully she won't be so bitter that she's blinded during the battle. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Spottedjay_**: Yes, Audrey definitely just got screwed over in the grand scheme of things...but I think she'll do better on her own than with the others. If there's anything Audrey knows how to do, she knows how to start trouble and grab the attention of people around her – and that's when she's hardly trying. I figure she'll be a force to be reckoned with when she's actually trying to cause trouble for all the Death Eaters. Should be fun, haha. I really do appreciate all of your words, I'm very proud of this story and what it's become – I honestly didn't expect this when I started writing it, it still catches me off guard sometimes. Don't think that I was trying to be rude or dismissive, I love writing this story and I also love when people like you say you like reading it :)**

_Bloody-Asphode11_**: Audrey killing Harry is a definite possibility, especially if he doesn't start begging forgiveness now. At the beginning I never really said there was a dagger, but there have been a few daggers mentioned throughout the story, so who knows? Thanks for the review.**

_S38_**: It was shocking even when the idea came to me, I agree. Thanks for reviewing!**

_cup'o'tea_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Draco and Audrey definitely understand each other better than Fred and Audrey do, but there is something to be said for the fact Fred is there when Draco isn't...**

_Guest_**: Thank you, I can't believe the story ended up being this long! I'm very happy with it so far and I'm glad that you are as well – I hope you liked this chapter!**

_Takara Matsudaira_**: Sorry, I didn't mean to get it wrong, I must have just had a finger slip on the keys. I'll focus harder not to do it again. As for the story, I'm glad that you suspected that Audrey wouldn't be going with the trio; a few people thought she wouldn't but most people didn't catch on to how it would happen.  
>Audrey knows exactly where they are but isn't in a rush to go to them...I don't blame her. I'd be more than pissed off were I her. I don't think that Molly will have much say in what Audrey does now that she's officially on the run and they are all being watched – Audrey really has to watch her steps now that she's endangering everyone she comes into contact with on a legal and waging-war basis.<br>You're right, Fred and Audrey aren't as great of a match as she and Draco; but Fred will be around much more than Draco thanks to him...you know, being free and all that.  
>Sirius will be playing an important part in the last section of the story and I wanted Audrey to be more effected by OOTP than Harry was. Harry had to go through that change because Sirius died – but to have Sirius died would have had a completely different effect on Audrey...so she became a murderer as a trade. This does not mean Sirius is saved for the entire story; it just means I have plans for him later :)<strong>

_Guest_**: Keeping people surprised and tense is the name of the game and I happen to be pretty obsessed with playing it, haha. She might not be as "on her own" as some people are thinking, but she will not be with the Trio and she will not always be aided by the Order – she gets to be on her own side, once again. We will get to see Draco and Theo and possibly even Snape in this section of the story, but I doubt it will be the meetings that you are expecting ;) Thanks for the review.**

_Guest_**: Audrey didn't get captured, but she's going to end up meeting Draco again, I promise. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Hopefully this next chapter was almost as exciting as the last :)**

_Sian D_**: Everyone's going to have to come up with some other way to work out the issues with the Horcruxes now that they're apart, but they'll work it out – the boys have Hermione and I'd like to think Audrey's clever enough to come up with her own solution. I'm glad that you like the story and the odd imbalance between the Potter twins, hopefully I'll be able to be nice to her soon. She is going to finally start getting revenge and causing chaos like she's always wanted...it will be a nice time to help cheer her. You can't tell from all the apologies and thanks? Ha, sorry, bad stereotyping: I'm actually Canadian. I've had multiple friends move to and from the UK, was raised on their television and have gotten to visit there, though :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Kimimela_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Sometimes I wish that I already had all the chapters written, but honestly I'm afraid for when this story ends – I don't know what I'll do without it! It is really crazy that we're already this far through the series; I wonder how far I would be if I had actually started in book one. But then it would have been torturous to wait for the moment when Draco and Audrey would have kissed, haha! Thanks for reviewing and following on Twitter!**

_katie93319_**: That's alright, I'm just glad that you've reviewed this one! It is kind of sad that she won't get to be with the trio during their adventures, but I don't think angry-Audrey would have been a good person to have constantly traveling with them. I don't think they would have made it to the end of the mission, haha. Hopefully this chapter answered your questions and was exciting enough; thanks!**

_draccmalfoy_**: Yes, it will be interesting to write what I think happened behind the scenes of the Trio's seventh year – it will also be nice to have Audrey there manipulating some of it so it goes her way. I thoguht about making it so that Audrey would have been captured by the Death Eaters...but there were certain people in that crowd that would never have let it happen and for all we know, they really did help her, she just didn't notice... Thanks for reviewing!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I know, I can be so cruel...but don't tell me it didn't pull at your heartstrings and make you want to keep reading, haha! I'm glad that you liked the chapter and the role reversal of the Gryffindors being too afraid to help – thanks for the review!**

_Isabella_**: Thank you, I'm glad I was able to surprise you and really get your gears moving to figure out what will happen next. I know that this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but hopefully it answered a few of your questions!**

_Ahsilaa_**: I'm sorry, hopefully this chapter made up for it!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Thank you! I never thought it'd make 1,000,000 words – nevertheless make it this far and still be able to shock people...I won't deny, I'm proud. It was a nice little change of pace that they ran while Audrey stayed to fight the Death Eaters – who are her friends and she's always defending – just so they would stop shouting spells at them. But I like that Audrey's going to stay: she doesn't really belong in such close quarters with the Gryffindors anyway. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this new chapter!**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: Thanks for doing the joint review, I love hearing what people think of the story – especially exciting chapters like the last one.  
>I'm a lover of both Fred and Draco as well, but there really is only one proper choice for Audrey...the problem is, Draco is never really there for her whereas we're going to be seeing quite a bit of our favourite redheads. This will clearly mess up Audrey's delicate emotions. I wish that she would get to see more of the Slytherins, but it would be too dangerous for not only herself, but for them if she were to make an appearance right now.<br>As for the Gryffindors leaving her, I'm glad that it caused the shock that it did! Hopefully I can continue to throw some twists in the story to keep you on your toes :) Thanks for reviewing! **

_vmockingjay12_**: Thank you for taking the time to review now, I really appreciate it. I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger (alright, I'm not actually, I adore writing them) but I hope this chapter makes up for the tension of the last ending!**

_PaulaWaula_**: Yes, Audrey's kind of a background performer in Harry's story, even though without her the story would be quite different (as we see between the original and this). Moments like last chapter definitely make her bitterness a bit more warranted, but hopefully she'll be able to get past it (or, perhaps use it) so she can work around this new plan of hers. Yes, poor Fred really doesn't understand that Audrey's in love with Draco...but he isn't around and Fred is, so you never know what can happen in close quarters...**

_Miss Laufeyson_**: Thanks, I hope you like this new chapter!**

_LyraBlack22_**: Yes, it seems like Harry and Audrey will always be at odds...but don't worry, Audrey will have more fun on her own than if she was stuck with the Gryffindors the whole time. It's the only way I could think of making up for how cruel this move was. I'm glad that you've liked the past few chapters and hope that you enjoyed this one as well, thanks for the review!**

_1GirlWhoWaited_**: I agree that this is one of Harry's better moments, no? Haha.**

_IrregularClara_**: Yeah, I loved Karen Gillan in Oculus (I'm a scary-movie junkie) and I have yet to get into Doctor Who. I've watched a bit and I always mean to continue on, it's just such a large commitment and I haven't found the time for it yet. I've watched some of Sherlock and love Orphan Black though.  
>It'd be nice if Audrey could come to forgive Draco sooner rather than later, but Audrey is wonderful with grudges so it depends on how he decides to pursue the next few chapters. As for Fred, I agree that they are loyal to her when others haven't necessarily been. So we'll see what wins out: love or safety. Audrey craves both, but I think she only really needs one. As for the cliff-hanger, I hope that this chapter smoothed the pain and avenged your spirit, as you put it, haha. Thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Little Messers_**: Ha, thanks, I'm pretty proud of the word count. As for being proud about ripping out your beating heart and serving it on a plate...well, at least it's still beating? It was pretty emotional that they ended up leaving her and it was surprisingly easy to continue the anguish onto this chapter; hopefully it came out properly. Audrey will definitely have her hand in on some of the things we hear about in passing during the original novel, but you'll have to wait and see what those things are! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Arabella Ella_**: It was pretty upsetting that she had to get left behind like that, but at least it will free her up to do the things she feels is best – which obviously translates to a lot of havoc. Fred will be making quite a few appearances in the upcoming chapters, but we will be getting a few glimpses into Draco's life as well – I can't help myself, haha. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this newest one! Thank you.**

_Angeena_**: I have it as an epub on my computer, but sadly I don't know how I would easily make that available to other people. Hopefully you make it all the way to catching up and you like the ride it takes to get here; thank you for taking the time to read and review!**

_GrossEwww_**: I'm glad it was a surprise! As for what this might mean for later, you'll have to wait and see. I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_Anna Katharyn_**: Ha, sorry. Oh and I already called dibs on whoever Audrey doesn't take ;)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: That's how I felt when I wrote it – I'm glad you're so attached! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Geri_**: Yeah, it's not necessarily the best emotional situation for Audrey, but it should make for some interesting plot points if I can pull it off. I'm glad that I can still bring some surprise to the story; I'll be trying many more times to get this kind of reaction.  
>As for the epilogue...it will not be even close to the epilogue in the original novel. The alternate ending (and epilogue) that I plan on posting will also be quite different.<br>Fred will be a nice presence in the next few chapters, especially as Audrey battles with her emotions and figuring out what to do past this point. Now that Audrey isn't actually looking for Horcruxes (as Dumbledore made sure Harry's job was to find them) she will have to find something else to occupy her time; including figuring out what the skean is for, how to make her mark with the Death Eaters, and how to destroy the Horcruxes.  
>Thank you, I'm glad Audrey seems life-like. I really appreciate it; she's kind of my pride and glory – only second place to my real-life puppy, haha. Thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Lycoris1305_**: Thank you for this review, I love how in-depth it was. Audrey never read the letters during the summer from 5th-6th year; but I do plan on writing them all down as one of the one-shots for Audrey Potter's Prelude.  
>Audrey is trying really hard not to think about Snape, but she won't be able to live in that kind of naivety for very long. Audrey also considered the possibility of who might be with the Death Eaters during the raid, but it would have been too simple for her to see them like that. Besides, we're soon going to find out that Draco wasn't actually there at all...<br>I hope that you liked the chapter around as much as you liked the last one; thank you for reviewing!**

_nannan_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I might do that scene later on in Audrey Potter's Prelude, but first I am planning on writing a different scene next week. I'm also nervous to end this story, it feels like it could go on forever...but I have an end in sight and I'm working toward it chapter by chapter. Thanks for the review :)**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you! You are constantly so sweet that I get a giddy sugar-high from reading your reviews. Audrey was definitely not a fan of being one of Fleur's cousins in the last scene and it didn't work out as well as she might have hoped this scene. I'm delighted to say that we will get to see many more Polyjuice transformations and some good ol' fashion Audrey-mischief now that she's decided to take this new path. It was really exciting to hit one million words – now I get to look forward to hitting one million words that doesn't include the review responses...It's crazy to think about what a monster this story is (only a little pun intended).  
>Yes, I kind of wanted Fred and Audrey to kiss in the wedding scene too, but Audrey was already too bristled and I feel like if I would have made it happen it would have ended in a slap rather than confusion and if it does happen, I want her to be confused by it. Fred's death still catches my breath every time I think about it, so to now think of what I have the power to do in this story makes me antsy. I don't want to be cheesy and save him just because I love him, whereas I don't want him to die because I love him and there would be loose ends with Audrey's emotions...so I'm at a strange crossroads on the reality of the upcoming final battle.<br>In the original first draft, I had Harry fighting for her a little harder before they had to run and also have Audrey tell them to...but realistically, as I wrote it, Audrey wouldn't tell them to leave her behind. She was ready to plow through all those Death Eaters to get to them so she wouldn't have just said "nah, I'll meet you there" and this is what became of that change in perception. I swear, people always think I'm joking, but I've had more chapters than I can count where I say "I want this to happen" and as I'm writing it's as if Audrey says "No. Not acceptable" and changes the entire chapter on me – this might be a sign of early onset dementia or the fact that this character is an alternate personality, but I've accepted the pressures of Audrey Potter, haha.  
>Hopefully you aren't too upset that she will not be going back to Hogwarts for her final year. It just wasn't realistic and I tried to outline it in this chapter; she really would be killed in her bed or used at bait in a way that she has no control over...and she would never put herself at risk like that. Not even to watch over her friends. Besides, she knows she's better help to them stirring up trouble.<br>Anyway, I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you, as always, for the marvelous review!**

_Fusion Palace_**: Oh yeah, Audrey isn't going to take it well when she sees them again. It will be a fun scene to write, haha. Audrey and Fred are going to have a lot of time to continue speaking, but it was very important to get this chapter and keep it all about fact. Originally I was going to put Fred in it; but then it would have been off balanced between what I wanted to happen between Audrey and Fred and what we needed to know about the new plan of action. As for the epilogue of this story, it will be very different from what the original...but hopefully it will be just as impactful :) Thanks for reviewing!**

_mrsdansmith_**: Don't worry about it, thanks for taking the time to review this last chapter! Yes, she was left behind – it will definitely keep things interesting, considering we'll be seeing the war from a very different point of view. I also didn't think that she belonged with the trio; after all, there was a chance she would have killed them when she got too annoyed...on the third day, haha.**

_emmamaysie_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Sorry that you have to wait for updates now; I wish I could write more quickly (and at the same time I'm terrified to finish this story). I hope you liked this new chapter, even if neither Draco nor Fred were really featured. I hope you didn't go through too much withdrawal!**

_applecandykiss_**: I'm obsessed with cliff-hangers, so if you were anxious from that one you might feel the same over the others I plan on writing in upcoming chapters, haha. As you said, Audrey plans to go and stir up trouble around the wizarding world, but she will not be a Hogwarts student this year. I agree that Fred is a sweetheart, it's really fun writing the different kinds of relationships between the two boys – Draco is all about intent and the things he **_**doesn't**_** necessarily do, whereas Fred is more traditional and romantic in his flirtations. Ha, it would be crazy if I ever saw someone write something about Audrey! It'd also be interesting to see what other people think goes on in her head, haha. I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you for the great review!**

_Miss Evangeline_**: Aw, thanks for reading it all the way through and stopping to review. I don't mind that you didn't review as you made your way here, this one was wonderful enough! I'm glad you like the story (and Audrey) so much, hopefully your feelings towards Harry aren't too serious – I wouldn't want to upset the original story.  
>Audrey, currently, can't cast a Patronus charm. She has never been able to, up to this point. I can't tell you what will happen to Fred, or even what will happen between Fred and Audrey, but I promise to keep it as interesting as I can. I really appreciated your review and thanks again!<strong>

_ThalicoRules5678_**: You finished this story in two hours? That's incredible! Wow, I'm genuinely impressed! I'm glad you've liked this story enough to go through it like you did and hope that you liked this chapter as much as the others :)**

_TCP4ever_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad that you like the story so much, even if I end some of the chapters with very abrupt cliff-hangers, haha. Thanks for reviewing and hope you liked the new installment!**

_Phoenix Erika_**: I know that you responded for chapter 26 and it might be some time before you make it to this chapter (and who knows if you'll even see your name) but thank you for taking the time to review. I hope you find Audrey as interesting now as you did when you left your review and thank you so much for letting people know about the story – honestly, I'm honoured! Thanks again :)**

_downfallsofbeingawallflower_**: I may as well have been raised by a sailor considering how foul my mouth is, so there's no need to apologize for swearing – especially if you're complimenting me while doing it, haha! As for my grocery lists, I promise they aren't as interesting...struggling with healthy living rarely is ;)  
>I'm really glad that you've gotten so into the story, especially that Audrey could pull those emotions out of you. I hope that she can continue to do that, the upcoming chapters might be a bit of a rollercoaster if it all goes as planned. Harry and Audrey won't be seeing each other for a while, but because of this she'll get to see some other characters he doesn't get to see until much, much later. I hope you liked this newest chapter and thank you so much for this review!<strong>

_Guest_**: Thank you! I'm sorry that you now have to wait for updates, but hopefully I can make them worth it.**

_theeejupiter_**: I'm happy to hear it! I really like writing Snape's POV, so that's not the last you'll be hearing of it. Sadly the next chapter won't be from him, but I promise that we will be reading it a little later on. Thank you for telling other people about this story, I'm honoured that you think it's worth mentioning. Thanks again!**

_Ferocious Mouse_**: Oh, even though Audrey didn't catch up with the trio in this chapter I can assure you that she'll make them regret leaving her in the first place. I hope that this chapter lived up to your expectations!**

_DarkTendncies_**: Thank you! One million words: it's pretty unbelievable. It doesn't really feel like it's been that long, at least. I'm glad that the last chapter was able to surprise you so much, I hope that you'll have a few more moments like that before this story ends! Thanks for reviewing.**

_waywardlottie_**: I'm sorry that I've taken away your sleep, but I'm glad that you think it was worth it! Thank you for all your compliments, they're really sweet. I totally agree that Draco and Fred are both wonderful in their own ways – they're very different but I still love them both. Crazy. I hope you liked the new chapter and thank you for taking the time to review :)**

_Lil Obsessed_**: I'm doing wonderfully, thank you. How are you? Congratulations on making it to the end; I know it's quite a bit to undertake when you decide to read it – I'm going through it all right now and it's taking me forever, haha. I hope that your exams went well and that the stress has started to dissipate. I couldn't prove Sirius' innocence, even if he was working for the Order in the Department of Mysteries, because Wormtail still wasn't there to prove that he had not murdered him. If he was, there may have been a chance, but other Death Eaters like Snape have also switched sides, but that doesn't mean Sirius didn't (try to) murder Pettigrew in the first place. Ah, a Franki-reader! Ha, thank you – she's my second favourite character I've written next to Audrey; it's always nice to hear someone liked her as well. Thanks so much for reviewing!**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much. You'll have to wait and see how Audrey goes about forgiving (or not forgiving) Draco, so hopefully you can stick around until he finally has the chance to defend himself!**

_lovesashowewearein_**: Ha, I hope you liked that scene, it was so fun to write! If you make it all the way to this chapter thank you for reading the story and I hope you've enjoyed it :)**

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><p><strong><strong>PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL BE A CHAPTER OF <strong>**AUDREY POTTER'S PRELUDE** **UPDATED NEXT, WHICH WILL DELAY AN UPDATE FOR THIS STORY. It should be an exciting one! As for this chapter,** Audrey now has a new path to follow and she is actually going to be separated from Harry...at least for a while. I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but there was a lot of explaining to be done here. I hope you liked what you read and hope that you will tell me what you thought about it. **

**PLEASE **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, Q&As, updates, quizzes and more!**


	86. Partners in Crime

**Hello everyone! I hope you liked the chapters I released for **_Audrey Potter's Prelude _**this month and apologize that it delayed the updates here – there are sadly only so many hours in a day and there are still a lot of things I need to write for this story. This next chapter isn't the most exciting, but it has some relevant information for next chapter...and, while I'm at it, I may as well mention it's a bit fluffy.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 85 – Partners in Crime<p>

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><p>Each morning grew increasingly difficult as the week dragged on without my brother. Each day was filled with spiralling thoughts and sleepless worrying, which always dissolved into nights filled with the late night scheming between myself and senior Order members. I'd been seeing my fair share of Sirius, Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt, but a lot of members still couldn't participate. Most of them could barely leave their homes, considering they were still being tailed; so we had to keep them away to avoid them catching me without Harry. It would ruin the entirety of my already unstable plan if that were to happen.<p>

There was only so much plotting I could take – something I never thought I'd admit aloud. It was so much to think of and I could confidently say I'd never used so much of my brain for such long spans of time – classes were a joke in comparison to trying to piss off a Dark Lord. During the times I was most overwhelmed in the overcrowded little cottage, I often found myself sneaking out to the beach at night. If it wasn't just to get away from Remus' complaining about not knowing the plan, it was also to avoid being in view of the newlyweds' affection or so that I didn't feel so suffocated with all talk of Harry and how I _should _be going with him. I already knew I _should _be going with him – but since that clearly wasn't going to happen I had other things to think about. Such as how I _should _be going out to the edge of the ocean with an Invisibility cloak...but since Harry had taken that with him when he left me fighting off Death Eaters, I was forced to sneak.

It always circled around to me being abandoned again. Always. It didn't matter whether it was by the mention of Snape, or Harry, or Draco – every time I thought about it, it made my stomach lurch. It felt like guilt as much as it felt like betrayal, which I didn't understand, I just knew that it was causing some very sleepless nights. I needed to be at my best, considering sooner rather than later I was going to demand that I make some kind of display to throw the Death Eaters off of Harry's scent for at least another week.

This morning was as hard as any other. The silence in the _Prophet _was as dangerous as knowing too much information and as always Kingsley had come by late to keep us up to date. He informed us in detail about some of the newer problems for students like Ginny who would have to go back to Hogwarts – this included the appointing of a new Headmaster. There it was again – my stomach lurching and rolling at the thought of him – as if it were trying to expel the reality of it.

A year ago, if someone would have said that Severus Snape would become Headmaster of Hogwarts, I would have been thrilled. Confused, because at that time I wouldn't have known that Dumbledore would die – at _his_ hand, no less – but I would have been thrilled. To this day, I wouldn't hesitate to say that Snape got things done unlike any man I had ever known; he could teach the impossible because he could adapt to anyone's way of thinking – it's why he had made a good spy...I thought.

_Forgive me, _he had said. With his unique ability to adjust to my way of thinking, had he known where my own thoughts would lead me when I'd heard that? Whether he had meant for me to hear it, whether it had been meant for Dumbledore, I always came back to those words. He had asked for forgiveness right before he had killed Dumbledore and dropped him from the top of the Astronomy tower – but who was he asking? All I knew was that it didn't make sense...that it meant something was wrong, that something wasn't as it seemed. I was so sure, I believed in Snape so much...he'd had all the time in the world to prove that he was bad, so why had he taken so much time to prove that he was good? Harry had argued this with me for so long and I tried not to believe him, but there was no way to just stop listening. And then there was all the other things to consider...even if I were to exclude the events of the night Hogwarts had been infiltrated – which was entirely impossible – there were the other things to worry about: he had killed my kneazle, he had hurt people, who knew how many Death Eater raids he'd been on since they were out in the open. Every time I heard a new story about the Death Eaters and their involvement in everything terrible they had done, my confidence in Severus Snape shrivelled. And every time that happened, all I could think of was Draco – wondering if he was starting to like the new display of power he would have now that Dumbledore was dead and he had succeeded in his stupid, dangerous mission.

I bet he was living the high life; I bet he had the world in his hands, just like he'd always wanted.

It hurt thinking about them; it hurt thinking about any of the people who I'd had to leave behind or – even worse – those who had left me. It was hard to believe that after everything, after all the stances about not choosing someone or leaving them behind, I'd been forced to leave them for Harry. And there was no point in denying it hurt just as much that after everything I'd done to leave with Harry, Harry had left without _me._

"I'm surprised you're awake," my eyes, swollen and itching from my lack of sleep were able to snap to the door with surprising speed. Sirius was there, leaning against the frame and carefully patting at the rucksack he'd borrowed from Bill. I raised an eyebrow, my sorrowful mood quickly becoming something more resentful.

"Oh, you're back," I mumbled, trying not to let him know how upset I was. "Did you give him my present?"

"Did you really consider that a present?" Sirius raised an accusing brow, but I could see the humour dancing behind his eyes.

"You considered a punch in the face excessive, so yes: I consider a safe, inanimate object a present," though he found it humorous he waited for my temper to cool. "You know, in comparison."

"Of course," Sirius laughed, coming into the room and sitting on the edge of my bed. He didn't look any different from when he'd announced that he was going to Grimmauld Place to see Harry late last night. I was curious and wanted to question him on how long he was there, if the newest inhabitants in the house looked alright, or even better if they had done anything with their free time...but that would look far too close to _caring _about it. "If there is any interest, Harry said he misses you."

"How sweet of him," I drawled, leaning back onto the arm of the couch which had become my bed during my time here. "But you really mean that he misses having me around to bother, or do his research, or fix his problems, or-"

"I doubt that was it, but if you want to bother him you can," he explained, giving me a meaningful look. "I gave him my two-way mirror fragment."

"Good," I nodded. Sirius hadn't necessarily been happy to part with it, but I was glad that he had given in. All I'd had to do was lay it on a little thick about needing to talk to Harry when I was good and ready – which wouldn't happen considering I'd only speak to him when I had to. I was more than ready to do it now...but I doubt it would end amicably. "I'll see if I can't split mine in two so you can have another piece."

"I plan on staying in touch with the both of you, so it won't be necessary," he argued, small frown lines appearing in his forehead as he thought of something that bothered him. "Besides, since I can't know what's going on, it's probably better that you two aren't disturbed."

"Right. Maybe we can make a new one, for just us?" I tried to think back to when I had gotten the mirror fragment – it dated back to when Sirius visited me in Hogwarts during fifth year. He had gotten through to Harry by Floo, but he had managed to get his reflection straight to my dorm room mirror so we could chat. The mirror had broken when Umbridge had tried to hurt him – fracturing the mirror into separate pieces which we all shared. Harry had gotten his own that Christmas, but he had smashed it before he'd ever even used it.

"The charm is specific to that kind of mirror, I don't know if I'd trust it," he told me honestly. He took the time to shrug his shoulders and look away. "I'll see if I can't research something new while you're busy today."

"Today?" I repeated, straightening up a bit. "What do I have planned for today? I thought Kingsley's visit was all we had to do?"

"Oh, no, that's tonight," Sirius agreed, grinning in that way that made you remember just how handsome he would have been before his term in Azkaban. "Today, I have a surprise for you."

"Is it a new Potions kit?" I asked, crawling from under my blankets to move a little closer to him; he had his hand on the rucksack again which made the excitement grow as if it were my birthday all over again. "I've been dying without all the potions I left behind – and I can't even make more here. It's stupid, Sirius. I never would have thought Bill looked down on potion making so much that he wouldn't even have ingredients-"

"You won't need that," he assured me, frowning dramatically.

"Now I'm suspicious," I told him with narrowed eyes. "Just whatis this surprise?"

"Well," he moved to dig into the rucksack and keeping it folded over so I couldn't see whatever it was he had inside. "This is the start of it."

With his free hand he opened up my fingers and moved to accommodate whatever it was he had in the bag. After trying to stretch out the moment, he placed something warm and soft on my palm. I took a moment to understand what I was seeing – a fuzzy, warm, green apple...only to see it move right up my arm so it could rest on my shoulder and _purr_.

"Houdini!" I gasped, moving the little Pygmy Puff back into my hands so I could see him. After taking him in for a second and being sure he was _my _Pygmy Puff – the only green Pygmy Puff in the world – I pushed him up against my face. He was chubby, he'd been fed well; he was also happy to see me. He placed his tiny little hands on my face and looked up at me, as if explaining he missed me just as much as I had missed him. "Sirius, where did you-"

"I gave it to him," a voice interrupted. I looked up and away from Houdini, who was again trying to crawl up my arm to rest on my right shoulder where I couldn't see him anymore. The Weasleys had finally come to visit Shell Cottage. Bill had obviously led the group upstairs, but behind him I could see Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, and even Ginny. I was hardly out of the bed to run to them before I was being sandwiched between the twins, who were laughing and mocking the fact I was still in my pajamas.

"She's tiny-"

"-Mum, you know what to do-"

"-don't groan like that, Audrey, or she'll force feed you at your weakest-"

"-stop pretending like you aren't happy for the food we'll offer-"

"-or the friendship-"

"-or the brilliance-"

"-mostly the brilliance-"

"-maybe not on _George's _part-"

"Hey!" I interrupted them, not liking just how long this hug had lasted. I was happy to see them, but I wasn't too distraught to need physical comfort. I didn't like that they were still hugging me...especially considering Fred was hugging me more tightly than George was. "Can we focus for a second, perhaps let me breathe?"

Mrs Weasley pulled the boys away from me by the collars of their shirts and they both frowned childishly and rubbed at their necks, giving me a gentle glare in recompense. They didn't look any different, none of them did. They still looked ginger, freckled, and joyful. I didn't know if there was a point of trying to get a better look at them to see if any of them had been hurt – I couldn't see anything that didn't make me automatically want to smile. I knew better though; I knew that didn't mean they hadn't been tortured: essence of dittany and murtlap could do magical things.

"How did you escape your Death Eater bodyguards?" I asked them, looking behind me to see that Sirius was smiling just as widely and had risen from my couch.

"I'm insulted you had to ask-"

"-we make our living on escaping things, Drea, really-"

"-and not one no-good Death Eaters will stop us-"

"-not from seeing our favourite Potter-"

"-especially after _her _Great Escape-"

"-which we plan to hear all about-"

"-as we plot our next moves-"

"Yes," Fred finished. "We've heard about your little plan: we want in."

"It's not a little plan, it's a huge one," I informed, trying hard not to let my grin stretch across my face too painfully. "Causing chaos should not be considered a _little _plan."

"Save the fact you've yet to plan it," Sirius muttered from behind me. I moved to glare at him, but couldn't really live up to my full potential considering I was being pulled into another bone crushing hug, now that the room was starting to fill. This time Mrs Weasley was holding me more tightly and fussing over me.

"We brought your clothes and things to make you more comfortable – oh, Bill, you don't even have a proper bed for the girl? I'm so glad to see you safe dear, we'd heard you'd Disapparated and didn't know what to expect!" I suspected a tiny part of her thought I'd run away – I wonder what she thought when she realized that's what herson had done, abandoning _me_.

"I'm fine, safe and sound," I looked over her shoulder to Ginny, keeping my voice more nonchalant than it had been all week. "Harry is too. Not that I care."

"We heard," she smiled a little, as if showing me that she appreciated the news. "And you've heard the news, haven't you? About Hogwarts."

Mrs Weasley finally pulled away from her hug so that she could look at me. I was still in her arms, as stiff as a board, and wincing away from the emotion in her red and watery eyes. She was going to cry any minute, I could tell – I needed a way to wriggle out of her arms before that time came...

"Oh, the news is so horrible, after what he did to Albus! What must you think of him, after you looked up to him so much?"

Alright, I needed to escape before I _made _her cry. I was not in the bloody mood for this again – this 'oh, Audrey, it's so sad you trust the bad guys that we've been fighting a war with and killing'...

Besides, I knew what I _must _think of him, logically, after everything that had happened...but I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint exactly what I _did_ feel. I was hurt by his betrayal, I was furious that I had been lied to and left behind and used, and I was determined to know what more there was to that story. He wouldn't ask for my forgiveness, or the forgiveness of anyone else who may have heard it, without some kind of reason.

"She doesn't need Death Eaters in her life anymore," Sirius said sternly, coming behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder. I gave him a look, begging him not to start this overprotective nonsense and to pry this woman from me – I was glad how quickly he understood. "Come on, Molly. We should talk downstairs."

She looked nervous to leave us alone, but Sirius was quick to move his hand from my shoulder and on to hers so that he could usher her from the room. Bill gave us one last look and smiled to himself, shaking his head and leaving without informing us what may or may not have been humorous – I was fine with it; I was just happy to see new people and break the pattern of malevolent and monotonous thought.

"We've heard what you're planning, Drea," George began again, moving to take a seat on the couch and picking at my blankets to inspect them – they weren't that warm. It was like he knew what a problem they had presented this past week. "Couldn't have come up with a better plan, myself."

"That's because I come up with the plans," Fred admonished, sitting down right next to him. I was upset that this was leaving very little room on the couch, particularly when Ginny sat on the table across from it – leaving me to stand or sit right next to the one twin I felt more uncomfortable around than my own. "I'm impressed you announced the plan without our guidance. I am, however, insulted that you did not inform people of the part we'd play in it."

Both Ginny and I laughed, even if the twins continued to look completely serious. I was just glad they were diffusing the tension – they could probably tell I was going to run off like a deer in the lamplight. "I'm sorry, I thought it was just assumed you'd help me wreak havoc."

"As long as it's clear," Fred agreed, nodding as if he were some official advisor. "And look at this, I've already come to help you."

He set a small bag on the table bed between us. I gasped, lunging toward it and pausing only to right Houdini who had slipped down my arm during my sudden movement. If I had really wanted to, I could have shoved that whole arm in to my elbow to be able to find everything I needed to. It was the bag I had left behind at the Burrow. The contents were virtually untouched; each potion vial was intact, the pages of each book were dry.

"I can't believe you got it," I gaped, rifling through every texture in the bag. "Did you have to kill someone for it, seduce them perhaps?"

"You said it was important," Fred, terrifyingly, seemed to blush. "We figured if it was that important to you, it would be important to the cause."

"Yeah, 'we'," George repeated, as he rolled his eyes and scoffed. "That's what _we _did."

George received a swift elbow to the ribs.

"But besides Fred's fawning and George's injuries," Ginny smirked, looking at me and motioning for me to sit across from her. I was hesitant to sit next to Fred, but eventually decided that it was a couch – it was meant to be sat on. She smiled a bit more widely when I finally was able to make myself comfortable. "We want to talk about your first course of action."

"Right," I acknowledged, pulling my hand out of the rucksack.

"Please tell me it has something to do with this," Ginny continued, digging into her pocket and producing a letter written on thick parchment. It was as familiar as it was foreign – the Hogwarts insignia and the familiar words welcoming Ginny back for another term at the school...but there were some very obvious changes. Instead of Albus Dumbledore's name being signed as the footnote, Severus Snape's had replaced it with dark green ink. I remembered well my requirements for sixth year and Ginny needed some supplies I knew would never have been allowed, nevertheless required for last year's courses; books on Dark Arts and healing herbs for 'necessary learning and practice', for example.

"That doesn't sound good," I frowned, uncomfortable with the idea of 'necessary learning and practice'...sounded like magical experimentation on students to me.

"And look at this – I don't get to coordinate my own schedule like you did," she pointed out that the final page of the letter was her course guide. "They aren't giving me any choice on the classes according to my career choice. Best of all – look here."

Ginny pointed aggressively down to one of the columns on her class schedule and I raised my eyebrows when I could read past her accusatory finger.

"_Dark Arts_?" I frowned, seeing that it had been starred and footnoted. "'Dark Arts will hereby replace all Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, for the benefit of our youth'...really?"

"Because I'm sure being able to produce Dark Magic will be better than having us fight against it," Ginny sneered, taking a disdainful look at her own Hogwarts letter. "It just means the Death Eaters have taken over Hogwarts too."

"Obviously," Fred, George and I all said together.

"I suggested she not go-" Fred informed.

"-but there's now the law about mandatory attendance-"

"-so that idea's gone."

"You're going to have a harder time, too," I sighed, handing the letter back to her. She handled it as if it were dirty. "Not only are you a Gryffindor who has been known to side with the Order, but you dated my brother – people will be as disgusted by that as I was."

"I'll deal with that," she said haughtily, shoving the parchment back into her purse as if she didn't care about its condition. She probably didn't; it was strange to watch someone be so negative towards something we had all once thought was so magnificent. "I was thinking of restarting the DA; people will need the support more than ever."

"It's not the worst idea, but I doubt they'll let it slide – I also doubt you'll have as many friends in Slytherin without me there to manage them," I gave her a look and she nodded, swearing silently under her breath. "People are living off fear now; they're not going to want to help you. Ever."

"And if you were to do that, we'd have no way to help you either," Fred agreed.

"Obviously the letters will be intercepted-"

"-doubt they'll try to hide that one-"

"-and if you were to need help, you'd never get the word out."

"What about our DA coins?" Ginny searched her little black purse that hung at her hip and displayed it for me. "I could send messages to you from these."

"That won't work: Draco knows about the coins," I informed her.

"Malfoy gets in the way of everything," Ginny sighed irritably.

"Yes, he does," Fred agreed in the same exasperated voice. My face burnt at his tone. I didn't like when he made little nuances like that; I wasn't used to having someone sound so smitten, so happy to see me all the time. Even Draco hadn't done that considering most of the time he was as upset I was near him as he was pleased.

"Draco knew about them last year and used them to communicate with Madame Rosmerta – who knows who else?" I shook my head. "Besides, they've been compromised because you don't know how many of them there are anymore. Use them for the DA, sure, but I don't think it will work when you can't seewho you're responding to and know they're the ones receiving it. It's not worth it when Voldemort likely knows about them."

"You could just trust me instead of fussing like this," she offered, sounding a little bit annoyed that we were treating her as if she were a child on a leash.

"No," both twins said at once. "Not a chance."

"I agree," she made a face at me, obviously upset I didn't believe in her. "If not just for you than for us – it might be just as beneficial to give and get information around the castle through you."

"But what could we use?" Ginny asked immediately. "What about Muggle devices? I bet the Death Eaters wouldn't even find them suspicious!"

"They won't work in the castle," I shook my head, running a hand through my hair and tugging it in frustration. "They never have. We could always employ a House Elf, they can Apparate to and from Hogwarts without a second thought."

"I doubt that Snape would leave the ones already aligned with us working in the kitchens," Fred frowned. "He might fear for the sanitation of his food."

"He should fear for sanitation in general-"

"-not that he ever has-"

"-you're right, he wouldn't start now."

"Focus," I ordered, rolling my eyes at the smug look on the boys faces. "Snape's not stupid – he knows who to trust; he'll cut our resources and alliances person by person."

That was another worry in itself – everyone knew exactly which friends were loyal to me; would they be in trouble during the year because of their loyalties? As much as I wished for my friends to be loyal to me, I also hoped that they kept themselves safe – even if it meant saying they never liked me at all.

I was lucky that Ginny was someone who wouldn't judge that; Fred and George may a little, but I knew that she wouldn't. She was commonly very civil with the Slytherins who weren't actually causing her problems...I'd like to think that if I asked her for information on them, she'd find out to the best of her abilities.

That settled it.

"We need to keep tabs on everything," I nodded my head at my own idea. "Gin, you need to know if something big is happening as much as we do. I don't believe you're too young for this shite: it's a war and you're an asset. If someone is attacking the school, I want to know about it. We need to find an open way of communication so we can reflect on-"

I cut myself off while I absorbed my own words, lunging toward her and grabbing the paper out of her hand, even though she had flinched away from the quick movements. I took a long look over her Start of Term letter, shaking my head.

"What are you thinking?"

"Has she gone insane-"

"-possibly, I've been expecting it for quite some time now-"

"-I wonder if we can use that to our advantage-"

"-oh, we'll find a way-"

"-Fred, I'm sure _you _could find a way, what I mean is-"

"Really?" I interrupted with a glare before I turned my eyes to Ginny. "Will you still be staying in your regular dormitories?"

"Er-probably, they still don't have enough room to move the students anywhere else, right?"

I nodded, my mind racing. "And who rooms with you?"

"Frobisher, Robins and Nayan."

"That's nice, but means literally nothing to me," I informed her, after blinking my eyes slowly. "Can you trust them?"

"Yeah, Nayan's a bit of a rat, but I could distract her if I needed to – besides, she's Muggleborn, she might not show up at all." I nodded to myself, knowing that it would be wiser for the girl if she didn't. Now was the time for Muggleborns to go into hiding, whether they had picked their side or not.

"Sirius used to get in touch with me by creating a connection between a mirror he had and the mirrors in the dorm rooms; he said it was to visit his girlfriends-"

"Brilliant bastard," the twins high-fived each other.

"But I'm sure I could convince him to let me use it to get in touch with you. The only time we were caught was because of Umbridge and she had one in her own chambers; I'm sure Snape won't be living there – will he?"

"Umbridge couldn't get into his office, right?" Fred didn't sound sure as he tried to remember.

"We'll need to do some research," George clarified. "For now, it's the best idea we have."

"Which is surprising-"

"-very, considering the idea wasn't ours-"

"-we're out of practice with our plots, George-"

"-Audrey will get us up to speed, I'm sure of it."

"You bet," I smiled, laughing a little. "Though that doesn't mean much – I'll still have the best ideas. Every time."

All three Gryffindors rolled their eyes.

"What about this Dark Arts class?" Fred asked, turning towards Ginny. "Do you think you'll be learning to do it, or you'll be practice for whoever already can?"

"Likely the latter," she pursed her lips and made a face as if she smelt something awful. "What they don't realize is that the DA can already counter a lot of Dark Magic...I'd like to see them try to get the upper hand on me."

"I'd like to see that," Fred and George agreed with a laugh, both taking the time to high-five her. I was amazed by how many times they could think a comment was worthy of something so cheesy. Who high-fives anymore?

"It's the only time I've really wanted to attend classes," I told her with a whimsical sigh. "You'd better be raising hell in my wake, Red."

"You can count on it," she smiled. "I'm sure you'll find ways to talk to me just so you can delegate pranks."

I smiled, knowing full well how devilish it must have looked. "Of course I will."

"Someone has to do it with the three of us gone!" Fred demanded.

"As long as it's against the Slytherins I'm all for it," George agreed enthusiastically. After he realized what he said he bowed his head to me. "No offence, Drea."

"Not all of the Slytherins are pro-Voldemort," I reminded him, as I reminded everyone. "Most are just pro-survival; staying quiet and keeping their heads down is the safest option."

"Malfoy didn't choose that option," Fred said forcefully. I could feel my face heating up, but I couldn't tell whether it was in embarrassment or anger. He didn't bother looking as if he was ashamed to have said anything, like George and Ginny automatically did.

"That's different, his life was being threatened-"

"And he was going to take someone else's in its place?" He scoffed dramatically, waving his hand as if wiping away the sting to his words. "Sounds like a coward to me."

"No, it sounds _desperate_," I corrected him, balling my fists as my palms tingled. "You've heard this story: it was Dumbledore or me – in the end _he _couldn't choose or go through with either of them."

"You need to face the magic, Drea," Fred shook his head, looking more stern than I had ever seen him. "Your Slytherin friends are on the other side now – and if they aren't, they're standing by and letting everyone else on that side do bad things."

That wasn't true at all and I knew it for a fact. Daphne had fought for me during our escape plan just a few weeks before and she had said that Theodore was refusing the Dark Mark – or that he was trying to hold off for as long as he could. That wasn't doing nothing – no; they weren't brandishing their wands like swords, but they weren't bending down on a knee for Voldemort either...and that had to give them credit. I knew someone like Tracey wouldn't join them, or Lillian, hell – maybe not even Blaise. He was clumping all the Slytherins – all of _us_ – together in a way that was not fair.

"You have no idea what goes on behind those closed doors, Fred," I seethed, too afraid of the tingling in my palms to bother running my hand through my hair as I felt inclined to – no point in singeing my hair. "And you're a bloody idiot if you think it's that black and white."

"Well, maybe we'll have to find a way to see then," George offered, looking a little uncomfortable. "I'm sure that Drea's point is-"

"I'll find a way to go out and see them," I assured Fred. "And I'll drag you kicking and screaming."

"Drea, you're the most wanted woman in all of the Wizarding World; you can't just go to People-Watch." Ginny told me seriously, as if she was nervous for my sanity.

"I won't," I smiled, digging into the rucksack that Fred had given back to me today. I pulled out a handful of vials – even though I had dozens more – and displayed it for them. The clear, golden, and muddy looking potions had been split up into single servings and I had enough to last months in my purse. The assorted colours looked beautiful against my palms, the coolness of the glass felt nice against the anger that had tickled my hands. The Liquid Luck, Veritaserum _and _Polyjuice Potion in my hands excited me, even just to imagine when I could start using them at my leisure. "One of your brother's will be."

"How many of these do you have?" Ginny gasped, taking one of the vials of Liquid Luck and holding it to the light of the window as if she didn't believe it was the real potion. I was upset by her lack of faith in me.

"Enough to get me by," I answered simply, taking the vial back and placing it gently on the padded portion of my rucksack that I'd left all the glass on. "Though I'm considering making more if I can find all the ingredients again – though they take so long to brew that I don't know if it's worth it."

"You have enough of those," Fred's eyebrows were nearly to his hairline. "You should try something you don't already have – like, possibly, a deflated ego."

"Why would I want that? Besides, what else would I need?" I couldn't see needing anything besides disguise, luck, and persuasion – all of which I already had. I'd brewed those specific potions for a reason and I was sure that I could get through this war with those few, very simple methods.

"I don't know-"

"-something useful-"

"-you're good with those kinds of things-"

"-make it up if you have to-"

"-if you could give my brother here some common sense, that'd be nice-"

"-oi! Unnecessary!" Fred hit his brother lightly in the shoulder, causing George to laugh and sway away from him thanks to the blow.

"If I think of anything I need that I currently can't do, I'll consider it. It all depends what ingredients I can get my hands onto, as well," I reminded them.

"I can get those for you," Fred said immediately. "We're in Diagon Alley permanently now; so if you ever need something, I'd fetch it for you – for a price."

"How sweet," I rolled my eyes. "I don't even know if I'll need the service yet."

"You will. In fact, even if you didn't, soon enough you'll be looking for reasons to ask me to visit you," he assured me. "I know it."

"Don't get your hopes up."

"Too late," George snickered, causing Ginny to laugh as well.

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Who picks _sides _anymore?" I mocked. Fred smiled widely, as if I had just told him that I had chosen his...which might have been true; something told me I very well might have.

Over the next hour or so the four of us deeply delved into further ideas of how we were going to communicate with one another. Though I had all this Polyjuice potion at the ready, I was extremely limited thanks to my photograph lining papers and shop-windows throughout Britain.

Ginny and I figured that until we could get a better form of communication going, I would give her a message on the coins – it would be something abstract – and the idea was that no matter what the coin said, I would meet her at the corresponding time to the date. So if I sent a message through the coin on September 2nd, we would meet at the mirror for two in the morning – it kept it simple and would hopefully throw people off the scent if they ever caught on. If she couldn't meet me, she would leave a piece of paper stuck to the mirror that I could read when I tried to connect with her...it would work until we figured out something better.

It was also nice that the twins were there. Not only were they innovative and intelligent, but they really helped lighten the mood of everything we were talking about. It was clear we were all nervous for Ginny having to go to a school that would be overrun with Death Eaters; but their assurances and jokes made it easier to bear and easier to believe that everything was going to work out in the end – even if we had to infiltrate the school like the Death Eaters had before.

George had only handed over his DA galleon minutes before Mrs Weasley and Bill came upstairs to usher them away. Apparently Mr Weasley would be coming back from work and the Death Eater following him would realize that they'd stunned their own guards – so they had to get back before anyone realized they'd ever gone.

Each person gave me a warm goodbye: Ginny dared to give me a hug – something she rarely tried, Mrs Weasley tried to squeeze the life out of me, George gave me a nudge in the ribs and winked when Fred started walking over to me.

"I won't be gone long," Fred informed me as he came to hug me. He held me closely and tightly, then – terrifyingly – I felt him kiss my forehead. "I'll see you soon."

I was completely red-faced as he pulled away – he had the nerve to laugh at me because of it.

"See? You'll find reasons to get me back here," he winked. "Don't pine for me too much."

He didn't even bother to say a proper goodbye after that. He was too smug to wait for me to get my bearings enough to argue with him.

Though I didn't quite know what to do with the ideas that Fred put into my head, there was no denying that I was worried for him – I was worried for all of them. Even knowing that they were going back to their Death Eater tails made the anxiety eat at my stomach; it made me feel so nervous that I felt ill, just like I had when I used to watch Draco mend that stupid cabinet. Perhaps it was because I'd always assumed it wouldn't happen with Draco, that I would be able to stop it – but now I knew exactly what Ginny would be walking into...and I knew that the likelihood I could save her was much slimmer than my chances had been with Draco.

"You could eat, you know," Bill informed me, moving to the sink so that he could start on cleaning the dish he had just used to heat up some of the leftovers Mrs Weasley had brought over. I hadn't really noticed that he had started eating, which made me wonder how long I had been lost in thought.

"Not hungry," I informed him, my voice low.

"Alright," he shrugged, turning away so that he could put on the water and soak the sauce that had caked to the dish.

"Sirius will be back soon?" I asked him, trying to cut through the silence and my own nerves – I might feel a little bit better when I'd have someone here who would tell me how ridiculous I was being.

"With Remus, yeah," Bill nodded, though he didn't bother to look back as he spoke to me. "He left Tonks with her parents today; you should try to be nice."

"When am I _ever _nice?"

"That's kind of my point," I could hear his smile. "Leaving his wife at a time like this must be hard."

"At a time like this?" I repeated, finally moving so that I was facing him. He seemed to sense this so he turned around himself, shutting off the water and looking at me as if I were stupid. Then, when he seemed to realize that I was genuinely confused, his eyebrows met his hairline just like his younger brother's had.

"Er – you don't know?" I shrugged my shoulders, getting bored of the look he was giving me. "Tonks is pregnant."

"She is?" My jaw dropped. Well, no wonder he was looking at me as if I were a moron – how the hell had I not heard this during all the time she was here, plotting against the Death Eaters with me? "How the bloody hell is that possible?"

"Well, it generally starts with snogging-"

"I know how it's _possible_," I snapped, interrupting him with a grimace. "I'm more concerned with how Lupin can find the time to knock up his wife while I'm stuck here playing with coins!"

"You've found time to do other things," Bill grinned to himself, turning back to the sink and the dishes that he was soaking.

"With the help of the all-nighters," I agreed with a sigh. I felt like I was at a stand-still. Even when Fred and I had been arguing and I had showed off all my potions – I still hadn't _used _them. I felt like I was rutted, with mud up to my knees and the more I tried to move, the deeper I sank.

There was a long moment where I expected Bill to say something rude, as he usually did when I started to be self-deprecating, but instead his voice came out sweet and far too innocent.

"Did you enjoy seeing everyone today?" Bill asked, scrubbing away at the plate and purposefully avoiding my eyes. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, immediately sensing his game.

"If you're attempting subtlety, you're failing," I informed him, crossing my arms. He didn't say anything, but I saw his eyes flicker to me, so I rolled my own. "And yes...I was happy to see Fred."

His grin turned into a wide smile. "I thought so. He was excited to see you. He wouldn't stop bothering me about you – 'how is she?', 'is she eating?', 'has she asked about me?'"

His imitation of his brother was overdramatic, but so accurate that I actually laughed.

"Don't exaggerate."

"I wish I was," he laughed to himself. "He's smitten, Drea – whatever did you do to him?"

"Nothing at all, I have no idea how or when this all happened," I frowned. "Besides the hug, he was a right arse to me today, it doesn't seem right. Today he was constantly insulting me, my friends, and everything I stand for-"

"Of course he is," Bill moved to put the place back into its cabinet and threw the rag he had used into the dirty water while he leaned on the counter to face me. "Everything you stand for involves a past relationship that _doesn't _involve him."

"Well it's not about Malfoy," I shook my head, mimicking him and leaning against the table. "That's not just what we were arguing about."

"Yes it is," he chuckled. "Maybe not _really_, but in Fred's mind that's what it all comes down to. When you're siding with the Slytherins, you're remembering what it was like to be with Draco – he doesn't want you to think or worry about Malfoy at all, he wants you to think and worry about _him._"

Could that be true? Fred hadn't been himself today, that I knew, but I never would have thought it was out of _jealousy. _Was Fred actually _jealous _of the butchered relationship between Malfoy and myself? It seemed so unlikely and yet everything that Bill was saying rang so true it was like there was a score to the whole day I was finally reading the music for.

"Are these really the kinds of games Gryffindors play?" I shook my head, feeling a headache forming while I thought in circles. "They're completely juvenile."

"But altogether simple," he grinned, "Slytherins make things so difficult."

I didn't necessarily agree with that. At least when Slytherins wanted something, we played to get it; the games we played meant that our end goal was what we were playing for. What Fred was playing, right now, almost felt like he was playing _against_ himself so that I would feel bad for him and go against Draco out of pity or sympathy – and that was far too complicated...also far too unlikely.

I hated pity.

I refused to be _controlled _by it.

"Remus," Bill's greeting ripped me from my thoughts as I watched the werewolf trek into the cramped little cottage, hidden under his travelling cloak. He gave Bill a nod and turned to smile at me, his eyes flickering down to the books in his hands. Sirius, who walked in behind him, had suspiciously bright eyes.

"Oh no," I said immediately, watching my godfather warily. "You look impish – what have you done?"

"Nothing," he barked out a laugh that was so carefree it only made the tension worse. "Not yet, anyway. I guarantee you won't like it as much as you said you would."

"As much as I said I would _what_?"

"Your brother hasn't allowed either of us to help him on his journey; in the end he only expects help from you," Lupin explained, setting down the books at the table in front of me. "And while you refuse to help him because you think you're skills are detrimental to his cause, you are at a standstill. So, I am here to fix at least one part of the issue."

"Er-" I looked down at the title of the book on top..._Defense Against the Dark Arts_. I furrowed my brow, moving the top book to the side and gazing down at the golden title emblazoned on the purple cover: _Advanced Transfiguration_.

"You wanted to learn," Sirius mocked.

"Er – to be clear, what exactly is it I'll be learning?" I asked nervously.

"It's time you learned new magic, Drea," Lupin told me, his eyes flickering down to the books meaningfully. I had a bad feeling about this, a bad feeling that I wouldn't be getting much sleep during the days anymore to make up for the nights I spent planning things I couldn't do with what uncontrollable magic I had. Still, I sighed, knowing this was going to be like school all over again; just when I thought I'd escaped.

"This new magic is going to be horrible, won't it?" I asked in a monotone. Sirius smiled wide, flipping open the book to one of the pages he'd doggy-eared.

"Yes it will be. Now, Remus is going to start with Patronuses, I'll start with Human Transfiguration...and then we'll go from there."

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! She's finally going to start learning what we've all been waiting to read – and she's not going to like it. Next chapter has some exciting new twists, turns, and magic lessons...I promise you'll like it ;) To my fantastic reviewers:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad I'm still able to surprise you, I can only hope I have a few left in me! Thank you for reviewing, I always appreciate them :)**

_SparrowLilies_**: Oh, it'll be dramatic when Audrey and Draco are finally face-to-face again, that I can assure you. I hope that the wait for this chapter was slightly worth it, especially now that we are all set up for a very exciting chapter next time! Thanks for the review.**

_vmockingjay12_**: Yes, Audrey will really have a chance to mess up some Death Eaters now that she doesn't have to play by the Gryffindors' rules. It should be a lot of fun, haha. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter! **

_Punk Rocker Fairy_**: Harry does love Audrey, indefinitely. We can really see it in the one-shot that I just wrote for him in Audrey Potter's Prelude – just because Audrey sees Harry so negatively doesn't mean he always sees her in the same light. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing. **

_GrossEwww_**: We'll be seeing her using her strategic mind to her benefit soon, I promise you. Thanks for the review! **

_muchfanficaboutnothing_**: Haha, well thank you! I'm having a lot of fun with the story so I'm glad that you can enjoy it like I am. I also like that I can still surprise people; it's one of the best compliments I can be given, so thank you again.  
>When Audrey and Draco meet again it will be dramatic, especially when they get to meet face-to-face and they have the chance to speak their first words to each other. It's probably not going to go as people expect. And since you're on twitter, you know one of the big surprises for the next chapter...so I hope you're excited! Thanks again :)<strong>

_emmamaysie_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it – hopefully you still do!**

_Takara Matsudaira_**: I thought it would be too simple if she was left by them and just went with them anyway; besides I didn't figure that Audrey would forgive them that easily. This way will at least be more fun for her and she'll have time to cool off before everything starts going **_**really **_**crazy.  
>I'll give you one little hint, she will be seeing Draco before she'll be seeing the Trio. It won't necessarily be a romantic or even deep visit between them, but she'll see his face before theirs. I also don't think you're sadistic for wanting to know how Draco feels if Audrey is being tortured – in fact, I'm excited to write all the moments where Draco feels like crap because he was such a bad boyfriend. So perhaps, considering I'm the one that keeps putting Audrey in these situations, I'm the sadistic one...<br>I promise that Audrey will be involved in the war – almost all parts of it. She's going to be seeing more action than Harry is, considering everything she's planning and the fact she doesn't have to stay in a tent for weeks at a time. Audrey will be more than a fighter in this book, I promise you. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter!**

_Little Messers_**: Aw, thank you! Yes, the next chapter when we hear from Audrey we find out that she is working hard on her magic – but if she's able to accomplish anything, I cannot say. I really like that Audrey doesn't consider herself bait (realistically, she would never give herself over like that), I do believe that she'd consider herself that person to 'mess things up' for everyone else. I wouldn't say that Voldemort wants to capture Audrey more than Harry; Harry is still the boy who defeated him, but Audrey is a nuisance who intimidates and 'gets rid of' his Death Eaters...neither one can be seen positively from his side. Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: I'm glad I could pull her away from being with the Gryffindors for long enough to strangle them; as much as I love Audrey, I love the original characters, too. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this new chapter and what it's set up for the next one...**

_draccmalfoy_**: Yes, Audrey will be getting back into her Slytherin ways and I'm very excited to get to write it again. All of her regular sass and sarcasm will be back full force within the next chapter...even if there will be some other moments to highlight just how much she's grown and what will happen throughout the story. Either way, next chapter is going to be an exciting one and I hope that you're ready for it! Thank you for reviewing :)**

_Isabella_**: No, it's okay. I don't expect everyone to understand or even like Audrey; she's a raw character and not necessarily a positive one. For the record, though, she doesn't think that because she's a Slytherin she can take any weight given to her: she thinks it's because she's a Slytherin that people don't want to give her the chance to lift it. I always compare it to when people tell me that I'm "a girl, so this work isn't for you". It's not that I think simply **_**because**_** I'm a girl I can do it, it's that I believe I shouldn't be **_**underestimated**_** simply because of my gender. This is how she feels about being so ostracized. As for whether or not she can do these things, she is overconfident in some aspects, but she's very aware of the fact she can't do just as much – such as wand work, or even things that require a lot of bravery. She believes she can think her way around a lot of situations, not that she can defeat them all. She's more of a "why go around the forest, when I can cut through it?" kind of personality – I like the difference it makes to other characters; I'm sorry if you don't.**

_IKickCommieAss_**: Thank you, I hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_Slytherin's Strumpet_**: Oh, you don't have to worry about the shenanigans Audrey will partake in. For everything that she misses on with the trio, she'll be causing her own havoc multiplied by three, haha. Thank you for reviewing!**

_KendraTheVideoGameNerd_**: I can't tell you whether her wand will ever want to work for her, but I can tell you that we'll learn why it hasn't. The love triangle is fun to write, especially because the boys are so different. The next chapter will be a fun moment where we get to see Audrey's waging emotions over the two of them.  
>Magnuse is the ability to use magic without a wand, whether it be extending it into your skin or being further able to project it from your body. Audrey can't do the latter, but she is able to focus her magic through herself (with particular focus on her hands, rather than all over her) and use that instead of spells, since her wand is so dysfunctional. Does that help at all? Thanks for your thoughts :)<strong>

_tessastarchild_**: If you ended up reading the one-shot it should clear up the worries you had about Harry leaving her; it was a betrayal but even Audrey (eventually) will realize that it was necessary for their survival and escape. Hopefully this chapter was a little more positive for you, thanks for reviewing.**

_katie93319_**: Yes, this is definitely going to be a different take on the Deathly Hallows than the original, haha. I'm excited to really delve into it for the next chapter – which kind of promotes how the rest of the story will be – but as for the final outcomes? I can't ruin that!**

_ThalicoRules5678_**: Thank you! There will be lots of Sirius/Audrey bonding in the next few chapters and I can promise that we will be seeing lots of her emotions towards Draco throughout the story, when we don't get to see him and when we finally do. I hope you liked this newest chapter, thank you for your reviews.**

_Spottedjay_**: I don't think you're being immature at all, in fact, I'm flattered by you calling her a badass. Whoops! There are so many words in one chapter that I seem to skim over them. I should probably get a beta again, I just don't like waiting around before I have to post – I always feel so guilty! Thanks for reviewing and hope you liked the chapter.**

_theeejupiter_**: Ha, thank you, I love it when she's so determined too! Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing. **

_kieraa_**: Thank you for taking the time to review now, no matter how long you've been reading for. We'll have to see whether or not Audrey is sly enough to go through all her plans without being caught; but I wouldn't put it past Voldemort to make Draco torture her if she did end up being caught. Oh well, guess you'll have to wait and see...**

_Geri_**: Yes, these few chapters haven't had as much action, but I'm trying to show how Audrey is while she's on her own. The next chapter, though it won't be action packed, will have a lot of extra things that will make it interesting...it won't be a filler chapter, even if there aren't any big duels.  
>Yes, Audrey is starting to really think about Fred in a different light. It's not necessarily romantic or as nagging as her attraction to Draco was; but it's something that's finding hard to deny. All of Audrey's friends will be going to Hogwarts (as attendance is mandatory) but we didn't get to see how their lives went during their time there – we will be hearing about this throughout the chapters and I plan on doing some one-shots in Audrey Potter's Prelude about their final year.<br>Ron and Audrey have never really gotten along (and the few times they have it was while picking and ripping on each other, let's be honest) so whatever happens **_**whenever **_**they meet, I can promise it will be violent and vicious, haha. Yes, we will be seeing a lot more Sirius in the following chapters (even if her time was monopolized a bit in this) and eventually we will get to see some moments with our favourite Slytherin characters as well. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter!**

_applecandykiss_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. It's going to be really exciting writing something new (or rather, the things we heard about but didn't get to witness) from the original novel. You are right, that as a major part of her vision and we will have to see whether or not she'll be able to change it as she has a few times before...I can't promise anything without ruining something else, but I hope that what I come up with is exciting! Audrey is VERY good with revenge, which we will luckily get to see all throughout this story...don't worry, I'll try to keep you from waiting for too long :)**

_mrsdansmith_**: Yes, Audrey does love to show her vicious side. It's fun to write and have a moment to acknolwedge the things you think but never say...well, Audrey says them. I don't necessarily know if she was acting like a Gryffindor the last chapter, though I can see how it might not count as acting like a Slytherin: she wasn't looking out for number-one (basically their motto), but she didn't necessarily run to their aid either. As she said "I'm strategy", whereas I can totally Harry jumping onto the fishing hook if it helped, haha.**

_Nirvana14_**: Thank you! I hope you liked this newest one, too.**

_Nico DiAngelo_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I can't promise who is and is not safe during this last portion of the novel, but I hope you'll stick around to find out :)**

_Bridget275green_**: Fred is definitely attempting to be her new love interest, isn't he? Whether or not he can sway her, I can't say. Thanks for the review!**

_Taylor_**: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like Audrey so much; I've grown pretty fond of her myself. I'll try to update as quickly as I can, especially because the next chapter will be an exciting one!**

_Melody_**: Don't worry about being late, I'm just glad you review in the first place. Yes, Draco is hoping that Audrey will forgive him, but it's going to take more than a memory of their time together and a note to do that. Besides, Fred is monopolizing her time now and it's all going to become confusing for her...which will be both fun and agonizing to read.  
>We did see in the one-shots that Harry didn't actually want to leave Audrey behind at all, but since she doesn't know that it was fun to write her as furious as she was. We will be seeing Draco eventually, but I make no promises as to when. As for Sirius, we'll be seeing a lot of him for quite some time – don't worry, it will be fun! As for Audrey making people mad? I guarantee it ;)<br>Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for the reviews!**

_Ahsilaa_**: Thank you! As for your question: I think that it could have gone either way, whether Hermione ended up with Ron or Harry. Honestly, it probably would have made more sense for her to stay with Harry as they have stronger intersecting morals (such as, I don't know, not abandoning friends in a hissy fit?) but I like that Hermione stayed with Ron for one simple reason: it means because she stayed with Harry, it wasn't because she 'loved' him. I like that we could see the different kinds of love and devotion simply because Hermione DIDN'T end up with him, that there could be a platonic love that still outweighed friendship without sliding off into romance. It was nice to know that Hermione didn't have to be in love with him and worship him for her to be completely devoted and love him. Really, Hermione's character is what makes me think of characters like Audrey and the plot of GEM: proving that romance isn't the most important thing to write. If it were, Ginny would have gone with them, or Hermione would have ended up with Harry during their time alone...so as much as I could see it happening, I think it was more impactful that it didn't :) That's my opinion, of course, I'm not against the ship – I just like everything that came of it, or even from the lack of it.**

_Lynn D. Mariza_**: Audrey is a master of bottling up her emotions; now we just have to wait and see if she'll fizzy over. Now that Audrey has a little time to herself, she'll get to relax and figure out exactly how she's feeling...who knows? It might be this time apart that saves Harry from the fact he left, haha. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Miss Evangeline_**: Thank you, I'm excited to write about the world from the point of view we didn't get to see while Harry was hunting the Horcruxes. You're right: not only do I get to be creative with what Audrey can occupy her time with, but I can delve into the things we vaguely hear of in the original and spin Audrey into them, or elaborate on them. For how I plotted out my stories, it's kind of a difficult answer. This one really wrote itself; the most planning I did was not on plot, but the character of Audrey herself and the storyline surrounding her built from that. For fanfiction like this I like to sit down with the original story's timeline and plot out the points from the original I want Audrey to be part of, when they happen, and try to work it around what I initially had planned for her. I find that the hardest parts are the beginning and the middle of the story – the beginning leading into the tournament was hard to get past and then the Order of the Phoenix (up until she and Draco were together) could be hard to sit down and actually work on, so I focused on reaching the plot points I'd already planned. I don't know if that's any help, but that's the process here – each story has been a little different and it all depends on your inspiration for the story :) Thanks for taking the time to review!**

_Nina101_**: I want them to have a happy ending as much as you do, I promise...but this is a war and you never know what will happen. Hope you liked the chapter and are excited for the next one; thanks for the review.**

_sarahmichellegellarfan1_**: I make no promises for what will happen for the endgame – whether it be who dies, who lives, and who loves – but I can try my best to make it a fun ride all the way there! Thanks for reviewing (and also going through and reviewing Nightfall)!**

_Knightshade1373_**: Thank you, it's been great updating the Deathly Hallows portion. I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying it – I promise that this story will be finished; it invades my mind too much to not get these ideas down!**

_Cake-ya-san_**: It will be fun to write when Audrey and Draco finally meet face-to-face again; I honestly don't know if it's more likely they'll jump each other, hit each other, or cry. Though, let's be honest, all those things would be too simple, haha. Snape will be in later chapters, even if we have heard a bit of him earlier, but I'm sorry to say Fred will be in this story for quite some time. Audrey's warming up to him and like a shark in the water, he can sense it. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Ryn of Magic_**: She certainly won't let it happen that easily. Not without taking everyone else down with her, at the very least, haha!**

_TwistedRaver_**: I know that you may or may not be caught up, but when you finally get here I hope that you notice this response for you. I'm so glad that you enjoyed HBP; it was such a fun section to write and I love hearing about it when I've been so absorbed in the DH timeline. I've missed Theo and can't wait to write more on him, I love that Daphne has finally started to prove herself, and of course I miss my beloved moments with Draco...but this section of the story will hopefully have highlights of its own, especially now that the main idea has been set. Thank you so much, again, for the great reviews; I really enjoy reading each of them and I hope that you have liked everything you've read thus far!**

_Fusion Palace_**: It's always something I think about, that her Patronus is a cat – it means that I cannot have Audrey's be something so simple. It's great you mention this the chapter before I got to bring the idea up; it lets me know you guys are thinking about these things without my influence.  
>As you can probably guess, Sirius and Audrey will be having a lot of time together in the upcoming chapters. I hope that I can keep him in character during these times, I'm constantly worrying that I'll ruin him, but I'm glad that I can incorporate him more into the story. As for hints you may or may not have caught, it's good you're keeping an eye out for them – I've dropped more than I can admit to and it's a hope that I'll get to hear "I thought that may happen when you wrote this!" during upcoming chapters.<br>During the next part of the story, we are really going to see Audrey take control of her life again and get back the bit of confidence she lost. It'll be a lot of fun...I hope you enjoy it!**

_singergal11_**: Aw, thank you so much, this review was so sweet! I'm so glad this story has been so impactful and that you were able to get through it all as quickly as you did. I hope you continue to like the story and that this last chapter was enjoyable – thank you again.**

_bleeding-roses-16_**: Yes, Shell Cottage is going to be her home base for a while; I love Bill and Audrey's relationship too much to just leave him alone for a whole novel. As for Ron and Audrey's tempestuous relationship...well, I can't make any promises, haha! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter. **

_Lisa_**: Thank you! I try hard to keep everything realistic and interesting, so I'm glad it caught your fancy. I hope you liked this newest, fluffy chapter and thank you (again) for reviewing :)**

_HiddenReaderNinja_**: Thank you for reading through it, I'm so glad you like it! The next few chapters are really exciting and I'm giddy just thinking about getting to write them, so I hope that you're as excited for those as you were for the last two. We'll get to see more Fred and Audrey than you might think, so don't feel too bad for him; both boys will get to make their final pleas for her love! Haha, thank you again!**

_SwiftAlice_**: Again, never worry about the timing of your review; I know that you're busy and I can always wait for a review as wonderfully detailed as yours. I've been pretty busy myself with everything this summer, so I don't think less of you for having a life, haha.  
>Yay, I'm glad that the 'Harry-leaving-Audrey' bomb was as intense as I'd hoped. I'm glad most people didn't see that particular event happening (that they'd leave her) but it's good it didn't come out of nowhere and that people seemed to suspect I'd separate them.<br>Yes, Audrey definitely has the Death Eaters scrambling a little bit, which is fun to write (and will continue to be fun to write as she purposefully messes things up for them). As for why Death Eaters aren't just killing her and are instead trying to take her, right now she knows it's because they'll use her to lure in her brother. Voldemort, as said, is also upset by the effect she's having on his Death Eaters...but who knows if there will be another reason? I don't like ruining surprises!  
>Yes, Sirius will be sticking around for many of the upcoming chapters. I didn't save him for nothing, you know – he has his purpose and this section of the story is where he finally starts to serve it. I'm so excited!<br>I'd like to think that Audrey is a smart character. I've always said that if Audrey had asked not to be in Slytherin, she would have been picked for Ravenclaw (though everyone always assumes Gryffindor, I disagree). Sure, she's not the impulsive one and even during all this, she will refuse to go without some kind of plan, but it'll be amusing to write what she could be capable of in surprising situations. The fun idea I'm posing here is that after years of saying "BE SUBTLE!" to Harry over and over again, she's going against her own advice to cause havoc and bring the attention onto her – while Harry is staying under the radar and keep the attention off of himself and his hunt for the Horcruxes. It brings me joy to know these little things, haha.  
>How is life post World-Cup? The final game was actually on my birthday so when I went out to watch (and later celebrate) everyone was still either mourning or celebrating – and that was just here in Canada, I can't imagine how it must have been around you! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter (even if it was the tiniest bit of fillerfluff) and that you're excited for everything that is going to happen next chapter :)**

_Tiggerific13_**: Oh wow, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it and hope you continue to :) **

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: I'm just glad to hear from you and am even happier you've liked the chapters! I hope everything's going well and am glad that you're getting to spend time with your husband; give him a reminder from me how wonderful his wife is. I'm sorry things are frustrating, but hopefully with it being nicer, summer weather you are getting a bit of a break :)**

_Sassasaurus_**: It's definitely a long read, thank you for taking the time to work through it all – I'm glad you liked it. I hope you liked this newest chapter and that it kept up all your beliefs in the story – I'll try not to disappoint in the chapters yet to come! **

_Nicky-Maree_**: Aw, as always your review was wonderfully kind! I'm really exciting with everything these last two chapters have been leading up to; now that Sirius is going to teach her Animagi magic and Lupin is on task for Defence lessons, Audrey will be swamped and angry and looking for an escape – which is sad for her, but will be amusing and beneficial for the rest of us. As much as Audrey doesn't like 'sitting and doing nothing', she likes hard work even less...and I don't think she understands exactly how difficult becoming an Animagus will be.  
>It was sad that she got to be left alone, but I'm really excited for all the doors it opens. When I was talking to my one confidant about Audrey's part in this story my literal words were "her whole job for this book is to f&amp; k sh*! up" – please excuse my language. All Audrey will (and will want to) do is mess up every plan the Death Eaters try to develop...and I can promise that she'll meddle in her fair share of them. There won't be as many filler chapters for Audrey as there were for Harry, to say the least.<br>Yeah, it was really great to add the scene about the picture and letter from Lily. I loved that I could show a little bit of who Audrey was before all the bitterness consumed her and how innocent Audrey could have actually been. I don't know if you were one of the ones who heard this, but had Audrey not been sorted into Slytherin, she would have been sorted into Ravenclaw and I really tried to show that extra little spark behind her eyes in that picture. **

**As for Fred and Audrey...that ship has not yet sailed. Fred is still waiting in the harbour for her and I don't think he'll leave until she's at least given it a shot. Now that he has time to help/coax/hinder her decisions, who knows if he'll get what he wants. Audrey is quite stubborn – it took her much longer to admit her feelings for Malfoy than it did to Fred; but something tells me she'll be just as stubborn about forgetting them.  
>Audrey is probably the best and worst parts of me. If you were to write down her personality and place it beside mine, I doubt we would look similar...but I can see some smaller details that line up, or at least run parallel to my own qualities and when my mother read it she could hear some of my mannerisms or figures of speech (though that one was bound to happen during 86 chapters, haha).<br>It's exciting that even though I can't send Audrey to school, I can still incorporate the school year through Ginny. It was the whole reason I made them as close as they were – that and because I think their strong personalities suit each other nicely. Anyway, I hope that you liked this little filler/fluff chapter and thank you, as always, for reviewing!**

_Eloise(Guest)_**: You're right, if I revealed too much it could ruin the final ending, so I don't want to give too much away. I can promise that Audrey has her part (and an important part) to play during the Battle of Hogwarts, and I can say you have some good theories – but for me to tell you how right or wrong they might be would ruin all the surprise! Thank you for all your compliments and your review, I really appreciate it and hope that the story continues to be everything you already think it is :)**

_OSG loves to read_**: I love hearing that people look at Slytherins differently (or, like you said, even respect them) because of the different perception of the story. It's one of the best compliments I can think of; so thank you!  
>As we saw at the end of this chapter, Audrey is about to go through magical boot-camp, but there will be some other fun surprises that make their way into next chapter. I'm sorry that I didn't release the chapter when you hoped I would, but the summer is sadly busy and these chapters surprisingly take a lot of time. Anyway, thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked this newest chapter.<strong>

_Anonymous_**: Draco and Audrey will definitely get to see each other again, but I can't tell you if it will go well, nevertheless when or why it happens. I'm going to try and keep things as interesting and exciting as I can – which means lots of plot twists will be coming up in the near future; I hope you'll enjoy them. Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Guest_**: Thank you, I thought it would be too simple if she just went with them after everything that had happened. Yes, I can guarantee that Audrey will do something awesome and 'Audrey-like' in the next few chapters...get ready, it will be exciting! **

_AMalfoyFanGirl_**: Thank you, the twists are my favourite thing to write here because everyone's expecting something closer to the original. I'm hoping to give Draco his time in the limelight – both in **APP** chapters and if Audrey can sneak peeks at him here, but I can't really make promises as the road is going to get more turbulent the farther she travels down it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, thank you for the review!**

_DanicaRem_**: Holy crap, this review was so epic and wonderful that I had to reread it a few times because I was so overwhelmed by it. Thank you so much, this was so sweet I don't even know how to properly begin thanking you for it!  
>Audrey is something I've become very connected to; not just for the role I've created for her in the Harry Potter series, but also how true she's been to the original plot I'd come up with. Her character has really moulded itself into something I'm proud of and confident in. Her relationship with Draco is fun and dramatic, hopefully all within the realm of being realistic (or as realistic as a witch and wizard loving each other in an enchanted castle can be), and I enjoy getting her to interact with the originals so I don't have to pretend that the series actually ended, haha.<br>You've noticed some really interesting things here, I'm happy to note, and I'm glad that you have thought so much on the storyline. There is definitely something dark about Audrey, whether it be from the matching scar on her neck and her wand, to the fact that she can do magic that no one else can humour her with...but I promise that whatever changes I make will not just be to glorify (or horrify) Audrey; it all has a well thought out meaning, I swear it.  
>The Goblet of Fire was really fun to write, as was her descent into the darkness that was the Order of the Phoenix – I might be a little sadistic and love writing her agony as much as her pranks. I love who the Slytherins (both as a unit and as individuals) have become and how much I can visualize each character and their reactions. It's been great playing with loyalties, alliances and prejudice in this story, especially to experiment with how much we could really empathize with 'bad guys' and question the motives of the 'good ones'.<br>That excitement is only going to continue. Now that Audrey is free from causing her friends trouble (as they've all had to denounce her) and her goal is to keep eyes on her and away from Harry, Audrey is going to go not with a fizzle, but with a bang. I'm excited to show what I pictured happening behind the scenes when the trio was on their hunt and I hope it will be even more exhilarating to have such an opposing point of view, such as Audrey, in the center of it all.  
>Thank you so, so, so much for this fantastic review. It was a joy to read and just as great responding to. I hope this chapter keeps up your expectations and that the next chapters continue to :)<strong>

_1GirlWhoWaited_**: Criticism can be hard to deal with, no matter who it is from or what it is for. There have been some reviews here that have left me defensive, but in the end I'm not only writing this for other people; I'm writing this for Audrey who won't leave my thoughts until I do. Let's face it, whether it be for this story or even back in the day when I wrote for a blog, I find things to get upset over. If someone is too critical, or I am the one to take something too critically, it can be all-consuming. The best thing I've learned to do is walk away from the problem until I feel equipped to deal with it. This can take an hour, a day, sometimes even a week; but sometimes you just have to consider that responding in anger, defensiveness, or irrationality only proves some insults right. I guess that would be my advice; step away from anything you think will overwhelm you – I'm not telling you to run away from your problems, I'm saying remove yourself until you can look at it from a third-party perspective. If you do this you might get to see why they were criticising you (was it because they're jealous? Was it because you really had made a mistake? Was it because they want to see you lose your cool?) and either see it from their perspective, or realize that their perspective doesn't really matter to you. I hope that helped in some way :)**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: Don't feel bad, thank you for taking the time to review each of the chapters! Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to do all that, I really appreciate it. I hope your theatre production went well (if you don't mind me asking, what show was it? I'm in theatre, too!) and that you're enjoying your break from school. Oh, and happy belated birthday! I hope it was a good day :)  
>Yes, Audrey and the locket have not seemed to get along – it's probably better that Harry's the one retrieving them and she's the one destroying them; though how she will do that without Magnuse, we will have to wait and see.<br>Snape's reactions at the end of the story was heartbreaking to write, but I was happy that Theo and Daphne are finally reconciling with Audrey again...and then, of course, there's the Dreaco relationship – those poor Slytherins, I just can't let them catch a break. I wish I could, if that's any consolation, haha. The next few chapters are going to be fun and packed full of Audrey-under-cover; hopefully you'll get some more answers through them and that you'll enjoy each chapter as it comes out. Thank you again for all of those great reviews!**

_angela_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter as well :)**

_MalfoyQueen_**: I miss Draco too, but I'm not sure if he would help her out. As much as I love Draco here, we see that he doesn't really have anywhere to budge. Some might call him a coward, some might say he has no options...but either way, we've seen he's not really built for helping Audrey in his current situation. As for Harry, I'm glad that you can see his flaws a little bit more prominently, but remember that Audrey is seeing him through her own skewed views – like Harry can't see past Audrey's Hogwarts House, Audrey can't see past her own jealousy. Audrey definitely deserves to make him her personal slave for a year (or maybe seven) but they are still brother and sister in the end – she'll still fight for him, even if she doesn't like it while she does. Thank you for reviewing, I hope this chapter was still enjoyable without Draco in it, haha!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Audrey still has the opportunity to be off on her own for a while, but for now I think she needs a little bit of help before she can consider it safe to do so. I might do some of the Gryffindor trio moments in Audrey Potter's Prelude, but realistically we already saw their story in the original version and I'm more excited about writing what happened behind the scenes while they were gone. Thanks for the review :)**

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><p><strong>Thank you for all your response, guys – I appreciate it! Next chapter should come out sooner as I won't be posting any chapters for <strong>Audrey Potter's Prelude** in-between; it's also one I'm really excited to release because I'm sure you will like it. For now, have a good weekend and don't forget to**

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Add me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for sneak-peeks, Q&As, photos, quizzes and more :)**


	87. From Afar

**Oh my Merlin, I think there will be some great reactions to this chapter. I'm not going to give anything away besides the fact that it's long and hopefully you'll think it's full of some wonderful drama. Enjoy!**

**Also, this chapter is dedicated to one of my childhood heroes: RIP Robin Williams. Celebrities die every day, but he was the one who made each and every one of them laugh.**

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><p>Chapter 86 – From Afar<p>

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><p>"I hate this, I hate this wand, I hate magic, I hate this Peter Pan bullshit and I quit!" I bellowed, throwing my wand to the floor and pushing my hands into my hair to grip it in frustration. Both Remus and Sirius – who had been waiting for this frustration to manifest in some way – took a step forward, ready to calm me down.<p>

As they'd done yesterday.

And the day before that.

And the day before that.

"Everyone can do this, except me. Why? Why, Remus?" I howled, glaring at my wand that lay innocently on the floor – I wanted to kick it. I should just kick it. Or stomp on it, hear it crack beneath my feet so it can realize what a ruin wand _really _works like... Sirius, as if knowing where my train of thought was headed picked up my wand before I could further damage it. I crossed my arms over my chest and uncrossed them again, too frustrated and energized to stay in one place. "What is so wrong with me that I can't be like everyone else who learned this _years _ago?"

"We can't answer that," Remus said, sounding like he honestly regretted not having answers for me. Again, my hands flew to tug at my hair.

"What makes you happiest, Drea?" Sirius asked, moving forward. "What memory are you using?"

It was a good question...one that I knew they wouldn't like the answer to, so I decided not to confide in them. It didn't matter what memory of Harry I used, what memory of Potions, or Snape, or Theodore, or Care of Magical Creatures, or hurting Pansy, or pranking the witches, or even all the memories of Draco I tried – nothing was working. _Nothing. _Not only was my Patronus wispy, flimsy and easily broken; it wasn't close to becoming corporeal and taking shape of an animal like everyone else in the household – and Order – was able to do.

Loony Lovegood could conjure a Patronus, for Merlin's sake!

"Maybe we should take a break?" Sirius interjected, looking at me with worried eyes – I don't know if he was worried for his own sake, or for the sake of my hair. "Just for dinner – Remus, you can go see Tonks, then Drea and I will work on turning her into more of an animal than she's already behaving."

"Brilliant," I muttered bitterly, sighing when he handed me my wand. I pocketed it roughly, at this point just hoping it would snap. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders for a moment before realizing that I wouldn't want to be touched – not that I _ever _wanted to be touched, but if ever there was a time to give me space it was when I was this frustrated – so he let me go.

The three of us walked into the kitchen where Fleur was just putting dinner on the table for the brood. We hadn't had to charm the table wider so it could fit extras: it was a quiet day with very few visitors at Shell Cottage, so we all took to our regular seats: Bill beside Fleur on one side, Sirius and I across from him, and finally Lupin, who sat on the end whenever he had time to stick around. This was his first dinner here in a week, Remus been busy with the werewolves lately. This, of course, did not bode well for Sirius considering he hadn't been able to produce his own corporeal Patronus since his time in Azkaban and I clearly needed a confident instructor.

It was times like this I missed Snape.

And times like this I resented him most.

"So, Drea," Bill asked conversationally after we had all told Fleur how good the food was – which it wasn't really. She was no chef that I'd ever known. "How's the magic going?"

"I can conjure some pretty silver dust," I told him with fake enthusiasm. "That's sure to distract the Dementors – do you think they'll roll in it for fun?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Lupin told me for the eighth time that day. "It's hard magic for anyone."

"Funny, Harry learned it at thirteen and taught all his little friends two years later," I smiled at him tightly, my face twitching from the effort of the grin. "Did you mean to say its hard magic for _me_?"

"Let's be honest, you've never been the best with those kinds of spells," Sirius sighed, putting down his utensils so that he could look me straight in the eye. "Remind us what you got in your Defence and Transfiguration OWLs?"

I frowned. "_Poor_. For both."

"You failed both?" Bill asked, choking a little bit on his food before he swallowed it dramatically. I glared at the judgement in his tone. "No wonder it's difficult. But let's be honest, Drea, this is your kind of magic; you'll get it."

"My kind of magic?"

"Yeah: difficult and virtually impossible," he laughed a bit. "It'll just take some time."

"Maybe but we don't _have _time, I need these tricks up my sleeve _now,_" I told him sternly. Stabbing my fork into the mash and cutting through all the undercooked chunks. "What if I find out that something's happening to Ginny at school? Wouldn't you want me to be able to push my way in as a rhino or something?"

He sent me a bored look. "A rhino? Really?"

"Rhinos can have lots of uses," I said defensively, before dropping my eyes to play with the mash potatoes again. "The point is still there: once I have it there is absolutely no downside to it. _This_ part is the downside."

"I have no doubts in you," Lupin told me encouragingly, giving me a meaningful smile. "You're a powerful sorceress, Audrey. Just because you learn differently than others does not make you incapable of performing: it just means I need to learn how to best make _you _learn."

I grinned a little at his words, not only because of how supportive he was but it was nice that he had taken the blame onto himself. It wasn't his fault at all – a moron would have known it – but it was nice to have him say it so that I could pretend for just a few minutes. He'd never been as supportive of me while he was a professor as he was being now: but maybe that's because I was the only one he could be distracted by.

After the overcooked chicken and the chunky, undercooked mash had been pushed around my plate enough that it looked as if I'd eaten a fairer portion than I had, Bill took the dishes away to wash them.

"So, shall I turn into a beast tonight?" I turned in my chair to ask Sirius, "or are we giving up yet?"

"It took me years to learn this magic, Audrey," he smirked, that mischievous look dawning his features. He was about to compare our reasons for wanting to learn this and I knew that he was glad they were the same: they both chalked up to causing trouble. "You're good, but you're not _that _good."

We walked from the kitchen into the little side room that had been the basis for my stay here. I sighed wearily as I looked around – I hated being in the same place and making no progress. I sat down on the couch that was also used as my bed and looked up to Sirius, the frustration already sitting bitterly at the back of my throat.

"It would just help if I knew it was worth trying – if I could manage it in a month: fine. If it ended up being something useful: even better. We don't know anything."

"That's not true," Sirius sat down beside me. We'd had this conversation at the beginning when he had explained how becoming an Animagus worked: you were in control of your body, you kept your clothes and wand on you, you could change at will, but you couldn't choose what you changed _into. _That wasn't up to the witch or wizard. "We know that the animal form bases itself off of your own independent personality traits. I can't see you being a guinea pig or something that would be quite as embarrassing, can you?"

I shrugged, turning away from him. "What about a rhino?"

Sirius laughed boisterously, sounding more like himself than he had that entire day. "Nope, not even a rhino. Though a tiger? I could see you shredding people with a swipe of a paw."

I smiled wickedly, the thought of ribboning Pansy Parkinson was dark, but more satisfying than I would have previously imagined. "You think?"

"I know," he smiled at me, nudging my shoulder. "Now come on, a little bit more practice never hurt anyone, did it?"

"That's a lie."

"Well it won't hurt you," he informed me as he stood up. "This is all about your soul separating and getting hold of your inner spirit animal: just like your Patronus is a spirit guardian to protect you. This is all about finding the inner source of your own power, Audrey: we know you have it, let's find out how to use it."

"Right," I nodded to myself, feeling a little more confident as I pushed off the couch to stand with him. He stood across from me, wand in his hand but lowered at his side. I followed suit, holding the blasted curser to my side and gripping it tightly. "Let's do some more of that hypnotic shite."

"If you consider it shite it won't help you," Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's supposed to help you visualize yourself as a being, or better yet, an animal."

"Well, I don't have vivid enough of an imagination on my own so guide me through the fields and trees and over the yellow brick road again," I informed him, balancing my weight on both feet so that I could actually concentrate to him. I closed my eyes. "Come on, you were the one who said I had to do it."

Sirius sighed loudly, it was quite clear that he liked putting me through this nonsense as much as I did. I wonder if he had been like me when he had been learning: this impatient and upset with the process. I mean, hypnotising me didn't seem like the most aggressive form of learning, but as it's what he'd been forced through it was all he knew – and as Sirius had said: he wasn't a teacher.

What he was about to do was walk me through a 'scenario' and place a charm on me to put me under what was the equivalent of a very vivid, but controlled, daydream. That's when I was supposed to be able to talk to the birds, the bees and all those other awkward creatures that lived in the landscape so I could understand which one of those creatures was the one who actually responded and 'bonded' with me.

It hadn't worked thus far. Half the time I couldn't put myself through the hypnosis and the other half of the time I was being a bitch to those stupid birds and bees, demanding to see my animal spirit: apparently even hallucinations don't respond well to rudeness.

I'd tried, once, to clear my mind for it – but I had fallen into that strange in-between state that came before it: that state where I could have a vision. The vision itself hadn't made much sense to me: something about the Ministry and Dementors and hooded Death Eaters slaughtering Muggles. It was nothing new or surprising to me; it was everything that was happening outside these walls and everything I wasn't ready to be a part of yet. So that was the last time I'd tried.

I attempted with every ounce of patience in me to listen to Sirius' voice, I really did. It just wasn't helping much for the first few minutes and the first few squabbles. Eventually he was able to convince me to ignore my racing thoughts and to calm myself enough to try and take this seriously – which was funny in itself, considering the pun. I tried to keep the smirk off my face as I felt his wand pass in front of my face a few times – he was starting to place the charm on me.

"Open your eyes. Where are you, Audrey?"

Now, I never _really _opened my eyes; this was just part of the illusion built up to help you further 'get in touch' with yourself. When I 'opened my mind' to the possibility of seeing something there, just like the few times we'd tried, I was in the middle of a wooded area. It was more dense and green than the Forbidden Forest; there wasn't as much of an eerie feeling like you were being watched by the herds of centaurs or that you would be squashed by Hagrid's little brother. It was actually peaceful here: green, lush, peaceful and unlike any forest I'd actually ventured into. The ground was a mixture of moss, dirt and leaves; no trails seemed to break through the layers of rotting leaves: no one else had been here.

I must have answered Sirius, because he continued. "Good, just like last time. That's a good sign, Audrey. Alright, can you tell which way you're headed?"

I looked around me, trying to find the source of the sun through the trees – I couldn't actually see where the sun was thanks to the thick upper branches, but it looked like it was high above the sky. I had just had dinner so either I wasn't in the proper timeline in this illusion, or I was in a completely different part of the world. I couldn't tell what direction I was heading if the sun was exactly overhead – I'd have to wait at least an hour to watch which direction it was setting to distinguish which way was west.

"Alright, that's fine," Sirius answered my own thought process. "Just start walking forward, is there a path?"

I scraped away some of the dead leaves with the toe of my shoe, but it felt like the soggy layers were never ending – I couldn't see a bottom or scrape the surface of the dirt.

"Alright, just walk straight then. You can get through the trees?"

Of course I could. There weren't forests _that _thick, were there? I started to trudge forward, quite aware of all the sound I was making in the otherwise silent landscape. I lifted a branch for a moment so that I could pass under it without catching my hair, only to be stopped.

"Wait," I immediately stopped walking, my arm still holding up the branch from Sirius' sudden warning. "What's that there?"

I looked over to the side, instinctively knowing that he was referring to something on the branch that I was holding up. On it was a chipmunk that was standing so still it must have been thinking I might not have seen it and its best chance was to pretend it was part of the tree.

"Please tell me you're joking," my voice broke the silence. The chipmunk did not move. "I am _not _a chipmunk."

"Nope – but it's a sign of what fears you," Sirius informed me. Interesting, last time we'd done this it had been a rat, the time before that had been a rabbit. Not really knowing how knowing I disliked rodents would be of any help, I watched acidly while the chipmunk decided to take its chances and scurry toward the trunk of the tree and climb up where I wouldn't be able to reach it. I walked under the branch as I had intended, letting it slap on the ground behind me to scare the little bastard some more. I scare chipmunks_. _That's great, exactly what I wanted to hear: I was so terrifying I made _chipmunks_ quiver.

"It's the idea of what a chipmunk represents, Drea. Think about it, if you really saw a chipmunk, you'd coddle it. This is just a metaphor, like how I represent a dog and James was a stag," Sirius explained. It did very little to comfort me. Besides, I hadn't really realized that I was supposed to be learning things from this – alright, that's not true, Sirius had informed me of this the first time we'd tried...but why couldn't I just question the little bugger? It was all fake anyway, wasn't it? So why couldn't I tell him I wouldn't kill him if he just led me to the answers I wanted.

"That would make you a Death Eater," Sirius informed. "Keep walking."

That didn't make me feel guilty. Sirius should know better.

"You realize you're saying each thought aloud?"

Yeah? I couldn't help hoping that my godfather was a chipmunk then. Scare _him _away.

I had only walked a few more steps before Sirius spoke to me again, this time gathering my attention immediately.

"What's that sound?"

This time I didn't instinctively know where to look before I heard the sound – it was a low, dangerous growl that reverberated off the trees and sounded like a pack of – _wolves. _Over to the side were wolves – three of them, all watching me and growling with their hackles raised. I took a step back, again feeling out of my element considering wolves usually loved me. What was going on, why didn't they now?

"This represents your enemies, Audrey," Sirius' voice informed me. "The chipmunk was what fears you, this is who you fear."

But I didn't really fear wolves, in fact, I tended to like them when they didn't shift on a full moon and get nippy. Sirius' voice chuckled before he informed me, again, that 'this is a metaphor'. I guess it made sense. I had never made it past this step in the process, always being frightened away: the first time it was coyotes, the second time it had been eagles diving for me.

"Keep walking," I didn't really feel comfortable turning my back on the wolves when they were so ready to lunge, but I focused myself on remembering that this was only a trance. I took a deep breath to ready myself before I closed my eyes and walked past them. I hadn't been attacked yet, at least. When the growling had ceased I felt brave enough to open my eyes and look around me – the wolves were gone.

I continued walking through the forest as instructed, my feet making so much noise that I was certain I was either scaring away my stupid spirit animal or helping it hunt me without effort. The trees were starting to grow closer together and it was starting to blotch out the sunlight leaking in through the canopy; I still couldn't hear sign of any sound – it was strange, illusion or not I was unnerved by the silence. Usually animals loved me. If I were ever to come into a forest like this in real life almost every animal would have come to give me a good look, considering I always drew them in. Why was this different? Why was my spirit animal different?

"Because you don't trust people and you doubt why you have that affinity with animals in the first place," Sirius informed me. "Your animal wouldn't trust it either."

Fair enough. I trudged through the trees, trying to find something that would indicate that I was making some form of progress. It took me a few minutes to realize why this forest seemed eerie and so foreign to me: there was nothing in it. Nothing. The trees held no birds' nests, there was no bird call, there was no scurrying of other chipmunks or deer or other humans coming to invade the space.

There was _nothing _here.

"Oh, Audrey," Sirius sighed, sounding upset. I didn't really know what that was supposed to mean, but I wasn't really in the mood to ask him. Sirius was silent for a moment before he cleared his throat. "Wait."

I stopped mid-movement, knowing that he was about to toss some hypnotic new scenario that would give me some sort of answer or clue. Never before had I been able to stay in the trance this long – I had no idea what to expect now.

"There's an obstacle in front of you, Audrey," I looked ahead to spot the obstacle, but all I could see was more forest – that didn't really seem like an obstacle. I looked at the trees surrounding me: their bark still made of – wait, was that an ash tree? Like the wood of my wand? I went to take a step to the side so I could examine the tree there, only to gasp as my stomach dropped thanks to my foot finding empty space.

I caught myself before my ankle could break or I could fully trip into the hole that was in the middle of the forest. There was one single hole in the ground and I had found it. It was earth that had been slightly built up and in the middle lay a deep hole that moved into the ground as if it were some kind of animal den. I bent down to examine it – it was empty.

"It looks like a rabbits den, er – something similar," I informed Sirius.

"That's where you feel safe," he informed me. I scoffed – I did not feel safe in a hole in the middle of the bloody forest. I felt safe on my own when I knew other people's mistakes could not get me killed – being submerged in dirt and leaves had nothing to do with it.

"It's a metaphor, Drea," Sirius sighed.

Well, it was a stupid one.

I could actually feel Sirius moving his wand over me now, which I hadn't noticed before – had he been doing it this entire time? That seemed like a lot of effort so that I could get to the point I could see some ridiculous hole in the ground. If I really paid attention I could feel the carpet of Shell Cottage under my toes and I could smell the dish soap that Bill and Fleur were using just a few rooms over.

"You're breaking out of the trance, Audrey," Sirius warned. "Clear your mind of it."

Clearing my mind – he sounded just like Snape. Though not as bossy. The feeling of reminiscence brought a sickness through my stomach that I know should not have affected me in my forest scene. I could feel Sirius waving his wand in front of my face again.

"Stop thinking about Severus Snape and pay attention to what you're supposed to be doing," Sirius ordered. "Come on, Drea. You're almost there."

He was always annoyed like this when my Potion's Master was mentioned. It was jealousy.

"I am not jealous of _Snivellus_."

Very convincing.

But he did have a good point – as much as I loved this idea of getting lost in a trance, it wasn't what I was used to doing. Maybe if I focused and cleared my mind like I was taught to do by Snape it would help me really immerse myself in here, it could help me really get in touch with myself – after all, it'd done it before helping learn every other kind of magic I was actually accomplished in. It hadn't worked the first time but maybe if I didn't try to slip all the way into Astral, I'd be safe...

"Fine," Sirius sounded annoyed. "If you think it will help."

Clearing my mind was easier said than done but I was already in such a relaxed state it might just make it easier. The trance I was absorbed in was already strong; I just had to use the method that I had learned years ago to really think about nothing other than clearing my mind and what came to light when I did – trance over sensory reaction.

I moved up to one of the trees, analyzing the bark that I had seen. This was what my wand was made out of – ash wood. The tree was distinctive: rough and straight-laced bark that ran in a pattern with deep, gray crevasses and tear-drop leaves that sprouted linear to each twig.

I focused on the bark, not letting anything around me deter my vision – focusing hard on the wood instead of the carpet at my feet, or the humidity in the air, or the salt from the ocean outside of the house...

In the distance of the forest, as I started to slip from both worlds and into one of my own making, there was a terrifying scream. It was nearly human – high pitched like a woman who was terrified. I would have thought that was exactly as it was, were it not for the strange rattle at the end. Maybe it was agony that created that extra gurgle? No, no, that was animalistic. It was a _rattle._ That was not human. Where had I heard that sound before?

And then, to distract me from the screams, I felt myself shiver against the cool water that slithered down my spine. I had concentrated too much – I was having a vision.

The images that hit me from the vision were bright and vivid, but fogged in such a strange way that I took my pale hand to wave away the smoke that was gathering in front of my eyes. Then, that strange howling and screaming that had sounded right before I had left the forest turned into something much more familiar: a steam-whistle.

The crimson engine of the Hogwarts Express loomed in front of me; gathering it's students for another year at Hogwarts. People all around us were moving quickly, keeping their heads down their steps quick. The general warm atmosphere I was used to had been changed into something filled with terror and worry. I moved to glance over to Ginny, she looked up at me and frowned. Wait, that didn't seem right; I was taller than Ginny. I was nowhere near Ginny's height, but before I could analyze it more, she had turned her head to the side. It was then that I felt like I had been punched in the stomach: there he was. Right there, right in front of me.

Draco Malfoy.

I watched as he started arguing with someone – someone with dark hair and flawless skin. It took me a moment to understand what I was seeing because what I was seeing didn't make sense. Was that...was that Montague? Why would he be anywhere near the Hogwarts Express if this was something that had yet to happen? Montague was a Hogwarts graduate. I could hardly pay attention before I watched Draco and Montague pull out their wands. It only took a moment before there were spells being shouted, lights flashing and lighting each corner as people all around us ducked for cover or drew their wands.

Ginny screamed from beside me and fell to my feet. I bent down to check on her, her eyes opened – dead or stunned? Was she dead or stunned? I drew my own wand, aiming for the dark haired monster who _always _started the fights before the words fell dead on my tongue. I watched in horror as Death Eaters and Ministry members alike moved from the train and onto the platform, shouting spells without pause, not caring who they hit...

I surfaced from my vision, taking a deep breath as if I had been drowning in the scene. It's what it had felt like: the fear, the worry, watching Ginny fall to the ground as she had. I looked up to see that Sirius was right in front of me, having taken hold of my shoulders.

"Are you alright? You fell into a trance I couldn't hear you in-"

"The Death Eaters," my voice was hoarse as if I had actually been screaming spells to stop the approaching Death Eaters. "There's going to be an attack on Platform 9¾!"

"Are you sure?" Sirius looked at me carefully, worrying for my sanity for a moment before he realized what must have happened. "A vision. And you're sure it was the Death Eaters?"

"Positive," I muttered. "They weren't exactly hiding."

I hadn't realized that I had fallen to the ground until his grip on my shoulders tightened and he helped to drag me to my feet. He said something quiet under his breath as he looked me over and tested whether or not I would be able to stay on my own two feet – visions were exhausting now that I had to break into a different state to see them: but this one had been worth every ounce of energy.

"We have to warn Ginny," I told him. "She gets hit-"

"With what?" Sirius asked me, his voice even more urgent.

"I didn't see and what the hell would it matter anyway?" My voice was more harsh and louder than I had expected it, but the point had to get across – this was a dangerous situation. "We have to get onto that platform!"

"What's going on?" My raised voice had drawn the attention of Remus, who was poking his head through the door cautiously – I'd been short with everyone lately and no one wanted to face my wrath. What he saw when he looked at me spurned a reaction of immediate attention. "What's happened?"

"There's going to be an attack on the Platform," I informed him, bursting past him. "Bill!"

"What did you do now?" His voice came from the living room and I raced there.

"Get your mother on the Floo, now!"

"We can't just Floo her," he told me, looking as if he wanted to be a prat when I burst into the room. Apparently he could tell by the look on my face that I was not in the mood for his rudeness and he silenced whatever smart-ass remark he had. Instead, he looked at me carefully, his hands raised as if I were an animal waiting to pounce. "They're being watched."

"Well, your sister's about to be manhandled by Death Eaters," I bit back acidly. "So I suggest you find a way."

Bill paled before there was any other sign that he'd acknowledged my words. He took a moment to look between Sirius and Remus worriedly, his face dropping the more he realized that this was not some kind of joke. "They're going to the Burrow?"

"Worse," Sirius answered for me. "Apparently they're attacking Platform 9¾."

"It's not an attack," I winced, taking back my words quickly before they misunderstood and called for the entire Order to intervene. "It's a fight that breaks out, everyone becomes a part of – Ginny's one of the first hit."

"You're sure?" Bill was white as a sheet now, Fleur – who had appeared out of nowhere – was rubbing her hand along his shoulder to try and keep him calm.

"Will people stop asking me that?" I growled. "I'm a seer, for Salazar's sake!"

"You said they weren't working!" Bill defended.

"Well they are now because I've found a way," I informed bitingly. "And even if I didn't: are you willing to take that chance, Weasley?"

Bill looked back to Sirius and Lupin behind me, nodding his head a little bit as he fumbled out of his seat and disappeared from the room. Fleur, looking displaced without her husband to buffer my rude remarks, looked at me carefully.

"'Ow 'ave you started 'aving visions again?" She asked me nervously.

"It takes a lot out of me, but I can force them," I informed her tightly. "Thank Merlin I did."

"Thank Merlin," she repeated, exhaling and noticeably deflating. "We must stop ze fight..."

"Yes, we must," I turned to Sirius, who looked almost like a soldier waiting for orders. Is this what everything had come to, relying on my visions, living day by day waiting for something to do and playing around with magic every day in between? I thought I would have been making a difference before now – then again, this was the perfect time to start.

"What should we do?"

"It started between the Slytherins," I informed him. His eyes immediately narrowed, as if he could sense when I said 'the Slytherins' I was really talking about Malfoy being in the immediate line of fire. Was that a possibility? Was it possible that Draco was hit alongside Ginny? No – not if I stopped it all together. Still, Sirius looked suspicious. "It's just a – er – rivalry that gets out of hand. It's the Death Eaters that are trigger-happy and cause the real chaos."

"And how do you expect us to intervene or stop a Slytherin rivalry?" Lupin asked, looking upset. "They'd never listen to any warnings."

"Luckily for you, I'm a Slytherin," I told them. "And if it comes to it: I know how to _make _them."

* * *

><p>"You're sure about this?" Sirius asked Bill, who only nodded his head as he handed over one of his hairs. I was getting sick of so many people second guessing my visions and my plan, but I was far too antsy to snap at them for it. Beside me, Sirius was quick to put Bill's single hair into the small vial of Polyjuice potion that I had given him just an hour before. As soon as hair hit the potion it started to turn a different consistency and after shaking it up, the Polyjuice turned the muddy potion a pallid shade of mustard.<p>

"Audrey's the one we need there," Bill acknowledged confidently while he watched the potion work. "Sure, I'd like to be able to hex some Death Eaters in the face, but if she thinks she's the only one who can outwit those Slytherins into not bothering for an argument in the first place, that's good enough for me."

"Eet helps zat she saw ze battle," Fleur agreed, holding out one of her own silvery blonde hairs. "She can know when it eez comeeng if she can't stop it early."

"Thank you," I told her as genuinely as I could manage. I uncorked my vial and took the hair from her. When I dropped it in the lumpy mixture and shook it for good measure the potion turned into a syrupy silver that smelled like lavender. Only veelas could make Polyjuice seem pleasant. I corked the potion again and turned to Bill. "So they're going to know it's us?"

"I told them you had a vision and that you'd be there," Bill confirmed. "Ginny knows too. Why didn't you want them to know?"

"I think the fewer that know, the smoother this will run," I told him flatly, shaking up the Polyjuice again, just in case. "You Gryffindors don't tend to be the best liars."

"And you Slytherins are professionals," he sighed. I was about to ask him if that was supposed to be an insult, but even if it was I realized I was happy with it. Being good at lying did not mean that I _was _a liar. It would help me in times like this throughout the bloody war.

"Either way, they know," Sirius informed. "Fred and George are coming too."

Of course they were. I could never expect any kind of trickery without the twins being involved in some way. Hopefully they would remember that I was supposed to be acting as the sister-in-law that annoyed them, not one of their friends. Sirius threw me a knowing-look before I was able to turn toward the door.

"Lupin isn't coming?"

"I told him not to," Sirius answered, sounding a little off-put by it. "He could have taken Polyjuice potion, but it's close to the full moon – he's not been himself, I don't want him to struggle pretending to be someone else."

"And he can't show up as himself?"

"The new Werewolf Registration Act is in place, Audrey," he reminded me with a distinctive frown. "He hasn't registered."

It seemed as if my darling professor was on the run like I was.

"And he doesn't want people to know about Tonks," Bill added on. "Keep the pregnancy quiet, you know."

"Right," I shook my head slightly, I should have known that. I should have been aware of everyone who would and wouldn't be joining us – but the scene from my vision was playing over and over in my head to the point I had every second of the fight memorized and etched into my gray matter as if it were stone. Malfoy would get in a fight with Montague – I couldn't let that happen. I'd have to stop the duel before it was more than the typical argument between enemies. And I'd have to stop it as Fleur. He could never know it was me.

"Oh, here comes Mum," Bill was distracted and moved around the kitchen table so that he could greet her on the front step. The greeting – as it always was – consisted of drawn wands and the personal history of one another. When Bill was satisfied that it was truly his family, he stepped forward to hug them.

Sirius leaned in to me during their intimate family moment, his voice quiet.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" He asked me. He leaned forward. "Or is this a Malfoy-based idea?"

"Sirius," I growled. "There's going to be a battle on the Platform – am I supposed to just let it happen?"

"You said it was between the Slytherins – a rivalry," he noted, raising an eyebrow to accuse me. "Who stars the fight?"

"That's not what this is about," I hissed, evading the question as easily as I could considering that Mrs Weasley was bustling toward the door to see me. "This is about Ginny!"

But let's be honest...it was likely a bit of both.

"Oh, Audrey!" Mrs Weasley grappled me into a hug. "Thank goodness you saw what you did!"

"It's alright," I patted her awkwardly on the back before wriggling awkwardly so that I could try to escape. She was always for these intense displays of affection and never, in the seven years of knowing her, had I gotten used to them. "I should have tried it sooner to keep tabs on it – I just never thought-"

"Drea!" Ginny burst through the door, grabbing my arm from under her mother's grip so that she could pull me into her own. As much as I was unnerved that Ginny Weasley was hugging me, it did not seem as invasive as her mother's own embrace. "I'm so glad you were able to warn us – I tried reaching the DA from the coins-"

"I thought we said we _weren't _doing that?"

"I just said to get there early," she explained, showing me the coin. She wasn't lying, it was subtle writing on the edge of the coin where the date should be that explained what to do when they were already _on _the train. "Make sure to get a compartment – you said it happened on the platform..."

I sighed, nodding slowly and handing the coin back to her. "Good idea."

She beamed. Ginny was always happy when someone encouraged her to do more work for the DA or the Order – she liked feeling helpful. When she actually did something of her own accord and was thanked for it, Ginny felt like she was showing her mother just how useful she could be. I was someone who always thought she was of use. Ginny was more powerful than most people I knew and considering the two of us, it was clear that good things came in small, redheaded packages.

"Audrey," Mr Weasley came up to me and instead of shaking my hand, as he usually did, he also pulled me into an embrace. Godric, these Gryffindors were so touchy-feely – couldn't they show appreciation with words, not actions? Then again, if they did everything with words instead of actions, they might as well not be Gryffindors: impulse was their way.

"Er," I struggled to come up with something to say. "It's no problem..."

"You've helped this family more times than today," he informed me, pulling away so that he could look me in the eyes. I found I couldn't meet them thanks to all the emotion behind them – who did things like this? "Thank you."

"Not a problem," I repeated before pulling away from him as soon as the chance arose. I felt guilty that he had this much faith in me – I was doing this not only to save Ginny but to save people he wasn't really fond of...and even then, changing visions and the future was no easy task. Everything was working against you to keep things the way they should be. I had only changed my visions a handful of times; but I was determined to add today to the list. "Where are the twins?"

"They're meeting us at the platform," Mrs Weasley informed me; she looked teary-eyed with gratitude – she'd obviously cried already a few times this morning. This was _exactly _why I hadn't wanted her to know that I was taking Fleur's place. "They wanted to make sure that nothing funny was going on ahead of time."

"Brilliant," I nodded, looking up to the clock above the window. "It's just about 10:30; if we take the potion now, it should last for the entirety of the trip and if not...well, we'll make a larger statement than intended."

"Right," Bill moved forward toward Sirius, giving him a few quiet words before handing him a bundle of clothes that he would wear normally and a pair of shoes. Sirius patted the younger man on the shoulder to reassure him before my godfather took the potion in the other room so that he could change. I walked up to Fleur who took her own pile of clothes and shoes from the table and held them out to me.

"Eet is not clothes you weell like," she informed me with a frown. "But it weell keep ozzers focused on ozzer theengs besides your personality."

"Such as?" She gave me the most mischievous little smirk I'd ever seen the part-veela give before her eyes glanced down my body suggestively. She pushed the clothes into my hands before I could complain now that I knew her meaning.

Great. I was going to look like a prostitute again.

I went into another room as Sirius had done, taking the potion before I could convince myself around the idea. Though the potion smelled like lavender it tasted like pennies and I found myself gagging as it slid down my throat.

I felt my body start to ripple and melt into something new: taller, fuller, stronger. My hair seemed to wriggle out of my head so it could grow, my eyes tingled as they changed colour and shape, even my cheekbones shifted into a higher and more severe position. Each limb seemed to elongate like I was elastic being pulled every which way – I loved the effect of this potion, but hated the feeling of being someone else.

By the time that the transformation had finished, my jeans were nearly bursting open thanks to the arse I didn't actually have as myself and the extra five inches in height I'd gained as Fleur. There was no point even mentioning my shirt – I was surprised it hadn't frayed or torn. I took off my own clothing so that I could slip into the outfit Fleur had given me: she was right – it would distract from the fact my personality didn't match hers considering these clothes could never match _mine. _She'd given me a dress that was short, royal blue, and nearly backless. I didn't really see how this was something someone would wear on a public outing that didn't produce a red carpet – but this was Fleur we were talking about: she dressed to impress.

The shoes she'd given me were heels and I walked out into the kitchen holding them.

"I can't wear these," I said simply. Fleur started, placing her hand on her chest.

"Eez zat what my voice sounds like?" She gasped. "Eet eez so high!"

"Yeah, this is how we feel all the time," I informed her dryly, shooting a look to Ginny who was trying hard not to laugh. I knew well how much 'Phlegm's' voice upset her. I threw the shoes to the ground where all the other shoes gathered. "I'll have to wear something flat – I can't walk in heels."

"But you must!"

"No one is going to suspect I would ever go to the Express as you," I informed her levelly. "Particularly in this getup. I think we have the bases covered as well as they can be. Now, can I have proper shoes in case I need to walk three feet at any point in time?"

She huffed but moved to her bedroom to find a pair of flats – they must have been hard to find considering she was gone for several minutes before she returned and plopped them down in front of me. Apparently she didn't like that I wouldn't be doing her body justice as I flaunted it in the wizarding community.

Bill gave me a goodbye fit for someone off to war and Fleur gave me a handshake – I don't think she could get past the fact she was looking herself in the face as she was. When all was said and done we quickly went out into the garden – the house looked dark and empty, considering that the couple inside were hiding – before I took Sirius' arm and we Apparated to Kings Cross.

The station looked as it always did – filled with bustling people during their morning compute to work, out of town, or in the case of Muggles: trying to find a platform they had never before heard of. We walked forward, my eyes darting every-which-way to try and see if there were any threats around us – I couldn't see any, but that didn't mean they weren't there. That also didn't mean that each and every one of us weren't on guard. I could feel the tension rolling off the Weasleys in waves. Looking to my left, I saw Ginny smiling to herself, pulling her trunk with one hand and resting her hand on the wand in her pocket with the other.

After a bit of pushing through the crowd we finally made it to the wall between Platform Nine and Platform Ten – it was a blank, brick wall that looked like nothing special – which was precisely why we looked left and right to make sure we weren't being watched, before we each walked through it. Mrs Weasley and Ginny went first, then Mr Weasley, followed by Sirius and I as the last to enter.

As I had in my vision, I waved some of the smoke away as soon as I entered Platform 9¾; whether it was because I knew I'd do it or because Fleur's body was sensitive to our pollution I didn't know. Still, as I looked forward at the familiar surroundings it tugged a little at my stomach: the Hogwarts Express had only ever once brought out the emotions it was evoking now – the very first time I'd seen it. It was right that I felt so moved by it considering this would be my last. It's not like I had ever really enjoyed schoolwork and classes, but to think that I was missing out on my final year was hard to accept – it was even harder to accept that it was happening because a madman was out to kill my brother, I happened to be in his way, and half of my friends could not be trusted.

"Fred, George!" Mrs Weasley called them over and before I could try to see through the crowd – or over the crowd, Fleur certainly was tall – they were right in front of us. Fred and George had appeared out of nowhere, giving us those wonderfully bright smiles – with Fred's addition of a ridiculous wink in my direction – as a greeting.

"Nothing out of the ordinary here-"

"-besides the obscene amount of Slytherins-"

"-and children praying to be in Slytherin-"

"-and the strange lack of people who aren't Pureblooded-"

"-and the strange amount of people who are convinced they _are _Pureblooded-"

"-oh, and the Death Eaters hanging around every corner-"

"-well yes, of course, them; but that was obvious, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," I muttered, keeping my voice quiet so that no one would hear that I wasn't putting on the accent Fleur has that I replicated so horribly. I may have her voice, but not her mannerisms after all. They were impossible not to see: all around the platform, standing like statues, were wizards dressed in black cloaks with their hoods up. I couldn't really tell if any of them had masks on underneath them – if they didn't they were likely Ministry members rather than Death Eaters – but they stood still, watching everyone mill nervously around them. "How many cloaks?"

"We counted twelve, but we couldn't see if there were any on the train," Fred answered quietly.

"There are," I remembered that quite vividly. Sirius – er, Bill – started to ask the twins some quiet questions about what they'd overlooked, but after raking my eyes around to count the cloaked men – I could only spot nine – my attention was pulled in another direction.

I tried to stay quiet, but apparently I had made some sort of sound because everyone looked to me and followed my eye-line...my _friends._

I had roomed with the same girls for six years – save Alya Rivers, who had been kicked out of my dormitory to room with Pansy Parkinson during fifth year – but I had never imagined them as they looked now. These were not the strong, rude and sometimes over-passionate girls I had grown to love; they couldn't be. Lillian and Daphne were huddled together, looking as immaculate and perfectly primped as always...yet not looking at all like themselves. They looked _scared_, something which I'd obviously never _truly _seen them_. _Lillian was holding tightly onto Daphne's hand, they were whispering to each other and looking around, afraid to be overheard.

In front of them was a face that made breathing seem a lot more difficult than it usually was – there was Theodore, acting like a human shield charm. He was darker than even the year before, he looked like he was a coiled snake, ready to strike. Maybe he was, considering how he was glaring at anyone who dared to come near them, his hand in his pocket – likely to have his wand at the ready in case of any attacks.

Wise move, but it was that kind of nervousness that caused the attack in the first place.

I heard a shout of indignation which caught most sets of eyes around us; perhaps I had only really noticed because I was looking in that direction, or even because I was so preoccupied trying to spy each of my friends that it was the reason I'd heard the familiar voice – but I watched as a girl was trip-jinxed and flew forward. Her trunk burst open as it hit the ground, spilling clothes onto the platform and she slid forward on the flagstone, likely tearing some of the skin on her hands as she caught herself. I watched, in horror, as the familiar head of brown hair flipped back out of her dark eyes so she could glare at everyone around her, unsure who had jinxed her.

"Bugger off," Tracey Davis howled, moving to get back to her knees. "I was casting trip-jinxes while you were still wetting your diapers. Grow the fuck up!"

"Halfblood scum," someone near her was brave enough to announce that before the adult – a parent or relative, considering they were too old be a student – actually leaned forward and _spit_ on her. I felt myself gasped and instinctively take a step forward, only to have Sirius' grip around my arm tighten.

"Do you need to leave?" He asked me, his voice not judgemental but accusing me over my lack of control. "If this is too much, that's fine, but-"

"I'm fine," I hissed, shaking his grip violently while my eyes went back to watching Tracey pick up all her things. Daphne and Lillian did not move to help her, but Blaise had obediently come to her aid – he had always had a bit of a crush on her: halfblood or not.

Then, someone stopped in front of Tracey, who looked up at the head of blonde curls and sneered. "Piss off, Greengrass. I'm not in the mood."

"Isn't that the bint that kept hexing you?" George sneered at her.

"Scrawny little thing," Fred spit as if he was uttering a curse. "Want us to even the score?"

I looked over to the group of Gryffindors I was with, amazed that something happening to Slytherins could excite them as it had. They were angry for Tracey the same as I was – who would have thought? If they knew Tracey and how perfectly she embodied everything that represented Slytherin, they may not feel the same way...but it was nice while it lasted.

Fred, on top of it all, looked particularly insulted. He knew well that Tracey Davis was one of the only people to befriend me during fifth year after the masses turned against the Potters. It could have been for that he looked so red faced, or perhaps even because he was remembering something _else _that happened that year. His eyes moved to mine, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking, and he smiled.

"You are thinking about it," he accused. Quickly he wiped the grin off his face. "Revenge, then?"

"No," I muttered, my eyes narrowing on him before they rounded back to one of my least favourite blondes. "I'll make sure to get my chance later."

Tracey was still glaring at the youngest Greengrass sister. I couldn't tell whether or not Tracey would feel the same way about Daphne leering over her, but she had never been fond of Daphne's sister. Astoria Greengrass was watching Tracey and Blaise right her trunk before she scuttled off to be with her big sister: cozying up with Daphne and Lillian and whispering something to Theodore. He listened for a moment, nodding once or twice, before he pointed over to the other side of the platform. I followed the movement...and froze.

It was him. He was _here_.

Draco Malfoy was walking towards the group of Slytherins all huddled together near the steam engine, looking somehow _smaller _than I remembered him. No – that couldn't have been it considering he'd grown over the summer and was taller than I remembered him being. Well, he may have been _taller _but the presence I had grown so used to was no longer there – it had disappeared or retreated or...withered before my very eyes. It took me a moment to realize it might not have been _his _presence that had changed at all, but rather the lack of presence of his two idiotic sidekicks: Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be seen.

His appearance still seemed to make heads turn, he'd always had that ability, but instead of smirking at all of them he stared straight ahead to his destination and did not dally to get there. He looked stern and severe in a way that reminded me of his worst days with that stupid Vanishing Cabinet, when he had not eaten, slept or thought about anything but ensuring he and his family would survive. When he made it to the group I missed so much, he huddled with Daphne, Lillian, Astoria, and Theodore. He talked with them for a moment before looking over and waiting for Blaise and Tracey to join them. There was no missing how Astoria took a step away from the halfblood that had just joined their circle – Theodore immediately snapped at her for it.

Ginny coughed slightly. "Er – _Fleur_?"

"Almost like she's been struck dumb, isn't it?" Fred's voice came out a little rougher than I was used to. "Then again, good ol' _Fleur _wouldn't really remember those arses, would she?"

"You need to pay attention to know when this fight is coming," Bill's voice sounded from my side. Sirius-Bill gave me a meaningful twitch of his head. I cleared my own throat.

"I am," I explained, readying myself for the barrage of questions. "It starts over there."

"What do you mean?" Mrs Weasley moved to the other side of Ginny so that she was right beside me, sounding concerned. "It starts with your friends, dear?"

I was surprised by how worried her tone actually sounded. Was she really worried for my friends, or for my reaction about the situation? I didn't know if she was laying it on thick because we were already here and I was the only one with the answers or if she could actually see the worry that had built up as tension in my muscles.

"It's between my friends and enemies," I answered vaguely, not really caring to elaborate further than that. The moment that the Gryffindors realized it was Draco who started the fight, they wouldn't take me as seriously. I needed to keep them here long enough to try and figure out how to stop them – not that I could do anything from this far away.

"Isn't everyone there a friend-"

"-and everyone around them an enemy?" George finished. I looked back over to the group – both Mr and Mrs Weasley looked pleasantly concerned for my friends. Ginny was watching everything with observant eyes that no one else in her family seemed to have. George was watching Fred nervously – which made sense considering Fred was red faced with anger and suspicion. I nearly groaned...now was not the time for jealousy.

Sirius looked just as apprehensive as Fred did and considering he was dressed up as Bill for the hour, they wore identical expressions of mistrust. "Do you know what actually makes it start?"

"I'm assuming a rude comment of some sort," I responded flippantly.

"Rude comment-"

"-from the Slytherins-"

"-why, that seems preposterous-"

"-improbable-"

"-certainly not impossible-"

"-but still improbable."

"Funny," I rolled my eyes at the twins, who again took to not looking at me. In real life they weren't very talkative with Fleur and not necessarily fond of her, only her single cousins. It was better if they looked away anyway; Fred's red face was already giving away that there was something deeper to what was supposed to be an innocent conversation between family members. "I have to get closer."

"No," Sirius said immediately, side stepping so that he overtook my vision and blocked out the huddled group of Slytherins. "Now is not the time for nostalgia."

"But it is the time to try and distract them," I argued back, hissing my words out quietly. I looked from Mr and Mrs Weasley, to Ginny, to the twins, to Sirius-Bill before I shook my head. "Listen, I know this group of people better than you know me. What are we going to do, hex them before they start the fight? We have to play it more carefully than that – drawing wands will make them draw their wands and the whole process will happen, only with a different trigger. Slytherins respond to things differently than Gryffindors do – we need think like _them_."

Fred looked at me thoughtfully. "And you think more like them than us?"

"Obviously." I rolled my eyes, looking away from him when he seemed to delve more deeply into his own thoughts.

"That's fine, really, but how would going up to the Slytherins accomplish that?" Sirius asked doubtfully. "Or is that how you _want _to accomplish it?"

"A little faith, please," I scoffed. "You seem to forget that Harry may be the chosen one and Hermione may be the smartest witch of this age – but I'm the girl who coerces dragons. Isn't that what you keep telling me? If I can do that, you must realize that coercing people is much easier."

"She's right," Ginny agreed, I sent her a thankful little grin. I had never expected that we would reach this stage in our relationship, where we were always helping each other out. It had grown out of something simple: that no one else seemed to have any kind of faith in either of us – I was untrustworthy and she was too young...teamed together? We were unstoppable. "You've never seen her manipulate someone like I have. She's good at it."

"That's nice," I said doubtfully, trying not to scoff at the way she said it. She shrugged.

"Manipulating people isn't so much a talent, but it is useful," he frowned a little before looking to Fred and George. "Do you have anything that could cause a distraction?"

"No, too obvious," I stated again. "You Gryffindors know nothing of subtlety!"

I looked over to Fred and George, who had already started digging into their pockets for some of their inventions to help us get closer or set off some kind of distraction. George pouted.

"But-"

"Next time," I promised. He seemed pleased with the answer. I turned over to the eldest members of our group. "Mr and Mrs Weasley, is there anyone near that steam engine that you recognize, or could strike up a conversation with so I can get closer?"

The couple looked around, overtop of heads and through the gaps of hurried students before they nodded – barely giving the rest of us a glance before they started moving towards the head of the train. My stomach was churning with nervousness the closer I got to my group of friends – there was a part of me that wanted to just go up to them and warn them of what I knew would happen. Just talk to them – that's all I would have to do. Tell them how stupid they were being, explain to them the danger they were putting themselves in...but I couldn't trust it. Not with Astoria there and...not with Draco there. Who knew where his loyalties lay now? He might not look like he was living on top of the world, but he certainly wasn't afraid to be out in the open like everyone else was. He'd gotten the life he wanted: security and power.

As we drew closer, I could see the details of them now: Daphne had slimmed more, Theodore's hair had grown out and Lillian's hair had been cut a bit shorter. I could now see that Tracey's knees were bleeding from her fall earlier and their eyes were all jumping from person to person, as if they knew they were being watched.

"Augusta!" Mrs Weasley's voice was sweet and I was surprised how close she had managed to get us to the group of Slytherins. Sure, there were still people walking between us, but I was no more than ten feet away from everyone I'd grown so close to. Augusta Longbottom, the Weasley's intended excuse, was as sweet as she could be with Mrs Weasley – which wasn't particularly sweet considering how rude Neville's grandmother usually was.

No wonder he was so frightened all the time.

"Load of rubbish, isn't it?" The woman screeched. "As if we don't know what's happening!"

"Yes, yes, but best be quiet – spies everywhere, you know," Mr Weasley said in a hushed tone. The old woman would hear none of it.

"Why, my Neville hasn't been quiet about his loyalties at all; nor should you be, Arthur! We know what's _really _going on-"

"Of course, Augusta," he tried to placate her and shut her up, which only seemed to enrage the old bat more. I tuned out of their conversation as best I could, listening more closely to the Slytherins that were off to my side.

"...a compartment for us. It'll be a tight fit, but I doubt they'll save seats for us," Daphne was saying.

"Crabbe and Goyle can't fit with us," Astoria nearly whined. "They take up too much room!"

"Crabbe and Goyle won'tsit with us," Draco's voice sounded exactly as I had remembered it: just as rough and angry and silky. It was cold, that icy tone that always made me feel like I hadn't accomplished anything, or that I should keep fighting until I did. It matched exactly what I remembered of his eyes.

"They think they're some big bosses now," Theodore agreed, his voice darker and lower than I liked hearing it. "In there with the Death Eaters trying to learn some tricks for school – if it's anything like dinner, they'll be occupied until we're at Hogwarts."

"Where they'll then be distracted by dinner," Draco interrupted with a sneer. "We'll stick to a group, the Death Eaters shouldn't bother us but-"

Draco was cut off by the sound of the train's warning whistle, letting the passengers know that it was time to hop on the Express before it was going to take off. My eyes flashed over to Ginny, who seemed to be watching the scene that I couldn't actually turn to see, before she shook her head and mouthed to ask what she should do.

"Stay here," I told her, trying out my French accent. It wasn't great, but seemed not to draw too much attention from the conversation between Mr Weasley and Mrs Longbottom. Maybe I could get away from it.

"Excuse me," I turned my head a bit as I heard the little voice – it was a small student, likely a first year, that stopped to talk to the group right behind me. She had stopped right in front of Theodore. "You're a Prefect, aren't you? Where do First Years sit?"

"On the grill," Draco answered for him with a sneer, moving his head over to indicate the front of the train. "Now sod off, we're busy."

The student took in a loud gasp before she ran away. She was up the steps to the train and trying to find a compartment before we could make any comments.

"Man, Audrey makes some good picks," Fred said simply, speaking about me as if I wasn't there – which I shouldn't have been. "Real keeper."

"'Ow is Angelina, Fred?" I turned around, keeping my accent thick as I glared at him. "Steel such a wonderfool dancer?"

George laughed loudly.

"Ginny," Mrs Weasley began nervously. "The train may leave soon, maybe you should-"

"Wait," Fred and George started suddenly, as always in sync with one another in a way that my own twin and I were not. Fred continued to grumble bitterly. "I have a feeling I know who the trouble maker is..."

"Malfoy!"

I didn't need to be able to see who had screamed my ex-boyfriend's name to know that Fred was right. That voice was more familiar than I'd hoped it would be and I was quick to turn around, instinctively, to watch as Adam Montague came toward my group of friends. Tracey moved to take a step forward, but Daphne and Astoria cringed away from the Hogwarts graduate – Astoria gripped hold of Draco's hand, as if comforted by it.

_What in Salazar's pit of snakes just happened?_

Jealousy burned through me like the acid from last year had, the monster in my chest could have roared by how nervous everyone around me looked. They could tell that it would bother me – look at that, Gryffindors had some common sense. Someone in the group I was standing with actually put their hand on my arm, trying to turn me from the scene, but I couldn't move – I _wouldn't _move and tear my eyes away from the way she _molested_ his hand. What the fuck is _that_? Since when did Malfoy pay the little Greengrass any attention at all and since when did she find him interesting enough to pay attention to? She'd judged him last year, talked about how much he'd taken my side of Theodore's...

"_Fleur_," the tone that Bill had said my name was forced and easily to pull my attention away from the scene. "Perhaps we should move somewhere else?"

"No," I said simply, not bothering to keep my voice down or thicken up my French accent.

"_Fleur_, dearest," the name was more pointed than the fact I wasn't speaking with an accent. It would be the tip-off if they continued being so condescending as they said it.

"I need to fix this," I hissed, my eyes snapping to Fred who I knew would be the only one to say something like that. He frowned.

"What is there to fix? Your food chain is still intact," he pointed to where the little First Year had run onto the train to get away from my friends. I looked at him with a bit of a dropped jaw – really? That's what he was coming down to, the fact Draco had been mean to some kid? He clearly didn't remember what I had done as a prefect then if he thought _that _was cruel.

"Having new predators around doesn't keep us at the top..." I told him, frowning and looking at him to see if he understood. "It starves us."

"Looks like your pal Montague is pretty hungry," George hummed, nodding over to the group. I turned around so I could see them and Montague was now getting right into Malfoy's face. I felt immediately nervous – this is what I had remembered seeing from farther away, but now that I was right in front of them I could hear every word.

"Not much you can do this year, is there, Malfoy?" Montague was all but purring with smug satisfaction. "No shiny badge, no _extracurricular activities_ – why, it's almost like you're a normal student again."

"I could say the same thing," Draco spit. "Were you held back, Montague? Is that why you're here?"

"I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid. The Dark Lord doesn't trust you lot, you see," he leaned forward a bit, taking the time to look at the group that stood behind Draco as if they were the dirt beneath his nails. "The Potters might make an appearance here to protect the Mudbloods – I'm stationed to make sure that if they are, you don't help them escape."

"Potter's too smart for that," Theodore stated simply.

"I don't think so – particularly if Boy Wonder is with her," Montague smiled viciously. "I'd sure like to have another go with her – tell me, Malfoy, is she worth all this trouble? You'd know better than anyone, wouldn't you?"

"Really?" Draco asked boldly. "Not very original."

"Maybe not," he sighed, sticking his hands into the pockets of his robes as if he were shrugging – but I had a feeling it was for his wand. "Then again, I'm sure that Weasley knows. We've heard he's been pretty cozy with her, did you know?"

"Lay off, Montague," Daphne hissed out. "We're not trying anything, I suggest you follow suit!"

"I hope he does," Tracey hissed, pulling the hilt of her wand out of her pocket so that he could see she was ready to fight. "I'm more than ready for a bit of a skirmish."

"No one's fighting," Lillian said from her place beside Daphne. "Let's just get on the train and leave it be."

"Yes, listen to your little girls, Draco," Montague laughed. "You always do, don't you?"

"At least I don't hide in Wardrobes to get away from them," Malfoy smirked back. My stomach toppled over itself seeing that smirk again, making me grind my teeth together. "Have you ever come out of that wardrobe, or are you still hiding in it?"

Montague's face slowly began to turn red. "I'd watch your tone, Malfoy – I'm more in the Dark Lord's favour than you are and I am more than willing to flex my muscles to prove it."

"As if you could," Malfoy growled back, taking a threatening step forward. "If you can't beat Potter or the stupid blood traitors in a duel, how do you ever expect to beat one of _us_?"

"All of us," Blaise continued strongly. I was proud – they were standing united against a common enemy...it was sad to say that it was more than I'd expected from them.

Wait. A common enemy; wasn't this always what we Slytherins united over?

"You think I don't have my own army?" Montague laughed. "You think that I can't call on the Death Eaters to assist in getting rid of you? Everyone would be pleased to have it happen, Malfoy, after you were shown as such a poor excuse for a-"

"Zose are ze Slytherins," I said loudly, stopping Montague's venom-filled insults. Every Slytherin stopped to look at me. I suspected, by the way the grip on my arm tightened, that the Gryffindors had done the same. "What ugly people – are ze really such cowards, Bill?"

I looked over to Sirius, whose mouth was hanging open. "What are you doing?"

"Common enemy," I whispered back, trying to let him know the point to drawing attention to myself before I turned my eyes back to the Slytherins and put on my prettiest sneer. "I always thought zey would be smarter, non?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Montague stood a little straighter, turning to face me. His eyes darted to look at each of us – Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ginny, Bill and I, before they landed on the twins. He snarled, his hand gripping more tightly around his wand as he looked at Fred. "Where's your little girlfriend, Weasley? All this extra protection is for her, after all."

"She had a prior engagement," Fred sighed dramatically, sending him an appreciative nod. "She sends her regards. I'm sure she'll see you later, Montague. I can send her your greetings."

"I can send them on my own."

In the background I watched Draco sneer and grab for his wand, it was impossible not to notice it considering how honed in I was to each of his movements. Theodore moved closer to him to whisper something that made him pocket his wand again, even if his hand was still ready to snap the wood.

I had watched too long, because Theodore's eyes had moved to meet mine and I looked away, sneering overdramatically to make it look like I hadn't been over interested. I let out a scoff which thankfully claimed Montague's attention again.

"You seem upset," the disgusting little worm smirked at me. "Not happy with your chosen Weasley?"

"Not 'appy with seeing 'ou," I sneered back. "'Ou are not 'o be trusted."

"Me, not trustworthy?" He frowned dramatically. "Well, that would be like not trusting the Dark Lord. Do you not trust in the Dark Lord?"

No need to say no and grab the attention of the Death Eaters hiding around each crevasse. I decided to compromise. "I trust ze Ministry."

Montague laughed darkly. "They're one in the same. How was your wedding, Miss Delacour?"

"Zat is Madame Weazley, to you!" I hissed back, narrowing my eyes. From beside Montague, Malfoy almost met my eyes and I had trouble keeping my cool considering how much his gaze compressed my lungs and took the air from me. I made sure not to actually let myself catch them, not to allow myself to get lost in them – what if he could tell it was me? What if I gave myself away? He'd always said he could tell when I lied, he always told me that my eyes told every secret I'd had...

I couldn't risk it.

No matter how much I wanted to.

"Doesn't have to be," Montague sent me a slimy grin and a wink. "You were always quite the sight; especially in your wedding dress. A vision in white, as they say."

Montague had been involved with the raid at the Burrow?

Why was I surprised?

I felt my face go red and it was hard to reign myself in as I knew I had to – there was no way to ignore how my palms were itching and sweating, tingling just to place themselves on top of his face until I heard the skin _sizzle._ I looked back to the Weasleys – and Sirius, who was disguised as one – all of which were glaring openly at my Slytherin rival.

"I 'ave 'eard of your obsession with ladies," I scoffed. "And 'ou will not get me een an abandoned corridor."

"We'll see," Montague smirked even more noticeably, the daydream playing before his eyes as if it were a projection that I could see. I grimaced, trying not to imagine whatever it was he was fantasizing, when my eyes pulled over in the direction of Daphne gasping.

Our eyes met, I froze. I couldn't very well let anyone know who I was, but there was no way to hide the expression that marred my face as I noticed the expression that had taken over hers: she had figured it out. I had said too much: I had mentioned the exact moment when she had forgiven me in fourth year, when I had stopped Montague from taking advantage of her in the abandoned alcove hidden deep in the halls of Hogwarts – she had put two and two together.

It was a stupid slip-up, something I should have thought about before I'd dared to say anything at all. Any of those Slytherins could have realized that insinuation, considering everyone knew how I had stopped Montague by melting his trousers to his genitals – it _was _legendary – but she seemed to be the only one with a light of recognition sparking behind her eyes. She looked over at me meaningfully, emotions playing across her face and behind her teary eyes before those eyes went to find her shoes. She had realized her mistake, realized she might give me away...

The train whistled again.

"Get on ze train," I said to Ginny, giving her an important look to try and tell her that I was confident I had derailed the fight. When she nodded at me, hopefully understanding what I meant, I turning back to the Slytherins to make eye contact with Daphne again. It took a few moments before she realized that I was trying to, but as soon as I did it was all about whatever hidden meaning I was about to give her. "Before zere eez an attack by zese rude little boys."

Daphne didn't seem to understand what I was trying to tell her right away, but she at least got the outright idea that I was telling her to leave. She was good with knowing when she wasn't wanted somewhere. She abused her hold on Lillian's hand and copied the hold on her sister's so that it was a line of Theodore and Daphne pulling everyone one-by-one into the closest entrance to the train. I turned my back on Montague, looking to Ginny and being the last to bend down to hug her.

"Is that it?" She asked me quietly.

"They're inside so it should be," I whispered back to her. "I just needed to distract them from each other. Now get on the train: there are Death Eaters there so behave. If anything happens here on the platform, stay on the train anyway."

"I'm not a child-"

"You're an asset," I agreed with her. "Now stop being a bint and listen to me: I need you in that school. You're the only one with half a brain who I can trust, Gin."

She smiled as she pulled away, giving me a meaningful look before she grabbed onto her trunk and moved to the stairs so she could drag the heavy beast with her to the compartment she'd already had saved by other members of the DA. I watched her carefully as she went down the corridor to find the compartment that Loony Lovegood and Neville Longbottom had saved for her. No one seemed to be tripping her and I couldn't see any Death Eaters that were bothering her as they had been for Tracey: but I wanted to be sure.

As my eyes were scanning the train to follow her, they stopped on a compartment where two faces were nearly flat against the window, staring right at me. One was pale, the other tanned, and both of their eyes were sparkling as I finally met them. The train was starting to pull out of the station and the eyes of the people followed me, as if I was actually the subject of interest. At first I wondered how Fleur could stand with all this attention before the features started to make sense...and I had a feeling they weren't staring at 'Fleur' at all; but really they were looking to see if there was any slight resemblance to prove it was me.

Daphne.

And Theodore.

My heart almost broke as I looked to see my best friends – those ridiculous Slytherins who had been with me since the beginning, the only two I had ever really trusted. And then to see that Theodore was there looking so full of – dare I call it hope?

Daphne placed her hand firmly against the glass, pressing it up beside her face in some sign that I couldn't really understand. Was it to say, or wave, goodbye? Was it simply to acknowledge me? Either way, I found that I couldn't help myself, nor did I want to I stop myself from looking back from Theodore to Daphne as I raised my hand back to her, a final farewell.

Daphne nearly jumped out her seat, cracking her head on the window in the least graceful movement I'd ever seen from her. She looked back to Theodore as if she had just seen her first unicorn and mumbled quick, excited words. By the time she looked back to me her compartment window was almost out of sight, nearly where I could no longer see them thanks to the angle of the sunlight outside the platform. Right before they disappeared into the countryside, I watched both of them smile and raising their hands to acknowledge me again, to unite us one last time.

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><p><strong>Ah! What did you think? I loved writing this chapter, I truly did – seeing the Slytherins join forces against Montague like that? I hope you all liked it. What was your favourite part? The Slytherins, Draco, Montague's comments about poor Audrey, peeking into some of Fred's jealousy? I'd love to hear your thoughts. And here are some responses for those who so wonderfully reviewed the last chapter and did just that:<strong>

_vmockingjay12_**: Yes, she's finally learning the magic she should be. Messing up the Death Eaters is really going to start soon, especially now that she's seen the life of her Slytherin allies :) Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing! **

_Takara Matsudaira_**: Of course the twins are back, I couldn't keep them away for long! It does suck for poor Ginny that she's attending Hogwarts this year, but I'm excited that it's going to involve Audrey in some of the finer plot points we don't hear about from Harry's place in the books.  
>It's good to know you like the story so much! I wish I could update more; life is busy getting ready for school in the fall. You'd think I'd have my summer free – apparently not. Even then, without school, I'm writing for a fandom charity auction, so I'm trying to make sure I have something good to raise money for the great cause. That's delayed my updating a tad.<br>I'll try to take a look at your story sometime, I'll PM you about it when I do. I'm just so busy that reading isn't on the forefront of my mind and by the time I go to bed at night I'm so tired that I have trouble getting through all these wonderful reviews, haha.  
>The issue with the taboo will be explained, I've changed some things for Audrey's adventures, but don't worry it will be clear when it happens.<strong>

_guest_**: So, since you apparently aren't reading this story as my writing it offends what comes up when you search, I don't really have reason to respond – but just because I can: why not? If you don't like seeing sibling/twin fics, there are other sites specifically for slash stories with Harry and Draco, or any other kind of story. Besides that, there are also multiple filters you can use which take OC and TwinFics out of your search or specify so you don't see them. If I wanted to play devil's advocate, I could say how it annoys me that something is slash when it doesn't come up in the filter though I'm looking for a Harry/OC Draco/OC fic – but realistically as I use filters when I search for stories and I read through the descriptions, so I don't have that problem. I'm sorry the new way of allowing stories to be categorized bothers you, but it is not my problem and to flame me about it is immature and a waste of both our time. If you are reading this all the way on Chapter 86, it's even a bigger waste of yours: Harry and Draco will never be buddies or lovers in this story. Ever. **

_Ahsilaa_**: I agree; I was so young when I started reading HP that I couldn't have told you who I was rooting for until I was a little older and by then it was quite clear that Ron and Hermione would end up together. Audrey's Animagus work has been fun to write and we will learn about all the issues with her magic as time goes on. Thanks for reviewing!**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Writing her trying new magic has been fun. It's unfortunate she hasn't really been able to come close to a Patronus, so I haven't really written it fully (and we've seen the process with Harry in the original) but there will be a lot more magic she needs to learn and a lot more frustration – so the fun will continue.  
>A lot of people feel the way you do about Fred's crush on Audrey – he is a persistent little bugger and while some admire him for it, others don't. Then again, she doesn't have Draco anymore and Audrey is feeling very alone: his persistence might be playing at exactly the right time. I hope you liked this newest chapter since it had both Fred and Draco in it; thank you for reviewing!<strong>

_Nicky-Maree_**: Thank you, as always; your reviews are always so in depth and such a joy to read! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. It wasn't my favourite (and definitely not as exciting to get through writing as this one was) but as you said: there was a lot of information that had to be shared.  
>Yes, there was more jealousy to see from Fred this chapter – the Slytherins seem to bring that out in him...or should I say one particular Slytherin? I'm sure you have some interesting theories on the triangle during this chapter!<br>I love that I get to keep incorporating characters like Ginny into this. She was always one of the characters I wanted to hear more from, I loved her during every page she was written into, so it's nice to get to explore her part in this. Because of how strong she is I find it believable that she and Audrey would partner up as they have: it's going to make for an interesting little team.  
>What did you think of the Animagus training? It was fun to write and only took me one run-through so hopefully it was as vivid to read as it was for me to write down. As you guessed, she expected that she would be able to learn it quickly and no matter what talents she has: this magic is difficult. That's why only a small portion of people can learn it, after all. As for her being a Slytherin with Ravenclaw as second place, I agree. The idea is that Harry and Audrey are opposites: impulse vs strategy, brawn (or magic) vs brain, bravery vs caution, etc. It could have worked either way, but I don't think she'd be as tough as she is had she not made friends with the Slytherins. Anyway, thank you again and I hope you liked this chapter!<strong>

_katie93319_**: I thought about taking her potions away from her for a while, but was afraid how it might change the story because then the Death Eaters would have them. We'll still get to see her brew some awesome new things though, I promise! I'm not sure how many chapters this section will be, honestly. I have until 95 plotted and of course the final few, so there will at least be another ten. I will at least reach 100 chapters :) I hope you liked this chapter and thank for your review!**

_rooneyoh_**: Wow, I'm always so impressed when people say that they've read everything in such a short time. I've been re-reading the story for important quotes to later bring and it's taken me over three weeks! I'm glad that you are enjoying the story so much and I hope that you continue to; thanks for reviewing :)**

_Kate_**: I'm glad posting makes you so excited; hopefully you were as excited for this chapter and everything that happened – I was so glad to finally get to write in my favourite Slytherins again, even if we were just seeing them from a distance. Thank you so much for your compliments and review, I really appreciate it!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: The love triangle is so fun to write – looking back almost every story I've ever written has one, so it's clearly an obsession of mine. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope you liked this one as well!**

_RoseyPoseyPie_**: There is a reason that the Taboo has been ignored thus far, it will be explained in the next few chapters. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, even though I'm hoping that you enjoyed this one even more. Thanks for leaving a review!**

_Little Old Anonymous Me_**: West Side Story is great! Are you a dancer? From what I remember it's dance-heavy, particularly for the Sharks and Jets. Anyway, Audrey is certainly going to be learning new magic, as we saw in this chapter, and it will involve a lot of help from the Marauders (the only two, since Wormtail totally lost his title). I'm excited to write what happens in Hogwarts during DH, so hopefully you like what I came/come up with! Thanks for the review :)**

_1GirlWhoWaited_**: Yes, criticism can be hard but it's always worth listening to in the end. Even if it hurts. The hardest part is your own personal criticism because we are all our own enemies in that way, I think. I agree with you though – as long as you're happy with it, that's all that should matter! :)**

_Lynn D. Mariza_**: I hope it will be, thanks for reviewing!**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: Oh, don't worry about not reviewing every chapter! You leave a review so often that when you don't I can find it in my heart to forgive you, haha. No, really, I appreciate the ones you leave so never feel pressured. I'm not going to say I don't like them (let's be honest, I'm obsessed with reading the reviews) but I won't push or not update from a lack of them!  
>Audrey learning new magic is going to be a lot of fun to write, I also like delving into things we don't see much of (which is why we saw her trying Animagi-magic and not casting a Patronus), so I'm trying to keep it interesting. Ginny and the twins will be seen (or rather heard from) a lot during these next chapters, which will keep Audrey wonderfully in the loop of what happens at Hogwarts. I hope you liked this chapter, especially since you mentioned wanting to see the Slytherins – thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_Geri_**: Don't worry, I know how fickle the 'enter' button can be. It's nice that you stuck through the frustration to keep writing, haha, thank you. The Weasleys are a breath of fresh air – at one point I thought of not including them and having Audrey **_**really **_**go out on her own, but they help to keep the story light and I think it's important or else Audrey would dive too deeply into her thoughts...which can be quite destructive. It's also nice to show that she can get help too; we don't see that often. As for the Slytherins, those who are friends are definitely sticking together (as you saw in this chapter). We will get to see the Slytherins a few more times, but they sadly won't be as reunited as we all want them to be.  
>I hope you were amused by the first time we saw her delve into this newer magic. You were right, it's definitely difficult, and it will continue to be so throughout the entire process. Yes, I'm excited for the moment when Audrey meets up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione – whichever order that may happen. She might rip the fabric of the universe with her anger! Thank you again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!<strong>

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yup, love can be frustrating as hell – Fred is only finding out now how difficult it is for Audrey to keep herself in check. Maybe he'll back off? Ha, no, I'm not going to lie; this is only the beginning. Especially now that he saw exactly what he was competing against in this chapter...thanks for reviewing! **

_applecandykiss_**: I'm sorry! I wish these chapters would just write themselves sometimes, but I won't deny I love the challenge. It's harder writing these chapters (when Audrey is on her own) because I have to keep flipping back and forth from page to page to make sure that it's going as it should, it's in place with the original timeline, this idea won't mess up that idea, etc... It takes a bit more time but hopefully will be worth the trouble.  
>As for Draco being able to read Audrey's eyes, we see he can do that rather well, especially if you go back to him being able to tell when she lies, or in the earlier years during Audrey Potter's Prelude when his interest for her really starts to manifest.<br>Yes, the tension with Fred is only continuing to grow – we got to see that he's a little jealous this chapter, which makes sense and will definitely be mentioned next chapter, haha. I'm glad you've yet to break into my house and steal my computer thanks to a lack of updates...you'd be disappointed to find that they're all locked up and password protected anyway ;)**

_GrossEwww_**: I updated APP twice in that month, so hopefully you got to take a good look at those chapters, I tried to make them enlightening. Fred and George are definitely going to put an interesting twist on everything she does (whether it involves them or not) so I hope it's fun to read. Don't worry, eventually the clues as to Audrey's difficulties in magic will become more pronounced or at the least they'll string together – I'm sure you'll figure it out, likely before I even explain it! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter.**

**: I know you are still multiple chapters away from reading this response, but thank you for taking the time to review earlier chapters. I hope you've enjoyed everything that you've read and you've been able to stick through the monster (ha, I always enjoy that pun) that is this story. Thanks again!**

_WarriorPrincess19_**: Thanks, I'm happy you enjoy it. If you like Fred more than Draco you probably didn't like this chapter as much, but you might enjoy the next few...**

_purple sky always_**: I hope you enjoyed Audrey seeing Draco, even if she didn't get to speak with him. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Miss Evangeline_**: Aw, thank you, I'm glad it has you so excited for updates! I don't know if I would call Drea loveable to those who can't see the strange workings of her inner-mind (because, let's be honest, she's pretty bristly) but I agree – people should not abandon her as they have. It was no problem giving writing tips, even if they weren't tips as much as rambling on my personal process – hopefully it helped in some way! I miss Dreaco as well; at least we got to see some one-sided love in this chapter...but sadly we won't see him again for a while. Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_sarahmichellegellarfan1_**: Yes, Draco will be seeing Fred and Audrey and it won't make him happy – even if it didn't happen in this chapter, it will at some point. I hope this one was up to snuff, it was exciting to write: can you tell how giddy I was by the writing? Haha. And honestly, when I started responding to reviews I had never expected this story to be what it was; I know it's a lot of extra, but it wouldn't be fair to stop responding to you guys now. I used to think that they were extra short until I did the math and realized my chapters are often much longer than the original's because I have that to go off of and Audrey's own involvement. I'm sorry if it bothers you, though.**

_HalloweenSpell_**: Thank you for reviewing, particularly so early on! Hopefully you can stick through to this point, even if only to see the review response. We came up with the ship name Dreaco, a mix of Draco and Audrey's nickname 'Drea'. Audrey looks almost exactly like her mother did: red hair, green eyes, very petite. She has her father's poor vision, messy hair, and bad attitude :)**

_SanityIsOverratedXD_**: Thank you! It's really exciting. Now I'm just waiting to hit a million not including review responses – I'm much closer than I thought I would be: I'll definitely hit it before the story ends. So strange, haha. I've never stuck with anything this long except for singing! Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter and thanks for the review!**

_Curiousbookworm_**: Holy crap – you read every chapter in ONE go? That's actually so impressive! As I was saying earlier: it's taken me over three weeks to reread it, well done :) I hope you continue to enjoy it and thank you!**

_Tweedle Dum_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I know the last wasn't as exciting, but I wanted to keep all the juicy parts for this chapter. Originally, she was going to decide on going to the platform last chapter, but I thought I'd leave it as a surprise – hopefully it was a good one! Don't worry, I'm not giving up on Draco and Audrey yet – how could I? – but it's not realistic they would be together right now and since Fred has liked her since chapter one of the story, it's not believable he wouldn't take advantage of Draco having left her. Hope you liked this newest chapter!**

_Melody_**: Yes, everyone pushing Audrey towards Fred has been hard and it just became more difficult thanks to her getting another glimpse of Draco and how his life has changed since he ran. Next chapter will have more on her thoughts from it. Eventually Draco will find out about Fred and Audrey's attraction to one another and things are going to get heated – but when that will happen, I can't say. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! This one was probably much more exciting, all things considered. I hope I delivered it well enough. On a side note, I've been reading through the story to get the exact moments I want to rehash so people understand the hints and it is so noticeable when I couldn't have you help me out! Not that I'm asking you to or anything, but I just thought I'd remind you how much I appreciated all the work you did :) I hope everything is going wonderfully for you and thank you for taking the time to still be involved in this story.**

_Anna Katharyn_**: Fraudrey is a good ship-name! I hadn't really thought of it. Sorry there wasn't as much of it as thanks to Audrey's inner-turmoil; don't worry, Fred won't be thrown away. He'd never allow it! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_Ivoryrose777_**: Thank you, I try really hard to keep her separate from other characters so she doesn't accidentally blend with their personalities. I'm glad you like it (and her) and hope that you continue to!**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Yes she will be – even if it's not going that well, haha. She'll speak to Harry again, I promise. Maybe even soon... Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this newest chapter :)**

_Little Messers_**: Aw, thank you! I hope that I was able to do justice with the idea of Animagi-magic and how she would have to learn to find her 'spirit animal'. I know that people were excited so I tried to make it intricate while also keep it vague – I can't give it away just yet!  
>I'm also nervous for the story to end; both because I worry what people will think of the ending and because I don't really know what I'll do with myself once I give Audrey the break she rightfully deserves.<br>I'm glad that you like the little love triangle that's been created – we got to see a new shade of it in this chapter with both men there at the same time. Poor Audrey, her emotions are going to run a little wild next chapter. Thank you reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Hopefully I didn't let you down with the first taste of Audrey learning all this new magic. I figure that you've read learning a Patronus enough that I can graze past it and focus on her becoming an Animagus. Thank you for your review and I hope you liked the chapter!**

_emmamaysie_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it – especially since we got to see the Slytheirns! **

_tessastarchild_**: Hopefully the one-shot helped ease your worries a bit; don't worry: Audrey won't stay mad forever. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing! **

_Queen Of Silverveil_**: I always feel I'd like to change my screen name as well, but I'm nervous that people wouldn't notice and then would lose the story. Do you know if people search your penname if it's redirected to you? Anyway, besides that, it's good to hear from you! Audrey's obviously having some difficulty (this is very advanced magic and it took her months to learn Cantated magic) but hopefully she'll pull through before anything drastic happens. She's a smart one; she'll find a way to make things work.  
>Honestly, Audrey is a character that I've created, but I can't and won't stop you from using some of her basic character instincts. As long as you don't take things directly from her (such as comebacks, lines, history, etc) then it's really your character and you're building off of the idea of her. I can't stop you, in fact, I wish you luck! I hope the story goes well and that you can get into your character's head :)<br>As for names, there are so many to choose from! Um, I'd usually like something unique like Seraphina (since it's a sapphire serpent)? I usually look for names that have the most meaning, but that's the one that came to my head first – I wrote a character named Seraphina years ago and she was kick-ass. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_LifeSlappedMeintheFace_**: I'm sorry that you don't like the review responses, but it wouldn't be fair to stop responding to people now. Besides, I like the conversations I can have with the readers; I've met some amazing people on here. I hope if you have gotten this far that you still like the story – thank you for reviewing. **

_mrsdansmith_**: Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, I can only hope you liked how Sirius helped train Audrey here; especially since you were so excited. I'm glad the story still means so much to you and that it can surprise you, I'm going to aim to make sure that won't change! Thank you again :)**

_InARealPickle_**: I'm sorry that you don't like the responses to reviews, but I started this way and it wouldn't be fair to change it now. If it's of any comfort, there are just over 4000 words of response in this chapter and just under 14,000 in story text...so it's not half of the chapter, as my chapters aren't under 8000 words of text (or haven't been since OOTP). I think that's worth having a relationship with my readers. I'm sorry you disagree.**

_Claret Tho_**: Well, I'm glad that you were able to plow through it and get all the way here – thank you! It's great that you've been able to get into the story as you have, particularly with the twists of Circe and the betrayals. She won't be getting another kneazle any time soon; I can't see her running out to replace her. I hope that you were able to live without knowing what her Animagus form is and instead with the mystery behind the hints. As for Harry and Audrey? It'll be a while before they talk properly – hopefully something will give when it finally happens. Thanks for reviewing!**

_Knightshade1373_**: Audrey's patronus being a phoenix is a good idea, but that would be strange considering her wand core comes from the bird with the opposite meaning (water vs fire). Things will be moving too quickly for Audrey to do something like pose as a pet for Draco or Snape and besides that, they don't really seem like the type to have an animal – they wouldn't have the patience, haha. Who knows, as she said here, she could turn into a rhino...  
>I don't think I've read those stories; I barely read any fanfiction anymore and surprisingly not Harry Potter fics when I do. I'm currently going through a Once Upon a Time and (am always in an) Xmen phase, but even then I find I don't have the time to sit down and read like I used to. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!<strong>

_TheHallow_**: Well, thank you? I know I've made the love triangle complicated and now that you've reached this point you'll probably be more confused about who she'll end up with and what you think about it – I mean, she had a pretty difficult time in this chapter, lots of jealousy from both boys! Either way, I hope you like how it's presented. Thanks for reviewing.**

_l_**: Hope you liked it and thanks for the review!**

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><p><strong>Well, what did you guys think? A lot happened in this chapter: Animagus practice, a vision, turning into Fleur, going to the platform, seeing Montague as a Death Eater and even seeing our favourite group of Slytherins banding together! It was great to write, I really enjoyed this chapter. You'll like the next few if you liked htis one as well, I promise...<strong>

**Please REVIEW!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for sneak-peeks, Q&As, quizzes, polls and more!**


	88. Mislead

**I don't have too much to say at the beginning of this chapter, I'm just excited for you to read what's to follow. I would like to thank everyone for their reviews and encourage you to continue them: they're so inspiring, really. Now, onto the chapter!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Chapter 87 – Mislead<p>

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><p>We were nervous, all of us were. The remaining Weasleys that could escape their guards had congregated within Shell Cottage so they could hear if I'd gotten any word from Ginny on her first day. Sirius and I had followed her on the Marauder's Map for a while - we had done this in private so as not to worry the Weasleys or make them depend on this map to hear about her whereabouts - and she had seemed to run in her usual circles. But still, by the end of the night there had been no letter pressed against my connected mirror. There had not been a message pressed face-down against the mirror this morning when those of us who had fallen asleep had woken to check. Each Weasley was as scared as the next and here I was: frustrated.<p>

It's not like I demonstrated this, of course. I knew that they wouldn't be killing Ginny; if not for the fact it was the first day, for the fact she was a Pureblood. She may be a blood traitor but if things really went south there weren't all that many Pureblooded females that weren't already directly related to each other - torture I would not put past them, but murder? Ginny Weasley was prime real estate; she wasn't going to be lit up without them trying everything else first.

There were fewer people in the little house today. Only Bill, Fleur, Mrs Weasley and myself were glued to the mirror waiting for some sign of life - or, in my case, hoping that my life would last long enough to see it...frightened Weasleys could be considered among the most annoying state of the Weasleys. Lupin had gone to be with Tonks, the twins had gone to their shop, Arthur had gone to the Ministry, and Sirius had found it pertinent to go over to see Harry, Ron and Hermione at Grimmauld Place today. It was a shock to see Sirius go considering he'd been without seeing them for an entire week, I'd thought he'd realized that he'd be more help to me and not to them; clearly I was mistaken. The only thing I could find within me to say to him when I found out he was leaving was to bring me back a handful of each Gryffindors' hair - he assumed it was for my Polyjuice potion, but let's be honest: it was also for the fun of knowing their hair had been pulled out at the root. I had been let off for lessons until we heard more about the situation at Hogwarts, but I was upset he wouldn't be here to support the success or failure of this newest plan.

Could a fight have continued on the train after we'd left it? What about in the Great Hall, or within the dormitories? How was Snape - my mentor and my enemy - now keeping control over the masses of Hogwarts who all rallied for his failure?

"Maybe we should look again?" Mrs Weasley asked, taking a look at the ornate, full length mirror that Fleur had offered for Sirius' charm. It had to be covered with a woolen blanket so that the other mirror wouldn't accidentally pick up on anything we didn't want them to see; but on the mirror, exactly where I had told Ginny to put one to match it, was a blank slip of parchment. If I were to pull at my own slip and see something written in the reflection, it would actually be _Ginny's _parchment I was seeing - but as there had been nothing written in the past twenty-four hours, that meant there had been nothing sent back.

So naturally, Mrs Weasley was in hysterics.

"Give her time, she's in class," I told them again, for the fourth time. I tried to keep my tone light and not show them that every word they said annoyed me ever further. "There are plenty of reasons why she might not have answered. Stop assuming the worst - that's my job."

Bill tried to be appreciative of the joke by snorting, but he was too nervous to make it sound normal. I advised them to go about their daily tasks as normal, but it was a moot point: no one was really paying attention to what they were doing just in case there would be some rustling that would draw our attention to the most important matter of all: Ginny's safety.

But then there was the other matter, the one that brought on the conflict raging in my own mind. There was a cruel, selfish feeling in my chest was worried about _more _than Ginny's safety. It was not only worried about everyone I had seen on that platform the day before, but that part of me was worried about my broken line to them - if Ginny had been hurt, if Ginny could not retrieve my messages, then everything was lost: my connection to her, my connection to Hogwarts, and just as importantly my connection to the Slytherins.

It was selfish. Completely, horribly selfish. And yet, all I could focus on was the tarnished silvery-gold ring that weighed so heavily on my finger: it was a symbol of...something. It was a symbol of something _Slytherin_. It reminded me of Slytherin because it was forSlytherins, because it had been Merope Gaunt's who had been just as inept as I was, even if she was probably more innocent. Was this why I had it? Was this why Dumbledore had given it to me? He had written that it was to remind me 'not of the good and bad, but all the shades of gray between them'...but what did that mean and _why _did that old man refuse to be blunt?

I twisted the heavy ring around my knuckle - it was too big for me and it always drew my attention to my finger in fear that it would suddenly slip off. I took my time to continue examining the strange silvery tarnish to the otherwise golden ring, it seemed to glow more vibrantly until I pulled my head up from the onions I was helping Mrs Weasley cut - a Patronus had entered the home. It was a familiar silver weasel, who boasted with Mr Weasley's tenor.

"_Harry Potter has broken into the Ministry. He has escaped. They are safe. I will send more news as it comes_."

The weasel dissipated into the stale morning air and left everyone in the kitchen unable to breathe. It took a moment before Bill finally looked over to me, eyebrows disappearing into his messy hairline.

"Your brother broke into the Ministry?" He asked slowly, trying the words out. They must have felt as strange as they sounded because his face pulled into a look of displeasure. "Why in Merlin's name would he do _that_?"

"A statement, I suppose," I lied immediately. I felt a little unnerved by the sound of my own voice - it didn't even sound real to me. I must have been more in shock than I knew, considering lying was my own personal strength against the group of Gryffindors.

I didn't need a vision to know what it meant: Harry had gone after the first Horcrux. I could only assume that he had listened to me and tried to get a hold of Umbridge's - or rather Slytherin's - locket. I had no idea whether or not he had succeeded, but my mind was racing as I wondered if he had _really _gotten out safely - that Horcrux had attacked me when I'd first touched it; I wondered what it would do to him, considering he was set out to destroy it.

No, I realized with a grimace. No, _I _was supposed to destroy it. That's what Dumbledore had said: Harry was supposed to track them down and I was supposed to destroy them. At first I had assumed that he had meant for me to use my Magnuse, but after Hermione had made it very clear that even my Magnuse wasn't vicious enough to destroy something so evil - I'd have to find something else to do. Dumbledore wouldn't task something like that to me if it were impossible.

So, I'd have to destroy them: fine. Harry had done his part of the hunt, so it was time now to do mine...and I had a feeling it started with the weapons we were already given. Why else would Dumbledore have given us the sword of Gryffindor and Slytherin's skean? I highly doubted that it was for sentimental value of our Hogwarts' House loyalty. I'd have to do some research - maybe a lot of research. If I could find out more about those two artifacts, I could figure out what was so special to have them willed to us after Dumbledore's death...and if I couldn't get my hands on them, then I would find something else that would work in the meantime.

Then again, none of this would matter if Harry hadn't gotten the first Horcrux. Without being there, I had no idea whether or not he'd made any progress at all, nevertheless if he had alerted the world to be on the hunt for something. Then there was the worst case scenario: whether or not he had alerted the world that I was not with him _while _he was hunting something.

That was a new angle that was a little too steep and a bubble of panic rose in my stomach - I had more questions than answers and no idea how to rectify it.

"I'll be back in a bit," I mumbled as I moved away for privacy. I had no idea if anyone had heard me or even cared to pay attention as they worked away, completely lost with all the happenings of the day. I quickly made it to my makeshift bedroom, shutting the door behind me and pacing around as I tried to work through everything in my mind.

Ginny had disappeared, so who knew if my access into Hogwarts was safe.

Harry was safe, but who knew whether or not the Horcrux had been retrieved.

The Ministry knew Harry had broken in, but who knew whether or not they thought I was with him.

Those had too many variables that I couldn't calculate to come up with any kind of plan. I felt like a chicken with a missing head, running aimlessly and not realizing that I was already doomed for the cutting board. There was nothing I could do without hearing from these people and that meant that I was relying too much on other people - when had that started? It didn't matter that we were in a war, I shouldn't have been relying on people of the Order so much - the whole benefit of having me here was supposed to be because I _didn't _think like them, not so that I could turn into one of them.

That didn't benefit _anyone_.

_Particularly_ me.

I scrambled through my rucksack, picking through each important book, potion vial and trinket with frantic care as I felt for the cotton-bound mirror fragment. When I finally felt it brush against my skin I groped for it so desperately I was surprised it didn't crack between my fingers as I pulled it out. On the other side of the cotton shirt that I had wrapped it in, I could not see anything. I moved it around, trying to see if that would help and there was a brief flash of blue - bright blue that triggered something reminiscent in the back of my mind, so I quickly shoved the shirt over it again.

If someone had picked up the mirror fragment, there was no safety in using this. I could just wait for Sirius to get back, hope that he knew about whatever had happened - but I felt like I was floundering in a sea of troubles that weren't even mine. I was not a buoy, waiting for ships to come in - I was supposed to be one of the ships setting sail. Besides, if I waited for Sirius it was just another person I was depending on and I certainly didn't like that.

I looked around the room, hoping for some form of inspiration, when I saw that there was still the older scrap of parchment on my table that I had cut a section from to use with Ginny. There wouldn't be any hurt using it here, would there? So long as I made it common enough that if someone _had _found the fragment it wouldn't tip them off and if I _did _get a response, it would be obvious it was from Harry - though I would have been able to recognize his chicken scratch anywhere.

I moved to the table, ripping off another jagged piece of parchment and dipping my quill in the ink well. I didn't really know what would be simple enough to get my point across without saying the obvious 'hey, did you find the Horcrux? While you're at it, do you know how to destroy it yet?' so I figured I would work with what I had.

_Did you get it?_

It was the most important question since I knew that they had made it out alive. I would assume that Sirius was helping them, considering he still hadn't returned - I mean, he'd probably helped them, didn't he? If anyone knew how to sneak around, it was a Marauder. It would have been nice if he would have taken some polyjuice potion so he could pretend to be me, though - but hindsight is always 20/20 and even then my vision was a little blurred.

I wrapped the mirror fragment back up in my cotton shirt; I'd give him some time to respond. If he kept it simple enough maybe we could have whole conversations like this - particularly since I wasn't ready to actually speak to him. I knew he would apologize, ask me to forgive him...but I hated forgiving people. It was almost as bad as being jilted by them in the first place.

So now that I was waiting for answers from both of my little knights on the board, I needed to figure out which move I would make. I was the queen of this game - I could make any move I wanted since I was so well hidden away from the trouble...the problem was making the move that would best work to my advantage. There had to be something I could do besides sitting here and plotting things that had not made much of a difference so far - maybe it was time to put some of my plans into action.

_That _was something only I could do.

I moved back into the kitchen where everyone was still moving around aimlessly, completing chores that had no need to be done and pretending their minds weren't back on the castle. Everyone's eyes were darting from the windows over to the covered mirror we had moved into the living room. It was only making it worse, having them over focus as they were - they were spiralling into thoughts they didn't want to admit and it would be detrimental if we did get any sign that something was wrong. They needed to at least attempt to keep their thoughts clear or un-jumbled.

I made my way to the radio, turning on the wireless so that there would be some sound to help distract them from themselves. At first the music seemed to put everyone in a better mood as we listened to the newest song by the Weird Sisters, but the good mood died quickly and everyone turned back into ghosts haunting the kitchen again. Deciding that I may as well benefit my own curiosities - since really, none of them were paying attention anyway - I turned the dial until I reached one of the news networks, waiting for information about the break-in to the Ministry as we listened to the 'top ten things parents should do to treat themselves now that their children were in Hogwarts for the year'.

The news went on like that.

And on.

And on.

We listened right up until there was an advert - the only sign of the ongoing war.

"_Remember, be on the lookout for Desirable Number One: Harry Potter - wanted for questioning with the death of Albus Dumbledore. His sister, Audrey Potter has been connected to and convicted of the murder of Thuban Nott - we must bring the innocent man's death to justice. They are both considered dangerous - do not approach the offenders yourself, call on the Ministry of Magic if you see any sign that they-"_

"They're not going to report any of the real issues, are they?" Bill growled, finally throwing the broom to the floor in frustration. It was the first bought of real emotion I had seen all day. "What about all the disappearances, Harry's break-in at the Ministry, the raids on Muggle homes?"

"They don't want to alert the public," I informed, my tone still dry from being reminded that I was a wanted criminal. It wasn't really what you wanted to hear when you turned on the wireless. I miss the time when I was mistakenly called a Dragon Coercer rather than murderer. "Blissful ignorance from us means a better chance at surprising us later."

"But it's not as if people don't know what he's doing!" Bill growled. "It's not as if we haven't realized that everything's changed."

"But no one's brave enough to acknowledge it, Lupin said so himself - Voldemort has everyone running scared," I told him. I sneered when everyone twitched upon hearing his name. "And that's _exactly_ why! No one is ready to admit the bastard's back, to put a name to the problem: Voldemort is a person, nothing more elaborate than that - you shouldn't be afraid of his _name, _just the tip of his bloody wand_._"

"She eez right," Fleur sighed, picking up the broom her husband had thrown to the floor. "We are do-eeng no good 'ere if we do nozzing at all."

"It's time to show that there's a strong movement against Voldemort," I announced, nodding my head and letting my mind finally race to come up with some sort of plan: plans beyond the missing variables of my brother and Ginny and Horcruxes - I wanted variables that I could control. "After Harry's new attack on the Ministry we have no idea whether the Death Eaters think I'm with my brother or not - I say we give them a display to keep them guessing."

No one looked convinced. "What do you mean?"

"Something really public," I continued, my mind whirling to try to piece together the parts of this plan I wanted: I wanted chaos, I wanted my name flashed across every form of media, and I wanted Harry to be right at my side like the dutiful brother he hadn't really been. "Something really public that will pull attention from wherever Harry might be - because he'll be with me, of course...or that's what they'll think. It will give a boost to Potter supporters - we need the boost right now considering what the Death Eaters are slandering all over the _Prophet_ and the radio."

"You just want to go somewhere crowded, announce that you're still on the move - with a fake Harry - and then disappear again?" Bill did not seem to understand the extra flare of completely dismantling the Death Eaters perception of what we were up to. "It's ridiculous."

"It's brilliant," I corrected him pointedly. When none of the Weasleys could find it in them to answer, I looked over to Mrs Weasley who looked torn and nervous. I crossed my arms. "You don't think I can pull it off on my own, convincing the public we're still alright?"

"I just don't know how we'll do it, Audrey, dear," she was wringing her hands as she said it. "What would catch the Death Eater's attention while still giving you time to run away? How would a display like that boost the morale of the public?"

It was a good question, one that I wasn't sure I had the answer to. A grand display was easier said than done; especially if I wanted to keep everyone else safe - it'd have to be something that screamed that it was me - using my Magnuse would likely be necessary so they knew it wasn't an imposter. While I was at it, shouting my innocence couldn't hurt. All I needed was something to prove that Harry and I were still fighting, that we were still on the run and safe.

Really, all we needed was a distraction...and I was the best one. With everyone on the lookout for the Potters thanks to all the posters and the radio announcing that I was a murderer, we needed to get the word out so that people could trust us again and so they'd be able to find out the truth. But how? What would be big enough to announce to the public _beyond _the display, for the people who wouldn't be there to see it? In the background, the buzz of the wireless radio turning back to warn the public about me made my teeth grind - I needed to tell everyone that whether or not I was a murderer, it wouldn't matter until I had helped to destroy Lord Voldemort himself.

"We're going to tell the public what they need," I told them, unable to hold back my smile as those jumbled puzzle pieces began to fall into place. I knew what picture it was making now.

"Like what? What could you tell them with that much time?" Bill shook his head bitterly. "You'll be caught after you talk about the first murder."

"The _Daily Prophet_ has been taken over because it's housed within the Ministry, but do you know what isn't?" I asked them. "The airwaves! If we can create an untraceable connection to the wireless, we could make our own radio station. We could get the information out there so that anyone anywhere could hear what was _really _happening."

"Creating an untraceable connection would be difficult," Mrs Weasley frowned.

"Well, I wouldn't be the one doing it," I scoffed. "You know it's not impossible. If _I _can help create two way mirrors, the lot of you should be able to charm an untraceable station into being. Give it a password, make sure that only real supporters can listen-"

"Passwords can be leaked easily," Bill disagreed.

"Then we'll do something different, or we'll change the password each broadcast so you have to listen to _continue _listening. We'll make them empowering passwords like bravery or lions or whatever rubbish your lot finds patriotic. We'll make sure that our followers _continue_ to listen to truth by reinforcing their loyalty."

"It's not a bad idea," Bill thought aloud, looking to me with a mischievous glint to his eye. "It'd get out the information we want fed; the _real _information."

"And Harry and I will make a grand scene to announce it," I agreed with a nod, feeling almost giddy at the idea of finally getting to use my magic, to spread my legs, and most importantly: to wreak havoc on the Death Eaters. I turned to Mrs Weasley, no longer deterred by her nerves. "You might want to get your set of twins on the Floo. This is their expertise."

"Fred and George?" She frowned. "I'm sure they'd rather be _on _the radio than charm it-"

"Oh, I'll leave charming the station up to Remus," I smiled widely. "Your sons are going to be my Ron and Hermione."

* * *

><p>My eyes were going to burst from my skull, I was ninety-eight percent sure of it. Between knowing that the twins couldn't make it in until nightfall and waiting for some sort of response from all of my correspondents in the field, I had taken to locking myself in my room and trying to use some of the books I had to research anything and everything that may have been able to make a difference in my role to destroy the Horcruxes.<p>

This, of course, was fully dependant on Harry having _retrieved _the Horcrux.

And my looking up the sword of Gryffindor was fully dependant on knowing where it was from Ginny, who was not answering me either.

Merlin, there were too many variables...

And there was nothing that I could find. Slytherin's Skean was something not written about - it was just something that appeared in pictures and even then no one considered it important enough to be credited. He wore it with him, but that did not mean he'd had it when he had died and no one seemed to know where the blasted thing was - that or they didn't care. And why would they?

As for Gryffindor's sword, I remembered it very vividly being in Dumbledore's office ever since Harry had pulled it from the Sorting Hat to deal with the Basilisk in second year - but was it still there now that the office had a new resident? Had Scrimgeour removed it, or worse, let it slip that it was for Harry in the first place?

I pushed the heels of my palms into my eye sockets, trying to push away the headache that was building thanks to all my frustration. Dumbledore wouldn't have given us these things if he hadn't intended something for them - particularly Slytherin's Skean, considering it was lost and he knew that I would have to search for it. So what on Merlin's magic earth was so important about that little dagger?

I pulled at another of the photographs in the book, taking a good look at the skean in Slytherin's belt. He had it sitting neatly beside his wand - it was a small, silver dagger with a very old fashioned, angular design. It certainly didn't look like anything special; nor did it look any different from any other skean that men wore with their kilts. The only apparent specialty to it was that it had been owned by Salazar Slytherin before it had been lost to time.

"What were you trying to get us to learn, Dumbledore?" I muttered as I picked through all the different papers I had layered on the couch. It was disorganized and had no pattern to make finding information easier, but laid out flat like this I could at least see some of the dates and feel like it wasn't as condensed while still cluttered.

Dumbledore's obituary caught my attention and I dug for the corner so I could pull out the newspaper clipping. The ink had faded considering Harry had kept it in between the pages of one of my books - he hadn't liked reading it, but it seemed he couldn't bear part with it. Who knew, it could have been worth a read.

_ALBUS DUMBLEDORE REMEMBERED  
><em>_By Elphias Doge_

_I met Albus Dumbledore at the age of eleven, on our first day at Hogwarts. Our mutual attraction was undoubtedly due to the fact that we both felt ourselves to be outsiders. I had contracted dragon pox shortly before arriving at school, and while I was no longer contagious, my pock-marked visage and greenish hue did not encourage many to approach me. For his part, Albus had arrived at Hogwarts under the burden of unwanted notoriety. Scarcely a year previously, his father, Percival, had been convicted of a savage and well-publicized attack upon three young Muggles._

_Albus never attempted to deny that his father (who was to die in Azkaban) had committed this crime; on the contrary, when I plucked up courage to ask him, he assured me that he knew his father to be guilty. Beyond that, Dumbledore refused to speak of the sad business, though many attempted to make him do so. Some, indeed, were disposed to praise his father's action and assumed that Albus too was a Muggle-hater. They could not have been more mistaken: As anybody who knew Albus would attest, he never revealed the remotest anti-Muggle tendency. Indeed, his determined support for Muggle rights gained him many enemies in subsequent years._

_In a matter of months, however, Albus's own fame had begun to eclipse that of his father. By the end of his first year he would never again be known as the son of a Muggle-hater, but as nothing more or less than the most brilliant student ever seen at the school. Those of us who were privileged to be his friends benefited from his example, not to mention his help and encouragement, with which he was always generous. He confessed to me later in life that he knew even then that his greatest pleasure lay in teaching._

_He not only won every prize of note that the school offered, he was soon in regular correspondence with the most notable magical names of the day, including Nicolas Flamel, the celebrated alchemist; Bathilda Bagshot, the noted historian; and Adalbert Waffling, the magical theoretician. Several of his papers found their way into learned publications such as Transfiguration Today, Challenges in Charming, and The Practical Potioneer. Dumbledore's future career seemed likely to be meteoric, and the only question that remained was when he would become Minister of Magic. Though it was often predicted in later years that he was on the point of taking the job, however, he never had Ministerial ambitions._

_Three years after we had started at Hogwarts, Albus's brother, Aberforth, arrived at school. They were not alike: Aberforth was never bookish and, unlike Albus, preferred to settle arguments by dueling rather than through reasoned discussion. However, it is quite wrong to suggest, as some have, that the brothers were not friends. They rubbed along as comfortably as two such different boys could do. In fairness to Aberforth, it must be admitted that living in Albus's shadow cannot have been an altogether comfortable experience. Being continually outshone was an occupational hazard of being his friend and cannot have been any more pleasurable as a brother. When Albus and I left Hogwarts we intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together, visiting and observing foreign wizards, before pursuing our separate careers. However, tragedy intervened. On the very eve of our trip, Albus's mother, Kendra, died, leaving Albus the head, and sole breadwinner, of the family. I postponed my departure long enough to pay my respects at Kendra's funeral, then left for what was now to be a solitary journey. With a younger brother and sister to care for, and little gold left to them, there could no longer be any question of Albus accompanying me._

_That was the period of our lives when we had least contact. I wrote to Albus, describing, perhaps insensitively, the wonders of my journey, from narrow escapes from chimaeras in Greece to the experiments of the Egyptian alchemists. His letters told me little of his day-to-day life, which I guessed to be frustratingly dull for such a brilliant wizard. Immersed in my own experiences, it was with horror that I heard, toward the end of my year's travels, that another tragedy had struck the Dumbledores: the death of his sister, Ariana._

_Though Ariana had been in poor health for a long time, the blow, coming so soon after the loss of their mother, had a profound effect on both of her brothers. All those closest to Albus – and I count myself one of that lucky number – agree that Ariana's death, and Albus's feeling of personal responsibility for it (though, of course, he was guiltless), left their mark upon him forevermore._

_I returned home to find a young man who had experienced a much older person's suffering. Albus was more reserved than before, and much less light-hearted. To add to his misery, the loss of Ariana had led, not to a renewed closeness between Albus and Aberforth, but to an estrangement. (In time this would lift – in later years they re-established, if not a close relationship, then certainly a cordial one.) However, he rarely spoke of his parents or of Ariana from then on, and his friends learned not to mention them._

_Other quills will describe the triumphs of the following years. Dumbledore's innumerable contributions to the store of Wizarding knowledge, including his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, will benefit generations to come, as will the wisdom he displayed in the many judgments while Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. They say, still, that no Wizarding duel ever matched that between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in 1945. Those who witnessed it have written of the terror and the awe they felt as they watched these two extraordinary wizards to battle. Dumbledore's triumph, and its consequences for the Wizarding world, are considered a turning point in magical history to match the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy or the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._

_Albus Dumbledore was never proud or vain; he could find something to value in anyone, however apparently insignificant or wretched, and I believe that his early losses endowed him with great humanity and sympathy. I shall miss his friendship more than I can say, but my loss is nothing compared to the Wizarding world's. That he was the most inspiring and best loved of all Hogwarts headmasters cannot be in question. He died as he lived: working always for the greater good and, to his last hour, as willing to stretch out a hand to a small boy with dragon pox as he was on the day I met him._

What the hell?

This was fiction, it had to be. Not only did I not know about Dumbledore's family, I had clearly not known much about his childhood if I had never heard any of this history. Sure, there was a time where I probably should have looked it up - but why had that never come up in conversation? Particularly when I was _living _his younger brother's life...

Then again, perhaps that was exactly why it hadn't come up.

I didn't understand how I never could have known that his father had attacked muggles, or how he'd had a sister who had been so ill, I hadn't known that he had been orphaned as Harry and I had been - I didn't even know that it was customary to travel the world after graduating Hogwarts.

There was a moment where I imagined what life could have been like - did Dumbledore envy his friend during his writings of his adventures while he stayed home to man the house? Would I have done the same things as my Pureblooded friends travelled the world with the safety of their titles, before this war had really begun? I think I would have liked travelling the world. I think I would have liked going with my friends and seeing just how different we really are from the rest of the world...or just how well we may have once fit in.

I easily found myself playing with the ring on my finger again - a habit that formed and strengthened each day I wore it. Dumbledore had worn this ring on his cursed hand, I remember that well - so why would he have given the tarnished thing to me and what did it really represent in my hunt for Horcruxes? Did it have something to do with the fact that the history of the Gaunt Ring was lost - like the Skean, like my own future? What was he trying to tell me? I felt like the more I read, the less I was understanding - it made my head spin.

I pushed my way through the piles of parchment, looking for anything that had Dumbledore's name on it - something, anything, which would give me a hint on what I was supposed to be looking for in the first place...

_DUMBLEDORE – THE TRUTH AT LAST?_

_Coming next week, the shocking story of the flawed genius considered by many to be the greatest wizard of his generation. Stripping away the popular image of serene, silver-bearded wisdom, Rita Skeeter reveals the disturbed childhood, the lawless youth, the life-long feuds, and the guilty secrets that Dumbledore carried to his grave. WHY was the man tipped to be the Minister of Magic content to remain a mere headmaster? WHAT was the real purpose of the secret organization known as the Order of the Phoenix? HOW did Dumbledore really meet his end?_

_The answers to these and many more questions are explored in the explosive new biography, __The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore__, by Rita Skeeter, exclusively interviewed by Berry Braithwaite, page 13, inside._

"Salazar's spit," I cursed, giving a groan at my own curiosities. I should not have been dignifying Rita Skeeter with the time to read any of her bull...but still, if she had an entire book on Albus Dumbledore, I probably should have been reading it. Sure, I would have to sort through all the lies - but if there was a mention of any of Dumbledore's greatest achievements maybe I would find out that one of the twelve uses of Dragon's blood could also kill Horcruxes...I'd have to read that damned book.

A shout from the other room interrupted my moping. I all but ran into the living room as quickly as I could, wand drawn as if it would have a chance of helping me - but nothing was there. All there was to find was Fleur speaking quickly and pointing over to the gilded mirror where someone had torn off the blanket.

"Oi!" I shouted, giving the family a glare as I scrambled to take hold of the dense fabric. "Are you new? We need to cover this up in case-"

"But Ginny, she 'as zent us a mezzage!" Fleur announced. I raised my eyebrows, immediately ignoring the extra degree of blanketed safety while I examined the frame of the mirror. I moved to peel back the piece of parchment from the bottom lip of the wood and glass - but the parchment in the reflection did not move with the discarded piece of paper. Instead, Ginny had pressed her own message onto the mirror, face down so her bedmates would not see what we could.

_6:00._

That was all it read.

"Perfect," I breathed, taking a deep breath before I covered up the mirror with the dark blanket again. Mrs Weasley gave a noise of complaint as I did it, but I was quick to shake my head and start arguing with her. "There's no point watching the girl's knickers splayed about the room or having them see you cooking incessantly. Ginny said she'd be ready to talk at six - until then, this mirror stays covered; yeah?"

"Right," Mrs Weasley, who was in tears, nodded fervently in agreement. "Oh, my baby's alright!"

"You need to give her a lot more credit," I informed her lightly. "She's always alright - she's often better off than anyone else. Now, when will Fred and George be here?"

"They thought they could escape for dinner," Bill answered as Fleur and Mrs Weasley began hushed conversations to the side where they were trying to comfort one another. "Said Verity would be stalling for them."

Ah, yes. Verity: that little blonde girl who worked for them and was very rude by not giving me some space with Fred and George. I didn't like her - I didn't like that she got to work with Fred and George out in the open and have no consequences for her actions while I squatted in a house, planning little raids and radio broadcasts as if I were some sort of _real _celebrity.

"Fine, let me know when they're here so we can talk disruption. Any luck on finding the right charms?"

"We have all of the protective enchantments down," Bill informed. "We're waiting on Lupin for help with understanding how to create a private station. I'm thinking some concealment charms, disillusionment charms, perhaps even a Fidelius charm."

"That only made partial sense to me. Anyway, Sirius will be able to help too," I informed him, trying hard not to grimace as my head pounded again. I had clearly thought far too much in the past twenty-four hours. "If there's anything those boys knew in school, it was how to keep something private. Particularly according to the Marauder's Map."

"The what?" Mrs Weasley asked. I shook my head.

"Never mind," I didn't really want to tell her about the map if she didn't already know and besides that I was ready to go and take a nap considering the headache that all the reading had caused me. I still had over an hour and a half before Ginny would be making her appearance; I had time to waste. I slumped into the other room to let them gossip and get excited to see the youngest Weasley sibling in just a couple short hours while I focused on moving each piece of parchment that was piled on my couch-bed. As I was moving them, something caught my eye that also took a quick grasp on my breathing - I stopped instinctively as I looked at one of the oldest articles in my collection: the article that had started it all: the article that had gotten Voldemort on my scent in the first place.

It was the old picture I remembered, one of Draco and I looking dashing at the Yule Ball; and then there was Harry on the other half. The picture and the article had faded over the past few years, but it was still worth keeping for _sentimental_ reasons...

_ROTTED POTTER: DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS OR DEMURE AND DARING?_

_The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been reported to be unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light between Harry Potter's strange behaviour and his sister – the new unspoken hero, Audrey Potter – who has been seen having vicious outbursts towards her brother. All of these new developments are casting doubt on both of the siblings' suitability to compete in a demanding competition such as the Triwizard Tournament, and possibly Harry Potter's stability attending Hogwarts school with the rest of his classmates._

_Harry Potter, the _Daily Prophet _can exclusively reveal, regularly collapses at school and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who used in an attempt to kill him). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your _Daily Prophet _reporter witnessed him storming from the class, claiming his scar was hurting too badly to continue studying._

_His protective younger sister, Audrey Potter, was seen coming to his aid not long later. After being torn apart for quite some time over disagreements with how to handle the fame of the Triwizard Tournament, his sister was quick to come to his side and try to cover up any rumours that may have been flying around do to her brother's condition. After a long chat with the headmaster of the school, Miss Potter was seen storming from the office looking quite flustered and upset – sources say that her brother's special treatment has begun to wear the girl down from all the stress and lies._

_It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that Mr Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence that his scar is still hurting is an expression of his deep-seated confusion._

_"He might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could just be a plea for attention – notice his sister doesn't have the same problem and hers was caused by the same man, was it not?"_

_The _Daily Prophet, _however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public._

_"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year in both of the Potter twins classes. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy." _

_When we asked Mr Malfoy which 'Potter' was referring to, he quickly came to the defense of young Miss Potter saying "she really just got stuck with a bad egg," and that "she always has to try and fight to be seen around him. He's very arrogant and always tries to push her out of the way – no wonder she has problems doing interviews, I bet Potter won't let her see the light of day during the holidays. He's that pompous. It's all hushed up, though. He makes friends with werewolves and giants, too. We think he'd do anything for power. His sister's a little bit of an idiot with a wand, but at least I know she won't sic a snake on me when I beat her in class."_

_A lot of information came from Mr Malfoy. Please note that Parseltongue is the ability to converse with snakes and has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. It is an ability not passed on to Potions and Bestial genius, Audrey Potter._

_Miss Potter has always remained a mystery, even after her impressive displays of Astral and Magnuse magic used in the second task – but who is she really? This _Daily Prophet _correspondent believes that Audrey Potter may just be a scared little girl, not strong enough to stand up against the monsters that keep her hidden: like her very own brother. It was when we tried to interview Mr Malfoy more on young Audrey Potter and he refused to answer anymore of the _Prophet's _questions, that this journalist did some digging of her own._

_It has long been rumoured that Draco Malfoy and Audrey Potter have had static romantic energy for years, though her Gryffindor brother will see none of it thanks to his aversion of the Slytherin house – where Miss Potter herself was sorted. It seems as if Audrey has buckled under the pressure of her brother's insistent hatred of Malfoy so she has moved her sights onto Hufflepuff seeker, and third Hogwarts Triwizard champion, Cedric Diggory. No news yet as to how Harry Potter has taken their quiet affair between classes, though it seems that Miss Potter is still close to Gryffindor friend Hermione Granger – current squeeze to Bulgarian champion Viktor Krum and ex-girlfriend of Potter himself._

_Many here at the _Prophet _are beginning to question if Albus Dumbledore is keeping close enough watch on his students. Is Harry Potter really so arrogant and power-hungry that he shoves his sister into the background? Is Audrey Potter really so scared of her brother that she put aside her affections for Mr Malfoy just to appease her twin? Perhaps someone as unstable as Harry Potter should not be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that he may resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the third task and the tournament, which conclude this very evening._

Godric, the article frustrated me as much now than it did then. To think that I had been cursed by Voldemort was ridiculous - I would be dead otherwise, my mother hadn't died for _me. _Now that I knew exactly what had happened and how I had been leverage while my mother had been forced to watch me tortured in front of her, this article was even more insulting. Even then, in fourth year, Draco had been defending me from Harry - mentioning me any time he could. Had he even fancied me then, as he had the year after that?

No. I shouldn't be thinking about that - it would just hurt and bring back memories that would cause more of a headache and make me want to crack some more windows.

It was too late - between all the reading and frustration the headache was again pushing at the back of my eyes, making me close them and dig my palms back into my eyes. The pressure helped. Pushing the thoughts away helped. I looked around, throwing the _Daily Prophet _article away so that I wouldn't have to think about Draco Malfoy anymore. If I were to stop thinking about anything at all that might help, too.

I frowned, pulling my hands away from my face as I looked around the room in suspicion. Draco Malfoy was annoying, but he wouldn't be the cause of such an intense headache. Likewise I had read a lot more during school than I'd done today. Technically the pain could have been because of all the stress but what if...what if this was another case of a magical back-up? What if something within me was trying to push me to force a vision again, to show me that something was coming?

Twice in three days? That wasn't unheard of, but it was rare - even when I was having visions on a regular basis without having to force them. Then again, if something was pushing into my consciousness like this it had to be important - it was always important when it was this persistent...so why not try, just in case?

Settled on giving it a go, I fell into a position on the floor that would keep me the most calm. I began by sitting on the floor, cross legged as I had been taught to clear my mind all those years ago by a man I couldn't even picture without cringing at myself. I was more than prepared to force myself into seeing something that could be useful for whatever my future would bring if my mind was ready to work with me. I just needed to concentrate - I needed to use the little tip I had gotten from Cedric back in fourth year right around the time that stupid article had been written.

It didn't work. I couldn't focus no matter how hard I tried and I pushed myself onto the floor with a groan, pushing the back of my skull against the floor and trying to relieve the pressure enough that I could focus on _not _focusing so I could clear my mind. I tried going back to picturing the blank piece of parchment, looking at the old thing so closely that it stretched across to my peripheral vision where nothing else could interrupt me, where nothing could pull at my focus...except for the pain.

That pulled _all _my focus.

I let out a grumble, trying hard to keep the idea of the parchment in the forefront of my mind. Imagining that the future would trace itself onto the thick paper like a sketch that was too accurate to be something as simple as my imagination. I waited, trying to force myself into that state where I was _between_ states, where I could look away from myself and toward the future...

I felt cold water drizzle down my spine, causing me to shiver away from the sensation. The water slithered down my senses and webbed across my back like all the tangled lines of consequence - I had done it; I could already see something scratching itself into form in front of me.

It was dark. The colours were muted meaning whatever I was seeing was weeks - if not months - away. I could tell that I was in the woods, surrounded by trees and cool air with crisp snow that crunched beneath my shoes. I was looking ahead, watching as a redhead - a Weasley that nearly looked like Ron - lurked away from me toward the dense forest with a long, silver sword emblazoned with rubies. He raised the weapon up like a baseball bat, preparing to take a swipe at whatever it was he was hunting.

The scene shifted with a wink of one of the rubies, turning into something much more bright and vivid - something happening sooner. I watched, outside of myself, as I watched my own future presence leaning over a microphone, smiling into it and speaking. This was sooner - I looked no different than I looked now, except perhaps the smile that was lighting up the room. Is that what my smile looked like? It'd been a while since it'd been so vivid. I was actually laughing and it didn't look like it was ironic, sarcastic, or bitter. The others with me seemed just as content: Lupin, Fred, and Sirius all had smiles on their faces, too. The words between the group of us and the microphone were mumbled, I couldn't make out whatever it was we were saying - and suddenly, the door behind us was kicked in as tall, masked Death Eaters moved to ambush us. We all moved quickly, as if ready for it, to try to outrun their curses.

One curse, white and bright, shot into my face and when I opened my eyes from the burn of my retinas, I was in a new place - more bright and vivid than even the last I had seen. I was in Dumbledore's office, no different than how I had seen it months ago when he had died. Above me, on the wall, the old man sat in a portrait looking exactly as he had when he had sat on his desk. I wanted to call out to him, ask him what everything he had taught me had meant and why he had given me everything he had - but no words escaped me. As if knowing that I was searching for answers, Dumbledore moved to point below him, showing me the way. I followed his instructions, walking forward and acknowledging the familiar silvery shine of the stone basin marked in runes - the Pensieve. I walked closer, twisting the ring on my finger nervously as I moved to dunk my head into the wet, gaseous blanket of memories on the surface...

I gasped as I was let free from the murky water of the future, grabbing onto the person who'd grabbed hold of my shoulders. That had been vivid, bright, the colours had all been as familiar as if I had seen them yesterday - what did all those visions mean? Would I not be able to pull off the Radio Broadcast? And how the hell would I make it to Dumbledore's office when it couldn't possibly look the same if Snape had taken his place there. Could he not enter it like Umbridge hadn't been able to?

"Drea?" Sirius' voice pulled me out of my reverie. I looked up, briefly wondering when he had returned and how long I had been focused on trying to force my vision. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, thinking hard and swallowing thickly around my cotton mouth. I wasn't ready to admit my possible failure to him when I had only just got the plan underway this morning; I could interpret this first before I made any rash decisions. "It's fine, I'm fine, I just got some snippets of what hasn't happened yet - you know, the usual death and destruction. When did you get back?"

"Just now," he said carefully, not really believing me. He seemed happy for a change of subject though, particularly so he could explain everything that had happened today. "I couldn't find Harry after he infiltrated the Ministry - they didn't have enough Polyjuice potion to include me so I was a lookout. They Apparated away once they had finished the task."

"You're sure they got away?"

"I didn't see anyone grab hold of them," he offered, sounding more anxious than he looked. I could tell that he had wanted a little more assuredness than that, so I grabbed hold of my rucksack and picked through it until I felt the soft cotton of the broken mirror fragment again. Sirius watched me patiently as I unravelled the tattered shirt and looked at the mirror - like Ginny, Harry had left me a response.

_Safe. Got it._

_I miss you._

_Come with us._

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't realize until I needed to inhale again that I had followed the action, breathing in a deep breath of comfort from the words written in Harry's horrid chicken scratch. They were all okay and even better: they had gotten the Horcrux. Now it was my turn - it was my time to figure out how to destroy it. Is that why I had seen the vision with the sword? Was I going to be the one to fetch it for them, to see if it had any potential to obliterate the Horcrux that was apparently indestructible?

No, that wasn't logical. If I was with Harry I wouldn't be able to distract from his part of the mission - finding the Horcruxes. And if I was with him, I wouldn't have any way to get to a method of destroying them. I needed that sword first - and I knew just to ask where to find it.

I turned my piece of parchment around, grabbing the quill from the table and doodling a quick reply.

_Good._

There was no reason to address that he missed me - he wouldn't miss me if he hadn't just left me here in the first place. As for my brother wanting me to be there with him, I'd join them on my own sweet time. I had my own plans in the mix and apparently I was getting more done than he was: I was distracting Death Eaters, setting up a Broadcasting network that would apparently fail, and I was on a hunt for the most destructive instruments in the world...Harry would just have to make do without my genius until such a time when I decided to be charitable.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what he was trying to retrieve?" Sirius asked after we had both caught up with our thoughts and relief to hear from him. I looked up at my godfather before tightly shaking my head. He sighed heavily. "Thought not; Harry wouldn't tell me either."

"Then why would you bother asking?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Your warm demeanour, of course," he answered with a roll of his eyes. Apparently I had been rude.

"Yes, comments like that make me quick to trust," I muttered back, making Sirius snort to himself. I stood up, wiping any dirt off of myself that may have clung to my clothes while I'd struggled through my visions on the floor. "What time is it?"

"Half-five," he informed. "Fred and George will be here any minute."

"And Ginny will be on the mirror soon," I nodded to myself, giving him a quick glance. He averted his eyes quickly, guiltily, which made my eyes narrow. "What now?"

He reached out his hands toward me and I jumped away from him. He looked like he was torn between confusion, hurt, and trying to hold in laughter. "I'm not about to _attack _you. Do you not trust me?"

"I feel like we just covered this," I answered stiffly, not really fond of the taunt behind his tone.

"Your hair has rubbish all through it," he rolled his eyes. "Did you sleep on your papers?"

I frowned, pulling at my hair to try to inspect it - I couldn't see anything in it, but it did look even more tangled than normal. I knew that I hadn't been rolling on the floor which means my hair had been this beautiful the entire day. No one else had been rude enough to mention it - trust my godfather to break the mould. I went to comb my fingers through it, but stopped when I felt the knots getting caught and pulling hard against the chunky Gaunt ring.

I pulled my hand away to look at the ring and make sure that everything was as it should be after I'd tugged so hard; it had almost felt like it was about to fall off and who knew if I'd ever be able to find it in my mess of tangles again. There was no damage. It was still the same chunky, gaudy piece of black onyx with gold so tarnished that it seemed to shine silver.

"Wait," I whispered to myself, after catching the glare off the ring. I slipped it off my finger, bringing it closer to my eye between my fingertips so that I could manipulate it more appropriately. Sirius frowned at the display, but immediately came closer to see what I was up to.

There was something strange here that I could only notice after seeing that vision, something bright and luminescent that I hadn't thought of since the last time I was in the headmaster's office near the Pensieve that billowed with clean, silver light.

This ring didn't _seem_ to shine silver because of the tarnish...it really _was _glowing silver because of what it was hiding.

"It's a memory," I breathed, looking over to Sirius who still looked a little lost. "Look, the crack of that stone there, it's a bloody memory. That ridiculous old man and his riddles, I swear to Merlin-"

Sirius continued to examine the ring with raised eyebrows. "That does look like the same glow...but how would he stick a memory into a stone that small?"

"It was Dumbledore," I answered simply, turning the rock upside down to try and see if I could see the silver shine through the back moulding of the ring. "I'm fairly certain the old bat could do anything."

"But what would he need to tell you that he would need to keep that secret?" Sirius thought to himself. "There was a chance you'd never catch on."

I knew I could think of a few things that required that much secrecy, but I wasn't about to start relaying my ideas back to my oblivious guardian who was already too overprotective. It made sense now, seeing myself bent over the Pensieve to look at a memory: it wasn't just any memory I was observing, it was _this _memory. Dumbledore had something to tell me and I had a feeling it had to do with everything I'd been looking into today - the final piece needed to kill Voldemort once and for all.

"I have to get into that castle," I whispered to myself, realizing what it all meant with a crash back to earth. It hurt just thinking about what that meant - a lot of planning, a lot of time, and even more danger. To go in to Hogwarts where the Death Eaters were waiting and my friends could be used as leverage was not really on the top of my agenda...but killing Voldemort so that I could get rid of the Death Eaters was...

No matter the dangers, which I was going to dance around like a fucking ballerina, I needed to work my way through this. _This_ was why that headache had been pushing at the forefront of my mind, it was why I had seen myself in Dumbledore's office - Snape must have been using the Pensieve for his own thoughts, he must have kept it. Well, I'd have to use it, if not take it for myself so I could get my own answers. It was why I was seeing a Weasley with that sword - it was clearly the answer, it clearly had something to do with being able to destroy Voldemort's soul fragments - I needed to get into that office.

"What?" Sirius looked shocked while he watched me process everything that needed to be done. "You can't just walk into the castle now that you've been convicted of murder Audrey - trust me, I've tried it."

"I need to know what this means," I told him, shaking the ring in his face as if that were answer enough. It wasn't, of course, considering he had no idea what kind of mission Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were _really _on.

"Then we'll find a different Pensieve!"

"When the hell have you ever seen another Pensieve?" I scoffed at him, shoving the ring back onto my finger for safe keeping. "And since I know you won't be able to think of another time, consider how long that will take since you can't. I need to know what this means now - end of discussion."

"End of-" Sirius seemed like he was frustrated beyond words as he followed me to the door. I needed to move, I needed to start doing _something _so that I felt like I was making progress and Sirius was not going to let that happen until he understood exactly what was happening. "And just how are you going to sneak in to Hogwarts without the map, without the passageways, without the cloak?"

"I have potions galore," I informed him, shaking my head as I realized that probably wouldn't be enough. "I'll turn into an animal, I'll pose as a student, I'll tunnel in through Hogsmeade, I'll-"

"None of that will work!" He threw his hands up in the air for emphasis and I was quick to duck under his arms so that I could escape the room and leave for the kitchen. Naturally he followed me as I walked into the kitchen, his voice raised and his movements staggered as if I had confunded him with this information. "You can't just run off and _hope _something like that works. You're nowhere near an Animagus yet, Audrey-"

"Then I'll improvise!"

"You can't improvise breaking into one of the most secure places in the world!" He repeated again. He didn't need to reiterate that I didn't have any of the things I really needed for it: Harry had taken the cloak, the passageways were sealed, but I did have the map dug into my rucksack somewhere - it would be a benefit.

"_You_ did!" I screamed back. He silenced and everyone around us waited to hear what else had to be left to say.

"Drea, I cannot just let you do something this risky."

"Listen, I'm not actually going to improvise anything. If you knew me at all, you could trust that..." he seemed almost placated by this, but I was quick to burst his bubble. "But that doesn't mean I won't do this. I will. I am getting into that castle."

"It's too dangerous, Audrey," Mrs Weasley finally spoke. "To send Ginny was hard enough, but you are a wanted witch - they'd kill you on sight."

"They wouldn't have the chance, or the gall," I shook my head. "Voldemort doesn't know if he's allowed to kill me because he didn't get the prophecy - I'm betting he'll keep me alive as bait and to question if he catches me...which he won't."

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't the kind of person to ask you round for tea before questioning you, Drea," Bill told me sternly. "Having him kill you first would probably be preferable and as I see it, you're not the best in a duel. You don't have the connection between your wands like he and Harry do - he has nothing to stop him by killing you."

I wanted to tell him that he had everything to keep him from killing me - but Bill was right. I had no benefit of the prophecy as Harry did; I had no trump card to play to ensure my safety. But if I played the rest of my hand right I wouldn't need one - not if I could get a hold of that sword, not if I could understand how Dumbledore was going to explain to me how to destroy these Horcruxes...but how could I explain and comfort them with this if they couldn't know about any of it at all?

"You know that I can't tell you what we're up to - but you're going to have to trust me for once. Not to play Devil's advocate here, but you trusted Harry enough to help him break into the Ministry of Magic, didn't you? Dumbledore gave me this-" I showed off the gold - shining silver - ring with a strong emphasis, "-for a reason. There's a memory in it and that memory is going to help us put an end to this war; I know it. Now, if you're not going to help me, that's fine - I wouldn't help me either - but that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind and that doesn't mean I'm going to let you stop me. I'm the strategist here, I will not go in without a plan, but I will not have you sabotaging it with your worry or your loyalty or your coddling. It's time to toughen up: you're the Gryffindors here, you're _supposed _to be brave."

Sirius looked pained, the way his mouth was warped made me realize that he desperately wanted to say something but whatever it was likely wasn't pleasant. I gave him a solid glare back, trying to get him to understand how much this meant: this was an important, identifying moment - if he couldn't help me with this then I'd have to go on my own and who knew if I would be able to get back to Shell Cottage afterwards...who knew if I'd _want _to come back if I was so limited here. This moment was a cross-roads and Sirius seemed to realize it with the way he closed his mouth and grit his teeth against his words.

"You're not doing this without a plan worthy of Ravenclaw's measure of reliability," he informed me sternly. "Something that keeps you safe even if it blows up in our faces. Which it will."

"It won't," I assured him. "But you seem to think I don't plan on being safe here - I will be. I'm not getting myself caught, tortured and killed. You lot seem to just assume I'll die for your cause: I won't. I have my own agenda."

"Your agendas are complicated," Bill frowned. "Between this Radio Broadcasting idea, the 'muck up the Death Eaters Day' plan and your new 'check on Snape' plan...you're acting a little reckless."

"The ideas are dangerous but I am not reckless," I corrected. I sighed, considering what he was saying. When had I become the person who would do all this? I mean, going to ruin the Death Eaters plans, that was like me - that was obvious and creating mayhem...but since when had I wanted to gather the masses against Voldemort and find the ultimate weapons to destroy him?

When had I turned into this person?

Snape was this person; this was how I remembered him - the person who pretended to hate putting his life on the line but the one who had secretly done it anyway. He'd joined the Death Eaters and had been consumed by them, turning into everything he'd hated. Was that what had happened here? Had I been near these blasted Gryffindors for so long that I was learning their reckless, impulsive ways?

No. Snape had taught me how to be this person but it was Draco who turned me in the direction. It was seeing people like Theodore who were being pressured into becoming Death Eaters and seeing Tracey being spit on by them. Those were the people who had taught me to adapt. I didn't need to be someone else, I didn't need to turn into my brother or Sirius or Bill - I just needed to use them as bolsters for better plans that would keep everyone safe: Gryffindors and Slytherins and reluctant Death Eaters alike.

"What if we combined them?" I asked, thinking of how I should combine my brother's haste to my hesitation - sometimes combining things made a better chemical reaction. "The two plans, I mean."

"_Two_ plans?" The Weasley twins must have Apparated to the front step exactly, considering I could hear them through the door so easily and the loud _pop _of their arrival had only been a half second before. "And to think, we were only warned of one!"

"I feel excluded, Fred-"

"-no more than I, George-"

"-I'm questioning our friendship with this woman-"

"-it's not very give and take, is it?"

"_You'd _like to give and take-"

"Oi!" There was a sound of skin on skin and a bit of grunting from the two boys. Bill rolled his eyes, drawing his wand out before telling us he'd be right back after he'd questioned his brothers. Considering the conversation and the squabble I could still hear on the front steps, there shouldn't have needed to be any questioning at all: who else would be so ridiculous?

As soon as the boys were in the house, they ran toward me and grappled me into a sandwiched hug between them. I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to struggle anymore - apparently this pleased them so they squeezed me all the more tightly.

"She's warming up!"

"The ice queen has a warm heart, who knew?"

"I am _not _an ice queen," I grumbled coolly.

"Oh you are, but it's alright: I like snowball fights. So, _two _plans, aye?" Fred asked as he finally pulled away from me. "Tell us about these so called 'plans'."

"Exactly, I'm insulted we've yet to hear the one," George informed me. "It's as if we don't even know her anymore - I barely recognize her."

"Is it possible to misidentify these knots?" Fred pulled up a single strand of my hair - the rest of my matted mess followed. George followed suit, grabbing it and tugging it a little too harshly making me hiss and bat away their hands.

"_Ow_, get away before I _shave _your hair off!" I warned them. Both boys took a step back but neither of them actually seemed intimidated. I took a deep breath, scratching at the area which still stung from my hair being pulled before I started my explanations. "We're making a radio station to give the _real _war news. The first order of business-"

"Ha, _Order._ Geddit?" Fred asked.

"'Ear, 'ear!" George agreed, yelling loudly and pointing to the missing section of his skull where his ear once resided. I rolled my eyes but couldn't keep the smirk off my face.

"The first thing we need you to do," I corrected so they wouldn't continue on. "Is get you to help charm the station into creation and more importantly...to help advertise while keeping it exclusive."

Both boys immediately smiled at the challenge and promise of trouble. "Now just what did you have in mind?"

"A grand display that _has _to include Harry," I told them. They nodded thoughtfully, pensively placing their hands to their chins in sync as if they were pretending to pose as the statue of David. "I wasn't there when they broke into the Ministry today, we need to reinforce the idea that I'm still with him."

"Right-o Watson," George responded as if he had heard all this before and I was asking him to get me a glass of butterbeer.

"So to announce the start of it, I say Harry and I give a little demonstration of just how involved we are. Once the Death Eaters come to stop us and we've rallied the masses, we lead them away from the innocents...and I sneak away to break into Snape's office."

"Er - sorry, what?"

"_Snape's_ office?"

"Snape's _headmaster's _office?"

"Snape's headmaster's office in _Hogwarts_?"

"Exactly," I told them. "It's the perfect distraction, to do it all at once, isn't it? I'll go and advertise that I'm there - I'll make sure that whatever chase it is lasts more than an hour so they know it's me, or I'll use my Magnuse so that there's no question. Then, while they're chasing 'Harry' and me across continental Britain, I'll sneak off into Hogwarts, get some answers, and be back before anyone noticed I was gone."

"It's plausible-"

"-though patchy-"

"-great first draft, though-"

"-I'd like to get in on it, what about you, George?"

"But of course, Fred-"

"-how many of us will you need?"

To say that I was honoured that the two boys were so keen on this plan might have been an overstatement, but I could absolutely feel the loyalty and trust that seemed to drape over the room like a warm blanket. I turned to everyone, unable to hold back my grin, so that I could continue on with the plot.

"This is where we might have a problem," I looked immediately over to Mrs Weasley. "What would you say to having a 'havoc' team and a 'Hogwarts' team?"

It took her a moment to understand where I was going before her eyes widened in realization. "Ginny? No! No, it's too dangerous. We haven't even heard from her, we haven't-"

"I'll ask her, of course," I informed her. "It will be her decision. But you have to remember: the whole reason we let her go to Hogwarts was to keep up appearances - maybe she'll just have to let _me _keep up the appearances for her, just for a day..."

"If you get caught," Mrs Weasley said anxiously, shaking her head with a tremor that only ever followed her when she was worried about her children. "No, no absolutely not - it's too dangerous for the both of you."

"I'm not going to get caught, some credit, please!" I scoffed, waving my hand dismissively. "You can say that it's a bad idea, but I'm still asking Ginny - she'll agree with me."

"What will I agree with?" Ginny's familiar voice had floated through the kitchen from behind the heavy blanket draped over the ornate mirror at the side of the room. I all but ran over to the mirror, gasping when I pulled away the thick fabric and came face to face with another redheaded girl. On a passing glance, we may nearly have looked similar - the dark red hair, the splashes of freckles - but she was much stronger and curvier than I was, taller and warmer, attractive and obviously kind.

As alike as a glance may be, really, we were opposites.

"Ginny," I greeted, taking a deep breath. "Good to see you're alright - though a reminder earlier on may have done your mother good. I was worried I'd have to scrape her body off the floor if she died of a heart attack."

"Well, things have been harder than anticipated," she answered, shaking her head dismally. "Hi, Mum."

"Oh, Ginny!" Mrs Weasley all but tackled me out of the way so she could get a good look at the mirror before she began to smudge it with excessive fingerprints that traced her daughter's features. "How is school? Are the professors standing up to Severus at all? Has anything changed? Has _everything _changed? Has-"

"Everything's changed," she interrupted her rounds of questions, giving her Mum a small smile and taking time to greet Bill, Sirius, Fleur, Fred, George and I in turn. "Hogwarts has been completely taken over by the Death Eaters - Snape has appointed the Carrow siblings as head of punishment, a worse decision than Lockhart or Umbridge. One teaches Dark Arts, the other teaches Muggle Studies - I haven't taken it, but Luna told me today that it was all talk of how Muggles and Muggleborns have been stealing our magic for years..."

"Yeah, real original," I muttered.

"Everyone's afraid to walk in the corridors now. There aren't prefects anymore; just Slytherins that patrol when the Carrows aren't doing it for them - it's a slaughterhouse when they are. They hand out punishments just for walking in their path and word has it that soon all the curses they've been showing us in our first lessons will be practiced on us, too."

"Oh, Ginny," Mrs Weasley sobbed, pulling out a tissue from the tip of her wand and blowing her nose quietly. Fleur came forward to pat her shoulder and comfort her in what little way possible - it couldn't have done much good. This was worse than we feared: the spirit of Hogwarts had been ransacked. Everyone was devastated by the news - how couldn't we be? My devastation came in waves of nausea - I couldn't tell if I felt angry, sick, or depressed. That's not how Hogwarts was supposed to be and I had a feeling even Snape knew it.

"What about Snape, do you see much of him?"

"He mostly stays up in his office," she admitted. I gritted my teeth at the news: that wouldn't be much help considering that's exactly where I'd need to be. "When students get punished they're taken up there to wait for him to give instruction on whether or not the Carrows can have 'artistic licence' for their punishment. He hasn't granted it yet, but I doubt the rat will hold out for long."

"When is he out of his office?" Ginny looked a little surprised by my interrogation, but opened her mouth to answer before she was interrupted with just as important of a question.

"Have you been _in _his office?" Fred and George asked as if they already knew the answer. Ginny, surprisingly, beamed.

"Of course. Got taken there right off the train."

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Mrs Weasley was suddenly not so teary. "What are you thinking, drawing attention to yourself like that?"

"I ripped down some of the Undesirable posters of Harry and Audrey," she defended. Surprisingly Mrs Weasley looked as if that explained - and even excused - everything. "When the Slytherins tried to hex me for it, I defended myself - I barely started the fight."

"Did you finish it?" I asked with a smirk. Ginny returned it as if she really was my reflection in the mirror.

"Millicent Bulstrode didn't know what hit her."

"Good," I responded, my voice low. "Tell me, when you went to his office, what was he saying?"

"There were a few of us there; no one's behaving, everyone's either on edge or fighting back - there are only a few select Slytherins that look right in their element. He must have expected it all to happen because he said since we hadn't been taught the 'new order of things' that we wouldn't be punished but any repeat offenders would be back up to his office for proper deliberation and punishment."

"Like a trial?" Bill asked, sounding confused. Ginny nodded.

"Fantastic," I murmured, not happy with the news either. "Have there been any repeat offenders?"

"Neville went back up tonight," she seemed proud, even if the smile wavered with worry. "Tore down more of the posters and then spoke very openly about why he trusted you over Voldemort in front of the Carrows; he's trying to keep your name as untarnished as he can. Your picture's plastered everywhere for - er, you know..."

For killing Thuban Nott. Of course I knew.

"Wow, so this is what infamy feels like," I breathed, trying to see how the truth of the situation was weighing on me. I frowned dramatically. "I always thought it'd be more enjoyable."

"We can fix that," Fred and George smiled. "It's all in part one of your diabolical plan."

"Yeah, what about these 'plans'?" Ginny asked, perking up slightly at the mention of more mayhem. "What are you planning and why was mum saying no?"

"Because it's dangerous and you're likely going to love it," I informed her, a smile pulling at the sides of my lips. I tried to hide it for the comfort of Mrs Weasley, but I could tell it contorted my face with the effort. "But it's all really dependent on your next few answers."

She immediately sobered. "Alright, what are the questions?"

"Can you find a way to lure Snape from his office?" I asked her. She barely hesitated with her answer.

"Of course."

"Can you find away to spread the word about our Radio Broadcast?"

"Of cour- er, wait, what broadcast?" She asked, looking through the mirror to try and meet the eyes of everyone that had gathered around. "You guys _have_ been busy! What all have you been plotting?"

Though Bill and George looked ready to explain it to her, I was more interested in having the extra few minutes to continue my planning so I continued my questioning. "Just tell me if you can spread some rumours and be terrible with keeping some secrets."

"It's against my nature," she mocked. "But I'm sure I can cope."

"Perfect. Now most importantly," I leaned closer, trying to insinuate the importance. "Was the sword of Gryffindor still in Dumbledore's office?"

"You mean Snape's office," both of the Weasley twins sneered from behind me. Ginny looked away to a far off memory for a moment, trying to picture the office in her mind's eye.

"Yeah," she said after a moment, sounding unsure. She started nodding after a moment, the thought solidifying and becoming more confident. "Yeah, it was."

"Good. That's the plan, Gin: I need that sword," I answered her, keeping it simple. I was ecstatic, my mind was already starting to race as I tried to figure out exactly how I was going to make everything play to my advantage. I needed to create an order, a plan: publicize, escape, memory, escape...

"And I'm guessing you need some sort of distraction or inside helper?" She asked me, trying hard to hold back her grin. When I nodded she smiled like she was the cat who had eaten the canary. "I'm in."

I nodded back to her, glancing briefly over my shoulder and meeting eyes with everyone who was privy to our new course of action: I could see Bill's nervousness, Mrs Weasley's worry, Fleur's determination, and especially the twins' excitement.

I looked back at Ginny and smiled widely. "I knew you would be."

After all, Harry had just broken into the Ministry - but that was easy.

Now it was time to break into Hogwarts.

* * *

><p><strong>Going. To. Hogwarts. The three words taht I'm sure you have all been waiting for. You didn't wait as long as you thought you'd have to, did you? Who's excited? I know I am! I would love to hear what you think will happen in the next, crazy, upcoming chapter. Now, to respond to the wonderful reviewers from the last chapter:<strong>

_purple sky always_**: I'm also glad they'll unite against a common enemy. Thanks for reviewing!**

_vmockingjay12_**: We will be seeing more of him, but not a lot more. Audrey's a busy bee with all this plotting and sadly, Malfoy's not really at the top of Voldemort's loyalty-list right now. Thanks for the review :)**

_bleeding-roses-16_**: That certainly wouldn't be a bad animal for her to become; it'd definitely be useful. I'm glad you're enjoying all the twists and turns and hope you've continued to! Thank you.**

_The-girl-who-loves-adventure_**: I think the Slytherins got a really bad name in the books because Harry didn't like them, just like Harry has a bit of a worse appearance in these books because Audrey doesn't like him...but like you said, that doesn't make them bad. I'm glad you like the story, thank you so much for the review!**

_JrSnape_**: Don't worry, I wouldn't leave it so simple! **

_Fictional History_**: We'll see more interaction between the Slytherins soon. I wish there could be more of it, but Audrey has to do her own thing right now...I wish I could anyway though!**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Aw, I'm glad! Thank you :)**

_accio-logic_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Yes, it was fun to bring in Astoria during such an awkward time - we'll hear more about what's happening there shortly. As for Daphne realizing it was Audrey, I loved being able to write it and to think that Theodore figured it out as well? It was heartwarming for me to be able to make them so excited at the prospect of seeing her again...but it was also sad. They said goodbye because they don't know what will happen in their futures, they just know it probably won't be good.**

_ziva10_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you liked this one too!**

_Becka3490_**: That's a good guess; you'll have to wait and see! Thank you for reviewing.**

_Akuya the Kitsune_**: Interesting theories, but as you know I'm not going to give anything away. It's true - if Audrey figured out how to master Unforgivable curses with her Magnuse, it would be devastating for anyone who wronged her or was in her way...luckily she only seems to want to try them with her wand when she's in battle. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story and thank you so much for the thoughtful review!**

_music anomaly_**: Haha, I'm glad you liked it ;)**

_Slytherin's Strumpet_**: You'll have to wait and see, who knows if she'll even accomplish it?**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thank you, I think you're the only one to have caught the references - or at least to mention them. Those are both really good guesses, but sadly I can't just give it away. I hope you liked this new chapter, even though Theo wasn't in it.**

_AMalfoyFanGirl_**: Yes, the last chapter had a lot of drama - I'm glad it got you so excited! Hopefully the prospect of seeing Hogwarts in the next chapter holds nearly as much enthusiasm. When Audrey and Draco meet face to face, I can promise that it's not going to be the typical reunion everyone wants and (in the true fashion of Audrey) it will not be what people or Draco expect. Thank you for the review!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: It's true, she may not have gotten to really converse with them but hopefully knowing that she was there looking after things brought them some kind of comfort. I know it comforted me being able to write that Daphne recognized Audrey despite her disguise. These are all great theories and ideas about her Animagus form, you'll have to wait to find out if you're right though! As for mentioning the jealousy in the last chapter: yes, the jealousy will live on. It's how Audrey thrives and understands people - she is the green eyed monster, after all :)**

_Guest_**: Happy belated Birthday! I hope that it was a good day and brought you lots of happiness.**

_Lynn D. Mariza_**: Haha, I'm glad you think so! I think their bond is pretty awesome too, if I do say so myself ;)**

_Takara Matsudaira_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! It was a lot of fun writing the stages into being an Animagus - but sadly it will be on pause for a chapter or two while Audrey causes some chaos. Hopefully you'll forgive me!  
>Yes, there was a little hint that something is happening between Draco and Astoria - it will be a few chapters before we really find out what the purpose of it was. The Slytherin situation is an interesting one to write, I'm excited to really get in there and do some one-shots from their point of view so you can see just how green the grass is on the Order's side - because even if it is a little bloodier, the Slytherins lawn is being pulled apart, haha.<br>I'm really glad you liked the last chapter and hope that this one has you all excited for all Audrey's new plans. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Claret Tho_**: If you take the time to review these long chapters, the least I can do is respond - that's how I see it, at least! I'm glad that I've been able to pull you over to appreciate Draco Malfoy and the other Slytherins - they're a lot of fun to write thanks to all the dark complication you mentioned in your review. I'm glad you're still interested in the story and hope you continue to theorize and enjoy it. Thank you!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Your reviews are always so sweet, I just feel so warm when I read them! It is interesting to see Audrey learn magic thanks to Lupin and Sirius, but to be honest: Snape has the best way for her. He pushes her until she does it and that's the kind of support she needs...we are seeing (or at least I plan to make it so) that Sirius and Remus are almost too nice to Audrey and give her a break when she starts complaining (and since she does that a lot, it ends up being detrimental). Thinking back to the last chapter can you guess what her animal is? A few people have caught on, so at least I know it won't be too much of a surprise.  
>Audrey being on the run is possibly the worst thing that could happen to her because of her need for Polyjuice potion. She may not be the prettiest (and as we saw this chapter certainly doesn't think she's attractive) at least it's her body and not someone else's...but she doesn't really get that reality right now. Poor Audrey is going to be forced to be anyone EXCEPT herself...but I will ensure it's entertaining.<br>Montague, yes, you couldn't have thought I'd just leave him out of the story after he graduated! Montague is up there with Umbridge and far worse than Parkinson in my books (ha, pun not intended) so I had to bring him back during the worst time of the story. I miss the Slytherins too - even the drama that Montague brings with him. I just miss the different way they think - it was fun mentioning that this chapter when Audrey worried she had been around them too long and was morphing into them. And, since we're on the topic of Slytherins, I just miss Draco. And Theo. Just because...  
>Actually the reason that I chose Fred to like her rather than George was because JKR once said in an interview that he was the crueler and harsher of the pair. Because of this she knew people would expect George to be weaker and be the one to die, which is why she apparently killed Fred off. If Audrey were to need someone, it would have to be the harsher of the two, don't you think? That might be why the Slytherin comes out a bit more in him :) It might be why super-strong Ginny is also such an important part in her plans.<br>Anyway, I can't wait to hear what you have to say about this last chapter - hopefully it was alright considering it was kind of a little scattered. Thank you, as always, for reviewing!  
><strong>

_That-Crazy-Psycho_**: There was a moment where I thought I might make him address her, but it would have been too obvious it would happen and in real life, Draco wouldn't have cared about her being there anyway - not when Montague was there to take the brunt of his anger. I'm glad you liked the chapter! As for when we will see Draco again it won't be too far away - but the longer you wait, the better the conversation will be...**

_Guest_**: I'm so glad you think it was worth the wait, thank you!**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Yes, Daphne was pretty quick to figure it out; I was really glad htat I got the opportunity to add it into the chapter. Thank you for your review and I hope this chapter was almost as exciting as the last! **

_sarahmichellegellarfan1_**: I never said they were dating, she just held his hand...I can't just make something that obvious! Haha. Hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Guest_**: I'm not sure which was your first post because there were a few 'Guest' accounts here, but I'm glad that you could really get into the excitement of the last chapter. This one was fun to write too - Audrey isn't going to get a lot of breaks now that the main storyline is under way; I just hope that it won't be all serious (no pun intended). Anyway, this new chapter had a bit of excitement so I hope it did the trick - thanks for reviewing (again)!**

_applecandykiss_**: Not going to deny, you saying that I have started a fandom actually blew my mind. I mean, I know it's not actually a fandom - but it was overwhelming and flattering to hear that you like it so much. It was emotional to write too, so I'm glad that the Slytherins read as I meant them to. It was great having Daphne and Theo recognize her, even if Draco was too preoccupied to give Fleur a second glance. Hopefully, if Audrey reaches an Animagus stage, people will be happy with what animal I've thought for her. I had the animal in mind since the fifth book and it hasn't changed and I'm glad a few people seem to have guessed it ;) Thank you so much for the review!**

_PrincessAriel9_**: Thank you so much! I wish I could write it faster for you, but man by the time I finish these chapters my fingers feel like they're going to fall off, haha! I'm glad that you've been enjoying this story and you get so excited over it - I promise for more twists and turns, some even like the twist of Daphne and Theodore recognizing Audrey through her disguise, and hope that you enjoy them. Thank you again.**

_cup'o'tea_**: Thank you, I hope this chapter kept you happy :)**

_StormSky_**: It's been a lot of fun writing the Slytherin's side of things and how everything Harry sees from them has a reason or everything he did to them had some sort of consequence. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story and I'm sorry there isn't enough detail for you - but there's only so much I can put into a chapter, haha. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this newest chapter.**

_HalloweenSpell_**: Thank you for taking the time to review all these earlier chapters. I don't know if you'll even notice this review response by the time you get here, but I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate you reading the story and taking the time to review!**

_TheHallow_**: I know what you mean: a fight would have been nice but the consequences would have been severe and I just couldn't bring myself to have that happen on the Platform. Knowing the war that will inevitably happen, it's hard deciding what will be a serious fight and what won't be - I'm still arguing with myself over future chapters to come. As for the Slytherins, it was great to see them - even better to write them, I missed their sass! Tracey is one of my favourite characters to write and it was really hard having her so abused, but really important to show the new standard of living. I'm glad you are reading/read through the preludes, I hope you liked them and thank you again for enjoying this and reviewing!**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: Aw, thank you! I loved getting to finally write the Animagus scene - it was actually really easy to express and it just flowed through my fingertips, so I'm glad that it was so well received. You have some really good theories, not that I can say if they are right or wrong. A few people have guessed she might end up being a snake, but sadly you're going to have to wait and see if you're right - hopefully it won't be too long. No, Audrey still can't produce a Patronus; she's always struggled when it comes to that kind of magic, so it wasn't really likely she'd get it right off the hop - particularly when her wand is so temperamental.  
>As you can tell, Audrey will be forcing some more visions now that she's seen they've decided to be useful. For now the question is: what memory was important enough to be left in her will?<br>Fred and George, as always, are a joy to write. Fred is definitely showing a bit of a darker side when it comes to his jealousy, but it's hard not to have those boys crack jokes even at the lowest of times. A lot of people are saying it exactly as you are: Fred would be great for her if he was a Slytherin, but he will never truly understand her because he isn't. Speaking of the wonderful Slytherins, I'm glad that you liked raeding about them; I was excited to finally get to write them in again - even if it was brief and slightly vague. Maybe it wasn't vague enough, however, because everyone is raging over Astoria's little hand groping - between she and Montague I'm pretty sure there was enough hatred in this chapter for Audrey to have accidentally broken all the windows on the train, haha!  
>Oh, I'm actually in my early twenties. I don't feel that way a lot of the time though, so it only counts in years. Usually I'd consider myself either too mature (lets say thirty) or so immature that I should be finger-painting...there isn't usually an in between :)<br>Thank you so much for the wonderful, detailed review! I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Ella710_**: Ha, it's okay, don't worry! Green Eyed Monster really IS a monster so it's hard to keep all the details in order - I don't blame you for getting things jumbled. I'm amazed I can retain the information that I can and I still have a guide so I don't expect anyone else to be able to remember it all if you don't know the reason it's all connected. As for not having reviewed in a long time, you know that I'd never make you do such a thing...but I won't deny I miss talking to you. You're always a good conversation and so detailed with your theories! You know how obsessed I am with hearing people's theories, after all.  
>You are not the only person to guess that she might be a snake and as you may have read in the AN there have been people to correctly guess - but you know I'm not nice enough to tell you if you're one of them. As for her wand (it's from an Augurey by the way, which is the Irish phoenix that is water-based, not fire-based), you're right - Ollivander did say that it was a loyal bird. Do you have new theories now that you know it's not a snake in her wand? I CAN tell you that her wand core/wand/animagus has nothing to do with her ability to see Thestrals. THERE. You got a semi-clue. Don't say I don't spoil you!  
>I'm glad that you're feeling some emotion from this all! Yes, Harry has been a douche but we did get to see a better side of him in APP. Ron is always a jerk to Audrey, but don't worry, she can hold her own there. Ginny and Audrey are wonderful together. I love them. As for Sirius? Yup, they are sticking together. I had a feeling you'd be happy with that.<br>I was just saying to someone else that it's great to see Daphne loved now. I remember when we all hated her - but I'm glad that she learned her lesson and brought herself back. I wish I could say the same for the person I based her on...but realistically, not all people are as cool as the Slytherins. Her sister, however, may have taken the place on acting like the girl I originally based Daphne off of...  
>Draco was there, so close but yet so far! I figured it wouldn't be realistic for him to notice she was there since normally he wouldn't give a crap about Fleur Delacour, so why would he closely observe her and notice the similarities to his ex-girlfriend? Besides, Montague was there to distract him - his targets were locked and loaded on the jerk.<br>Theodore noticed she was there too - I feel like it needs to be mentioned. Not only did he notice, he was happy. I don't really want to elaborate on it...mentioning it seems like enough for me, haha. I'm so glad that you're still enjoying this. I mean, I see you respond on twitter sometimes, but I'm a stereotypical girl: I like positive reinforcement, haha. I am enjoying this experience more than I ever thought, even with the sadness of knowing that with each word I write I am one step closer to the ending...but I'm ready for it. Hopefully you are too ;)**

_GrossEwww_**: I'm glad! It was a great chapter to write, just like this one was - the fun won't stop for Audrey any time soon. That's not a bad theory about her Animagus, but as you know I'm not going to ruin the surprise! I hope you liked this newest chapter and what it set up; thanks for reviewing.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: As much as I wanted Draco to realize that it was Audrey, I figured that he had no reason to really pay attention to Fleur Delacour - even when she was speaking to them and especially while he was preoccupied with Montague - so he wouldn't really think about what those little Audrey-isms being there would mean. As much as I can't wait for their first real reunion, I just can't force it...it'll be intense when it happens, I promise. That's not a bad theory, many people have guessed snake because she's a Slytherin and because of the vision...but you'll have to wait and see! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked the new chapter :)**

_mrsdansmith_**: Yeah, points to Daphne for friendship-acknowledgement! I'm glad you liked the last chpater, hopefully you enjoyed this one as well :)**

_Blackhooded001_**: Hm, good guesses...but it would spoil it if I told you whether you were right! I'm glad htat you're thinking about it. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this new chapter!**

**: Haha, I don't know if you'll see this when you catch up but I loved your reviews half way through the story! I'm glad that you're enjoying it so much - especially because it is so long - and that you have become so Pro-Audrey. She's definitely something all her own! I hope you still like the story after so many chapters, thank you for taking the time to review!**

_Mezzem313_**: Yes, Audrey's started to force her visions - which is a good thing, it's going to take her to some interesting places as time goes on. If Audrey becomes an Animagus, it will be an interesting concept - who knows if she'll be the kind of animal that can sneak around? Writing how the Slytherins were interacting was really enjoyable - I've missed writing about them so it was nice to get a little dose to get me through. It's definitely been fun getting to go into Audrey's Gryffindor relationships with Ginny, Fred, George, and Bill - don't get me wrong - but there's nothing like the original friend circle! Thank you for your review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

_SuperWhoLockedAvengers_**: Haha, yeah, she's definitely not the semblance for the Light side, is she? I hope you are still reading the story and enjoying it!**

_Queen of Silverveil_**: Of course, Piss off is a pretty general term :) I'm glad that you liked the Animagus training and hopefully you liked how she continued through with her visions, research and plotting during this chapter - she's even going to be a Radio Host...who knew? Thanks for reviewing!**

_Kate_**: I'm glad you like it! Audrey going on her own journey was really important because she worked so hard to separate herself from Harry and this is really her time to prove that she can put her money where her mouth is - hopefully you think she's succeeding! I chose Audrey because it means Noble Strength, so it's definitely not a bad name to share :)  
>It was nice writing the Slytherins last chapter - I hope to write some one-shots from their side of this battle soon. You're right, I definitely put some serious work into this story, but I'm so happy with how it's turning out and I'm proud of what it's become. I'm really glad that you've liked the story so far and I hope you continue to with this chapter and the ones to follow. Thanks so much for your review, it wasn't rambled at all, I loved it!<strong>

_emmamaysie_**: Aw that you, I'm glad you liked it! Hopefully this update was fast enough to keep you interested. Thanks for the review.**

_Geri_**: There wasn't as much of Sirius and the twins in this chapter, but it comes with the promise of them in the next! I'm glad that you liked how the Animagus scenes went - your theory isn't a bad one, but you have to know I'm not going to tell you yet. We will be hearing more about her wand soon, but the story is going to be fast paced and I have a lot to fit in...so you might find her distracted from those problems as she focuses on other forms of magic. I will be writing a one shot for Audrey Potter's Prelude soon and have a poll on my twitter page on which to write and a chapter on Theodore's POV is currently the top contender, so you might see the chapter sooner than you think... Thanks for the review!**

_DarkTendncies_**: Thank you! I hope it lived up to your expectations :)**

_Cactus Lover_**: Congratulations on finally making it here, I know that it's a really long piece so thank you for taking the time to read through it - especially after staying up until three o'clock in the morning! It's great that you've gotten so attached that you feel emotional over some of the chapters, it even helps that you love and hate the magnificent prat that is Draco Malfoy - you might just be best friend material for Audrey after all, haha! I promise that we'll be seeing more of that very prat that was mentioned, but they won't actually get to speak for a while. I'm sorry; trust me, I miss him too! I hope you liked this last chapter and thank you so much for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it.**

_Ilovecupcakesandcookies_**: Don't worry about not reviewing in the past few chapters, this newest review was nice and detailed! I loved getting to write the Slytherins in again - trust me, I miss them as much as you do. We will get to hear from them in one-shots and from some of Audrey's spying, but sadly you'll have to wait for some answers. Astoria is a fourth year now, but if she is with Draco...well, you'll have to wait and see. As for the danger, I figured that since the only really secure place that had anything to cancel Polyjuice potion was Gringotts that it wouldn't be likely they'd put it on the platform - it must be a powerful enchantment if it was only used there.  
>Yes, Montague has chosen <strong>_**his **_**side, though I don't think it was much of a stretch to imagine him as a Death Eater. I can't really picture the Slytherins joining the DA either, especially since it's such a private thing in the books (particularly in the Deathly Hallows).  
>In the books, during the ROR scene, we see that Crabbe has actually decided he's better than Draco as his father is higher up in Voldemort's inner circle; I figured that mentality would have started early, likely from the moment of Draco's failure.<br>I would say that Snape is a better teacher for Audrey, not only because he's literally a teacher, but because he will push her when she needs it and I'm not sure Sirius would. If Audrey were about to finally have a breakthrough but it would be painful or cause some sort of distress, I believe that Sirius would let up and tell her to try again later - Snape would not, if Audrey asked him not to. It is for that reason and Audrey's personality and learning style that I think she is better. Personally, I'd probably learn better from Sirius because he'd be willing to give me a break, haha.  
>You have some good theories, it's always great to hear what people are thinking about the story and this was greatly detailed. There aren't many people who have actually flipped over to like Fred as a ship, but my hope is that it's still believable - Draco isn't there to steal her attention, Fred has fancied her for just as long and that Wealsey twin does not seem like the type to wait, haha. But as you said: Draco understands Audrey. That paired with the fact that she loves him certainly counts for something. Thank you so much for the review, I hope you liked the new chapter!<strong>

_Alice Ladeux_**: Thank you for seizing the day and reviewing, I appreciate it! I couldn't tell that your first language wasn't English at any point during this review, don't worry. I understand what you mean when you say she has a lot of character - not only do I understand it, but I'm flattered by it! Please note that I have definitely imagined every horrific death for Montague possible...but I can't tell you if any of them will make the final cut. **

_Guest_**: Here you go, I hope you enjoyed it!**

_OSG loves to read_**: I could try to make a PDF of it. I know my friend is currently seeing if she can get her own story onto a website where people can download it as a PDF or EPUB so if she has any success I might ask her how to do it and load this all up.  
>I'm glad you liked the last chapter, it was a fun one to write since I got to introduce the Slytherins again. I loved getting to write the Animagus scene; we'll be seeing more of that within the next few chapters because Audrey's soon going to hunker-down to get her magic under control.<br>School is going to be a big change from what I'd been doing before, but I'm excited to start it - hopefully it won't interfere with updates too much, considering this next chapter will be an exciting one! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_Jaguar paw_**: Haha, animal noises during her Animagus training? How suiting! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much - hopefully this one brought out some of that same excitement. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: I wish I could have made Draco talk to her as well, but realistically Draco doesn't give a crap about Fleur Delacour - especially not with Montague ready to fight. As heartbreaking as the last chapter was I hope this one got your excitement back up. Thank you for your review.**

_RosemaryThief_**: I'm sorry! Here's your dose of story - did it help the withdrawal? **

_hafsaomar_**: Thank you so much! Don't worry that you haven't reviewed until now, this one was fantastic. It's great that you've fallen for this story and Audrey's character - I'm happy to hear it. You have some really interesting theories, you've clearly thought a lot about this...I'm sorry that I can't tell you whether or not you're right. We will be finding out about the wand, in particular, sooner than some of your other theories so hopefully you can hang on until then!  
>I won't kill any character (Sirius or otherwise) without having a definitive reason. As much as I agree that wars don't discriminate about death, I believe JKR got the initial shock value and that mine will either follow the same guidelines or be very focused on Audrey's personal journey with them. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the newest chapter!<strong>

_Guest_**: That's funny, **_**I**_** love it when people leave reviews, even if they're rude and nonsensical considering this story is not about me in the slightest. Thanks though :)**

_DeathAndLife2_**: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! It takes a lot of time to research how everything will fit together and flow, but hopefully the extra little wait for chapters show in the length and detail. I'm certainly proud of what Audrey's character has grown to be: she's become a completely separate being that I swear writes herself. Sometimes a chapter doesn't even turn out as I plan because she derails me so easily! Haha. Anyway, thank you so much for your review and I hope you continue to like the story, starting with this newest chapter :)**

_Melody_**: Thank you! Yes, I wouldn't just cut it out without a reason. Sadly, Audrey isn't ready to actually become an Animagus...but she'll figure something out: that's what she does. I'm glad you liked seeing the Slytherins again, I'm with you on that one, and that you liked seeing Daphne and Theodore recognize her. Thank you again and I hope you liked the new chapter!**

_JosephineIsaunicorn_**: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope you continued to for this chapter!**

_LadyBritish_**: It's great to hear you like the story and I'm glad that you've taken the time to think about all of these theories - I wish I could talk more about them, but I don't want to give it away! We are going to see Audrey pretending to be a lot of people over the duration of the Deathly Hallows, so it will be a lot of fun to see how she reacts to turning into other people and having to act like them. It's crazy to think how much people hated Audrey in the beginning and learned to love her once she had started learning her lessons, I'm glad to hear it! As for Vampire Diaries fanfictions, I haven't really been reading them lately - I'm more into a Once Upon a Time phase...but if I get a craving to read one I'll give your suggestions a shot. Thank you!**

_Loki_**: I love Snape too, so I understand the sentiment. I hope you're enjoying the story!**

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><p><strong>Well, that's all she wrote for today, folks! I hope that you liked this new chapter and are excited for everything it set up. Thank you so much for all your support - I really appreciate it! Now remember:<strong>

**PLEASE **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, sneak-peeks, quizzes and more!**


	89. By Any Other Name

**So I owe everyone a huge apology for the wait. School has been difficult and time consuming, but I promise that I'm trying to learn to organize my time better so I can get more writing done. The next chapter will not take as long, I promise. As for the chapter: I think you guys will like it, it's nearly 16,000 words without review responses so hopefully that makes up for the wait!**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Chapter 88 – By Any Other Name<p>

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><p>Though I doubted whether or not I had actually slept, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. I wasn't ready. Or to be more frank: I wasn't ready to face the day. After yet another night of such restless sleep that even my dreams didn't dare visit, I was not ready to face what I had to <em>do<em> today.

Today I was facing the Death Eaters.

Today I was breaking into Hogwarts.

And last night I hadn't been able to sleep – not necessarily surprising, but still upsettingly unfortunate. The expression 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' seemed too inappropriate to use, but it had a disturbing ring of truth to it this morning.

I refused to open my eyes. I refused to admit I was awake and that today had come.

"Is Audrey awake?"

"Not yet, I'm letting her sleep – she'll need her energy."

It was a wasted effort, though I appreciated the sentiment. I could hear Bill and Sirius mulling around in the kitchen, trying to busy themselves as they waited for the nightly watch to return. I took my time to wonder who had taken last night's shift as the Order spied over Hogsmeade. Usually Sirius and I were the ones to take the graveyard shift, watching through the streets and trying to find trends in the Death Eater's movements – but not last night. Not in preparation for today.

At one point, three days ago, we had watched while Dolohov stumbled out of the Three Broomsticks and had the sobering realization that Voldemort was calling on him by use of their handy, tacky little tattoos – the immediate reaction of Apparation all throughout the town was instantaneous.

That's the reaction when they think they've found Harry Potter, after all.

And that had been it – the defining moment in our week and a half of scouting out Hogsmeade, Hogwarts and Diagon Alley – it had been that moment when we realized my plan would _work._

Not without a lot of risk, of course. We were taking a risk being out in public, nevertheless expecting that the Death Eaters would be intelligent enough to come after us as we'd planned...and I wasn't necessarily sure of that. They had hired Montague – they clearly weren't working with any form of logic that we at the Order could follow.

So after we were decently confident about the first part of the plan, it had been time to get Ginny back on the mirror to detail every part of that side of the plan. It was a simple five-step mission:

Step one: I needed to get in.

Step two: I needed to get the sword.

Step three: I needed to watch the memory.

Step four: I needed to get out.

The fifth step, if at all possible, would be to destroy Snape's office for sake of my sanity – but that was really all dependent on time and how much attention I had drawn to myself with the earlier part of this plan. So maybe it wasn't a _simple _five-step plan, but I was hoping it would be a successful one.

There was an artistic kind of irony to all this planning. It was an irony that sat heavily in my jaw and made it ache as if I had eaten something too sweet. I mean, it was strange wasn't it, that I – Audrey Potter – was waltzing into danger like this. Here was Harry, keeping such a low profile after his Ministry break in and _because _he was _finally _listening to me and being subtle...so now I had to be conspicuous. _I _had to be the obvious and reckless one.

I didn't like his ways when he was doing it and I hated it even more when I was forced to take over.

How had he lived this way for so long?

"Any word from Lupin and Kingsley?"

"None, they should be here before eight," Sirius explained. "It will give us an hour before we have to act."

"This all seems so rushed," Bill whispered, as if he were worried I would wake to hear him. What he didn't know was just how much I agreed with him. "Why does she need to go in now?"

"Who knows why she needs Gryffindor's sword at all?" Sirius asked back. "We have to start trusting her. Every move she's making benefits Harry's efforts to defeat Voldemort, after all-"

"She's hardly even spoken to him though," Bill sighed. "How are we going to get those two back together to finish the job that only _they _really know about?"

"For all we know it's better they're apart," Sirius suggested. "Maybe it will make them appreciate what each of them have done to protect the other."

"Maybe," Bill didn't sound very convinced. Then again, I wasn't either.

I continued to lay on the couch, taking my time to fully wake and move. Sirius was right about one thing: I would need my energy today and I felt like I was running on a partial charge. I'd have to whip up a few pepper-up potions to clear my head; I wasn't sick, but it would give me an extra clarity that I clearly couldn't muster on my own.

When I finally took the time to stand from the couch, I moved to open up the window. The air that filtered through was cool and quick – at this rate winter would beat autumn to England considering how chilled everything was becoming. I turned to my limited clothing selection and put on comfortable, dark clothes. I needed to blend in when I was running, but I needed to be comfortable enough to run the long distances we'd mapped out. On top of that, if the plan worked and I was able to get to Hogwarts, this needed to be something that Ginny would pass off as wearing on a regular day. She was also wearing dark trousers and a black, long-sleeved top. Mine, of course, had more room than hers – but I'd fill into it quickly after taking the Polyjuice potion.

"You're awake," Bill sounded surprised as I entered the kitchen. He was sitting down at the table, drinking a cup of tea. Sirius turned away from the stove, which had a cup of tea waiting to the side of it as if he'd expected I would be up soon. He sat across from where I stood, handing over the beige cup of tea and indicating I should sit.

"Lupin brought some pepper-up potion," he informed. "I didn't know if you'd want me to put it in your tea or not."

"I'll drink it straight," I informed him, taking the cup in both my hands and feeling the heat assault the skin the ceramic touched. "No need to dilute it; the effects are better if you do it at once."

"Right," Sirius nodded, looking down at his own gray mug and spinning around the tea leaves. "Are you ready for today?"

"More than," my voice came out lower than he seemed to expect and he looked surprised, though I wasn't sure quite sure why. As nervous as I was to go on this little adventure while there were still so many variables that we couldn't properly predict, I was ready to finally do something to help out. And on top of that, not only would I be helping out – I would be making the Death Eaters lives a living hell...I'd been ready to do that for years. I couldn't help twisting the ring anxiously around my finger the more I considered it. I needed to see this memory and no Death Eater was going to get in my way to stop me.

"Sirius was just saying that Lupin and Kingsley were on watch over Hogsmeade last night," Bill explained. "The charms are all still in place, it'd be too risky to try removing them – they're going to know you're there the minute you Apparate in."

"Right," I muttered, twisting the ring on my finger nervously. This habit had started to take the place of biting my nails. "That should be fine – I just can't tell if it would be better to Apparate together or separately to give us a chance to run."

"Then we wouldn't be able to know if the other's alright."

"If you think that's going to be the hardest part of today you are completely delusional," I told him flatly, looking up at the clock and blinking to be sure that I was seeing it properly. It was nearly eight o'clock, we would have to be leaving soon. "Where are Fred and George?"

"I'm sure they'll be here," Bill encouraged, glancing up at the clock on the wooden bulkhead as well. He was nervous, even if he tried not to show it. The boys were late. This was not the best day for my best partners in crime to sleep in.

"Should we go over the plan again?"

"Wait for Fred and George," I insisted. "We'll go over it and then head out."

Both men nodded absently to themselves. After a long moment, Sirius took a deep breath.

"Are you sure that you want to do this _today_?" He asked. "We could wait a week, a month, we could keep casing the place-"

"We don't _have _a week," I grumbled, gripping my mug tightly. "I need that sword and _today_ the Death Eaters are on high alert – when they're this antsy, they're more prone to mistakes. Once they start to calm down, they'll be more organized and level-headed – that means we're more likely to get caught. We need to do it while they're still frantic over their near-sighting of Harry."

Sirius sighed, his voice coming out uncomfortably unsure. "You'd know best."

"Exactly. I'm not deciding this on impulse, I'm deciding this on strategy," I wished that I believed my own words a bit more. I knew that I was doing this for that very reason, I knew that I was doing it because I'd seen just how disorganized the Death Eaters were – but there were a lot of variables I couldn't calculate because I as moving so quickly and I didn't like how blind I felt. It was necessary, all this was about the sword and the memory – Dumbledore knew I'd have to go to great lengths to see it, he knew I was capable of making it happen...and that confidence is how _I_ knew I was capable. I was doubting myself because these people doubted the way I saw things: something that I had never had to face when I was around the Slytherins who thought as I did. No one was comfortable enough to speak, everyone was lost in their own thoughts – it was insane how much that had been happening. To be able to silence a Weasley was incredible. To be able to silence a house of Weasleys? I was clearly a bloody deity.

"They're so late," Bill muttered. "Should I Floo them?"

"No, we can't draw attention to the house and the fact we're calling them – if someone looks for them to question while they're still away the whole plan could be ruined."

Bill nodded and looked away from the fireplace, tapping at his mug anxiously. Taking a look I could see he hadn't had a sip from it – nor had either Sirius or I. We were feigning comfort just to keep our turmoil private – it was nearly like I was actually an adult in functioning society. Though I had to admit that it was questionable whether the wizarding world could currently be seen as a functioning society with everything that was happening.

There was hardly any warning before there was a loud _pop _and two people flew in through the front door, slamming it shut behind them. All three of us had jumped to our feet, wands at the ready. This reaction was so immediate now that even I felt like my wand might actually work if it had to.

The twins were here.

"Really?" I hissed, lowering my wand when I saw their dropped jaws and raised hands. It was almost like they didn't expect this treatment during a war. "Not only are you late but you just waltz into the house; are you trying to get yourselves killed? My wand could have shot at you instinctively."

"Wands don't act _instinctively_-"

"-_you _act instinctively-"

"-always so tense, Drea-"

"-really, Drea, you should know better-"

"-as if we'd ever leave you in your time of need-"

"-or in the wake of your destruction-"

"-yes, we'd never leave your side then-"

"-you'll keep all the fun for yourself, otherwise."

"Alright, enough of that," Sirius, amazingly, almost looked like he was ready to chuckle. "Identify yourselves for my own piece of mind."

"Fred Weasley," he bowed dramatically. "Co-founder and owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Audrey Potter's current admirer and the one who told her that she and Harry would never have to pay at the shop – lucky sods."

"I also agreed they shouldn't have to pay!" George defended. "Just because you fancy her does not mean you can undermine _our _relationship, you know. We're devastatingly in love. She could have my children and they could conquer the world-"

"George," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Right – George Weasley, his twin, co-founder and whatnot. Lost my ear thanks to smelly-ol'Snape and I don't think this thing can be replicated," he pointed to the hole in the side of his head. "Not even by Polyjuice. You lot just have to learn some trust."

"How about we try that after the war?" I offered, pocketing my wand.

"_You_ didn't trust anyone _before_ the war," Fred pointed out, giving me a pointed eyebrow raise for emphasis. "I doubt that will ever change."

"Probably not," I smirked, finally starting to feel a little bit more at ease. These boys definitely had a talent that few could replicate. "Now, care for an explanation on your tardiness today of all days?"

"Call it over-excitement," Fred bustled forward, throwing the sack on his back down onto the table. It didn't look like anything exciting, but I did notice that it was lumpy and light, spilling and moulding to the shape of the table – it likely had some sort of fabric in it.

"And being over-prepared," George agreed. "But look at how productive we can be!"

I was right. They opened the sack and the boys took out a few cloaks and some gaudy-looking gold jewellery. I made a face. "Are you trying to doll me up? I thought we were trying to show the world it's _actually _me?"

"This is not to make you look fancy," George argued. "These are our newest products – you're the test run."

I frowned. "Today? Really?"

"They're an elaboration on our Shield-line, thank you very much. These cloaks, here," Fred pulled one out of the clump of fabric and threw it into my hands. It was thick, a satiny material that slid beneath my fingers. "These are shield cloaks."

"With a special twist – put it on," George announced. I frowned, putting the cloak over my shoulders before George shook his head. "Clasp and hood too."

I rolled my eyes, following their instructions and clasping the cloak up. As soon as it was clasped, I immediately knew that it was no ordinary cloak. An odd shiver laced itself down my vertebrae, almost as if I were about to have a vision – but it was a slimier feeling, nearly like an egg sliding down my back. I knew, without any examination, what that meant.

"You put a Disillusionment charm on it?"

"It also repels simple hexes, jinxes and curses just like the original," Fred nodded proudly, touching the fabric of the cloak. "Worked all night on it – these are the four prototypes. Not as good as Harry's invisibility cloak, of course, but it should help out our cause today."

"The clasp is the special addition here, it's where the Disillusionment charm starts. So as soon as you clasp it up, it'll work, but when it's unclasped-" Fred moved and unclasped it for me. It was nearly immediately that you could see my clothes through the fabric again. "You can be seen. Keep it unclasped for your little presentation and then bam – fly off into the night, almost entirely invisible."

"Well done, boys," Sirius admired one of the cloaks that had been set on the table. "You're sure all four work?"

"Fred's taking the testiest one," George explained. "Clasp doesn't like to cooperate."

"Why don't I take that one?" I frowned. "Won't matter if they see me. I'm the one that's making the display – I _want _to be seen."

"Until you're sneaking into the castle," Fred rolled his eyes. "I'll take that cloak. We thought originally 'Harry' should, but Sirius probably should be well hidden too – wouldn't want him tugging too harshly on his leash, anyway."

"Oh, well done," Sirius said sarcastically. I smiled.

"Great work, boys. Completely worth you being late," I looked over at the clock. "Now to wait for Remus and Kingsley to find out if this will actually work."

"I think we would have heard bad news by now – that they're on time should hopefully mean that all is going well," Bill explained, pushing himself off of the countertop to walk closer to us. "Then again, you never know."

"Let's go over the plan before that point," Sirius offered. "Now that you two have finally gotten here."

"We will not apologize-"

"-brilliance takes time!" Fred insisted, turning his head away with an indignant scoff.

"So dramatic," I rolled my eyes, but Sirius was all about preparation and did not feel the need to play along. I was kind of glad, as much as I love the light-hearted bickering, it was time to get to work.

"Audrey has the Polyjuice potion," Sirius explained. "After we've turned into Harry, Ron and Hermione, we're going to Apparate right into Diagon Alley, where Audrey is going to get the attention of the Death Eaters-"

"Rather Ministry members," I corrected.

"Rather the whole alley," Fred corrected again.

"Right. After she gets their attention, we're going to make a scene about doing what?"

"About Harry getting 'hurt'," George answered. "Right before they Disapparate away. That's where 'Hermione' comes in to loudly announce where she thinks they're headed before we disappear too."

"Right," Fred finished. "We'll Disapparate near the Ministry so their alarms go off while you go to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Amelia Bones, Dad and Tonks are going to keep reports coming in on 'sightings' of the four of us within the building so that they don't suspect we've left."

"After that we'll meet up with you in twenty-three minutes."

"_Exactly _twenty-three minutes," I expressed pointedly, tapping Fred's watch with my wand. I was happy that they had at least paid attention during all our plotting, but I had a feeling that having it memorized and actually performing it would be different: Gryffindors liked improvisation. "And after that, we're going to meet up at the Shrieking Shack. When we meet up there, what happens?"

"I stay there," George nodded firmly.

"And I go with you and Sirius through the passageway and wait there to immobilize the whomping willow to let you back through." Fred nodded in the same way as his brother. At their responses I found myself mimicking the movement.

"Then I come with you to get you through the castle gates and wait there with you until Ginny comes to swap our places," Sirius finished, nodding his own head. It seemed to bring a finality to the plan, as if we were completing it just by knowing it. Part of me wished that was the case.

"She'll be lookout while I'm in the castle posing as her – I'll do my work there and be out before the Death Eaters realize we've even left the Ministry." I finished. I looked around the table at the boys and tried to access their thoughts through their expressions; everyone _seemed_ comfortable with the plan – with the exception, perhaps, of Bill – and that comforted me. I actually felt good with what we were planning, it had just enough chaos and just enough premeditation so we could pull it off. If we followed this plan, it could work.

"What happens if we can't meet, for some reason?"

"Then the plan changes," I told them simply, even though the thought of it caused a knot to form high in my intestinal track. "But no matter how we play this I need to get into that castle."

"We'll get you in-"

"-easy. Not even close to the hardest thing we've done-"

"-not that we've ever had to break into Hogwarts, of course-"

"-though we did break _out_-"

"-that was a great one, remember that, Fred?"

"Vividly," Fred was sure to throw me a very conspicuous wink that made my eyes roll. I remembered it well myself, particularly as he'd kissed me before they left. He'd kissed me in front of the entire school. He'd kissed me in front of my on-and-off-again boyfriend...who I had the potential of seeing again if I broke into the castle.

That might be a place where the plan had potential to fail. Would they be able to recognize me while I posed as Ginny Weasley – Daphne and Theodore had during my last school-related Death Eater encounter. Or worse, would I get away without acting drastically (and somewhat homicidally) if I saw Draco Malfoy? Or Snape? Or Astoria Greengrass? Or, let's just broaden this classification to _any_ Death Eaters who had invaded my school?

I'd have to.

As much as I didn't want to, I _had_ to behave.

"How are you going to disrupt the Death Eaters going about their day anyhow?" Bill asked from across the table, sitting down in his chair now that our more formal session of planning had finished. "Besides some big display of magic – which you're not too good with-" I glared at him darkly, "-what else is there for you to do?"

"Rally the masses, of course," I smiled widely, even Sirius was able to chuckle. "What else is there to do but inform the world of the uprising against Voldemort? A little advertising for the radio broadcast couldn't hurt much either. I enjoy multitasking."

"And if you're caught?"

"We won't be," I said simply. Bill raised an eyebrow, not believing me, which made my eyes roll. "I can't believe how much you don't believe in us. We are the four sneakiest people known to Hogwarts. The twins have broken out more times than can be counted, Sirius broke _in _while he was the most desired convict in Britain, and I've snuck around that castle in broad daylight snogging in the halls and was never caught once. Faith, please."

Everyone made a face. "You snogged Malfoy in the corridors?"

"Which ones?" Fred pointed out with a sneer. "I need to know where to avoid."

"That'll be difficult. We snogged in every single one," I crossed my arms dramatically.

While the Gryffindors were taking time to absorb this apparently upsetting piece of information – and it seemed they needed a lot of time to do just that – there was a familiar _pop _from outside before a knock came to the door. While Bill gave the twins a look to infer that _this _is how one should enter a home during a war, he moved to the door and could be heard questioning the visitors.

Not a minute later both Remus and Kingsley entered over the threshold. They were in their travelling cloaks and looking exhausted, even if their eyes told a different story – their eyes were intent and direct with information. They both made eye contact with Sirius and then myself – I felt like a ringleader when I nodded for them to give us their news.

"It's as clear as it will be," Remus was quick to get to the point. "Kingsley counted a dozen Death Eaters in the village. How many may be surrounding the castle, that we aren't sure."

"Your plan to sneak through is risky," Kingsley agreed. "It looks like all of the passageways have been blocked – there were four Death Eaters alone stationed near Honeydukes and the way into Hogwarts there."

"They could just like sweets," George offered.

"You can leave the Death Eaters to me," I told them darkly. Besides finding out exactly what memory Dumbledore deemed important enough to hide, this was the one part of the plan that I was most excited for – my opportunity for revenge. "If we can't stun them, I'll try out my Legilimency – stretch my muscles a bit."

"Audrey, your Legilimency is a favourable way, but it still isn't reliable," Remus told me nervously. We had tried working on it during our lessons so I knew he was right – it wasn't my most consistent kind of magic, but I was able to often relay messages and important memories. The best I'd done was be able to show Sirius a made-up vision of taking a stroll, but maybe if I was in the moment I would do better. Besides, I always had a plan B – not that anyone ever trusted that.

"I know the limitations," I told them. When it looked like no one else was going to argue, I moved to look at Sirius. "You heard – it's as good as it's going to get. We should get going."

Sirius turned to look at the clock on the bulkhead and everyone mimicked him nervously – it was half-past eight, the busiest time of a day in Diagon Alley. It was time to go.

Sirius moved over to the cabinet and pulled down three small containers that looked like they would hold sugar or other fine ingredients – I knew it was something very different. In each of those containers was a decent amount of hair from Ron, Hermione and my own brother that Sirius had gotten just over a week before. I moved to my rucksack, pulling out three of the vials of Polyjuice potion that I had brewed last spring. It bubbled up as soon as it was uncorked, as if reaching for the essence of whoever it would mutate.

"Bottoms up," I told them, handing Fred, George, and Sirius a vial each. "Try not to switch up your people, yeah?"

"Easy for you to say," Fred frowned. "You're not your own brother."

"I've already lived that, thanks," I raised an eyebrow to accuse him and he shrugged, accepting that I had it worse than he did. At least he didn't have to change genders.

"I'm a _girl_," George frowned at his brother pointedly, already knowing my argument. "You're lucky you won that draw..."

"Alright, first, there was no draw – I planned for you to be Hermione because I thought you'd be the most sensible. Secondly, as you aren't _actually _Ron and Hermione, I'd you really have no need to fight like them," I rolled my eyes. "Let's get a move on, shall we?"

The men in front of me took deep breaths, preparing themselves as they put in their hairs and waited as the potion sizzled and spit at them, changing colour and texture according to their hairs. Then each man chugged the potion back. The potion hissed one last time before it was lost to their digestive track and the all gagged as they finished. They couldn't complain too much, because I knew from experience how strange and uncomfortable the next part of the process was: this was where their muscles rippled and melted into a completely new form. George's terribly mutilated ear still was held by Hermione thanks to how powerful Snape's curse had been – it was my exact reason for making him into Hermione since her frizzy mane could cover the garish feature. By the end, I saw the three people who made me the most angry in front of me. I couldn't believe how affronted I immediately felt – apparently the bad blood between us still boiled more than I'd expected.

"Wonderful," I bit out, trying to keep the unwarranted bitterness under control. These were not actually Ron, Hermione, and Harry – I didn't actually need to feel so angry. "Let's get you into some right clothes and leave."

"Oi, Fred," Hermione – or rather, George – snickered. "I get to see Granger naked before Ronnie-kins does."

"I wish I could make myself cry," Ron – or rather, Fred – sighed dramatically. "That's how he'd react, isn't it?"

"We'll transfigure those," I said immediately, pulling at 'Hermione's' overlarge shirt. "Play nicely, George. You two also have to remember not to finish each other's sentences, Ron and Hermione don't think like that. Their minds are fogged by sexual tension."

"Ew," George sneered.

"That's awkward," Fred agreed, looking over to Hermione – his twin brother – and frowning. "Then again, it's much easier to pretend when you have a female reproductive system."

"Bugger off," George pouted, moving over to Sirius – who looked just like my brother – so that his clothes could be transfigured. I watched the situation from the sidelines, unable to interact with Ron, Hermione, and Harry even though it wasn't actually them. I felt like I was listening to them through water, their words muffled as I tried to rope in my emotions and reason – this was not the time to act childish.

After we took the time to make sure that everyone properly looked like the person they were impersonating, I was sure to give us all a once over before handing out the cloaks. While Fred made sure that he got the one with the tricky clasp, he was sure to button up George's and unbutton it – button it and unbutton it again and again – when George wasn't paying attention so he'd continue turning invisible and back again. Maybe the Weasley twins weren't the best choices to go on a subtle, covert mission around the Wizarding World...

Maybe they didn't know the meaning of covert.

That seemed likely.

After our clothes were on, Hermione's hair was hiding George's cursed hole in the head, and I was sure that my own Polyjuice and the Marauder's map were safe on my person, we waved goodbye to Kingsley and Remus while we moved to the very front step. On the front step and only on the front step, we were safe behind Shell Cottage's wards, but as soon as we left to perch, we would be visible to anyone looking in our direction. We took the time to put on our hoods, clasping up our cloaks and with a slimy sensation we disappeared into the background. I grabbed on to the hand beside mine – he announced he was Fred, and the one on the other side of me was Sirius. After we were sure we were all together and connected, someone – I'm not exactly sure who – pulled us through the narrow space that occupied Side-Along Apparition that took my breath away.

My feet landed heavily on a cobble-stone path. I took a moment to catch my breath and observe my surroundings – we were definitely in Diagon Alley.

"We're in front of the shop," Hermione's voice whispered. "Where's the best place to set up a distraction?"

"You tell us," Sirius – or Harry – whispered back. "Besides your shop, where sees the most traffic?"

There was a pause, I could pretty much hear the gears in the twins' mind turning.

"Gringotts," Ron and Hermione's voices sounded together.

"Then let's head there," Sirius decided.

"Should we take the cloaks off?" Fred asked. I shook my head.

"No, we'll take them off when we get there – it'll spur more attention." I explained.

"I can't believe that Diagon Alley isn't under a Caterwauling charm," Sirius thought aloud as we walked. There were a few people in the street, but this far back there weren't many so early-on. None of them seemed to hear our voices and even if they had, I wasn't sure how many of them would be bothered – lots of people used Disillusionment Charms to get around these days. "Particularly since we know Hogsmeade is."

"Too many people would set off too many false alarms," Hermione spoke. George was taking his role very seriously answering questions as he was. "We aren't the only ones who Apparate to and from the shop each day, can you imagine how many others must?"

"Good point," I breathed. We were approaching Gringotts now and the twins were right – there were a lot more people at this open mouth of the Alley. It made sense, of course. Last year Bill had told us all about how long the lines were to get your gold thanks to all of the added security – I had no doubts that this was the case for today.

"Is it time?"

"The time to do it is whenever we want it to be," I reminded them. "Will it get more busy after nine?"

"Probably not, other people have more respectable jobs to do than we do."

"I think this is quite respectable," Sirius argued quickly. "Mucking up the Death Eaters always is."

"Then here we go," I prompted. I took a deep breath, readying myself for the performance of my life. I could sense the nervous energy from around me as I took one last deep breath and prepared. "On three. One – two – three!"

I peeled off my hood, unclasping the cloak and feeling the cool air hit me as if my skin was wet. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but it let me realize the importance of what had just happened. For the first time in months: I wasn't hidden in a house, I wasn't hidden under someone else's skin, I was finally out in the open as Audrey Potter. It was a rush like no other, the feeling of knowing that people could finally see me, that people could finally understand the impact of all my planning and what little bravery I had to come out in the open at all.

For the first time in months, I was free.

And I was going to abuse this freedom to the same extent I was going to abuse all of these Death Eaters...

I immediately noticed that we hadn't drawn as much attention as I would have hoped from peeling off our cloaks – perhaps a lot of people were wearing enchanted cloaks to get from point A to point B thanks to everything that was happening nowadays. Luckily, I didn't need to do a lot of work to draw any attention to us – Fred, as Ron, let out a loud whistle that drew the attention of those closest and then we only need wait considering how quickly the whispers ripped through the crowd like water. People were antsy now, not liking things to disturb them or things to be too sudden and no one ever tried to get anyone else's attention anymore – we were immediately sticking out compared to everyone else.

They all stopped to stare, as if in shock, before many of them started screaming – I couldn't tell what they were saying or how they were reacting. Some of them had their fists raised, as if we were the enemy, others looked like they were reaching out to touch us like we were saints.

Merlin, no wonder Harry loved this kind of attention. I couldn't tell if I liked being hated or loved more.

"We have some announcements!" I screamed out, creating a small hush over the masses. "Most of them have to deal with you lot being complete Pansy's – and I'm not talking about Parkinsons."

"Audrey," as much as I knew Sirius was trying not to draw attention to himself, it seemed fitting that he – as Harry – was trying to tell me not to be so rude. People might just fall for this after all. I gave Sirius a glare; it was much easier to act like myself when I got to focus my annoyance on Sirius, who happened to look exactly like my recently estranged big brother.

"We get it, Voldemort has taken over the town, but-" everyone around me fidgeted and I couldn't help but stop mid-sentence at the collective wince. My eyes raked over the groups of them, all scared and shaking and terrified. "_Really_?"

"They're afraid of the name, Audrey," George, as Hermione, whispered. I narrowed my eyes.

"Is that it then? You think you need to be scared of _Voldemort_?" It didn't help that they all flinched again. I laughed bitterly, disgusted by the display. It was ridiculous that someone could have so much power that they started affecting things like words. "That's funny, considering Voldemort is afraid of _me_..."

"Stop speaking his name!" Someone in the middle of the crowd screamed. Others followed the lead, yelling their approval and their disapproval of us.

"Maybe you should be afraid too, then!" I screamed back. "You think that showing him you're afraid of his name is going to help your cause? If you want to stay alive, you have to _fight for it_!"

"She's right," Sirius said beside me. More people seemed excited to hear Harry speak than me, which I had planned for. Sirius was much more charming than Harry normally was, which was why I told him to dumb everything he said down – he hadn't been particularly impressed with the order, but he hadn't actually said he wouldn't do it either. Maybe he acknowledged just how inept my brother was in certain social situations. "We can't just continue to be afraid of Voldemort – we're giving him what he wants if we do that. If we are going to stop him, we have to work together, not be torn apart."

"And certainly not be torn apart by _fear_," I added. "Lord Voldemort is nothing more than a scary name behind a badly behaved temper."

"He's the most powerful wizard of all time!" Someone from the crowd shouted again.

"He's nothing more than a bully with his wand shoved up his arse!" Fred yelled back.

"He's just annoyed he can't smell your terror without his nose!" George agreed. I glared at him.

"Behave, _Hermione_..."

"How do you know?" A witch, who I didn't recognize, had walked to the front of the crowd. Her clothes were dirty, her hair ragged, but her eyes were bright and furious. "We should turn you lot in, you've been no help to us!"

"Not that you've _seen_," Sirius hissed back. "Defeating Voldemort's going to take a little time – sorry that we don't plan to knock on his front door."

"If you can't face him, why should we?" She demanded.

"We are facing him," I hissed back, putting my face right in hers. "Voldemort is nothing more than a cowardly snake who's too afraid to show his face here. He's too afraid to show his face _anywhere._ Have we done this? No. We've broken into your Ministry, we're not afraid to be seen – because we _are _powerful. Voldemort runs this world by fear – we're going to run it differently by making you take it back."

"He'll kill our families!"

"He's nothing more than a ghost story!" I screamed back. "You will never see him, you will never see his face, you will never see his wand – he doesn't think you're worthy of it. And you aren't. He doesn't actually care if you live or die, as long as you don't bother whatever plans he makes. He will send his Death Eaters, he will send his followers, he will send his monsters...but he will never face you because he is afraid of _us!_"

"He wants you to stay quiet, he wants you to be afraid...but he only ever hears about it." Sirius agreed. "You might remember the last time he decided to face a threat face on, he was wiped out for thirteen years."

"Just like you never hear about what he's done to you. He won't touch you, but do you know who will?" I narrowed my eyes. "Those very people he'll send in his place. Those Death Eaters, his followers, his monsters – do you know what they all have in common?"

"They're weak," Sirius sneered, his voice loud and strong. "They can't say no to him either. They have no idea what's going on just like you don't-"

There was a brief flash through the crowd of a red cloak – Lupin. Lupin was going through and spreading word about the password for the radio broadcast...good. That meant that the plan was underway, that the audience was not only starting to believe us, but agree with us.

"You know the difference between some fictional snake you've never seen and his followers?" I screamed out. "You can fight what you can see."

"They'll tell him!"

"We can't fight them!"

"Why not?" George screamed out. "They're not Voldemort, their names don't make you flinch. If you hear their names: Snape, Montague, Malfoy-"

My stomach rolled as each name rolled from Hermione's vocal cords.

"You fight back," Sirius insisted. "You can't cut the head off a snake, but you can certainly shed its skin!"

"Make them bleed, they're no more than we are!" Fred agreed.

I didn't like where this had headed – they were rallying, I could see it behind their eyes, but it felt wrong to insist that they should try to hurt all of the Death Eaters. I knew that some of those Death Eaters didn't want to be Death Eaters at all, so why should they have to be hurt in that extra way? I felt like I should argue them – but how could I take the swell out of the movement? These people finally looked as if they had some hope. These people they finally looked ready to take back our world, to fight against their oppressors...how could I tell them that in the midst of the merciless bodies of all those monsters, that there were also victims?

"We won't lie to you," Sirius promised. "We won't tell you lies – we're going to tell you everything you need to know on _Potterwatch. _You'll see us, hear us, be part of everything we do."

"You'll know all of our crazy little adventures. Some of you now know where to tune in. The password? Let's name the snake, shall we? Voldemort." I watched with narrowed eyes as the people around me continued to flinch. But nothing else was happening, there was no ball of fire, or killing curse being hurled through the audience – because Voldemort wasn't _here. _"_Voldemort. _You have get over your fear if you want to fight with us. We have no room for cowards."

"HEY!" There it was: the loud series of _pop_s – our fifteen minutes of fame were over. Still, I'd gotten enough across that I could say the first part of the plan had worked: people knew about Potterwatch, people knew that we were still fighting for them and that _they _had to fight back.

Part one was successful.

Now there was the newest problem to deal with: I could see the black cloaks filtering into the middle of the crowd like they were crows landing in the cornfield – their wands were pointed for each of us, telling us to lower our wands. The Death Eaters had arrived.

I smiled, trying to keep it from looking as sinister as it felt. I bent down as they instructed, slowly placing my wand on the ground and watching as Harry, Ron and Hermione followed suit. I turned my eyes over to my godfather, who was looking at me more smugly than I had ever seen _Harry_ in this kind of scenario – it appeared Sirius was nearly enjoying himself.

"Time to prove it's you," he informed me.

"If I must," I sighed sarcastically, placing my wand on the ground and taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes, focusing on the heat that was finally radiating in my palms – this was it. The magic that I had been repressing for the past how many weeks – my Magnuse could be used in its entirety again. No more accidentally smashing windows, no more cracking couch frames...now I could use my power for the destruction it was meant for.

I slammed my hands on the ground, shaking the small platform of the Gringotts steps and sending shudders through the cobblestones at the foot of the bank. People screamed, gripping each other and falling and dropping their purses, purchases...and wands.

I'd only done it back on the Astronomy Tower the spring before, but the effect was even more powerful now than it had been then. The effect was instantaneous: half of the Death Eaters' wands had fallen to the ground thanks to their surprise and the shake. I was, honestly, surprised by how strong the impact was of my own Magnuse – I hadn't expected the radius of my little earthquake to go quite that far...but I wasn't about to complain. My magic had been suppressed for so long and I was so excited and antsy that I had very little limit to the energy I could expel.

"Time to go!" Fred grabbed a hold of my arm, dragging me to my feet and beginning his sprint away from the horde of Death Eaters fumbling on the ground for their dropped wands. He dragged me until he had to put both of his hands on top of the stone side-rail of Gringotts so he could vault over it as if he were some Muggle Olympic performer. Even in the haste of everything that was happening I found time to roll my eyes as I watched my 'brother' do it too. I looked over at George – rather, Hermione – expectantly.

"Your body probably can't do that," I informed him.

"Still trying," he shrugged back, placing his hands on the railing as the boys had done – he quickly realized that Hermione's body was not a Quidditch body as he was used to and rather than jumping, George took to climbing over the railing. It wasn't really fair, we were much shorter than our counterparts, but I was sure to follow George's lead and pull myself over the thick railing and jump over the large drop on the other side.

I was grabbed by Sirius who led me through the crowded streets by pulling on my wrist, I was having a lot of trouble keeping up with these boys – and Hermione. Even Hermione's body was faster than mine was. Some people, amazingly, took as small of a stand against the Death Eaters that they could handle by showing their support and moving out of our way...even if they didn't give the Death Eaters the same luxury. It wasn't even a minute of running before I could hear the curses starting behind me...but hardly any seemed to fly over my head.

Were the people of the wizarding world finally rallying against Voldemort?

"GET THEM!"

"FIND THEM!"

"DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"

The excitement was short-lived. I needed to get to a good place where we could Apparate away – I needed get reach Sirius so we could Apparate after he was 'hurt' and George needed to catch up to Fred so that they could announce loudly to get to the Ministry. If they had enough time then George could take his Polyjuice potion and get he and Fred to meet us at the Shrieking Shack after they'd made their dramatic entrance and subtle exists.

A jet of acid green shot over my shoulder and I let out a cry to warn Sirius and Fred in front of me. They yelled back to let me know they were aware that the onslaught of curses had begun, but there wasn't really anything else they could do but keep running until we got a little bit of distance between ourselves and the Death Eaters so we could make our escapes. So instead of fighting we kept running, I could feel my lungs starting to seize up in protest of all the exertion. Then, terrifyingly I saw a bright red jet of light soar over my head and hit the tallest in the group of us.

Fred crumpled under the curse, bellowing out a loud curse as he toppled over himself and fell in the middle of the cobblestone. I cried out, running somehow faster to try and reach him. Hermione – or rather, George – was right behind me and it took Sirius a moment to double back towards the danger.

There was a large gash over Fred's eyebrow. Thanks to where he had been hit by the curse I doubt it was from magic and more from how it had made him fall, but it was ghastly. His arm was laying at a strange angle and he cried out when I rolled him over onto my lap to get a better look at it.

"GOT HIM! I GOT THE WEASLEY!"

"Guess we don't need to make Harry seem hurt," Sirius informed us, taking a quick hold of me. I grabbed hold of Fred and Sirius in turn, and it only took a split second of making sure we were all going to go to the same place before I started to concentrate on Hogsmeade. "Hold on!"

"We have to go to the Ministry," George, as Hermione, cried out.

"No, we don't have time," I said nervously, looking over to Fred with worry. There was more blood than I knew what to do with. I couldn't stop myself from counting each pint that poured from the wound as if I was taking count of how many minutes he had to live...

"Of course we do," Fred gritted his teeth and nodded, holding onto his head to block my view of the bleeding as if he could see the numbers and counting I was doing in my mind's eye. "Go!"

"Right," Sirius muttered, sounding as if he felt almost as upset with the idea as I was. I felt myself be pulled by a hook in my navel through a narrow tube – Disapparation was the most uncomfortable a person could naturally feel. It was only a second between being in one place and landing in another and before I could make myself look around me my eyes were immediately on Fred, who looked even worse after the trip than he had in the alleyway.

We had landed in the middle of the Ministry of Magic's Atrium. It was easy to identify yet it looked entirely different from when I had been here two years prior. The great Atrium was darker than I remembered, even if people bustled around like I hadn't before gotten to see. There had been a golden fountain in the middle of the hall that Harry, Dumbledore, Voldemort and I had helped destroy – in the past the fountain had cast golden, shimmering symbols over the entire area and featured the friendship between wizards and other creatures...now it was something more ruthlessly honest. The fountain had been replaced by an onyx statue of a witch and wizard sitting atop elegantly carved thrones. They looked down on the Ministry workers with familiar sneers and holding them up were all the creatures the previous statue had promised a friendship with. To prove what the statue represented, the black stone's inscription was cut deeply and permanently: MAGIC IS MIGHT.

Again, our appearance didn't seem to cause much of a stir. We hadn't clasped our cloaks so we were still completely visible, but thanks to the witches and wizards so often Flooing and Apparating into work here, we were lost in the crowd. We couldn't have that.

Still, I didn't know how much attention I wanted to draw to the group of us when beside me, Fred was still bleeding. I couldn't tell how much blood he had lost – head-wounds were so deceiving – but I knew that it was enough to make him dizzy and likely delirious.

"We need to get out fast," I muttered. "Make a scene so we can leave."

"Why not you?" George frowned.

"Go on, _Harry Potter_," I hissed to Sirius, who raised his eyebrows as if he had forgotten who he looked like. "It's you they're after."

"You're supposed to be making the scene and proving you're you," he argued back.

"I am not leaving this bloody ginger to his own defences," I rolled my eyes. "Now make a scene!"

"Fine, I'll do it. See? _Relashio!_" Fred groaned, his voice coming out lower than I'd ever heard Ron's voice sound. Without another word Fred raised his wand up to the ceiling of the Atrium and shot a shower of fiery red sparks high into the air.

Needless to say, it gathered attention quickly.

"Oh, well done," I bit out sarcastically. "So, bleeding out isn't enough for you? You have a death wish, too?"

"Now is not the time," Sirius said quickly. "Audrey, do something."

"Why_ me_?" I growled. "_You_ do something!"

"IT'S POTTER!"

"Great," I groaned, looking down at Fred and slowly starting to adjust his head so that I could move. He groaned at the jostling. "Now we both have to do something. Stay with him."

George listened to the order, going quickly to replace where I sat with Fred, trying to stop the bleeding. I could hear him trying to say some charms to try and help him – but by the way he continued to say them I'd have to guess they weren't exactly working.

The worry built like a sickness in my stomach.

"Grab the mudblood, grab the Weasley – he's hurt!"

"Really?" I asked with a sneer. "I thought we were the famous ones here? I'm insulted. _Crucio_!"

My wand did not want to agree with me and instead of causing the man some form of immeasurable pain, the spell that escaped my wand blew him away into the side wall on a ninety-degree angle. It did the job – hopefully it even told people that it really was me: faulty wand and all.

"_Stupefy!_"

"Now is not the time to use stunners," Sirius chirped as he cast some form of speechless spell over my shoulder.

"A stunner comes out as a bloody unforgivable anyway," I hissed back. "So what's the point of being picky?"

We didn't have a lot of time to argue considering the barrage of spells that were immediately trying to hit us. Sirius moved so that we were back to back and defending one another – it felt like an uneven trade, considering I was a lot worse with defensive magic than he was. Either way, he was still facing towards Fred and George, so at least they would have better cover.

The Ministry members that were attacking us didn't appear to show any mercy. The colours of the spells that were being thrown toward us were disturbing in their own right and more than once I was hit...but the cloak, which constantly covered my shoulders and torso, took most of the brunt.

My ingenious boys.

"Audrey, we have to go!" It was Hermione's voice that had screamed out, but it was low and affected in a way that I didn't understand. I turned to look over to Fred and George – Fred was completely out cold, now. Whether George had done that on purpose I wasn't sure, but I cried out as one spell whizzed past my face and grazed my cheekbone. I let out a hiss at the pain it caused and dropped my wand so that I could move and push against my cheek with the back of my hand. It stung worse than I was ready to admit and I was sure that it had left a nasty looking burn. After the shock of it had worn off, I bent down to pick my wand back up and was upset to see that I must have been hit with the Jelly Fingers curse, because my fingers would not pick it up.

"Fine," I hissed, watching the man walk closer to me. "I don't need it anyway!"

I took all of the built up worry for Fred that had twisted my stomach and weighed on my chest and used it to push the energy through my skin while I slammed my palms against the ground. This time was different than when I had done it on the Astronomy tower or in the alleyway, mainly because of the immediate pain it cased. I felt some of the bones in my fingers snap from the pressure and the awkward angle that they hit the ground while above us, some of the windows that lead to a false mural of a sky shattered, sending down shards of glass as if it were rain. I kicked my wand toward Sirius, who hardly took a second before taking a hold of it and grabbing my arm to lead me back to Fred.

George, who had already pulled up Fred's hood and clasped his tricky cloak together to Disillusion him moved to help me with my own when he saw that my fingers were broken and jellied. When his own cloak was on I heard him fumbling and the distinct noise of a cork being pulled out of a vial – he was taking the potion already. Good. He needed more time than we had so that he could change from himself and into someone else. After just one more moment of hearing the screams as the glass filtered down to the ground, Sirius dragged us through Side-Along Apparition one last time.

We were dumped into the middle of Hogsmeade's High Street, a screaming in our ears as we set of the Caterwauling charm. It hurt my ears and I found myself letting go of the boys so that I could cover them – it only hurt me more when I realized that my broken fingers were starting to swell.

"Come on, we have to go."

"Go, George, it's your turn," Sirius muttered from somewhere beside me. "We've got Fred."

George was instantly visible, as if that was the only order her needed. He had unclasped his cloak and from underneath was a familiar Ministry man – Kingsley Shacklebolt stood tall over us as he righted his cloak to hide some of the clothes that were poorly transfigured. George hadn't had quite enough time to make himself perfectly presentable after switching from Hermione to a middle-aged man. While others began running toward what I knew to be their designated points to watch over, George raised his hands earnestly at the man who came towards him.

"I am an unauthorized visitor?" He asked innocently. "Since when is Hogsmeade considered dangerous ground?"

"We heard you went into hiding," someone said with a sneer. He was one of the men who had come out of Honeydukes with his wand drawn. He was dirty and unshaven, when he showed off his teeth it was quite clear that they hadn't been brushed in quite some time. "Heard you didn't like the new Minister..."

"I was working for the Muggle prime minister until pulled off the task," it was only half a lie considering that it was really what Kingsley was doing. He had, however, gone into hiding and decided to help the Order after Thicknesse had been promoted to Minister for Magic. "I was asked to come and guard Hogwarts after all the commotion in Diagon Alley."

"What commotion?"

"You haven't heard?" He tried to look surprised. "The Potters were seen with their sidekicks, making a grand statement against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The entire place is in uproar – they fear that if the students hear, there will be an uprising. They're trying to hide within the departments of the Ministry at this moment."

"Why haven't we heard this?" Another man had just come out of the bar, pulling up his pants as if he had just gotten out of the loo. He stood right next to the other man, as if he hadn't missed a beat, and raised his wand to George in the same way that his friend was.

"I wouldn't know, everyone's in a frenzy." When the man didn't look convinced, George narrowed his eyes. "Then why don't you ask? Don't you have a direct line to your master?"

The Death Eater looked down to his forearm knowingly, frowning over to his companion.

"I told y' I felt it tingle!"

"I thought he was just upset," the other grumbled back.

"He'll be more upset if we don' show!"

"He'll be more upset if we go now when we're late..."

"Better late th'n never."

"You think the Dark Lord would see any difference?"

"It's better to be late than a deserter – who knows what ol'Mully would say to 'im? He hates us!"

"That's our cue," I muttered, knowing that the men were good and occupied with their own worries. Sirius and I tried to pull Fred with us...it was a hard haul. Not only was Fred heavy and I was still my regular size, but it was also disconcerting to feel his blood dripping onto my shoulder with each step I took. Sirius was sure to keep checking that his cloak was covering each part of him as we huffed and dragged him all the way to the Shrieking Shack. There was too much blood – I had no idea what to do with this kind of injury when I had no dittany or murtlap on me...

Sirius and I were losing time quickly thanks to having to heave Fred on our shoulders. By the time we fell onto the creaking boards of the Shrieking Shack, I felt sweaty and exhausted. There went all that energy I'd needed to save up for the next part of the plan.

"How is he?"

I was carefully as I removed Fred's cloak, only having the energy to be slightly surprised that he had turned back to himself. For a moment I worried that he was so ill and drained that the potion had worn out of his blood stream. However, Sirius beside me looked like his handsome self as well – the potion had run through its hour.

This had possibly been the longest hour of my life.

I bent over Fred, closely inspecting the cut on his head and wincing when I saw another trickle of blood pour out from my probing. "Think he'll hate me if I leave a scar?"

"I doubt it," Sirius muttered. I frowned at his tone, moving to place my head over the cut to try and sew it together to stop the bleeding. Sirius placed his hand atop my own before I was able to actually start focusing on the process. "Don't. We need to go back."

"We don't have time to go back for any remedies – this is the best we have," I told him, showing off my now bloodied hands. "Unless you have a spell that might work better?"

"I have a spell for your fingers," he told me pointedly. "And I'll perform it after we get Fred to a proper healer. The plan's ruined, we need to turn back."

"You're insane," I shook my head. "We'll never have this chance again – I'm not wasting it. I'll patch up Fred and George can take him to a healer, then-"

"And then, what?" Sirius asked. "Do this, just the two of us? We had a four person plan – to cut the players in half is suicide."

"Don't be so dramatic," I rolled my eyes, moving to inspect my ruined fingers. They were broken and swollen, turning a gross shade of purple as they lost circulation. Thanks to the jelly-fingers jinx I couldn't quite feel as much of the pain as I normally would have, the only good effect that the spell had given me after I'd been unable to hold my own wand. Still, I'd been surprised that my Magnuse had been able to push through as it had today. I was surprised that I had been able to do everything I had done today – I had used energy I didn't realize I'd had.

I had to say, I was impressed with myself. If all that had been any indication of what I was capable of, then I could make the next part of this plan work on my own.

"You know, for someone who hates Harry's impulsiveness, you're acting just like him." Sirius seethed. I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing immediately that he was trying to get me riled up so I would lose some of the reason that was holding me so closely to this idea. I wouldn't let him get in my head, I'd let that happen a few too many times and I'd given up a lot when it happened, it would be a waste to let him get in my head and convince me to turn back now. Fred being hurt like this would not be for nothing – I had a job to do, if not for any other reason than to prove to the Death Eaters that they were not infallible.

"No," I argued, my tone measured and forcibly calmed. "I'm acting intelligently. As much as I don't like taking these kinds of chances, we just played our cards. They'll be ready for another display like the one we just gave now that they've seen it; this is the only chance we have where they'll be as distracted and disorganized. Now is the time to act."

"What about Fred?" Sirius accused, gesturing to him roughly. "You're just going to let him bleed to death?"

"I was going to heal him until you stopped me," I said in the same laboured tone, though I could hear the venom seeping through my words at the mere thought. Me, let Fred die? It was a ridiculous notion, but that didn't stop it from bristling me. "We don't necessarily need a lookout...we can do it just the two of us as long as you stay to stop the Whomping Willow from attacking me while I come and go."

"And then what? How are you going to make it the rest of the way?" He shook his head, clenching his jaw against further insults. "No. I didn't like the plan to begin with but leaving you to get into the castle on your own is ludicrous."

"I've been in and out of that castle more times than I can count," I waved one of my swollen hands dismissively, his eyes caught their colour and only grew more wild.

"Not with Death Eaters watching every exit!"

"As if that would have stopped me then _or_ now," I shook my head. "Sirius, even if that's the case, I have this handy-dandy cloak, I have my Polyjuice potion – the worse that's going to happen is they catch _Ginny _sneaking back from Hogsmeade."

"And what about Ginny?" He was trying to make me feel guilty as if it would work. I could swear that he would bring up Thuban Nott next, if he kept on this kind of tirade. "If they catch _you _as Ginny, what happens to her?"

"As if I'd be so careless!" I frowned, I couldn't stop myself from scoffing at everything he said. If they _did _catch me as Ginny I would clearly make it so that she didn't get into any real trouble – I would sacrifice my identity for her, even if it meant piling on the guilt of causing another one of my friends to lose a parent... "You don't know why I need to do this: if you did, you wouldn't be second guessing this. Just know that everything Harry has been doing relies on this: today, right now. So if you approve of Harry running off, breaking into the Ministry, and risking his life then you should approve of what I'm about to do."

"Harry has two other people to help him."

"And I have you," I smirked. "Even if you aren't as clever as Hermione, you'll do."

"Your defensive magic still isn't up to snuff," Sirius shook his head. "I would be the worst Godfather in the world if I let you go through with this, Audrey. You can't properly defend yourself."

"Or the best Godfather in the world when I come back here with Gryffindor's sword and the knowledge of what Dumbledore wants us to do next. Besides, I won't _need _to defend myself; the Death Eaters aren't going to know that it's me. I'll have the map to know when they're coming..."

I could see that I was winning. I could see Sirius' will to argue crumbling as he started to consider all of the precautions that could still be taken, all of the practice I had in sneaking around and lying. I could make this work and he knew it. He knew that this had to be done.

Sirius shook his head, heaving a great sigh. "Fine. We wait for George and then we make him leave with Fred. Then you and I are going to go about this, _carefully_."

"As if I'd do anything else," I rolled my eyes. "It amazes me that you somehow doubt my sense of self-preservation. If I think that I'm about to get hurt I would hack, slash, curse, jinx, run and hide before I let it actually happen."

Sirius rolled his eyes and didn't say another word before grabbing my hands and trying to mend my fingers. Though the breaks seemed to be healed, they still felt sprained – but I was in no place to complain, considering how still and quiet Fred and grown. Sirius and I kept our wits about us and our thoughts to myself about his well-being – we couldn't just take him to a healer and come back considering the Caterwauling charm would announce us as soon as we came back. We'd have to wait for George.

Luckily, he didn't take much longer. With a light _pop_ George, dressed as Kingsley Shacklebolt, was in the middle of the room with us, looking proud. When he saw took the time to notice our glaring he turned sheepish – an expression I'd never seen on Kingsley – and shrugged innocently.

"What? You said _exactly_ twenty-three minutes."

"Now is not the time for technicalities," I told him. "What did the Death Eaters do?"

"Their Dark Marks burned and they ran," he explained with another, less dramatic shrug. "Right during their argument – they were worried they were late, so hopefully that means that Snape's already gotten the call and headed out."

"I'll be checking the map now that you're here and my fingers are actually able to function again," I informed him, digging into the Disillusionment cloak to find the thick pieces of parchment. "That means you're free to go."

"What? That's not part of the plan," he looked insulted.

"Well we can't really continue with the plan when a quarter of it is terribly injured," I gestured over to his brother, whose head was still in my lap. "He's been out cold this entire time."

"Oh, no, I did that," he shrugged it off as he went to go look at him. "Slows the bleeding, you know? Helps keep him from panicking or making an idiot of himself – he'd never forgive me if he looked ridiculous while you were around, Drea."

"How sweet," I mumbled lowly. "Listen – your part of the plan is done. Take Fred to a healer and get him looked at."

"He's fine, if I wake him up and he finds out I let you-"

"Fred goes to a healer," I demanded, looking at him darkly. "No arguments. He's going to live to see my victory and we'll all have Firewhiskey on him. Got it?"

George sighed dramatically, making Kingsley look amusingly like a disobedient teenager. "Fine."

"You go, take him someplace safe – a healer we trust, alright? I'd take him straight into Hogwarts if he weren't quite so heavy. Sirius and I have the rest of this handled."

"You're sure?"

"Stop questioning me," I snapped. "I have the Marauder's Map on me, I'll be fine. You're great, you're my favourites, thank you for helping, now leave."

George gave me one more look of concern before he frowned and wrapped Fred's arm around his shoulder, hauling him to his feet. He was still unconscious and I winced at the way his head rolled along his shoulders while George jostled him. He needed to get to a healer: this was the best idea. Fred needed to be helped and I was not going to back out now.

With one last look of encouragement, George spun on his heel and with a small _pop_ both of the Weasley twins were gone.

Before Sirius had a chance to change his mind, I spread out the map on the floor between us. I pulled every piece apart so the castle was laid out as plainly and obviously as possible. I could see that Ginny was waiting outside, near the front doors. She didn't seem to be moving, but she was alone. Inside, students were mainly gathered in the Great Hall – it must have been close to lunch and people were eating. In front of the title that read "Headmaster's Office" were Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood...but no Severus Snape.

Severus Snape was not on the map at all.

"It's clear," I told Sirius, folding up the map after we had both thoroughly examined it.

"Are you ready?" Sirius asked nervously. "I'll be pacing the passageway, just to make sure that our way out is clear. You can't Disapparate until you're in this shack because of the wards."

"I know," I told him, taking a deep breath. His anxious energy was starting to make me nervous.

"You can't be seen, the Death Eaters are after you and all this work will have been for nothing," he reminded me.

"I know," I repeated.

"And once you find Ginny, you can't hesitate before you take that Polyjuice potion and-"

"I _know_," I groaned out, slapping the folded parchment against my leg and glaring at him. "Can you stop being such a prat and let me go about this business? Time is of the essence, you know."

Sirius gave a thin smile, running a hand through my already messy hair.

"You are so like your father," he told me. "He loved this kind of adventure too."

"I don't love this adventure," I bit out, flattening the hair he had ruffled without any success. "I just know it's necessary and I want to get it over with."

"Whatever you say," he smiled. "I think you liked being the center of attention today. You liked riling up that crowd. They were listening to you."

"Yeah, for once," I muttered, ignoring the possibility of continuing the conversation further as I moved toward the nearest passageway that separated Hogwarts from Hogsmeade. Sirius followed me soundlessly and when I looked back he had already become the great black dog that I had grown so fond of. He was much less mouthy this way. Besides that, I knew he wanted to reap the benefits of all of his sensitive senses in this form. I didn't blame him, if I had already mastered Animagi-Magic, this would all have been one hell of a lot simpler.

We followed the overgrown tunnel underneath the school grounds – it was shorter than I remembered it being. I remembered it feeling a lot longer the few times I'd used it. Maybe I was walking faster because I was anxious to get this started with, or maybe I was so nervous that I was speeding up time in my mind to get it over with. Had it really been just four years ago that Sirius had dragged Ron through here and we had run after him? Not only had it seemed longer, it had seemed so much bigger then – I hadn't realized I'd grown as much as I had.

It wasn't long before I could hear the limbs of the Whomping Willow as they swayed ominously in the breeze. It was lunch, it had to be considering all the students had been gathered in the Great Hall. Hopefully that meant that it was the most ideal time to sneak into Snape's office – so long as he stayed away and with Voldemort to check the scene like his other Death Eaters were.

At the mouth of the tree, there was a moment where I could see Hogwarts. It was an eye-sore in the greatest way. It looked no different than how I remembered, everything looked the same and yet it felt so different to look at it from afar – I was no longer part of that world and I felt like I would never fit in there again. What would my seventh year have been like? If all of this hadn't have happened, would Theodore and I have mended our friendship? Would Daphne and Theodore be able to finally admit their feelings and date, or Blaise and Tracey, or would Lillian find someone? Would Draco have become a Prefect over Theodore, or would he be bitter and jealous like my brother had been?

I wish those questions were the ones I needed answered, not the questions over whether or not Gryffindor's sword would destroy Horcruxes, or if this memory would tell me where Slytherin's Skean was, or how to kill Voldemort, or where the other Horcruxes might be. I wish that life could go back to being about snogging in corridors and being angry because Daphne had called me a slag, or because I had plagiarized my homework and gotten caught.

I had taken it all for granted.

"We're going to take it back, Sirius," I told him, gazing up and letting myself soak up the memories of the only place I'd ever called home and would never fit into again. "I swear it."

Sirius let out a whine behind me and broke the reverie, reminded me that I had to get going. Ginny would be waiting for me and the longer she waited, the more likely she would get caught. I clasped up my cloak and revelled in the sensation of an egg being broken over my head as I raised the hood. I was Disillusioned now, being undetectable would be a breeze. Sneaking out between the raised roots of the Willow, I quickly pushed my sore fingers against the knot in the tree which made the tree grow still. The branches groaned to a halt, shaking as if they were trying to move against the enchantment.

Sirius gave one last whimper to wish me luck before I made a run for it. I ran as quickly as I could up the hill and toward the large front doors. Everywhere else was blocked, Ginny had told me, everywhere else had traps. I could see some of them now – thin veils of magic that fell over doors to identify anyone who passed through them.

Only one way in and one way out.

I didn't like that.

I ran up to the oak front doors, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw Ginny actually sitting outside on the steps to the castle as if nothing could bother her. I took a moment to catch my breath – I didn't want to alert anyone to me being there simply because I was so out of shape – before I put my hands on my hips.

Ginny was literally just _sitting there, waiting._

"Bloody Hell, Weasley," I whispered. She hardly jumped, though she immediately looked around to try and find me. "Could you have been a bit more obvious?"

"Bill told me about the cloaks," she whispered back. "I didn't think it'd be a bad thing if I came out and _you _came back in. It'd be more suspicious if I just walked in after someone saw me inside, wouldn't it?"

"Well, you'll be staying out here all right – you're lookout," I told her. She nodded, remembering this from the plan. "Now prove you're you."

"I'm Ginevra Molly Weasley, sixth year, ex-girlfriend to Harry Potter and youngest of the Weasleys. I'm the first girl born in five generations and just last week you stood up for me and told my Mum that I'm stronger and more talented than I look."

"Well done," I told her, feeling a little more secure. "I still think you are."

"That's why you're smarter than your brother," she told me. She seemed really unnerved by the fact that she couldn't see me and I felt comforted that the charm was holding so well – even if the cloak had handled it's fair share of jinxes back at the Ministry. The news would hopefully please Fred whenever he was in decent condition again. "Where's Snuffles?"

"It's been a hard day. Fred got hurt, we made George take him back," I frowned when I saw Ginny's expression suddenly change. It was the first time she looked nervous. "He'll be fine."

"Right," Ginny cleared her throat when she realized that she sounded even less confident than I did. "He's back at the tree then?"

"Doesn't matter where he is, you need to stay here," I told her. "Now, hair."

I pushed my hand out of the cloak and Ginny was able to see the limb. Her eyebrows raised, it seemed that she had not expected that I was as close to her as I was.

"Audrey, what happened to your hands?" Ah, another reason for concern. She was right for it, my fingers had lost their purple sheen but now looked a horrible, sunburnt red – apparently they hadn't been healed as well as I'd hoped.

"One of those Ministry lards got in a good hit. I'm fine," I told her. "Hair."

Ginny moved to pull a single hair from the top of her head and handed it over to me. From around my neck I pulled at the chain which held a lone vial of Polyjuice Potion and plopped the hair in. The concoction seethed and spit at me before it settled into a gentle periwinkle. After it calmed I took the potion greedily, cringing when the potion tasted like metal and rotten lemon.

I didn't have a lot of time to be disgusted by the taste – because it always tasted just as awful, but entirely different – while I felt myself melt into Ginny's body. I could feel myself growing and melting and rippling all at the same time – a familiar sensation that I hated knowing I was growing used to.

I hated Polyjuice.

I hated this sensation.

I hated being someone else.

But I loved wreaking havoc.

It was a necessary sacrifice.

"Brilliant. Once you take off this clasp, you're visible again. The hood up keeps you completely Disillusioned. I'm taking the Marauder's Map with me, stay here and stay invisible. If you see the Death Eaters come back – send us some kind of signal," I took off the cloak and quickly put it around her shoulders, clasping it up for her and moving around so that I could get used to how her muscles moved. She was more limber than I was; a real Quidditch player with a more lithe body and stronger frame. I would be able to escape much faster as Ginny than I would have been able to do in my own skin.

"Neville and Luna have been trying to figure out the password into Snape's office, they'll be there to meet you." I knew that I had seen them on the map, but to know that they were in on the plan and sent to _assist _me wasn't that comforting. Though I didn't actually know how I felt working with two of my least favourite morons, but I wasn't about to discredit the work they'd done when it was so dangerous.

"Brilliant," I repeated. "Stay here, stay safe."

"Sure, Mum," I could practically feel her eyes roll. "Go and be quick about it!"

She was right, I only had an hour and who knew how long it'd take to convince the stone gargoyle to let us enter the headmaster's office or how long I'd have my head stuck in that Pensieve to work out whatever it was Dumbledore had left for me. I moved past the real Ginny Weasley to jog through the corridors. It was impossible not to notice how easily it was to move so quickly – Ginny was quite athletic in comparison to me and I knew I would get to the third floor entrance to the headmaster's office quickly if I could maintain this speed.

The moving staircases, the fastest way to get up to the third floor, seemed to know that I was an intruder. Never before had they moved so much or altered their pathways, but today it was as if they were purposely trying to deter me from my goal. It couldn't have possibly been because I was so antsy, or that I was waiting at the top step as they moved, jumping onto the next platform as soon as it was close enough that I wouldn't fall to certain death.

It didn't take long to make it to gargoyle corridor; Dumbledore's old corridor had not changed during the new reign. Snape had not altered the portraits that lined the walls which meant that I could watch them all gossip – they knew that Longbottom, Lovegood and I should not be here and that we were sneaking around. Not good.

"Ginny..." Neville greeted cautiously as I turned the corner to see both the frumpy Gryffindor and the young, flighty Ravenclaw at the base of the headmaster's staircase.

"Oh, that's not our Gryffindor friend," Luna smiled slightly. "Ginny would have been here much faster."

"For all you know, I could have gotten held up."

"No, I blame the wrackspurts," Luna said vaguely before she continued on as if she hadn't said anything random at all. "We haven't been able to figure out the password to his office. I wish that the gargoyle would just give us a riddle instead."

I looked at the stone gargoyle who scoffed openly at the idea. I didn't blame him – it was ridiculous to think that Ravenclaws had multiple answers to get into their own common rooms. I frowned, sighing openly to the gargoyle.

"Today is not the day for stubbornness, we are on important business. So can't you just-"

"_Password_," he repeated, likely for the fortieth time since Longbottom and Lovegood had gotten there.

"We've tried every potion ingredient we can think of, every dark object, and every spell that Harry had in that book Snape defaced," Longbottom insisted. "Nothing's worked so far."

"There's no limit to guesses, right?"

"Sadly not," the gargoyle huffed.

"Perfect," I looked around the corridor, looking for some kind of inspiration. I doubt that Snape would do something as transparent as a potion ingredient or a dark object; it's the first thing that people would associate with him and so the last thing he would choose. He wouldn't think of the exact opposite of what everyone would think either, considering that's the very next thing anyone would attempt. No, he would make his password be something in that awkward middle ground between something obvious like "Slytherin" and its opposite of "Gryffindor".

"Tom Riddle? Dark Mark? Prince? Eileen Prince? Halfblood? Halfblood Prince?" The gargoyle didn't even flinch. Of course not, that was far too obvious as an opposite, I needed to try something that was a little more abstract.

Well, there was one in between that he might have picked.

I closed my eyes, afraid to know if I was right.

"Albus Dumbledore?"

The gargoyle blinked, looking nearly intrigued by my guess, but did not move.

It had to be something to do with Snape's rise to power, with that night, because it was exactly what he would base his career on. Snape was the kind of person who would make fun of Quirrell by talking about the horrors of Romania, or Lockhart's inability to cast a decent spell, or trying to give the students hints that Remus was a werewolf, or about Mad-Eye Moody's insanity and Umbridge's unforgiving lack of-

A sickening, guilty feeling moved over me like a wave of nausea.

"Forgive me?"

The gargoyle tilted his head to the side before moving to allow us access to the staircase.

Neville Longbottom gaped. "How did you guess that?"

"A little voice in the back of my mind told me," I muttered darkly, trying to force back any distraction that might accompany the memory. We moved quickly so that we could get out of the corridor in case we were seen. I jumped the steps two at a time to get to the top of the stone staircase and placed my ear against the door. It was silent. I knocked loudly, once...but nothing stirred.

Opening the door as cautiously as possible, I peeked through the smallest crack I could make.

Snape was gone.

Opening the door a little wider, I moved to inspect the office around me and was shocked by what I found – nothing had changed. _Nothing. _Besides the empty perch where Fawkes once burned and the newest portrait whose occupant was missing, the office was the exact same. Each trinket, each globe, each book, and the pristine wooden desk with the plush red chair...it was as if it hadn't been touched.

Maybe they were wrong, maybe Snape wasn't using this office at all.

But on the side of the desk, it didn't matter – there was the Pensieve, glowing silver and vibrant against the bright candles still lit and melting beside it. And over on the case behind that same desk I remembered was the same pristine pedestal that held the Sword of Gryffindor.

Whether or not Snape actually used this office didn't matter – it still had all its old resources.

Well, not all. I took a moment to lament the fact that Albus Dumbledore was missing from his portrait – now would be the best time to talk to him, when he was in his right mind and not really able to avoid my questions, but I didn't have time to wait around for him. I'd left my cloak with Ginny and the Marauder's Map may have shown we were alone for now, but who knew how long it would last.

I looked to the two dolts that Ginny had assigned to follow me. They weren't my favourite choices in terms of intelligence, but I had to give them points for their loyalty. I didn't know which of them, however, I trusted enough to place my safety in their hands.

As if to answer me, there was a loud sound that came from the courtyard. We waited a moment, waiting for Death Eaters to barge in or for the floor to crumble beneath our feet – but nothing happened. After a moment of hesitation I handed Longbottom the Map.

"You stand watch. Make sure no one comes into this room – got it?"

"Right," he moved to exit through the oak door and stand guard outside.

"Luna," it was strange to use her name. She'd always be little Looney to me. "Will you interrogate the portraits and see where Dumbledore ran off to? If I have time, I have some questions for him."

"I don't think they like being interrogated," she said simply. "May I converse with them instead?"

I tried hard not to roll my eyes. It ended in a slow, annoyed blink. "Whatever gets results."

She smiled, pleased with the answer, as she moved over to a portrait closer to her eye-level.

My own eyes swivelled over to the case where Gryffindor's sword hung like a medal of honour. I moved towards it, taking in the way the candle light glinted off the silver and the rubies – it was a beautiful sword. Goblin made, I knew that from my readings. I took a deep breath before I took it off the rack as if it were a baby, as if it would explode if I handled it too roughly. It felt warm to the touch, almost hot, and nearly as if it were vibrating. It felt alive beneath my fingertips and I was quick to stab it, deeply, into the wood of Snape's plush office chair as if I were placing Excalibur back in the rock.

"Voldemort's undoing," I breathed to myself, looking at the ruby stones decorating the silver sword. The sign of Gryffindor, attacking the last heir of Slytherin. "How bloody ironic that will be."

I tugged it out of the chair, rejoicing in the feeling of the wood splintering behind the force. I loved the feeling that I was causing destruction. To continue it, I dragged the sword behind me and listened to it scratch and tear at the hardwood while it followed all the way over to the Pensieve on the side table.

I grasped desperately at the chain around my neck, tugging harshly and feeling the metal links break against my skin – I wouldn't need the chain anymore. I wouldn't really need the ring once I had the memory within it, I didn't want to carry around Voldemort's Horcrux with me forever – then again, it may be a good reminder of what I was up against. If it could blacken Albus Dumbledore's hand, these Horcruxes would not be a simple enemy to conquer.

I took out my light, ash-wooded wand and placed it to the crack in the ring that made the ring swim in silver. After begging the wand to behave, I slowly pulled the wand away from Gaunt's ring. To my surprise, a stringy vapour followed the tip of my wand like a drop of elegant, silver water.

I tapped the wand into the Pensieve like I would have done something hanging off of my silver dagger for a potion and watched as the silver swirled within the basin. This was it, this was the moment.

"Ginny, I didn't-"

"I don't know why, Miss Weasley, but I expected more from you. Then again, using such dimwitted allies for this inadequately planned ransacking is your classic signature..." The familiarity of the low, melodic, and bitter tone chilled by bones. "I also hope you have some elaborate escape planned, otherwise I've just foiled a rather poor attempt of graffiti."

I turned around, away from what I had taken so much time to accomplish so that I could face my greatest failure: Severus Snape had returned.

* * *

><p><strong>A few of you guessed it, so good for you – Audrey and Severus are together again! What do you think will happen? I hope that you liked this chapter, I'd love to hear what you thought of it. The fact it was so long was to make up for the wait. Now, to the wonderful reviewers of last chapter:<strong>

_siriusloverofpadfoot_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it! To further explain the idea of Audrey being used as "leverage" you should go back to chapter 56 "Battling Blame", that's where it's explained and it would be easier than writing it here in the response. I hope you liked this newest chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: It's not the first time I've heard that I'm insane, I assure you, haha. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one was as exciting – particularly because of the ending. Thank you for reviewing!**

_DeathAndLife2_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it and that you can relate to Audrey so well :) Hopefully this new chapter had some things you enjoyed as much as the last!**

_GrossEwww_**: That's the perfect way to put it: things are heating up. Audrey had to go to Hogwarts because of the memory and the sword; I've been waiting for this chapter for a long time! Hope that you liked this chapter and thanks for taking the time to review.**

_accio-logic_**: Ha, I'm glad you like it – hopefully I did the idea of breaking into the school some justice. I miss the Slytherins together as well, I can't wait to be able to write more scenes between them...one day... Thanks for reviewing!**

_19irene96_**: Thanks, I'm glad you like it!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: You're so sweet, thank you so much! We'll find out more about the skean as time goes on, but for now our focus is going to be on the sword because she now knows exactly where it is. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you again :)**

_nannan_**: It's alright, you're not the only one with lots of questions – but I can promise that you're going to soon have the answers to every single one of them...just not in this response. I'm glad that you like the story so far, hopefully I can keep it up until the very last chapter! Thank you for reviewing.**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Aw, thank you. Sorry about the wait – school is as crazy for me as it was for Audrey this chapter, haha.**

_Kate_**: Yes, Audrey's visions have definitely been impacting how she's going about things – hopefully it all works out for the better! Thank you for reviewing, I hope that you liked the chapter.**

_Witherwings_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this one just as much!**

_HiddenReaderNinja_**: Audrey's part in this story will change some things, I'm sorry if that disappoints you. Many people have been saying Voldemort's name in the past many chapters, which I meant to show that the taboo is not yet in effect. When it is, I promise you will know. In fact, I've already written who and how it is explained – I promise I haven't just forgotten. I've mapped out this story too intricately to just forget something that significant, haha!**

_Ana_**: Thank you! She did break into Hogwarts this chapter, but obviously it will be extended into the next. I hope you liked this newest chapter :)**

_Guest(1)_**: We'll be finding out what Audrey's animagus form is in just a few chapters – I won't tell you the exact amount so it can still be a surprise. I'm glad that you're enjoying this story and thank you so much for taking the time to review!**

_RockChic733_**: Thanks for taking the time to review now, I appreciate it. I'm glad that you think Audrey's realistic, it's honestly the best compliment I could get, I hope that when you get through all the twists and turns of Audrey's life that it still won't be cliché. I'm as excited for all the scenes you mentioned as you are, they're the more exciting ones I can't wait to write. You have some interesting theories and though I can't tell you if you're right or not, I can tell you that you're definitely asking the right questions. Hopefully you liked this upcoming chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: Congratulations on catching up! I know it's a ridiculous amount of writing, isn't it? Haha. Yes, the memory is certainly something intriguing, isn't it? It's only going to get more and more confusing until that moment when it finally all clicks together – but hopefully it will be a fantastic moment when it finally does.  
>Hogwarts, Potterwatch, seeing Snape in this chapter, it's definitely been a lot to take in. You're right, Sirius still doesn't really understand her, but I figured that was bound to happen: he never understood his own brother, keep in mind. And Regulus is a lot like Audrey in a lot of ways: confused and unsure where he lands (maybe not Regulus at first, but at the end) and Sirius still never understood all the good his brother could and did do, even after he had died. At least with Audrey he's making an effort. I have a feeling he didn't really do that with Regulus. This story is all about parallels and (you're probably the first I've admitted this to) that parallel relationship is probably one of my favourites.<br>It has been a long time since Audrey paid any mind to that article in fourth year, it was great bringing it back. I'm definitely a potterhead and will not be putting off this story or abandoning it (though admittedly, now that I'm at this stage, school takes up a ridiculous amount of my time). Anyway, thank you so much for your wonderful review, I hope you liked this new chapter :)**

_Knightshade1373_**: Aw, this review was so sweet! I'm so glad that you find the story as exciting as you do and that you are so connected to Audrey. You had a good guess there about Snape catching her – hopefully that means you're as excited for the next chapter as I am. I am seriously considering writing a one-shot in APP about the life of Hogwarts during this year, but because I'm having such a hard time reviewing now that school has started, I can't promise when I'll be able to finally release it. Thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it!**

_Geri_**: Yes, Hogwarts had to happen. As soon as I let Sirius live and decided Audrey would be separated from the Golden Trio, it only seemed logical: besides fake-Moody, Sirius Black is the only person (kind of) alive who has ever been able to break into Hogwarts and roam around when he felt like it. Of course Audrey would use that to her advantage! I know you thought it would be too quick if it happened in this chapter, but I'm breaking it into parts. Technically this chapter happened over about three hours from when Audrey went into the kitchen to breaking into Snape's office. Audrey needs that memory to decide her next move; hopefully I worked it well enough.  
>As we're talking about Sirius, it's only right to bring up Snape, particularly since he made his first appearance in this section of the story. Sure, we didn't hear anything important from him in this last chapter but you have to know that he won't be silent in the next.<br>Audrey knows that R.A.B. is Regulus, but she does not know that he died because of his betrayal as she wasn't there to hear Kreacher's tale. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and thank you, as always, for the lovely review.**

_Moon Moon_**: Thank you so much! Ron getting kicked in the face with a dragon is not the most ridiculous thing that Audrey has (or will have) planned for the boy and don't worry – he'll start paying for all of his rude behaviour when she gets her hands on him. It's great that you are so invested and connected to Audrey – particularly that you're thinking so far ahead to see how Audrey is going to react to the death of so many of her friends during the war. You're right, I can already say she won't take the deaths well because I don't think I'm ruining any plot points there. I promise that this story will not be discontinued; this story has become such a part of me it would be like not getting dressed every morning if I didn't write it, haha! Thank you again.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Intense is a good word for everything that's starting to finally happen – I said it a chapter or two ago, but things will not move as slowly for Audrey as they did for HRH because she's not really one to watch things happen and do nothing. She isn't as removed as the trio is and even though she hates drawing such negative attention on herself, I think she'd hate it more if she had the chance to do something and didn't. As for a rough estimate on how many chapters are left, I'm honestly not sure. I have things broken down perfectly chapter-by-chapter until chapter 95 and then I'm guessing anywhere from 9-13 chapters. Again, that's a rough estimate. Could be more, could be less. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you. Honestly, I'm working on my own stories to try to publish right now, but I have tons of fanfiction ideas in my mind...I'll pick whichever is freshest but most solidified in my mind when I finally sit down to write again (though I'll of course take the poll into account!) Thanks for reviewing!**

_Nicky-Maree_**: I'm really excited to write the final battle too. It plays in my mind all the time, but I haven't actually touched it yet; it's kind of my present for sticking with the story so long, you know? I'm as nervous as I am excited to write it – once the story is over, it's over and as great as one-shots may be, it won't be the same. Still great to write, but not the same.  
>The radio station is going to be fun to write in the next few chapters. I don't think this is giving any spoilers, but there's going to be a really nice light-hearted moment because of it, which I really think this crew of miscreants deserves.<br>Audrey's nickname "the Girl Who Coerces Dragons" will be coming back again and again during this book. Harry's name "The Boy Who Lived" is well known, but people will start asking about her soon and that's how she was dubbed after fourth year.  
>Seeing the memory will be a great moment, I'm really excited to write it because I have a feeling I'm going to be surprising a lot of people. Hopefully it won't be a let-down because I think they're expecting something very different from what it will be. I really miss Snape being around too, that's why I'm so excited that we finally get to see him. Originally I was going to keep it all in one chapter, but there is too much I want to include – it would have been something like 24,000 words! It's honestly great to hear how many people miss the Slytherins; I'm glad they really did make the impact that I wanted them to. Audrey being with the Gryffindors is what is necessary right now, but it's not really where she belongs...I'm glad other people are understanding it. Though I am enjoying elaborating on Ginny. The twins are wonderful, but I haven't gotten to really elaborate on Ginny yet. And I love her. In case you couldn't tell, haha! I hope you liked this newest chapter, especially because it promises for our favourite Death Eater in the next :) Thank you, as always, for being so wonderful!<strong>

_Steph_**: Thank you, I hope you continue to!**

_Annie Sousa_**: Aw, thank you, I'm glad you like it! I miss Draco too, he'll be in soon and I'll try to make it worth the wait :)**

_DemiSherLokiWizard21_**: Thank you so much! I'm in my early 20s, if that makes any difference. I hope you liked this chapter as well as the last!**

_Lycoris1305_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. The taboo on his name hasn't been active yet, or else they all would have been captured ten times over – we'll be hearing more about why it hasn't been active, when it is, and how it's started as soon as it happens.**

_AMalfoyFanGirl_**: You don't have bad theories, I can tell you that much – but as for admitting if you're right? That just wouldn't be fair to the 'surprise' factor! Audrey and Draco will eventually have their time to meet up and confront one another, but I can't promise a chapter and give it away. I CAN promise that I'll be making it as intense as I can – Audrey's not going to let Draco off light. I love these longs reviews, don't even worry about it and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate it!**

_Takara Matsudaira_**: I'm sorry, I don't mean to update on bad days, haha! I update as soon as I can (which isn't always as soon as I'd like, admittedly). I hope that the graduation went well and that school has been as interesting as school can be; I know that doesn't necessarily hold a lot of credit. Yes, Audrey didn't really get to break into the Ministry to the degree that Harry did, but she did have her moment there in this chapter – really, she has bigger fish to fry. It is Potterwatch that she will be creating and we will be seeing it sooner rather than later...if she can escape Hogwarts, that is. I hope that you liked this chapter and thanks for taking the time to review!**

_hafsaomar_**: I'm glad you think Audrey is Slytherin-y, it's definitely what I'm going for. A few people have guessed that she's going to turn into an Augurey, so you're not alone on how you're interpreting the clues...but I can't tell you if you're right or not. As for how Hogwarts will be, I hope the first part of her adventure there has you excited – I mean, she was just caught by our favourite head-Death Eater. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, I hope this one has you just as excited!**

_applecandykiss_**: There was definitely some action in this one, I hope you liked it more. It would definitely be an interesting premise to think of Ginny in Slytherin, but I think she still doesn't have that other level of cunning that Audrey has – I think she's still a little too impetuous to be a Slytherin. You had some good ideas there that were obviously right – Audrey's showdown is obviously going to be Snape-based this time around; hopefully that's a good thing. That dream you had was amazing, I actually told my friend about it because that's exactly the feeling I try to make you guys feel...I'm honoured that I'm pulling off the job, even subconsciously, haha! I make no promises about the future, but hopefully you'll enjoy the ride on the way there :) Thank you!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Well, since you like Snape most I hope you're extra excited! Thank you for reviewing :)**

_mrsdansmith_**: Ginny is one of my all-time favourite Harry Potter characters as well, I promise we'll be seeing a good amount of her. Thank you for the review and I hope you're excited for Hogwarts part 2!**

_onlinescribbles_**: Two days, that's really impressive, I've been going through it and it's taking me forever! I love the monster pun, so don't doubt that I took it into account, haha. I'm glad that you find Audrey so likeable and realistic; I try really hard to make sure that she stays in character, even if sometimes it's not necessarily what I want (I mean, who doesn't want her to just throw herself onto Draco sometimes? Alas, it's not meant to be). The Slytherins were always a group of characters that I thought were looked down upon because it's from Harry's point of view (as a Gryffindor who holds a mean grudge) so it's been fun to flip the coin and have Audrey (a Slytherin who holds a meaner grudge) to look at all the downsides of the Gryffindors and her own brother. Yes, Audrey still has a lot of adventures to go through; hopefully you'll be able to stay invested to see it the whole way through. Thank you so much for taking the time to review!**

_Danyele_**: Ha, 90 reviews would have been sweet but I'm just as pleased that you took the time to leave one when you finished – thank you. It's great that you like the story so much and I hope that you continue to like it as it goes on. I'm sorry that the update wasn't as quick as you asked, but I hope that it was somewhat worth the wait!**

_RUNOS SISTER_**: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it. We'll be hearing about her Animagus and Patronus practices sooner rather than later. I hope you continue to enjoy the story and thanks again.**

_Miss Evangeline_**: Don't worry about not getting to review every chapter, I'm glad that you stuck around to review later on – it just means you're still reading! Besides that, I know what you mean about hectic studies; this chapter was quarter of the way finished when school started and I was only able to write a few paragraphs at a time afterward. In that time you were right: we saw some Draco, some Slytherins, and even got to see a bit more of Audrey's jealousy with both Verity and Astoria. The poor girl just can't catch a break (or I won't give it to her, but let's not look into that too deeply...) but don't worry, everything is going to start falling into place: it's the last book, after all. We will find out Audrey's 'spirit animal', though if she'll be able to turn into an Animagus I cannot say. I can't really say how many more chapters it will be but when I know, you will. I am actually trying to write my own stories right now – it's definitely more difficult than fanfiction writing, but I'm really enjoying it! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this newest chapter.**

_Littlemissvengeance_**: I'm glad you enjoyed the last few chapters, thank you! Yes, Draco made a brief return, though it was not as long or as romantic as I personally wish could happen, it just wasn't realistic for him to give Fleur a second glance – so why would he have recognized to look for Audrey otherwise? They will be seeing each other again, that I promise you, and they will even be aware of who the other is...I hope it will be as intense as it plays out in my mind. I'm glad that I've been able to convince you that Audrey didn't need to be in the trio's storyline; she has so much more she can do here and I don't believe that she would follow them after they left her as they did. You didn't have to wait very long to see Snape again, hopefully the next chapter will be exciting for you because she finally can confront him. I promise the answers are coming, I do! Haha, thanks for reviewing.**

_Little Messers_**: Oh, don't worry about not reviewing, especially if you were so ill! I hope that you're better now and that everything is alright. I'm glad that you could take the time to review now, so don't worry about it. Health is certainly more important. I'm glad that these chapters were exciting for you (hopefully this one had the same effect) and that you were able to enjoy them. Audrey will definitely have her time to shine and get back at people...but I can't guarantee when without ruining some plot points. You'll know it when you read it ;) Thank you for reviewing and I hope all is well!**

_spring94_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!**

_Half Cactus_**: Yes, of course Audrey would want to do something so ridiculous! Only she'd have the mind to make it work. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you smiled through this chapter as you said you smiled through the last :)**

_Alex Bailey Fairy Godmother_**: Thank you, sorry for the wait but I hope it was worth it! Happy upcoming birthday!**

_melody_**: Hopefully I made the break in as believable as it can be to break into something like Hogwarts. I also hope you liked it! I really like Ginny too and I think that she and Audrey's fierce personalities really work well together. Thank you :)**

_Guest(2)_**: Um, they haven't had sex at all...if they had maybe there would be a reason for how rude you were, but as they haven't I worry about your tender mind. To say that 14 year olds aren't joking, mentioning, or making sexual innuendos, however, would be lying about how teenagers think. I won't apologize for that.**

:** Thank you! This review was wonderful to read, you're really sweet to say all of this. I'm glad that you can enjoy Audrey's character (even all her of more unreasonable parts) and I was actually flattered to read that you think she's "so much like Harry, yet so different." It's great that you can recognize their similarities as well as all of those features that separate them – they're much more alike than either twin would like to admit, so it's great that it's still noticeable throughout everything that's recently happened.  
>I don't think it's much of a secret that Malfoy and Audrey are better suited than Fred and Audrey would be – either way, it would bring out two very different parts of both people in the couple. I think that Audrey brings out a bit of the good in Malfoy, whereas Fred brings out a bit of the good in her. It's great that you think that Harry isn't being entirely hated on – a lot of people seem to think that I'm really bashing him. I don't think everyone understands that this is Audrey's opinion and the story is about her being jealous (as shown by the title) so she's seeing everything a little more skewed than we're used to, much like when someone sees someone through "rose glasses"...Audrey just does the opposite. Yes, it was a relief to be able to show that Sirius didn't die. When I actually wrote the chapter I wanted to make it more obvious that Sirius didn't die but since (in this version) they didn't know he was supposed to, it wouldn't have read right. As for other deaths, there will be many during the war, but Audrey's addition means I get to save two people and kill off someone who didn't originally die. It's been a hard decision.<br>Many, if not all, of your questions will be answered as the story goes on, so I won't take away the surprise of the plot points, but you are asking the right questions and are thinking along the right lines. You brought up some things that I'm sure some people have forgotten about, so good for you – you're going to be well-prepared for the unveiling of all the secrets. Thank you again for this wonderful review and I hope you continue to like the story!**

_DanicaRem_**: If there was ever a time for Audrey to try and figure out what Snape meant by "forgive me", now would probably be that time. Harry definitely doesn't trust Audrey enough, even though she tends to be right, but at the same time he often has a better moral compass than she does – so perhaps it evens out.  
>Fred and Audrey are definitely a conundrum. Audrey definitely feels how awkward it can be but she also seems to be a bit jealous and a bit protective over him, wouldn't you say? So maybe his arguments aren't without evidence. Fred hasn't left Audrey's side (even when she's wanted him to) whereas Draco ran from it, that's going to mean something in the long run...but who knows if it will mean enough to make the final difference.<br>Producing a Patronus and Transfiguration are (like you were saying) kind of a double edged sword when it comes to Audrey. Though wandless/speechless magic is her thing, being positive (the requirement for a Patronus) is not and she did fail her Transfiguration OWL and never got anything right in the course. There still has to be a base there and Audrey doesn't really have it. As for Audrey's visions, I kind of miss when they were sporadic as well, but we will see that she gets headaches again (which is a vision trying to push itself forward) so the idea won't be entirely lost. As to why they won't just come naturally anymore, well, that's a question I can't answer.  
>We will be hearing more about Astoria and Draco soon, I can't leave you in the dark for too long, but I'm not sure it's going to make people feel any better. Audrey's having a bit of fun right now and getting away with more than she should – so it has to come with a price. Audrey's going to be part of most of the things the trio gets wind of during their travels, so we get to see all the things they hear about first hand. Audrey doesn't actually know it's the resurrection stone, so she hasn't tried to use it – but she will. I've only read a couple of stories on this site and I haven't really read any fanfiction in the past few weeks since school started. When I know, I could PM you with them? Thanks for taking the time to review :)<strong>

_Sorry I'm Slytherin_**: Hopefully you manage to get through this giant story and see this response: thank you so much! I'm glad that you've been enjoying the story and hope that you like it the more you read. My name isn't really Egypt, sadly, it's just a penname on here to keep a bit of myself private – I wish I were cool enough for this to be my real name!**

_Asia_**: Thank you! Audrey and Draco won't have the chance to talk privately for some time, but when it happens it will be really intense. I update as much as I can – usually I try for once every other or every two weeks, but now with school back on my time has been monopolized so I can't make promises. **

_underdressedandovereducated_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it!**

_Stephanie_**: Most people are supportive of Draco/Audrey rather than Fred/Audrey, don't worry, you aren't alone. I've been a Dreaco shipper much longer than I was a Fraudrey shipper as well, but something has to be said for Fred still being there for her while Draco ran away. Draco and Audrey are definitely the original coupling here: they were each other's first possible 'loves', they were able to open up to each other where they couldn't with anyone else, and they understood each other in ways that (as you said) others haven't been able to...but sometimes love just isn't enough. For Audrey, the thing that was missing was his loyalty to her. For Draco, the thing that was in the way was Audrey's loyalty to someone else (aka Harry). Neither of them can necessarily blame each other like they say they might...but that kind of betrayal and absence can't be ignored. I can't promise who will end up with whom and who the endgame will be...but hopefully you understand a bit more of why things are they way they are :)**

_liontaming_**: I'm sorry that you ran out of chapters – sometimes I wish this was already written so that problem wouldn't arise...but where would the fun be then? Thank you for reviewing and I hope you continue to like the story!**

_Guest(3)_**: Yeah, it's a pretty long story – hopefully you like what the words amount to!**

_dianaoctopus_**: I'm honoured, thank you! I can only hope that it stays as exciting from this point on (or, even better, that it only excites you more.) Thank you for taking the time to review and I hope you liked the chapter :)**

_ATolkienInME_**: Thank you, I'm glad you've liked the story so far and if you make it to this point, thank you for continuing to fight the beast that is this word count :)**

_kaia_**: Fred and Audrey definitely wouldn't be the worst pairing I can think of, but do you think that it could be the ultimate pairing, even better than she and Draco? Anyway, I'm glad you like the story and thank you for taking the time to leave a review.**

_HardRockPrincess_**: I understand what you mean about thinking you wouldn't get along with her. I'm not necessarily sure that I wouldn't get along with her myself, but I know that Audrey wouldn't get along with me in real life. I'm glad that I could show you a deeper side to the stereotyped shallow-nature of the Slytherins and I'm even more pleased that you like the story and Audrey's character. Thank you so much for the review and your theories, I hope you continue to like the story :)**

_narisadar_**: Thank you, I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story! Many people have guessed that Audrey is going to be a snake or an augurey, you're not alone in your theories...but I can't tell you if they're right. Hopefully you'll stick around to find out :) Thanks for reviewing.**

_Dawn May_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this new chapter. **

_Guest(4)_**: Good theories, but sadly you'll have to wait to find out if you're right or not. Thank you for enjoying the last chapter, hopefully this one was even more exciting than the last!**

_Guest(5)_**: Sorry, this is the life of a student. I'm trying to learn to organize my time better so I get more writing done – here's hoping it works!**

_FireOfAGypsy_**: I've been busy with the new school year and trying to learn how to organize my time. On top of that, this chapter was rewritten a few times to make sure everything came out as I needed it to. Hopefully the blisters will heal faster so I can update more quickly next time ;)**

_Fusion Palace_**: I would never abandon this story, you never have to worry about that. Even if I don't update for six months (which would never happen, but even if it did) I would still continue until this story is finished. I've already gotten this far – quitting isn't an option! I'm sorry for the wait, I hope you can understand!**

_Guest(6)_**: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, even if Draco wasn't in this one!**

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><p><strong>Well, there it is, what did you think? What do you think will happen in the next chapter: will Snape know it's her? Will Audrey be able to keep her cool? Will Audrey get to see the memory? If she does, what will it be? Will she be able to escape Hogwarts?<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Add me on Twitter as **EgyptsLegend** for updates, quizzes, facts, and excerpts!**


	90. Regale

**I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Thank you for all the wonderful response for the last chapter, I'm sorry that I left you with such a cliff-hanger, but here's the end of the sequence :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 89 – Regale<p>

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><p>I felt sick to my stomach. I felt like I needed to put my hands on my knees and wrech out all of the horrible, colliding emotions that battled deep within my instincts. As prepared as I had always imagined myself for this moment, for the moment I could finally speak with the man who had ruined our future, my mentor had caught me off guard – I should have known. Catching people off guard was what Severus Snape did best.<p>

Snape was holding Neville so that his arm was behind his back, obviously in an uncomfortable position considering the boy's flushed face. Luna Lovegood, in the corner, had stopped whispering to the portraits that lined the walls, but she still stood precisely in the position she had been caught in – as if ready to whisper each upcoming event to the paintings once more.

I felt my face heat up, even more than Neville's. Today had been a horrible bloody day; not only had I been forced to play hero with my 'brother' and his 'comrades' in tow, I had watched one of my best friends get horribly injured and snuck into the castle that I'd once called home. Now to come face to face with my mentor? It caused some horrible chemical reaction that I tried hard to control.

It wasn't working well.

"Professor, what an unpleasant surprise," I tried to keep my voice steady, tried to dim down my insults. As intelligent and strong as Ginny Weasley was, I had a particularly sharp tongue that she didn't quite have the gall to replicate. I couldn't inform him who I was, who knew what those consequences could be. No, I had to bite my tongue and play dumb.

It was a hard sensation to get a grip on. For months I had imagined this moment: the moment I was face to face with Severus Snape. The moment I was face to face with the one who could finally give me answers...and now I could have none of it. I couldn't attack him, I couldn't question him, I could give him no indication that I was Audrey Potter and that he had wronged me. If not for my sake, if not for the _mission's _sake, then for Ginny's sake – who knew what would happen to her if she was caught helping me. I was a wanted criminal now, the Ministry would charge her with treason if she worked with me...which she did so commonly that Ginny could cause her entire family's souls to be sucked out by Dementors.

The thought gave a unique perspective on the importance of my next moves.

"I don't see why it's a surprise, unpleasant or not, this _is _my office," he informed me, letting go of Neville's arm and giving him a hard push towards Loony. I saw that in his hand he was now juggling two wands: one his and the other, likely, Neville's. Wrapped around the hilt of Neville's wand was the thick stack of parchment I knew to be the Marauder's Map – the ink showed on it because I hadn't told Neville how to disguise it. If Snape so much as glanced at it my cover would be blown. I kept a tight grasp on the wand in my pocket, trying to let it anchor me to my role. "To think, I ordered everyone into the Great Hall for head-count. Then again, if any students would disobey me, it would be you."

"I think more people are disobeying you than you may think," I bit back, trying hard not to say more.

"As much as I lament the loss of our casual conversation during detentions, I believe it's time to enquire as to your purpose here," his eyes narrowed on me. "And why you thought it pertinent to turn to thievery against your own Headmaster."

"I figured this isn't yours to have," I told him, giving a glance down to the sword. The rubies shone in the morning light, winking as they caught the sun and insinuated death. "This is a sword of nobility and noble people don't curse others when they can't defend themselves."

Snape's pale face went white with rage. The grip on his wand tightened.

"Is there something specific you feel the need to mention, Miss Weasley? Or shall I assume your disobedience is stemmed from your feminine issues?"

"I assume you've already heard all the opinions of murdering Dumbledore and joining the Death Eaters," I told him, my face burning hot, feeling like we were down in his office talking about Draco again. Talking about how much I didn't trust him because he wasn't helping Draco, because he wasn't protecting him. It was hard to remember where and _who _I was. "With all you've gained, I don't see why it should bother you that you're losing a sword and a few minutes with your – I mean, _Dumbledore's – _precious Pensieve."

"I am curious as to why _you _would need the Pensieve, Miss Weasley. Why ever would someone so thoughtless need to examine the aforementioned abyss?" he asked, circling around his office slowly. I've seen him use these tactics before on Harry, on Ginny, on Gryffindors – it was subtle, like a circling animal or a coiling snake before the strike. Poor Snape didn't know, however, that he was no longer dealing with a Gryffindor...and not only was I a Slytherin, I was his most _prized _Slytherin. I knew allof his tactics.

"I'm surprised there's room for more thoughts in here," I motioned over to the Pensieve. "I always thought you'd make a list of all the crimes you've committed to recount them later. Or maybe it's the people you've betrayed? If you're having trouble remembering, I can help you: just put the Order down as a collective group. Hogwarts can be another. And while you're at it, why not the rest of the human populace?"

"Oh, very clever," he was now near his desk, which was quite near the side table that held the Pensieve, but I was going to stand my ground. I had already dropped the memory into that Pensieve and I would rather have to kill him than let him get a look at it.

"I'm sorry about the hardwood," I told him, trying to sound sweet. As different as I looked, I hadn't felt so much like myself in months. Maybe there was a benefit to this Polyjuice after all – the ability to speak my mind without death as a consequence. I knew I needed to be like Ginny, I knew I needed to sound like her, but the venom that dripped from between my teeth was purely my own. "Did all the noise alert you to the invasion of privacy?"

"I was certainly alerted by noise in this office," he looked around, as if expecting some other intruders.

"How did you get back so quickly?"

"The Headmaster can remove the wards on the castle, as has been done many times for Apparition lessons – I removed them when I was alerted to your intrusion," Snape explained, sounding bored but looking quite aware of what was happening. After a moment his eyes lingered over to Dumbledore's empty portrait and he waited a moment, as I had, as if Dumbledore would come back and fix the entire situation – when he realized that Dumbledore was absent, he turned back to me looking all the more bitter. "Are you honestly dimwitted enough to think you can come into my office and steal my things without my knowing?"

"I'd hardly say these are yours," I informed him, lifting the sword to inspect it and show him. "Public property and all that – you're far too private for something so valuable, anyway. It's not like you could ever use this."

"Gryffindor or not, no one in this room could," he bit back. There was a terrible moment that I felt like he was telling me he knew who I was, that he was saying that he knew I wasn't a Gryffindor at all...but he was much too calm and we were still alone. If he knew who he had caught, I doubted that I'd be standing here and bickering with him like the old companions we once were. "Now, what should I do with you now that you've been found? Realistically I should hand you over to Amycus and Alecto..."

Neville and Luna instinctively flinched.

And at the same time my _lack _of fear seemed to make Snape suspicious.

"Did you enjoy your last visit with them, Weasley?"

Something told me that it was a threat – I knew that tone well. I'd heard that the Carrow siblings were the ones dictating punishment, much as Umbridge had been once upon a time, but were they really worse than her? I needed to play my cards right to ensure that I wasn't caught in my lies.

"I'd prefer not to," I told him honestly. "But you seem to think I'll go willingly..."

Snape actually cracked an amused smirk. "You think you have a choice?"

"I think I have a _wand_," I corrected. "And a sword. And a lot more of a bite than you think."

"All fascinating weapons in theory – but do you dare use them?" He asked me. He was now quite close to the Pensieve and I found my eyes darting to it nervously – Dumbledore had put a memory in that ring for _me _and me alone. I couldn't just have Severus Snape sneaking a peak at it – not now that I knew where his loyalties, or lack thereof, lie.

"It'd be illogical not to," I informed him.

"Gryffindors thrive on illogical notions," he sniped rudely.

"Consider me reformed," I told him, making a move toward him. Luckily, he didn't seem as ready for confrontation as he wanted to lead me to believe because he took a step back, moving himself further away from the Pensieve so that I was once again closer and had access to what I'd left there. "You can't just keep these things in here, _you're _the one under siege."

"Thanks to the little display in Diagon Alley this morning, the Wizarding World will forever be under siege," he informed me as if he was informing me of my own guilt. Did he know it was me? Did he know he was speaking to the source of that 'little' _magnificent _display? I felt like an animal, bristling at the threat of him finding out exactly what I had done. Part of me couldn't help but wonder if he would have been proud, once upon a time, when he found out everything I had done and accomplished today. Another part of me, clearly the more intelligent part, cursed myself for entertaining the first thought at all.

"Why don't you go back to your little minions and tell them I'm here, _Headmaster_? By the time your friends come to get me, I'll be done my business-"

"And what business might that be?"

"Business that doesn't involve your rather large nose being stuck in it, obviously," I rolled my eyes, freezing when I saw the surprised look on my mentor's face. After a sobering moment his eyes narrowed; he took the time to watch me carefully and examine whatever it was he just saw. Something told me that it wasn't something he recognized as a trait from Ginny Weasley. I dropped my sight from him, hoping that maybe if I were a bit more nervous-looking that he wouldn't catch on and think through whatever suspicions he was obviously harvesting. There was a moment of hesitation before he raised his wand and shouted out that horribly familiar word.

"_Legilimens_!"

"_Protego_!"

It was useless, I had no idea why I even bothered to waste the concentration on trying a shielding spell because my wand did not cooperate and it was seconds before I felt Snape rooting through my mind as if he were leafing through pages in a book of my memoirs. He was looking for memories and answers to my strange behaviour, I could tell that much from the connection made between us now, but I couldn't let him see anything. I couldn't let him see _anything. _He stopped on a page, on a memory, not because he was interested in what he had found but because I had tried hard to imagine the pages gluing themselves together, shut away from his eyes. I felt the nausea begin as I took a moment and with a burst of energy threw him out of my thoughts.

It hurt, like I had ripped part of my own brain out with him. It was my own fault, Snape and I had still been connected when I'd stopped him picking apart my mind and if I hadn't let him sort through my thoughts in the first place, I wouldn't have felt the pain to begin with. It was a good lesson.

Snape was always teaching me good lessons.

When I looked up I had fallen on my right knee, the rubies in Gryffindor's sword had dug into my hands and left them immaculately marked. I gave him a glare, only to notice that he had been knocked back from the shock of his expulsion from my mind as well – he was holding on to the table as if to keep his balance.

Take _that_.

"Get out," he said darkly, his eyes filtering over to Longbottom and Lovegood behind me. "_Get out_!"

"No, we're not leaving Gi-"

"_OUT_!" With a jerky wave of his wand, Neville and Luna moved as if their legs were no longer a part of their bodies. Their torsos twisted awkwardly in my direction and they continued shouting and trying to keep eye contact with me as they left out the heavy oak door and it slammed shut behind them. I could hear their military kind of marching down the stone steps that seemed to crumble under the force of the jinx.

I turned my eyes to Severus Snape, whose own eyes looked conflicted and slightly crazed. I took a moment to examine his expression before taking a deep, resigned breath.

"So, Snape, are you going to tell your boss I'm here, then?" I asked him, my voice coming out rasped and low through my grinding teeth. "You must have known I'd come."

"I feared it," he answered, his voice low and disturbed. He stood up straight, moving away from the Pensieve with the important memory and toward me. I moved the sword swiftly in front of me, my other hand gripping the wand that I kept pointed at him. "You should have known better than to come here. Everyone is looking for you, Potter."

There it went. There was no more pretence. There was no point in pretending now. I should have just let him route through my thoughts, I should have attempted to make fake ones – it would have been less suspicious than the actual act of forcing him from my mind. He had taught me how to do it, after all, so of course he would recognize his work.

"Exactly as I want it," I told him, my eyes flickering to his wand-hand. He was no longer pointing his wand at me, but that meant nothing. I knew that Snape could move faster than any duellist I'd seen – he could attack before you realized that he was angry. "Forcing you from my mind was the give-away, but what made you suspicious?"

"I'd know that insufferable arrogance anywhere," he told me simply. I took it for what it was.

"Well, it's nice to be remembered," I told him flatly. "So, what happens now? You tell your chums that I'm here and you all have a Potter-party?"

"Hardly," he muttered, moving away from me. While his back was turned my eyes moved over to the Pensieve – that memory was in there and I needed it. I couldn't just attack him when his back was turned – I wouldn't be surprised if he not only expected that, but if he was waiting to counter my hex. When he turned around he caught where my eyes were focused and his own gaze flittered to the glowing basin. "What have you put in there, Potter?"

"If I were to charm your nose off, would you be less nosey? Or would you be like your stupid master, Vol-"

"Do not speak his name!" He hissed, taking a step forward. "I assume it was you who drew such a crowd at the Ministry this morning?"

"It was not an easy task," I told him, unable to hide the pride from my voice. "Though it was fun."

"Well, there were consequences to your actions – the Dark Lord has come to terms with the trouble you present him; he's taking action against you." He informed me as if we were back in his Potion's office and he was warning me that now that people knew I was powerful, I had a target on my back.

I needed to stop thinking of those memories. They weren't real memories. He had betrayed me.

_Forgive me_, he had said. Who knew if he had meant to say it to me or not.

But I couldn't.

I _wouldn't_.

"Good," I told him harshly. "Let him. I'll relish the challenge."

"The Dark Lord does not challenge, he conquers," he growled out as if he were upset with my answer in Potions class. "Did I teach you nothing?"

"Not much worth remembering," I countered bitterly. "Give me one good reason not to burn the flesh from that protrusion you call a nose-"

"I have not called the guard, Potter, I should hope that gives you some hint to my intentions," he sounded somewhat sarcastic as he moved to the other side of his office, looking as if he were nearly deep in thought. I didn't really know how to come to terms with what he said but he was right: he hadn't called the guard. He hadn't called the Death Eaters I knew would be stationed all around the school again.

"Not really. For all I know, that little tattoo of yours could be calling Vo-"

"Stop being brave, there is no point in speaking his name now that it's gotten you caught!" He growled and took a step forward, pointing at me with his wandless hand as if he were accusing me of something.

"I don't feel caught," I snapped back, gripping Gryffindor's sword in my hand. "I feel like you're interrupting me before I make a dazzling escape."

"Unless you smarten up, that will not happen," he informed me. "Your actions today have caused changes, Potter. The Dark Lord is furious, after that display he knows how to find you-"

"As if I'd be stupid enough to get caught by him!"

"You were caught now," he hissed. "You're being as arrogant as your father."

I know it shouldn't have hurt – Snape held no more power over me, he held none of the respect that I once had for him – but yet the insult stung as if I were still back in the potion's classroom, disappointing him in whatever reason I'd had to gain his attention and his guidance. The lump that formed at the back of my throat made me feel disgusted with myself – after all this man had done, he did not deserve such an effect on my guilt.

"Listen, Snape, I have business here – I need this memory like you need a shower," I informed him bitingly. "So why don't you go tell those darling twins and my darling _boyfriend _about my appearance so I can have some privacy?"

"Your boyfriend?" Snape actually took the time to look shocked before his chuckle turned bitter and dry. "Ah, so you still aren't privy to the plot then. I told the Dark Lord you'd not notice something so trivial-"

"Whatever you're talking about can wait," I told him, my eyes flickering over to the Pensieve.

"You can look at your memory," he informed me, sounding somewhat diplomatic. "But I am not leaving you in this office alone – you've already been caught once."

"You need your prize to take to Riddle, do you?" I sneered.

"I need to ensure you don't get caught by someone with cruller intentions," he informed me, stopping my heart for a moment. It wasn't hard to imagine what those cruller intentions could be – Montague was working with the Death Eaters, after all – but why did he want to keep me from that? Severus Snape was not who I had thought he was and he was not on our side, so why should it matter?

"And why is that?"

"Normally when enemies of the Dark Lord are caught they are _killed, _Potter. I shouldn't need to tell you that."

No, he didn't need to tell me that. That I knew. Not that the _Daily Prophet _told of it, or the radio explained it – but people died at Voldemort's hand and the hand of all his masked little minions.

And I could end it. I could end it with whatever weapon Dumbledore had given me in that memory. Because that's what was in there, the answer to what would kill the killer, to what would end Lord Voldemort's reign...I needed to see that memory and Snape was offering me the opportunity – but at what cost? Surely he'd grab his Death Eater mates and attack me while my head was in the not-so-proverbial silver clouds. It wasn't safe. I didn't like sticking my neck out when the axe was being grinded.

I could immobilize him – if that was at all possible. He had two wands in his hands right now, he could easily use any counter-jinx to reverse whatever it is I did. That memory was right at my fingertips – I could reach the Pensieve from here, and yet I was farther away from answers then I was when I had broken into the damned office in the first place.

"Whose memory is it, Potter?" He asked, seeing my eyes skirting over to the stone basin again.

"I'll give you a hint: one of us killed him," I spit out the words with narrowed eyes. "I'll give you another: it wasn't Thuban Nott. Can you even remember how many you have killed now, Snape? Can you guess whose it might be?"

Snape's face whitened to a degree that I had never before seen it. Could that be out of fury, or out of the same sickness that guilt constantly pulled out of me?

_Forgive me, _he had said.

I couldn't.

I _wouldn't_.

"Dumbledore left you his memories then?" He swallowed thickly, nodding as some memory played through his mind. "I assume it's of his little mission for you and your brother."

"Wouldn't know," I lied. "You're kind of interrupting the process."

"Whatever it is, you need not hear it, Potter," he informed me. "Dumbledore's mission for you was nonsensical and it no longer holds any merit. Quit while you're ahead – run. Save yourself while you can."

"I'm not like you," I sneered, my voice coming out unlike anything I'd ever heard. It had to – all the hurt and the betrayal, it all came because he had run. Because he had tried to save himself as he could. He had hurt everyone and left me there to pick up the pieces – he had run. And I had let him.

Snape noticeably flinched from the words, moving away from me as if I had burnt him. I wish I had, my palms were tingling, waiting for the moment when I could hurt him. He took a step away and turned to the wall opposite me.

"Do your business while I check with the portraits about the students downstairs," he informed me. "I'll be quite busy so you need not interrupt."

"No," I hissed. "I'll take it with me-"

"As that will not happen I suggest you finish your mission before I change my mind and decide that Alecto and Amycus Carrow would better handle this situation," he informed me pointedly. I looked from his turned back toward the Pensieve – it was _right there_. The likelihood of him waiting until I was under the vaporous memory before turning around and attacking me were high. Well, higher than if I didn't leave myself so exposed. Snape wasn't usually one to attack someone when their back was turned.

Then again Dumbledore hadn't had a wand.

Circe hadn't had magic.

There was nothing from Snape, no nobility, that I could trust now.

"You have five minutes," he called out, his back still turned toward the portrait of Phineas Nigellus.

"I don't trust you," I told him honestly, upset by how childish my voice sounded to admit it.

"Four minutes and fifty-two seconds."

Brilliant. At least some aspects of him hadn't changed.

I looked around the office, looking for some kind of escape – there were the windows, streaming in all that light – but the drop would clearly break the Pensieve and I couldn't think of any charms that would keep it in one piece when it fell from one of the tallest towers. I could always shrink it, but would my wand actually allow that?

_Shrink. Shrink. Shrink..._

Nope. Evidently it wouldn't.

What other options were there if I couldn't throw it out the window for later retrieval or shrink it to take it with me? It had to be at least eighty pounds of stone, it would take two hands to carry and I had a sword to think about.

Clearly I had no choice. I wouldn't get past him with the sword _and _a stone basin – I'd have to hope that it was a quick memory and that he really did want to reap the rewards of bringing me into Voldemort himself. Voldemort would want me in one piece, wouldn't he?

Hm. Either way it was not the best of ways to comfort myself.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the inevitable attack. Hopefully whatever this memory held would tell me how to kill Voldemort so that when I woke up face to face with him, I'd have something to use. I tried to be as quiet as possible, taking one last deep breath before I dunked my face into the silvery wisps of the Pensieve and allowed the ripples of time and space to change and alter around me.

It formed a familiar scene – however long ago I was seeing, the Hogshead looked the same. It still looked dirty and poorly kempt, the bar was being washed by a man with a dark gray beard with a dishtowel of the same shade. The filth streaked across the counter and I watched as the gray-haired bar owner walked over to one of the booths and wiped it down for the new customers who had just sat down, giving the one with the silver beard a particular look of distaste before he walked back to his little island of filth.

Albus Dumbledore looked the exact same as he always had: his half-moon spectacles atop his crooked nose, his fair and thick hair looking somewhat magical all in itself before you noticed the vibrant tuquoise of his robes. His blue eyes, so focused, were distracted with the woman in front of him, but I couldn't stop myself from being distracted by him...

Albus Dumbledore looked so _real. _If I reached out to touch him, it almost would ahve been as if he had never died. It almost would ahve been as if al those terrible things had been a terrible dream and I would wake up in time for my patrol where Draco and I could go snog in the corridors and our troubles would simply be trying not to get caught by our peers.

But Albus Dumbledore was dead. He was so vibrant and alive in this memory, but he was dead. His eyes, focused politely on the woman with the frizzy hair, lsitened to whatever tale she was spinning. I had learned to block out her voice from the time I was thirteen, but looking back on Sybill Trelawney now, I had to give her another glance. Her frizzy hair and mismatched robes looked identical, her eyes still looked three times their size thanks to her glasses; there was a freshness to her face, a roundness to her chin that made her look much younger, and she was so energetic that I knew she had to be talking about her "Sight".

"It would be an honour to appoint the position to someone of your credentials, Sybill," Dumbledore informed her. "But I'm afraid that isn't substantial enough to hire you."

"It's all about the balance, Albus, it's all about the balance," she informed him. "Why do you think it's called the third eye? The Sight? I have it because I have _seen _the future and I have _seen _that the job is mine to have!"

"As interesting as that may be, and as interesting as the raspberry jelly you promised I'd received for Christmas, it is not enough to convince the other faculty. I'm sorry." He moved towards the door, as if he was going to leave without so much as another explanation, but Trelawney could never be beaten down so easily, no matter how hard we'd tried.

"Wait, wait!" She had gotten up, following him over toward the door and leading him over toward the side bar where she opened one of the doors that lined the wall and opened it into a side room off of the main bar. Dumbledore followed her in, clearly out of politeness, while she swung the door shut behind her. I saw that it didn't close, it was still pouring light into the dark room before Dumbledore cast a simple illumination charm.

"My dear Sybill, let's not make this difficult-"

"No, I can show you, I will! You just haven't given me the proper chance, I need quiet and time to focus – you have not given me this, Dumbledore. So please, if you will."

Dumbledore, though he looked as if he were ready to leave at any moment, nodded politely. Merlin, I'd hoped he hadn't been that passive with me – he was treating her like a kindergartener whose feelings would be crushed otherwise. I could only hope I'd never warranted such treatment.

She took her time to get comfortable, took her time to focus before it seemed she did fall in a trance. It was clear that Dumbledore was interested by the sudden change in her posture – I wondered if this is what I had looked like. It was the moment of her spine lengthening like she was scared or cold, the rigidness to her muscles, the catch to her clenched jaw...and then, in an eerie and hoarse voice, she spoke.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies_..." behind me, I heard a shuffling and as much as I wanted to continue to watch Trelawney's trance and listen to her repeat the prophecy that ruined Harry and my life, I couldn't help but turn. Through the crack left by the open the door, being ushered away, was a tall, lanky young man. He was being ushered away, despite his protests, and his long hair that reached his chin and was getting caught in his sneer. Still, Trelawney went on. "_And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but there will be a power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies_..."

I gasped as I came out of the vision, taking a deep breath of clean air that smelt nothing of grime and booze. I gripped my wand and instantly spun to look at the man who had ruined it all – the man who had told Voldemort about what I had just seen and been the one to bring his wrath upon my parents. He was the reason I had this scar. He and Pettigrew were the reason this was all still happening...

Snape's back was still turned to me, but when he heard me breathing he slowly turned. He took a look at my posture, took a look at the fury in my eyes and nodded to himself absently.

"I take it you have what you needed?"

"Hardly," I told him, my hand gripping my wand all the more tightly. "Did you know they died for Harry?"

"What?"

"My dad, my mum – they died because you told your _Lord_," I hissed. "This is all a consequence of what _you did. _The scar on my neck, the scar on my brother's face, the way I was brought up – everything that has gone wrong was because of _you_."

Though he clenched his jaw, he was wise not to speak a word.

"You ruined everything," I continued, feeling like the earlier guilt that had bubbled in my gut had molded and turned into something rotten and sour. It felt like it was running through my bloodstream like some kind of drug, the realization. The realization that everything that had ever happened to me was because of this man I'd adored, this man I _hated._

"I think it's time you leave," he informed me, his tone flat. "You're rattling the windows."

"No!" I growled out, holding the Pensieve to me and dragging it a few inches across the table toward me. "I need this to come with me."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he explained. I looked at him bitterly before dipping my wand into the Pensieve and pulling out the single wisp of silver memory and placing the tip of my light, ash-wooded wand to Gaunt's ring around my neck. There was a chilled sensation on the metal before it sank through the cracked, onyx stone and embedded itself where it had been found – something I could pull out when needed.

"You can't have this," I told him. "So you have no reason to want the Pensieve to view it."

"You'll hardly escape carrying all of that – what would people think if I let you go while you were being so apparent?" He shook his head. "Some of us are not fools, Potter."

"I'm not leaving without that basin and without this sword," I tried to keep my voice level, not as emotional as he was used to hearing from me. "Voldemort himself couldn't take them from me."

"No!" He lunged forward, almost as if to grab me, but stopped short when my wand made contact with his chest. He took a step back, face pinched. "Well done, if you wanted to draw attention to yourself you've certainly succeeded."

"Have I?" I asked him through gritted teeth.

"Yes, you have." Before he could continue to explain himself the door to his office burst open. Behind him filtered in multiple people, some whose faces burned my eyes just to see – if I could see their faces at all considering the masks some wore.

Every Death Eater in the castle must have come – there were a dozen of them filtering in the room, even more eyes on the stairs that lead to the office. I could see Montague and those horrible twins from the Astronomy Tower when Dumbledore died – he had called them Alecto and Amycus, but I'd never had the pleasure of being properly introduced to the demented Carrow twins. And then there was Draco, flanking behind Montague...and _Theodore_...it burned to know he hadn't been able to escape his fate as he'd tried.

"Look a' this!" One of the twins jeered – honestly, were it not for such a significant height difference it would be impossible to tell which was the girl and which was the boy. "A student cau' stealin'! Oh, we'll 'ave fun with you!"

"Feeling pretty brave, are you, Weasley?" My eyes darted over to Snape, whose emotions were guarded as we Slytherins did best. I waited for him to correct their mistake, to correct them and announce the prize he had won and planned to deliver to Voldemort... He remained silent. "Brave enough to say the Dark Lord's name?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She missed the 'ole speech! Up 'ere, stealin' Snape's t'ings," Alecto sneered. "Y'not worthy t' say 'is name, Weasley – so now y' can't!"

I wanted to snap something back at her, but knew that Ginny did not deserve to be in any more trouble than I'd obviously gotten her into. Snape now knew that she was working with me – Ginny would be lucky if she wasn't killed for her association with the criminal that was Audrey Potter. The distraction and realization of being caught was weighing on me and dumbing me down to the Carrow's level – that or their poor diction made it so I had no idea what they were trying to tell me. "Come again?"

"The Dark Lord's has had his name Tabooed," Snape informed me, his eyes meaningfully disappointed in the situation. "After the performance made by the Potters in Diagon Alley this morning, the Dark Lord decided Tabooing his name would put a trace on any unsuspecting victims who voice it, now he can find members of their resistance."

The weight of the realization crashed down on me like an anchor. All of those people I had rallied this morning, all of those people I had made believe in our cause – they were all in danger, all because I had been so arrogant. Were I to have rallied them without provoking such wrath from Voldemort, we never would have been in this position – but I had had to show off. Not only did I want to prove that I was myself for the effect, but I'd wanted to prove that I was brave and strong enough to boast.

Snape was right, I was just like my father.

"That's hardly a criminal offence," I told them, my voice weak. "How could I have known?"

"Shouldn't have been saying his name in the first place, Blood Traitor!" One of the Death Eaters, who was not recognizable to me, hissed. Ah – right, to them I was not a Halfblood, only a Blood Traitor. It was a significant difference in their eyes.

"Won't happen again, I assure you," I told them, taking a step back to show that I was submitting. I looked over to Snape, waiting for him to tell them that it didn't matter – that they had caught the idiot who had incite the change in the first place – still, he said nothing. What was he playing at? "No need to get all defensive-"

"Says the thief!" Amycus pointed at me with a rude gesture that made me scowl in response. "Wha' you doin' stealin' Snape's things?"

"Borrowing," I corrected him. "Really, a Gryffindor sword is of no use to him, so-"

"Condescending little wretch!" Alecto pushed her way to the front of the mob, looking as if she planned on choking me, but Snape put his arm forward and stopped her momentum. I looked at him in wonder, taking yet another step back from the flailing woman. He had just stopped her from choking me – was he protecting his investment? His prize to take the Riddler? It was the only reason he wouldn't have told them – he wanted the glory all for himself. "How dare you!"

"Touchy," I muttered under my breath. "I'm just taking this, Halloween costume and all that-"

"Liar," Montague's eyes narrowed. My stomach boiled just as we made eye contact. Oh, if I were allowed to blow Ginny's cover more than I already had, I would leap forward and do more damage than the first time I'd mutilated the prick...

"Well, that's rude," I commented flatly. "I haven't done anything to _you._"

My favourite lie yet.

It came with such vivid memories of his screams.

"Hand it over, Wealsey," Theodore told, jerking his head toward Snape. "Don't get yourself in more trouble."

Oh, if only he knew.

"No," I said simply, apologizing over and over again to Ginny in the back of my mind. "It's mine now."

"Is not!"

"It is," I informed them. "And even your boss won't take it away from me."

"How dare – _CRUCIO_!"

Snape didn't stop Alecto that time. I don't know if it was because he couldn't or he didn't want to, but there was no stopping the spell as it hit me straight in the chest thanks to her close proximity. The strength and the anger behind it brought me to my knees. I could feel as the electricity slithered through my veins, paralyzing me even as my body moved of its own accord to try and rid the poison from my body. My hand had slid down from the hilt of the sword and I briefly wondered if I had a hold of it while everything in my body continued to burn. I bit my lips, feeling the blood pool on my tongue as I tried to keep myself from screaming – the ringing in my ears sounded disturbed and all of a sudden, far sooner than I thought but much later than I hoped, the pain ended.

"Wha' the-"

I took deep breaths, filling my lungs with air that I'm not sure I had been getting seconds before. I was barely able to wrap my head around what had caused the immense pain and where it all hurt – no, that was because it hurt _everywhere_.

"The Weasley girl did tha'?" One of the Carrow twins asked.

"Tha' almost looks like-"

"It was me," Draco interrupted them lowly, slapping his wand against his wand as if he were frustrated. "My curse rebounded off of Snape's – it was a Cruciatus, must have broken the windows."

After a moment of gathering my thoughts and assessing my situation and feeling comfort in the familiarity of Draco's low and displeased tones, I realized what he had actually said. Looking around, I realized that every window and all of Dumbledore's wonderful trinkets that were somehow kept by Snape had _smashed_.

"And the thingers?"

"Must have been my own curse," Snape finished. I furrowed my brow, knowing that they were lying – it was _clearly _me having slipped on my concentration and anger while I was in all that pain. No rebounding curses could have done that without causing me even more pain and it would have effected more than just hte surrounding glass.

My eyes, so used to the movement, looked over to Draco. He was just as I remembered him and everything I tried not to: he was perfect and horrible and broken. I didn't understand why someone so broken and horrible and perfect would care to make up such a poor excuse for a lie, I tried to understand his intentions, _Snape's_ intentions... Why were he and Snape lying for me? Why weren't they just giving me away to the other Death Eaters? What the hell was happening?

The spark in his eyes and the set of his jaw was enough to have told anyone who happened to be looking: he knew. Draco Malfoy knew.

My stomach was immediately churning, how couldn't it have been? This was the moment I had looked for, the moment when I could finally confront both the men who had wronged me at once, when I could attack them and hurt them and make them wish that they had never known me nevertheless had taken the chance to _hurt _me. In front of me were both the men I had trusted and who had ruined everything I'd believed in, everything I'd fought for – these men _were _everything I fought for...and here I was, stuck in Ginny Weasley's body.

I'd never imagined how useless someone like Ginny Weasley could be until this moment.

Well, maybe not useless. Thanks to using Ginny's identity I had the memory – the abstract, ridiculous memory that meant so little and yet so much. I had the sword in my hands, even though it had sliced through my palms and weakened me. I had the knowledge of how to get out of here, if I could manage it...now I just had to figure out how before Snape and Malfoy had some sudden change of their already confusing and withered black hearts.

"What should we do with her?" One Death Eater asked. "She should be made an example of."

"I'm really not one who needs to lead people," I told them, shrugging animatedly. "I'm more of a 'let her go and let her learn her lesson by alienating her' kind of learner."

"Ha! Got some lip on you," Montague leered at me. Ah, what a familiar look. It was hard to control myself from branding a new expression on his primped and polished face. "I like that."

"I've heard," I muttered bitterly. He laughed again.

"Let's make 'er s'me practice," Alecto gave me a dark grin, having said some joke that I didn't understand. "Let 'e new-comer's get s'me lessons in 'e Cruciat's curse."

"We don't need lessons," it was the second time that Theodore had spoken and he looked disgusted by the thought of it. I gave him a look before my eyes flickered back over to Draco, who was staring quite plainly at me, though he looked as pale as a corpse.

"You don't, do yeh?" The brother asked, pointing his wand over to Theodore and then to me to gesture between the two of us. "Fine then, show us – curse her, Nott."

"No," Draco said quickly, finding his voice. "Don't pressure him, Carrow. He can curse whomever he wants; you can't continue bossing him around."

"Then curse the Traitor!"

"He should curse _you_," Malfoy snapped back, turning away from me to face the Carrow siblings directly.

"Your opinion don't mean nufink , Malfoy! You're low rank, now," the sister gurgled. It was a piece of information I didn't quite understand – ranking within them. Draco wasn't on top of it after everything he had done last year?

"I, however, have decided not to bother with the idea of washing blood from the grout in the flagstone," Snape announced.

"Er...that wouldn't be my blood, would it?" I asked him.

"Because my rank does supersede your own," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I say that this student should receive detention – with the Carrows, as intended. As for her now? Take her to lunch, waltz her in front of her friends and show her that she has failed before she serves her detention for a month."

"The _month_?" I asked, my stomach dropping for Ginny as I realized the price. She was going to be tortured for the month, that's what that meant...but did that mean that he wasn't going to tell of her part in this mess? Was he going to hand me over to Voldemort without her getting hurt?

Strangely, that may have been of some small comfort to me.

But not much.

"Yes, the month," Snape looked at me darkly. "Since you were so easily influenced by moronic ideas."

I gave him a glare that distinctly read Audrey Potter considering I don't think I'd ever seen the look on Ginny's face. He didn't seem pleased and turned away, ushering the Death Eaters out. By their moaning, it sounded like they were disappointed there wasn't more of a show but Draco refused to be budged even as Theodore started to turn around and mill out of the office with the others.

"I'll take her down then," Draco piped up, giving a look to Snape before taking a step forward. "I'm sure I can figure out where those little Gryffindor grubs have hidden."

"She should go to lunch, Mr Malfoy. She need not get into any more trouble,"

"I agree, sir," he informed. It seemed like there was something passing between them, some kind of conversation like Draco and I used to have, or Harry and I, or even once, Snape and I had conversations like that too. When they had said all they needed to say with their eyes, Malfoy walked forward and wrapped a hand around my arm, Ginny's arm. I tugged away from him bitterly, not wanting him to touch me or to even have the opportunity to acknowledge that I was still alive before he sent me in to die...but he held on tightly. Ginny's muscles could have made it so I could have, but there was a traitorous part of me that didn't want to pull away. If I was going to die, I wanted to pretend like he wasn't manhandling me, that he was doing this out of some form of _care._

"I'm coming with you," Montague spoke up, taking his own step forward. He had been leaning on the wall, following our movements with his eyes and it appeared that he'd enjoyed something he'd seen. The struggle, perhaps? It was his favourite part of the hunt. "Can't let you have all the fun, Draco."

"Our ideas of fun are quite different," Draco bit out.

"If not consensual," I pointed out with a roll of my eyes. Both boys glared back to me and there was a moment where I wondered whether or not the Polyjuice potion had worn off thanks to their intense nostalgic looks of annoyance...but it couldn't have. I couldn't have been near an hour yet, possibly only half an hour had passed even though today's events felt far more than a weeks' worth.

"Then let's head out, shall we?" Montague made a sweeping motion to head us towards the door. Begrudgingly, thanks to Draco's grip on my arm, I had to obey the movement. We walked through the frew Death Eaters that still lingered in the office like we were walking through the Forbidden Forest with the trees tugging at my hair. I sneered at each Death Eater I passed, but we stopped as Snape took the time to open the door for us.

"And Miss Weasley?" He asked, moving forward to take the sword away from me. Amazingly, in return, he handed me back the parchment that he'd taken...I had the map back. Even then, I moved to grab the sword from him instinctively but he held it away from arms length. "Let me not find you here again. The next time we meet like this, I can assure you I won't be so liberal. As for the sword? I don't think you really need more to your ego or your hunt for attention."

"Sure," I muttered bitterly, looking away from him and the sword that I had come for, before I left with the two of my greatest enemies.

It was horrible, leaving the sword behind me after everything I had done to get it. But I had the memory. I still had the memory and now that Snape had ridiculously left me in Malfoy's care I knew I could escape – Montague would not be an issue whether I had to burn him, kill him, or kick him in the groin and if Malfoy knew who I was, he had better know that I would kill him if he tried to get in my way.

But how could I do this without blowing Ginny's cover?

We walked down the hall in silence, Malfoy keeping his tight grip on my arm and leading me at a brisk pace while Montague trotted behind us, twiddling his wand between his fingers and whistling as if he were pleased with himself.

"You look tense, Weasley. You're just going down to lunch with your little friends – can't wait to confront them," Montague mentioned with a smirk. "How I've missed being here to bug you all..."

"Wish I could say the same," I told him innocently.

"Shut up, Weasley," Malfoy hissed, his voice low and harsh. "Now's not the time."

"Is it ever, Malfoy? Or do you have a marathon to run again," I hissed back, wrenching my arm away from him again but not bothering to do anything else when he let me go. I sighed, looking back toward the entrance and frowned openly as a plot filled my head...it was so simple, so stupid...could it be stupid enough to work?

I was dealing with remarkably daft guards, here.

"I have to go to the toilet," I told them, stopping in my tracks. Both boys looked at me in irritation and Malfoy rolled his eyes as my nerve. Then, as if a thought had dawned on him, he turned quite serious – it was as if he knew that I was planning my own escape.

Of course, I should have known, it was too stupid to work.

"Fine," he breathed. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline, what did he mean 'fine'? "Bollocks, all you do is cause trouble, Weasley. You are never in the right place at the right time and even when you are, you're always doing the wrong things."

"Oh, this is pleasant," I sneered at him, clearly understanding that he was trying to lecture me instead of Ginny. As if I needed his shite – he had no right to lecture me after being such a lying, bloody, stupid coward.

"And the next time you decide to do something stupid, as you just have done," he told me. "Ignore the urge and avoid nearly getting yourself killed, will you?"

"You sound like Snape," I muttered, remembering these words well. He had told me to do the same more times than I cared to count.

"Well, perhaps you should listen to him," Malfoy told me. "He only wants what's best."

"I don't listen to Death Eaters," I hissed back, my blood boiling. 'He only wants what's best'? Is that what he wanted when he told Voldemort about the prophecy, when he killed Dumbledore in front of me, when he betrayed my trust and kept Draco, himself, in the Death Eaters without helping him escape? That was not _what's best._

Malfoy looked at me for a long moment before he pushed me forward in the direction of the bathroom. Was he really about to let me escape from the loo? Was this actually happening?

Had someone drugged their tattoo ink?

It was the only viable option.

I took the chance and walked into the bathroom, trying not to appear as eager as I felt. I took a moment, making sure that my footsteps were silent as I walked over to the window. I opened it, feeling the cool air hit me and glancing down below it – the ground wasn't seven feet – I could jump that. I'd done worse today when I'd failed at vaulting over the Gringott's railing.

I crawled out of the window at about the same pace I'd vaulted the railing – it was amazing the boys hadn't realized I was gone yet. It was a nasty drop, sending shocks up my shins from the impact. But it was nothing that could have stopped me, not after escaping a room full of Death Eaters – two of which acknowledged who I was.

It was a quick run to the front of the school in Ginny's body, she was athletic enough that much of this didn't present the problems I would have had in my own skin. Ginny caught me mid-run, completely invisible, which nearly made me scream thinking I'd been caught by Montague again.

"What kind of trouble did you get yourself into?" She asked, pulling off the hood and looking as if she'd been crying. "Merlin, Audrey, Neville told me you were caught!"

"I got in enough trouble to give you detention for the month," I told her. "Sorry."

"There are worse things than detention," Ginny pulled me into a hug and there was a moment, one single moment when I thought that this was what it would have been like had I had a sister instead of a brother. And it was nice, feeling that kind of connection whether or not I was a hugger."Did you get the sword?"

"No, but I saw the memory," I told her, pulling away and feeling everything start to feel heavy as I explained everything to her. "It's enough to last."

"I'll get the sword," she promised me.

"Don't bother, Snape and Draco both figured out it was me," I told her, closing my eyes and shaking my head. "I have no idea what happened, I have no idea why..."

"And they didn't tell?" She finished the thought for me, looked as amazed as I felt. When I shook my head she grew pensive. "Maybe they...I mean, you meant so much to them-"

"I'm not making excuses for their behaviour and neither should you," I told her coolly. She gave a sigh before handing over the cloak that the twins had made for me. I slipped it on, it was still warm from her wearing it and moved to clasp the metal at my neck, immediately Disillusioning myself.

"Do I look like myself?" She asked me, opening her arms as if I could judge her better that way. Besides the fact that our clothes were slightly different, nothing should have been obvious.

"I'm sure you'll pass. Malfoy and Montague are waiting for you by the loo."

"Perfect," she rolled her eyes. "My favourite babysitters. Be safe. I'll see you at the mirror."

"The mirror," I echoed. There was a moment where she looked as if she might want to hug me again, but nodding as if realizing I wouldn't be comfortable she moved to run in the opposite direction. Placing on my hood to become entirely invisible, I ran away from her and the castle – my mind racing much faster than my feet.

I had lost the sword, but Dumbledore had left me the prophecy – really, it must have been what he wanted me to get from that short snippet of the night that ruined my life. Did he know that Snape would betray him, as he betrayed him now? And why _hadn't _Snape betrayed me? How the hell was I running away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry right now when I should have been locked up in Voldemort's cellar, waiting for him to be done with his regular noon luncheon with his inner circle?

Why had he _let _me escape?

I came to the Whomping Willow just as I felt myself going mad from the lack of answers. I couldn't see Sirius between the roots, but after a quick moment of showing myself again by pulling off my hood I watched a pale arm hit the knot at the base of the tree's bark and still the wrestless beast. I donned my hood again, charging forward until I was able to slide in the tunnel.

As soon as I was in there, he hugged me.

It was almost like people _expected _me to die.

"Thank Godric," he whispered. "You're alright."

"A little faith, please," I sighed. He chuckled breathlessly, sounding relieved as he pulled away to look me over for injuries. He stopped at my hand and I pulled it away from him – he didn't need to know I'd undergone the Cruciatus when he was actually proud I'd survived. The details could come after he realized how successful I'd been.

"Well?" He asked me, his voice stern. "Did you find whatever it is you were looking for?"

I didn't know how to respond without sounding as disappointed as I felt. No, I hadn't. More questions hardly constituted finding anything at all. But then again, I was here. Then again, I wasn't in Voldemort's dungeon or cellar, or even on his radar as I could have been. Perhaps I'd found some humanity in the two Death Eaters who I had thought I'd lost...

"No," I told him slowly. "But I didn't come back empty handed."

Perhaps I'd found some humanity in the two Death Eaters who I had thought I'd lost...

_Forgive me, _he had said.

But I couldn't.

I _wouldn't_...

* * *

><p><strong>There was Snape, there was Draco, there was a snippet of Theodore...tell me you love me! I'm so happy you're all enjoying the story so much, thank you for all the wonderful reviews guys. To everyone who reviewed the last chapter:<strong>

_accio-logic_**: I'm glad you liked it, hopefully this one was exciting for you as well. You were right, they know each other far too well, and he figured it out pretty quickly. Hopefully the memory of Dumbledore hearing the prophecy was satisfying, if not interesting – thank you for reviewing!**

_Guest_**: Thank you, it was a long wait for the last chapter, I wish there were more hours in the day to get it all done! I can only hope that Audrey and Snape's interaction was interesting, particularly since we got to see Draco and got to see him acknowledge Audrey as herself for this first time in the Deathly Hallows. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked it.**

_narisadar_**: Thank you, this was so sweet to read! I'm glad that you've enjoyed it so much, I put a lot of work into it so it's always nice to hear it's appreciated...and yes, I do love cliff-hangers, haha. Thank you for taking the time to review, I hope you liked this chapter. **

_Guest(2)_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. At least this one didn't have an intense cliff-hanger like the last. **

_Niamh O'Leary_**: Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter, too!**

_Guest(3)_**: Don't worry, your English was perfect, I wouldn't have been able to tell. You were right, Snape was able to tell it was Audrey – hopefully you liked how that interaction played out. Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked the chapter!**

_Cae-Leigh Anne_**: Thank you! I hope the excitement was worth waiting for hits chapter :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: I'm glad you liked it, hopefully you liked this one as well – especially with all the Snape and Audrey banter. Thank you for reviewing. **

_RockChic733_**: Audrey definitely can't catch a break, she may be cunning but she forgets that all of her friends and enemies know her tricks. I'm glad that I was able to surprise you in the last chapter, hopefully there was a bit of that in this one, as well. The last chapter had a lot of action, whereas this one was mostly thought and dialogue, but hopefully it was as interesting as the last considering the characters that appeared. I'm glad that you have liked the story so far, it's great to hear your thoughts because it means that you think about this story even more than when you're reading it, so thank you :)**

_LovableAmethyst129_**: He didn't know about the memory, or at least what the memory was of, but you're right – he's a great mind who can't be caught off guard as our dear Audrey was. I hope that you liked the chapter and thank you for taking the time to review.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Yup, Neville failed with the whole "look out" thing, but at least we got some Snape from it. It's alright though, Audrey got her memory and we got a lot of banter from it. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you liked the chapter.**

_Becka3490_**: Thank you, I hope you liked this new chapter.**

_TrixieWilliamson_**: I'm sorry, I love cliff-hangers! At least this end wasn't so suspenseful. I hope it played out like you wanted and that you were able to enjoy it. Thank you for taking the time to review.**

_Guest(4)_**: Haha, I'm glad that you were so excited, hopefully I didn't let you down at all with what happened in this chapter. It's a lot of fun writing Snape and Audrey together, so I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to do it again. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Geri_**: As angry as Audrey is, I don't think she could bring herself to hurt Draco and Snape, even if she says otherwise. She lets very little define her, but her relationship with both of those men was life-altering. The last chapter was definitely more action-packed than this one, but hopefully you liked all teh dialogue in this one. Audrey did get to see the memory, even if it's not what she thought, and hopefully she can right everything that happened now that she's caused the Taboo. I have thought of writing other Harry Potter fanfics, but because of my new dedication to school and the separate novel I'm writing, I've been distracted from doing more than jotting down notes. Anyway, thank you for the review and I hope you liked this new chapter :)**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: It'd be pretty cool to see it as a movie. Some people asked me to make a trailer for it, sadly I am not at all savvy enough to figure out how to do it well, haha. **

_DawnMay_**: She didn't reveal it on purpose, but at least she got some time with Severus before she had to make her escape. At least she's back with Sirius now – I hope you liked it and thanks for reviewing.**

_Miss Evangeline_**: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, real life gets in the way of this amazing world sometimes, but don't worry – this world is never far from mind. I know I left you at a cliff-hanger last chapter, but at least we got a lot of time with Snape and even a bit with Draco. It's great that you read the Prelude and it changed your thoughts a little bit...it's hard to explain that Audrey's opinion is biased against Harry when I'm writing in her point of view, but just like Harry could only see the bad in Snape, Audrey has the same sensation toward him. As for how it feels that the story is coming to a close: it's wonderful and horrible all at once. This fanfic has become such a large part of my life that it will be strange to let it go, but I'm so excited for everyone to read the ending that the emotions war against one another. Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end, no pun intended, haha.**

_DeathFrizbee_**: Aw, thank you, it's great to hear that you think so much of this story! Hopefully this chapter didn't let you down at all, because though it was a bit shorter, it was filled with some pretty memorable characters. I adore hedgehogs, I had a friend who had some growing up, so I would enjoy her turning into a hedgehog as well...sadly I don't think it would fit in with the plot as well as what I have planned. Anyway, thank you for the kind review and I hope you liked this chapter!**

_Guest(5)_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! Sorry I can't update sooner, college is a very busy time and now that I'm working again, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get things done. **

_Moon Moon_**: I wish that all the chapters were pre-written, but sadly I'm as excited to post as you say you are to read, haha. I love the relationship between Audrey and Snape as well, hopefully I've done it justice considering what happened in the chapter and what couldn't happen because of the Death Eaters. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_kaia_**: It's very true, if anyone could have a chance at out-smarting Audrey Potter, it's Severus Snape. Hope you liked the chapter!**

_Takara Matsudaira_**: This wasn't the best plan of Audrey's considering nothing went as it should have and she refused to back down, so like you said: something had to go wrong. I know you weren't sure what would happen with Snape in the picture, but hopefully this chapter was a fun read. Usually it takes me at least 6 hours to write a chapter. I'm one of those writers who writes it once then goes through and scraps entire pages, then goes through again to add from what I took out, then goes through it again to make sure everything flows since I chopped it all up...and maybe again if I have time, haha. The last chapter, which was over 16 000 words, probably took about 10 hours. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing, but that's how it seems when I sit down and think of how the time is spent.**

_Gabbyswan_**: Well, if I were properly managing school and writing better, I probably would have gotten this out faster, haha. There aren't enough hours in the day now that I'm working, going to school, and trying to write. If days had 30 hours, maybe I'd get more done (or be forced to work/study more, which wouldn't be ideal). Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter...hopefully this one was nearly as enjoyable if not more so. Thank you for being so sweet in your last review, I always appreciate them :)**

_Sian D_**: I'm sorry, I love cliff-hangers! Hopefully it was worth it, waiting for this chapter though. Thank you for taking the time to review. **

_DeathAndLife2_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I hope you had a Happy Birthday! **

_Alex Bailey Fairy Godmother_**: It's true, of course Snape would figure it out – he taught her everything she knows! As for Audrey making an escape? That's just what she does. I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing.**

_Little Messrs_**: I couldn't have Snape and Audrey in the same room without him realizing it was her. He taught her everything she knows, and like she said, clearly he'd recognize his work. I'm glad that you've been enjoying the story and thank you for the compliments...I'm most definitely blushing. Thank you for taking the time to review, I really, really appreciate it!**

_Sirius Bookworm_**: Aw, thank you so much! Hopefully I was able to make you feel as excited during the chapter as you felt at the end of the last. I know I didn't leave you with a big cliff-hanger like the last time, but hopefully it was a solid finish. The next chapter will be going in a very different direction, after all. Anyway, I hope you like it and thank you for reviewing!**

_Knightshade1373_**: I do love cliff-hangers, I'm sorry! Hopefully I made it right by the events of this chapter. Don't worry, most people want Draco and Audrey to be the final coupling for the story – we got to see a few of Audrey's boiling emotions in this chapter and we also got to see that maybe Draco isn't all bad. But here's the kicker: the next chapter has Fred in just about every sentence. I have thought about having a little conversation about Regulus, but we'll have to see if the action can die down enough that she and Sirius get the chance to talk about things like that, haha. I'm glad that you were able to feel so attached to Audrey that the idea of Draco and Astoria annoys you, if you feel better, even writing it made me grit my teeth. I'm glad that you like the characters and how they're portrayed, hopefully I was able to keep you happy throughout this chapter. Thank you!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: He's my favourite, so I understand why you like Snape. I'm glad you like my portrayal of him, it's great to know that I could keep such a great character sounding like himself :) **

_Dark Rose Princess_**: Yes, mentor and mentee, together again. I hope you liked it, thank you for reviewing!**

_Melody_**: Haha, I'm sorry, it wasn't the nicest move to have such a cliff-hanger, but hopefully I made up for it with all of the different interactions in this chapter. We got to see Snape and Draco in this one, as well as see Audrey go a little bit overboard with her Magnuse. I hope you liked this latest chapter and thank you for reviewing :)**

_Mythological Stories_**: Aw, this was wonderful to read, thank you. I'm glad it was emotional, as much as it can be a nuisance it means that I'm doing something right. It's great that you've become emotionally invested in the characters (but let's face it, any Harry Potter fan already was) and Audrey – she is quite an emotional character. You were right about the chapter; both Snape and Draco were able to know it was her, simply because they know her so well (and who else can use Magnuse to blow out all the windows?) It couldn't have given Snape too much benefit of the doubt, sadly I don't think that's what Dumbledore would find important, but hopefully her hearing the prophecy herself gave you something to think about. Again, I'm really happy to hear how much you like the story and I only hope that this chapter, and the others to come, keep up the trend.**

_simslovr1_**: Haha, yes the story is definitely a long one. Good for you for getting through it – it took me forever (and obviously, as I'm still updating, it still is). The Snape and Audrey reunion could have been more fruitful, particularly with what we know of Snape from the original, but there are certain things that just can't be done for both their safety...including giving her the sword of Gryffindor. The love-triangle is just starting to get interesting, so if you are liking what's happening with it, you're in for an interesting couple of chapters. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the newest chapter!**

_NCISFanficxxx_**: Thank you! I wish I had more chapters to offer you, but sadly I can't seem to write them as quickly as I come up with the scenes in my mind. I'm glad you like Audrey and her relationship with the original characters, hopefully you continued to like them through this chapter. Thank you again!**

_michelleannehallsworth_**: I'm glad that it was a "page turner" of sorts and that you were able to get so into it. Besides, you reviewed now, and I appreciate it all the same! Aha, interesting, you're the first person to notice that little discrepancy (and I mean that), so now that it was just retold we'll see if others notice. As for what it could mean, I'm going to leave you to stew about it...I'm sure you'll come up with something as the chapters go on. I also wish a boy would be so willing to protect me, but hey, Draco Malfoy lives on through the story and as much as I'm not like Audrey...I can pretend, haha. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you so much for reviewing.**

_HardRockPrincess_**: I am very lucky to get reviews for this story, so I feel it's important to respond – thank you for being someone I can respond to. Snape's recognizing Audrey was something that just seemed like it had to happen; he knows her as well as she knows herself and any act to hide something from him would be a giveaway from the past. Audrey Potter's Prelude is really fun to write, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and that you acknowledge that she's brave despite it being demonstrated a bit differently than Harry's courage. I hope you liked this newest chapter!**

_Vikingfangirl23_**: First, tell your friend I said thank you for liking it enough to recommend it, and secondly thank you for reading through such a long story! I'm glad that you were able to get into and enjoy it, particularly the Dreaco aspects. Hearing that you see the books a bit differently now is like winning a trophy and I hope that you continue to notice new things from the original or from earlier in this story that you didn't before. I hope that you continue to like the story as you do now and that this chapter was as exciting as the last. Thank you for reviewing! **

_Lady British_**: Most people are hardcore Draco-shippers as well, so hopefully this chapter was a nice little treat for you. I obviously couldn't put in too much, but it's the first time he's acknowledged that it's Audrey and don't worry, it won't be the last before the battle. The interaction was brief and even though there was a moment there where Audrey panicked about how long she had been there, I thought it would be too typical for it just to wear off. This is Audrey Potter we're talking about, she has much larger catastrophes than time-management. We actually have a playlist going that can be found on the Twitter account (along with a whole bunch of other goodies) and I think that As Long As You're Mine might be on there...though I could be wrong. We will be seeing Fred in the next chapter, but now that she's just seen Draco, it will be a much different experience. I also agree that Audrey is more like James than Harry might be (in some ways), but it's fun to write the different ways it can be said: from Sirius it's meant as a compliment but from Snape it is an insult. Poor Audrey doesn't really know what to think of her father because of it. I hope you liked the chapter, thank you for reviewing!**

_kidnapped-by-akatsuki_**: Reviews do make me happy and I'm not going to deny that I get giddy and excited when I see notifications that I get them, so thank you! I'm glad that you've gotten so invested in the story, though I'm sorry about the sleep deprivation, and it's great to hear you're enjoying it. I love the idea of me whipping people with their feelings, haha...it's true, I get a little too much joy from causing people to feel what my characters do. **

_Nicky-Maree_**: Yes, breaking into Hogwarts was actually a little simple for Audrey, but it did come at the price of Fred's health. We'll see him next chapter and as I said in a previous review, it will be a totally different experience than before thanks to seeing Draco in this chapter. Yes, Audrey's Magnuse is a little bit out of control, has been for some time. As much work as she puts into it she reaps very little reward, but at least she's able to get other things under control (and will continue to).  
>I had to have Snape find out Audrey was playing Ginny and I figured that it wouldn't be this amazing, grand moment but that he would be that disappointed, father-like figure we all miss. Hopefully I pulled that moment of realization in the right direction. As well as the realization with Draco – it's pretty obvious who smashes all the glass within a 500 foot radius...I figured it was a giveaway, haha.<br>I'm so excited for the upcoming chapters. Everything is so clear and crisp in my mind, I wish I could just explain it all to you...but alas, that would ruin the story for you. My mom, a reader of this story as well, keeps refusing to hear the ending and I'm just bursting for someone to hear and go through the story to pick up all the hints...hopefully a few readers will do that after it finishes and be able to stop and say "wow, I didn't notice that before!"  
>The next chapter is going to be a really nice one to write. Because it's not so in-depth as this I'm hoping that I'll get it out now that midterms are done (however, in November all of my massive "this is worth 25-50% of your mark" projects are due) but it's going to be mainly lighter and not as angst-y dialogue, which is quickly written, so hopefully I can pull it off and get it out faster. Anyway, as always, thank you for the wonderful review and I hope you liked this chapter!<strong>

_Angel of the Night Watchers_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! It was great to write them interacting again, even if it wasn't as fun as I am used to writing it, there was still a bit of banter there. School is going wonderfully, thank you, but I'm excited for the holidays so I actually have time to write. I hope everything is going well for you, as well :)**

_MaraCarberry_**: It's definitely a long story, so I'm glad that you were able to catch up – thank you for taking all that time. I'm glad you liked it and hope you continue to. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Delena Worshipper_**: Aw, thank you! It's great to hear that the story and its characters can have such an effect on you. That you feel so strongly towards Drea and Draco means that I'm doing something right, so thank you for being such a great reader. You have interesting ideas about her Animagus form, but I can't tell you if you're right considering it could ruin certain plot points. I'm glad you like Houdini, in my mind he is the cutest thing ever and makes me want to dye the little pink Pygmy Puff stuffed animal I have...**

_hafsaomar_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it – reading in class is risky, but I can't say I haven't done it, haha. Snape was able to recognize her, of course, and so did Draco (their first time acknowledging each other in this book!) but at least she was able to get out with minimal danger to Ginny Weasley's reputation. You're right, Draco never actually admitted that he loved Audrey, but don't worry, there's still a connection there. If there wasn't, he would have told the Death Eaters who she was :)**

_Guest(6)_**: I agree! **

_ .Princess_**: You're here now and that's all that matters! Thank you for getting through the whole thing and thank you for taking the time to review. I love hearing that people are enjoying Audrey's journey. I hope that this latest chapter was a good follow-up to all the drama of the last and that it answered your questions. Thanks again for reviewing!**

_Guest(7)_**: That's a pretty good guess...you won't have to wait too long before you find out ;)**

_iciclefangAJ_**: Haha, Snape does love drama – especially if it's Audrey related! Thanks for reviewing.**

_ManonVarendaz_**: Thank you! Yes, this story is quite a bit of work, but it's worth every key-stroke. It's amazing that other people are enjoying it too. Thank you again for taking the time to review and I hope you enjoy what's to come!**

_DreamSlytherin17710_**: Haha, it's a lot of reading and I'm sorry you were distracted from your exams, but I am glad you've enjoyed it. Thank you for reading, enjoying, and reviewing. I hope I don't let you down! **

_Guest(8)_**: Alright, sorry you feel that way. Though if you don't like female main characters, why would you bother starting it in the first place?**

_Avalon I.E_**: Thank you, I love your review :)**

_Meee_**: Ha, yes I am Canadian. I've been told a few times that I can be overly polite. I guess it's not the worst stereotype to have though, being overly polite, don't you think? Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked the chapter.**

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><p><strong>Well there it is, Chapter 89. It had some of our favourite Slytherins in it and a lot of mention of some of our favourite relationships - I really hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 90 shouldn't be too long and it has a very different feel than this last one, so I hope you're all excited. <strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Follow me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for quizzes, excerpts, facts and more!**


	91. Dead Air

**Yay, another chapter! And there will be one coming out really soon, hopefully for Christmas. I hope that you're all having a nice time over the holidays and that you're all enjoying time off ****–**** hopefully you all receive some. Thank you for all your support, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 90 – Dead Air<p>

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><p>"So I was right," Sirius told me, sounding quite pleased with himself. I unlatched my arm from his own, swaying slightly on the top step to Bill Weasley's cottage, only to have Sirius catch me. He looked me over once again, as if expecting to see me covered head-to-toe in blood that hadn't been there only a moment before. He frowned slightly. "It was a mistake to go through with it."<p>

"I saw the memory," I argued quickly, shrugging his arm off again. I hated it when he gave me that look; it was that look that read that I was weak and he was _worried. _I could look after myself. I was of-age now; I was not a child as he seemed to expect me to be. "Now I just need to figure out what it means."

"But you didn't get the sword?" He asked, straightening himself up, though he looked ready to catch me if I were to faint – I would not be so typical. Still, I clenched my jaw against the grating truth of his words.

"No."

He exaggeratedly raised his brow. "And, to be clear, you _were _caught?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes."

"You're just lucky people didn't notice that it was you," Sirius told me in a stern tone, one that I was used to him using on me when I had insulted my brother, not when I had just escaped a castle full of armed and curse-happy Death Eaters. Still, with what little hope I had of dissuading him from continuing his taunts, I nodded. I took extra care just to make sure that my face was straight – as annoyed this talk made me, there was no reason for him to know that he was wrong...and more importantly there was no reason for him to know that _I _had been wrong.

Sirius took the moment to knock on the door to Shell Cottage and it only took a few seconds before Bill opened the door, wand drawn. He must have been waiting for us. "Identify yourselves."

"It's me, Bill," I told him, rolling my eyes and pushing past him so that I could sit in front of the fire. It was nice to feel it warm my cheeks and my cool fingers as I held them toward the flames. Though my fingers were cool, my palms remained anxious and warm, ready to heat and burn and hurt anyone who dared to startle me. "I've had a long, terrible day and all I give a shite about is hearing about your brother - how is he? Did George get him to the healer?"

Bill frowned, lowering his wand and giving me an annoyed look. "You know, I'm accepting this only because no one else knew that it was Fred who was injured."

"That's sweet," I drawled, removing my hands from in front of the fire so I could turn around and glare at him for my answers.

"I should also note that you identified yourself by your bad attitude."

"Wonderful, I'll continue being rude instead of telling pointless facts that anyone could look up about my looks, history, or lacking magical abilities," I told him bitingly. I shivered, though I knew it was not because of the cool September air – he wasn't telling me about Fred. That, in itself, may have been the answer that I was dreading. "I'm still waiting for news. How is he?"

"Mum's taking care of him at the Burrow," Bill informed me, pulling a chair from his table towards me and my place by the wood-burning fireplace. He let the chair screech along the floor and plopped down into it as if he were as exhausted as I felt. "He's still not conscious. She said she should be able to take care of him – George doesn't want to stay with him."

"Why not? George is always with Fred." I shook my head, my heart jumping up into my throat as I tried to comprehend what his words could mean. Were these people just fooling with me? Placating me until I was calm enough that they could tell me a horrible truth about what had happened to Fred? This all seemed too easy – he had been covered in blood, unconscious, he couldn't just be at the Burrow and healed by his mother, could he? He had been much worse-off by that, my heart would not have been pounding in my chest if it were just a _flesh wound._

"Well, he left you," Bill said simply. "Fred's going to kill him when he wakes up."

Sirius let out a loud chuckle, shattering the tension and whatever had been holding my stomach at the back of my throat like some sickly bile. "He said something to that effect before he left."

"I'm not really sure how wrong he is," Bill stated with a grimace, stretching out his legs toward the fire which he magically stoked with his wand so that the flames roared. "Now, tell me everything that happened."

I let Sirius fill in the parts that George hadn't already told Bill when he'd dropped in for a report after making sure that Fred was under safe watch. After Sirius was left to the part of the story where he sat and waited for me, I took over. I made sure to finely tune the story to the sound I wanted it remembered with – there needed to be no acknowledgement of Snape realizing it was me, about Malfoy recognizing my very exclusive brand of magic, or certainly no mention of the ridiculous amount of detention I'd rounded up for Bill's little sister. Sirius watched me proudly through the tale; apparently, now that Bill was hearing the regurgitated lie, some part of it warranted pride instead of the "I told you so's" that I'd gotten from my godfather earlier.

"There's one more problem," I told him. "The V-word is officially out of bounds."

"I hardly talk to you about V-words," Bill laughed loudly, slapping his knee and looking at Sirius for validation in his joke. Sirius smirked, but did not laugh with him, which made me roll my eyes.

"Nope, _the _V-word. As in good ole Voldy has put a Taboo on his name." Bill's smile slipped off of his face like ink that had not dried. It left an odd, strange mix of emotions on his face as he tried to understand and stay uplifted.

"What?" Bill looked shocked. "He got into the Ministry to do that?"

"He doesn't have to," Sirius answered him, crossing his legs and leaning his shoulder against the wall beside him. "He's already put a Minister in there to do his bidding. After our announcement in the middle of Diagon Alley, I'm thinking he wants to find us when we do the broadcast."

"That's just the beginning of it," I agreed.

"Well, what's all that work going to be good for, then?" Bill sighed, crossing his own legs in front of the fire. I couldn't tell whether or not he was aware that the flames were nearly licking at his boots as he sat there. "We can't just let people say his name so they can be raided in their own homes and found as Order-sympathizers."

"We won't have to," I told him. "Sirius and I already discussed this: we're going to make it something you don't have to _say._ Like a speechless spell. It might limit our listeners for the first broadcast, but maybe that will make it more exclusive and more enticing for them. Then, when that's all said – or rather _not_ said – and done, we're going to show Riddle just how ready we are – and we're going to say it."

"What?" Sirius looked at me, pushing himself from the wall as if he were ready to rush over and check if I had received a head wound; a head wound that he somehow hadn't already noticed during his previous examinations. "We're not going to _call _the Death Eaters to our little broadcast party."

"No, we're going to call them into a trap," I corrected, straightening out my spine to make myself seem less exhausted than I was. Sirius would never let me formulate such a risky plan if he thought that this previous plan hadn't worked out to everyone's advantages. "We need to show them how intelligent and ready we are – the Death Eater's don't know that I got the tip-off about the Taboo...so we're going to lure them in with their own trap. It's time to teach them that we're not to be underestimated."

Bill gave Sirius a drawn-out look. If they thought I couldn't read it, they were fools: they didn't trust me after the previous muck-ups. It was a fair worry. Breaking into Hogwarts had not gone as planned; I did not get the sword and I had gotten caught, but I learned some valuable information that would go to waste if I didn't abuse it. It was time to strategize again and these men needed to learn that it was what I did best.

"I guess it could work."

"It _will _work," I stated confidently, my stomach dropping when Bill looked over to the portrait above the fireplace – it was a picture of his family and I did not need to look through all nine of the redheads in the photo to know where his worries landed. "And the moment Fred is awake, we'll start planning."

Though I could tell they weren't fully convinced, the men ordered me to bed. I didn't argue with them and trudged my way to the couch-bed I had grown to both love and hate, though I felt like I should stay up and try to get a head start on the planning for our next attack on Death Eater morale. There was too much to be done and as I had realized today: there were a lot of variables to consider in war strategy.

I couldn't believe everything I'd just gone through and it was just after two in the afternoon. My emotions were shot and with those went every zip of magic – I doubted I could crack the windows if I had a nightmare in this nap it felt like I would never be able to reach. My energy level was so low that I revelled in nothing more than falling face first into the hard, unforgiving couch cushions...but still, my mind kept my high-strung. There were so many things to think about, there were so many things that had happened in the past six hours... Not only had I snuck into Diagon Alley, I had rallied the public against Voldemort, and I had been the cause of Voldemort Tabooing his own name, but I also broke into the Ministry, I'd broken into Hogwarts, and I had gotten a nice little moment with my ex-mentor and boyfriend before I escaped the safest place in all of the Wizarding World.

While I flirted with the idea of how evil the men I loved were, I betrayed the good of the men who had helped me reach them. I'd slithered back with the snakes and forgotten all about the lions that had protected me as if I were from their own pride – had I thought about Fred at all while Malfoy watched me be hit with the Cruciatus curse? Had I worried about Fred when Snape warned me on how to be safe, though he helped incriminate anyone I had rallied against his own regime?

And after all of that, I hadn't gotten the sword. The only thing that we are sure can destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes and I had lost it. It was the only thing Dumbledore had ordered of me: destroy the Horcruxes. It was a simple enough task, particularly when I had thought I'd be able to destroy them with Magnuse, but now I had no means of destroying something more evil than the feelings in my mind...that _doubt_ that plagued the thoughts of the Slytherins I once deemed to protect and now fought against.

Theodore was reason enough to rise against Voldemort's reign: he was a Death Eater now, that had to be what him showing up in Snape's office meant. But he wouldn't curse me, even when he thought that I was Ginny. That was a good sign, wasn't it? It was a sign that though he had been forced to join them, he didn't _support _them, just like Daphne had warned. And Draco, he had allowed me to escape. Surely he had to know what my going to the bathroom meant, once he realized who I was. He had made sure I wasn't alone with Montague – out of old instinct, or to protect Montague from the horrors I wished to inflict on him? And Snape...Snape had let me go.

They had _both _let me go.

And so the doubt was planted...

And with each movement of the second hand...it grew.

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><p>I doubt that had I slept. No, it was impossible, there was no way that I had gotten any sleep after I had closed my eyes before something landed hard on the end of my couch-bed. There was a moment where I became confused over which course of torture I would attempt – which would be easiest: my Magnuse, or my wand? – before I opened my eyes and blearily looked at my attacker.<p>

Upon seeing two bruised and battered Weasley twins, I couldn't help but ask why I'd even questioned who would possibly have enough gall to wake me so rudely.

"You're alive," my voice came out hoarse and somewhat mousey as I looked at Fred. I couldn't believe the flood of relief that washed over me. With everything that had happened at the end of the mission, I'd forgotten all of the dread of the beginning. The lower-voiced redhead looked to be in one piece and somehow he looked just as worried for me as I felt for him...even if those worries had been drowned out by the anger and fear of everything I'd seen after. Still, there was one obvious and painful truth as I looked into his bright, worried, and smiling face... "You look like death."

"I could say the same," he responded. "But that would be offensive_. _Did you know that you've had a nest built into your hair overnight?"

"That usually happens," I muttered, moving to run my fingers through my hair and wincing when they met the harsh knots of sleep. I didn't bother yanking my fingers through any further, even if I pat it down to a more manageable feel.

"He refused to let you sleep any longer," Sirius said from the doorway, leaning against it lazily as he always did. "Nearly bowled over George and I just to get to you."

"Because Merlin knows I don't need the sleep," I rolled my eyes, sitting up farther in bed and taking a moment to stretch out my sore and cramped limbs – if I had gotten any sleep, it seemed I hadn't moved a single muscle. Just as I was about to yawn, shock took over my reflexes and I frowned.

"Is there something on my face?" George asked innocently.

In fact, there was something on his face. A large, angry, purple bruise that covered his entire right eye.

My eyes narrowed on his doppelganger. "Did you _hit _him?"

"Of course not," Fred scoffed, waving the accusation away as if George didn't have a blackened eye at all. "I snuck him a punching telescope to symbolize how bad of a watch he is. Sent one to Neville, too."

"Oh," I continued my yawn. "Then that's fine."

"He still kind of hit me," George pointed out, moping as he did.

"You deserved it," I shot back at him, "not taking him to the hospital right away-"

Fred gawked. "He deserved it because he took me to the hospital in the first place!"

"Drea did that stupid guilt-thing. She's really good at it," George defended animatedly, pointing an accusing finger between my godfather and I. "You saw it, Sirius. It was horrible, wasn't it? She convinced you, didn't she?"

"She's quite good at bending reason and insanity."

"It's a talent," I assured them blandly, running my hands over my face and hoping that the grogginess would disappear. "Now besides missing me, is there a reason you woke me up at an ungodly hour?"

"You've slept nearly an entire day, Drea," Fred informed me, crossing his arms. I couldn't tell whether or not to believe him – he looked sincere, but I felt no better rested than when I'd fallen on this couch. "And you said that _I _needed to see a healer – you look like a mess."

"I _am _a mess," I frowned, moving my hands instinctively through my hair and blushing when I watched his eyes follow the movement. He gave me a reassuring smile, one that brought out a strange sense of insecurity, making my hand drop back to my lap... Well, that's enough of that. Business was much more productive than pleasure in this household. "I assume you heard about what our daring display did?"

All of the men in the room had the decency to look ashamed. It was a whole new battle now that we knew Voldemort had been clever enough to Taboo his own name.

Fred, of course, recovered fastest. "More reason to come up with nicknames."

"That would cheer you up, wouldn't it, Audrey?" George encouraged, moving to sit on the arm of the couch, behind where his brother still invaded my pillows.

I thought about it absently before nodding my head. "We could put it on the radio show – tell people how to get around the Taboo and be less afraid to mock him. We could play that off smartly, after all, he can't have a Taboo on every rude combination of his name."

"The radio show?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You're still on that idea?"

"Of course I am," I told him, furrowing my brow at how genuinely shocked he sounded. "Now that Vo...now that _You Know Who_ has Tabooed his name in spite of me, it's proven that he feels like he still needs more control over us. There's no other way for us to gain control than by showing that he can't strip it away from us – he'll unravel with madness. Silence has been his vessel here, it's time to break it."

"Well said-"

"-such a poet-"

"-she'll write the broadcasts-"

"-oh, obviously, she's going to be the voice-"

"-though we'll have the best input-"

"-obviously."

"But what about people who need anonymity?" Sirius asked. "Not that I don't love the idea of putting You Know Who in his place, but then there would be a target on anyone who dared speak out against him – we can't just have normal people on the chopping block like that."

"Do we count as normal?"

"Never," Fred and George high-fived, as if that was some kind of compliment.

"Hmm, that's a good point," I muttered. "Even Lovegood has been keeping stories quiet in the Quibbler – it's proof that they'll come after you if you misbehave. That's not fair to people who plot instead of plunder."

"Like you?" Sirius smirked, raising a heavy brow. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he already knows about me," I responded, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "But someone with good intel like Kingsley? He needs to stay invisible. He's still safe, even if he's on a tightrope. It'd be wrong to strip us of our own source."

"Or have him hurt," Sirius added, narrowing his eyes at my harsh thinking.

"Sure, that too."

"Well, maybe we should keep everyone anonymous," George offered, shrugging animatedly. "Maybe give them all a spell to change their voice? We could sound neutral, maybe even indistinguishable."

"Have everyone sound the same, you mean?" Sirius asked George, who again shrugged in response.

"No, making us indistinguishable defeats the purpose of showing the numbers and resources we have," I shook my head, playing with the ring on my necklace while I considered what I had learned because of it. This ring had belonged to Dumbledore and the night he died – and all the nights leading _up _to that night – I had learned a lot about the Death Eaters, like how they thought...what they feared. "If I know anything from my time with the Slytherins, the only thing as intimidating as power is the power over _others. _Sure, a good wand is one thing, but a good wand-maker? That's better. The more resources, the more fail-safes."

"Codenames, then?" Sirius considered aloud, nodding his head as soon as the words formed. "It's how James, Remus, Bastard and I used to get away with it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Interesting idea...we couldn't make them too obvious though...or too abstract. We wouldn't want the public to think that we're slacking off and not really showing up."

"Make them uniform-" Fred said.

"-right, everyone's a species of frog-"

"-or a potion ingredient-"

"-Fred, you're such a suck-up-"

"-what? It's a good idea. If Audrey's running this broadcast, it should be something she decides, right?"

"I am good with nicknames," I smirked. "So you're going to be _Rodent_."

Fred balked, his mouth falling open. "What? Why?"

"Because you're ridiculous, jittery, and are constantly gnawing on my patience."

Fred pouted while both George and Sirius laughed.

"Well then you're going to be _Rude_," Fred bit back to George, who only continued to laugh harder at the name he had been given. I took my time to laugh before turning to point at my godfather.

"Oi, Sirius, you should be _Ruff_!" I announced, cackling loudly. "Geddit?"

"It should be _Awoo!_"

"No, Lupin's a wolf, Sirius is a dog," I rolled my eyes at Fred's obvious mistake. "He's _Ruff_."

"So funny," Sirius rolled his eyes, but he was still trying to hold back his chuckling. "Can't I stay as Snuffles?"

"Too easy," Fred dismissed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "If I'm going to be _Rodent, _you have to be _Ruff._"

"And George is going to be _Rude,_" I snorted.

"You have an _R_ theme here..." Sirius noted. I thought about it - it would unify us. A nice little touch.

"'Rated R'...hmm, could be the name of the broadcast," I thought, looking to the boys for confirmation. They made a face as if I had just told them it should be labelled _Menstrual Cycles_.

"No," Fred told me sternly. "It should be something symbolic like the 'Red Forecast' or 'Potterwatch'."

"After _Rated R _this can all be taken wrong," I snorted derisively. "Potterwatch isn't bad...it hints that we're still in touch with Harry and that's who the idiots _really _care to hear about."

All the men groaned. It was so unanimous that if Bill and Fleur weren't off at work, they may have joined in on the symphony of disappointment.

"Don't be such a downer," George nudged me in the ribs, ignoring the evil eye I sent him when he did so. "They'll want to hear _you _because you're running it."

"Oh, our supporters should be _Roars_! You know, because they're Gryffindors?" Fred smiled.

I frowned pointedly, moving the evil eye from George over to his twin brother. Sirius, who easily caught the exchange, sighed pointedly. "Audrey's glower is right, not _everyone _will be a Gryffindor."

"Though a large majority will be," George noted. "Everyone else is too chi-_ow!_"

"In case you haven't realized, George Whatever-Your-Middle-Name-Is Weasley, I am sitting here putting my life on the line along with this _majority _of ours," I hissed out, kicking at him through my blankets and making him flinch away from the flying appendage. "The difference between you and I is that you do it to be brave and I do it because someone here has to be _smart._"

"I am plenty smart, thank you very much."

"Was it not you who fell for looking into a punching telescope that you and your brother manufactured?" I crossed my arms. "I'd hardly call you intelligent."

"Rude," George huffed.

"It's a great codename for you, I agree," I smiled back, making him roll his eyes.

"You should be _Red!_" Fred suddenly announced again – apparently he was very uninvolved in his twin's argument.

"Alright, almost anyone who comes into this house could be _Red _because you're either gingers or Gryffindors-"

"-or both," Fred offered. I rolled my eyes.

"Exactly, I want something cooler," I told them. I thought about it for a moment, trying hard to keep the letter _R _in my mind – it cut down my options, but there was one obvious choice. "How about _Rebel_?"

"That is so ordinary!"

"No!"

"Why do _you _get to be a rebel if we're all rebelling? I want to be _Rebel_!"

"This was my idea," I told him, pointing to him to silence him. "I'm not going to have a lousy name like _Rude _when-"

"So you admit it's lousy!" He accused, moving to point to me in the same way. Fred looked at both of our arms, reaching past him to accuse each other of poor ideas.

"I admit _you're _lousy," I corrected. "So you get a lousy name. I'm not going to have such a bad name when I came up with such a _good _idea. So, since I'm the lead rebel here, I should-"

"I know what you should be!" Fred suddenly announced, pointing at me as if he had just seen for the first time and what he saw genuinely shocked him. "You should be..._Ridgeback_!"

"What?"

"_Ridgeback_," George repeated, clapping in appreciation before moving his hand over and high-fiving his brother. "Great one, Fred."

"Thank you, George," Fred agreed, bowing in his seat. "But it's true, Drea – it's perfect."

"It's stupid," I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the opposite couch arm and crossing my arms. I didn't want to be named after a dragon when I had previously dated someone who was given the same privilege. It would be a constant reminder of Draco and how I had once planned to save him and how now I was trying to keep myself convinced that he was now happy being a villain.

"How is that stupid?" Sirius asked, using that tone that sounded like he was about to lecture me on morals. He finally pushed himself off the door frame to walk into the room. "It's brilliant really – that's the moment you stood out, Drea. That's the moment the world saw how strong you were, when you coerced the Norwegian Ridgeback in the Triwizard Tournament."

"But nobody cares about that, nobody cares about what I have to say, Sirius..." I told him bitterly, earning another small groan from the twins.

"But they will," Sirius informed me, he shot a look to silence the Weasleys before, kneeling to look me straight in the eye. "You're going to make them."

Everyone gave me a smile and a nudge in the ribs or a pat on the back; Sirius had a mighty good point. I was always complaining that people needed to take my advice, that people never trusted me – this was the moment to change all that. Yes, people always had such trouble listening to Audrey Potter...so it was time to make them.

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><p>"Audrey Potter, this is the worst idea you've ever had! How could you be so irresponsible? I never expected this kind of behaviour from you, you're usually so level headed! After the stunt you pulled all over the entire god-forsaken Wizarding World-"<p>

I stood still and took my punishment like an adult...even if she was making me feel like a child thanks to the screaming. I had never seen Molly Weasley so cross with someone that wasn't one of her _own _set of twins. Perhaps it was because we just heard that Ginny was banned from Hogsmeade, perhaps it was because she had just found out about Ginny's extracurricular and unavoidable month of detention, but today was the day she decided she'd had enough of my plotting.

It was a terrible day to decide this, however, considering today would be our first not-so-secret radio broadcast.

"Mum, leave her alone," Fred whined. "We have to get going!"

Fred was finally looking healthier now that the week had gone by. He finally had his normal peachy-colour back, he was finally able to walk without so horrible a limp, and most noticeably he was back to flirting with me full stop. As much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to mind it. In the past two weeks Fred had stood by me more than anyone else I'd ever known – including my own twin brother – so how could I deny him a simple flirting?

Besides, I was glad that he was okay. Remembering the dread I had felt when he was hurt was only outweighed by the relief of seeing him okay and bothering me again. As for the flirting, though the tension always grew between us, it was quite flattering. And I enjoyed being flattered at a time like this when I knew the Wizarding World would be disappointed with Harry's lack of guidance and my overabundance of it.

And even though the Slytherins who hated Fred – who were also the Slytherins who Fred hated – were constantly plaguing my thoughts, he seemed to be the only thing able to distract me from their bother.

Having him rid me of all thoughts pertaining to Snape and Theodore and Draco was reason enough to keep the boy around.

"No," Mrs. Weasley huffed out, glaring over at that very boy. "I cannot believe you are being so irresponsible! And Sirius, helping them like this, as if it's the old days with James-"

"Say whatever you want, Molly," Sirius rolled his eyes, but there was a slight sting to his words. "Some of us are trying to be proactive about You Know Who's influence compared to the Order's. Someone has to take a stand – you should be proud that Audrey decided to do it."

"Well, I-" her face reddened more, this time out of embarrassment. "Of course I'm proud of her! She's come quite a long way from how sullen she was, but that makes no difference to how dangerous this is-"

"Audrey has given us a lot of warning. She's been pushing her visions every day for a week," George argued. "We know every possible thing that's going to happen and we've prepared for it."

"Well what if she's wrong?" She snapped.

"Visions aren't wrong, Mum," Fred looked at her as if she were a fool. "Visions don't change."

Molly Weasley sent a look to me, one that I didn't miss. Fred was wrong and both she and I knew it. Sirius knew it too, not that he acted on it as often. Mrs Weasley had been there when I told the Order that I had changed parts of my vision, that I had the ability to foresee and change them before they happened – it was a sign that perhaps the future wasn't set in stone, which meant that our failures were still an option...and possibly imminent...but still, she stayed quiet.

"Exactly, she's put so much work into it – do you want her to be a nobody?" George continued, not noticing the look that his mother had thrown to me. "Because if the Wizarding World forgets about her, she'll be a nobody. Then who will give them hope?"

"Of course she's not a nobody..." Mrs Weasley was stuttering now, feeling like she was trapped. It was a fair evaluation of what was happening – she would never win this argument with these stubborn men on my side.

George gave his mother a look that showed he saw her defeat like I did. "Are you going to let us do the broadcast then-"

"-because Audrey's actually quite important-"

"-she's leading the show, you know-"

"-since good ole Lovegood has started to monitor all his printing-"

"-no one reads _the Quibbler_ anyway, Fred-"

"-well, I _did. _Now there's nothing worth reading. I mean, Wrackspurts? Really?"

"Alright!" Molly let out a final huff and took a step away from me as if she were retreating. We had won. Still, she didn't seem alright with the defeat and she rubbed her hands nervously on her dress while she tried to keep herself calm. "You should get to your broadcast."

"Will you be listening in?" I asked her. "I know Ginny said she would be..."

Molly's eye seemed to twitch at the mention of her daughter. I decided waiting for her answer was a little too risky for my taste and took Fred's offered hand so he could lead me away. He started to chuckle as we ran from my makeshift bedroom and into the kitchen of Shell Cottage.

"You couldn't have bothered her anymore, could you have?" Fred asked me with a raised eyebrow, looking back toward my room where we had left the banshee. George, to the side, mumbled something about 'going to help Lupin' and adding something along the lines of 'and give you two some privacy', but he was gone before I could see if I were right. "There should be a limit to the amount of trouble you want to cause, Drea."

"You don't have a limit," I pointed out.

He smiled widely. "That's because I'm sensational. People shouldn't try to live up to that."

"I'll keep that in mind," I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to counter him. Thanks to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, everyone knew how sensational the twins were – who was I to argue? "Shall we head to the bunker, then?"

Fred's eyes flickered down and following the look, it was hard not to notice that our fingers were still intertwined. There was a moment where I wondered if he was just checking because we were going to be Disapparating together, but when he looked back up at me, I could tell it wasn't a precautionary check. He saw more in our grip. He looked so serious – something I was never and would never be used to seeing from him – before he gave my hand the smallest, but firmest, of squeezes.

My face blossomed with blood and I could feel the heat radiating off of it so strongly that the snow that would soon begin to fall would have been melted around me. Still, I didn't let go of his hand. I owed Fred a lot more than a simple blush after everything that had happened these past few weeks: his loyalty, his affection, and his trust that he had given to me...it was more than flattering. It was inspiring.

Pulling Fred to the front step of Shell Cottage, I thought hard about our destination and turned on my heel, bringing him along with me as I Disapparated away from my safe house to reach the newest Order location. This newest safe house was old and hardly used, made of concrete and in the middle of nowhere. Lupin had been scouting places for weeks before he had come up with this diamond in the rough. I was sure to give the concrete bunker a once-over, noticing the round table in the middle of the room and the chandelier that was filled with a luminescent yellow liquid. I smiled up at our make-do light-source: one of my more brilliant and subtle inventions of late.

"Are we all set?"

"Almost," Sirius answered, lifting his head after he had put the last of the chairs in place. There were six chairs for the six of us who would be running _Potterwatch's _first broadcast. We had decided to go with a simpler title since we had gone so in-depth with our codenames – and anything about the R theme sounded sexual and over thought. I was actually antsy to get everything started – it was time to make an impact and I was glad to be the one running it.

The Death Eaters thought they could quiet me down? More powerful beings have tried and failed.

"When will the others be here?"

"Any minute," Sirius looked at the old, grimy clock on the concrete walls. "I'd hope that they'd papered Diagon Alley with the posters by now."

"They should have done," Fred glanced up to the clock as well, verifying the time for himself. He was always nervous when his brother wasn't near him – how different the sets of Potter and Weasley twins were. "I'm sure they're just making sure the Alley _thoroughly _portrays the message."

I had wanted to be one of the people peppering the alley with the giant posters announcing our first broadcast, but Sirius had decided against it in case something happened and they were delayed. It was upsetting to know others were doing it in my stead, but there was no denying the comfort of the concrete bunker in comparison to the chilled, late September air.

Sirius, Fred and I sat down at the table, waiting for the bunker door to open. I wasn't necessarily worried about Voldemort's supporters finding us, but it was hard not to notice that both the men around me had their wands at the ready. I could only hope they wouldn't find us until we had at least finished our broadcast...it would be such a waste of effort, otherwise. There was no denying that I could feel my own palms prickle in anticipation; even if I wanted to delay a fight, I couldn't help but look forward to it.

Kingsley arrived first, using the proper secret knock – which I found to be slightly immature – before allowing himself to be searched. After a short interrogation by my godfather, he was allowed to sit down next to Sirius and wait as nervously as we did. The silence was more jarring than when the large man finally opened his mouth and broke it.

"So, Audrey," Kingsley's loud voice corrupted the quiet. "How will you begin this broadcast?"

"I don't know, simply," I shrugged, brushing my palms against my pants. I'd been asked this question quite a few times and as I took a moment to look over to Fred, he mentioned for me to continue. He liked my elaborate, violent explanations most. "Then I'll shove the truth down their throats, through their ears, whatever I have to do to get the Wizarding World to acknowledge the war that's brewing in the streets."

"Exactly, tell them the truth about what's really going on," Sirius agreed, drumming his knuckles against the round table in appreciation.

"It's good to encourage them to rise up against their oppressors," Kingsley nodded to himself.

"Oh, and remind them that the Order keeps order and the Death Eaters _cause _death." The three of us gave Fred a look to show how we were not amused. "Well they don't _eat _it."

As if that answer made the statement any better.

I rolled my eyes. "Wow, why don't you just do all the writing? That was poetry."

"I can tell you're mocking me," Fred accused, his tone light. "But I don't know why."

"Good." Saying that word so stubbornly and seeing the grin on his face twisted my insides like a knife. What a simple word with so many connotations, so many memories... That word had once meant so much to Draco and I. That simple word had once been the foundation to everything we were and, at least I'd _thought, _everything we believed in. Good: benefitting, getting ahead, making things easier for ourselves rather than others...

I missed the days when I looked after myself, rather than others. When Theodore or Harry would be the one arguing for us to let people know about the bad things, right before I cut them off with something scathing and realistic – something so realistic that they realized they were idiots.

Was I the idiot now? Was that what I was doing here? Had they finally dumbed me down to their level?

The door knocked with the same distinctive knock that Kingsley had used, a succession of eight strange knocks in a syncopated rhythm, and both of the older men went to question George and Lupin, who stood in the doorway looking winded.

"Sorry we're late," Lupin announced, taking off his cloak as he was granted entrance to the dank room. "Had a bit of a chase at the end, there."

"He means we were chased," George corrected, falling into the chair beside his brother as if he were so exhausted he could no longer stand. "I always thought werewolves were quick runners-"

"I was plenty quick, thank you," Lupin said tightly. George scoffed with a roll of his eyes – I had no idea what had happened in Diagon Alley this morning, but it wasn't common for George to roll his eyes so derisively. That was kind of _my _response.

"Alright," Lupin announced as he came closer to everyone, taking his seat across from me. "Noon is approaching, I think we should take the time to make sure this charm works."

Lupin's dark eyes skirted over to me and it wasn't hard to notice the nervousness to them...or the true intention of his words. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes and snort derisively.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I mumbled, taking out my wand and glaring at it – it needed to stop embarrassing me like this. It shouldn't be _assumed _that I couldn't do something. I could do anything I bloody well wanted.

"Remember, it's a simple flick to your Adam's apple – er, throat – and then you place the hilt on the table, like so: _Nutaire Maxima,_" Lupin moved his wand to rap lightly against his Adam's apple, as he instructed, before he placed his wand down on the old table that separated and united the six of us. The particularly rounded hilt of his wand sat perfectly balanced on its end, holding the tip of his wand straight up towards the light fixture. It did not teeter, it did not move, it sat obediently in front of him, balanced and waiting. "Your go."

I hated this part.

Everyone moved to try the incantation and I was pleased to see that it was not only I who had difficulties with it. This was something that the adults had worked for weeks to create and polish – I mean, no other radio station had moving headquarters and secret passwords – and since it was the only way to go about this, I had been plainly told that there were no interesting Audrey-esc adjustments allowed.

After the third time of my wand falling limply and nearly rolling off the table, Lupin tried to hide his disappointment.

"It's just a bit of transfiguration, Drea," he said as kindly as he could.

"Yeah, come on – wand into magiphone-" George encouraged. "Tap and pound."

"We know that Audrey struggles with transfiguration," Sirius smirked a little bit, likely remembering all the frustration of my attempts with Animagus Magic that I was still far from perfecting. "Maybe she wants one of us to do it for her..."

"Don't you dare!" I seethed, working my way at it all again. It was just a simple transfiguration spell, it would turn my wand into a magiphone so that I could speak through the radio at teh specific frequency – in theory, it was easy. In practice, however...

_Nutaire Maxima, Nutaire Maxima, Nutaire-bloody-Maxima you son of a...I'm going to snap you, you stupid Augurey Ash if you don't start cooperating with this rebellion! Nutaire Maxima-_

It wasn't long before George sighed, losing his patience with me. "Come on, Audrey, it's simple!"

"Simple for you, maybe," I gave him a harsh glare. "How about while I try this, you make me a Draught of Living Death without any instructions?"

"That's impossible for anyone except _you_," Fred mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, Weasley, it's simple!" I mocked, my voice low as I mocked his twin brother's words.

"You think you're so great at potions, yeah?" George taunted, looking at the hilt of his wand which had balanced quickly on its hilt, ready to obey him. Bastard. "Then stick with that and _I'll _do this..."

I moved to grab my wand, just in case he tried to take it from me before I was ready to try this stupid incantation again. I had no idea if George would be able to do the charm for me or not, considering it needed to be done with my wand for my voice to carry through the airwaves, but I was not about to give up so easily...

Then again, why did I need to? The twins' words rang in my ear like bells going off, alarms going off warning me that I had missed something hidden behind his words.

"Stick to it, to potions?" I repeated, my mind whirring. Hmm. Why not? It would certainly be more enjoyable. When I had asked them to make a Draught of Living Death, I had been mocking them – of course they wouldn't be able to pull that off without instructions. But we all knew that _I_ could, I'd been dancing around potions since I had learned about magic in the first place. I had mastered potions that were impossible to master, I had even tampered in the art of creating my own...

So why couldn't I master my own?

Why would I try to master the kind of magic I already knew I was shite with and not trying to master everything in my own way? It wasn't like me to just adjust myself to how everyone else expected things to be done – that's never how I've worked...so no wonder my transfiguration, my Animagus magic wasn't working properly.

_I_ wasn't working properly.

"That's it," I gasped, looking to my godfather, who looked bemused by the face of my newest epiphany. He looked at me nervously, as if he were still concerned that I had some frontal lobe damage he hadn't been able to notice from one of our earlier battles.

"What's 'it'?"

"Potions!" I announced loudly, slapping my hands against the table and feeling my palms itch with appreciation of the violence. "Why am I trying to be an Animagus _your _way, when I can make it _my _way?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Fred asked, giving me the same look as my godfather.

George, however, looked amused. "Is this really the time for self-revelations?"

"Polyjuice potion doesn't allow you to turn into an animal, Audrey," Lupin told me solemnly, as ready as ever to burst my bubble. I shook my head, trying to show him that I was already considering this.

"Yours doesn't, the _traditional _one doesn't – but since when have I been traditional?" I asked him, running my hands through my hair and feeling the smile stretch across my face. "I'll make my own!"

"You don't even know what animal you'd be turning into," Sirius told me, shaking his head and already doubting my brilliance. People did that far too often. "It could go horribly wrong, Audrey. You can't just wing-it like you normally do..."

"She could make herself turn into any animal," Fred offered, trying to seem supportive even though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes like it normally did. "Any animal that she needs for that time."

"That's not how it works," Sirius shook his head. "The body only allows what the soul provides. If Audrey's animal were a snake she could _only _be a snake."

"Just like Malfoy was only ever a ferret," George snorted, Fred rolled his eyes and elbowed him in the ribs – it was the reaction any time one of my Slytherin friends was brought into the conversation. Fred would prefer George keep his mouth shut than make me grimace at the idea of my ex-boyfriend.

"I'll find my animal then, I'll make the restrictions – but this is what the problem has been all along," I assured Sirius, nodding my head as I realized everything I had done wrong. Why had I ever tried to be like them? There was no one better at outthinking themthan I was. "I've been trying to be like you when I should have been thinking about how _I _do things. Potions mesh, _mutation _doesn't."

"Great revelation," Kingsley announced, looking pleased and chortling in his deep voice. "But we are already over time and the viewers are expecting us to feed them the truth."

"Right," I felt giddy, my whole chest felt like it was expanding from all the new possibilities. This was it: the answer I had been waiting for. This would solve my problems because _I _was the answer, not their stupid incantations. It was so relieving, the possibility that I could finally make things work, that I was finally back to the place I should be: I was done being like everyone else. Fred and George were right: it's impossible for anyone except me...if I'm so great at potions, I should stick with it.

I turned to Fred at my side and grabbed his face, giving him a rough kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked when I pulled away, his eyes as large as saucers.

"For being a genius," I told him, smiling boldly as I moved to try my wand again.

"But George-"

I raised an eyebrow, though I couldn't make the smile dissipate. "Would you prefer I kiss him, too?"

"No, no, I'll be burdened with the responsibility," he assured me, nodding to himself before he pushed my wand back into my itching, fidgeting hands. I slapped myself in the throat and slapped it against the large oak table. The hilt balanced perfectly on its end–I was in my zone now.

I gave it a moment, clearing my throat to see how it would work while Lupin fiddled with the wireless radio on the table beside him. The sound of my dry throat scratching met the speakers and I smiled...we were live.

"Hello London, hello Britain...welcome to the first ever transmission from the resistance against the Death Eaters. We call this particular program _Potterwatch_ so that you know how the Potters," I gave a stern look over to Sirius who smiled and rolled his eyes at the emphasis on my own work for this resistance, "are doing against You Know Who."

"Very good," George chimed in, smiling widely when his voice came through the system. It was a thrill, hearing your own voice shout back at you from the small wireless beside us. It let us know that we were being heard by people who wanted the truth. Who wouldn't listen to the broadcast that had been promoted by being papered all around Diagon Alley, announced by attacks on the Death Eaters?

Who wouldn't be curious?

"It was, wasn't it?" Fred's voice came in too, he was red in the face and smiling ridiculously. By how dreamy and absent his eyes were, I highly doubted it was because of his appearance on Potterwatch.

"Now, though we're fighting against He Who Must Not Be Named, it should be noted that we're not really in the mood to die for the cause, not my cup of tea, you see. But we're all here to fight for it and let you make up your own mind about how you'll do the same. So, we've decided to give ourselves some nicknames you can get to know us by, that the Death Eaters won't track as easily. With me today, I have Royal, Romulus, Ruff, Rude, and Rodent."

"I thought we decided on different nicknames!"

"This is ridiculous!" the twins chorused.

"Too bad," I muttered, chuckling to myself. "And I'm your host, Ridgeback. I'll be hosting these little broadcasts and telling you the news and movements of the Death Eaters and of the fight against them. Would you like to explain the meaning of these broadcasts, Romulus?"

"The point to these updates is keeping everyone informed about what's really going on in our world," he informed the audience that we could not hear. But I could feel it. I could feel that they were joined in as if I were one of the people that was listening in secret – it was a dirty little secret that I knew people wouldn't wash away. "We want you listeners to know that there _is _a resistance against our oppressors and that things are being done to end this war with you staying as safe as possible."

"And quite an effort it's been," George sighed. "Do you know how difficult it is to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic?"

"That was quite a day, wasn't it, Rude?" Fred sighed more reminiscently than his brother had. "Not that the Ministry hasn't been infiltrated by Death Eaters on a daily basis."

"That's a good point: let's talk politics," I moved closer to the tip of my wand, giving an eye over to Kingsley, who nodded his head affirmatively. "One of our guests today, Royal, has quite the know-how on what's going on behind the Ministry's closed doors, why don't you tell them?"

"With pleasure, Ridgeback," Kingsley leaned closer to the tip of his own wand, as I had, while he cleared his own throat. "The new minister, Pius Thicknesse, has been completely taken over by the Death Eater's influence. It appears that he may be under the Imperius Curse, but that is no cause to take his turn lightly – whether he knows it or not, he has made some dangerous changes to the policies of the Ministry and their impact on our lives, including the werewolf, metamorphmagus, and muggleborn registries."

"And why do they have these sign-ups, Royal?"

"Simply to know who is a threat," he responded sternly. "None of their facts are warranted: it is impossible for werewolves to control their changes outside of the full moon, it is impossible for metamorphmaguses to permanently replace your family members, and it is impossible for muggles or muggleborns to steal our magic. My sources tell me that next on the list of registries will be anyone with the ability to perform Cantated magic; they are a threat to Death Eater and Ministry security because of their power."

"Also the fact that good ole Audrey Potter is one. Trying to get her in trouble, are they?" I rolled my eyes over towards Fred, who had lost his dreamy gaze and finally looked like the mischievous version of himself that I enjoyed best. "I'd like to see them try."

"Not that Audrey Potter is here, of course-"

"-no, not at all, that would be far too dangerous-"

"-she's off doing other dangerous things-"

"-different dangerous things like spying-"

"-or rallying an army of rats-"

"-or infiltrating the Ministry-"

"-or burning You-Know-Who's face again."

"Ah," I sighed nostalgically, a grin sketching itself over my lips again. "That was a good night."

"Ridgeback," Sirius mumbled. "Back to business."

"Right," I cleared my throat as I tried to stop remembering how my very touch had burned Voldemort's face – and my own fingers, at that – but that was hardly something I had been able to forget in the weeks since the incident. I needed to stay on track and tell them about how Voldemort's burnt face and new regime will affect _them. _"Tell us about some of the other underground organizations, Romulus."

"He Who Must Not Be Named is not just stopping on his corral of witches and wizards," Romulus nodded his head patiently. "In fact, that is only the beginning of his desires. He has been trying to rally all sorts of Dark creatures to his aid – banshees, vampires, dementors, acromantula, nudus, basilisks, even the werewolves, he's been attempting to rally a second army of things that do not have to stay in disguise."

"Funny that," Fred chuckled.

I raised a brow. "How the hell is that funny?"

"Well, most of those things don't have souls," Fred explained. "It means they're harder to control. That's just common knowledge, in all the textbooks, isn't it?"

I cleared my throat awkwardly, trying not to mention just how closely Voldemort may feel to them because of this apparent lack of soul. "Well, he's always liked a challenge."

"Speaking of," Sirius piped up quickly. "Let's talk about where You Know Who actually is."

"Yeah!" The twins chorused, before Fred continued. "Who are you sorry sods who actually think you saw him in your garden?"

"Because that's not a challenge!" George took the lead from Fred, sounding quite empowered by the subject matter. "If I wanted to, I could pop into your garden to pick some of your badly grown violets, can't I?"

"This is a good point," I leaned in closer to the tip of my wand. "Let me make something perfectly plain, people: You Know Who doesn't give two shites about you. Sorry if that doesn't make you feel special, but he doesn't. If you haven't already joined him, he doesn't really care if you do. He has his army, even if it's a shite one, so he doesn't care whether or not you're going to join him as long as you're afraid of him-"

"Which everyone is," Lupin pointed out.

"Which is ridiculous," I added. "Don't you realize that he literally isn't there, paying attention to you? He doesn't care who you are so long as you're not in his way and I can guarantee that most of you are not. If you're not high up in the Ministry, if you're not a voice speaking against him and rallying the masses, if you're not from an old, Pureblooded family-"

"-Voldy's not a Pureblood, by the way-"

"-yeah, he's lying to you-"

"-he's a Halfblood-"

"-just like the Potters."

"Exactly. Unless you're old blood, high in the Ministry, or a named rebel, such as the Potters or the Order of the Phoenix, he literally doesn't care if you're alive or dead. After all, if all of you are dead, who will he have to control? He'd rather you just stay quiet than actually having to come out and kill you – if he preferred it, you'd already be dead."

Lupin gave me a glare – apparently he would rather I be polite. "Harsh words, Ridgeback."

"Nevertheless true," Sirius nodded to me, giving me a smile of encouragement – it was nice someone expected blunt honestly. "Go on, Ridgeback, let them know."

"Alright, the main point of this first broadcast is simply to apologize for the raucous caused by the Potters' last appearance in the Wizarding World. Last time you saw them, there were repercussions, smart ones on the part of the Death Eaters-"

"Who'd have thought?" Both of the twins chorused.

"-we want it to be known that You Know Who's actual name has been Tabooed. You know what that means adults, and for those of you who don't, it means not to say it. They can now track anyone who says it, so simply don't, alright? In response, however, we have other names that you should call him."

"Oh, yes, this list is fun. Everyone get out a quill so you don't miss any."

"It'd be quite a shame," Fred agreed, leaning forward and crossing his arms over the table as he hunched his shoulders to get comfortable.

"There is my personal favourite," I told everyone, pausing for a minute. "The Riddler_._"

"Is that a Muggle reference?"

"It's a damn good one, too," I informed Kingsley. "It's referencing a psychopath who gets foiled by the same man every time – sound familiar? He's not a very good bad guy and he's always so proud to be in green."

"Fitting," Fred nodded, making his voice sound much more posh and snooty.

"Though very average sounding," George, naturally, had copied his brother's tone.

"That's because he used to be a pretty average guy," I explained. "Another student at Hogwarts who was a bully and one hell of a liar. Great with curses, but still a general arse-wipe that didn't get enough love as a child or the toy he wanted for Christmas."

"You just described half of the Purebloods," George snorted loudly.

"No, Rude, most pureblood pricks get whatever they want for Christmas," Fred argued him.

"Touché."

"Back on topic, gentlemen," I announced, pulling their attention back to where it should be. "There are a number of other rude names you can call He Who Must Not Be Named, because he _should _be named. All men are. I tend to enjoy names such as _Voldy-_"

"-Moldy-Shorts-"

"-Snake-eyes-"

"-Noseless-"

"-No-Nose is a nice variation to that," George piped in. "Don't be afraid to have fun with it, folks."

"-Flight of Bad-Breath-"

"Oh, great translation!"

"-Snake-tongue-"

"-Arse-hole-"

"-Idiot-"

"-Murderer-"

"-Halfblood-"

"And, saving the best for last, we have his real name," I announced, quieting down the twins so that I could make sure that everyone who had tuned in would hear it. "Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Tom Riddle?" Sirius played as if he had never heard it before. "That's his real name?"

"Oh, yes," the theatrics were much more fun than I had expected – no wonder my brother always spoke like this. I could feel the attention on my voice, even though I had no idea who may or may not have been listening to it. "He inherited it from his Muggle father, you see."

"His father was a muggle?" Fred gasped. "The horror!"

"Have you seen his face?" George raised his index finger, factually. "That's the real horror."

"It's true. That little Dark Mark of his is such a fashion faux pas."

"And it's not like he can Taboo it...do you know how common the name Tom is? Even Tom Riddle – it's too easy, anyone could say it by accident. A common name for a common mad man. He's really not that special...except for his nose," I looked over to Sirius who laughed.

"Yes, we mustn't ever forget to mention his nose."

"And just to show how ridiculous we think this Dark Lord Old-and-Bored is," I said slowly, drawing out my words as I looked around the table at my counterparts. As soon as the words were spoken, as soon as they could hear that flip in my voice, everyone seemed ready for the consequences. Each member of the table took the time to nod at me, showing their support, while Lupin started to get to his feet and move over to the radio at the head of the table. "We're going to draw his attention our way."

"Fight with the Order!"

"Believe in the Potters!"

"We're not afraid of you, Death Eaters!"

I smiled at everyone as we all hovered our hands around our wands, the balls of our feet readying to spring from our seats and into action. "You think we're afraid of you? I'll prove you wrong; come and get me, Voldemort!"

It was hardly two seconds before the vision I'd had just over a week before came to fruition. I could hear the rounds of popping outside, like bubble-wrap being burst right by my eardrum. The hunters that Voldemort had trained to come and get those who dared to show their resistance by saying his name had come for our battle cries. Lupin grabbed a hold of the wireless, bringing it with him as he ran to the other side of the dank concrete room so that he could Disapparate away from the scene and to safety – he was the one with a family; he had the most to lose. Kingsley followed Lupin; as our contact within the Ministry, he needed to remain anonymous or half of our content would be lost.

There was a smash and the door opposite the one that the two men had just run out from smashed in – it was a good use of the blasting charm. I grabbed my wand off of the table, holding it out in front of me and watching as a jet of red light shot from the tip without a word or motion. One masked Death Eater crumpled with a scream, I couldn't deny the relief that for once my wand had decided to behave. Over my shoulder shot a jet of white light and then the colours started flashing around me as if they were trying to illuminate the room itself. I felt someone grab my wrist and jumped, ready to move away before I felt that familiar squeeze from this morning. I looked over my shoulder to ensure it really was Fred and when he caught my eye, he gave me a large smile. He jerked his head over to the two square feet within the concrete bunker that we could Disapparate from and started to drag me toward the space without warning.

"Wait," I told him, watching as the Death Eaters filtered into the small space, wands at the ready and trying to get curses past one of Sirius' well-cast Shield Charms.

"Now is not the time to admire the bad guys," Fred informed me.

I was too distracted to be insulted; my eyes had flickered up to the light source and back to the door where the Death Eaters had finally dislodged themselves from their excitement to all enter at once. "Keep it strong, Sirius!"

Sirius listened to me, muttering _Protego_ once more, before I pointed my wand up to the chandelier.

"_Confringo! Confringo! _Come on, _Confringo!_" After the few laboured attempts, my wand cooperated again with a straight line of magic shattering the chandelier and pouring a thick, chalk-like substance over those who had intruded on my broadcast. I watched, smiling at their cloaks that had been stained putrid yellow, while they began to cough and sputter. Fred weaved his fingers through my own.

"Let's go!" Sirius shouted.

"He's right," Fred agreed. "Come on, time to go-"

"Fine," I sighed, letting him pull me over to the area where we could Disapparate. Before he was able to turn on his heel, I turned back to the Death Eaters – some hooded, some not – and was pleased to see that I didn't recognize anyone. It was a relief that I only realized after it was felt: I had not hurt my friends. These people, these monsters, were not the monsters that I hunted with; these were the monsters I hunted _for. _

"Tell Tom Riddle that I'll always be one step ahead of him," I told them, though I wasn't sure if they could hear me through their panic. "I've been in his mind. He and I both know that he will die before I ever give up."

Sirius, with a grunt of disapproval of my gloating, turned on his own heel after grabbing the backs of Fred and my cloaks and Disapparating away. We left the Death Eaters there in their mess, drenched and marinading in one of my favourite concoctions yet: a Sensory-Shut-Down potion.

They can give Voldemort my message if he figures out how to make them speak again.

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><p><strong>Ha, Audrey's figuring things out! Not only is she going to start brewing some interesting new potions while she's heading Potterwatch, but she's also going to be a little cozy with Fred Weasley while doing it. What did you think? Was it a good first broadcasting? To the wonderful reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_TheMidnightPoet_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. The trio will hear about Audrey's adventure in their own time; I'm excited to get to write about it from their point of view in the future. Audrey and Draco's relationship is not in the best of places, but the next time they'll see each other they will actually have time to comprehend what's happening. Don't worry, it's supposed to be confusing. Having another Potter messes up the time-line, so if you were able to guess everything I'd think that I was doing a really bad job with keeping the suspense. I hope you still like it despite having questions and thank you for taking the time to review.**

_cheekytiki_**: Yeah, Audrey's very aware of the Taboo now. I hope you liked this chapter as well :)**

_Guest_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. Don't worry, this isn't the last time Draco and Audrey will be together before the final battle...**

_pucflek_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! I put a lot of effort into it, and you're right there are a few inconsistencies that happen because of how much substance there is to go through, but I hope you are able to look past it. Maybe one day, I'll actually find the time to edit the entire story!**

_bluesweird_**: I'd accept the hug, especially because you liked it! I appreciate the review, truly, and I hope that you were able to get nearly as much joy from this newest chapter.**

_Miss Evangeline_**: Haha, thank you! Yeah, I thought about having Draco not realize it was her, but as soon as she smashed the windows I figured it was a giveaway. It was more hard to make it so that Theodore wouldn't acknowledge it ****–**** Audrey is just lucky that her ex is such a quick liar. I will definitely be continuing this story until its finished, even if JKR was to write something that totally dismissed everything I've written up until this point (it would be sad if GEM was discredited like that, but not quite as sad as giving up all these years of work). I'm hoping to put a very specific chapter on the 100th, though it will be a few chapters over before the final chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reviewing!**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Yes, Theo wasn't really in the last chapter as much because he didn't realize it was Audrey in disguise, but don't worry: we'll see him again and he will have a much bigger part.**

_ .Princess_**: Yes, sadly there weren't Slytherins in this chapter, but you can't deny that there was a little bit of romance. I agree, love should have a warning label! As should every person, so you can know what you're getting yourself into before you commit, haha. I hope you liked this new chapter, thank you for taking the time to review.**

_Ella-Starstruck_**: Thank you, I hope you liked it!**

_Guest(2)_**: The last chapter was relieving to write, but I actually think the banter here was more amusing to type out. Yes, the dramatic irony of knowing that Draco and Snape are good whilst Audrey does not...poor girl. Her heart is just being ripped out and its not for any good reason. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_Ferocious Mouse_**: Hopefully this update got you as excited. I can't tell you anyone's fate, but I can tell you that if it happens, it's happening for a reason.**

_Guest(3)_**: Hopefully this chapter kept up the trend! Thank you so much for reviewing.**

_SiriusBookworm_**: Yes, Snape and Draco lied a few times to keep Audrey safe, but I think she's still too hurt to recognize it. Maybe she'll realize what's happening sooner rather than later?**

_Nonsensical Username_**: I agree, it seems like they do still care about her. It seems like more people care about her than she realizes, considering what even happened in this chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_ToWriteForLove_**: Don't worry, it won't be the last glimpse of Draco you get :)**

_Delena Worshipper_**: Thanks for taking the time to review, no matter the length. It won't be the last interaction that we see between these characters, so hopefully you're looking forward to the next time they meet and even more hopefully you enjoyed this chapter.**

_accio-logic_**: It's true, those characters are too close with her to not have been able to figure it out. Yes, it appears that Theodore is a Death Eater, but if you can remember all the way back to the last time Daphne and Audrey spoke, Daphne warned her of this (and some other important things that will soon come into play). I was just having this conversation with someone, actually: most pronounce Drea as "Dree" or "Dray", but I personally pronounce it as "Dray-ah" or "Dray-uh", as if it's actually the later part of Andrea. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_HardRockPrincess_**: I agree. Audrey definitely knows she's arrogant, but usually she isn't spontaneous and her arrogance serves a purpose: now she's acting more like her brother than herself and it was great to acknowledge that this is what's getting her into trouble (that's she's no longer thinking things through). As you can see there was definitely a moment of "I told you so" from Sirius at the very beginning, but luckily Audrey didn't have to hear much of it from him...just from Molly Weasley. I hope you liked this newest chapter and thank you for your review.**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: Is that the only thing she learned from the prophecy? I wouldn't be so sure...**

_Anything But Odinary_**: Yes, now that I'm not running the chapters through a beta or editor, I tend to miss some spelling or grammatical errors; I'm sorry. I hope you enjoyed this newer chapter. Thank you for taking the time to review!**

_Annie Sousa_**: Aw, thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue to.**

_Geri_**: Haha, thank you, I love you too! I really like Ginny and Audrey too, at first I wasn't sure how their relationship would work but the more that Audrey came into her own, I realized she would really respect the power and confidence within Ginny Weasley...now they're nearly like sisters. It's so true, Audrey couldn't keep back her snark, I'm pretty sure it's impossible. I knew from the beginning that I wanted Snape's realization that it was Audrey to be low-key. Not some amazing moment, but subtle and not something that would make him angry, but something that would devastate him. I hope I did it right. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and thank you so much for the review.**

_Vikingfangirl23_**: There is definitely some hope for Dreaco, even if Audrey is living in denial about her feelings for her ex. It must be noted, however, that Fred is moving in for the kill...and it looks like he's doing a pretty good job. He even got a little peck in this chapter. I like how you described that Audrey could be really nice or an evil genius...that's exactly how I see it, so it's good to know I'm doing something right! I'm glad you liked the chapter and hopefully this one made you just as happy. Thank you so much for taking the time to review.**

_kaia_**: I'm sorry that particular memory seemed pointless, but I can promise you it wasn't...**

_mrsdansmith_**: Haha, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Hopefully this one was as enjoyable. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_RockChic733_**: You're right, Audrey only saw the betrayal of Snape in the prophecy, she didn't look deep enough to see if there happened to be any other meaning. One of my favourite parts that I wrote in this story was when Audrey actually accused Dumbledore of being cryptic just to screw them over...this prophecy seems to follow that train of thought. Audrey will soon be forced to come to the realization that perhaps her mentor and her ex-boyfriend aren't actually out to get her, but I'll save more of that for the actual chapter it's in. As you read in this chapter, you're right: she's realizing that she's been failing because she's been doing things how other people do them, not how she is doing them: so hopefully she'll be able to fall back into her frame of mind when it comes to strategy. I agree that Audrey needed these past few chapters, even if she found herself in compromising situations, hopefully she'll learn from them. Thank you so much for your wonderful review.**

_Mahlia_**: No, I've never really used Tumblr. I like sticking to Twitter because of the ease, personally.**

_yelyahnadia_**: Oh, wow, thank you! The story has definitely become something that I'm proud of, but to hear all these compliments? Don't worry about not having reviewed before, you certainly made up for it with this spectacular review for the last chapter. I know how you feel about Draco (particularly in the original) sometimes I really just wanted to punch him, but I always fall for the multi-layered bad-boy or anti-hero. It's kind of my thing. I'm glad that she was able to encapsulate what you wanted for Draco, I tried to mould her into what he needed (and certainly not what he expected to want), so it's great to know that it's working for your imagination. I hope you're able to remember about this story and come back to see what crazy, wonderful, horrible things I'm going to put Audrey through next!**

_Asia_**: I love the Snape and Audrey scenes, too. It's so refreshing to write them! I'm nervous about completing the book as well, but I'm excited for people to see what I've been waiting to write since I started the books years ago. I plan to update APP during this holiday break at some point, but it won't be from Draco's point of view, so hopefully you'll like it anyway. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_WrittenOlympic_**: Yes, Draco was finally back for a chapter ****–**** it won't be the last we see of him either, so hold on to your horses! I'm glad you liked the chapter and hopefully you continue to like the upcoming ones :)**

_Alex Bailey Fairy Godmother_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it!**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: I agree, Snape is completely complicated which was why it was so fun to write the previous chapter. This chapter was a little more difficult, just because of how conflicted she was, but I promise we will see Severus Snape again. Draco Malfoy, what a guy. I also miss their complicated relationship and interactions, I can't wait to get to write it again...it will be sooner than later. Theodore...luckily we will be hearing from him in Audrey Potter's Prelude soon, but it always upsets me that he isn't in every chapter. I miss how he balances out Audrey's anger. There will be an epilogue for this story, as well as an alternate ending, but otherwise just one-shots in the Prelude. As for Audrey and her interactions with other characters (like Harry), that will come with time ****–**** I think she likes being on her own. She finally has a chance to change the world in her own way...she'll abuse the privilege to the full extent. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **

_Melody_**: Haha, yes, Draco did help her escape****–****he can be sweet when he wants to be. Draco and Snape definitely still care about her, even if she doesn't want to admit it...but maybe they'll still have time to force her to believe it. We will be seeing Draco before the final battle, but I won't say when or how many times or what will happen... As for Fred? Considering he got a good peck and some hand-holding this chapter, I'd say he's doing just fine, wouldn't you? :) **

_michelleannehallsworth_**: Don't think it's sad that you can pick up little things like that, it lets me know there are people as obsessed as I am! I think it's something to be proud of. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and the characters that we got to see again, hopefully this little light-hearted chapter was a refreshing after such heavy emotional turmoil. Don't worry, we'll be seeing Draco again!**

_BeLLe ELLe PoTTer_**: Here you go, I hope you liked it!**

_bealiveplaydead_**: It's a super long story, so congratulations on being able to catch up! Thank you for all your compliments, I'm so glad that you like the story. It's great that you like both Fred and Draco, though it might become emotional for you as the story progresses ****–**** she deserves a nice guy, but then again, does she want one? I hope you like this newest chapter and thank you so much for the review.**

_Little Messrs_**: Thank you! It was so fun to be able to write the Slytherins in again, even if I didn't get to delve into their wonderfully complicated personalities as much as I usually can. I hope that you liked this chapter, even though it wasn't quite as deeply emotional, and hopefully you'll be able to wait for the answers to all your questions ****–**** I hope that I'll be able to answer them all by the end of the story. Thank you for your review, it was wonderful as always :)**

_Amelia-bella1_**: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Part of me wishes that it were finished or I had all the chapters already finished so I could update them every few days, but sadly I just don't have the time to write as often as I have the inspiration. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far and thank you for reviewing!**

_LadyBritish_**: When I plotted out the chapters in advance, this was actually going to go quite differently, so I'm glad that I was able to keep the original chapter title considering it was supposed to be a very different part of the story. Alex Clare has some great music, I agree with your artist choice. I don't know if you've seen it, through Twitter I've posted a playlist that can be found on youtube, which has some interesting music on there, too. Yes, Audrey wouldn't do too well with spending too much time with any of the Golden Trio, she's much better off with the Gryffindors who like to reasonably break the rules, like Sirius and the twins. I hope you liked this newest chapter and thank you for taking the time to review. **

_Mythological Stories_**: Haha, since you thought that Fred and Sirius would blow a gasket, perhaps you liked how Fred got back at George for leaving? I thought it was a nice little jab, while not being too un-twin-like. Like you said, there aren't that many details about what's happening in the Wizarding World during this era of Harry's journey, so hopefully you like what I end up coming up with. We'll be getting a lot more information that I think would apply during these radio broadcasts. Thank you so much for taking the time to review and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

_Takara Matsudaira_**: Yes, I had our three Slytherin boys in there ****–**** if only I could have moved them through to this chapter as well, but hopefully the lightheartedness of it was a nice change. Hopefully you've survived the end of school term work (I know it was hell for me) and you're now able to relax. Thank you for reviewing during such a crazy period!**

_KyDanson_**: Thank you so much! It's great to hear that you've enjoyed the story as much as you have, particularly when it comes to Audrey and her character development. I hope that these next chapters, which will really test some of Audrey's character traits, will only strengthen what you think of her. Thank you for reviewing!**

_BabyFirefly3538_**: You're right, she should give Draco so much more credit than she did in the last chapter! Don't worry, she'll have another chance soon...thanks for reviewing!**

_tessastarchild_**: I'm glad! Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you also enjoyed this chapter.**

_Pacey(Guest)_**: This was so wonderful to read, thank you so much! Knowing that you can see the effort put into each chapter is a compliment in itself, particularly when looking into Audrey's personality. I promise that we'll see more interaction with Draco in these Deathly Hallows chapters (Audrey will not be able to stay away for long!) but it would ruin the surprise if I elaborated further. Again, your review was so sweet; thank you so much for reading through this story and feeling the urge to review!**

_hafsaomar_**: Ah, you're one of the very few to acknowledge that line...I guess you'll have to wait to see, but I can promise that it'll make things interesting sooner rather than later.**

_Nicky-Maree_**: Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much! I wasn't originally planning to have so much interaction with Draco, but as soon as the windows shattered, it wrote itself in. Seeing Theo was fun, I plan on doing a one-shot in his point of view during this holiday break...I'll either release it for Christmas or for New Years, depending on how quickly the writing flows. I'd like to release a chapter of GEM on one day and a chapter of APP on the other, I just haven't decided which order. Anyway, moving on to Snape's interaction with her (first finding out that she had broken into the castle, then having her blame him for everything that had ever gone wrong with her life), all I can say is 'poor guy'. I could feel the heartbreak as I wrote it. Yes, it was so fun being able to bring in the Taboo. So many people were already hounding me, accusing me of having forgotten about it, but I specifically wanted Snape to be the one to catch Audrey using it as she was the one who made it become enforced after she created that riot. Don't worry about forgetting about Fred, I doubt I'll give you much time to forget about him in the next few chapters, if you hadn't already caught the blossoming romance in this installment. It was really great to write such a lighthearted chapter, though. It was great to see Audrey closer to who she used to be, getting to have the moment to breathe and poke fun at people (while still feeling superior) again. I got to bring in some her more shallow flaws and virtues, which was great. The last semester ended well, I have a high GPA and can continue to tutor people in my program, which is a nice little side-job but takes up a lot of time...so hopefully this break gives me time to get ahead in writing so that I don't fall ahead like last semester! Thank you, as always, for your wonderful review :) **

_PolkaPox_**: Hopefully if you reach this chapter you will get to see this: thank you for reviewing the earlier chapter and I hope you're continuing to like the story!**

_keyboard20_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! Sorry that it took me a while to update, but I promise that there will be a lot of catching up in writing done this holiday season. Thank you again!**

_Kyrie Lorelei_**: I can't say whether or not there will be anything between Astoria and Draco, but I can promise that you'll find out what is happening between them rather soon. Thank you for reviewing!**

_TeenMeetsWifi_**: Thank you for reviewing the earlier chapters and if you reach all the way to this chapter, I just want to say that I hope you've enjoyed the story and thank you for giving it a chance.**

_vmockingjay12_**: It was a lot of fun to write, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully you also enjoyed the first radio broadcast of Potterwatch...it was a nice change of pace from the seriousness of the last chapter, I think. Thanks for reviewing!**

_now02never_**: Thank you, I'm glad that you're enjoying the story! Your English was wonderful, don't worry about it; I hope you liked this last chapter and thank you for taking the time to review.**

_KaioM_**: Wow, chapter two and you ship her with Fred? If you make it all the way to this chapter, I'm sure you'll end up enjoying it after the little flirtation here!**

_Lost Lady of Time_**: Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed the last chapters and wish the same for the upcoming, as well.**

_ailishhxo_**: Well, hopefully when you finally get to see the movies you'll like the twists that I've made to this part of the storyline. Thank you for putting the time into reading this story, I'm so glad that you like Audrey's character as much as you do. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you have and continue to enjoy the story!**

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><p><strong>Well, the next chapter should be interesting. I'll have it released before I return to term two of school, as well as a chapter of Audrey Potter's Prelude. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I always love to hear your thoughts. What do you think about Potterwatch? Do you think that Audrey's being too impulsive? Do you think Audrey will be able to master Animagus Magic now that she's looking at it from a different point of view? Do you think that Fred will finally wiggle under Audrey's skin? What about Harry, what do you think is happening with him? I hope you liked the chapter.<strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW!**_

**-Egypt**

**Add me on Twitter as **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, pictures, quizzes, facts, and more!**


	92. Obsessive

_**PLEASE TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE**_**! **

**Sorry for the caps, but it's something I want everyone to notice as it helps with an important decision I need to make sooner rather than later. I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter, but for some reason this one was really hard to write out. I don't foresee more writers block in the future, considering the chapters to come, but I'm sorry that it perturbed this update. Please see the bottom for some extra information and enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 91 – Obsessive<p>

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><p>November was approaching quickly, forcing the cold in through the cracks in the little stone cottage – it would be a lie to say that the weather wasn't starting to permanently affect my mood. Well, the weather and all the other things going wrong. I constantly found myself in a state of unbearable limbo and frustration; not only were things finally starting to get better for me, they were getting progressively worse for the world. No matter what information I gave the public, no matter what I did to try and fight against Voldemort's growing regime, he was getting stronger and I was still doing things under the cover of safety.<p>

I had never realized how boring _and_ useless safety was.

It was thanks to this uselessness that I had taken to sitting cross-legged in my room, sitting back against my makeshift couch-bed and brewing this Godric-forsaken potion...this potion that was making me more and more bothered. Voldemort's power was growing, and I was still here. Brewing. _Hiding_. Doing the same bloody thing as I'd done the day before. And the week before that. And the _month_ before that.

"Look at this!" Fred all but burst into my room, nearly causing me to flinch for my wand and knock over the boiling concoction that was stinking up my worn pewter cauldron. "Lovegood's finally come to his senses – seems he liked Tuesday's broadcast, though I don't see how he couldn't've."

"Really?" I took the Quibbler from him, snatching at the laminated paper and ignoring the bright look on the twin's face. I was surprised by the vibrant colours that had reappeared after their mysterious vanishing – Xenophilius Lovegood was back to his kooky self, and even better, he was writing about how much he appreciated _us. _Well, maybe that was just an assumption, but considering it was a bold-print, three page article, it was pretty clear it was about the wonderment that was _Potterwatch._ "The man finally grew some testicles."

"I bet the gnargles handed them over," Fred commented lightly.

"Having influential voices on our side is a good thing," I pointed out. "Even if they are about as straight-minded as Granger's hair."

"Speaking of geniuses," Fred drawled out, slowly and playfully. "How's the potion going?"

I refused to look up from the lime-coloured article. "Unless you're willing to try it, it's not going well."

"Haven't you been working with Sirius to try and pinpoint your spirit whatever?"

"My spirit animal would be a great help, yes," I commented bitterly, trying hard to focus on not taking out my frosty mood on his innocent intentions. "However, since I can't seem to find it through the stupid forest I'm stuck in and I can't produce a bloody patronus...one could say we're hitting a wall. I need to test it."

"I'll test it for you," he offered. I finally looked up at his giant smile and back down to the bubbling, swampy potion in front of me. I looked back to him with a raised eyebrow and he immediately shrank away from the insinuation. We both knew that even he was not brave enough to try something that had never been done before and had no previous testing. His own products were one thing...this potion? This potion was lunacy. "You're right – we'll get George to try. He knows his Patronus too."

"You're both baboons, aren't you?" I asked, sticking my nose back into the article again. At least it was free publicity; Lovegood had even stated that the next broadcast was on Friday, with a very obvious hint towards 'Lightning Bolt' being the next password.

"Baboons? How dare you," I looked up, not believing how indignant he sounded, though I couldn't deny I was intrigued by it. Anyone who suddenly sounded bitter was likely grounds for friendship; people around here were far too optimistic. Then again, Fred was possibly the highest on that list. "We are _crows, _thank you very much!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Crows? As in your own little murder of crows?"

"Yeah," he sat down beside me, being sure that his knee could nudge mine. "Underappreciated, crafty little buggers that love shiny things and trouble – why wouldn't we be crows?"

"Well, little bugger," I jerked my head toward my cauldron of angry, bubbling swamp scum. "Do you want to see if I can grow you some wings?"

"Er...we're not even sure a Patronus is always the same as an Animagus," he said nervously, clearing his throat to try and take out the nervousness from his words. "Why don't we wait until we have some more definitive evidence, here..."

"You're starting to sound like me," I accused, snorting and handing him back his copy of _the_ _Quibbler_. He shrugged animatedly while he shoved the magazine deeply into the pocket of his robe.

"Well, if you're being stupid I guess I can try being smart."

"Yeah, good luck with that," I chuckled, looking back to the potion again. I was quite tempted to move my foot and 'accidentally' knock this batch over – as I had with the batch I'd made two weeks before – but decided that the residents of Shell Cottage probably wouldn't buy the excuse a second time. They'd know it was just another failure and the only thing worse than failing was having them _know _I had failed. I had expectations to live up to – I was not going to botch on something so important and at the same time something only _I _could accomplish. Still, the pressure made me sigh wearily, which encouraged Fred to nudge his shoulder into mine.

"Don't sound so forlorn; you're brilliant, Drea. You'll figure this out," he encouraged, I smiled at him wryly. I would never match his annoyingly positive outlook on the world. Never.

"Before or after my Godfather drives me insane?"

Fred made a face of shock. "You mean you _aren't _insane yet? Holy Helga, he's doing it all wrong. It shouldn't take this long!"

"Shut it," I snorted, nudging him back again. We sat there for a while and the mood started to change again – if I didn't know better, I would have sworn that it spread through the room, diffusing much like one of Fred's stink bombs. But no. It wasn't a stink bomb, it was worse...it was _affection _and it had been reeking up the house for weeks_. _

"So," I said quickly, feeling nervous when I caught Fred smiling to himself again. Apparently he was happy just being around me...which made him even more strange than I'd ever thought he was. "Do we have any good information for the broadcast tomorrow, then?"

"They sighted Dirk Cresswell," Fred offered the information with a sigh. Fred had been quite vocal about fighting the Death Eaters for basic Magical rights and Dirk was a great icon to look up to. After he was discovered having forged documents to achieve a Halfblood status so as to avoid the Muggle registry, Dirk had been convicted of treason and shipped off to Azkaban. Dirk, being clever, was able to escape while he was being transported to the prison last month, something which made Fred very proud. "They've officially started looking for the Muggleborns that didn't register...Sirius and Remus have gone to convince Ted to run."

"Ted Tonks?" I rolled my eyes. "Never. Not with a grandchild on the way."

"Yeah," Fred sighed. "That's what I said."

"Is it the Ministry going after the Muggleborns?" I asked, looking over at him, he scoffed.

"Doubt it; they wouldn't give that kind of power to people who would be willing to let innocents go. They'll avoid the Aurors or other authorities like that and probably give them over to the Death Eaters or the Snatchers."

Snatchers, one of the newest terms defined on Potterwatch by Lupin. These were men specifically loyal to whoever paid the highest dollar – it didn't matter how they were paid or what they were handing over as long as it was all worth their trouble. The Death Eaters, those of the purest stock and oldest treasuries, were usually able to make sure it was.

Salazar's spit, I had so many things I had to do: I needed to get rid of these Snatchers, get another message out to those Death Eaters, and while I was at it I may as well throw another jab towards the Riddler as well – but here I was, locked in this stupid cottage with this ugly potion that hadn't improved in the weeks of working on it. I had told Fred that I had hit a wall, but really I had sprinted into it, head first.

"Maybe I should just give up," I muttered, stretching out my legs and toeing the potion in front of me. "I mean, I can't even test it, so what good is it?"

"Well, I'm sure you made it right-"

"You can't be sure of that," I sighed. "I have no idea how many lacewing flies or root clippings to add when I'm turning into an animal; I have no idea how to create the essence of another animal either; I mean, I have no idea if I'm a bloody crow or an elephant." I heard him mutter something about me not being an elephant. "And while I could always adjust the temperature and try to coagulate the spleen and bicorn horn before I decide to add the boomslang skin, I still wouldn't know how the hell I'm replacing hair or essence with something completely indiscernible because of my ridiculous current animal identity crisis. I mean, the lack of identification alone is idiotic, it's-"

"Wow," Fred looked at me with a falsely surprised expression. "When did you learn to speak Latin?"

"Er-" I stopped my ranting, looking away from the warily bubbling potion to the grinning redhead at my side. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, none of what you just said made any sense, so I just assumed it was Latin." I rolled my eyes looking away from him. He nudged me again. "Come on, Drea, you're brilliant! I've seen you create more potions than I've created explosives. You can do it."

"I need a test subject," I muttered. "Maybe I can kidnap a Death Eater and use him for human trials?"

"Are all the Death Eaters human? What's the probability of getting one with enough mental capacity to turn into an animal that wouldn't stink up the place?"

I frowned. I didn't want to steal a Death Eater anyway: if I stole an enemy, I wouldn't want my friends in trouble if he escaped. If I stole a friend away, I wouldn't want to give them this potion that –for all I knew– may kill them.

Shite, I was torn.

I was torn about everything lately – particularly the man who was sitting beside me. We had nudged each other's shoulders so much that we were now practically leaning against each other. He, as always, took notice of our close proximity and took the time to wrap his fingers through my own.

It was just so strange, being like this with Fred. Malfoy and I had only gotten a few weeks where we were free to live our affection in public – and then he betrayed me and ran away from me forever. Even when we had been with each other in public it had been strange, it was almost more real when we were hidden in the confines of the castle, sneaking around and pretending that we were the only people in the world. Malfoy and I had known the risks, we'd know that it wouldn't be accepted, we'd known that it had a due-date. Here in Shell Cottage, people were not only happy about the affection; they weren't even surprised by it. Mrs Weasley, the few times I had seen her these past weeks, looked simply elated and I'd even seen her tear up the few times she caught Fred gripping my hand as he was now. People were _happy _this was happening.

Well, _some people _were.

Sirius wasn't necessarily happy it was happening, but it was hard to tell what part of it was him being an overprotective godfather and which part of him didn't trust that something wouldn't go wrong. He wasn't blind and he certainly wasn't stupid – he knew that something had changed after my rendezvous in the castle with my enemies...and my friends.

Godric, even thoughts of my friends brought back the pain. I mean, even when Lillian and Daphne could be near me, they were against this. Sure, we joked about Fred all the time, but they would never have taken it seriously... Daphne would be furious if she knew the jokes had come true. Other than Lillian's hopeless romantic nature, Daphne was the most prominent figure that tried pushing Malfoy and I together. But now, with the girl who was on my side gone, I had never felt so accepted being _with _someone else. Not even Daphne hoping Draco and I would be together could compare to this household and their hopes for Fred and I.

That judgement was just something I was so used to that it felt strange being missed. Even when people compared me to Harry there was a sneer in their voice or judgement in their eyes...and for me, as I found out by Harry attacking my last boyfriend, romance was a forbidden thing. That's what had made it so much fun, wasn't it? It's what had kept the romance between Draco and me going – that it _wasn't _romance – that it was natural and angry and judged and made us want to push everyone's buttons. Fred, on the other hand, he was just...simple. Holding hands with Fred was like Draco and my bickering had been: natural and hard to notice that you couldn't stop after it had started.

And the _compliments. _Salazar's spit, he was so sweet that sometimes I felt nauseated by it.

It was just so hard to understand. Usually I couldn't understand what Fred was trying to accomplish; I loved Draco. I _had_, anyway. Fred was wasting his words, even if they happened to be sweeter than words I normally heard. He didn't know that it hurt me to think of moving on, that it hurt to think of reliving everything all over again...he didn't know that I'd relived everything when I'd been in Hogwarts. It would kill him to know that those doubts, those dreams had plagued my mind when he should have been there to stop them...

"We're back," Sirius' voice filtered through my doorway and I was happy to jump up, even though Fred made a sound of annoyance that I was so quick to pull away from him. I knew he was trying to take his time with me, but I also knew that he didn't understand why I needed so much of it.

After all, he didn't know the consequences of falling in love with a traitor like I did.

"Well, how'd it go?" I asked, moving out into the kitchen where both Lupin and Sirius were shrugging off their traveling cloaks. Both men pulled weary faces.

"He doesn't want to leave Dora," Lupin explained. "_I _don't know if I want him to leave Dora..."

"The Ministry will come after him any day, Remus," Sirius sighed; it sounded like this was not the first time he had made the argument. "He needs to get a head start before they're able to properly track him."

"Well, I doubt he'll be giving up any time soon. He'll put up a fight before he'll turn on his heel and run." I didn't really know how I felt about that. I knew that I was officially a fighter, but hell if I wasn't one of the people who constantly thought of running – it was certainly more logical than waiting for the Death Eaters to come throw me in Azkaban...or worse.

After a moment, Lupin looked at me and I could tell the subject was about to be changed. "Are you ready to try looking for your Animagus again?"

I let out a loud groan. "Not fair! I don't change the subject to bother _you_."

"You were the one who said you wanted to figure it out," Sirius argued for him. "Since you haven't been able to master the Patronus, meditating and finding your Animal is the next best bet. If you find it, perhaps you can at least try to recreate it."

Lupin's eyes looked over my shoulder to my make-shift room and I rolled my eyes. "No, it isn't finished. I'm working on it, then we won't even need to do all this work"

"Oh, come on, Audrey, there are still technicalities that need to be met, even for you." Sirius laughed at me. I couldn't help but scoff at the idea – technicalities? I thrived off of proving that technicalities are _technically _unnecessary, _particularly_ for me.

But still, he may have had a point. Potion or not, a body was only made to represent one animal, just like potions were made to represent one body chemistry...there were some things even _I _couldn't work around.

"Fine," I hissed. "But we're not doing it for long; I slept horribly and all I want is to start getting all the information together for tomorrow's broadcast, yeah?"

"Fine," Sirius mimicked me, jerking his head toward my room. "Let's get a move on, since you're in such a rush."

I rolled my eyes; he was always so rude. I don't know what I had ever done to offend him so much – though I had a few ideas what may have contributed. My godfather and I headed toward my makeshift room and I could only imagine what I must have looked like by how my feet were dragging. I was not at all in the mood to go through any sort of trance – in fact, I was purposefully making this potion so that I wouldn't have to go through this shite. Still, these 'technicalities' that Sirius was talking about were facts: I wasn't able to do everything I wanted because of my own magical inabilities.

"Alright," Sirius began as he closed the door. He shoved the table in the middle of my floor over to the side with his foot. "Are you ready?"

"No," I muttered, my voice low. "I could be doing something more productive like working on that potion, or getting things together for the broadcast, or paying attention to my visions, or creating a lovely scrapbook of our sessions together..."

"I think you have enough distractions, don't you?" He asked thickly, raising an eyebrow in a way that I knew could not be innocent. I narrowed my eyes.

"There was some insinuation behind that," I noted.

"How did you sleep last night, Audrey?" He asked, forcing his voice to sound light and carefree, even while his words were heavy with accusation.

"If you're asking if Fred spent the night, you would be wrong. I'm a good girl, so far as you know – not that the same innocence can be said about _you_."

"If Fred had spent the night I'm sure you would have slept better," he rolled his eyes, clearing his throat when he realized the implications of what he'd just said. I tried hard not to let an amused smirk take over the conversation. "You had nightmares."

"That tends to happen in a war," I informed him tightly.

"Mm," even his hum did not sound pleased. "And what about the fact you were spouting out prophetic nonsense in your sleep?"

It seemed I'd learned to talk in my sleep, and since I highly doubted that I was actually creating my own prophecy, I didn't need to feel overly worried. Particularly for the fact that I had been having reoccurring dreams depicting the prophecy about Harry could not have been a coincidence. To Sirius, however, this was new _and _bad news.

"It wasn't creating a prophecy, if that's what you're thinking," I shrugged off the idea, still not certain how much my brother had told our godfather and how much he was allowed to know. I mean, the man who had told us to keep quiet was now dead, but there was still some unwritten rule to keep some playing cards close to your chest. "It was a dream."

"Oh, just a dream," his voice was so sarcastic that I wondered if he could ever dig himself out of the rut to find some genuine worry. "And the fact they were the same words as the night before and the night before that?"

"You're reading too much into this," I rolled my eyes, moving to sit on my couch-bed. The lies could only go on for so long, particularly if Sirius actually paid attention to what I was apparently saying at night. My godfather sensed my need for a subject change and stepped closer so that he could butt in before I managed to accomplish it.

"I don't think I'm reading enough," his voice was firm. I scoffed, looking over to my bubbling pot of goo that set up just how useless this whole conversation – this whole _situation _was.

What's going on with you, Drea? You're completely unfocused-"

My eyes snapped to him as my jaw dropped. "Excuse me? That's not true!"

"Yes, it is," he hissed. "When you aren't working on the broadcasts, you're with Fred. When you're not with Fred, you're putting yourself through countless visions, trying to see something that is evidently causing you nightmares. Is there something that you're not telling me? Is there something coming-"

That was not at all what was happening, but I understood his logic and his fear. He wasn't wrong; I hadn't been spending time doing what I normally did. I hadn't been causing havoc or even laughing with Bill and his brothers – I'd been focusing on exactly what I was supposed to be focusing on. Apparently my doing the right thing seemed wrong.

"I'd hardly say me searching my visions is unfocused," I gritted out, closing my eyes against the barrage of Death Eater attacks on muggles, innocents, and enemies alike that I'd been forced to witness and unable to stop. "I'm trying to make sure we won't die tomorrow...or the next day. It's the same thing that I did yesterday...and last week."

"I'm just worried that you aren't spending enough time focusing on what you should be focusing on," Sirius explained. I sighed. Oh, now I understood where this was headed.

"Like what?" He glared.

"Like your brother, for starters." Yes, as if anyone needed to spend any extra time on him. I bit at my nails, trying to distract myself from how annoying the term 'your brother' was. I should have known that this was the actual point of annoyance for him, that I hadn't gotten over my anger and Harry hadn't gotten off his high horse to beg yet.

If my brother was allowed to be stubborn, so was I. Why was _I _the one who was lectured when _he _was the one who was a git?

"He's fine, as I told you yesterday," I told my godfather. I swear I felt my eye twitch. "I saw him in a forest, practicing his Patronus. In fact, his forest looked just the forest I should be searching in – are we going to get to Animagus magic, or would you like to know what he was wearing?"

Who knew I would ever find a subject annoying enough that I would prefer Sirius guide me through an imaginary forest?

Apparently Harry was the cause _and _cure for all avoidance.

"When was the last time you heard from your brother?" Holy Helga, this man would not give up. "When was the last time you checked the mirror?"

"Why should I need to?" I asked him darkly, challenging him with a glare. "You do it for me. I see you sending him messages all the time."

"I'm his godfather," he said simply, and then he added with extra feel, "you're his _sister._"

"Yes, that's exactly how the world knows me, just as _his sister_," I bit back. I threw my arms into the air in frustration, shaking my head at my godfather who seemed to sense that my patience was coming to an end. "Why does everyone worry, anyway? I've told you he's fine. He's told you he's fine. He and I are on completely different missions here. If the Boy Who Lived really needed me, he shouldn't have left me. And I'm quite sure that if for some reason he ends up needing me, you'll deliver me in gold wrapping."

Sirius and I glared at each other for a moment, before his jaw clenched. "And what if he can't get your help in time?"

"Daily visions, Sirius," I said simply. "And if he couldn't have gotten the message out to me, I doubt there'd be anything I could have done anyway."

Sirius was silent, shaking his head as he looked away from me. He mumbled something or other under his breath, as he always did when he was frustrated over my relationship with my twin, before sighing loudly.

"Listen, I'm sure we can both survive another day, Sirius." I told him with an eye roll. "Besides, he's the Boy Who Lived; I highly doubt that'll change at a Death Eater's hand. In case you haven't noticed, I've been keeping them busy looking for _me._"

"And what about You Know Who?"

"What about him?" I shrugged animatedly. "I told you, he's busy recruiting. He's not looking for Harry; he's looking for power to defeat Harry _later. _I'm on top of this, Sirius...why can't you just buck up and trust me?"

Like always, Sirius deflated quickly. We both knew that he would put his life into Harry's hands for fun...we also both knew that he had difficulty trusting me with his datebook, nevertheless something more substantial. I knew he was trying, learning to trust all of the characteristics he had grown hating, but it hurt that he had to put such a bloody effort into it to get such meager results.

"Alright," he breathed, his body relaxing as if the fight had just run out of his lungs. "Fine...let's get you focused, let's find your animal."

"Fine," I muttered, standing from my place. I'd do pretty much anything to stop this bloody conversation.

"Good. Ready?"

"No," I repeated, moving again to stand where the table had been, quickly checking my surroundings to see how many objects I could possibly hit my head off of if I fainted. Only the couch legs and my potion – who knows, maybe I'll get an accidental experimentation if I'm too unconscious to fight the fear. "Do it anyway."

"Such sacrifice," Sirius' voice dripped with sarcasm. I kept my eyes closed but showed him a few of my favourite fingers, which made him chuckle. It didn't necessarily get rid of the tension that had filled the room, but it helped to ignore it. Sirius cleared his throat, taking the time to coax me to concentrate, to clear my mind – two conflicting things, may I add – and through my eyelids I could see the shadow of him running his wand over my face and head, trying to help put me in the proper state of mind and trance.

It wasn't easy to forget everything, ignore everything, to stop thinking, just to see an animal that had so far remained elusive. Maybe that was a good sign, that whatever animal I was could worm out of trouble or sight – but come on, I took credit for everything I did. Each prank, each insult, each broadcast that taunted the most powerful wizard alive – I had stamped my infamous title onto it with pride. My animal was even more subtle than my most subtle advances. I wonder what that said about me as a person.

"Alright, Drea...open your eyes," of course, Sirius didn't actually mean to open my eyes, but I felt while another part of me – an astral part, one could say – obeyed him. I was back in the wood again, the familiar plot of forest that held all the mysteries of my animal-self. It was as lush, green, and quiet as I always remembered it. This imaginary scenery of mine, besides the fact it was imaginary, was no regular forest. Regular forests had sounds of birds, of animals rummaging and hiding and hunting – this wood was silent. There were no predators, there was no prey hidden behind the trees that had created my white-ash wand. No, if anything _I_ was the prey.

That's disconcerting.

"Focus," Sirius reminded me. "You're back in the forest, that's good. Your animal is static – you're not confused on your own identity or any of that nonsense."

Yes, hearing my godfather admit that any part of this was nonsense was not helpful, considering I had my own reservations about this process of his.

"Do you need to be so argumentative?"

What a ridiculous question. Who else would argue with the escaped convict, otherwise?

"Clever. Maybe you'll be a hyena."

Again, ridiculous. Anyone intelligent would know that hyenas live on the Serengeti, not a forest.

"Just walk, Audrey."

I guess some dogs just aren't trainable.

I took his advice, walking through the moss-covered forest and being carefully aware of all my surroundings. Like usual there was no path to follow and no way to tell which direction I was headed. It was hard to believe that this forest was all in my mind – the smells were so vivid, the sun was so bright through the trees, the soil was so wet and grainy. The only thing that let me really know I wasn't here, besides common sense, was the eerie silence that followed each crunch of my footsteps.

"Stop," I listened to Sirius' voice, remembering well the pattern of events. I turned to my side, instinctively knowing that I would see the damned chipmunk again...but I was surprised to see a different, brightly coloured bird. I couldn't really tell what kind it was – maybe a canary? – but it didn't really matter. It wasn't a chipmunk. Was there a chance my animal had changed?

"No, it's showing you more clues. It's annoyed you're still stuck wondering."

And I was annoyed with Sirius, so clearly we were all in a bad place. I remembered when we first started that I had seen a rabbit and then it had changed to a chipmunk... this part of the scenario was to symbolize what feared me – so did that mean that the bird feared me, too?

"It should. It's a fairly standard charm."

So birds and rodents feared me – that helped nothing. They feared humans, too. Maybe that was a sign...maybe I didn't turn into an animal at all. Maybe I was doomed to be everything that I already was: average. Left disturbed and without any answers I continued through the forest, stepping over decaying logs that held no life besides the moss and fungi. I knew what would come next – a sound, that stupid annoying growl of the wolves. Sirius, on cue, hushed me. I stopped in my tracks, trying to pay attention and listen for whatever was waiting for me.

It was not a wolf.

No, this was the largest, most terrifying eagle I had ever seen.

I took a step back instinctively. Normally I wouldn't have feared eagles, I was a human after all, but this eagle was in quite a state. Its plumage was ruffled and bothered – it was annoyed and snapping its beak, his talons were digging into the wood of its dead-tree perch as if it were flesh.

"Your enemy," Sirius reminded me. "But it won't attack you here."

Tell that to the eagle that looked like I was lunch. Part of me wanted to lunge at it, show it that I was a bloody human and I was not afraid of some stupid, little bird – but that bird did not feel little. In fact, it felt giant.

"Good, you're getting in touch with your animal. Keep going."

Easy for him to say. Though I felt an instinct not to turn my back on the eagle, I knew the metaphor wasn't actually out to get me. Taking a deep breath, I stepped to the side so I could avoid its perch. Coyotes, wolves, eagles...those were what I feared. Never before have I feared any of those animals, but they certainly seemed to hate me in these little scenarios.

"This is your mind, if you want it to be kinder you should change your personality."

Thank Godric I had my godfather's unwavering support.

Like every time I was in a trance here, the forest began to thicken around me. The trunks of the trees seemed to start sewing itself into tighter areas, making me twist around just to walk through them. The sunlight, which shone emerald through the canopy, began to die into a deep, rich green that hardly lit the nonexistent path in front of me. There was still no sound or movement...it appeared that my animal wasn't brave enough to come out from its hiding place.

"What's that, there?" I stopped, following the unspoken instruction to look around. What I saw did not comfort me – just another bloody hole in the dirt. The ash trees around it were finally sparse, as if to emphasize the awkward little opening; it gaped there between the trunks, in the halfway up the hill. This was where I supposedly felt safe. Usually I saw this little rabbits den in the middle of the road, not in the side of a hill.

"You're almost there," Sirius encouraged. "What's in the hole?"

Probably a snake or something else poised to strike.

"Well, go see."

Yes, that's the logical conclusion to come to after that thought.

My throat felt tight and dry – I was nervous to see whatever was in that hole. I'd never really made it this far without breaking the trance before, I wasn't used to the anxiety that accompanied knowing how close I was to an answer. I took a step toward the fissure and stopped abruptly when that familiar high and raspy barking broke the stale silence around me. Wolves?

"Keep going," Sirius encouraged.

Stop pressuring me, prat. You're not the one about to get assaulted by your own mind.

I took another step, listening as the barking became more hectic – it was upset. Whatever was making that sound was scared.

Then – suddenly – it stopped.

A scream broke through the silence that had followed. It was high, deafening, and made me cover my ears to stop them from bleeding. My heart was racing; that sound – whatever creature was making that sound was _terrified. _It nearly sounded human, except for the strange rattle that gurgled the end of the note.

"What's in the hole, Drea?"

Honestly, I didn't want to know what was in the hole. Whatever was making that sound was absolutely agonized by my presence – my own spirit animal didn't want me near it. How was I supposed to reach in and get attacked by the wailing creature that was scaring the shite out of me? Why was I so scared of myself?

"Look in the hole, Audrey!"

Sirius' yell made the situation more real and I lurched forward, landing myself right face to face with the gap in the damp soil. I took a deep breath before placing my hand into the crevasse, flexing my fingers in nervousness. The hole was deeply carved; I had to stick my arm all the way in to my shoulder before I reached an end.

"_What the Hell_?" That was Bill's voice. He must know what was going on, his voice was upset and he must know how stupid I was to be sticking my arm in towards something that would surely attack me as soon as it realized I was there.

"Focus, Drea," Sirius' voice was thick and heavy. "What is it?"

My fingers sank into something warm and my heart stopped – I waited for whatever it was to attack me...but before I knew it, it had crawled into my hand as if comforted by me instead of how I was terrified of _it. _

What was happening? What was going on? It trusted me now?

My heart was pounding in my chest, the adrenaline making my hands tremble. I couldn't tell if the creatures warmth was making my hands sweat or if it was all the energy trying to push itself out as magic – something was happening. I knew it, I could _feel it..._

"_You don't understand_-"

What? Who didn't understand? Who was as nervous in the real world as I felt here in my own head?

"No, Audrey, stay focused! You've almost got it-"

The animal's claws dug into my skin, but did not scratch me. I pulled my shaking hand out of the dirt, trying hard not to drop whatever had curled into my hand because of my nervousness. I pulled myself out of the hole, staring into my own green eyes...

"_Is she here_?"

"Not now..." Sirius mumbled. The ears of the animal in my hands twitched. It blinked toward the sound of my godfather's voice, causing me to follow its movements, as if I _had_ to do whatever it did. I blinked, opening my eyes to see Sirius looking over his shoulder, away from me...at the redhead who had opened the door.

He was out of breath and disheveled. His clothes were ruffled and his knuckles looked bloody. It was surprising to see how horrible he looked...it was even more surprising to see the fear that reflected in his wide eyes as he realized what he may have just walked into.

"YOU!" I spit out, my voice making the walls quake. Somewhere in the distance, I could have sworn I heard something shatter. It wasn't surprising, I was seeing red. I could feel my anger heating up my face. I could have been on fire and it wouldn't have surprised me. The tingling in my palms that had once been my animal now burnt with magical fury. "You bastard!"

"Audrey, don't!" But it was too late; I had already taken out my wand and shot the nastiest hex I knew at the Weasley bastard.

Of course Ronald fucking Weasley would interrupt my first time with my fox.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Not only is Ron back in the story, but we finally know what Audrey's inner animal is. I know a good number of you saw it coming, but what do you think of Audrey as a fox? What do you think will happen now that Ron has come to Shell Cottage? I'd love to hear your thoughts! As for the wonderful reviewers of the last chapter:<strong>

_guest_**: Yes, Fred definitely has a way of wriggling into hearts, including Drea's. I agree that Fred would probably be a more stable and healthy pairing for Audrey, but then again, will he ever understand her like the Slytherins (in particular Draco) can? You're right, your first love isn't always your last love, but war does strange things to people, particularly those who survive...**

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan_**: I'm glad you agree – Audrey loves to challenge people, which is why it was best for her to stay away from the trio while they finish hunting down the Horcruxes. As for Ron finding her now? Well, as you can see, she's not really handling it well. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing.**

_WORMoverBOOK_**: She'll still have to pull off some complicated magic to be able to finish the potion for changing forms, but yes, it should be a more interesting way of doing things for her. You're right, Audrey likes to prove that she's smart and have people listen to her, so the broadcast was really the most realistic way to shove that down everyone's throats, as she said earlier. I'm actually not English, I'm Canadian, so I'm not quite sure how school works in Britain; I think it's closer to our schedule, which is when school starts in September and ends mid-late June. As I'm in college now, we have two semesters from September-early December, then January-April, but elementary school terms/semesters run longer. In the end I usually just work off of what I can find about Harry's schedule/timeline and mark Audrey's parallel to his own. I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well, along with a Happy New Year :)**

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: You'll have to wait and find out what will happen during the Malfoy Manor Scene...will Audrey even be there now that she knows to avoid it and has separated from Harry? I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well and Happy New Year!**

_Zach-Goode' _**: You're not the only one cheering for Draco, even if he's far away. I'm glad you liked Potterwatch and hope you continue to enjoy the story – thank you for reviewing!**

_LovableAmethyst129_**: Yes, anyone who knows Audrey would know that she came up with the nickname segment. She's not really trying to hide though, is she? She's just following the rules to keep other people safe with the codenames...since she brought the Death Eaters to her, I'd say she's stopped hiding.**

_Guest(2)_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! We'll definitely be hearing a few Potterwatch scenes, they're nice and lighthearted – which is a nice break from the darker scenes to come. Your English is wonderful, I didn't even notice, and I hope you liked this new chapter.**

_Sky65_**: Haha, I'm glad you liked it! Thank you so much for your review and I hope you liked this chapter just as much :)**

_RUNOS SISTER_**: That's a pretty cool dream; I feel honoured that you think about her that much, haha! I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last, even if there was a lot more Fred in it...but don't worry, we'll be seeing Draco soon. Audrey just can't stay away from him, anyway. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

_RockChic733_**: Holy crap, that picture was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen! I fangirled when I saw it – you got every detail about their appearances right! It's the first time I've ever seen Audrey with a scar somewhere other than my mind! It was fantastic, thank you so much. I showed everyone who knows I write the story; I plan on posting it to my profile/twitter page, if you'll allow it. It was wonderful thank you so much. As for your review, I definitely don't find it the best basis of a relationship; she's lonely and he's sweeter than she's used to...we'll see how it works out. Ha, maybe you are a seer, just like she is! I hope that this makes for a good New Year treat, what with another update. They'll slow down now that I'm in school again (however, I'm in a screen-writing class, so maybe I'll actually set aside more time to write this semester, now that I'm in the hang of college). I'm excited for next chapter because we'll see a lot more of her Slytherin mojo now that Ron is there to contrast with her: she hates him, after all, and those emotions are where she tends to thrive. Again, thank you so much for the fan art, it was absolutely amazing! **

_2lazy2login_**: Glad you liked it :) Thanks for reviewing.**

_hellokittycatherine8_**: I get excited when I get your reviews, so I'm sure I get the idea, haha. Thank you, you're giving me a few too many compliments! It's nice to know my hard work is appreciated; you're not wrong, a lot of research goes into each chapter. Who do I personally ship more? That's a tough one: Draco and Audrey have a connection Audrey and Fred could never hope to have...but Fred has never betrayed her, like Draco (repeatedly) has. So really, I'm simply on Audrey's side. Because it'll be what she ends up believing she can live with – would she rather not be understood, or would she rather learn to forgive (which she's already notoriously bad with doing)? – so whatever she believes is best, I believe is best. This character writes herself, I'm simply the fingers that type it out. Happy New Year!**

_keyboard20_**: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you enjoy this one!**

_Vikihungerrgame1_**: Don't worry, your English is fine! I can't tell you whether your guesses are right or wrong, but I hope you'll continue reading to find out. Thank you for reviewing :)**

_mrsdansmith_**: No-Nose seemed to obvious to add at first, but I figured that the twins have never really been subtle, like Audrey has. You're not the only one worried about Audrey's possible relationship with Fred; but I make no promises about the shipping! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

_Half Cactus_**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hopefully this chapter continued the trend. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Annie Sousa_**: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed!**

_DawnMay_**: Oh yes, we'll be seeing a lot of potion making in the upcoming chapters, so hopefully you enjoy that! Not that I'm an evil dictator or anything, but I always assumed that you wouldn't want friends to track down their friends in case they can't pull the trigger...much like Draco wasn't able to earlier on. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Voldemort thinks. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for taking the time to review!**

_Ahsilaa_**: I miss Draco too, but sadly Audrey can't wait around forever. She admitted to loving him, but he never said it back, so Audrey's flying in the wind after his betrayal.**

_Guest(3)_**: Yes, a lot of people are torn up about Fred and Audrey's budding relationship. You're right, Audrey is doubting both of them – then again, that's in her nature. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_nannan_**: Thank you! If it makes you feel better, the whole Fred/Audrey/Draco triangle tears me up as well. I'm always for the underdog and the craziest part is, both of the boys are kind of the underdogs because Audrey can't really accept either of them. I'm glad you missed her snarkiness because we'll be seeing lots of it now that Ron is back in the picture. I will be filling in some of the blanks with the Slytherins, mostly in chapters of Audrey Potter's Prelude, so I hope you enjoy those upcoming chapters. You're psychic! Yes, Ron is back and yes, there will be lots of bitter and hilarious interaction between them, I promise. It's funny how they hate each other when their bitterness is actually quite similar to one another.**

_HardRockPrincess_**: Thank you, originally her name was going to be Rebel, but then I was going through all the events and said "wait, did she not fight a Norwegian Ridgeback...that can't actually work out, can it?" and luckily it did. I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope you liked this one as well, thanks for the review!**

_Edddiittthhhh_**: Don't worry about it. Yes, Audrey is a virgin. Select Slytherins mocked her for it throughout the story :)**

_PolkaPox_**: Yes, we'll get to see more than a few Potterwatch moments, so hopefully you continue to enjoy them. You are not the only one who dreads the possible relationship between Fred and Audrey, you're also not the only one who thinks that Audrey and Draco can't be together yet (considering everything that happened), so hopefully I'll be able to either find a happy medium, or convince you of Audrey's way of thinking :) Thanks for the review!**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: She does do some of her best work while being impulsive, but you have to note that it usually comes at a price. Hopefully some of your questions will be answered sooner than you think, but I don't make promises when it comes to this story – thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

_Geri_**: Good, I'm glad you liked it! I also can only imagine Voldemort's expression when he realizes everything she said and how much credibility he lost when she made a joke out of him. She'll see his reactions soon enough... Fred and Audrey are cute, I agree, but you're right – he will never understand her like the Slytherins do. Hopefully she will be able to keep things straight considering I'm about to make things turn upside down. Thank you, I'm honoured you like the story as much as you say and hope that you only continue to like it more as everything unravels. I hope you had a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! **

_SiriusBookworm_**: Fred has a way of wriggling under everyone's skin, including Audrey's. As for what will happen with Draco? It depends if he ever shows up and proves himself – what Audrey likes most about Fred is his loyalty. That's not Draco's strongest suit. I hope you liked this new chapter and thank you for reviewing. **

_CosmicMoonlight_**: Thank you! This was really sweet, I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story. I agree with you, it would take a lot for Fred to understand Audrey like Draco does, but who knows – he has other things (such as loyalty) on his side. We will continue to delve into her learning Animagus magic, particularly now that we know she's a fox, so hopefully you'll have some answers soon. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this newest chapter!**

_Guest(4)_**: There is some fan art on the Twitter page, a few personality and trivia quizzes and playlists too, so if you're interested in those kinds of things, it's the place to look. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and can only hope you'll continue to. Thank you for reviewing!**

_LRH8_**: I'm glad Fred is growing on you; he definitely has that effect on people. You were right about Ron getting an earful...and that's not the last we'll hear of it. As for your other questions, you'll have to wait to find out. Thanks for reviewing!**

_hafsaomar_**: It's great to hear you get so excited over an update! I hope it stays that way. Don't worry, a lot of people kind of forgot about Fred when the Slytherins came into the picture, but hopefully you're thinking about him now...Audrey certainly is. I'm glad the happier moments are a good distraction from what we know is a darkening plotline, hopefully you'll be able to find lots of those silver linings throughout the upcoming chapters. Awesome quiz results! You're doing quite well...and the last one was a trick question: I can't explain to you why you got the last answer on the Ultimate Audrey Potter Quiz wrong, but you did...now I'm going to let you mull over what it means. There will not be a sequel to this story, I wouldn't want to overdo it more than the other 100 chapters or so already could, but we may see into the future of the characters in Audrey Potter's Prelude, where I'll also be writing an alternate ending :)**

_accio-logic_**: If Audrey were part of the original series, I would be so stinking rich...so I kinda wish she was too, haha. With her codename being Ridgeback, I don't think she's trying to hide behind it. Quite the opposite, I think her little show by triggering the taboo shows she's not afraid to show herself–the codenames are more for anonymity of others (such as Kingsley and Remus and the twins; people who live double-lives during the war) but she has quite openly spoken out about being anti-Voldemort. I wouldn't say that it was because of Audrey that Theodore joined the Death Eaters. We have been warned a few times that they were pressuring him to join and he wouldn't be able to hold out forever, so maybe something finally cracked? I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_RobotUnicorn101_**: I hope that I'll eventually get published, considering I hope to be a writer some day! Thank you for convincing your sister to try out the story as well, it's always so nice to hear people like it enough to tell others about it; particularly with the stigma that Fanfiction can have. Don't worry about leaving long reviews, I love them! Thank you again and I hope you liked the chapter.**

_LoonyAsLuna_**: Me too, let's keep it lit!**

_Sarindipadie_**: I don't know if you'll make it this far through the story, but thank you for taking the time to review!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Yes, Audrey definitely has her own way of thinking – hopefully things will move faster now that she's embraced that part of herself. The next chapter will definitely be different than this one, but hopefully this one wasn't too angsty. I hope you liked it and thanks for reviewing!**

_XLucyInTheSkyX_**: Yes, Audrey would be unbeatable then – but who knows if she'll reach that point? Hope you liked this newest chapter, sorry for the wait and thank you for reviewing.**

_Amelia-bella1_**: Don't worry about pressing send, it happens to a surprising number of people. I'm glad the last chapter had some humour for you, hopefully this still held some of the lighthearted nature from the last chapter. Yes, it will definitely be difficult if she gets closer with Fred and has the opportunity to get close to Draco again...but sadly we won't know until they see each other again. Now that Ron's in the picture, I'm sure Harry will be brought front and center into conversation again, and we all know how well Audrey deals with that...**

_onlinescribbles_**: Yes, it's really fun to write what I think happened behind the scenes that Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't see, even if it is difficult to piece it all together! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter :)**

_ .Princess_**: Agreed, Audrey would be a force to be reckoned with if she could figure it all out! I'm glad that Fred is growing on you, even if it disrupts your feelings for Draco...don't worry, you aren't alone there! Thanks for the review.**

_CarrieAna_**: Haha, I'm glad you liked it – hopefully you like the story enough to reach all the way up to here!**

_Guest (5)_**: Thank you, I'm so glad that Audrey has been able to make such an impact with you. Thank you for taking the time to review and I hope you like this chapter as much as the last!**

_Fusion Palace_**: Well, as you can see, Audrey is diligently trying to figure out how to make her potion work – we'll be seeing more in the next chapter about how it goes now that she's found her Animagus animal. This chapter wasn't quite as sunny and full of rainbows, but hopefully it wasn't overly angsty...well, at least not until the moment Ron joined the party. Since Ron is back, I'm going to have to put the progress around Chapter 15/16 in the books, meaning that it is sometime around the end of October or early November. I had a great Christmas and New Years, thank you; I wish I didn't have school taking up all my time. I'm taking a writing course this term, so hopefully I'll be able to manage my time better as I NEED to take time to write, whereas last semester I didn't set that time aside and this story paid the price. My favourite Christmas movie, with no hesitation, is A Christmas Story (sometimes called Red Ryder BB Gun). It's from the 80s and is hilarious – my entire family gathers to watch it each year as tradition. We all know it by heart though, so it's not "watching it" so much as "reciting it". I'm glad you had a good Christmas and hope you had just as nice of a New Years!**

_Guest(6)_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! Hopefully you continue reading to this chapter and enjoy it as much as you did during your review. Thank you again!**

_ManonVarendaz_**: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
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_Guest(7)_**: Audrey doesn't really have an official face-claim because I haven't found anyone who looks exactly like how I envision her. The closest is the girl used for the image to the story...hope that helps, though I doubt it does, sorry!**

_Delena Worshipper_**: Generally you would be right about Audrey making a potion for this, but things just haven't been going her way. Don't worry, we'll get to see her struggle some more. You're not the only one torn between Draco and Fred, they are both good choices for Audrey and they have different characteristics that she ends up liking...but will either one have enough of anything to make her see past their flaws? She's pretty stubborn, after all. I'm glad you like my deviation from the plot and hope that I'm coming up with enough answers for the few things we knew about while Harry was hunting Horcruxes; it's hard to do all this research! I hope you liked the bit of romance in this chapter and thank you for taking the time to review.**

_SA_**: Yes, Audrey never jumps into anything too quickly so why should relationships be any different? Potterwatch won't necessarily be happy considering everything that's happening in the war (I mean, there aren't too many happy things to talk about, are there?) but I hope that you enjoy the broadcasts anyway. I've given out some teasers on Twitter for the entirety of the story, but I can't tell you whether or not you'll see any Dreaco scenes...sadly you'll just have to wait! Thanks for reviewing.**

_Anonymous_**: Yes, I don't think that things will be that easy or Taylor Swift-y for Dreaco either, but I'm glad that you're able to keep them in mind! Thanks for that :)**

_Melanie_**: Aw, thank you! Happy belated birthday, I'm glad that you liked the story. I'm sorry this last chapter took a little longer to come out – school has started again and you know how cruel teachers can be. I can't tell you if Audrey goes to Malfoy Manor (or if she'll be able to avoid it) or what will happen if she is forced to go, but I'm pretty sure when that chapter comes it will be a nail-biter. Thank you for reviewing (and recommending, that's wonderful!) and I hope you liked the new chapter. **

_imabaggins_**: Thank you! I know that you're multiple chapters back and it takes a while to get through to this chapter, but if you do manage to enjoy it to this point, let me say thank you. I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far and keep that same enthusiasm :)**

_Samantha_**: Oh, thank you so much! This was so sweet to read, truly, it made my day. This writing wasn't necessarily a natural thing, it was just hours and hours dedicated to Audrey (or it was, school has made that impossible). I'm glad that you feel connected to her, as well as her relationship (and often lack of relationship) with Draco and Fred. I try to update when I can; this chapter was hard to get out but hopefully the next chapter will post more quickly. Thank you for your review!**

_Iris RainbowWolf_**: Thank you for putting the time into reading it – you're right, it's crazily long – but I'm glad that you've been enjoying it! I'm glad that I was able to set the story apart from what others are doing, I know that Harry's twin and Draco is a pretty popular base idea. I hope you continue to like the twists Audrey makes and thank you so much for taking the time to review.**

_Two-Sides-Of-The-Same-Coin-360_**: Sadly I won't be able to let you know the fates of the characters, but I'm not one to do anything without some foreshadowing. The end will have clues scattered everywhere, if you can pick them up :)**

_Vikingfangirl23_**: Potterwatch is pretty fun to write, so I'm glad that you enjoyed the first broadcast. We won't really know much about Harry, Ron, and Hermione because Audrey's about to be stubborn over Ron's return, but we will hear a bit about what they've gone through as a refresher for people who haven't read the original books/watched the movies in a while. You're right, Audrey is not one to give up...but she's also not one to wait around for something to be fixed, either. I hope you enjoyed this newest chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_Michi-Dae_**: Aw, this was so sweet, thank you! Reading this in two days is so impressive – I'm a slow reader, so well done. Harry Potter is a greatly complicated character, there are times I love him and times I hate him, but poor Harry is painted in a very poor light because Audrey is so jaded. I really pick on his flaws in this story, but he has a lot of great qualities too, such as his loyalty and his lasting friendships (which some could say Audrey does not actually have, considering at some point she has lost each of her friends for some reason or other). I'm so glad you like Audrey (I always say that I'd hug her but she'd hex me, so its good that everyone expects this of her, haha). Happy belated birthday! I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter and thank you for reviewing.**

_Guest(8)_**: Not that you'll read this as you don't like the story, but not everyone likes every character or every storyline. I'm sorry you were disappointed, but I like Audrey and don't think she's a Damsel in Distress and that you may have read some of the contexts improperly. But to each his/her own. I hope you find a fanfiction you like better.**

_Tonsoffandoms_**: I'm glad you liked it, maybe you'll find another favourite when you read farther if you continue to like it. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Mokina_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you're liking it! I hope you continue to, particularly after what happened in this chapter...**

_kfullerton21_**: Well, I'm sorry that you lost some sleep but I'm glad you've been enjoying the story! Thank you for reviewing.**

_Dottss_**: I know, it's a really long story, but I'm glad you were able to soldier through and catch up! As for your questions: Audrey and Harry are siblings who love and resent each other, but they love each other and we will see them get some more traditional sibling moments in the future. We will learn about Audrey's wand and no, Audrey hates brooms and she doesn't really have the time to learn any time soon, haha. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the update!**

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><p><span><em><strong>PLEASE TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE<strong>_**! With Green Eyed Monster nearing its end, I'm already thinking and trying out some new story ideas. I have a few Harry Potter ideas again, but I would like to try a new fandom. Please vote for your favourite – I believe that Once Upon a Time is currently in the lead (even though I'm pretty sure my most exciting ideas are between that and Supernatural). I hope that you liked this new chapter and are excited for whatever drama Ron and Audrey will brew in the next.**

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Add me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for excerpts, updates, quizzes, trivia, and more!**


	93. High Tide

**Holy, I'm over 3000 reviews thanks to a lot of wonderful response from the last chapter and the poll on my profile – thank you all so much! I'm glad that the last chapter got you excited, so hopefully this one will continue the trend. We get to see a little more of sassy-Audrey again, I hope you've missed her as much as I have. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 92 – High Tide<p>

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><p>"And you said you were the only psychic in this household," a sarcastic voice called over the wind. I didn't need to look around to recognize the voice – Fred's lower voice was how I truly identified the twins. Well, that and his staring. Still, it was hard to hear his lower register over the cool breeze and the tumbling waves in front of me. "I knew you'd be out here...though I'll admit I didn't expect to see you so close to the water."<p>

Fred was right: I couldn't remember the last time I'd willingly come so close to where the waves crawled up the sand. Each pulse of water ebbed closer to my feet and I watched each beat of the ocean's heart wearily; I wanted to be no closer to them than I already was and yet I was dwelling in the fear that rose in my chest each time the tide lapped to try and drown my frozen toes. It was November, I was freezing, but I refused to go inside to grab my shoes. Not while _he _was in there.

"Here," Fred took off his cloak and draped it over my shoulders. He shook out his moppy head of hair, trying to hide his ears behind it to keep them warm. I was relieved to see that he had a sweater on beneath where his cloak had been; at least he wouldn't freeze to spite himself or to impress me. "You can come inside. He's getting an ear-load from Bill and Fleur; you might enjoy yourself."

"I'll hex him again," I promised. "Or worse."

"Then you should _definitely _go inside," he urged with a crooked smile. I looked over to him, smiling in spite of myself, before I noticed the book he held under his arm.

"What's that?"

He didn't even glance to where I was pointing. "A book."

"Oh good," I rolled my eyes. "I was worried you'd forgotten how to read."

"I read all your broadcast notes, thank you very much!" He scoffed, giving me a look of mock-disappointment. "Always so negative, Drea."

I rolled my eyes, looking back toward the ocean, but being unable to stop myself from trying to listen to the dull and angry voices arguing feet away from me in the house. I could barely hear them, but the strain was worth it. Yes, scream at him. Scream at Ron and make him leave. Again.

"Why aren't you angry?" I muttered, taking a small rock that had been dug a few inches into the sand and whipping it as far into the sea as I could. "You should be angry."

"Why do I have to be angry with _you _here?" He asked, nudging me with his elbow. "You're angry enough for the lot of us."

"You bloody Gryffindors are never angry enough," I mumbled, not playing along with his game. I was not in the mood for a game. "I don't care what his excuses and reasons are: he shouldn't be here. He's ruining our entire distraction-based plan by not being with Harry and Hermione right now and he-"

"He has a pretty ridiculous story to go with it," he followed my gaze over toward the horizon. "Though I'll admit – I'd never expected him to be such a bloody pansy."

"He was a pansy?" I asked, looking over at him. There was a brief moment where I saw frustration – could it possibly have been anger? – flit over Fred's features. It was such a rare thing to see of him; Fred was always so cool and collected, everything was always such a joke. To see him angry...well, it almost made me feel bad. That anger, somehow, boiled down to me; I was the only one in the bloody house who felt the emotion, after all. Maybe if I had been a little more reasonable, maybe if I wasn't constantly boiling over the brim with my fury, he wouldn't have been polluted with my infectious negativity.

"Let's just say he wasn't asked to leave," Fred muttered, his voice low. My eyebrows raised, still shocked that he was perturbed by anything – it was one of the things I had always admired about him, that nothing got him down. I tended to have this effect on everyone, however, so it was only a matter of time.

"I hope they left him behind," I looked away from him, trying hard not to see if my rude tendencies were still effecting him. "I hope they realized he's the worst of you – no offence – and realized they'd do better without him."

Fred turned to look at me, his anger being replaced with something a little deeper. "That's not honestly what you think happened to you, is it?"

How was I supposed to answer that? He said it as if it were so obvious that it hadn't been what happened – but it was. That's exactly what had happened. They could have come back for me, they didn't. They could have waited and apparated with me, they didn't. They could have tried to get in touch with me, tell me where they were...alright, perhaps they would have tried if I would have given the mirror fragment the time of day, but in the end, they hadn't really offered up a bed for me or a seat on their little joy-ride. Knowing that they were alive was enough for me and obviously knowing that I wasn't with them was enough for them.

I hope Ron felt that same acid in his chest that I did.

"What made you so bitter?" The question made me look back to Fred. His face didn't show that he had meant his words rudely, but rather pensively. "When I met you on the train, you were so quiet, you went along with what everyone said, you stood up against Malfoy and the other bullies..."

"It's exactly because of that," I told him. "That's why I am who I am. At the time I didn't realize that Malfoy wasn't the only bully around. I didn't realize that my brother was a bully. They both are – we _all _are. I learned that when Harry did that, he became a hero; when I did it, I became a bitch. So why not use it? Why not keep myself safe by becoming what everyone expected? Really it was kind of me; no one needs to be surprised now. The difference between being a hero and being a villain isn't saving people, it's _who _you choose to save."

"I can't believe how you can see all the bad in the world and ignore all the good," Fred pointed out. "I mean, you're not bad. You're also not at all surprising; in fact, you actually quite predictable. First there's a lot of anger, then a revelation, then you complain about helping people even though you _always _end up doing it – you add in some angst, add in some ridiculous magic, then some terrible choices for dating, and there you have it: Audrey Petunia Potter."

"Wow," I sneered, considering his equation. "How sweet."

"It's actually quite sweet," he laughed loudly. I didn't join him. "I mean, you don't honestly think we can't see through that. You complain like a bloody banshee, but in the end you always do what's right. You always help people. You're actually quite dependable, even when you seem to hate the person...so yes, I'd say it's sweet. Even loyal...and brave."

My face burnt, so I looked back down to the water. I wish he could understand the differences between us, the differences that caused him to see the good and me to see the bad. There was one major part of it.

"I'll never be brave like a Gryffindor, Fred," I told him lowly. "And I never want to be."

"You'd rather be manipulative like a Slytherin?"

I frowned at the jab towards not only me, but all my friends. "I'd rather be resourceful. You get what you want by taking it. I can get what I want by having the person hand it over before they even realize I want it. That's the difference...I like that difference."

He smiled at me, accepting my response before he looked back over to the water. I followed his eyes over to the horizon before I felt a light breeze graze my toes – the tide was starting to creep higher now; it was almost to my toes. I pulled my feet a little closer to my body – no, I certainly wasn't _that _brave.

"Is he mad at me?" I asked, jerking my head toward the cottage to the left. "You know, for hexing him."

"I think we're all surprised it was only a stinging jinx," Fred made a face. I couldn't tell whether or not he was being honest or humorous. "So he's probably closer to relieved."

"I probably would have gone for something more drastic, but my wand didn't want to listen."

"I may not always like him, but I'd rather he not die. At least your wand is nicer than you are and tends to make kinder decisions," Fred laughed. I scowled down at my hands that were still tingling with the urge to slap, burn, or maim his youngest brother. I didn't care which, as long as something was done with the power that was pulsing just beneath my skin.

"You are a regular Prince Charming, all this sweet talk," I informed him. "However do you manage, being so clever?"

I was shocked to see his cheeks tinge a pale pink. "Though it's a natural born talent, I don't charm everyone you know, I save it for special people."

"Like me," I finished for him, sighing loudly. He followed my sigh, knowing that I was already shutting down on him and the ideas that he was trying to worm into the back of my mind. There was a moment of silence between us, a silence where I preoccupied myself by watching as the water crept up closer to me again – the tide was coming in, the sun was setting, and the ocean was ready to carry idiots like me away.

"So, a fox, eh?" Fred brought up. I couldn't help but smile at the thought, remembering the soft, warm little fox kit that I had held in my hands before his little brother had ruined it.

"I guess so."

"How do you feel about it?" He asked, shuffling towards me a little bit, his voice thick with curiosity and some kind of insinuation that I didn't understand.

"I don't know," I shrugged, my voice a little strained. "It's not the most useful – I mean, they aren't really commonplace in these parts, are they? They aren't pets like kneazles, or found in homes and the wild alike like cats, but I guess a fox could come in handy at night. At least it's not a hippo. I was worried I'd be a hippo."

"Never," he scoffed. "I think a fox is perfect for you."

"Really?" I asked, making his eyes light up. Apparently I had asked the right question.

"Well, since you asked, I just so happened to have with me the book that Remus brought..." He took the book that was under his arm and handed it over to me. It was a dull brown, the lettering once painted gold had faded and chipped to blend into the dirty cover. It read '_Monster of Magic_: _The Who, What and Why of Magical Familiars_' by _J. R. Goodmore. _

I took it from him, raising my eyebrow as he indicated the bookmarked page. Opening it up, I watched a picture of a fox move through the forest – a forest very much like the one from my trances. It looked like any other classic Red Fox; but now that I knew more about myself, it was more interesting than ever before. The stealthy way it moved, the awareness in its features – at least it wasn't known as a thoughtless creature.

_There are many species of foxes, all known for their trickery and cunning. For any animal familiarity (whether it be for charms, pets, or transfigured forms) foxes are often symbolized with things like deception, stealth, and intellect. Usually associated with the darker side of magic, thanks to its reputation, the fox is a misunderstood creature with knowledge of the afterlife, great luck, and the ability to manipulate its enemies into believing they are friends. The fox is well known for thinking outside of the box and for the passion and intensity behind its hunting; this includes shape-shifting and adapting into whatever predatory state it needs to win its prey. Foxes can sneak in and out of places without any sign that they ever entered and are able to blend into the background until it is the most opportune moment for them to strike. Year by year, foxes return to their lifelong mates, but often spend the year apart with the male hunting and the vixen raising the kits on her own. The fox, in almost all magical and non-magical cultures, remains known as the clever trickster and shape-shifter who can adapt to any situation at the drop of a hat. _

_Common features of a fox familiar are:_

– _Observant and seeing easily through deception_

– _Ability to overcome obstacles_

– _Affinity with dream work_

– _Increased awareness and responsiveness_

– _Wisdom, particularly in tricky situations_

– _Easily adaptive and quick thinking_

"Well," I breathed, looking up at Fred. "I guess that makes sense then."

"Now you can't get mad when I call you a Vixen," he pointed out with a wink, taking the book from me as I rolled my eyes. "I think a fox will come into some good use if you can master it. Are you still planning on finishing your potion, or trying to perfect the Transfiguration?"

"Potion," I answered immediately. "Always the potion."

"Thought so," he told me. "Then you should know Mum used the last of your berryweed for Ron's skin – I can run out and get you more tomorrow."

"No," I told him, leaning back and laying down in the sand. The little flecks would be in my hair for days, but it felt so much better to look at the gray, cloudy sky rather than the water. "I should make my own trip soon. I need to rethink this potion, meaning find new ingredients. Besides that, the Death Eaters need a reminder who they're dealing with. Maybe this time instead of you being injured as Ron, we'll just hand him over that way."

"You wouldn't do that," he told me, his voice confident. I wonder if he knew how tempted I was to prove him wrong.

"So are you going to talk to Harry now? See how he's doing without my idiot brother?"

I frowned, shaking my head deeper into the sand and feeling it scratch at my scalp. "Nope. I'm going to use the _other _mirror and rat him out to Ginny."

Fred was silent, causing me to look over to him, where I saw that his mouth had gaped open. "Are you really that cruel?"

"You said so yourself: he's lucky he only got a stinging jinx," I told him shrugging my shoulders.

"You know that my sister will kill him, don't you?"

"And I won't?" I rolled my eyes. "At least this way I'll get to see it happen."

He laughed, laying down in the sand beside me. My stomach tightened at the closeness; sitting here with him always made me feel uncomfortable – he was just so _happy_. I could feel it rolling off of him in waves. I just couldn't tell what that meant, that happiness, the fact that it was okay for everyone to know how happy he was. I'd never really had that before. Even Harry and I hadn't been so open about being friendly twins in the corridors.

Softly, before I could have pulled away, Fred took hold of my hand. His hand was warm and dwarfed mine – maybe I'd been out here longer than I'd thought.

"He said Harry felt horrible," he said after a while. "When they left you behind."

"Did he?" I asked, grinding my teeth. "Good."

"Good?" Fred turned toward me, a scowl on his face. Apparently Fred saw the word 'good' differently than I did. He took everything for face-value...I liked being a little more subtle. "That's not _good_, Drea. They didn't mean to leave you behind – we were fighting, the Death Eaters had shown up, who knew how long the Polyjuice would have lasted, who knew-"

"Harry knew," I responded icily. "Harry took the Polyjuice the same time I did. Harry knew that I was fighting to get to them, Harry knew that I had just taken down a Death Eater who was about to hurt _them, _Harry left when their coast was clear, but mine wasn't. _They left me._"

Fred was silent for a long moment, considering my words. I watched as an ugly expression danced across his face and turned his eyes away from my own. "Are you really mad at Harry, Ron, and Hermione leaving you...or are you mad at Malfoy and Snape who did it first?"

My stomach dropped just at the sound of their names. The moment when Malfoy let me run to the bathroom and escape Hogwarts flashed in my mind, the moment when Snape realized it was me and didn't alert the Death Eaters imprinted itself into the back of each memory of him, and finally the memory burned of the moment when they had let me go so that they could torture me by knowing I had been left alone after they had killed the only chance where we could have all been okay...

Was I taking out their mistake on my brother? Or was it so painful simply because my brother had repeated it? Did I feel like I was worth nothing because my brother had left me, or was it that I had been left _again_?

It's not like I would have gone with Malfoy anyway. It's not like I would have joined their side – I wanted them to be on _my_ side, like Daphne had proven to be on my side...and no one else had done that. Not Malfoy, not Snape, not even my own twin.

"No," I said, though my voice wavered. "I'm mad that they didn't think I was worth waiting for."

"So you're mad at...you?"

"No, I'm mad at everyone who keeps putting me in the position where we need to run," I told him strongly. "I'm not running anymore, I don't want _anyone _running anymore. That's how people get lost to _sides_."

"I'm not running from you," he said quietly. Looking at him and how serious he was made my stomach twist. He meant it, I knew he did – he hadn't even wanted to leave me when he was bleeding out and delirious; there was no denying that Fred was here for the long-haul...and I didn't understand it. The only person I'd ever admitted to caring for had left me without a second thought and now here was Fred, determined not to leave my side so long as I needed him.

And I was starting to doubt that I didn't need him...because maybe he was the stability I needed. A firework-erupting, prank toilet-seating, ridiculous and lopsided stability.

I looked away from him, shaking my head slightly as my eyes started to burn not with sadness, but frustration. No – he may have been able to be my stability, but I could never be his. I couldn't put this weight on his shoulders: destroying horcruxes, being on Voldemort's radar, knowing of the torture I'd endure and the home that I would watch burn – how could I involve him in all of that?

If I felt any affection for him, I'd spare him.

"It's okay to trust people, you know. You don't always have to slither away with things get rough, or when-"

I jumped up instinctively, scrambling father away from the water that had just lapped at my feet. For a moment, Fred looked at me worriedly, before he seemed to realize the humour in this situation, the irony of my actions and his statements...and then of course, he began to laugh.

I hit him with the back of my hand as I scurried farther toward up the shoreline. My feet were now cold and wet – at some point during our conversation the tide had come in and decided to crawl up my body. All I could think of was the grindylow and that stupid veil back in the Department of Mysteries: it was the same sensation where they had both grabbed me and dragged me in, trying to drown me. Who knew what beasts were lurking in the water now.

"It's just the ocean, Drea," Fred managed to say through his laughter.

"Yeah, just the ocean – filled with monsters and merpeople and squids and sharks and all the things I love that hate me." I told him, my voice factual and trembling. "The ocean would kill me if it could; drag me down and kill me."

Fred sat up, still trying to quiet down his chuckling. "You just don't know how to swim."

"I don't and I don't want to," I told him sternly. "I'll die."

Fred smiled, nudging his shoulder into mine and wrapping his arm around my shoulders while I balled up and away from the darkening water.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you to swim," he promised with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "You mean drown. You'll teach me how to drown."

"I wouldn't let you drown," he told me as intensely as he could manage, looking deep into my eyes and trying to show the meaning and truth behind his words. I was struck dumb by the passion and seriousness of his tone; he looked so genuine, it seemed so true. He didn't even seem like he was joking.

Then suddenly, like only Fred could manage, a gleam of mischief entered his eyes...just as suddenly he _was _joking.

"I would never let you drown," he reiterated. "But I might watch you squirm."

I hadn't even a moment to question it before he was splashing water all over me. I screamed from the cold of it, then again from the realization of the water attacking me. I jumped up from my place in the sand and ran even farther away from the water's edge – it didn't help. Fred had his wand and he was making sure that the game continued as I ran and screamed and threatened and cursed him to an unmarked grave.

"Are you two finished?" A voice broke through my screams, making me look over to the left through my drenched and messy tendrils to see my godfather, who had an eyebrow raised and a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Am I about to be lectured?" I asked with a whine, though I couldn't deny how glad I was that Fred had stopped his attacks. "Because if so, I might prefer the water torture."

"Go inside, Fred," Sirius jerked his head back to the cottage. "I think it's time Drea cooled off."

"Oh – har, har," I sneered, shaking out the drenched and freezing cloak that Fred had given me when he'd come outside. Fred gave me one last grin, pleased with his own work, before he all but skipped indoors – I heard his laughter ringing through the stone as he must have told George about what he'd done.

"I mean it, Sirius," I muttered, wringing out my hair. "I'm not in the mood for a lecture and I'm not about to apologize for what I did to Ron."

"I wasn't going to make you," my godfather moved up a little higher so that the water wouldn't come close to us before he patted the sand next to him. I frowned, following his instructions and sitting down next to him, though the suspicion didn't lift. "I would have done the same thing to him – leaving Harry and Hermione; it's cowardly."

Ah yes, and we all knew how much Sirius hated cowards. It was because of cowards like Pettigrew that my Mum and Dad had died, that he had been thrown into Azkaban.

Huh – maybe I wouldn't be lectured after all.

"But I'm still upset that you aren't with them in the first place," Sirius continued. "Particularly now that he's gone."

I spoke too soon. The lecture was just beginning.

"Can people just leave it alone? I'm in a horrible mood, I don't need to be reminded that I have right to be in a _worse _one."

"You didn't just look like you were in a horrible mood," Sirius raised an eyebrow at me, taking a closer examination of my soaked look. "You almost seem in a good mood."

"Yes, a drowned cat certainly rings that way, doesn't it?" I asked sarcastically, my face turning red by the way his eyes turned towards the house, as if searching for Fred. "What do you want from me? If you expect me to say that I miss my brother, you're sorely mistaken."

"Don't you?"

I pursed my lips and glared – no, I didn't miss my know-it-all, be-all-end-all big brother. I didn't miss how overprotective he was or how little he understood me. The only thing I might miss – at _all_ – was the open communication he and I had about ending this entire Voldemort debacle. And perhaps knowing whether or not he was safe...And perhaps keeping his mind closed for him so that he didn't let any of our secrets spill over into the snake's consciousness...

Fine, maybe it was a _possibility_ that I missed protectinghim. Not that he returned the favour.

"No," I said again. "I don't miss him."

"It's incredible," Sirius sighed. "I've never known anyone who can hold a grudge like you can."

"Thank you."

He frowned at me. "That wasn't a compliment."

"Really?" I frowned back to him, throwing my hair behind my shoulder and cringing as the water dripped down my back. "It sounded like one."

"Ron said that they're lost without you – that there was something only you could do and they haven't been able to 'finish' without you." He said slowly. I clenched my jaw, my eyes glaring over toward the house – Ronald couldn't have made it any more obvious that we were hiding secrets, could he have?

"They know where to find me," I told him with a frown. "If they really needed me, they'd let me know."

"Would you go if they called?" Sirius asked doubtfully. I frowned.

"_I _don't run away from my problems," I hissed, my voice heavy with accusation. "I face them. It just so happens that I have a problem with everything and that's why people hate me."

He gave me a look that showed that he was not impressed with my joke...even though it wasn't a joke. It was pretty much just a fact. "You mean why you hate people."

"Well, it's kind of the same thing," I told him with a shrug.

"Alright, I'll end the lecture, but consider this," Sirius turned to face me directly, his eyes as pointed as his words. "What you're doing, Drea – this is incredible. The thought you put into Potterwatch, the resistance you're building...no one is going to say that you've not paid your dues, or that you aren't working and proving yourself."

I moved to argue with him, knowing that the stupid ginger inside thought those exact things of me. Sirius shook his head, knowing the argument was coming.

"I'm so proud of you, Drea," he said, his voice dripping with feeling. It made my heart skip a beat in surprise...I couldn't remember the last time some had said they were proud of me. I couldn't even remember the last person who said it. "Hell, we're all proud of you; no one expected you to step up like you have; which, I'd bet, is exactly why you did it. But through all the wonderful things you've done, it sounds like your brother can't get anything done at all...so why not end this feud and finish this? Doesn't the fact he needs you prove your point? Doesn't it prove that you're important, that you don't need him and you can make an impact all on your own?"

I frowned, looking at my legal guardian with the learned lack of expression I'd mastered throughout my days in the Slytherin dorms the year before. Sirius sighed, shaking his head at me, before he stood up.

"Just think about it."

I'd have to considering I couldn't see a way to avoid it.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Potterwatch; for those of you who got the password '<em>Lightning Bolt<em>', well done – for those of you who couldn't figure it out and are mooching off of someone else's wireless, for shame," Fred began animatedly. Why I had decided he was allowed to start the broadcast, I had no idea.

"Excuse Rodent's eagerness," I apologized into my wand, which was balancing perfectly on it's rounded hilt and pointing toward the ceiling of the dank bunker we had found just two days prior. "I forgot to give him his daily walk to run him tired."

"My name is _Rapier_," he placed his hand over his heart. "And stop trying to hurt my feelings!"

"All this is good and fun, Ridgeback," Lupin's voice was stern as he motioned to Fred and I to cut out our 'horseplay' as he had called it before the broadcast began. "But I think there are important matters to explain."

"Right," I cleared my throat. "For those of you who ignore the magazine _The Quibbler, _good call on common sense – but it might be the time to start paying attention. Lovegood's finally gotten a straight head on his shoulders-"

"There is no proof of that, Ridgeback," George pointed out.

"-and he's writing not only about our broadcasts but elaborating on some of the things we say on here. It's worth a look if you're brave enough to buy a copy. It's still being sold in the same stands as the _Prophet, _so clearly the Death Eaters haven't caught on."

"Are they smart enough to catch on?"

"And even if they do and he has to stop running the articles, our broadcast works well, wouldn't you say?" Fred asked. George made a loud noise of agreement while Fred leaned forward in his seat. He'd specifically asked for a leading role in todays broadcast – even more than he normally played – and I knew it was because he was proud to hear about all the uprisings. "In other important news, there have been recent sightings of Dirk Cresswell. For those of you just tuning in, Dirk is an Azkaban-runaway. Convicted of forging documentation to avoid the Muggle Registry-"

"You mean the newly proclaimed Fu-"

"Oi!" I hit George's shoulder, cutting off his expletive. "There are children listening!"

"Dirk Cresswell escaped when he was being shipped to Azkaban for forging his papers," Fred continued for his twin, who was wincing and moving his shoulder around as if I'd actually hurt him. "He's a great example of hiding in plain sight and if you can't do that – fighting back."

"With the Muggle Registration open and not lacking prisoners, we encourage all those with less than a Halfblood lineage to forge papers or go into hiding," Lupin explained, his voice grave. "Many people are offering services to assimilate you into their family trees; some for money, others out of the goodness of their hearts. Take our advice – the Ministry and the Death Eaters are ready to put anyone in their place and fighting now would put your entire family in danger."

"Speaking of danger, we also have a reminder about not mentioning You-Know-Who's name. The Snatchers are really spell-happy when they catch someone breaking the Taboo and have been going a little overboard on the designated punishment for a first-time offender," I explained. "We do not, however, condone the idea of being afraid of him; so remember our handy-dandy nicknames that won't get you caught by the Snatchers."

"And on the topic of the Snatchers – you know, the dirty, disgusting, disgraceful smudge on Wizarding history – here's Romulus with an update on their activity," George offered.

"Thank you, Rude-"

"Come on, haven't we changed it yet?" I laughed at George's whining. It would never change. Never.

"-I want to reiterate that the Snatchers do work for You Know Who and his followers-"

"You should really refer to him by one of the designated insults, Romulus."

"These Snatchers are not to be taken lightly – if they come over to your home, you are to assume that they want something from you. If you show any sign of weakness, or on the flip-side, any sign of resistance, they will not hesitate to bring you to their superiors. Their superiors could include middle-class Ministry members, decently ranked Death Eaters, or even people within Riddle's inner circle."

"Snatchers, however," I interrupted, gaining an exasperated look from Lupin. "Aren't the smartest in the bunch. They're easy to fool and easy to get away from, so long as you keep a level head about you. While we advise playing things off as if nothing is a problem, if you have to run: do it smartly. They can't follow signs of intelligence."

"I repeat, do not take them lightly," Lupin sounded annoyed with me.

"You said that more of these Snatchers are popping up, didn't you?" Sirius asked, leaning a little closer to the tip of his wand.

"Yes, Ruff," Lupin nodded. "With the new advancements in the Anti-Magical-Diversity registries, Snatchers have not only been brought to the surface of Death Eater events, but also Ministry-sanctioned placements. They're trying to round up those who confuse them, sadly that involves everyone that isn't Pureblooded."

"If you're one of those rare, decent Purebloods-"

"-and we mean _rare_-"

"-then try to help out the less-privileged. It's not a secret the shite that's going on-"

"There are children, _Rude._"

"-and it's only not a secret because of us-"

"-and Lovegood, I guess-"

"-but it's no matter. Do what you can to help them out-"

"-hide them, fight with them, pretend they're your cousins-"

"-marriage is a good idea. Divorce is really easy in the 90s, listeners-"

"-don't mix the marriage and the cousin idea though, we're not the Blacks-"

"-no offence, Purebloods who we're trying to convince-"

"-I mean, everyone's related to the Blacks, aren't they? If you have any magical ancestry, you're part of the Black family-"

"-they get around-"

"Alright," Sirius interrupted, an odd mix of disgust and laughter splitting his face. "Let's stop insulting the entire Wizarding World, shall we?"

"In other news," I continued on, giving a roll of my eyes towards the twins. "The famed wand maker Mykew Gregorovich has been found dead in Bulgaria. It appeared he was struck by the Killing Curse and that he's been dead for a while, so anyone hoping to get one of his wands is out of luck as of weeks ago."

"Ridgeback," Lupin admonished my tone. "It's a sad loss for the Wizarding World. His work in Wand Lore is unparalleled."

"Wands are hard to find nowadays," Sirius chimed in. "With Ollivander's disappearance and the death of Gregorovitch, the Wizarding World is nearly at a standstill as we wait for wands to be made. These were two of the best in our history. It's leaving Muggleborns a little in the wind."

"Not that any Muggleborns should be coming forward trying to claim wands at this point," I shook my head. "It'd be suicide."

"Not that they know of the war that's going on," Lupin finished, just as gravely. "They're completely lost. By the time they know, it's too late."

There was a moment of silence, a brief moment, where we all thought of the genocide that we didn't actually have the courage to name. It'd always been alluded to in our broadcast, but to actually say the word _genocide_ felt wrong – like admitting defeat. The silence lasted for only a moment, just so our audience could appreciate the gravity of the situation.

So, of course, Fred decided to break it.

"Speaking of people who are lost, let's talk about the newest sightings, yeah? Remember when we explained that Voldy wasn't traipsing through your garden? Do you really think that the _Potters are_?"

"Seriously people," George continued, quickly following in his brother's tone. "How stupid do you think these revolutionaries are? These are the two sides at war with each other, they have more important things to do than pick your daffodils, Madame Tweedin."

I moved away from my wand-magiphone so that I could laugh at how bravely George had just identified one of the ridiculous listeners who said I'd stolen her flowers on Tuesday at sunrise.

"And if they _were _to pick your daffodils," Fred continued. "Why the hell would you rat them out? Audrey Potter probably needed it for some amazing potion – she does that, you know. Why would you tell the world where to find her?"

"Obviously, she wants them caught," George scoffed.

"Seriously, Tweedin, have some respect-"

"-this is a _war._ No one cares about your daffodils-"

"-and I'm suspicious over those daffodils; why are they still alive in November?"

"Too right, Rodent! Why _are _they still alive in November?"

"Great questions, really," I interrupted, "but not really the point of this broadcast, boys. To get us back on track, Royal here has some updated information about the Death Eaters rallying; can you share that with us?"

"Of course, thank you Ridgeback," Kingsley responded, sounding relieved to be back on topic. I looked over to Fred, who purposely made a rude face at me. I rolled my eyes, making sure to shoot him my favourite fingers over top of my magiphone. "Over the past few weeks, we've been seeing a strange sense of formation throughout the Death Eater ranks. Sources have been telling us that they are more commonly meeting and that they have been hosting events out in the open – this is not a good sign. It could mean that they're planning some sort of display-"

"Or worse that they're not afraid to be identified," I noted, feeling my stomach clench. Had my friends been at those meetings? Had my friends been part of those events? What kind of events could the Death Eaters possibly be hosting that they would feel safe enough to do out in the open?

"Exactly," Kingsley agreed. "This kind of confidence is a bad sign for our world; with Death Eaters unafraid to be out in the open, it's only a matter of time before they're unafraid to _act _in public."

"Death Eaters have a reputation to spell first and ask questions later," Lupin agreed. "Always keep on your guard. Always be ready to fight or fly."

"Next week, we'll plan out some great defensive tactics for you lot-" George promised, looking over to Fred who was quick to nod. There was a part of me – a small part of me, but a part nonetheless – that missed having that kind of know-all connection with my own twin.

You know, before he left me to be killed by Death Eaters.

"-right, you may not be as good as we are-"

"-but how could you be? Harry Potter taught us _himself_-"

"-but we also know the people who taught _him_-"

"-not as impressive, but still something worth noting-"

"-exactly. So next hour, we'll hand down our wisdom-"

"Not that you have much of it," I interrupted. Fred shoved me lightly, but it still nearly tipped me off my seat. Maybe he should have been called Rude. "So next time we meet up, we'll teach you how to defend against the Death Eaters and have a good update for where the Potters are – as well as reasons for why they're there."

I looked over to the door of the small bunker we were in, knowing that Ron was waiting as our watch – I had been against it, of course, knowing that he may decide to flee at any moment. Still, Bill decided he may or may not have been dependable and now they both stood out there, waiting to be attacked. And after this broadcast was finished, Ron would be – by me. I would attack him if he didn't give me those _exact _answers I'd promised my listeners.

"Always remember who really killed Albus Dumbledore and who disgustingly tried to replace him – that foul little slime ball has the answers," Sirius added on, hinting toward our next password for the broadcast. I tried not to frown at the mention of my former mentor, but a lump still formed in my throat at the thought of him and just how dangerous my advice to these civilians could be to the man I'd used to look up to.

"All of us here – Royal, Romulus, Ruff, Rude, Ridgeback, and myself – hope that you can stay safe out there," Fred seemed to realize that I couldn't speak thanks to the lump that had formed in my throat at the thought of Snape. I was glad that he decided to sign-off for me. "Remember, witches and wizards, the world is not necessarily on our side now, but hopefully you are. Remember: Old Moldy's an oldie and he has no heart, Old Moldy's a phony that can't smell your fart!"

And with that lovely end, I grabbed hold of my wand and took the balancing hilt off of the table – it ended my connection with the radio as soon as it was back in my hand. The rest of the group did the same, leaving white noise in place of our voices that leaked through the wireless on the middle of the table – the connection was severed.

"Not a bad broadcast," Sirius nodded. "A little off track, boys, but not bad."

"You can't expect us to be all doom and gloom-"

"-of course not, we're boom and zoom!"

"That made no sense," I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you haven't been to our shop in a while," the boys commented. I decided not to say any more on it, especially because I didn't want to get an earful from Lupin and Sirius about how I _planned _on going back to Diagon Alley soon. As the men started to stand and get ready to disapparate back to Shell Cottage and re-group, I decided that I was already in a decent mood – I might as well get in my pound of flesh now.

"I'm staying here a little longer, if you don't mind," I looked over to Sirius who seemed confused before his eyes drifted toward the door, where he had left Ron before the broadcast. Ron had been too afraid to stay alone with Fleur and his mother, after all. Apparently he'd explained that at least he knew his mother would kill his brother if Bill dared to hurt him.

"Want me to send him in?"

"Yeah," I shrugged nonchalantly. "If he dares."

Fred and George laughed openly, clapping me on the back with approval before they went off to fetch him. Sirius gave me a look, explaining without so many words that he would be right outside the door for when I was ready to leave. I was glad he wasn't actually leaving me alone with the ginger: I'd kill him, otherwise.

I heard the others disapparate before Ron found the courage to come in. He looked about as ready for me to kill him as I felt ready to fulfill his expectations. He made sure to sit as far away from me as was possible – though it was a round table, so it wasn't far enough. I knew that if – and likely when – I reached forward I'd be able to get a good, scorching scratch in. He looked up at me nervously.

"They promised you wouldn't kill me," that was a good way to begin. But wrong.

"_I _didn't promise I wouldn't kill you," I pointed out. He breathed deeply to calm his nerves. "You, Ronald Weasley, have some explaining to do."

"So do you – where did you get the idea for the wireless broadcast? It was amazing," Ron looked at me with wide eyes, looking genuine, though terrified. "Where did you come up with all that?"

"My brain. I'm sorry you can't sympathize."

Ron finally found the nerve to roll his eyes...it did not help his case.

"Are you going to explain to me why you're here, but my brother and Hermione are not?" I asked him and Ron had the decency to look ashamed, but I was more anxious to know why that would be. I could hear how low and as eerily impressionable my impatient humming was. It'd been a long while since I'd taken this tone with anyone – I'd forgotten just how cold my voice could sound.

"I think...I think it was the Horcrux," he finally ground out. I raised an eyebrow.

"Explain."

"That Horcrux – the locket, we got it when we raided the Ministry," I nodded, I remember them having done it. It was right before I had invaded the Ministry _and _Hogwarts in the same day. Amateurs. "You don't know what it was like, wearing that thing. To have it stuck to you – it was torture."

Oh, I remembered it vividly: the pain, the burning, the realization of what we would have to defeat when the time came. I remember that blasted locket _perfectly. _Yes, the Horcruxes were a real problem...but they were not necessarily mine. Not anymore.

"Unless the locket is with you right now, I don't see how this information applies to my question," I informed him, my expression and voice an icy reminder of who I'd learned the talent from. I could basically feel how much I must have looked like Malfoy, like Snape – and I revelled in the familiarity.

"It's because of that locket I'm here for you to ask it," he argued back, his eyes narrowing. "There was something about it – maybe it's because it's part of You Know Who; maybe it's because it was evil...or maybe I'm weak. Maybe it's all of them, I don't know. It just made me so...angry."

"Angry?" I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes. "Do you mean angry like when you're abandoned by your friends in the middle of a battle? That kind of angry?"

Ron swallowed hard. "I felt like nothing we were doing was working – Harry can't find any of the other Horcruxes. All he was doing was seeing inside _his _head and having these dreams and speaking in his sleep. That was all that was happening, over and over and over again. We were camping and moving around and running for our lives but we weren't running _towards _anything!"

"Oh, boo-hoo," I slammed my hand on the table between us, causing him to clench his jaw and try to act brave. How sweet. "You were a little angry so you decided to run to your Mummy? Is that what this is?"

"It's no different than you being angry and refusing to come back to us!"

"If you would have wanted me there, you wouldn't have left me!" I screamed back, feeling my anger boiling over again. I could feel how warm it was making my face, how the heat was pushing through the skin of my hands, ready to lash out like some kind of venom.

"I didn'twant you there!" Ron yelled back. "I can't imagine what it would have been like if we would have had to drag you along _again!_"

"Again? Drag _me _along?" I laughed bitterly, causing Ron's brave face to melt like wax. "At least I'm of some bloody use! What the hell do they need _you _for?"

"They didn't," his voice was low and he sank back in his chair. His eyes refused to meet mine, which made me all the more suspicious – he could be lying or ashamed. Or both. Likely both. "That's why I left. They were doing fine all on their own – he and Hermione, that is."

I paused for a moment, watching him sulk before I laughed bitterly. I knew that look well – too well. "Oh my Godric, _please _tell me you're joking..."

He dared to look up through his mussed and dirty hair. "Joking about what?"

"You left because you were _jealous_?"

"I was not!" He spoke too quickly, too loudly, and he had tried to change his body too much as if to bat off the accusation – he forgot he was talking to a clever little fox that could see through all his tricks.

"You can't lie to a liar," I pointed a finger at him. I couldn't tell whether I was more infuriated by this, or if this bubbling in my chest was laughter – was he really so stupid? Yes, I knew he was. It was just that after waiting, after being so upset, the first person to crumble was _Weasley _because of a _crush_? "You left because you thought there was something going on between Hermione and Harry. Are you daft? He's in love with your _sister_."

"Well, Hermione seemed pretty cozy with him."

"Maybe that's because he's tolerable and you're a bloody moron," I offered with a sneer. Shaking my head and leaning back in my seat. "Or maybe it's because you're so stupid that you didn't realize she was trying to spend time with _you _because you were too busy being jealous and caring about your jewelry."

"It was a Horcrux!"

"Why haven't you destroyed it, then?" I sneered. He crossed his arms in front of him, a twisted look of childishness and stubbornness staining his features.

"That's supposed to be your job, remember?"

"I found it, Harry can figure out the rest – he was happy to do it on his own in August," I pointed out. There was a moment where Ron looked about ready to try arguing with me again – instead, he seemed to deflate with a loud sigh.

"As happy as I was to leave you behind, Harry wasn't. Apparently he thought that we needed you around...maybe he was right," Ron sounded nostalgic but not in a good way. It wasn't in a way that insinuated he knew that he had messed up, but rather a way that tried to pin his own mistakes on someone or something else. I was not going to be his excuse. "Maybe if you were there I would have had someone else to argue with. Or maybe if you were there you would have crippled me to stop me from running off."

"While all of these things are plausible," I began, my tone uninterested. "It was your problem. You left because you're a sorry sack of self-pity, not because I would have cared to stop you."

"I don't know," he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "We can't destroy the one we have, we can't find anymore, I just...I felt like it was all for nothing..."

"So you left?" I asked lowly. "You just _left?_"

"I tried to go back," he rushed out, trying to sound reassuring. "But as soon as I apparated away I ran right into a group of Snatchers – you and Lupin were right, they're everywhere. They got excited because I'm school age, thinking I'd be worth some money, you know? I tried to talk myself out of it enough so they were distracted and fighting, then I got to disarm them, grab some extra wands and run. I splinched myself on the way out, took my nails off, but by the time I went back to where we had camped they were gone."

"Some Gryffindor you are...bravery and chivalry," I sneered, my words coming out in a way that I had never realized sounded so much like...like the man I'd always looked up to. I sneered at both Ron and at myself before I looked away in disgust at the entire situation. "How'd you distract the Snatchers then?"

"You were right in the broadcast," that wasn't a surprise. I'd done more homework for this broadcast than all my years in Hogwarts combined. "They aren't bright enough to be higher ups, I was able to fool them into fighting over who I was."

"Who did you say you were?"

"I told them I was Stan Shunpike," he admitted with a guilty wince.

I gagged. "Ugh, don't insult him like that!"

Ron looked confused. "You hate Stan..."

"Not more than I hate you." Ron rolled his eyes as soon as it was said, but didn't say anything to battle me. He and I would always be at odds – we had such different values and morals. For instance, he left his friends, I stick with them. He'd stick with a fight and I'd generally run away – it was a strange variance. Still despite it all, I couldn't help but feel a little more...normal with the git around. It was strange to admit, but I didn't necessarily hate him. In fact, there was a minute part of me had missed Ron.

Well, no, not exactly; I missed yelling at someone and not feeling bad about it afterward.

He still had his place sat there at the bottom of the food chain.

"So, to reiterate," I began, looking at Ron levelly. "After you abandoned me in the middle of a fight, you were able to infiltrate the Ministry, get the Horcrux from the toad, then be on the run for two months while not finding any of the other pieces of the Riddler's soul or destroying the one you already had?"

Ron made a face, sneering as if to inform me that yes – that tiny bit of information was exactly why he had left and felt so helpless.

That just wouldn't do.

I couldn't have the git thinking that what he had done was right – ther was no reason for leaving Harry and Hermione like he had, no matter how jealous or how upset he'd been. I moved as quickly as I could, reaching across the table and slapping him with my tingling palm.

"OW!" He cried out, cradling his cheek. I'd suspect it was throbbing considering the unspent energy and rage that was coursing through my body. "What was that for?"

"For leaving me behind," I answered, not pausing as I pulled back my other hand and took a swipe for his other cheek. Ron, being a keeper, had anticipated this second lunge and moved slightly, making me graze his temple instead. He still couldn't escape the fury and Magnuse that I'd put into it.

"Alright, alright, I get it! Just stop hitting me," he cried out, groaning as he tried to decide which side of his face hurt the most. "I'm sorry, alright?"

"Oh, that one wasn't for me," I leaned back in my seat. "That was for leaving my brother simply because you were lonely and _bored_."

"Oh yeah?" he obviously didn't like the condescension in my tone. I could hear the insult coming before he'd even started to truly lash out. "How are you keeping busy? Shacking up with my brother?"

I knew someone would have to explain everything that had gone on to him and who better than the genius behind it all? Particularly after he had just made such a crude insult – as if I was keeping more busy with Fred than I was with the rebellion. _Some _of us weren't so shallow. Besides, I'd just figured out I was a fox; I had time to kill before I went to master the new art form.

"No, I've been too busy breaking into the Ministry, breaking into Hogwarts, creating a wireless Broadcast heard by thousands, making half of Voldy's Death Eaters fall mute, starting a rebellion, oh and before you interrupted me I had just learned the art of becoming an Animagus."

Ron blinked, his face slack as he tried to comprehend what I had just said. His hand, which had been cradling his face, dropped as he began to stutter. "Are...are you...is that a joke?"

"With that attitude it's a wonder that you were able to survive at all," I crossed my arms, looking at him bitterly. "And just how the hell did you three expect to get anything done without me?"

* * *

><p><strong>Well, Ron is officially back in the picture and updated on what's been going on in his absence. Do you think that Audrey's reaction was violent enough – I know quite a few of you were out for blood. The response from last chapter was absolutely amazing so please let me take a moment to thank all the wonderful reviewers:<strong>

_xXMizz Alec VolturiXx_**: Thanks, I'm glad that the fox came as no surprise. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!**

_I'm-a-Klaus-addict_**: I'm glad you're happy, I was happy to read your review!**

_Nonsensical Username_**: Foxes weren't really one of my favourite animals until I really started researching it last year when the idea of having one as Audrey's animal began. Now I can't get enough of them, haha. This does follow the plot of the book, so hopefully you like what I've come up with, particularly with Ron back in the picture. Thank you for your review.**

_Abbyc983_**: Aw, this is so sweet, thank you! I'm glad that you're warmed up to Fred, even if Draco is still in the back of your mind...much like how he's in the back of Audrey's. I promise that everything you listed as curious will be explained, so hopefully you can stick around to read about it! Thank you for reviewing!**

_Mokina_**: Yes, he's back and Audrey is not really happy about it – I am, personally. I've missed getting to write their bickering. I'm glad you're starting to like Fred more! And don't worry, you won't be denied Draco forever. Thank you for taking the time to review and I hope you continue to like the story!**

_HardRockPrincess_**: Oh, Audrey's not going to let Ron off lightly, that's for sure. You're right, Audrey's not going to be happy about Ron abandoning Harry; but I'm happy that I get to write it all out, haha! Thanks for the review. **

_WORMoverBOOK_**: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it; particularly the bit of interaction we got between Ron and Audrey. That's really interesting, we get two weeks over Christmas break, but we get late June-early September off for school here in Canada. We get days off because of winter too (snow days and freezing days, when the air is so cold that it's dangerous to be outside for too long)...which is great and terrible all at once, haha! **

_CosmicMoonlight_**: Thank you, I hoped you liked this chapter as well, particularly Audrey's reaction to the whole situation.**

_Nomurai_**: Good theories about George and even more so about Ron being the reason she might end up in Malfoy Manor. You know that those two could bicker so violently they wouldn't even notice that they were being taken there. I agree that they're similar – it's why they bicker so much. They see the worst of themselves in each other, funnily enough. I hope that you liked this chapter and thank you for reviewing!**

_guest_**: It's true that opposites can attract, but that's not why Fred and Audrey don't work as well as Draco and Audrey could. First, they're not really opposites (Fred is known as the harsher of the twins and they both love making fools of people), but besides that, the difference is that Fred has never really known the hardships that Audrey has. This isn't to say that he hasn't had his own, everyone has, but because they have led such different lives, he can't see the same outside of the box that Audrey can. They have a totally different perspective of life. It's like they're walking out of a room by different doors; it's not a bad thing, but it's not something that brings them together...in fact, it can keep them apart. **

_twinbuster2_**: Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying the story. As for the vision about Snape's office, I'm not sure which one you mean, as there have been a couple. Do you mean about her going there to see the vision from the ring? **

_Robert Downey Jr_**: This chapter was certainly longer than the last, thanks to all the drama between the redheads, so hopefully it was what you were expecting (or even better, what you weren't expecting). You're right about her being confused over who she loves, she never got closure and answers, so she's kind of floating in the wind and unsure what to do with herself and her emotions. I'm glad that you're caught up in the drama that is Green Eyed Monster and can only hope that you continue to be. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Kikuyu-kitty_**: Hello Miss Evangeline! Thank you for letting me know it's still you, I'll try to remember. I'm glad that you get so excited over the updates! I'm giddy every time I do and then I wait like a dork by my phone, just to read the first reviews and see if I hit the mark or not. I'm glad you thought that a fox works! I was kind of nervous when everyone kept making these comparisons and I thought there may have been some fight back over it, but it seems that I put in enough clues and did enough research that people think it fits. I agree, Audrey has a tough choice ahead of her when it comes to men...but I'm sure she'll manage something, she's thrives in tough places. As for my studies, they are going quite well this semester, thank you. I have one online course that it can be hard to motivate myself for, but otherwise it's great – I'm even looking into going on an exchange next year! I hope everything is going well with you as well and that 2015 is even better than the year before :)**

_Blackhooded001_**: Haha, good job. You were right: Audrey is as sly as a fox. **

_Geri_**: Thanks for telling me about the Nott thing; I'll try to go through and fix it (then again, I plan to come back to this story after it's finished and actually edit it, so maybe I'll just wait). Audrey will always be livid with Ron – it's great that I can write this harsher side with her again...I have missed it and we know that Ron brings it out in her. Technically Audrey is related to Draco from five generations back; even then, we're not sure if Charlus Potter had siblings who had Audrey's ancestors or not (along with the fact that he was married in and his children don't show to have had children), so the relation could be even farther back. She's more closely related to Draco through Sirius than by blood. Yes, Audrey is a fox; I'm glad that you think the choice works. I've been holding that one in for a really long time. As for Ron being here, we will get to see just how human he and Audrey are because as much as they dislike each other, they actually have a lot in common. I will be starting another story, though I doubt it will be as detailed (and certainly not as long) as this one. I have ideas for each of the fandoms I listed on the poll, so it's exciting to see what people prefer...I'm just not honestly sure over which I would, haha. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Guest(2)_**: Finnegan does have a fox patronus; maybe he's been in love with her all along? Haha. Good call.**

_TheMidnightPoet_**: Yes, there will still be some clips of Potterwatch in here – I'm glad you're enjoying it, it's fun to write. I hope you continue thinking Audrey's a badass, particularly after what's soon to come...**

_GEM Follower_**: Good, I'm glad you can sympathize with Audrey, even if you don't understand how. Everyone has these base frustrations, Audrey is just very obvious about it. It also is because it's written in first person so we don't get any of those feelings diluted by the truth of the matter; she's so jaded that everything she sees is negative, even when some of it is completely the opposite of what she thinks. I hope you can continue to feel this way about her, because she's going to need sympathy sooner rather than later! Thanks for reviewing.**

_XLucyInTheSkyX_**: I agree, Ron definitely has his moments of being a bad friend – but Audrey can have those same issues, so it'll be fun to play off their negativity with one another. Particularly because Audrey's going to kick his butt. Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!**

_Guest(3)_**: I like a fox for her as well, I'm glad that it was not too obvious but also not too out of the blue. Her feelings for Fred are certainly getting more complicated and just to make it more fun, I'm only going to make it worse. I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for taking the time to review. **

_Half Cactus_**: You're right, Audrey's going to put a lot more effort into her potion/practice now that she knows a fox is an animal she can use to sneak around. Ron is back, which will always make things more complicated – hopefully you enjoy what comes out of it!**

_Annie Sousa_**: Thank you! I also don't want the story to end; I have no idea what I'll do with myself considering how much I've lived my life obsessing over this character and her adventures. I hope you continue to like the story, and hopefully you can wait around for Draco's returning appearance ;)**

_Delena Worshipper_**: This story won't be abandoned, I promise you. I even have a backup plan in case I die...really random and extreme, but I do; after all, besides my dog this story is the closest thing I have to a child, haha. Fred certainly is sweet, but Draco and Audrey have a chemistry that can't be denied. I'm thinking of writing a one-shot of Audrey and Draco's trysts just to keep people thinking about how good they were together as well; just to keep people feeling confused over who they like more. I'm cruel like that. As you guessed, there is and will be lots of Gryffindor-Slytherin bickering; have you missed it as much as I have? The point of the potion is to help her shape shift, yes. The trances were to help her figure out her animal so that hopefully she could try to connect with it and shift more easily – but with the potion, she may not have to work as hard. Let's hope!**

_RockChic733_**: Yes, the art came out absolutely amazingly – especially Audrey's hair. It was really exciting to see her scar peeking through. It was the first time I've ever gotten to see everything put together outside of my own imagination; I've shown everyone I know. That is not an exaggeration. If you end up drawing Audrey and Draco please let me know, I'd love to see them together too; it just helps make it real to me (and the feeling it causes is pretty much the equivalent of the excitement I feel on Christmas morning). Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter! You're right, the next few chapters are going to be pretty packed full of fun stuff now that Ron is here. Even better, it will be packed full of bickering. Yes, if Audrey can't change her fate again, she will be stuck in Malfoy Manor at some point...it could be disastrous. Thank you again!**

_Angelflight_**: I'll update, don't you worry! I love this story too much to not finish, haha. I thought a snake was too obvious and honestly, she doesn't necessarily fit it as well as she fits a fox. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for leaving a review. **

_alice2998_**: Thank you so much! This was so sweet to read, I really appreciate it. Audrey and Draco are definitely more suited than she and Fred, but will she be able to get over what Draco did to her? Not easily, that's for sure. Draco will be around sooner rather than later, but it probably won't leave on a happy note...not in the middle of a war, at least. **

_SiriusBookworm_**: I know, the Draco/Audrey/Fred triangle is getting a lot more complex and crowded. I hope you like how Audrey dealt with the Ron situation; thank you for reviewing!**

_Melody_**: Yes, it's really fun to write Audrey as the leader of a resistance. Surprisingly, for someone who hates drawing attention to herself, she fits the role well. I'm glad you are enjoying and I hope you liked the new chapter!**

_Zach-Goode' _**: Haha, I'm glad you could figure it out! I hope you liked this chapter as well :)**

_Mezzem313_**: It's alright, a fox and snake live in the same general habitats and are afraid of the same general things. Along with her being a Slytherin it was an understandable guess. You were right about how Audrey would react to Ron's betrayal – even Sirius is not pleased. I hope that you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

_dracomalfoyswife1998_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! **

_Takara Matsudaira_**: Don't worry, everyone has lives to live and I don't blame you for not reviewing – it's sweet that you did now. There are a lot of foxes out there, you're right, I love fennec foxes as well (swift foxes, grey foxes...alright, admittedly after doing all the research on them for this story, I've grown to love them all. I never overly thought about foxes before deciding that Audrey could possibly be one) but I think she's the red fox. They're the ones that live by me and though I think Arctic foxes may be my personal favourite, red foxes are a little more aggressive, a little more feline in appearance, and of course match Audrey's appearance best. Yes, we've finally hit the 90s in chapter count, I'm up past 3000 reviews, and over a million words – it's all quite overwhelming. I'm actually not quite at the million words yet excluding review responses, but I still feel pretty proud of it. Happy New Year to you as well, I hope you'll enjoy the crazy chapters that will be coming up now that Ron's joined the fray. Thanks!**

_xXFangirlingBookwormXx_**: Good call, yes, Ron Weasley is back! I'm glad that you're excited about what's to come with Ron and the whole Animagus idea. As for Fred and Draco, the idea is obviously weighing heavily on Audrey, but I'm sure she'll know what she wants in the end. She's a pretty decisive woman.**

_RaeRae_**: Maybe, but it's possibly the most dangerous of all!**

_Tildalouise_**: I agree, I miss Draco being around as well and as much as I love Fred, it's hard to see that Draco's growing farther and farther away from her mind. Don't worry though, like Ron did, Draco won't stay out of sight and out of mind for long. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, thanks for taking the time to review!**

_Natura_**: I'm so glad to hear it, thank you! I hope you continue enjoying it :)**

_Michi-Dae_**: Don't worry, you may not have been able to strangle him, but Audrey was pretty close. There will be more Bill coming up next chapter, but I won't be writing a sequel to this story. I will continue to update Audrey Potter's Prelude though. I'm also getting emotional about it ending, so I feel your pain. I hope you had a good birthday and thanks for reviewing.**

_P0tions_**: Thank you! That's a huge thing to say, but remember: Audrey would never have been born without the original. If I were a fraction as talented as JKR, I'd still idolize her brilliance above all, haha.**

_KarysDvasia_**: Thank you for taking the time to leave a review earlier on in the story, I don't know if you'll see this when you catch up, but I hope you're still enjoying it. Circe was definitely a hard thing to write – I cried, I won't deny it – and I'm glad that you were able to withstand the buildup of romance between Audrey and Draco. Again, thank you for reviewing!**

_TheRavenSlayer13_**: Thank you, this is so sweet! I'm so glad that you've read the story (apparently more than once!) and I hope that it keeps living up to your expectations. Thanks again.**

_need47_**: Thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed the rest :)**

_Maddie_**: If you catch up to this, I hope you still like the story. Thanks for taking the time to review, especially so early on!**

_justcallmeIVY_**: Aw, thank you, this was so wonderful to read! Doing a sister fic made me nervous at the start, but I've fallen in love with Audrey and she pretty much writes herself now that I understand her character, so I'm glad that you like her as well. The Draco/Audrey/Fred situation is definitely complicated and I could see something like your vision happening, but sadly you'll have to wait and see if you're right. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story and hope you continue to; thank you again.**

_luna estela black_**: In one day? That's crazy! I'm glad you liked it enough to speed through it like that; thanks for the review!**

_GrossEwww_**: I'm glad! I was worried that people would dislike the idea of Audrey being a fox. Yes, Audrey doesn't seem open to the idea of joining Hermione and Harry again, but she definitely seems up to the idea of making Ron's life a living hell. I have the best idea for a Supernatural one – I wish that more people wanted to read one based on it. I love Dean...more than I love Draco. It's shameful to say in a HPFF, but it's true. I might love Dean more than anyone on television at all, haha. **

_Guest (4/Who Flamed)_**: Oh, okay. Thank Goodness you came to hate on fanfiction writers on a fanfiction site, or else you may have run the risk of sounding ridiculous. And I wouldn't necessarily say I'm pathetic, I'd say I have an overactive imagination. But you know, potatoes - potahtoes. **

_kfullerton21_**: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it! You should tell me how to get to the playlist, I'd love to hear it. I have one on Youtube for the story, too. Stalking twitter definitely gets you extra knowledge, so good job using it to your advantage, haha. I plan on writing a chapter from Draco's POV in Audrey's Prelude at some point soon, but otherwise you'll have to wait for anymore information!**

_Thao Sama_**: Haha, thank you so much for this review, it was actually a joy to read, particularly the response to the flame I got earlier on. It was not too long or a rant, I highly enjoyed it, and hopefully you can forgive me for stalling in my update. Fred is definitely weaseling into my heart as well (in fact, I even had a dream about him a few nights back), but I've always been one for the misunderstood bad-boys – so don't think that Draco isn't coming back soon. I hope you liked this chapter and thank you again for the review and the argument towards the flame – it made my day!**

_Guest(5)_**: Good idea of her being a wild cat; I considered a lynx believe it or not. When I looked lynx up, however, it didn't work as well as a fox did and a fox can easily sneak around whereas lynx are more conspicuous. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, even if Fred was mentioned a lot more than Draco was. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Little Messrs_**: Congratulations, I'm glad that you were able to guess she was a fox! I also enjoy being able to call her Ridgeback and tie something that was so far back this far into the story – little things like that make me smile. Ron and Audrey are going to cause some drama before anything else could/will happen and it's exciting to consider that things are going to speed up because of Ron's showing up. The Pygmy Puff lives with Fred and George for the time being, because they can take better care of him (I thought I'd mentioned that, but perhaps I forgot) so she sees him but doesn't really keep him around. I WISH I were J.K.R. Sadly I'm just an obsessed fan with an overactive imagination, haha. Thank you for reviewing!**

_Iris RainbowWolf_**: I agree, if Audrey could actually turn into an animagus sneaking around would be much easier. I'm glad that you like the twin's and Dreaco dynamics; I hope you continue to enjoy it! **

_SwiftAlice_**: Hello, so nice to see your name on here again! I've missed these talks. As for our email talks, I saw you emailed and I'm going to get to it when this chapter's posted. I'm glad you like that Audrey has become a fox; most people think that it works (I was worried some people would argue it), so I'm glad that I threw in enough hints and matched her personality well enough to make it believable. I doubt she'd let you pet her, though...she might bite off your fingers. Yes, Theodore couldn't escape the Death Eaters as he'd hoped he could. But don't worry, we'll be seeing more of that later – I like him too much to not delve more deeply into that. On that note, we'll also hear more from Daphne and...well, all the Slytherins sooner rather than later. You're right, Audrey's really developing her talents in this part of the story and that will only continue to progress.  
>Ron being back is definitely going to make things stir up – she's never happy around him, nor he with her, and yet they're the ones most similar. They are also the only ones that really know what's going on and what has to be done; so that will seriously affect the upcoming chapters. As for the picture you found on Pinterest, you'll have to send it to me through emailtwitter or something. I always love knowing what other people imagine. I'm glad you think there's a lot going on in the Deathly Hallows – it was fun to write in those last few lines with Ron and Audrey (Ron did this and this, but Audrey did this, this, this, that, that and those things). It shows just how helpless the trio felt and how helpful and resourceful Audrey can be when she needs to be. As always, thank you for the wonderful review!**

_Anon_**: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. **

_MateriaGirl16_**: Don't worry about it, I'm just happy that you left a review! I don't know if you'll see this when you catch up, but I hope that you're still enjoying the confusion and fluff that is Fred Weasley. If you liked Fred's departure I hope that you like the tension between them now; he's being pretty sweet, after all. Thank you for taking the time to review and I hope that you still like the story if you catch up!**

_ .Princess_**: I'm sorry that you didn't see it coming, I tried to put enough hints in there without making it obvious, but I'm glad you agree with it. Ron and Audrey are going to be at each other's throats for a while, so hopefully you enjoy the drama!**

_BlackBrassRevolution_**: It takes me about three weeks for a chapter, just because I'm so busy with school and stuff. I'm glad that you're enjoying the twists of Audrey and her story. I'm glad to hear that you went back and forth from Fred and Draco being with Drea. I can't tell you what's going to happen, but I hope that you enjoy the ride!**

_Dark Rose Princess_**: I'm glad you agree with the idea of Audrey being a fox. As for Audrey's relationship, I'm glad you're staying true to Draco – it'll mean more when he shows up again. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story and thank you so much for reviewing.**

_Hadesgirl1_**: The books are worth reading, particularly in comparison to the movies, but I appreciate that you're reading this. Since I work off the books, you'll get a few extra surprises that the movie left out! Thank you for taking the time to review, I hope you continue to like the story, even if I can't promise a happy ending. **

_CrazyKatgurl_**: If you continue to enjoy the story and make it all the way here: thank you for taking the time to review. I really appreciate it. It's good for you to savour it, particularly because it's taking me so long to update – I wish I could go faster! But alas, life gets in the way. Thank you so much for the compliments and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

_Flora 1832_**: A ferret would be fun, but I think it would have been expected. She may love Draco, but she was her own person before she met him :) Thank you for reviewing!**

_Guest(6)_**: I'm glad, thank you! I'm sorry I couldn't update more quickly!**

_SortingHat_**: I've never labelled this story as a self-insert, so I don't know where you got that idea from. I'm quite different from Audrey in appearance, mind, and personality. Other than that, all I can really say is I hope you find what you're looking for.**

_ZambleTheZombie_**: Well, hopefully you only got Firewhiskey and not poisoned Mead. Because if you thought your head hurt with the whiskey, I can only imagine what nearly-dying would feel like... haha, thanks for the review. **

_hafsaomar_**: Ha, I even put the vixen joke in here – but who didn't expect such a comment from Fred? Audrey isn't going to warm up to Ron any time soon, but it'll be great to work their argumentative personalities off each other once again; it's been hard writing Audrey as so complacent. You have some good questions and theories, but sadly you'll have to wait for the answers. I miss Draco too! That's why I'm excited to write in his POV for APP soon and hopefully put him in this story sooner rather than later. I'm not as knowledgeable about LOTR as I am about some other fandoms, so I put up a poll and I'll be writing one of those first. Maybe if I re-read the LOTR books and get some inspiration, but sadly I'm not really at that point right now. Maybe one day! **

_callabrea_**: Oh yes, I'm pretty sure that I wrote in a whole conversation with the Slytherins about the origins of their names and how they all stem from Greek Mythology (well, save a few). I remember because Draco happens to know that Audrey's name means "noble strength" and she blushes, haha. I hope you continue to like the story and thanks for taking the time to review.**

_rkomen91_**: Thank you! Yes, making Audrey "Clemence" for the wedding was a little nod to Fleur's actress. I wondered if people would catch it, haha. I'm sorry you have to wait for updates – sometimes I wish that this story were already written, but I fear the day that it ends, so it's a love-hate dream. Thank you again for this sweet review and I hope you liked the new chapter.**

_Queen Of Silverveil_**: Yes, I remember farm life and fearing for our chickens because of the foxes. I do watch Game of Thrones, it's fantastic. As for naming a Billy Goat, it depends on its personality. When I was little my friend and I once named her new ones Whiskers, Goatee, and Beardo; if that's any help.**

_Amelia-bella1_**: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope this one lives up to the last :)**

_Team-GTS_**: Oh, thank you so much! Snape is my favourite person to interact with Audrey, so I understand where you're coming from. As for Circe, well, it still hurts me a little bit to think about it. Thank you for the review and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story!**

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><p><strong>Thank you all so much for these marvelous reviews – it's more appreciated than you know. I have officially gone over 3000 reviews; I never knew that Audrey would become everything she has and it's all because of you so thank you so, so much. <strong>

**Please **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**-Egypt**

**Add me on Twitter at **EgyptsLegend **for Q&As, excerpts, quizzes, pictures, and more!**


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